38. You can see them here: http://rainbowresource.com/pictures/006650/1243643315-1275792

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/05/greenwash-watch-plastic-bags.php This'll give some info. The study will be mis-used quite a bit. I like Chico Bags http://www.chicobag.com/ because they fold up so small I can carry a few in my purse. I just toss them in the wash with a load of laundry when they need it. My husband uses the grocery store bags when he goes shopping. We keep them in the car all the time. So keep using the reusable bags; just be careful with meat.

When looking at the College Board site, I didn't see a list of recommended texts. Using the search function, I found one review of LOF Calculus that said: "I believe this text could be used in an AP Calculus course, but that an instructor for the course would need to provide much supplemental material. It is clear that the text is not aimed for an AP course. Not only would there be a need to supplement content, but also problems. There are types of problems on the AP exam that one just doesn't encounter in this text. " http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Pageflows/TeachersResource/viewResourceDetail.do?source=tr&resourceId=10530 I think the books sound interesting and I may check them out in an upcoming year, but it doesn't sound like it'd be enough for the AP.

I don't think Da Vinci Code should have ever been made into a book. Some neat ideas but some of the worst writing I've ever encountered (made Harlequin Romance look like great literature). <<shudder>>

I've just completed the first year homeschooling an only. He plays occasionally with the neighborhood kids. There are a number of days the two of us just are at home working and that works fine. We've not had any problems with homeschooling activities around town. I think the biggest issue is finding a homeschool group that works well for you. We're going to continue to work on getting out and making more efforts to get our son around other kids more, but he seems just fine for now. I'm interested as well in hearing from people further along in their journey :)

It's not just that there aren't a lot of jobs; there are hardly any jobs for PhDs in liberal arts. Lurk some on the job hunting boards for the Chronicle of Higher Education. There are something like 800 applicants for a single tenure track job - and you'd need to be willing to move literally anywhere in the country. This is not a way to make ends meet. If you have 18-21 graduate hours in a subject, you may be able to get adjunct work teaching at a community college. No benefits, but it gives some experience for later full-time jobs. I work part-time in the evenings teaching a class or two and that helps us with income while letting me still be home during the day. Talk with the career center at the college and actually look at the job boards and who's hiring. It really doesn't sound like getting another degree will likely open doors. If you don't want to teach (and the market is rough right now), you could look at some of the tutoring centers (Sylvan) and see if they're looking for anyone. You may need to work part-time for a while to build up your resume again. Don't go back to school. You're going to be spending money for the possibility of getting a job in about 2 years. You've got a BA and a MA. Another degree won't open more doors. Instead, use these two years to work part-time or to work an entry-level job. You may not have health insurance, but you'd have money coming in - and then you're making more contacts with actual employers. Have you checked temp agencies? My husband got his job when we moved by working for a temp agency to start. Good luck.

You could pick your favorite CD and turn it up pretty loud, clean during the time it plays, then you can surf for a bit as a reward. I also like the "5 things or 5 minutes" rule where you put away 5 things or work for 5 minutes.

You might check your library for the magazines from Cricket. At his age, Click or Ask for science and Spider for reading. Our library carries most of their magazines. They're good quality, but I'd check them out before subscribing. (I got Click for my son when he was five and he never read it :glare:. Now at 6, he's enjoying Ask and Spider.)

I used the First Grade Write Source book with my son this year. I used it as a general resource at the start of the year. It has some grammar exercises as you read through it. I later bought their Skillsbook and used that along with a Spectrum Language Arts book for extra grammar practice. The last half of the year, I had my son write an essay for each type of essay: descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive (but I wouldn't let him attempt to convince me that he needed less math and more video games), responding to literature, creative writing, and report writing. I've bought the second grade book and Skillsbook for us for next year, but I did also splurge and get the teacher's guide. I think it'll give me some extra approaches and ideas. Of course, we can't do peer editing, but I've been able to work fairly well with the book.

We just finished up our first year. I did a lot of yelling and we had quite a few problems. BUT overall, things were good and I can look back and see a lot of successes. You'll definitely have days where nothing goes well - weeks in some cases :glare: I took comfort from reading that the first year of homeschooling is the toughest. (We've made it through that one!) So when you're having a rough day, remind yourself that this will be the toughest year. I also kept a notebook with quotes from books I've read for encouragement. "[Homeschoolers] have the potential to be whole in the sense that at the center of their univerise lie not primarily their age peers but instead the communities in which they live and the families from which they spring." - David Guterson "Homeschooling is a trade-off. There are always going to be things that are not done or not done well. . . . I have to be at peace with the gap between the ideal and the reality." - Debra Bell "Parents who have a strong desire to homeschool their children, coupled with a determination to be successful at it, usually are." - Peter Kowalke (from McGraw-Hill Homeschool Companion) Good luck!

We picked up a copy of Holst's The Planets http://www.amazon.com/Gustav-Holst-Planets-Op-32/dp/B000003CU0/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1242067437&sr=8-10 when we did astronomy this year. My son really enjoyed listening to it.

We're in the Midlands.

I used Spelling Workout A this year with my 6yo. At this level, they talk about vowel sounds and blends, but I wouldn't say it really has much at all in the way of phonics. Book B has a bit more. I ran across The ABCs and All Their Tricks and got it as a reference for me since I wasn't going to use any specific readers or phonics instruction separately. It does give pretty explicit rules for phonics and talks about when and why there are exceptions to the rules. You may want to try it before getting a spelling program. Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/ABCs-All-Their-Tricks-Reference/dp/0880621400/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241640818&sr=8-1

Or you'll get the really easy instructors only. I teach at a CC part-time. The highest-ranked instructor on RMP is one who's a good instructor in terms of being able to communicate material to students. HOWEVER, he gives only take-home tests, consistently lets students out early, and passes almost everyone. Many students adore him and their comments on RMP reflect that. But then they transfer somewhere else or get a different instructor and learn that they'd just been passed along and they do NOT have the basics that they need. :glare: Students I've taught who had him as a prior instructor will have a MUCH more difficult time in my class since they don't know the prior material. So RMP can give some rough ideas, but take with a HUGE SHAKER of salt.

