Really appreciate the info. We're doing SE in a week. When did they have the vendor hall map online? I haven't seen it yet...

We're not saving. Any money we do have that we can save is going into my retirement account. If we need to and choose to, we'll refinance the house and use that money for college - or I'll go to work full time (blech). I'm counting on scholarships, grants, and maybe some loans. We may be willing to take out some of those loans, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I don't look towards cc because the education is significantly different - and in many ways less than - the same course at a 4-yr IMO. That was my experience. I took enough credits through cc and AP to start as a sophomore and even the general education classes taught by graduate students were at a higher level than the cc courses. I think it was mainly due to the caliber of students. So I expect our son to be 4 years at a university for undergrad.

It might be a good idea for there to be a sticky about the purpose of the writing workshop boards. I think they're a great idea and can be a great tool, but it'll be a useless tool if the only comments are how wonderful the work is.

32 and it's been fine for us. We have a bit of music on it and a couple of movies - that's what takes the most space. Books don't take much space at all :)

It's introduced in 4A standards (whole numbers).

I haven't seen the new CWPs. We're finishing up CWP 3 (old version) and it's where I started working the problems ahead of my son so I'd be able to help with the bar set up. :glare: One thought is that it depends on how much your kids need the bar models. I see them as a wonderful tool for moving to algebra and seeing where a variable is helpful. The HiG for level 3 does say that kids don't need to always use bar models. I'll make my son use bar models on occasion so I see that he can use them, but he's able to to solve problems without the bars pretty often, so I let him just show work. I think I'll be starting with basic algebra with CWP 4 next year. Need to get started on the solutions for those soon (sigh).

It's a sticky at the top of the page. If not here, then on the general page.

We had the record or tape... probably tape since I don't recall skips. I think I saw the tv once, so I only had the audio. "Ladies first!" I always liked the tigers.

I'll be there. Bringing dh and ds. I don't know if we'll have name tags - if so, I'd think of putting avatars on them :) I like the bumblebee idea too.

If your kids were using the program at different times, you'd only need one set of materials for each level since the materials are nonconsumable. Sounds like you had other good reasons for going with a different program - just wanted to pass along the cost info for anyone on the fence.

My understanding is that some schools will count W's in with a GPA. This is something to check with the college she'll be attending (if she's been accepted already) or to look at in advance. There are sometimes hardship withdrawls that would not appear on a transcript (like for medical withdrawl). I don't know if this would be an option with her school, but it's something to check on. As a general rule, a W does not affect GPA although it can affect financial aid. But, as always, check with the individual school. A W that appears on a transcript can be computed different ways by the school receiving the transcript, so that's the thing to be concerned about. You're not teaching your daughter to drop a class when it's inconvenient. You're teaching her that sometimes plans change. :grouphug: Best of luck!

I'd have your son contact the department chair. The specific questions/concerns are (1) no syllabus given (2) required textbook not being used. Ask the chair what he/she recommends. If the chair doesn't know the situation, they can't do anything about it. It may be that nothing is done - in which case, drop if possible. But... this may be info the chair needs to follow up with the instructor. Good luck!

Or phonics. We switched from Spelling Workout to AAS because my son wasn't retaining any spelling and was self-taught for reading. His spelling and pronunciation has improved due to AAS. Never been paid for recommending AAS ;)

Well that would get annoying. I just need one to look carefully at, drool over, mark up, and then have my husband tell me I can't buy them yet. He seems to think that since the library has some, that should be good enough. :glare: Ah well... maybe I'll stick to the emails. I don't want a slew of catalogs (although the idea of samples... envious).

I can't even find a place on their site to get on a mailing list. I found a place to do my email address, but no place for a catalog. Any suggestions?

I like Standards better than US. It has more review and includes some additional topics. You need the textbook and workbook for each level. The Home Instructor's Guide is good and sounds like it'll help you with explanations and additional suggestions. (Do NOT get the Teacher's Manual - the HiG is all you'll need.) As for extra books, the Extra Practice is at the same level as the workbook problems. Intensive Practice is more challenging than the workbook (sometimes by quite a lot). It's only available for US but I use it with Standards - just takes matching up sections. Challenging Word Problems will be good to include since you see a need for word problems. I'd suggest using the placement tests, then using the text, wb, HiG, and CWP.

Math Mammoth - some people are using it instead of Singapore.

I don't mean to slam, but this is a very serious misunderstanding. 10^17 is a 1 with 10 zeros, so 1.316 *10^17 = 131,600,000,000,000,000 While I can easily have $1.316, I'll never see $1.316*10^17. You can't just drop the place value (10^17). The exponential rules continue to appear in almost every math course beyond algebra & they're what give many students a tremendous amount of difficulty.

We could talk... but since I go to long underwear when it drops to the 60s, I doubt it'd be a good fit :D

I strongly encourage using words as a transition between the word problem and the math. Regentrude gave a good example. I also encourage writing what you know on a sheet of paper and then getting away from the original problem. I find it too easy to stare at the problem and hope something will pop out at me. It never does. But staring at what I wrote will sometimes give the leap to the next step. I don't like charts & tables for many problems, but they are the BEST way I have seen to do d=rt problems. The chart is really worth it. Jann's example is also a very good one.

:iagree: I'm very happy with it. I use Miquon as well for different approaches (I really like how they do division) and additional practice. I think the Standards edition includes enough practice, but the US edition didn't for us. If a child is stuck on a concept, they may need more practice than is available in Singapore (but I think that'd be true of any program).

More than a minor annoyance for me. I can't access the online course software I use because it requires flash. So that's a serious drawback. If I want to check on students, I have to be on the laptop or desktop. I'm hopeful that they'll allow it in a later upgrade.

I have not heard of anyone able to homeschool and be active with the public school in any way here. You may be able to get some more info at Carolina Homeschooler. Forums here.

I'd backtrack some. I'd think there's something foundational that's missing. Otherwise, I'd try things like using manipulatives (algebra tiles). Relate the algebra back to arithmetic (and see where there are gaps in arithmetic understanding). If there are some specific topics your child isn't getting, post...there're often other ways of approaching the topic that you (or a text) may not mention.

I think the HiG does give more explicit explanation about the bar models starting in 3A.