Thanks for these!! I already let my older two watch the first episode of Crash Course Chemistry. It will be a wonderful resource.

This is very interesting. I guess I'll have to show DD both and see which she likes/understands better. I'd also like to get a traditional text to pair with either if some concepts need fleshed out. After using several books of BA, she definitely has experience with its style, but I'm not sure how continuous their style is from BA to Pre-A. One nice thing about BA is that it's slowly teaching her to get past her perfectionist tendencies with math, meaning, not to melt into a puddle if she doesn't understand something at first glance. I'm sure her maturing is helping, but she also commented that BA is helping her with it.

LOVE! :001_wub:

I've found teaching a leftie to write no different than teaching a rightie. She does crosses her letters differently, but if she has the proper pencil grip and paper position, then she's fine. If anything, the paper position may need to be slightly more titled so that she can see her letters better.

Thanks for the update! Updates and opinions really help me fine-tune our own decisions. My DD10 is also a young 5th grader who has repeatedly asked for Pre-Algebra, but I've waited in order to shore up her fraction work before I ordered anything. I had been leaning towards Jousting Armadillos, but if it's too verbose, she might get lost in it, too. I felt the same way with AoPS when I looked at it, but since we've never worked through it, I have to rely on others opinions at this point. What do you think?

Thanks for your friend's list! I guess I'll dive in and see where it takes me. I'm sure each of his books speak to us differently depending on how well we know an area or information. Hope you like the Loren book. Based on your star rating, I'd probably give it 3 stars. Cascadia: Welcome!

Me too. I have to finish it before the end of March for a book club, so you'll see my review at some point. Hopefully it will be a book that is easy to pick up.

I could see this being hysterical! Maybe I'll add this book, too.

Good to know! "From the descent of the larynx into the throat, to the fine art of swearing..." Too funny! Thanks. Negin: regarding Notes from a Small Island...may need to add this to my reading list, especially since we have similar taste in books, and you gave it 5 stars.

This week I finished Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow:My Life by Sophia Loren and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Well, I wouldn't recommend Sophia Loren's book unless you want to know some of her basic life facts (which I did) and all the movies, in detail, she's been in. She is a consummate professional, and I found her to be a refreshing optimist. Although, her lack of emotional depth made me feel like I didn't really know her except for a few things. It upset me how she entered into her relationship with her husband, who was married at the time and tainted how I felt about her for the rest of the book. I did like her telling about her and her family's experience with WWII in Italy, near Naples. She also knows many in the movie industry, and the movie details reflect these relationships. Let me tell ya, I truly enjoyed A Walk in the Woods. Thanks to all who suggested it! He had me laughing so hard that it caught my DH's attention. His marvelous, clear writing set a great stage for the comings and goings of the base story and the facts he weaves throughout. Sometimes the amount of facts was burdensome because I found the base story very entertaining and wanted to get back to it. I loved how he talked about the National Park Service and the coal mining in Pennsylvania. How about the coal vein that lit on fire?! And, I LOVED his interaction with Katz! :smilielol5: and the characters he encounters on the Appalachian Trail--Mary Ellen, anybody? :rofl: Definitely worth the read! What's his next book I need to read? I'm looking for his best. Next up: The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni. Has anyone read it? What did you think?

Brother/Sister Music Duo. Home grown music talent! They sound great together. Love his little smile at the end. Enjoy!

If leading questions didn't work, then I'd model one solution and ask them to do one on their own. You could try separating them from the actual math lesson by having them complete it later in the day or something. For instance, sometimes I would write it on the white board in the morning and tell them to have it solved by the end of the day. This gave them time to mull over the numbers without "pressure". If, in the end, they couldn't come up with a solution after an honest attempt, I would talk through the solutions with them. I found they got better as they worked more over several days. I see the number puzzles as mental aerobics. One of the reasons we chose RS in the first place was because we really want our children to have great mental agility for basic math (which RS does so well), so we didn't skip the puzzles. Were the puzzles completely necessary? Probably not. YMMV I didn't see anything in any of the subsequent lessons that tied back to them.

