:iagree: - STRONGLY!! And I don't let my son get away with, "This is hard. I'm stuck." If he's stuck, I let him stick with it for a bit and encourage him to set up the bar diagram. I may ask some questions, but if he doesn't get it, we put that problem away for the day (we may work on other problems). We then pull the same problem out the next day. Sometimes I'll let him see what he did before; sometimes I'll just copy the problem on a new sheet of paper so he's starting fresh. What I don't do is just show him the answer. Getting the answer isn't the point of word problems; training the mind in an analytic way is. I've been very pleased with Singapore's CWP. The bar model was really strange to me, but I'm seeing it as a good way to transition to algebra.

I want to be sure that my son has his basic math facts memorized. At his age, IMO, that includes addition facts 0 - 10, multiplication tables 0-12. We haven't started by straight memorization. We spent time on understanding (number bonds for addition/subtraction, multiplication as repeated addition (we'll look at other models as a scalar quantity (think enlarging or shrinking on a copy machine) later)). But once he's got the "understanding", we do drill to get the memorization. Flashcards, drill on the DS, watching Schoolhouse Rock, quizzes.

I thought the mini ones mentioned were the Petit Minis & they look like they're still around. I had to check to see if I'd need to buy more ink quickly! :)

A student can sign up for a lower math than they place into. At my cc, students also can test out of a course in the first three days of classes. I'd suggest taking a look at the math texts in the bookstore along with syllabi (probably online) to get a better feel for which course is the best fit.

I had my son take the SCAT in 2nd through CTY. He qualified (barely) and now I get lots of emails and the catalogs from CTY. Just the scores from the SCAT didn't give me much info. We're too far away (and have allergy issues) to do any of the camps or courses. They do have some family activities that look neat, but they're really pricey too. The one we may try at some point is at the Monterey Aquarium (my husband's family is from Monterey). So in Washington, you might be able to get down to CA for some of the activities occasionally. The online courses are a possibility too. My son hasn't had enough of an interest to pay the money for the courses, but if your child would be interested in the courses, that would be a reason to take the test.

I don't see that connected in any way with "kerfuffle" in my mind, but your confectionery concoction sure sounds like something I could use today! Maybe I'd need two...

In order to factor, you need to be very good at multiplying two polynomials. Basically, you use trial & error to find factors of the first term and the last term. Then see if the sum or difference of the products gives you the middle term. If you've put in a lot of time with binomial multiplication, you can see better what's going on. Purplemath is good. There are a number of "methods" for factoring. I view it more as a skill and something that you need to practice a lot (maybe with some help being walked through the process) but with first a solid foundation on multiplication. Factoring is pretty important when working with rational expressions and equations, so you do want to get it figured out.

You can do a search for Palmetto bugs. Roaches about two inches long... And yup, they can fly. Good news is they're mainly outside bugs. But I don't walk around the house in the summer in the dark. OTOH, we don't own a snow shovel :D

In the winter here, I'll wear a pair of socks, wool socks, slippers, and still have cold feet. Hands are very cold as well, but they do stay bare (although fingerless gloves might be interesting...). Thyroid levels are fine. I've never been diagnosed with anemia, and (after checking link Elizabeth provided), I don't match up with Reynard's either. I'm just generally pretty cold-blooded ;) I'm glad we're heading into summer weather (although I would have liked a few weeks of comfy temperatures). Had to turn on AC today! But I was able to go barefoot in the house for a while :)

I teach at the cc. My worst is that I had over 1/2 of my students in low-level courses not knowing how many states there were in the US. I got curious, so I gave it as a bonus question on one test in all my classes for a couple of semesters (one point) There are ____ states in the United States of America. As the levels increased, more students would get it correct (so under 10% generally got it wrong in calculus) but it really was about half of the class that didn't know in the developmental classes. Really discouraging. More so when one student tried to argue with me about the answer. :glare:

Enjoy Life foods has dairy free chocolate chips (and nut free too!). Yes, they're expensive (eek costs) but they're good. They also have safe candy bars. You can ask if your grocery store carries (or will order) them. You can also buy on amazon but you've got to buy a full box & that's really eeek in costs. Earth Balance has margarine sticks too. I think it tastes good & I'm okay using it on popcorn too as well as baking. Going non-dairy was pretty tough, but we've managed. Good luck with it!

Monterey was where I met my husband. Poor guy, after college, I dragged him out here. He'd never seen a Palmetto bug before (blech). But, again, we can own a house for significantly less than we could rent out there. So, tradeoffs. In CA, I missed having seasons. I only started noticing the differences (subtle) when we were moving after 6 years there. I also missed sweet tea when out there. Now I miss bike paths & good public transportation. But I adore our library! And we have kangaroos & koalas at the zoo, so that's pretty cool.

