I feel like I'm up and down. Right after I got my first vaccine, I was absolutely elated. Like, I spring cleaned the whole house, I felt like all things were possible... And then about a week later, reality hit: the kids are still unvaccinated and unlikely to be for quite some time, and everyone in our homeschool group is anti-vax or believes that COVID is a hoax. So even though I'm vaccinated, the kids are still exposed--not that we're high risk, but still--and we still have no friends. (A couple of the homeschool moms are pretty rabid in their constant posting about COVID, masks, vaccines, etc, so I'm not sure I'd feel welcome/comfortable in the group anymore even if my kids did have the vaccine.) And my family cancelled our every-two-years family get-together with my parents and siblings/their kids because we'd have to travel from various corners of the country in order to get to the vacation rental with our unvaccinated kids, and it's not like the 23 of us could do anything together to explore a new corner of the country right now. So between being left friendless and missing the chance to see family, I'm pretty bummed right now. Maybe getting my second shot (should be in one more week, but I'm waiting for word), I'll feel more optimistic again. At the very least, it's reassuring to hear on here that I'm not the only one who's been staying home and away from others for all this time. Sometimes my FB feed makes me feel like I must be crazy; so many others have just gone on with life as usual.

I agree that MM should work fine. You said you were concerned about it relying too much on Singapore methods that he'd have no reference point/foundation for, but it explains things very incrementally. DD has been able to work through pretty much the whole series herself (starting when we switched over at level 4). It's really good at giving a concrete model for things and then transitioning to the abstract/algorithm. Keep in mind that the woman who wrote MM said that it contains more practice than most kids will require, but she wanted to include plenty for those kids who need extra practice. DD did about half of the problems to prove mastery. Also, there are a lot of intro pages for each chapter, offering websites and online games for the skills in the chapter. These can be great extra resources. Mostly I tell you this so you realize that it won't take you as long to go through each book as it might first appear. Good luck!

This sounds a lot like our experience. My older two went through RS-C before we bailed, but I only did A&B with my youngest. The kids loved the games in A, liked them okay in B, and were totally sick of them by C. The games didn't actually seem to help them memorize the facts, either. (I ultimately signed up for a round of Reflex Math, which gave them enough high-motivation, fast-paced practice to get the facts to stick within a few months.) And while RS did a great job of presenting concepts, my kids could have used a bit faster pace--and I couldn't handle teaching more than one level of RS at a time. I've ended up doing different things for all of them. ODS, who begged for "hard math," went on to BA3 (which sounds like a dud for you). DD, who loves math but would prefer to do a worksheet and know exactly what's expected of her, has flourished on MM. We tried Singapore PM for a year first, but there were too many books and it had too much review/practice for us. MM actually says it provides more practice than is needed for most kids, and we skipped about half of the problems--which wasn't a big deal because the price is so reasonable. MM may be a good way for you to go, since it has really good, step-by-step instruction right in the book. (The way it presented things actually reminded me a lot of RS, but without all the manipulatives.) Your ODS may be able to understand most of it just by reading on his own. (My DD only calls me if there's something that needs clarifying.) That said, I don't use MM with YDS because he can't handle the small font and general busy-ness of the page. (He also finds Singapore to be painfully boring, so we're still trying to find his fit.)

I did something similar last year! (I might this year, too, we'll see--it sounds like some things here will be held online, so maybe... But be encouraged, you're not the only crazy one out there!) One thing all three of my kids enjoyed was this kit from Smart Lab. For one, it looks cool. 😁 But it had quite a wide variety of experiments, from air pressure and color mixing to pH testing and chemical reactions. It's 8+, though, so you'll have to gauge whether it's something your DD could handle. For Camp Mom, each day we did an art project (air dry clay sculpting, painting on a canvas panel, marbled paper with shaving cream), a hands-on activity (wooden dominoes for domino run/building, making a periscope, new Lego kit), and science lab time (I prepared a certain number of activities each time). Maybe some of those activities would sound appealing to your DD? I kept things simple and declared that Camp Mom ended at lunchtime. (I had it correspond to the week of virtual VBS, so that video added to our daily time, as well.)

