I love the completely different answers. My dd thought that the math was easier, but the science was harder.

I think that this a great idea. It just messes up my plans. :tongue_smilie: It's nice to hear from someone who knows CW. Herodotus is in the mail and I will be able to look at it soon. I have not made her write any real research reports. When she had to write one for a science class last year, she had no idea how to cite references. Oops! On the other hand, I don't think there is anything too tricky about them--good grammar and sentence fundamentals will get you a long way.

Up until now, this has been my philosophy. I let this be something she does on her own. However, I think that she has enough talent to take it much further. I've thrown out the idea of a tutor/mentor. She seems to like the idea in theory, but sometimes reality is a bit different.

Every time I think I have a plan in place, my dd throws me for a loop. I desperately need some advice and clear thinking in the area of English and writing. Some background: My dd is very advanced in language arts. She has already scored a near-perfect score on the ACT in English and reading. We have used Classical Writing since second grade and I have been very pleased with the rigor of the program. I had planned moving into CW Herodotus this fall along with Intermediate Poetry. (We had Poetry scheduled for this year and never got around to it.) I also have scheduled LLfLotR for this fall--she has just become a huge LotR fan and is super-excited about it. She is a good writer when she wants to be. She needs some work on essay-style writing though. She hates writing reports. Here's my current plan for 8/9th grade. (I may use these as high school credit.) I think it is too much. LLfLotR with all unit studies and reading Biography of Tolkien, portions of Canterbury Tales, MacBeth, Beowulf, The Tempest, The Once and Future King, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. CW Herodotus and Intermediate Poetry Traditional Logic (scheduled in CW Herodotus) Teaching Company Middle Ages Videos along with time line. Life of Fred Advanced Algebra with Khan Academy Exploring Education Physics Third Form Latin Spanish II with tutor Graphic Design and Photoshop at Co-op (2x week) Yearbook at Co-op (2x week) Drama at Co-op (1x week) Riding and volunteering at horse rescue ranch (3x week) --another love Performance choir (2x week plus performances) Here's my dilemma: DD wants to work on her novel and write poetry. She has been writing her novel over the past year. She is passionate and wants to publish it for her friends. Today, she handed me some poems/songs that she has written. They are really good! I realized that her skills are beyond me in the area of creative writing and I don't know what to do about it. I'm thinking about pushing CW Herodotus and Traditional Logic off until next year and finding a tutor for creative writing/poetry. If this is just a phase, she can do it to her heart's content with some guidance. On the other hand, this could be a career-starter for her. Help! I'm feeling a little panicky about this and I never panic!

There aren't any fires near Littleton, so you don't need to worry about that.

I've only used Turbo Fire and I really like it. It's fun and has quite a bit of variety. There are "breakdown" videos that walk you through the moves. I highly recommend going through them the first couple of times.

I just got a great sale on PSE at Amazon. It is still on sale, but it isn't as good as it was. You can get either the download version or the CD version--just make sure you know what you are getting. You can get demo versions of both PSE and PSP. I used a demo of PSP to start, but switched over to PSE. The programs have different strengths.

I just did boat loads of research on cookware. My best resource was Cooks Illustrated on-line. I was ready to throw away all of my cookware and get good pieces that will really last. I ended up getting a mix of All-Clad copper core and regular stainless steel. But, for my stock pot, nearly everyone recommended "saving" money and getting at minimum a good aluminum core base. This one is very highly rated and on sale right now. I've only used it a few times, but I like it so far.

