See what you think after the last two. I loved them.

But they did cut Sherlock's "F" right before. That was the only change I noticed.

Our son wears his bracelet when he leaves the house. Put on shoes, bracelet, and grab medicine bag. At home, it's fine for him to have it off. When he's away from the house, it stays on 24/7. He has a metal one that he'd shower with it on. The sports band one is more around town. I wouldn't worry about choking on dog tags. My father wore his with his penicillin allergy in the army.

http://www.lifelinesys.com/content/blog/seniors/medical-alert-devices/the-numbers-behind-medical-id-bracelets It wasn't from here, but these are the numbers.

http://www.americanmedical-id.com/ Here's where we've gotten ours. I have read that bracelets are more likely to be looked at in case of emergency than necklaces (forget where that study was).

I liked base 10 blocks as manipulatives with elementary level math. I remember division in particular taking a long time and the manipulatives being incredibly helpful. I had ds work the problem with the manipulatives first, then repeat the same problem, but with me scribing how we'd write it out. Another day I had him use the manipluatives and write the steps. When he was able to just write the problems, he could do that, but if he ever got one wrong, he'd need to show me with the blocks. That's how he went from the concrete to the abstract. I think it made a tremendous difference.

The WTM recommends Spelling Workout as one program. I used it with my son in 1st and 2nd grade. If your child is a natural speller, SWO will work okay. Although I'd argue that if your child is a natural speller, they may not even need a formal spelling program. My son retained ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. In 3rd grade I switched to All About Spelling and started in Level 1. He's in 6th grade now and we're just finishing up level 5 of AAS. It has been a wonderful fit for him and has helped tremendously. Remember that recommendations are just that. What works for one family may not work for another. If a program isn't a good fit, don't hesitate to switch. But I wouldn't recommend Spelling Workout. I love AAS.

:grouphug:

I'd say because the boy's choices end at that point. It is the woman who would carry the baby who would make decisions about whether to have the baby or abort; whether to keep the baby or give it to be adopted (or possibly let the boy keep the child). And if she kept the child, he's on the hook for child support. I'm not saying that any of that isn't appropriate... but his choices are over in many ways once the pregnancy begins.

That would be wonderful!

The guidebooks typically have suggested readings for a lecture.

World in Ancient Times The Early Human World The Ancient Near Eastern World (8000 BCE – 330 BCE) The Ancient Egyptian World The Ancient South Asian World (7000 BCE – 712 CE) The Ancient Chinese World The Ancient Greek World The Ancient Roman World The Ancient American World Medieval and Early Modern World The European World: 400-1450 The African and Middle Eastern World: 600-1500 The Asian World: 600-1500 An Age of Empires: 1200-1750 An Age of Voyages: 1350-1600 An Age of Science and Revolutions: 1600-1800 I didn't find the student guides to be very useful, but the teacher's guides had links and suggested books that were worthwhile for me for some of the volumes. I'm finding the History of US manuals to be completely useless.

I have that version :) On the high school board, there have been people who regret using RS for high school language. It absolutely could count for high school credit, but it didn't lead to long term learning. I see it as good for exposure...which is what we're using it for...but it's pretty pricey for just exposure.

Many public libraries have free online programs. Ours lets us use Mango from home for free with our library card. May be worth checking out. My son has used Rosetta Stone Spanish for a couple of years. It lets him hear the language and get some familiarity with it, but I would only count it for basic exposure.

:grouphug:

That is about the only advantage I see to my son's food allergies. He can't steal my chocolate stash. I do have to worry about my husband though....

And I just spent the past half hour posting on your boards :) Math thread! Let me know when those pop up & I'll reply there. Had a friend just register for accountability next year with a 1st grader!

He's checking every morning but the questions keep going up after lunch :) It makes a good break. Today he read the Latin from the book aloud. Just signed up for quite a few trips and really looking & discussing some later ones...

Notation is VERY important in math. Math notation is similar to the structure of an English sentence or a paragraph. You wouldn't accept a sentence with words all over the page. Similarly with math. (Drives me batty...but this is all students and not just homeschooled students.) There isn't such a thing as a math brain any more than there's a reading brain. Barring learning disabilities, numerical literacy and basic arithmetic and algebra are just as possible to learn for anyone as basic literacy - and as important IMO. (Now yes, there are people who see math and are pretty amazing, but that's different than what I'm talking about.) Mnemonics can be helpful - but it's critical to understand what they mean. Some do much more harm than good (I'm talking specifically about FOIL here, but there are other problems.) Reading math (like science) can take a LONG time to understand. You can't read it at the same pace as you read English. And you HAVE to read with pencil in hand, working out any steps in a problem or explanation to understand what's going on. Just reading the pages doesn't mean you've understood it. Understanding a concept doesn't mean you have mastery of it. It takes enough practice to master it. That practice is ESSENTIAL. How much practice is needed may vary from student to student. I use the analogy of learning to drive manual transmission or parallel park... I understood the concept, but it took PRACTICE to be able to do it well. Same with math. Math can be incredibly fun.

My son has been enjoying the book club!

I chose standards, but you're not going to go wrong with US. Add in IP for extra challenge.

:grouphug: I'm sorry.

Happy birthday! Hope it's a great day!

I don't know if Saxon does or not, but I'd be careful with FOIL. It's a useful mnemonic, but I see a number of students who regularly get problems wrong because they only know FOIL and don't understand that all that's happening is distribution. FOIL doesn't help if you have a binomial times a trinomial or two trinomials multiplied.

It's been over a year... can we get an update Other John?