I agree that it should be no problem to use BFSU with both of your kids or to wait until next year to start. I did it all together with my kids (though the youngest was too little to get much out of it at the time). I used his lessons informally, though, as a way to steer our conversations or as a jumping-off point for exploration and discovery. So if there was a lesson about air, we'd twirl around and catch air in bags, blow up balloons, etc. For a lesson about gravity, we might drop things off our fort. I used Nebel as a guide for order, for how to talk about things, for how things were connected, but not strictly as a lesson book, if that makes sense. I think it gave us a great foundation.

Since your concern about taking time off is not that you won't finish work, but that you won't have enough school days--are there outings you could take with your parents that could be considered field trips, and thus count toward your tally? Or could you pick other activities (educational games, baking, art/crafts) to make a point of doing? Do Grandma and Grandpa read with them, talk to them about family history, etc? Any of those could be considered educational if you were a school who invited visitors. Having taught, I can tell you that there are a fair number of days (or large parts of days) where we didn't accomplish much on a book-work front--field day, assemblies (pep rally or visiting speaker), career day, end-of-year desk cleanout, beginning-of-year material handout... If you consider that you don't have any of those random interruptions/procedural days, you probably don't have to be quite as paranoid about getting the precise number of formal educational days. I keep a running tally of "formal education" and "informal education" days for my own benefit.

The super popular homeschool option by us is basically a one-day-a-week school. Kids are grouped by ages (K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12--I think) and have set classes. Teachers are hired from the community, and they're often former teachers or business owners (art school, martial arts program). They run classes like Spanish, art, PE, science, drama, music, financial literacy--things that often require special knowledge, special materials, or are best done with a group. Because it's a drop-off program with outside teachers, it's not inexpensive. However, many, many people rave about the program. In fact, they had such long waiting lists and people driving from so far away that they ultimately opened up five different campuses around the region, each one running on a different day of the week. The campuses utilized different combinations of teachers/classes, so some parents actually enrolled their kids more than one day each week. Honestly, I think the biggest appeal to this system is the break it offers to parents--and maybe the consistent social time for the kids. We tried it for one semester and found it to be pretty lousy academically (only got through about half of their stated academic goals for the semester) and not all that engaging (lots of lecture, worksheets, and YouTube videos, when they advertised it as hands-on/interactive--this was at the elementary level). The group I'm part of is a little more like Lori D. describes. One mom started organizing weekly park days and occasional field trips and created a Facebook page to let others know. She started with about five families she knew, but the Facebook page had over 100 members within a year. As it grew, more of us pitched in to plan things that interested us. Different parents would organize field trips, host clubs, and plan events for tweens or teens. (I say this all in past tense, since the whole thing has been on hold for the past year.) The nice part of this system is that no one person is responsible for everything. Due to all the complications of starting a co-op, you may want to start simple first: go on your local homeschool FB page and see if you can find other highschoolers (or, rather, their parents) looking for something like you are considering. Maybe pick one particular subject that you can teach well or that you know a teacher you can hire, and see if you can gather a group based on that one subject. Who knows, maybe other parents will follow your lead and soon you'll have a whole co-op for your son. Then again, maybe you've already considered all the complications and are full of ideas and energy, and an awesome co-op is about to be born. Whatever direction you decide to take, good luck!

I selected Front Desk (Yang) as a Family Book Club read for this year, and all three of my kids liked it so well that they insisted I get the sequel, which we're currently engrossed in. Out of My Mind (Draper) was another hit over here that has a strong girl protagonist facing interesting struggles. If she hasn't read Wonder (Palacio), I'd suggest that one, too. The protagonist is male, but the tone is similar and the story is very engaging. (My DD11 couldn't put it down!) ETA: I know I'm late to the game, but we're really pumped about the Yang books over here, and I figured you might not mind more options!

Yes, we tried both Adderall and Ritalin (or their generic counterparts). What finally worked was Intuniv/Guanfacine. The effects were incredible--he was so much more pleasant to be around (less impulsive, crazy) and made leaps and bounds of academic progress. But the improvements kept wearing off. 🙁 He didn't have awful side effects, like you describe with your daughter (or like he had with the other meds), it just seemed pointless to continue giving him something that had no obvious impact on him.

I'll check the Hoagies list. We're in TX. Thanks! Yeah, we tried several, as well. Stimulant meds worked horribly for him. After trying two or three, they switched us to...oh, I'd have to look it up. Anyhow, the doc said since stimulants don't seem to work, it significantly narrows his options. And we actually did take him off meds with the thought that maybe going without would allow the meds to be effective again once he hit puberty and perhaps needed them more. I was just thinking that things had been going so smoothly, perhaps he'd be fine. I guess I was too optimistic, too soon.

