There are Teacher's Guides for the books that have some additional websites and other suggested books to read (in addition to the ones mentioned in the backs of the books). There are also Student Study Guides which are basically worksheets to fill out. I'm using parts of them for reading comprehension but they aren't great. On just a cursory look, I think the TG for Ancient Times is better than for Medieval Times.

When I was in it, it was my school math program. It is excellent. We did formal logic, set theory, and formal algebra (didn't see that again until third year of my math undergrad!) Since it was school, it was also the normal amount of additional homework. I don't recall anything too onerous. If he's interested, I'd give the program a shot. It was really excellent. Just noticed that you're in St Louis. I spent time on their boards while trying to track down the books. It looks like a good program they've got. Drop current math and toss him in if you can (from what I've seen of their site).

When you're getting started, maybe. Moving to the bar models is an abstraction. In the CWP 1 I have (old version), there aren't bar models until what would be 1B of the text. It's all pictures at first. You move from the concrete (models, counters, pictures) to the abstract. They also start in the text with pictures, then tell stories about them. Then have students do the problems like you mentioned. Maybe do something similar... start with a situation, tell a story that's a word problem... see if that helps with the leaps.

I used the Elements of Mathematics books in the MEGSSS program (math education for gifted secondary school students) when I was in 7th/8th grade. It was a seriously good program. The CSMP materials are very similar (some overlap). IMACS holds the rights to the books now. It depends on the program - and the teacher. If I could get my son into a program with a teacher like the one I had those two years, I'd be seriously looking into it... his allergies would be the only thing that would potentially hold us back. (Now if it were the teacher for 9th/10th... I wouldn't bother ;) )

:iagree: I'm a night person. For a time, I worked in a location where I had to be in the car at 7am or I'd miss my first class. I wasn't happy about it, and I didn't change to a morning person, but I was able to function. The key for me was that I had to go to bed about 10pm and keep the same schedule. No sleeping in on the weekend. :glare: Unfortunately, my son's a morning person. I'm still getting up earlier than I'd like now (8-9). I'm hoping I'll get to sleep when he's in high school :) Consistent routines were what worked. No "just five more minutes" with the snooze. It's tough to motivate yourself enough when there isn't the job sense of urgency.

Thanks! We're still a way out, but I'm collecting info for the future! :)

:grouphug: They become parts of our families and provide unconditional love. I'm sorry for your loss.

Rex Barks is also good. Amazon carries it.

Our district uses Everyday Math. I teach math at the cc and have seen a drop in student ability/basic skills. However, I have a friend who teaches math at the university and sees an improvement in the lower-level courses with student understanding. So from what I'm hearing, EM is working with increasing understanding for some students. However the students who are slipping through the cracks are not even getting basics (I'm talking about things my 4th grader is doing - basic arithmetic). I think I could teach my son effectively using EM - but that's because I'd supplement as needed and be very certain he'd have topics mastered. When you couple the material with teachers who don't know math themselves, it's going to be a dreadful situation. I think the program does matter to some degree, but what's most important is the good fit between the program, instructor, and student. Switching programs a lot can give a number of gaps, so it's definitely better to stick with one over lots of switching, but there's also the problem of sticking with a program that just is a poor fit.

Very brief, but Bill Nye on the need for teaching evolution in the schools.

:grouphug: It's especially tough since they can't tell you what they want. I haven't had a vet talk us out of euthanizing. Our cat, CP, had kidney disease for a couple of years and was losing weight. The night before we had her euthanized, she had seizures during the night. It was one of the longest, roughest nights we've had. We probably did wait too long. However, I don't think waiting had her in pain. I did have the prior night with her snuggling next to me and purring. :grouphug: I wish you peace with your decision. :grouphug:

You may want to do some searches (if you haven't already) and see what you can find that might fit you. I think you're going to have some Christian elements involved with Latin in one way or another. I am using secular materials as much as I can. For Latin, after some research I decided I wanted to use classical pronunciation rather than ecclesiastical. I know no Latin, so I needed a lot of support. I also wanted to learn along with my son, so we study together. I chose to use Latin for Children. You may also want to look into Galore Park. There'll be many threads tagged with Latin too. Good luck making your decision!

