April in CA Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Hello again! More questions about Thinkwell stuff. Older son, the senior, needs econ and government. He is really busy already, so I am looking for semester courses that are thorough, but get to the point. Has anyone used Thinkwell for either Econ or Gov't? I am looking at Sonlight's Econ package, which includes a Thinkwell subscription. If I went with Thinkwell for Gov't, that would probably be it - no extra stuff unless someone suggests something too good to miss. Ds has a pretty good background in gov't from TOG year 2 and part of TOG yr 3, but I want him to have a better handle on how our gov't actually works (or doesn't!) now. If you have any other suggestions for either of these courses, please let me know. I am also considering Notgrass Am Gov't. (we are Christians). Any thoughts or comparisons of Thinkwell gov't and Notgrass gov't? Thank you everyone! I really appreciate your help and ideas! I need to make a decision soon, so I can get things rolling for him after the November 7 SAT session! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted October 21, 2009 Author Share Posted October 21, 2009 anyone, anyone? Bueller...Bueller...(couldn't resist since I am asking about econ and gov't!) Thanks! April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 My DS is using Thinkwell's US Gov't this year. He's enjoying the videos and using it with American Gov't: Continuity & Change, by Karen O'Conner. Since he's preparing for the AP US Gov't exam he's also reading other materials. I also received this from Thinkwell --- We get calls and emails every day from people who say they heard about Thinkwell from a friend. That makes us extremely happy, and we'd like to thank all of you for your kind words. In this information age, word of mouth can stretch a lot further, so we'd also like to encourage you to put some of those wonderful words on the internet. As both thanks and encouragement, we're offering a $30 discount. We'd love to see all of you take advantage of this unusually low price on Thinkwell courses and let people know what you think. And please share this discount with any home school families you know. We want as many people as possible to find out that Thinkwell can make home schooling easier for parents and more successful for students. Use "WordOfMouth" through Monday, October 26 to receive $30 off all Thinkwell home school courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 My son is using the Thinkwell American Government course this year. In our case, this was a "check off the box" solution in that he watches the lectures and takes the quizzes. There are three lecturers in the series. My son really enjoys one, is ambivalent to another and dislikes the third. Personalities? Lecturing styles? My recommendation is to subscribe to the course through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. It is free to join and you'll receive a handsome discount on this or any Thinkwell product. Jane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice in NJ Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 TW American Government here. I wish that we could cover more of this together, but I'm running in circles. TW is making this a check-box subject; we need one of those right now. Lecture, questions, lecture, questions, done. One of the schools that ds is very interested in accepts CLEP, so we may try that in January - we'll see how much time we have. Peace, Janice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Thank you for the thoughts and the discount opportunities! I really appreciate it. We, too, are in the position of just needing to get it done. Although, after looking at Sonlight's econ course, I am pretty excited about econ. I think younger son will really enjoy econ and government - he will do them next year as a junior. WE would have to eliminate sleep and possibly eating in order to add them to his schedule this year! Thanks again! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 WE would have to eliminate sleep and possibly eating in order to add them to his schedule this year! We have found both of those items to be quite optional this year. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted October 22, 2009 Author Share Posted October 22, 2009 Ha! It feels like that here, too! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 We used Thinkwell for economics. Dur to a snaffoo in which I made a mistake, my daughter ended up taking both the macroeconomics and microeconomics. She did not care for them, but I think that has more to do with the subject matter than with Thinkwell. We just had to get 'er done and this was a way to accomplish that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Thanks Kelli! The Sonlight schedule has options for doing both macro and micro econ or just one (macro, I am guessing). We could see how much econ he could handle! He wants to be an engineer, and it is pretty important for engineers (and everyone else!) to have an understanding of how the economy functions, since most engineering has to be done in environments with economic constraints. We will be adding in a book specifically on money management - very micro-economics! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicmom Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 (edited) Ds is doing Thinkwell Economics this semester. We purchased it through Sonlight, although we didn't get any of the other books or their schedule (not prepping for AP and don't have time to add in any other books; just need to get 'r done.) The course he's using covers both micro and macro. Basically, he listens to the lectures (and takes notes), does the exercises and that's it. And that is quite enough. Just a heads up, in order to finish this course in a semester, you have to do 3 lecture/exercise sets per day--which takes about 1 1/2 hours. There's no way really to speed it up. Can't make the lecturer talk faster and ds is already pretty quick on the exercises. I can't imagine adding extra books on top of this, so maybe Sonlight structures/schedules it differently to allow for everything. Maybe they don't do all the lectures. I don't know enough to pick and choose intelligently, so we're just doing them all. As far as the quality goes, it is fantastic. The Econ professor is a Stanford PhD and very interesting to listen to. The content is excellent and ds is learning it really well. Edited October 26, 2009 by Musicmom corrected typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Thank you Musicmom! I am glad to hear that the econ prof is a good speaker! And a big thank you for the heads-up on time involved to cover the whole thing in one semester. Maybe he could get honors credit if he pulls it off. Thanks again! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 The course he's using covers both micro and macro. See, I think I ordered the wrong course. I ordered micro and after I'd already paid for it I heard from my umbrella school that the course had to include micro AND macro. So she just did both. But we'd have rather had one course that covered both!! Oh well, she survived it. It was probably good for her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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