One thing we've done to work through the meltdowns is set up the rule that if work isn't completed, ds's father will finish the day when he gets home. That doesn't go very well and provides some motivation. Also, if work isn't done by the time his father is home, he doesn't get any electronics for the day. If the work still isn't done that day, he doesn't get any electronics until the day's work is completed, but it has to get pushed back based on our schedule, so he doesn't get electronics until the weekend - after the work is completed. That's helped us some. I'm also recognizing where I am causing problems. When we're doing school, I turn the computer and internet off. Otherwise a quick email check takes me out of commission for about an hour pretty quickly. We're still figuring out the routine and consequences that work. I do plan the week out over the weekend and put the day's work on the white board.

I was curious about similarities, mainly due to Bill's mini-computer in his current sig. I used the CSMP Elements of Mathematics in middle school in a special program back in the 80s. It was an excellent program and I really liked the solid background in math I had. Some of the math I learned in 8th grade, I saw again in my third and fourth years of my bachelor's degree in math. (Ring, group, field theory in particular.) I'd never seen the earlier level materials before searching for the Elements of Math materials. I think I'll still stick with Singapore for my son for the elementary grades. But I am really considering Imacs for logic in middle school.

I ran across this in the past week and meant to post as well. I'm curious if some of the people using MEP can take a look. It looks pretty similar from what I've heard. It appears that the same authors did a program for higher-ed (middle school math) that I used in middle school. They seem to be Imacs now. If it is the same authors, this would be a very solid, very good program - but it may require a good bit of teacher knowledge. I'm very interested to hear from people using MEP. :bigear: (SpyCar?)

The answers are in the back of the book. It's only the answer to the problem - not the steps to get there, but if you're stuck, the Singapore math forums should help.

The algorithm for long division can be generalized for polynomials. That won't work well with "short division". In algebra, you'll see things like (x^2 - 5x +2) / (3x +4). Understanding long division :auto: with numbers will make this much easier to do. And this becomes essential if your kids go into calculus later.

I bought a base-10 block set. It came with a book that also gives explanations and suggestions of its use. It's just like the illustrations in the book. If you have 43-28, I'll have ds take out 43 as 4 ten rods and 3 ones. He can't take 8 ones away from the 3 ones (we'll sometimes use the illustration of him buying something from me and he needs to give me the exact amount). So he needs to exchange one ten rod for 10 ones. Now he's got 3 ten rods and 13 ones. (Note how this is EXACTLY what's going to be happening with borrowing and it's exactly how it's denoted with the shortcut of showing the 1 with the 3 - we'll see this in book 2.) He needs to give me 28, so he gives me 2 ten rods and 8 ones. He can see that he's left with 1 ten rod and 5 ones, so he's got 15. You can do the same things with addition. Once you have over 10 singles, you exchange it for a ten rod. With the base-10 blocks, my son was pretty easily able to do a 3-digit addition and subtraction problem when I gave it to him as a challenge. The hundred blocks are flats and there's a 1000 cube. The book that came with the set will also show some illustrations for using it for multiplication. I think it'll also work great for making a connection between the arithmetic and geometry. You can set up a rectangle and SEE the area as how many blocks it takes to cover the rectangle. That's multiplication :) Happy to answer other questions about the blocks as well.

My son's finishing up 1B this year as well. He's still struggling with the two-digit subtraction and occasionally addition. I make him go to the base-10 blocks and illustrate the situation. We've done some drill with the basic facts but he's still struggling. As long as he goes to the base-10 blocks instead of guessing, I'm fine with this. And if he keeps using the blocks, eventually it'll be faster for him just to memorize :001_smile:. I am doing a LOT of supplemental work as well. I've picked up a few additional books that give addition/subtraction practice and I have him do occasional pages from them. And 2A/B has a lot of addition/subtraction as well (3 digit numbers etc), so if we're still pulling out base-10 blocks regularly at this time next year I'll be concerned, but for now, just keep using the concrete practice.

Our son has a dairy allergy and we've had to cut out milk entirely (for the last 6 years!). Earth Balance is very good margarine that's dairy-free. Soy milk works fine for cooking. These are some cookbooks I've found helpful. They are pretty basic (I'm a dreadful cook) so you may want to check some out from the library first. These have good recipes for desserts. http://www.amazon.com/Milk-Free-Kitchen-Living-Without-Products/dp/0805018360/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240066328&sr=8-3 http://www.amazon.com/Milk-Free-Egg-Free-Nut-Free-Allergy-Cookbook/dp/0970278500/ref=pd_sim_b_10 Good luck! It's a tough transition, but it can be done!

My dermatologist recommended CeraVe (CVS carries it). I like it.

I agree with you. The solution's manual answer would be correct IF the problem said that he finally poured out 1/6 of a liter. If he poured out 1/6 of the total, then he's left with 5/6 of what he had (1/3 + 1/4). You can either subtract like you did, or multiply 5/6 * 7/12. If you're still hesitant, you might check the text publisher to see if they have a list of errata.

You can also try coloring over it with the black marker and then erasing it. That takes off a lot of the shadows that are left behind from other colors. Sometimes it takes two times of going over it, but it usually erases everything.