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Looking for recommendations - History, HS Geometry


Guest Esgaroth
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Guest Esgaroth

Hello - I have been homeschooling my one and only daughter - 15 yrs old - for the last 5-6 yrs. She is currently enrolled in some co-op classes at a nearby homeschool store, but I am wanting to keep a large part of her homeschooling here with me. She is taking Chemistry, Latin, and English with me stumbling along trying to teach her Geometry and History at home. Some history she is learning in a Texas History course I am making up as I go along (I use T.R. Fehrenbach's book "Lone Star" as my base) but I am at my wits end with finding:

 

A) a US History text book that I might use that does not have an anti-Western/anti-American/pro-environmental agenda incorporated into it. Im not sure if its possible to find a text book like what Im finding anymore or if Im just hopelessly naive in thinking I might be able to teach her American History and show her what there is to be proud of. I used SOTW up until this past year to cover her history, but we've done a huge amount of studies on the Ancients and not enough of a history timeline of the last 200 years...she is especially interested in events that took place in the 20th century, and I feel it necessary to make sure she has a good grasp of what went on in the 19th before we approach things like WWI and WWII and the Great Depression and so on. Do you have any suggestions?

 

B) We are currently floundering along in Geometry using Teaching Textbooks - this is not our favorite curriculum as it was used for her Algebra class last year and DD had a great deal of frustration with it not having enough practice with each of the concepts. We had used Saxon up to a certain point and dropped it for the same reasons, and now we find we're in the same hole with TT! She is not an exceptional math student, but she is able to grasp it fairly well and if she were able to practice with more problems, we think that will be half the battle. Also, because I myself, am VERY weak when it comes to math, I am hesitant to try and teach her myself, as I am very often wrong with how I work things out (I did NOT do well in school myself with math) and I am rather scared I will lead her the wrong way in math concepts. Is there an online Geometry course that anyone could recommend, one that not only explains things well, but has a tutor or someone that DD can call upon for help? I have friends who have looked into the Keystone Online school as well as K12, but am wondering if anyone here has had experience in those courses, or can recommend others?

 

Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated...

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I'd go with a straight textbook for math. I tried TT geometry with ds, and he did not do well at all. It set him back. I wanted to supplement with Key to..., but it was mainly constructions, and that was not helpful for him. I finally worked thru Geometry in 20 Minutes a Day as a last resort. You could try Aleks online as a resource, but I wouldn't use it for a main class.

 

Have you considered studying the 20th Century? You could use DK's 20th Century Day by Day as a spine--the big, thick, book version, and add in Great Books. We did that, and it was pretty good, although I should have had ds write a lot more about his reading.

Some GB's and other good books to add:

Metamorphosis by Kafka

The Jungle by Sinclair

All Quiet on The Western Front

Great Gatsby

The Grapes of Wrath

The Hiding Place

The Snow Goose

Red Scarf Girl

The Endless Steppe

Cheaper By The Dozen

Little Britches (these are a series--pick one)

Parallel Journeys (about a German and a Jew in WWII)

Fallen Angels (pretty intense about Vietnam)

 

You could write a context page for each of these--what was going on (in brief, of course) around the world at the time it is written or set?

Pick a topic every decade and write a brief paper (5 pages or so) on it, and then assign one large research paper on a topic of the child's choice.

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Good Morning!

Depending on how much time you have left with your daughter at home, I would suggest TOG (Tapestry of Grace). Year 3 is 19th century American and world history and Year 4 is 20th century American and world history. It is very Christian in perspective, and very balanced in presentation of historical events and people. TOG incorporates history and literature in a chronological way. It also includes government and geography and church history if you choose to do them. Thus, Year 3 includes important works of literature by American, British, and European authors written in the 19th c, and year 4 includes important works written in the 20th c.

Alternatively, you might look into William Bennett's American History curriculum (can't remember the name just now, sorry)for her junior year and then a year of 20th c history for her senior year.

 

I love the math textbooks from The Art of Problem Solving, but your student and you have to be pretty motivated to use them successfully - they really make you think through the concepts as you encounter them rather than just letting you work through algorithms without understanding the ideas. My guys both used AoPS Geometry very successfully and one ds is currently working through AoPS Algebra texts. I have also heard consistently good things about Lials math texts. I seem to remember hearing about a video series made to accompany the Forester's Algebra books, and I think the same guy did a video series for geometry - Math Without Borders or something like that. Maybe someone who has used the material will have a recommendation. I found the website! http://www.mathwithoutborders.com/

 

Hope something here was helpful!

Blessings,

April

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