Hmmm...that's interesting to mull over a scaled down version of MOEMS where you are just getting together for the monthly math tests. I will have to think on that one more.

So, I just spoke with the head of MOEMS, and he told me that they do allow "schools" of one student though this is not actively publicized. He said they actually have quite a number of schools with just one student. This is how you get around the individuals can't participate rule. This may also be how you get around the sheer amount of work it would take to put together a team You register your homeschool as a school of one and pay the registration fee. I also found out from MOEMS that there are no rules against a homeschooled student from joining a public school team as long as that team is the school that you would normally attend if your were enrolled. The big caveat is that the principal has to agree to allow this to happen though. I am pursuing this option first and then the above option as I have no time or energy to run a group given my other commitments.

App is enough...you get all the videos there. I will activate the subscription for a month or two and then suspend it when it's busy for us like during basketball league or the holidays.

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the answers.

I let my son slide on drawing out bar models at earlier levels. When he tells me that he doesn't know who to solve a problem, I always ask whether he made his bar model and usually that gets him over the bump. Proper labeling is a huge issue as well. I do wonder now whether or not his tendency to not want to show his work is due to me not being more insistent that he always do it or if it's just a normal problem that every kid goes through in wanting to shortcut their way through their math. When the problems get more complex, you simply have to show your work step by step or it becomes so easy to make silly errors. This is something we are working on (all the time it seems. Sometimes until I want to poke my eye out!) because the numbers are simply getting too large and the word problems have too many details without properly setting things up either with bar models or if moving on to algebriac expressions, writing out the knowns and variables.

I got sucked into the Prodigy world by showing it to my son...and then I got another 3 dozen kids in my homeschool group sucked into loving math practice. The kids love it so much, I organized a group buy to access more pets and powerups!

I have another suggestion. Why not just move on to MUS Alpha instead of working on review? If you are going to do math anyways, there's no magical reason to wait to start Alpha in the fall. I imagine that you may not what to use it everyday like during Sept to May...but even working at it a few times a week seems to be the same effort as doing a review book.

Physical books. There are some studies that show that retention of material is better with physical books. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/print-ebooks-studies_n_6762674.html

If you are looking for books about math. Julie has a bunch of readers listed on her website. http://www.livingmath.net/Readers/tabid/268/Default.aspx

Many of us on here use Beast as a supplement and not the main. I use it a year behind SM so that the focus is on developing problem solving skills and higher order thinking rather than acquiring math skills.

Yes, I used it just before mine turned 5. However, there were several factors as to why. He could already read well and could write. So, SWR was used to teach cursive and spelling. We still use it for spelling.

Can someone explain why I should submit a portfolio? Is it needed if you have the scores? TIA

I read somewhere that mantis shrimp perceive 12 primary colors.

No...it is red, yellow, and blue for art. All colors can be derived from blends of primary colors. Green = yellow + blue. However, the primary wave lengths that your eye perceives: that's red, blue, green.

No, it's their own program. The online feedback from people posting to our local groups has been that it is a highly structured class. Josie (the instructor) gives a lot of personalized instruction and will receive a comprehension report on their skills and a grade. If you are looking for IEW, it's Shawn or Rebecca in our area that does live classes.

Yes, it was a great read. His book Gender Matters has good insights as well. The role of video games and the huge affect on boys was eye opening. I do see that around me in family members.

I haven't used it myself. I'm the one that listed it on the online classes resources. It's well known in my area. The families that have used it thought very highly of the classes. Just be aware these are asynchronous classes. What time you are will not matter. Whether or not you prefer live instruction does matter.

I wish my son could take classes from Joanna. I watched a sample class and attended her seminar about Latin when WTM did that summer conference. She is really good at what she does. Her love for Latin and enthusiasm was inspiring. She inspired me to start on this road of learning Latin for my son.

I agree about Dr. Wile's Discovering Chemistry! So much better than his original textbooks at Apologia. Apologia's Chem 3rd edition is definitely not to my liking. I find the Biology text lacking as it does not cover human anatomy which I would like to see in a college prep high school biology textbook.

Are you committed to Apologia? I think the Novare Accelerated Physics and Chemistry is a much better textbook in terms of content and rigor. Their Introductory Physics book is non-algebra based so it is not as intensive. Wilson Hill, Memoria Press, and The Potters School use these texts for their 8th/9th grade physical science courses. WH and TPS uses the Accelerated text for their honors level classes. I have not heard good things about Apologia's high school texts as being adequate prep for AP even though Apologia says they are enough.

Tagging along to add that you can find curriculum recommendations at reasons.org that are Christian and secular and why they recommend these resources.

take a look at the apologetics course at reasons.org. http://www.reasons.org/education/reasons-academy/grades-7-12

I saw that Schole Academy (Classical Academic Press) is offering Alg II class that meets online 2x/week. They have High School math classes now. I don't know what text they selected for that class as the website doesn't have that info posted.

Reasons to Believe. http://www.reasons.org/ I attended one of their events. Really great conference. RTB's mission is to spread the Christian Gospel by demonstrating that sound reason and scientific research—including the very latest discoveries—consistently support, rather than erode, confidence in the truth of the Bible and faith in the personal, transcendent God revealed in both Scripture and nature.

Ok...this was driving me crazy since I saw this posting yesterday. I finally found the program here at Auburn University after digging around the internet. It's the Catapult Engineering Academy. https://www.eng.auburn.edu/outreach/k-12/ea.html