Whoops! I missed your second post. He's usually eating while doing math. He always seems to get hungry right after he starts work. 🙂 (And my goodness does that kid ever EAT lately!) As for the neurologist, his pedi said that's the only way to get an ADHD diagnosis around here. Apparently--at least according to this guy--different areas handle it differently. Here, they defer to a neuro diagnosis. Weird, but I just went with it.

No, I don't at all mind you poking your head in; I'm just always astounded at people who seem to be super responsive on here. Though perhaps more people are on their phones. I hate trying to type anything on my phone, so I always have to wait until I've got time to be on my laptop. As for grasping the concept of a quadratic, he started work that day with a question that mentioned quadratic equations, and he said, "What are those?" So I explained that those are what he had been working on for several days, and when he looked confused I went back to the spot where it introduced them in the book. He acted as if he hadn't heard of them before and had no idea how they worked. He was unable to factor them at all that day, but the next day he was perfectly fine. For now, I offered him options: try to keep going, take a break and review with Alcumus and maybe some Khan videos or similar, try a completely different algebra program, or take a break and test out EMF. He decided to try EMF for a break. After he tries their one month free, he and I will have to figure out what to do. I'm tempted to have him zip through another algebra program to show me if he knows the basics, but I'm not sure yet what we'll do.

Re: retained reflexes, I actually had all my kids do primitive reflex integration exercises and vision therapy exercises when YDS was diagnosed with issues 4+ years ago, since I figured they were silly, fun activities and could benefit everyone. I was told by an OT a couple years ago that we were successful in what we did with YDS, so I'd imagine those areas would be sound for ODS, as well. But maybe there's more... I'm kinda considering asking for an actual neuropsych eval for him, as well as my younger. (Though I may reconsider when I see the potential cost...) When he was six, the neurologist just had me fill out a survey and handed me meds. I'd really like to better understand his strengths and weaknesses and how on earth he learns, since I have always had zero clue how to teach him. DH calls him an "intuitive learner," which in my book just means that if he gets it, he gets it, and if he doesn't, there's absolutely nothing I can do that will clarify it for him.

NaN, I think you must be EVERYWHERE on these boards! I was working through the first half of 11.4 with him, and he couldn't for the life of him remember how a difference of squares worked, despite having used them all last week. (Halfway through chapter 10 he had a full day where he couldn't grasp the concept of a quadratic, despite having done them successfully for several days--a completely separate issue from getting stumped by 10.5.) I don't think this issue has anything to do with the content, to be honest. If it were, I would think I could just remind him of what we were working on before and he'd pick up where he left off. But when I say, "It's like yesterday's problem when..." and he stares at me blankly... It's more a complete mental lapse. It means that about a third of our days lately we make zero progress, which is frustrating for both of us. He was on meds in first grade because he could NOT focus on anything. But his body seems to adjust to meds very quickly: after six weeks, they didn't seem to make any difference. After increasing dosage every two or three months for about a year to try to keep the meds in the range where they made an impact for him, the doc said we couldn't increase anymore, so we just took him off the meds. He's been doing quite well overall sans meds, but things seem to be going slowly downhill in the past year-and-a-half. Maybe it is time to take him back in to the neurologist and discuss re-medicating. Thanks for the advice.

I'm hoping someone on here has the experience to look at this and tell me if it's worth concern or not. ODS is 12, and he's loved numbers since he first met them. This is the first year he's had more than minor bumps in doing his math, but it's coming in a weird way. He's working through AoPS Intro to Alg. Some days--weeks, even--he has no problem grasping the information. But then one day he'll open his book and be completely confused, as if the information is totally new to him. So, for instance, last week he had no trouble with his work. This week, working through material in the same chapter, he hardly made any progress. Yesterday and today I went over the same material with him, and he still doesn't get it, even though this is not much different from last week's material--it builds on the same concepts. But when I remind him of those concepts that he was working with last week, it's like I'm speaking gibberish. Sometimes this happens mid-week, so it's not just that he forgets over the weekend. DH says, "Oh, yeah. Some days I just know I'm dumb and I shouldn't try to do anything at work that requires me to be smart. It just happens." But this doesn't sound normal to me, and it's really, really frustrating for a kid whose favorite subject has always been math. Both he and DH have diagnosed (but not currently medicated) ADHD, if that matters. I've been writing off his issues as adolescent brain blips, but since he's getting so disheartened I figured I'd ask here to make sure this isn't a red flag of some sort. (And since I'm thinking of taking YDS in for a neuropsych eval, I figured maybe I can see if they have some sort of twofer deal if I should take ODS in, too! 😁)

