I don't have any proof, but I've just graded the first batch of tests from what's effectively an algebra I course at the cc. For the first time in my 14 years of teaching, I have students who can't divide two decimals. I have a number of students (over 10 out of 60) who couldn't subtract correctly without a calculator. Seeing the way two students did the decimal division, I think it's an alternate algorithm from Everyday Math (districts in this area use it). It was the worst test I've given... and I'm amazed at how many of the students can't do basic math without the calculator (and for some of the problems, these are things my son in Singapore 3A can do). :glare:

I also record number of pages (if it's a chapter book), genre (whether it's history, science, biography, fiction), and I'll record reading level (using Scholastic's website).

9.5 wide. I hate shoe shopping! Went out and had a picnic lunch by the river. It was nice. We walked a lot though and I'm beat this evening. Wish I didn't have laundry that has to be done and tests to grade. Still... It was a good day.

I have a MAT in mathematics education and have been teaching at the cc for (urgh) over 14 years now. (Hitting MAJOR burnout with this first set of tests I'm grading this weekend.) I have taught developmental math (in some cases to students who didn't even know their multiplication tables) up through calculus 1. Depending on how far your daughter will go in math, it may be possible that she doesn't need to know the terminology for commutative, associative, identity, and inverse properties. (I think it's still good and important to know them... for instance it's neat to know that not all multiplication systems have the commutative property (a*b=b*a). Matrices don't.) The distributive property is one that she will have to know by name. Understanding what they mean is important though. The identity property for multiplication means that we can multiply by 1 and we have the same number. This is crucial because it is how we write equivalent fractions. If you don't understand that that is because multiplication by 1 doesn't change the number (the identity property of multiplication), then you're not doing math, you're doing some type of magical alchemy. (Sorry if I'm punchy and this isn't making enough sense... I'm just back from a really frustrating class trying to teach students how to solve linear equations and getting "But I do it..." "Why do I have to..." etc. I was telling my husband on the drive home that I can teach my 8-yr-old how to solve a linear equation by "do this, then this" and he would be able to solve them but he wouldn't be understanding it. I swear that's what so many of my students are doing. And then the nitwits are resistant to making any changes... but what they're doing ISN'T WORKING!!!! (And I really don't want to grade their tests! Yes, they're that bad. I have students who still haven't bought the dratted textbook. They are going to flunk.) Sigh.) I do teach types of numbers. The history of math is pretty cool and there are some neat stories with irrational numbers & the Pythagoreans. Terminology does matter - and having really good skills with fractions is important. Pick up any algebra textbook. Rational numbers is your basic arithmetic with fractions. Rational expressions expands that to where your numerator and denominator are polynomials instead of integers. The patterns and procedures are still the same. So for adding two fractions, you need a common denominator (multiply by 1... there's that identity property of multiplication again!). Same thing happens when adding two rational expressions... but now finding the common denominator gets much nastier... especially if you don't understand what you were doing initially. I see so very many students who think they already know the material because they've seen it before and have the "I don't need to know that" attitude. They're wrong. Taking the placement test would be a very good idea. I see students who have taken calculus in high school place into what's the equivalent of algebra I or lower... because they don't understand the basics. It is the very basic algebra skills that really hurt students later on, so it's crucial to have them SOLID. (Questioning whether to post this after blathering on and venting so much... happy to expand on anything if there are more questions but only after I've slept... and son's sniffling, so it may be a long night... (sigh). Hope something may be some help.... and I'm coming from two rough classes with some students with poor attitude and a dreadful set of tests. So if I caused any offense, I apologize. But basically, tell your daughter a math instructor tells her to buckle down and learn the stuff. Doing the problems means very little. It's only if you can take a cumulative test and do well on it that you've actually learned the material.

Glad she's okay!

The extra practice books are some more practice at the same difficulty level as the text. The intensive practice books are excellent, but they do take it up a notch!

