Joan in GE Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 or would have made if you had another to teach? Since dd is only in 9th, I still have several years to go and am curious how others have changed their program.... I'm finding some things so much easier with dd - in some ways I'm more flexible and in others more strict.... Some of the ways I'm less strict: We're using WEM much more! And other literature guides less... We don't always read the whole book. Nor do we go through every page of literature analysis guides...While for some books we will go through piece by piece, I find it more interesting to cover more books but some at a lighter level and some almost cursory (eg Moby Dick). Some ways I'm more strict: With R & S grammar, I'm going over the oral reviews for each lesson and through most of the exercises. We're spreading the lessons over several days sometimes to make sure that she has a thorough grasp. Her diagramming skills are great now. We haven't finished the 8th grade book because I realized that is really the last book about grammar in the series (9 & 10 cover a bit but other stuff mostly) so I realized this is really her last time through and she has to 'get it' now or never. Math - we're using a more difficult series starting in 7th grade already... Other changes: Talking more about various subjects.... Other changes but not necessarily for the better: She's doing AP HG in 9th and her bro did it in 10th....I'm finding that she is spending much more time on it than he did....But she is also writing more in her answers - being somewhat more of a perfectionist....Still, overall, not sure if it is worth the extra time and might have been better next year. But (you can see I'm going back and forth about this), it is making her mature in a way that I wanted her to be before getting into 10th grade, helping her be more aware of the world.... Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 My middle will start 9th grade next year. I am not making any changes to the "core" subjects of math, literature, history or writing. However, I am changing the science sequence. Since my middle thinks he wants to study computer science in college, I am starting him out with biology in 9th grade and saving chemistry and calc based physics for is junior and senior years of high school since I want that information to be more fresh in his mind when he starts college. My oldest is going pre-med so he will finish his senior year studying advanced biology topics to ensure those topics are fresh when he begins college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Perhaps it is because our two DSs were so close in age (one grade apart), but... the only changes we made were: - different program to be a better match for the very different learning style of second DS (specifically: choice of math, science, and writing programs were different for each; however, the specific topics of Alg 1/Geom/Alg. 2, or Biology/Chemistry/Physics were the same) - different elective courses and different foreign language to match their interests (Fine Arts = older DS did 2 classes on filmmaking (homegrown course of books and projects) and then media arts (online resources), while younger DS just did 1 get-er-done course in drumming (outsourced). Foreign Language = older DS did Spanish, while younger DS did ASL -- however, both foreign languages were outsourced as dual enrollment at the CC -- a *super* choice here which I would do again!) No big changes for me as far as my educational philosophy or goals for high school. We did a more relaxed version of WTM and it worked well for us -- lot of doing things together and discussing/thinking/analyzing together. I think I would handle teaching composition differently. The problem while homeschooling high school was that I just could never find a program that did what I wanted, and I couldn't ever seem to step back far enough to get a clear idea of what we needed to actually cover. This year, I seem to be seeing much more clearly how to approach teaching writing with the co-op class I'm leading. Perhaps other things would change, too, if I had another student who was also a different type of student -- highly motivated, or with a strong goal/interest... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 More AP classes earlier. We waited until junior year for the older two, and the younger ones have started them sophomore year. More outside classes earlier. My kids have loved homeschooling, but high school just seems to go better with them taking many of their classes from someone else. More college classes earlier. My older two found college classes to be quite easy compared with my classes and their online AP classes. So dd2 is taking college classes (two at a 4-year, two at a CC) during junior year instead of waiting for senior year. She loves the challenge, she loves the people, and she is learning a LOT about how the world works. Letting the kid choose more what they will do. I have this picture of my idealized education, but the kids have THEIR own ideas of what the "ideal" high school education will be, and I am increasingly letting the kids have more their way on that one! I want them engaged and involved more than I want that last idealized i dotted or t crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 My son will be a freshman next year, my DD is a currently Junior. I will make one change for DS that is something I learned through my experience with DD: Front load 9th grade. Get government and health out of the way so that there is less busy work when he is taking dual enrollment courses. DD is taking two time consuming and challenging university courses this semester; she is working very hard, but there is not much time for other subjects. I will make other changes that have nothing to do with experience, but with his different interests. His history course will focus less on art and literature, and more on military history. His literature selections will be different and reflect his interest (and he is a more normal reader, not lightning speed like DD). He is a visual learner, so we will probably use fewer audio lectures and more video resources. As his sister, he will audit his first college courses in 9th grade (all the work, but no formal enrollment), but I am not yet sure whether he will be up for the work load of actually taking courses at a 4 year university in 10th grade as his sister did. He might start at CC, and he will not take a science course for majors at age 15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I like you advice on frontloading freshman year to free up jr. and sr. years. Gives me something to think about! Thanks! My oldes is in 7th so I'm trying to figure HS out before she gets there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Front load 9th grade. Yes, we did this, but in 10th and 11th grades, rather than 9th (both DSs needed a gentle intro year into high school). Worked VERY well to help relieve the pressure for senior year. We also "double-dipped" where we could: - Government = participation in Youth & Gov't extracurricular activity also counted towards part of the Gov't credit - PE = tennis team extracurricular also counted towards part of the PE credit - Public Speaking co-op = counted towards Speech/Rhetoric portion of the English credit - History = research papers counted towards both History AND English/Composition - Foreign Language = dual enrollment at the community college, counted for both high school AND college -- AND 1 semester at CC = 1 YEAR of high school, so the 2 years requirement for high school was finished in 2 semesters at the