Whoa! So much to respond to! Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! The overall muscle tone is significantly improved now. The funny thing is, I never thought it odd that he had no visible muscle tone, since ODS is the same way. We've used extracurriculars to work on this in a fun way--gymnastics and now taekwondo for two years, and that has helped immensely. I'm hoping that guitar lessons (his choice) will ultimately strengthen his hand muscles so writing won't be so much of a bear for him, but we'll see. I'll poke around locally and see if I can find any resources (and info on cost/insurance) for an eval. Honestly, I was so happy that a doctor finally listened to me and said, "You're right, a kid who shouts constantly, never wants to leave home, freaks out as if the world is ending at the slightest scratch, and eats only three foods and only in a certain manner is NOT a happy, healthy child." For the next couple years, I just basked in his growth and progress. But now I'm at the point where I feel like he's spinning his wheels in some ways, and I'm trying to figure out if that's just my perception or if it's reality. I've not had much luck with doctors, though. ODS had a neurologist to diagnose ADHD and prescribe meds when he was younger, but it was another "fill-out-the-survey, have some meds, good luck" situation. I wasn't offered any strategies, information, resources on how to help him manage. So I'm not holding my breath. I'm going to spend this weekend wading through the various resources you mentioned/linked. Thanks again for the time you took to respond@

See, and there's my problem: sometimes DS seems to understand a concept intuitively, and sometimes he just stares at me blankly. (Like fractions. We went through the Singapore fractions--in 3? I think--and the idea of equivalent fractions/changing denominators just did NOT click. I finally moved on. He hit it again in Beast, and it was still a "hmmm" concept for him.) So stuff like that makes me think maybe I'm overestimating his ability and need to slow down. I think what I'm finding overall is that he does NOT understand anything we try to do with standard algorithms. That's what I loved about RS B--it physically showed you the concept (trading out tens for ones using cards or the abacus) and then very clearly tied it to the standard, written way of doing it. But I hated RS-C (the first half was all review, the second/geometry half required a lot of fine motor), so we dropped it after B. For the other kids, it was enough foundation. For him, I feel like I need discovery/hands-on still. I'm now reflecting and thinking that maybe everything he does really well at is something we introduced in RS B. Huh. I'll have to ponder that a little more. I have a couple Murderous Maths books and all the 3-5 BA guides. Would that (plus the puzzles) be enough? I'm already planning to put him on Reflex Math again for facts. He hated it a couple years ago, but it adjusts to your typing/reaction speed each time you use it, and it WORKED to get his addition/subtraction facts automatic, so I'm going to do it again for multiplication/division. I think that's the theme of everyone on this thread. If I don't do a standard, publisher-approved, standards-aligned curriculum, IS IT ENOUGH?! Or am I dooming my child to a lifetime of misery due to my educational misstep?! (Okay, dialing back the drama. 😁) In totally unrelated news, my older DS managed to struggle through that AoPS Intro to Alg chapter 10 and actually did better than expected on the review at the end (80% the first time through, and most mistakes he was quickly able to correct when I told him his solution was incorrect). He's now sailing (well, at his slow pace) through 11 without issue. So at least I have hope we can get through this level, thanks to your encouragement.