I was noticing the alcohol in the picture.... Mixing the drinks with lessons. I think my son would adore that... I might get more mellow as the day progressed...

You could email them and ask. I've always gotten pretty quick replies to my emails.

I went to UCSB and graduated in the mid-90s. I miss some parts of it quite a lot. The Arlington theater and the Civic Light Opera were really neat. However, my mortgage is significantly cheaper now (and was even at 7%) than rent was in the 90s in SB. I'd think the job would need to be really good or there'd need to be other reasons to live in the area rather than considering other parts of the country. Public transportation was very good. I lived in Goleta just past Isla Vista for one summer and did temp secretarial work and managed just with the bus - even getting to Montecito. But it did take a lot of time. The bike paths in the area are wonderful. I miss them tremendously. If you live near a bus route, it is possible to get by without a car. Check the bus schedules to see how that could work. Goleta is pricey but okay. Avoid Isla Vista like the plague. It's okay if you're a student, but I always felt sorry for the people with families who lived there. It's the major party area and definitely not a good place to be long term.

Neat. Jay Hostler has a comic book on evolution. It's pretty dense, but my son's enjoyed it :) We also just watched Discovering Ardi which was fascinating and mentions the branching between chimps and humans that's shown in the comic you linked.

CE teacher book is enough. There are quizzes in the back of the book and answers. I have a binder clip over the teacher pages. There are 20 lessons in the book. They alternate between stems (odd lessons) and words (even lessons). Each lesson has 5 stems or words, then more information about them to flesh them out. I'd think you can use the book however you want. You might be able to go quickly through it or you can take more time. MCT gives quotes from books where the vocabulary words are used. You could also use those as springboards to find additional books to read.

:grouphug:

Sorry. I don't know if seeing some "before" pictures might help so she can see the changes. Regarding the "permanent" retainer, it's worth it. I had one for only about 2 years before it popped off (tootsie roll!) and my lower teeth have popped back out of place slightly. She could possibly just wear the old retainer at nights, but I think the longer the teeth stay in place, the more likely they'll stay for good.

We've used Singapore 1-3 and I've never used the discs.

Prior link is a good one. If you have a history of dysplasic moles, you're at an increased risk of skin cancer. I have a dermatologist and I see her for a full body check every 6 months. If a mole looks suspicious, we cut it out. I'm hoping that this way I'll catch any skin cancers early. Note also that dark moles on your palms or soles of your feet are definitely ones to have removed. They can turn cancerous very quickly. If you have a question if a mole is changing, take a picture of it and monitor it. A good dermatologist is really useful to have if you have a history of skin damage too. I had a ton of sunburns and now I'm allergic to the sun - fun!

I used Miquon at that point - and base 10 blocks. I made my son demonstrate the division with base 10 blocks one day with me writing out work. The next day he wrote out the work as he worked the problem with the blocks. The third day he tried using the algorithm but if he got a problem wrong he'd have to show me with the blocks. I love base 10 blocks.

They also have a prehistory timeline. We're adding to it right now. I had to extend it a bit to get a few additional things on it, but we've got it to about 4 million BCE :)

I'd let him go with the algorithm. Maybe in 3 or 4, you could get some of the books that are just practicing mental math to review. I've got the Speed Maths books through singapore.com.

Love 'em! There was one morning when we lived in our apartment that maintenance was coming in (pest control). I was in bed asleep... not attired for visitors. Since it was mid-day, they did a quick knock and started to open the door with the pass key. Luckily, we had the door-jamb on and they weren't able to get in. I was able to holler at them to come back in 10-15 min and I was able to get dressed. I wouldn't get one with an alarm, but I was really glad to have had it!