CC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 However, I am changing the science sequence. Oh yes, this is something else we changed, doing Biology in 8th grade. She didn't do it for credit, but I wanted her to have a biology base already...and she'll do more bio in 11th. I'm still not sure what is best for her for advanced level science....hoping she'll show interest - but not sure how to encourage that...With ds3 it was obvious... Perhaps it is because our two DSs were so close in age (one grade apart), - different program to be a better match for the very different learning style of second DS - different elective courses and different foreign language to match their interests - Public Speaking co-op = counted towards Speech/Rhetoric portion of the English credit (from second post) One year apart - not much time for reflection in between. :-) Yes, dd is very auditory and is getting much more to listen to.... I'm having trouble about the elective courses because with the language requirements here - there are hardly any elective courses left! I definitely need to figure out something though to diversify her experience... About speech - I had a rude surprise when working with the umbrella school for ds3....in FL they would not count speech as part of English (I presume that is all of FL?)! (I forget what that goes under - maybe fine arts?) So I had to take out those activities from ds's English time - with help of HST+.....That is important to know - how your state/ or umbrella school divides such activities. She loves the challenge, she loves the people, and she is learning a LOT about how the world works. Letting the kid choose more what they will do. I have this picture of my idealized education, but the kids have THEIR own ideas of what the "ideal" high school education will be, and I am increasingly letting the kids have more their way on that one! I want them engaged and involved more than I want that last idealized i dotted or t crossed. They won't let kids who haven't graduated enroll in uni here but I see the great value of getting out of the house...I need to figure out how to do this... Gwen - This might sound odd - but how do you let them choose? Do you find a range of possibilities that might fit - or just say - see what you can find? If they don't know where to start, how do you get them started? Front load 9th grade. Get government and health out of the way Yes - definitely useful...We are doing health/life management this year, and government just so there is more time at the end for other things... This is one thing about the WTM sequence history/gov wise...if you wait for the last two years of high school and therefore of the history rotation per the book, that is when you get all the American History/Lit reading and therefore government readings (3rd and 4th cycles)...So we're doing it a bit differently...I've separated out the American literature from the 3 & 4th cycles, as well as anything related to gov and we're doing it now... With ds3 I was scrambling at the last minute about American and World History - so it is going better this time planning it out to match with literature but making sure those credits will be filled. (I hadn't been keeping track of it separately for ds3, but thankfully had written what we were doing in HST+ so could then go back and separate out the work that was American Hx and the work that was not....) Oh yes, for uni over here, some places are not taking AP Human Geo as one of the required AP humanities courses...so I'm planning on AP Euro Hx for dd - hopefully...(have to check more boxes over here - but I'm still trying to figure out how to diversify the high school experience with all these boxes to check) One more thing about the literature lists....there are so many good books on it that I missed with ds because of going too slowly... Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Hmmmm, not one of my high schoolers' plans looks at all similar to another ones. You certainly wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at transcripts that my kids were being taught in the same homeschool. Our oldest's transcript looked the most "traditional." He took quite a few classes dual-enrolled, but the general courses that he took matched up w/what high achieving high school students normally take. Nothing jumps out and says, wow, this is different. Our 2nd's transcripts have a lot of vocational courses when we were trying to figure out how to guide him. Vocational courses taught at home by a non-vocational mom.......let's just say that was probably one of my stupidest ideas in all my yrs of homeschooling. (Complete and utter disaster from my perspective, but enlightening for my ds. He learned what he didn't want to do even if we didn't find a path to what he wanted to do. For example, he thought he wanted to do landscape architecture.......but after a turf management course he realized he hated plants. :p ) our 3rd's transcripts are heavy in philosophy, theology, history, and literature......let's just say after my yrs w/ #2, the mold was broken and following our own drummer become much easier and we followed her passions. She was also a "waffler." She changed her ideas about what she wanted to do so many times that it was impossible to create a 4 yr plan that guided her toward her "path." We covered all the fundamentals w/sound coursework and filled in everything else w/ subjects she thrives in. Our #4's transcripts look absolutely nothing like the other 3. He has double the science, math, and foreign language that the others had. I am totally into tailoring courses by this pt and love what we are able to do b/c of it. #5 is in 8th grade, but she has already taken multiple high school courses. As we approach high school, her love for foreign languages is most definitely going to drive a lot of what we do. She is also very strong in math and science, so she will likely end up w/APs in both. Unlike my older kids.......she is strong across all subjects. I'm not used to that, so I think it is going to be a lot of fun! So.....I guess the biggest change is that I stopped trying to replicate a traditional 4 yr high school in our home w/o sacrificing core content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I'm having trouble about the elective courses because with the language requirements here - there are hardly any elective courses left! I definitely need to figure out something though to diversify her experience... Perhaps this is where "double-dipping" with extracurriculars might help? Just add on some resources to "flesh out" hours already spent on the extracurriculars to create elective credits? Ideas for electives: - PE (0.5 to 1.0 credit a year is easy, esp. when you add up hours of activities done over the summer) - Fine Arts (separate out materials/hours done for WTM Humanities; count events DD participates in/attends :concerts, ballet performances, plays, art exhibitions -- do some over the summer; check out - Speech/Debate -- students on speech/debate teams put so much time into that, it should be counted as a credit - a hobby -- is there a craft or skill DD has and enjoys? schedule time for it regularly and count that as an elective credit (cooking; calligraphy; jewelry-making; - Religious Studies -- if you are a family of faith, count hours spent towards study of Scriptures, books about the history of, or theology of, or practical application of, the faith This article has a huge list of ideas for electives; maybe let DD dabble with different things, count the hours (things done on weekends, evenings, and summer count!) and create an "Overview of _____" elective credit? About speech - I had a rude surprise when working with the umbrella school for ds3....in FL they would not count speech as part of English (I presume that is all of FL?)