There are a LOT of Foxtrot cartoons with math (I love the one with Peter taking a physics test... "Doodlers shouldn't take physics."). Calvin and Hobbes had quite a few as well. Early one with Hobbes under the desk and Calvin asking "Psst... 7 + 2... " and Hobbes telling him "72". :D

Nifty. We're looking at going to the one near Charlotte, NC, this fall.

Sent a PM.

Yup - there is no student book.

I do know that when I was little, my parents told me that our cat licking us was how she said she liked us. I wanted to communicate with her using her language, so I used to "groom" her. Fur tastes soft. On the plus side, I did outgrow it. :lol:

Don't know if it's helpful with poison ivy, but I recently had a wound and put polysporin on it. Apparently I'm allergic to it. I had a rash that reminded me of poison ivy - weepy, small bumps, wouldn't heal. After 3 days I went to the urgent care. They gave me a prescription steroid cream. It helped me heal in a couple of days, so if the weeping and oozing doesn't stop, you might try an urgent care. (This was a CVS walk-in clinic... and the steroid was generic, so it may not be too expensive.) Hope you feel better soon!

I read this to discuss with a friend. She lent me the book. It's the only reason I finished it. Worst book I've read. I hold it in utter contempt. I have no problem with the ideas in the book, but my goodness, i've read Harlequins with more three-dimensional characters and better writing. Blech indeed!

You can find some explanations at PurpleMath. Link to translation here.

Oh how I wish people would do that. :glare: I become more of a misanthrope every year.

Interesting article. As I look ahead, what's most important for me educationally is that my son has a good work ethic, then math skills, then communication skills.

We did. I let it be my husband's decision. I was leaning towards not - and probably would have preferred not to but I didn't feel strongly enough to push the decision.

:iagree: My son's a self-taught reader. Names were horrible for him to pronounce. We started using All About Spelling and he's really improved with his pronunciation.

Ours also didn't come today. :glare: Southeast.

:iagree: And that's a really huge thing; it's so easy to get discouraged. My son and I keep butting heads and we really do go through stages. My issue is that I think he should do work and should do what I say. He disagrees. :glare: Hang in there. You're not alone. :grouphug:

I'm grateful I bought all the CWPs as they were going out of print :D I'm trying to wait to get more curriculum until we need it. I did get all the Italic Handwriting books when ds was in first grade just in case they went out of print. Right now I'm holding myself back from getting Art of Problem Solving books to check them out.

Other :) I took typing in middle school (had manual typewriters at first, then we got electrics after a couple of weeks). We were lucky though and had lift-tape for making corrections. I did two semesters (7th and 8th grades). Our classes were very mixed by race and by gender. This was in the South in the mid-80s. My husband took typing in California. I don't know if it was in middle school or high school, but I'm sure he wasn't on manuals :)

One way to "see" it as well is think about if the problem were 100 - 6^2. You wouldn't write the next step as 100 + 36, you'd write 100 -36. So if the 100 isn't there, then -6^2 = -36. Recognizing what's the base with exponents is really important. (-6)^2 the base is -6. We have (-6)(-6) = 36 -6^2, the base is 6 and we have the opposite of it. So - 6*6 = -36.

One idea might be to watch the Schoolhouse Rock clips on adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions & see if that helps with recognition.

I also think accepting that not every system will work. For instance, I keep a spreadsheet with homeschool plans for the year - different tabs for each subject. My first year, I wrote up daily lists (week at a glance) on a printed page. That wasn't too effective. Then, middle of last year, I started using a Word document and list tasks (goals) for the week by subject. I have lunch and appointments at the bottom of the page so I know what those plans are. I highlight what we do as we go through the week. (Unfortunately, I now have to go through my spreadsheet and retype plans for the year as Word documents, so I can cut & paste in my weekly plans.) So what works for you at one point will often need to be adapted at a later point. And I think what you're looking for is more organizational ideas. Those of us who are control freaks really have more trouble with letting go when something else happens... "That's not on my list!!!! We can't follow that rabbit trail; we'll get behind!!!!" :glare: I need to still use the organizational skills but learn how to :chillpill:. (And don't forget to back up your computer files!!)