Here, here! :cheers2: It means a lot that you liked it. :001_wub:

Amen, sista!! shukriyya: LOVE those zentangles!

Just finished My Antonia by Willa Cather and found it very enjoyable. I can't believe I've waited this long to read anything from her and am a bit surprised I was never assigned her books in any of my literature classes. Her treatment of the landscape like a character was so accurate. Living on the prairie gives me a sense of what she was trying to convey. And, she does a character so well--she gave me the true personality and appearance as if I'd known them for years, both their good and bad qualities. Antonia had a joie de vivre that I found very appealing. In the end, what was really beautiful? Her outward appearance or her inner love of life? Her growing life from her friendships, from the earth, from her hard work, her children, marriage... Over time outer beauty fades, so what are we left with? Life has a way of showing us what that means if we allow it, and I'm grateful to have read a novel that helps me contemplate what that means in my life. I'm prompted to read another of her books, probably Death Comes for the Archbishop because I've heard great things about it. Next up, I'm reading Sophia Loren's book Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. From last week's thread... Like Chrysalis' parochial high school, I was assigned Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls and did.not.like them. Actually, from the whole stack of books that I had to read in those classes, For Whom the Bell Tolls was the ONLY book I couldn't finish. I'm not inclined to pick up another of his as an adult. Last spring I read Jane Eyre for the third time, and it was a worthwhile re-read, labeling it as one of my 2014 top reads. This fall I read Pride & Prejudice by Austin. I've tried to read Austin before, but never have I been able to get through any of them. Being determined, I decided to finish P&P and am glad I did. I can now say that Austin isn't my favorite writer, but I enjoyed her enough. It would take much persuasion ;) to get me to read another of her novels.

Looks like a fun read. I added it to my list. Thanks!

How about a Larabar recipe? My whole family likes them. You could probably tweek the recipe to to your specifications.

shukriyya: I love whimsy. There are some great children's books whose illustrators have a whimsical sense about their art, and I'm very attracted to it. Like this one. I'm honored. The picture you posted inspired me this morning. I felt it needed a blue colored background, and since I don't have a white gel pen, I used a sparkly silver gel pen. We have plenty of sparkly things sitting around since we have 4 girls.

Jane in NC, how about a Kingfisher zentangle? :thumbup1: Kids and I were working on zentangles this morning. This one is mine.

VC: I love family stories--intriguing! Mum & I feel the same way. Just put a hold on it! felicity: Another hold just placed, All the Light We Can Not See. Thanks! crstarlette: nicely done! Today I showed my other children zentangles in Google images, and then one of my other daughters spent an hour drawing one. She loves to draw, but was amazed how long it took to complete it. She's currently working on a fish zentangle.

Oh, Mom-ninja, I ask the same questions every week. Even out loud to the kids, and they just shrug their shoulders. Sigh...

mellifera: I would call zentangling a good art activity. A few months ago, my daughter did it in her art class. Something about the structured whimsy is extremely appealing. Jane: I love the picture of the kingfisher in all his majesty. Ali: I have the same experience with books. I read WH in high school and didn't like it, but read it as a young adult and did. Isn't it fascinating how life experiences and maturity help fashion our opinion of things?! mum: Thanks for the youtube video. I've never heard the that particular song before, although I certainly know Pat Benatar. Stacia: "Since there's a Mortdecai movie coming out soon, I thought I'd read one or some of the books it is based on. I keep reading reviews that say the Mortdecai books are a mix of Jeeves & Wooster mixed with 007." I saw a preview and thought it could be a good laugh, making it interesting to watch. Chrysalis: I remember your WH thread--good read!

My 5th grader and her friend are putting together a small book club, so these are great suggestions to consider. Thanks!

Oh, Stacia, my kids would love to see the Darth Vader gargoyle! When we are in DC next, we'll have to swing by to see.

Added it to my Overdrive account. Looks like something I might enjoy. I grew up in the foothills of the Appalachians and still carry a bit of the accent. A friend of mine recommended another of his books, At Home, which I haven't read yet, but it's on my to-read list. Thanks for the reminder!