! (I forget what that goes under - maybe fine arts?) So I had to take out those activities from ds's English time - with help of HST+.....That is important to know - how your state/ or umbrella school divides such activities. Good reminder! General thought (not directed at you Joan -- LOL!): And if the hours aren't enough to count as a partial credit, and don't combine well with anything else to create credit, then you can still count it as an extracurricular. This is one thing about the WTM sequence history/gov wise...if you wait for the last two years of high school and therefore of the history rotation per the book, that is when you get all the American History/Lit reading and therefore government readings (3rd and 4th cycles)...So we're doing it a bit differently...I've separated out the American literature from the 3 & 4th cycles, as well as anything related to gov and we're doing it now...) I realize I had a hard time answering the question in your subject heading because I really feel GOOD about the way we did almost all of high school. Here is another area that worked very well for us: like you, I separated out American Lit. from the WTM cycle and did it as the Lit. the year we did American History. AND we also did Government that year, too. It wasn't what WTM lists, but, BOY did everything fit WELL together -- loads of connections back and forth between the 3 subject areas of History, Government and Literature by putting them together. I also had both DSs doing the same thing, so we did that when DSs were grade 11 (older DS) and grade 10 (younger DS). One more thing about the literature lists....there are so many good books on it that I missed with ds because of going too slowly... It's not a race! It's not about quantity! SWB doesn't expect *anyone* to get through that whole list! It is great stuff to *choose* from. She even has said that some of those works are better to wait on until college... or even until into your 30s or 40s, when you have more life experience under your belt to be able to appreciate those works. And lucky you -- you have a second time around, so you can choose all different things to do with the second DC! ;) Enjoy high-school-round-2! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 Our 2nd's transcripts have a lot of vocational courses when we were trying to figure out how to guide him. Vocational courses taught at home by a non-vocational mom.......let's just say that was probably one of my stupidest ideas in all my yrs of homeschooling. (Complete and utter disaster from my perspective, but enlightening for my ds. He learned what he didn't want to do even if we didn't find a path to what he wantedto do. For example, he thought he wanted to do landscape architecture.......but after a turf management course he realized he hated plants. :p ) we followed her passions. She was also a "waffler." So.....I guess the biggest change is that I stopped trying to replicate a traditional 4 yr high school in our home w/o sacrificing core content. Your homeschool story is quite interesting :-) The "I would never do this again"'s are invaluable.... I would never do to my oldest what I did when he was briefly at home for 9th....do the all correspondance/online(only 1 credit online) route - what a nightmare and terrible for him..... Your second's story wouldn't apply for my dd but I wonder about my ds1 though it is too late....Hopefully if someone else is in a similar situation they'll ask for guidance as I'm sure you learned a lot... I just searched 8FTH "core" but keep finding posts about core values...then searched "core content" but they were separated....What do you consider core content? And like I was asking Gwen - who I'm still hoping will answer - how do you find their passions? how do you get started? We don't have much wiggle room but she does need to explore somehow - I'm just somehow at a loss for how to do that....Ds 2 + 3 were both engineering types.... I don't know how to do what you are doing with the exploring of passions.... This article has a huge list of ideas for electives; maybe let DD dabble with different things, count the hours (things done on weekends, evenings, and summer count!) and create an "Overview of _____" elective credit? ETA - I forgot to thank you for that link! I don't need credit hours - but we do need ideas for activities to explore and develop passions....I wonder if this is how Gwen and 8 did it? I realize I had a hard time answering the question in your subject heading because I really feel GOOD about the way we did almost all of high school. Here is another area that worked very well for us: like you, I separated out American Lit. from the WTM cycle and did it as the Lit. the year we did American History. AND we also did Government that year, too. It wasn't what WTM lists, but, BOY did everything fit WELL together -- loads of connections back and forth between the 3 subject areas of History, Government and Literature by putting them together. I also had both DSs doing the same thing, so we did that when DSs were grade 11 (older DS) and grade 10 (younger DS). Yes - it works really well doesn't it? It all fell in place for us when I saw that dd needed to do Am Hx this year if she was going to do AP Eu next year....Things like the Social Contract (it turns out to be Rousseau's 300th birthday so they are having special exhibits) for French could also get tied into the development of political thought in the US....though I believe it affected the European continent more...it is still interesting to compare the individual vs collective mentality.... It's not a race! It's not about quantity! SWB doesn't expect *anyone* to get through that whole list! It is great stuff to *choose* from. She even has said that some of those works are better to wait on until college... or even until into your 30s or 40s, when you have more life experience under your belt to be able to appreciate those works. And lucky you -- you have a second time around, so you can choose all different things to do with the second DC! Oh, I know it is about quality - but there's also the element of exposure to cultural references which eg can give meaning to analogies used in the press....So to me, it is also an opportunity to give a little dip into a book and get the main idea that would be referred to in society - eg in Don Quixote - if you know the part of the story about 'tilting at windmills' - then you get one of the main analogies that people refer to from that story - or at least that's my impression (as a completely non-literary person :-)).... Then you also have the time to go through the situations at a deeper level (like Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl which gives such a strong feeling for the life of female slaves but doesn't have that many literary devices...It awakens compassion though) and then those you want to go really slowly through at an even deeper level and look at literary devices, examine conversations (Pride and Prejudice) Mostly, I would have spent as much time on math and science as we did all the other stuff put together. I did this with our younger 3 in math using several programs and doing much of the work orally. It worked beautifully. I only wish I had started when they were all very young. I would have begun foreign languages much sooner, too. Our younger 2 dc began lang's when they were still in grammar stage. They both went on to study several lang's just because they enjoyed them. I think all 5 would have done that had I started them in the grammar stage with foreign lang's. Yes, sometimes the changes that are possible in high school are only possible if you have made changes in primary or middle school years....The same for us with foreign languages... Could I ask what combination of math programs you used and what you did orally? Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I have a couple of things I would change if I had it to do over again. First and foremost, we'd have never used Rosetta Stone... my guys spent years on that (getting As - computer graded) and couldn't test out of a thing in college. Second, I'd have done more AP - starting probably sophomore year. With oldest, we did none (same as our high school). With middle we did two with tests and three more without - all junior and senior year. He could have easily handled more and sooner. Third, I'd have had oldest take a couple more cc courses - just for the experience as our cc isn't super difficult. I'd make these be classes I couldn't easily teach at home, but allow him to pick based upon his desires. I did this with middle... Oldest only got one class (English) and only his senior year. Middle took three (English, Microbio, Effective Speaking) and started junior year. He would have taken more, but these classes cost us roughly $750 each... so we had to limit them With oldest, we stuck a bit to our school schedule as I wanted him to be as "on" with things as his peers. After the first year (9th grade for him) I changed up a bit and let him diverge to take classes he wanted (like Marine Bio). That was a plus, but there was no reason to stick with the school schedule at all (aside from getting the basic college prep in). Middle son really designed his education toward exactly what he wanted and hasn't regretted it a bit. I also started middle son with the PSAT as a sophomore rather than just assuming it was a junior's test. No regrets at all there and I do wish I'd done the same with oldest... I also started middle with the ACT in April of his sophomore year - a nice beginning test that set him up nicely for his junior year. I only wish youngest would have let me "use" my "improved" knowledge for his high school years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 First and foremost, we'd have never used Rosetta Stone... my guys spent years on that (getting As - computer graded) and couldn't test out of a thing in college. I think it's ok for 4-7th grade as a prep, but definitely would not depend on it for high school level.... That was a plus, but there was no reason to stick with the school schedule at all (aside from getting the basic college prep in). Middle son really designed his education toward exactly what he wanted and hasn't regretted it a bit. I also started middle son with the PSAT as a sophomore rather than just assuming it was a junior's test. No regrets at all there and I do wish I'd done the same with oldest... I also started middle with the ACT in April of his sophomore year - a nice beginning test that set him up nicely for his junior year. I only wish youngest would have let me "use" my "improved" knowledge for his high school years... When you say your middle son designed his education....do you have a post where you've written more details about this? I'm curious how people go off the beaten track so to speak.... Thanks for the testing suggestions; I hadn't thought of dd doing the ACT in sophomore year at all.... Group times: These were priceless for learning math. I didn't sit and teach. They all learned together. I would assign problems from something like Math. Circles to be worked on over the week. When we met the following week, they took turns writing their solutions on the board, explaining as they went. Then, they all compared their own solutions to the others and discussed the various ways they had arrived at the answer. An example from the early years: I found that overlapping R&S math with Krickenberger's Alg 1 (you could use almost anything - it's more about technique, not curr) was more stimulating and effective because their brains would be stretched by the Alg, and we would end on the R&S to let it relax and snap back. Dd's did all their work on white boards as needed (they all learned how to properly write up math solutions later) and I told them if the answer was correct. If not, they reworked it. If still incorrect, I had them read the problem aloud (You'd be surprised at how often they found their own mistakes just from this.). If they still didn't get it, I began asking them questions along the lines of 'What did they give you? What are they wanting you to do? What is that number?' And so on. Ds's are older and had already done Saxon through Advanced Math, but I had them do Allen's Alg 1 bk for review. One ds's comment to me about Allen: "Oh, I get it. This is the why behind all the Saxon stuff." They also did Klaf and Fomin with us as a group. Dh taught them calculus with my old Swokowski bk. I'm not sure they got the calculus, though, because dh tends to have a one-track mind - not such a good teacher. 2 dd's did Krickenberger's Alg 2 over the summer just because they needed it on their transcripts for college. Other dd is working on Alg 2 now, along with geometry (AoPS). All read Euclid in their GB's study. Dd's also zipped through a cheap self-teaching geometry book before they took the SAT. They will probably go back and do AoPS's geometry if they have time. Maybe more of AoPs. Middle dd hated the little bit of AoPs that she did though. Said it was for "people who already KNOW (insert name of math)." I could see her point. *I* loved it and so did the other 4 kids. But for certain kids I can see why they would hate it. Oh well. They had all done IL and Int Logic + Traditional Logic bks. So we did Patrick Suppes' book (the easy one) as a group. That was fun. I even did that one. They also read Isaac Watts' logic bk and did all the WTM logic stage bks (Mind Benders, etc.). As you can see it's really a mess. That's why I said I would have made major changes from the grammar ages on. I think that had I experimented much sooner and figured out some of this when they were younger, they would have done as well in the math as they did in the crit reading on the SAT. I have WTM to thank for those crit reading scores. It's really more about the technique than the curr. Sure, there are lousy curr's, but even those are useful if only to pick apart and figure out exactly what makes them lousy. But after playing around with it with my own dc (they're all average, no ld's, no gifted, btw), I'm convinced that many kids hate math because of the way it's taught. Even hs'ers. They aren't taught to play around with it. It's presented as cut and dry with no flexibility and no fun. You do it the way THIS ONE book says to do it. Period. It's shoved away to the corner like an unwanted stepchild, and allotted only the obligatory hour per day for most kids. No wonder kids hate it. If that makes sense. Anyway, I managed to bring math front and center for our dc for a few years before I finished hs'ing. And in that short time I did get some of them to actually enjoy math. One ds says he might like to major in it - if he even goes to college. (For now, he just orders math books with strange titles - Monster ...???