According to their suggestions, you'd do Diversity & Cycles in 3rd grade; then the next three books in 4th grade. However, we're only managing to get through Diversity this year. Oops. :) You'll definitely move faster if you manage to do science every week. (Although we are doing science... just more outside zoo classes than text work.)

FAQ - also has links to Scope & Sequence.

I can't address the jobs situation. Housing (depending on what you're looking for) is relatively cheap. Our mortgage is still significantly cheaper than our rent was in CA over a decade ago. Weather isn't as nice as CA. The winter is cold from my perspective, but if you're moving from the north, it won't feel rough. We only get snow once or twice every year or every other year and everything shuts down if there's accumulation on the roads. OTOH, spring is a "blink & it's gone". We're in pollen season right now & there are clouds (literally) of pollen. There's no way I'd have windows open. It's already hitting upper 70s and some days 80s. Kind of nice after the winter, but pretty scary for the summer. In the summer it often drops to the 70s or high 60s overnight. Luckily I can handle heat better than cold. It's tougher to be secular in the south but it's not impossible. Homeschooling isn't rough here even though it's mid-range in regulation. Schools are hit or miss. We're in one of the "good" districts, but I've had friends who taught in them and it makes me question how "good" is defined. I'm pretty committed to homeschooling through high school. Government is tricky right now (as it is everywhere) with major budget cuts continuing to go on. I will say that although I think of moving away at different points, I would hate to lose our library - it was ranked one of the best in the nation :) We've got some really neat resources & you're within a relatively easy drive of the mountains and the ocean from just about anywhere in the state. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions & I'm sure others in other parts of the state will have more info too. Best of luck making a decision that works best for you and your family.

D is where cursive is introduced. It starts with a review of print, then moves on into cursive families.

I'm able to check that on our online catalog. I can see if there are holds on the book or not. Sometimes it's a balancing act to try to renew as close to the due date as possible but renew it before someone else puts it on hold! I get really cranky with the people who keep the books out long past due dates. Especially when it's the only copy in the library. I've seen some that are 4-5 months overdue. Much more than that & they list the book as lost.

From a post on the other thread... my son's allergist has told us NOT to double up with Zyrtec and Benadryl. My son takes Zyrtec daily to keep a constant level of antihistamines in his system. If he's in a situation where he's having more allergy exposure, we were told to give Allegra (heard it should be OTC soon) and Cromolyn nasal spray (OTC). We tried Singulair first (dh uses it regularly) but our son had side effects with it. I find Advil Cold & Sinus generally helps me (I need the pseudoephedrine). Good luck finding something that gives you relief! I have seen a difference with ds using the nasal spray.

When I called and canceled a part of my order, they were great. When they've had things backordered from my order, they waited about 5-10 days to see if the items came in. If they didn't, after the 5-10 days they shipped what was there and the later order came when it arrived. Unfortunately that's where the wait was always frustrating. But I had good experiences dealing with them. Sorry you had a bad one.

I just got the Town level. Practice Town: student level is Dec 2009, teacher manual is April 2010. These are the 100 sentences. It's very like Practice Island was (old printing - I haven't seen the new one). 112 pages in both. Student has the sentence, the four lines (one word or stem bold in the sentence for discussion of definitions). Teacher has the answers and comments. Binding (like old Practice Island) is just staples through the center. All the other books in level 2 are bound with a glued binding.

Southeast (Greenville, SC) is March 22-24, 2012

I found the MCT talks to be really wonderful. He doesn't allow his sessions to be recorded. He also uses powerpoint extensively & effectively - but don't try to copy every slide... you're lucky to be able to read them while he talks! I thought his vocabulary talk was great fun too! I also enjoyed Carol Reynolds a lot. I do wish there were a lunch break though... I am just worn out! It was well worth going though! (Now I need to process & recover! I think we're taking Monday & Tuesday off of school!)

:grouphug: Thanks for the updates.

My son's doing Spanish. He's stopped in the Core and hasn't had any trouble picking back up from where he left off. The Reviews (about 10 "pages" and do-able in about 15 min) are a one-shot deal. You can't go back and rework individual problems; you have to repeat the entire lesson. Similarly for the Milestone at the end of each Unit. But the bulk of the work can be stopped and picked up at the same point without any penalty.

My husband and I watched Survivor together from Season 2 (date night!) But last season, Nadonka (or whatever her name was) got on my last nerve & then some. So we stopped watching. Didn't watch this season either... but I do read the Entertainment Weekly blogs about it :D