Most colleges will have a tutorial center that will help some with papers. I'd check there first.

The abbreviation sticky at the top of most forum pages can be VERY helpful :). Saves some google time! And cc quality and uni quality varies widely. I think in many cases, a student gets out what they put in, but I do see a wide difference in general caliber of student at cc and at the local uni. I have had the privilege of teaching some students who are really hard workers and who are overcoming quite a lot, but even when teaching calc, I rarely (almost never) have had a student who just picks up the material. I've had a lot who think they should pass without doing the work though....

If you're doing calc 3 at the cc, that's a very different experience than any of the prior classes. cc's also vary in strength around the country. I'm teaching a prealgebra course at the cc this semester. I test tomorrow. Of the 13 students still enrolled, only 6 have taken the quiz (practice test) that's due by midnight tonight. Average grade is 55.6, median 65.3. The lowest passing grade is a 75...anything below that is an F. The calc 1 class that a friend is teaching only has about 5 or 6 students in it as I walk past the room. Believe me, I understand the frustration you're experiencing at the uni. Trust me... it's far worse at the cc in the lower levels... and even in the courses like college algebra. From your earlier post, yes, a student at a good cc can get a teacher who cares about teaching rather than a grad student possibly teaching for the first time or a professor who needs to be publishing... but they're also with a set of students that typically is at a lower level than corresponding university students (even at the higher classes). Unfortunately, the cc's do also have their share of poor teachers. There's one at ours that I try to steer students away from... he lets class out or cancels it regularly, gives take home tests, and students from his class are woefully (personally, criminally) unprepared for later classes. I don't know why the cc hasn't done anything about him. And his RMP evals are excellent... so I hate seeing people recommend RMP for picking instructors.

The dark circles under the eyes can be "allergic shiners". This season, allergies have been bad for me, so I've been taking Zyrtec and it's helped a lot. I'm trying to decide when to stop it :) The nausea with your younger daughter doesn't sound like allergies though... at least I've never heard of nausea going along with them.

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

As far as the redshirting... if you have interest, you can search tags for "grade level" and find a lot of posts where people talk about what they've done/are doing with their kids. My state's cutoff is Sept 1. My son's birthday is end of August. If he stays on grade level, he'd graduate high school at 17. If we have him repeat a year, he'd graduate at 18 - a couple months before turning 19. When you hear (in those threads) about people who hold back kids who have summer birthdays, graduating a month or two after 19 doesn't sound like it's "too old". Getting IT experience and possible letters of recommendation is huge. Some comments...and I don't have any answers here... but I tend to view IT work as STEM type work to a large degree. My husband works in IT - started as helpdesk and now is more network admin. They just hired someone to work more helpdesk and they wanted a college degree (can be replaced with experience, but tougher to make the first cut for interviews without it). He talks about seeing people who have a "knack" for the work and a certain way of thinking. I think some types of math/science can lead towards that. Has your son looked at job openings and what the minimum requirements are? Would that help motivate and get a plan that he takes more ownership of? With math, the Interact software is currently free online. You can pick any of the texts and use the software as extra practice. I like Woodbury's Elementary and Intermediate Algebra. You can just use the software with topics matching up with your texts, but the Woodbury text should be available pretty cheap used (any editions are good). Our library has a number of the Teaching Company courses. If yours has them, that could be a way to get some additional resources. :grouphug:

Must have misread... I thought OP was only streaming. Guess instant does depend on number of films... on ours, that's 6 months (and a lot of Futurama thanks to dh & ds). :)

It looks like it'll only go back 6 months.... Go to Your Account Under Your Streaming Plan, See Instant Watching Activity. You can also get there from your instant queue... they show the last 3 things you watched, then say you want to see more and it goes to the same screen. I don't see how to get more than the last 6 months though.