- and reads them on his own right now. Says he thinks he can do what he wants to do better at home. We'll see.) Youngest dd scored 780 on the SAT math. The 2 dd's in college are taking Calculus from an experienced teacher who's taught at various levels for 15 years. She said dd's work was "some of the best I've ever seen". So I know I got close to solving the math dilemma. I just needed to start them much sooner and put in much, much more time on it. But that's lfe, eh? Maybe they'll let me experiment on the grandkids. ;) So did you have to do a lot of planning to do all that mixing of curriculums? I wish I could have sat in on some of your group lessons to see exactly how that all worked....One of the complaints against home education here is that the kids can't do 'group work' - but it sounds like you were successful....So how did you know you were done with math for a year if you weren't following just one book? or was that what you meant about needing Alg 2 on their transcript? Were you a math major in college? Your path for them does sound quite different but very stimulating.... About Euclid....I got it when first planning a WTM high school path - but so far it sat on the shelf....It is hard for me to imagine dd plowing through it - do you have any suggestions? Did you read it with them? It sounds like you were doing studies at the same time when you talk about 'liking' AoPS.... I agree about hoping to get to use my experience for others at some point - it would be a shame for it to be wasted.... Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 11, 2012 Author Share Posted December 11, 2012 No, I didn't do much planning. We've always done year-round hs'ing, one book after another. Our dc went past the traditional age of 18yo because we began WTM later in our hs'ing and because I allowed them to take as long as they wanted/needed to finish books in all subjects. That's probably one reason we didn't get to as much math as I had wanted. When I found a new book that looked better, I added it to their booklists. That's probably another reason. Like I said, it was a messy, messy process; but, for some reason, I feel like that messiness was actually a good thing. Crazy, I know. :) And I think if I'd had just a teensy bit more time our dc would have had as good an education in math (and science) as they have in history, lang's, GB's, etc. But because I wasn't very confident in my own math education, (no math degree, BS in Medical Technology), I delayed experimenting. Way back when Jane in NC and Adrian and Myrtle were having those big discussions about math, I talked to my dh (he has degrees in chem and physics and actually had a lot of that math they mentioned - but a very impatient teacher) about the whole math thing. So, better late than never, I screwed up the courage from all those discussions to do something different. Because I had no model, I made up my own based on how well the WTM process was working in all the other subjects our dc were doing (and loving). The group stuff came about because all 5 were at different places in the different subjects. My goal was to have them share what they were learning and help each other (I could also keep tabs on how well they were understanding what they were studying). So, no, I didn't go year by year. All that really mattered in the end to the colleges was what was written on the transcript, and we did booklists. They didn't care. I'm not even sure the little 'cheerleaders' that staff a lot of these admissions offices even know what these books are. They just know that the subject requirement is fulfilled. Box checked. That's all they seem to care about. Our dc went through (are continuing through) the GB's on their own, more or less. I didn't read Euclid. They read it and wrote papers on it. I figured they had to have learned a little of something in order to write something. It must have worked a little because one dd connected Euclid with some geometry she was doing not long ago. Forgot what she said exactly. You are so adventurous about not following the typical path! But it sounds like your family has grown together through it all...and you have certainly grown a lot - grown into teaching all that math... I can see how it comes about because I'm doing a messy path in some ways with history, literature, Am gov, chemistry - just not math....somehow it seems to fit together though I just have this vague plan in my head from knowing where I generally want to end up after having done it once with ds... You make me laugh about Euclid and their papers!! Yours really sounds like a family of life-long learners... Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullia Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 What I would do differently: Double-check and reinforce mastery of pre-algebra skills in 7th and 8th grades. (Do a better job of diagnosing understanding of concepts vs. mastery of paradigms.) Outsource math earlier and use multiple resources including AoPS. Schedule math to allow time for Algebra III and Trig/precalc during high school unless the student falls at either end of the spectrum of math aptitude. Add Lingua Latina/Roma Aeterna as a supplement in 9th if not earlier. Progress further through the progym. Incorporate more informal writing i.e. response papers for writing assignments in history, literature, and science. Have one term paper per year in high school using assigned general topics: science in 9th, history in 10th, literature in 11th, student’s choice in 12th. I would choose that sequence based on my experience in our co-op. Begin using WEM in 9th. Be less willing after 10th grade to stagger due dates of exams, papers and projects. Send SAT/ACT scores to more schools even if that dc intends to start with community college. I’d have a better grasp of what is and is not important regarding transcripts, grades, and test scores. I’d begin talking about options for extracurricular activities/community service before 9th grade. Continue nature hikes and journals but add things such as photography and a blog to the mix. I've finished my one chance at teaching high school, but what I hope would NOT do: Worry too much about whether or not we were doing enough. Worry about whether or not we were moving quickly enough. Fall into the trap of worrying that the motivation, work, habits, discussion skills, and general demeanor of a 14 y.o. are indicators of what that person will be at 16, at 18, or at 20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Hi Martha and Lori D. :-) Here I've just quoted the parts where I have a question or it provoked thought...... I think I would handle teaching composition differently. The problem while homeschooling high school was that I just could never find a program that did what I wanted, and I couldn't ever seem to step back far enough to get a clear idea of what we needed to actually cover. This year, I seem to be seeing much more clearly how to approach teaching writing with the co-op class I'm leading. Lori - I kept forgetting to get back and ask you about how you are doing composition now that you are teaching a co-op?...wondering what clear ideas have emerged with hindsight? What I would do differently: Double-check and reinforce mastery of pre-algebra skills in 7th and 8th grades. (Do a better job of diagnosing understanding of concepts vs. mastery of paradigms.) Progress further through the progym. Incorporate more informal writing i.e. response papers for writing assignments in history, literature, and science. Have one term paper per year in high school using assigned general topics: science in 9th, history in 10th, literature in 11th, student’s choice in 12th. I would choose that sequence based on my experience in our co-op. Begin using WEM in 9th. Be less willing after 10th grade to stagger due dates of exams, papers and projects. Send SAT/ACT scores to more schools even if that dc intends to start with community college. I’d have a better grasp of what is and is not important regarding