You will find that most people in the digi-scrapping world use either Photoshop or Photoshop Elements (PSE). I use PSE and I can do everything I want. In the last several versions, Adobe has added a lot of helpful features just for digital scrapbooking. There is a learning curve, but once you've made a few pages, you'll get the hang of it. There are many tutorials on-line to walk you through it. The beauty of digital, is that I can go back and make changes to my earliest pages effortlessly. For materials--there is more than you could ever use. PSE can open any JPEG, PNG or tiff file which are how most of the digital papers and elements are saved. You open a digital paper (most of them come in 300dpi, 12"x12"). Then you open and drag the elements of your choice (frames, flowers, ribbons, stickers, and much more) on top of the paper. Each element is a separate layer on the paper. You can open and drag your photos onto the page and make them into any size you wish. You can add text and a title and, voila, you are done! Then you change your beautiful layout into a JPEG file to be printed which you can do at home or upload to a printing shop or wait until you have enough pages to make a bound book.

There is a huge difference in quality of wild rice in the stores. If the package says that it is from California, PUT IT DOWN! I buy only truly "wild" wild rice. Here is an article about the difference. I haven't been able to find true wild rice in the high-end stores where I live now, so I stock up when I'm in MN. I haven't purchased any on-line so I can't help you with finding the best site.

I have gotten several things from them. For the most part, I think they are true-to-size. I'm similar to your size and I get mediums. The reviews are the best indicator though. I read them through until I find someone who seems similar to me.

Thank you so much for your replies--they are really helping me think this through. I'm going to stick with a lighter Physics next year, because she needs to have fun again and I want to focus on math and writing. I was considering Conceptual Chemistry because she would have another chemistry class later, but I think you are right about changing that to a more rigorous approach. Then she won't have to do an AP Chemistry if she wants to study something else. I definitely want her to have at least one AP science class--we'll see where her interests lie before tackling any more. Of course, I fully expect these plans to change, but at least I can feel good about having a general progression.

Me too! "...I'm so lost without you...." :lol:

Good question. She is taking Algebra I this year and will take Algebra II next year. She doesn't particularly like math, but she does well with concepts and word problems.

My science plans have been completely changed for high school. I had been counting on doing science at our co-op, but my dd's life science class this year has made her hate science. It has been very dry and boring. I've spent the day investigating and here's what I'm thinking. Next year (8th), dd wants to do just physics. She is burned out on life science and we've done a lot of chemistry at home. I like the looks of Exploration Education. Otherwise, I would consider Conceptual Physics. 9th: Conceptual Chemistry 10th: Biology (Miller Levine?) 11th: AP Physics? 12th: choice--possibly AP Chemistry or specialize Does this look like a good sequence for a college-bound student who may be interested in competitive schools? Dh has a doctorate in chemistry and dd is so much like him, I can't rule out future science major for her.

My dd is very advanced verbally and is not strong at math. She is advanced at math, but it is not her strong suit at all. When she took the tests, I told her to skip any problem that she didn't know. It took the pressure off of her and she was comfortable with that. A child who scores extremely high in the verbal sections can still do well in the talent search because there are more verbal sections. Also, you should consider why you want to take the test. For me (and probably most homeschoolers) it is an opportunity to really hone in on strengths and weaknesses. My dd took the ACT and SAT this year and the results were very informative.

We got ours on Saturday. We haven't gotten the February SAT scores yet though.

Thanks for letting us know. I just bought the set. I love these movies and we are doing Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings next year.

I've always gotten my orders within a few days. Did you get a tracking number?

I should also add that I have two Samsungs--one small LCD and one larger plasma. The small one had a buzzing noise when it was off that drove us crazy. (It was in our bedroom.) It had a beautiful picture, though. The larger one works fine--but I probably prefer the LG over it.

I haven't thought this one through much at all. I've heard that it is the easiest of the AP tests and so is a good one to start with. I'll look at the resources recommended on the CollegeBoard and WTM.

Love my LG. My investigations showed high quality with a better price. I had a good experience with their customer service.

Have you tried asking this on the Yahoo Omnibus group? You might have better luck there.

We've done this as well. We didn't prep, but I did have her look at the sample test booklet so that she knew the types of problems and didn't have to read the directions during the actual test.

Snow has started here. Dh got an early flight home, landing after 9PM tonight. I'm hoping the roads aren't too bad at that time. He was scheduled to fly home tomorrow, and that flight was already cancelled.