I agree. Although good scores on the GRE can help. I don't know if it'll help, but he has seen what happens in a college course by not following the instructor's requirements. I teach math at a cc and my tests are a mixture of multiple choice (right/wrong) and free response (partial credit). On the free response portion if the student has the correct answer but no work, they don't get credit. Part of what I'm grading is that they can show the work correctly. It's how I know that they aren't making conceptual mistakes that will cause them problems in later classes. If all I cared about was the answer for a problem, students could punch the problem into a computer or calculator and get the answer (classes through calc 1). Part of what students are learning in lower-level math classes is how to train their mind in a certain way. I tell this to students every semester and still have some refuse to show work. Of course, they usually are the students who don't know it as well as they think and they do fail the multiple choice portion as well as the free response. :glare: I do wonder how it'll be when my son gets to high school level work... I think you've gotten some good responses on these threads and advice from moms in similar situations. You might want your son to read some of the comments if you think it'll help. Good luck!

Many schools will only take prereqs for a limited time. I think at my cc it's a 7 year delay, maximum. So if you took a prereq over 7 years ago, you'd need to show some proof that you knew the material (placement test for math/English for instance) and I think any prereq but core coursework (anatomy) would need to be retaken. If you were taking some general ed coursework (math, English, history) more just for you - and viewed it as continuing ed as a homeschool teacher, that might make more sense. I teach math at the cc in the evenings. I generally have taught 2 classes. This past semester, I've just completely burned out. I'm only teaching 1 class in the spring. I've often been very grateful to be the instructor and not a student - and it's still more work than I'm willing to put in right now. For a student to LEARN the material, it'd take a LOT of time. I also see a lot of students in the prenursing programs who will not make it. Nursing a tough program. (And I see a LOT of underprepared students who aren't willing to put in the time to learn math.)

You won't ruin your kids. :grouphug: It's a tough transition - especially if you hadn't been thinking about homeschooling much in advance. I started considering homeschool when my son was in kindergarten. We started in first grade. I think the planning during that K year was probably the most overwhelmed I've felt through the journey so far. Make your best picks for curriculum. You can change them. Reading here is the best research I've found. Check if there's a convention near you (post on general board of a few this spring/summer). You can do it. Good luck!

We haven't moved in a long time, so I don't have moving promises. But we did make the "no food outside kitchen/dining room" rule due to our son's allergies - so we're pretty motivated to follow it. And since the rule, I've lost the weight that just hung around. It really cuts down on snacking. (Although I do miss watching a movie with popcorn or snacks.)

We were at the same high school but weren't in the same classes. I was 16 and a junior (almost 17); he was 18 and a senior. It was April and we went to a math competition at Cal Poly (staying in a hotel) through school. We walked on the beach together at night. The first time he told me he loved me was about a month later. I told him he couldn't - we were too young and he was confused. :lol: Went to the same college (with concern from my folks). Married after college. Met in 1989. Time flies. I hope our son is as lucky in finding a person who's completely there for him and willing to work on any issues. We both feel incredibly blessed.

:grouphug: I'm sorry. When my husband was hospitalized for his asthma, he had a couple of doctors lecture him saying that people die from asthma. He still didn't take it as seriously as he should for a couple more years.

We got our son Lego Harry Potter for the XBox - now that we've read through book 4 with him, he can play the game. We've played the Lego games together going back to Star Wars when he was 2. I'm looking forward to playing it together - but I also want to play it by myself too!

Sounds about right. Do you have a spacer for the inhaler? If you don't, it'd be a good thing to get. Flovent is available as a traditional inhaler, but I think it's also in Discus form (unfortunately, it uses milk as an ingredient, so we can't use it). In time, if things are controlled, you may be able to drop amounts. We do just one puff of Flovent a.m. and p.m. We did the scratch testing this summer, but you may want to ask some questions before having it done. We now know ds is allergic to just about everything, but we haven't made changes as a result of the skin testing. If you were considering shots as a result, get the testing done, but do figure out what info you'll get and what you'll do with that info. Ds is on Zyrtec daily and has been for years. It's nicer that it's OTC now. You can build up a tolerance to it, but it does help with allergy symptoms. I doubt I'd add asthma info to a medic alert bracelet. Unfortunately, I hear that they aren't checked as often as they should be. I still have ds wear his, but I don't count on it for safety :(

It was with our son's anaphylaxis. Started with scratchy throat but no visible symptoms. We were questioning him. Progressed RAPIDLY. We were on way to ER - just in case - when he vomited and I gave the Epi. His allergist had said vomiting with reaction meant Epi. There were NO hives and still no visible symptoms. Hives didn't appear until the second phase about 4-5 hours later and after IV Benadryl and another adrenalin shot at ER. (We got the biphasic reaction - yea :glare:). 20 min from ingestion of cashews to giving Epi in car on way to ER. Got lectures on calling 911 instead and going to closer ER rather than pediatric one. Never saw resp symptoms - but he was on heavy meds relatively quickly. Seriously - worst day of my life. Carry the Epis, know how to use them, and better give when not needed than not give when needed or delay too long. I feel very very lucky that he's okay.

I believe so - as long as you place the order before their deadline. I use 2 day delivery (prime) and I get it within two days - unless it's got a delay, but you'd see that when checking out.

My memory is when starting 3A, they expect the times tables (mult & div) for 1-5 and 10.

Didn't wrap my own present, but I bought it :) It may still be in shipping package under the tree this week. I'm getting a couple fountain pens. Can't wait to use them!

I'd go ahead and start with 3A - unless you see any topics you need to review first.