The EM books (now online courses) are cool. They're solid math & I think are on the level in terms of topics/concepts of AoPS... but that's from just looking briefly at AoPS. A friend has a son in a math circle with someone who did the MEGSSS program (which used the EM books) and now teaches for AoPS, so the EM material will definitely prepare you for higher-level math. The drawback is that there really isn't much practice overall. I have the EM books. My son did Ch 1 (operational systems) during the time it was free. I compared to the text & they did leave out a few problems. When I did the MEGSSS program, our instructor added in Pizzazz worksheets (from Algebra with Pizzazz) for factoring so we could do enough practice. (Incidentally, although Prealg with Pizzazz is linked above, it is under copyright still...but it can be tricky to buy your own copies... and pricey! I use some worksheets with the classes I teach. Prealg has some decent ones with fractions, decimals, and percents.) For just extra drill & to be different than your older son, the thought I had was using InterAct math software. (I've taught with the MyMathLab program for about a decade now and really like it and the software.) Pick any of the prealgebra texts or basic college math texts & assign online work. "Help Me Solve This" or "View an Example" will give an explanation if he forgets how to do a topic. You can see the check marks on a section before he shuts down the screen because no work is saved. If you pick the text: Jordan: Integrated Arithmetic and Basic Algebra (I liked this text - good explanations) Percentages are Ch 8 Fractions are Ch 6 & 7 (what I like especially here is that they use rational numbers for fractions but then in the same chapter show how it works with rational expressions... including polynomials that have to be factored... may or may not be cool to show) Decimals are Ch R (Sections 5 & 6 - a brief review of fractions in Ch R Section 4 as well) If you pick the text: Lial: Developmental Mathematics 2e (I don't like this text...but practice problems are practice problems!) Percentages are Ch 6 (they show solving percent equations by using proportions in section 4, with the percent equation in section 5... my students said I do these completely differently...so sometimes the "help me solve this" isn't as helpful) Fractions are Ch 2 & 3 with a LOT of practice Decimals are Ch 4 (also have a lot of practice)

I've also read about the connection between cashew/pistachio/sesame. Our son had a biphasic anaphylaxis to cashew & we've been nut free since then. This book (Understanding and Managing Your Child's Food Allergies) has a list of what is likely to cross-react. We have asked about coconut and have been told we don't need to avoid it. We have been told to avoid sesame. Some things I have read say that tests have shown more contaminants in "processed on shared equipment" notes than in "may contain" notes. We avoid foods that have either note. They seem to keep changing recommendations as they do more research with food allergies. I'm hopeful that there'll be treatments by the time my son is in college or soon after. Hope you find some good nut sources!

Not really. Level of impairment from sleep deprivation is the same. With a young female adult (18 or over), I'd be suggesting getting a hotel.

I typically vent to my husband. I have some friends who listen (about some topics). This week has been kind of rough, and I vented to my son's guitar teacher. :001_rolleyes: I asked first, then was all :cursing: and he was :smilielol5: so that helped. I did send a brief apology and thanks email the next day. I think the biggest key is knowing your audience. What's safe and when? Both for you, your relationship with the person you're venting to, and for any possible repercussions.

I just want to point out that most of the students in my remedial math classes have finished algebra 1. I've also had homeschooled students who have graduated and start in my class. So I wouldn't assume that finishing algebra 1 means having mastered algebra 1. In our state, algebra 1 is the first course students can get high school credit for. To graduate, they need 3 credits of math. I am often very discouraged when I have 18-20 year olds in my class who are recent high school graduates. As for early college, I can absolutely see it for some students - those students who are incredibly driven and pull their parents along. My son isn't one of those, even though he's advanced. I do see him taking some classes at the university here and possibly the cc. I also really know the educational quality at the cc here (and some at the uni), and although the courses will meed needs (group discussion, lab equipment, classes where the responsibility for learning is on him), it's definitely not what I see as my ideal "college experience" for him.

He's 7. He's young. When we did long division, my son hated me making him do the problems with manipulatives. We used base 10 blocks. He thought he understood what he was doing but he'd make "careless" mistakes that he then wanted to just correct. I made him use the blocks, tell me where the error was, and then he could write it. It wasn't a fun week...but his errors now I can feel comfortable saying are "careless" rather than conceptual. He didn't enjoy the word problems...but now he does. I'd suggest going by time... spend 30 min a day on math. Stop when the time is met. Some days may be only teaching (text work). Some days may be only word problems. I don't think you need to be "mathy" to benefit from CWP or IP. Hope you find a good fit for your son. It's tricky & I know I second guess myself an awful lot!

Some really good comments here and more succinctly than I put them :) I have used the Extra Practice books on occasion. This year I got the Test books. They have a multiple choice and an open ended test for each section in each book. Most tests have 10 problems. There's also a chapter test. I've used these when we needed more review because there are more problems than in the EP books. I did not find the EP books to be worth the money. The Tests are at the workbook level or slightly higher. Strongly agree with the quote I put in red. We all find (or try to find) what works best for our children while still meeting our educational goals. (My son is memorizing powers of 2 thanks to MineCraft, but I wouldn't count that as math time!)