transcripts, grades, and test scores. I’d begin talking about options for extracurricular activities/community service before 9th grade. Continue nature hikes and journals but add things such as photography and a blog to the mix. I've finished my one chance at teaching high school, but what I hope would NOT do: Worry too much about whether or not we were doing enough. Worry about whether or not we were moving quickly enough. Fall into the trap of worrying that the motivation, work, habits, discussion skills, and general demeanor of a 14 y.o. are indicators of what that person will be at 16, at 18, or at 20. For diagnosing about understanding math concepts - did you invent a test or go through a finished book and discuss concepts or....? I have to look into progym - haven't read much about that... I tried to search your board name and number of pages you required for term and response papers, but couldn't find it though maybe I didn't search well....Did you follow SWB's requirements or what was your ballpark number of pages for the different kind of papers? Interesting concept about not staggering due dates... I like the nature hikes and photography idea - to keep touch with another side of life and not get overly preoccupied with producing grades.... Thanks for the other ideas too. About that last one - SO TRUE! the difference between 9th grade performance and 11th grade capacity was enormous for ds3...there are huge changes going on in the brain.... Thank you! Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 We homeschooled our daughter from seventh grade through high school. On the whole, I'm pleased with what we/she did. Had we had more time in the day, there are three things I would have liked to include -- World Geography, penmanship, and a modern foreign language. My daughter is taking Korean now in college which shows that all is not lost if you don't get it all in while in high school! Gwen - This might sound odd - but how do you let them choose? Do you find a range of possibilities that might fit - or just say - see what you can find? If they don't know where to start, how do you get them started? I'm not Gwen, but in my daughter's case we gave her choices. For example, what foreign language would you like to study (French, Spanish, or Latin), what science would you like to take at the community college (Biology, Physics or Geology), what math would you like to do after Pre-Calculus (Calculus at home, Calculus at the community college, or AP Statistics through PA Homeschoolers) and what literature would you like to study at the community college (this, that or that). Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Lori D., on 05 December 2012 - 10:19 AM, said: I think I would handle teaching composition differently. The problem while homeschooling high school was that I just could never find a program that did what I wanted, and I couldn't ever seem to step back far enough to get a clear idea of what we needed to actually cover. This year, I seem to be seeing much more clearly how to approach teaching writing with the co-op class I'm leading. Lori - I kept forgetting to get back and ask you about how you are doing composition now that you are teaching a co-op?...wondering what clear ideas have emerged with hindsight? Well, the *biggest* thing I am discovering through the co-op is that it is SO much easier to give assignments to, and grade the work of, OTHER people's children. :tongue_smilie: Being my DSs' mom made it hard to be tough, and they didn't really give me their full effort in the way they do for the writing teachers they have had at the community college. I'm betting that similarly, the students in my co-op classes are striving to give ME more than they do at home. So -- some (not all) outsourcing of writing would be part of my strategy if I had another go-around. Also, I gleaned a ton from how DSs' writing teachers organized their Writing 101 and 102 classes at the community college -- what they cover, how they cover it, types of assignments, expectations, etc. I've just stepped it down a few notches in volume and speed and it works pretty well for the middle school/high school students in my co-op classes. More specifically, I think what I see now is: - how to glean from various programs what is needed to teach/learn the parts of writing - and then how to organize that into a logical series of teachings and assignments that build on one another - ideas for how to practice the parts of writing (practice writing transitions, hooks, commentary, etc.) - the importance of giving VERY specific, clear assignments - the importance of giving a very specific, clear checklist with each assignment of the steps, and expectations - the need for covering the types of writing REALLY used in real life (not just the classroom essay or research paper) That last one is the one thing I'm NOT going to have the time/ability to cover in the co-op, BUT, seeing various things my DSs are encountering in college, I think that's really important are specific types of writing that should be covered during high school: - note-taking - making lists for organizing - writing a concise, clear set of directions (either how to travel to someplace, or how to make/do something) - narratives: writing/speaking concisely and in an organized way -- esp. for explaining medical or emergency situations - how to business letters -- inquiries, report letters, cover letters, letters of introduction - how to write special types of letters -- apologies, requests, invitations, etc. - personal writing: sympathy notes, notes of encouragement, etc. - how to write for a speech, presentation, business or committee report, etc. - writing a personal recommendation, letter of support, compliment/note to a supervisor about the good job done by an employee - how to write a formal complaint, petition for action, etc. - college admission/scholarship application essays - social networking writing and etiquette Guess I'll have to start working on a curriculum... (lol) :rolleyes: Warmly, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 penmanship, in my daughter's case we gave her choices Penmanship seems like a neverending problem....We've worked on it off and on, using different programs, but I still haven't really figured out how to help her ameliorate. Now she's taken to a modified script. I thought we had the problem solved last spring - only for her to become dissatisfied for some reason with the chosen script... Hmmm....choices about courses - she has a very tiny bit - which is partly her choice because she wants to finish early...but I'm wondering about developing 'passions'...... Well, the *biggest* thing I am discovering through the co-op is that it is SO much easier to give assignments to, and grade the work of, OTHER people's children. :tongue_smilie: Being my DSs' mom made it hard to be tough, and they didn't really give me their full effort in the way they do for the writing teachers they have had at the community college. I'm betting that similarly, the students in my co-op classes are striving to give ME more than they do at home. So -- some (not all) outsourcing of writing would be part of my strategy if I had another go-around. Also, I gleaned a ton from how DSs' writing teachers organized their Writing 101 and 102 classes at the community college -- what they cover, how they cover it, types of assignments, expectations, etc. I've just stepped it down a few notches in volume and speed and it works pretty well for the middle school/high school students in my co-op classes. More specifically, I think what I see now is: - how to glean from various programs what is needed to