Don't worry. :grouphug: An asthma action plan is just stuff that you've already heard in this thread - general steroids for maintenance (something like Flovent or something similar). You'll hear about any side effects to watch for so if a medication needs adjusting you can (like my son's reaction to Albuterol - he also has a Singulair reaction (nightmares & stomach aches)). You'll hear about signs to watch for and indications on when to go in to the doctor or ER. It may be scary initially - he'll probably be home with quite a few prescriptions. It'll be an adjustment, but it'll be okay. Just do remember to keep the maintenance inhalers/steroids going - even when you're not seeing symptoms. This is long term maintenance. (By doing Flovent, we haven't needed Xopanex in months.)

The medication to treat asthma also (in my understanding) helps prevent further/later lung damage (which can happen if the asthma symptoms are left untreated). My husband has pretty severe asthma (I remember him being hospitalized for asthma attacks when we were first dating). Our son doesn't have "classic" asthma symptoms, but he does have allergies. This spring/summer his allergist diagnosed him with "silent" asthma. He doesn't have the traditional wheeze, but he did have a cough at night that wouldn't stop without a breathing treatment (xopanex in nebulizer - he has bad reactions to albuterol). So, yes, you can be diagnosed with asthma at any time (ds was 7) and cold symptoms can be signs. The circles under your son's eyes are called "allergic shiners" and can be a sign that there's an allergen he's responding to. My son's on Flovent (inhaled steroid) - 1 puff twice a day. That's what he needs to manage his asthma. Don't avoid steroids if they're prescribed. Stay on the low maintenance doses rather than allowing things to progress to needing serious prescribed doses to cope with asthma flare ups. I'm still ticked at choices dh's parents made that did him long-term harm.

I was just coming in to comment... as a PSA - because I know I didn't know until relatively recently. Another link: "Additionally, a common derogatory phrase in the US is to "be gypped," as in "I was gypped" or "he gypped me," meaning that someone executed a bad deal or took money that he was not entitled to take."

I didn't use the CSMP program, but I did use the EM program (Elements of Mathematics) in jr high. The CSMP work looks like it was written by the same group - and Eli the Elephant is in the mapping book. We did things that I didn't see again until I was past the calculus sequence of my undergrad math degree! (Fields and rings in particular.) The logic books were WONDERFUL. The mapping material lends itself so well to a good understanding of functions. I understood slope backwards and forwards. There may need to be some additional supplementation and explanation. I got the EM books to use with my son after we finish Singapore. Unfortunately, there's no way to get testing materials or answer keys, so it's a lot of work to prep now to use later. I'm also very grateful for my degrees when working with it! But I see the same issues with the Singapore bar models. I teach at a cc and I know if a student had used a bar model, they'd have also had to explain it to me! Long story short (too late!), I'd absolutely use the CSMP program, but I probably would supplement with another one - or be sure to relate to the traditional work. (I really think the program I used prepared me well for higher math.)

The explanations are more just visuals. I still do explanations for my son. If you're looking for something to use as an additional reference, I don't know what I'd use, but I don't think I'd use Singapore. The Standards edition has a glossary in the back of each text which is nice. I've started keeping the texts we've completed in our schoolroom (now that I've got bookshelf space!), but I'll be pretty surprised if my son ever refers back to them. So, no, I don't think I'd buy the texts for additional reference (and I buy a LOT of extra things for reference - and I love Singapore).

That's where the Home Instructor's Guide can be helpful. It gives extra explanation/approaches. The one for the Standards edition is very good. There's also a forum here. It's not very active, but you do get replies.

I kept a spreadsheet for about 2-3 years where I listed books I read. Then keeping the record got to be too much effort (I read a LOT). Numbers were pretty constant the 3 years, so I've got an idea of how many books I read in a year. I never looked back at it. I'm keeping a spreadsheet of the books I own (and a separate one for homeschool books after I almost bought the same book twice!). I do keep a record of what ds reads.

I got our next level of Singapore math yesterday :)

The comments were interesting. I am surprised that the Education GPA was as low as it was though. In my experience, the Education courses that I took were almost impossible not to get an A in. We rarely ever stayed for the full scheduled course time and there were rarely outside activities/assignments that required much work (grad school). (Yes, I do believe that there may be mythical colleges out there that do have decent education programs. My grad school wasn't one of them.)

Some colleges will have requirements in their math or science departments about what model calculator they want, so be aware that he may need to get a new calculator in college anyway. At our school (cc), the math department has students use the TI-84+. Some people are transitioning to the N-spire. I'd get the TI-84 right now - it's usable on most tests - and be prepared to buy another in college.

I don't have numbers for our school, but as a cc, we really don't have much in the way of bells & whistles to entice students. There are a couple new buildings - one on the other side of town for training (I think mostly paid for by the industries that want us training students for them to employ) and a new building so we can offer traditional classes rather than just continuing ed near me. I'm an adjunct, so I don't see a lot of the day-to-day goings on, but we aren't residential so we don't have those staff. We do have an IT staff - but we also now offer courses online. The testing center has grown as more students take internet courses and need to be proctored. I do know that hours for staff have been cut and schedules shifted with the budget as tight as it is. We've avoided layoffs, but at our school, faculty are doing more with less and enrollment is through the roof. I've never had classes as full as this past year.

In recent minutes from our faculty council (a cc), we were told that 11 years ago we got 48% of the college's funding from the state. Thanks to budget cuts, we now get only 9% from the state. Full-time faculty are now teaching 18 credit hours a semester. There's no way you can do a good job of giving student feedback with that many students.