I'm one of the people who uses ALL the books :) Here's where I'm coming from... I have an undergrad major in math. I have a MAT degree (Masters of Arts in Teaching) in math... so I studied math and education and got credentialed to teach math. I've taught for 15 years now at the cc (2 different ones). I have taught calculus and precalc and trig, but most of the time I've taught algebra 1 and prealgebra. I've seen so many students make so many mistakes over the years that I'm very attuned to where students will make mistakes and where misconceptions arise and how important notation is. I have likely gone overboard with my son. He is considered "profoundly gifted" according to outside measures, although he doesn't "wow" us the way other kids are described. This is why I didn't post on this thread. I subscribe to the idea of "overlearning". I see students regularly who understand what I teach but then can't do the work on a test. I want to be very certain that my son won't be in that situation. So for me, unless it's really clear that he has mastered a topic (not just has a good grasp of it... but has it absolutely SOLID), he's doing drill until he's at mastery. We've been using Standards since 2nd grade & he's finishing up 5 now. We used the US edition in 1st. We do the textbook, only skipping problems if he's really got it. I think we did skip some big chunks in 5 with decimals. He does everything in the workbook. I think the workbook is easier than the text. I have used the EP books on occasion when he needed some extra drill at an easy level (mainly in 3 & 4), but I think the tests work better for that (more practice... EP has very few problems and is at the same difficulty as the workbook). We typically do the iExcel (now Process Skills books) soon after the topic from the textbook. Sometimes we do the word problems there before the text word problems. We skip around in CWP on the same level. We've been picking up speed in 5B and doing less in IP. I wouldn't be comfortable not doing the workbook, because that is where I see if my son can write out the work in a way that I'd give credit for the work if he were in my class. I talk with him about math notation being a form of communication and having its own rules, just like English does. I won't let him get away with wriiting an incomplete or ungrammatical math sentence. For instance, in 5B with evaluation, I discussed the importance of showing the in-between step: "Evaluate 3x for x = 5" He wrote 15. I said I wanted to see 3(5) first, then 15. The reason for this is to get good habits going. When you're evaluating for x = a + 4 in algebra (or for x = x + h), unless you really understand what you're doing & why, many people will make errors. This is why I want to see the substitution. And with that explanation, I showed him where it appears in calculus in one of my texts. For some students, the drill I insist on would make them miserable. So if a parent says their child can move ahead really rapidly, I don't suggest they add in more books :) On the general board, I do suggest the additional books. I have seen so so so many weak students and I know their mistakes and misconceptions come from not having a SOLID arithmetic foundation. With my son, I could have moved him forward a lot faster...but I don't think he'd have the foundation he does now. I believe if he were in my cc course (prealgebra), he'd be able to pass it within the semester. Now that he's got the foundation, we can build faster. I plan to do some AoPS with him next, but mainly work first with Elements of Mathematics.

In the past month, I bought two texts from 3rd party sellers. One was fulfilled by amazon; one was separate. In both cases the texts were advertised "like new", so there shouldn't have been any writing or highlighting. In both cases, the sellers had high ratings with hundreds of feedback posts. In both cases, the texts had been misrepresented. The first one was used with a TON of notes (some clearly incorrect answers) and highlighting. Amazon got my money back and I shipped back the book (yea prime). The second one was in much better condition, but it still has a lot of underlining (but in pencil). It's definitely used-very good, but certainly not like new. I left feedback for both & got contacted by the sellers with requests to delete my feedback. So I'm feeling pretty burned by amazon 3rd party right now.

They do have a better explanation...but they don't have what I'd consider "enough" practice with word problems. CWP has about 20 problems (typically) for a topic. iExcel has 4 or 5 per section. They will have multiple sections for a topic, but they'll entirely skip other topics. For instance, 5 doesn't have any geometry. It only has whole numbers, fractions, decimals, and percents. So I'd still suggest using IP or CWP in addition.

I'd imagine it'd be possible to use the Standards HiG's and the US text & workbook. I'd only attempt this if you already have the US text/WB and wanted to try out the Standards HiG. Answers to the text/WB are in the Standards HiG. I do prefer to just check answers rather than work out all problems. I used US edition of text/WB for 1 and then switched to Standards for 2 and on. I prefer the Standards edition.

"Can we switch from the US Edition to the Standards Edition? For 1A-2B it is possible to switch from the A book in the U.S. Edition to the B book in the Standards Edition. For levels 3-5, you will need to finish the B books of one level before switching to A book of the next level and not switch mid year. Between levels 5 and 6, it is not advisable to switch editions at all." From here.

Unfortunately, I have seen a few who struggle with it at the cc in developmental math classes. I tried not to have my son use the x for multiplication early and used parentheses more.... so (3)(5) rather than 3x5. I've seen dots turn to decimals too much as well. Sigh. If you can envision the error, I've likely seen it.

Scratch work to the side! Don't get me started on the notation problems students have! I do my best to teach my bunch the importance of notation and that it doesn't matter what you meant to say...it matters what you said. Answers must be stated clearly. Sometimes I feel like Sissyphus. Thanks for the explanation.

Thanks for posting!