I'm actually still using the structure of a curriculum (see how little I trust myself?): I used DD's old MM book to give me scope/sequence and then tried to find a variety of activities to help him work on those skills in that order. But a lot of what I found is still too much or too little. (Either too repetitive/overwhelming--a whole page of multi-digit multiplication [What was I thinking??]--or too little conceptual explanation. Usually both, I'm deciding. I've never tried to compile my own math curriculum before, though I have done so with confidence in pretty much every other subject.) I'm not sure what to request. I had to fight (hard--for about a year) to get him to a Developmental Ped around his 5th bday because we were at the end of our ropes. He's been on anxiety meds since then, which have helped a lot, but he's still a mystery to me in many ways. DH and ODS have ADHD diagnoses (neither currently on meds), but YDS has no official diagnosis. DP said he was too young for a diagnosis at 5; we still see him every 6 mos for Rx, but he's more a "no major probs = out the door" type of doc. (It doesn't help that YDS is a year ahead academically, so it's hard to prove there's an issue. And I'm driving an hour to see this DP because there's none closer.) YDS had OT for handwriting last year and the OT said he had extremely low muscle tone and probably SPD--but once again, nothing official and no resources to help. (But at least we'd fixed his primitive reflex issues, which the Developmental Optometrist diagnosed a few years earlier, at the same time as the tracking/focus issues!) My problem is that I can't find what I'm looking for, so I'm trying to find recommendations. Several people suggested TT, but if there's a way to game the system (and I've heard there is), YDS will find it. (He's definitely brilliant at finding ways to avoid things he hates!) The only other recommendation I've gotten repeatedly is for CLE. As you can tell from my hesitation, I'm not convinced it's right--but the idea of generating my own again is exhausting, and like I said, even what I tried to compile is just not filling the bill. I just spent two hours writing out the S&S for 5th grade math and trying to see what resources I have that would fit, but so many of my "fun" resources require a hodge-podge of skills, rather than building skills in a systematic way. Sigh. (And I scribe for him or switch to oral for everything else, but I need him to do a few things at least partly on his own so I can also work with his siblings.)

Why, why, why do I read threads like this when I know they're going to get me circling back to the beginning of my dilemma?! OP, I'm in a similar place, but for different reasons. YDS is bright but has a hard time memorizing (math facts take forever to stick), a REALLY slow processing speed, and fine motor issues + personality = HATES writing. He's done RS A&B (got sick of card games by the end of B), parts of Singapore 2 & 3 (hated it--says it was too much and too straightforward/repetitive/boring), and BA3 (LOVED the cartoons and puzzles; wasn't a fan of the challenge level or sheer number of the standard problems). I was trying to find something for this year that would be like BA puzzles plus concept development (he's very hands-on/visual, which is why I think the puzzles clicked for him) but perhaps less intense, but I couldn't do it. He also really doesn't like me working at his elbow, so I tried piecing together a bunch of different worksheet-based resources for this year, but I feel like what I've got isn't conceptual enough. Folks had me convinced to try CLE for next year (spiral with little practice, I'm told--so frequent review of topics but not too much writing/busy work?), but I'm questioning myself there. Aaaand now I'm off to look up @PeterPan's list of resources and wonder once again about trying to put together my own thing again for next year. 😖 (<--This is supposedly a "Confounded Face". That's the right emotion for me, but I'm not convinced about the expression.)

My youngest will be in 4th grade, and I have the hardest time knowing what to do for him. He's bright, but he struggles with fine motor and thus hates writing, and his processing speed is super slow. Thus, I'm always looking for things with a minimum of writing and very little extra work--but it takes him a while to acquire new information (except when it comes to airplane specs), so he also needs spiral to cement things. Here's what (I think) he'll be doing next year: Math: CLE (This will be new for us; several people recommended it as having a variety of work in each lesson, not overmuch practice, and a spiral. He's currently doing a mashup of things I collected for this year because I couldn't find anything that seemed to fit.) Language Arts: Family Book Club for lit, Jump In! (with his siblings) for writing, and either Analytical Grammar Jr. or Language Fundamentals 5 (LF5 is an Evan-Moor workbook. He's doing 4 this year and I'm pleased with the topics covered and the minimal writing required, but I'm wondering what retention will be because it never really reviews. Whether I switch will depend on how well he seems to have retained material at the end of the year.) Science (with his older siblings): Ellen McHenry Botany, Cells, & Protozoa with CPO Life Science to round things out Social Studies (with his older siblings): Crash Course World History (free curriculum to go with CCWH YouTube videos) Spanish: continuing with Duolingo I plan to continue Fun Fridays, when we do Family Book Club, science lab, an art project, a variety of logic puzzles, and random educational videos as well as a nature outing in the afternoon. Other: continue guitar lessons and taekwondo (currently both over Zoom) It's always interesting to see how much my plans change between now and the start of the new school year--and then whether we stick with our choices once we try them out.

