That's not the Singapore material. That's the Frank Schaeffer using the Singapore name. Link to Singapore extra stuff http://www.singaporemath.com/Primary_Math_Supplement_s/57.htm Extra Practice is on level with the text and workbook but didn't have enough practice IMO. I finally started buying the test books to have extra practice. We didn't do the tests for grades but just used the tests when ds needed extra practice on a topic.

You can search for the tag "grade level" and find discussions about retention. My son is in the 6th grade at 11 this year. He meets our state's cutoff of Sept 1 by 3 days, so he'd be the youngest in his class and he's very small. Academically he does great. He has severe food allergies and I worry about sending him off to live in dorms. So we've been debating repeating a year. If we do, it will be this year. We were going to repeat 5th and let him basically have an unschooling year, but for testing reasons with some of the talent searches, we moved him to 6th this year and will make the final decision about repeating at the end of this year.

Welcome back. :grouphug:

We had a local high school "misplace" a set of tests. I'm not remembering if they were APs or SATs, but they were found about 3 months later in a teacher's room. But it wasn't just one student's test. I also don't know how it was overlooked until students were wondering where their grades were.

I tell my students that "no slope" is nonsense, so that phrasing really irks me. You can have slope of zero or undefined slope. "No slope" is unclear. I don't have the AoPS algebra text, but depending on where you are in explanations at this point, I'd say an undefined slope is a vertical line, so the equation has to be x= #. You're going through the origin, so x=0.

To my understanding, yes. I think that you can pay for special features, but we've got messages, calendar, RSVP features and I'm pretty sure the group doesn't pay. Members definitely don't.

One of the things I do is provide practice quizzes for my students. The idea is that they take the quiz just like they'd take the test, then see what type of problems they made errors on. I'd suggest that when printing the quiz and practice tests, have your son take it just like he'd take the actual test - no book, no notes, timed. Then he should review the type of problems he gets wrong - after monitoring why he got them wrong. Work similar problems, watch the videos for those topics, then try again with another practice test or quiz.

I remember one problem that I would have solved using a system of equations & it was rather nasty that way. Using a bar model, my son was able to solve it in about one or two steps. I think the bar model is really cool. I also like the iExcel books (now Process Skills) because they discuss multiple approaches for problem solving. I love the strategies Singapore gives.

Our group moved to Big Tent last year. I'm still a bit grumbly because I need a new password for it, but it is working well overall. And I'd be out of luck if they'd switched to Facebook since I won't use it, so Big Tent is okay.

It was filmed during the 96 season that Jon Krakauer writes about in Into Thin Air. (Although I would NOT give that book to elementary age student.) The Imax crew did a lot to help stranded climbers that year. It's what I was going to suggest.

I had a friend (chemistry) have a student say she couldn't read an analog clock. I have had a number of students who don't know how many states there are. This was about 13 years ago when I saw it was an issue and gave it as a bonus question on tests to get some data. One calculus student tried to argue with me about the answer. (Sigh)

From what I see teaching at the cc, she's typical. I showed students last week why we have the rules we have for decimal arithmetic. (Because they're fractions!) They'd never seen it or had it explained. Sad.

FYI there's also a yahoo group for BFSU that has some good information. Dr Nebel posts on there regularly as well.

You can also give some tests yourself. I've used Bayside http://www.baysideschoolservices.com/req.html They're former homeschoolers (grown kids).

Good one.

The bar model approach leads really nicely into using a variable. We did standards through 5B and ds moved on to algebra. We used IP and CWP. I also used iExcel which is now being replaced by process skills http://www.singaporemath.com/Heuristic_and_Model_Approach_s/143.htm These are great for understanding how the bar models work. We'd do the text, workbook, then IP as needed, iExcel, and CWP. We didn't do all of IP at any point, but I had my son do all of CWP. We played some with Beast when it came out, but ds was a bit beyond it at the time and didn't want to play with it. Sounds like you're doing fine.

My son has a severe dairy allergy. Never noticed any issues with dairy while I was pregnant...and I drank a ton of milk.

We used SWO for 1st and 2nd grades. Absolutely useless here. Switched to AAS in 3rd (starting with level 1) and it's a good fit. I think SWO will work well if your student is a natural speller (although I'd argue if your student is a natural speller, you may not need a separate spelling program). I just ordered the last two levels of AAS & plan to finish it up. I do see a significant improvement since using AAS.

Yeah... dh showed it to me last night. He's paying for it today. He also continues to make the "fox call" on occasion. He may need to be hurt. He heard it on NPR - said they were saying, "You have to see this. Hearing it doesn't do it justice." :lol:

That is great! Congrats!!!

And that's why I think it's important that students also can explain why they're doing what they're doing (as per discussion on chat board about explanations in math). Getting the right answer doesn't mean much IMO if you can't also say why it's right. (And I'd also argue that this is a major problem with teachers who don't know their math well enough.)

:grouphug:

For us, we were discussing homeschool when ds was in a half day kindergarten. Then he had his anaphylaxis, and we chose to homeschool for health reasons. We had some really rough times the first couple years and if his allergies weren't so severe, I'd have put him in school. At this point, we homeschool more for academics, but we definitely started for health. Most of the coops around here though do have statements of faith that I won't sign, so I'd imagine that many here homeschool for religious reasons.

When contrasted with the dreck that is some of the worst teachers in the US, a homeschooling parent is far better. When contrasted with a gifted teacher who knows their subject, I know I fall so far short that I am doing my son a disservice. However, we do the best we can with what we have. I also had my son read the Paul Tough book mentioned earlier in this thread as well. It's also very good. I want my son to know where his competition really is for college acceptance and for jobs. It's not just being better than a mediocre education locally (although I had some amazing teachers years ago in the same area); he's competing with kids who work hard and have teachers who are experts. I think as homeschoolers we do a disservice to say that homeschooling is always better. It isn't. When we don't look at what we're doing (both individually, and yes, IMO, as a community), we can't improve and we can't fill any gaps if we deny their existence. And yes, I've been homeschooling my son for 5 years now and we're in his 6th now. I've also taught at the cc for (ouch) 15 years and was credentialed to teach secondary math. I've done my student teaching and have graduate hours in education, so when I criticize the pitiful state of education courses and say that my 11 yo could pass them, I'm talking about the courses I took and the degree I have. If we lived in Finland, maybe he'd be in public school (assuming his allergies could be managed). Where we are, he'll be homeschooled, but I don't kid myself....he'll still have serious gaps.

I think I showed my son (11) where my Morrison books are on the shelf and told him that he'll be reading them in or by high school, but I haven't seen him sneaking any off the shelf. He did get in trouble today for reading comics when he should have been working though. Little booger started with Calvin and then I found him at the dining room table reading the comics from the paper. I wouldn't put it past him to read the paper too, although he didn't ask about Syria today (think that was yesterday from the headlines). I will post back if I learn he picked up any of her works though.