After a month spent researching (why is it that February always seems boring and gets me motivated to think about new, exciting things for next year?), I think I've got DD's curriculum nailed down. She'll be doing... Math: Foerster's Algebra 1 (recommended by several people as a follow up to MM) Language Arts (combined with ODS): Aunt Ruth II (mechanics/word use--the first level has been so fun that the kids requested this for next year); Drawing Sentences (diagramming--second half/book 2), Jump In! (writing), Family Book Club (lit--reading historical fiction around the world to go with history) Science (all 3 kids): Ellen McHenry Botany, Cells, Protozoa; CPO Life Science to round things out Social Studies (all 3 kids): Crash Course World History (free lessons to go with CCWH YouTube videos, surprisingly awesome) Spanish (combined with ODS): probably switching to Homeschool Spanish Academy, unless our 1x/week conversation tutor wants to take responsibility for their day-to-day work, since they're at the limit of what I can remember of my high school Spanish I plan to continue Fun Fridays, which feature logic puzzles of various types, an art project, science lab, educational videos, Family Book Club meetings, and a nature outing. Other: piano and taekwondo (still via Zoom? unless we change things up--though I can't imagine her switching from piano, she might move on from taekwondo once she earns her black belt later this year)

I got mine used on the Classifieds here. You can also keep an eye on HomeschoolClassifieds.com or your local FB homeschool group, though I've had less success with MCT (and any other other less mainstream programs) on there.

When my kids were younger, I'd do six-week units on different topics that interested them. So I pulled together books and videos and hands-on stuff for plate tectonics and volcanoes, knights and castles, the science of candy... We only had one unit going at a time, so that limited how much time I had to spend researching and preparing materials. Our school district has a BrainPop subscription for students in town which I shamelessly make use of, as well. BrainPop (and BrainPop Jr.) has short videos about just about everything under the sun. A couple days a week, I'd let my kids each pick three videos that looked interesting to them. I've been amazed at the number of times they still refer back to things they've learned from BrainPop. I give my kids the ITBS annually just out of curiosity, and they've always scored above average on both the social studies and science sections despite never having done a formal program before this year. (My older two are officially 6th and 5th graders now, and I wanted to do something formal in middle school for a comprehensive overview before they get to high school and dig down into particular topics, since I feel like there are certain topics we've kinda skipped over thus far because they didn't seem especially enthralling.) ETA: I've always done grammar/writing/mechanics, but I've not yet done a formal reading program. I have always read aloud to the kids, and they get time before bed each night to read whatever they want. This year for middle school I added Family Book Club, where I assign a certain number of pages of whatever book we're on each week and we sit around snacking and talking about it on Friday morning.

I can partially answer this one. I've done both MCT and IEW. For MCT, I found it easiest to purchase the teacher editions, which contain all the material from the student editions plus some. If I was reading a section to the kids, I'd just cover up any answers with my hand or a sticky note. Anything they'd write in the book we simply worked on the whiteboard or on notebook paper. (I actually bought these used and got a student and a teacher book, but I never used the student books at all.) I used a couple different IEW theme books and only bought student editions. What you choose to use may depend on your comfort level with the material, but if you already own TWSS, you are probably familiar enough with the style/material that you will understand what's being asked of the student. Perhaps look at the student book samples online and see if you understand how to use them without additional instructions, and look at the sample from the teacher book to see if it seems to add anything necessary. You can find pretty good deals on the clearance section of their site. I've not used W&R, so someone else will have to chip in their two cents on that one.

Okay, this is a totally different direction than everyone else has gone, but when I think "fun, open-and-go, with varying topics of interest to early elementary," I think Mystery Science. My kids LOVED those units from about K-2ish. You sign up for a yearlong subscription. They have a wide variety of topics of interest to kids that you can select from, with a prep list (print this page, have a ruler handy, etc). Then there are videos where they very conversationally talk to your kid about the topic and lead them in a hands-on activity. We had so much fun, and the kids still remember these fondly. I also remember them fondly, since I had very little prep to do and could just sit back and enjoy with them. Mystery Science also offers--free--a weekly email with a science question posed by a kid and answered in just a few minutes. Kids could vote for one of three questions to be answered the next week, which they thought was cool. The only drawback there was that they didn't seem to pre-screen the questions, so some of them were very appropriate/science-y (Why do I feel yucky when I get sick?) while others were less so (Who invented pizza?).