teach/learn the parts of writing - and then how to organize that into a logical series of teachings and assignments that build on one another - ideas for how to practice the parts of writing (practice writing transitions, hooks, commentary, etc.) - the importance of giving VERY specific, clear assignments - the importance of giving a very specific, clear checklist with each assignment of the steps, and expectations - the need for covering the types of writing REALLY used in real life (not just the classroom essay or research paper) That last one is the one thing I'm NOT going to have the time/ability to cover in the co-op, BUT, seeing various things my DSs are encountering in college, I think that's really important are specific types of writing that should be covered during high school: - note-taking - making lists for organizing - writing a concise, clear set of directions (either how to travel to someplace, or how to make/do something) - narratives: writing/speaking concisely and in an organized way -- esp. for explaining medical or emergency situations - how to business letters -- inquiries, report letters, cover letters, letters of introduction - how to write special types of letters -- apologies, requests, invitations, etc. - personal writing: sympathy notes, notes of encouragement, etc. - how to write for a speech, presentation, business or committee report, etc. - writing a personal recommendation, letter of support, compliment/note to a supervisor about the good job done by an employee - how to write a formal complaint, petition for action, etc. - college admission/scholarship application essays - social networking writing and etiquette Guess I'll have to start working on a curriculum... (lol) :rolleyes: Warmly, Lori D. Laughing about the bolded part :-) Thank you for the lists! They're helpful. I can see how much you learned from studying the writing classes yours took. With all the insight from homeschooling already, I bet everything became crystal clear - and now you have the time to put it all together in your unique way. Yes - time to write something :-) Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullia Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Hi Martha and Lori D. :-) Here I've just quoted the parts where I have a question or it provoked thought...... Lori - I kept forgetting to get back and ask you about how you are doing composition now that you are teaching a co-op?...wondering what clear ideas have emerged with hindsight? For diagnosing about understanding math concepts - did you invent a test or go through a finished book and discuss concepts or....? Truth is, I really dropped the ball on this one! Ds completed Saxon 87 in 7th grade and went through Jacobs algebra in 8th grade--I thought successfully. But then, we found that he could not remember or apply the algebra the following year. [i should insert here that we had some special circumstances--trouble with math instruction in early elementary at the ps plus a major health issue just as ds was getting started with high school affected our experience.] What we ended up doing was re-doing algebra using a program that had video instruction and an excruciatingly detailed solutions manual. It worked, but it took up a lot of precious time. I have to look into progym - haven't read much about that...Don't get me started...it's one of my favorite topics and I'm apt to go on too long.... :blushing: I tried to search your board name and number of pages you required for term and response papers, but couldn't find it though maybe I didn't search well....Did you follow SWB's requirements or what was your ballpark number of pages for the different kind of papers? For quite a few years I read a LOT more than I posted--our high school years were busy and full of outside distractions. We did a lot of our writing in a co-op. I used SWB's guidelines mostly to help me evaluate and choose different resources. A lot of the materials available from PHP today weren't published when I made my decisions about high school. Response papers: I would assign 3-5 questions per reading assignment. I did use SWB's free sample downloads when we were designing co-op assignments, but that was three computers and several years ago; I've archived the files. As far as I can remember, most of the papers varied in length. 3-5 pages was typical but we also had assignments 5-7 pages. I think we had one semester where the assignment was 9-12 pages for the older students. So far, that's been sufficient for all the college writing ds has done so far. However, NMT has a technical writing course which will conclude with his toughest writing assignment as an undergrad. I used a variety of resources, but Classical Writing functioned as our "core." Interesting concept about not staggering due dates...Having multiple projects/exams falling in the same week more than once during ds' first full semester as a college student was stressful! I like the nature hikes and photography idea - to keep touch with another side of life and not get overly preoccupied with producing grades....Yes; I agree that achieving and maintaining a balanced approach is important. Thanks for the other ideas too. About that last one - SO TRUE! the difference between 9th grade performance and 11th grade capacity was enormous for ds3...there are huge changes going on in the brain... Thank you! Joan I like what a previous poster said about being willing to sit down and explore how to teach math using the classical paradigm. I followed many of the math discussions here with great interest, but for us and at that time, the best I could do was make sure that ds was ready for college math. He found instructors who were able to add the dimension our home school lacked. I can't remember the exact thread title, but there was one about discussing math that was especially helpful to me. I see that my son has made it home after finals. :party: I'm going to help him unload the car and will check back later! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Hmmm... Mine are very different people, so I think this is difficult to answer. I wish, when mine were very little, I had realized the connection between TWTM skills like outlining and the basic academic/study skills needed for college, the ones that one is supposed to develop in high school. I wish I had read Hewitt's Conceptual Physics and Conceptual Chemistry when I was pregnant with my oldest. If I had, I would have done a better job of answering their questions. I didn't do too badly, but I could have done a much better job. They began asking questions about things that show up in those two books shortly after they learned to talk. All those endless "why" questions... I also wish I had had a better grasp of natural history. And I would LOVE to have known what I now know about teaching writing. I wish I had known to divide learning up into skills and content. I still waffle on whether I would have given the unrestricted access to the internet that I did. It has advantages and disadvantages. Because I taught the younger one and the older one together much of the time, the younger one went farther in many of the subjects. This makes it hard to answer your question. I think it is very interesting how alike their transcripts are despite their different aptitudes and interests. I think this might be because we used the same educational goals for both children. Joan - You might find it helpful to read How to Be a High School Superstar. I know that in your situation you are working with a different set of requirements so there is a limit to how much of his advice you will be able to apply, but I still think the second half of the book might contain useful suggestions on how to find those interests that you feel are lacking. Try reading the book back to front instead of front to back and ignore the advice about how to get into college and concentrate on the advice about how to develop a passion. If you are in a hurry, just read part 13. I'll send it to you if you want. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyniffrec Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Wow, there is some great information here! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 For diagnosing about understanding math concepts - did you invent a test or go through a finished book and discuss concepts or....? Truth is, I really dropped the ball on this one! Ds completed Saxon 87 in 7th grade and went through Jacobs algebra in 8th grade--I thought successfully. But then, we found that he could not remember or apply the algebra the following year. [i should insert here that we had some special circumstances--trouble with math instruction in early elementary at the ps plus a major health issue just as ds was getting started with high school affected our experience.] What we ended up doing was re-doing algebra using a program that had video instruction and an excruciatingly detailed solutions manual. It worked, but it took up a lot of precious time. This is a good reminder for me because dd didn't really enjoy Algebra...so I should slip in some review questions in our discussions.... I have to look into progym - haven't read much about that...Don't get me started...it's one of my favorite topics and I'm apt to go on too long.... :blushing: Maybe I'll get you started in a separate thread after the holidays once I've read a bit more about it. :-) I tried to search your board name and number of pages you required for term and response papers, but couldn't find it though maybe I didn't search well....Did you follow SWB's requirements or what was your ballpark number of pages for the different kind of papers? For quite a few years I read a LOT more than I posted--our high school years were busy and full of outside distractions. We did a lot of our writing in a co-op. I used SWB's guidelines mostly to help me evaluate and choose different resources. A lot of the materials available from PHP today weren't published when I made my decisions about high school. Response papers: I would assign 3-5 questions per reading assignment. I did use SWB's free sample downloads when we were designing co-op assignments, but that was three computers and several years ago; I've archived the files. As far as I can remember, most of the papers varied in length. 3-5 pages was typical but we also had assignments 5-7 pages. I think we had one semester where the assignment was 9-12 pages for the older students. So far, that's been sufficient for all the college writing ds has done so far. However, NMT has a technical writing course which will conclude with his toughest writing assignment as an undergrad. The Technical Writing link is interesting for our family and I've asked my sons if they have gotten or will get such a course....Is it a required subject for your son? Looks quite useful for engineers... Your comments about writing are a good stimulus for me - I've been getting dd to do more writing since your thread but it's not up to 3-5 pages yet.... I used a variety of resources, but Classical Writing functioned as our "core." I've searched this a bit here but tend to find posts that just list it as something they used.....then searched in the Advanced Search and it wouldn't even show this thread...Have you posted descriptions about it before? Could you link anything you've written? Interesting concept about not staggering due dates...Having multiple projects/exams falling in the same week more than once during ds' first full semester as a college student was stressful! I can see the value and it would be good prep... I like what a previous poster said about being willing to sit down and explore how to teach math using the classical paradigm. I followed many of the math discussions here with great interest, but for us and at that time, the best I could do was make sure that ds was ready for college math. He found instructors who were able to add the dimension our home school lacked. I can't remember the exact thread title, but there was one about discussing math that was especially helpful to me. Probably Jane's Let's talk math thread...? I see that my son has made it home after finals. :party: I'm going to help him unload the car and will check back later! Glad your son is back safe and sound! :-) Here's hoping you have warm holidays together... Hmmm... Mine are very different people, so I think this is difficult to answer. I wish, when mine were very little, I had realized the connection between TWTM skills like outlining and the basic academic/study skills needed for college, the ones that one is supposed to develop in high school. I wish I had read Hewitt's Conceptual Physics and Conceptual Chemistry when I was pregnant with my oldest. If I had, I would have done a better job of answering their questions. I didn't do too badly, but I could have done a much better job. They began asking questions about things that show up in those two books shortly after they learned to talk. All those endless "why" questions... I also wish I had had a better grasp of natural history. And I would LOVE to have known what I now know about teaching writing. I wish I had known to divide learning up into skills and content. I still waffle on whether I would have given the unrestricted access to the internet that I did. It has advantages and disadvantages. Because I taught the younger one and the older one together much of the time, the younger one went farther in many of the subjects. This makes it hard to answer your question. I think it is very interesting how alike their transcripts are despite their different aptitudes and interests. I think this might be because we used the same educational goals for both children. Joan - You might find it helpful to read How to Be a High School Superstar. I know that in your situation you are working with a different set of requirements so there is a limit to how much of his advice you will be able to apply, but I still think the second half of the book might contain useful suggestions on how to find those interests that you feel are lacking. Try reading the book back to front instead of front to back and ignore the advice about how to get into college and concentrate on the advice about how to develop a passion. If you are in a hurry, just read part 13. I'll send it to you if you want. You're really right about reading the Conceptual Physics and Chem before children are asking questions - they would be at a whole other level by high school....I'll keep that advice in mind for young mothers....Hopefully others can benefit from your other recs...I think the second one gets so many benefits - all the thing mom learns.... Is this the book you are recommending? Thanks! I don't have it but hopefully it will help - I can order through Amazon with some other books that have been in my basket for awhile and the shipping will probably be cheaper than for individuals (Amazon has some special deal I think and charge only about $5/bk). But thanks for offering to send! I'm looking forward to it... Thank you Nan and Martha! Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullia Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I've snipped the post quoted below... Maybe I'll get you started in a separate thread after the holidays once I've read a bit more about it. :-) I'd like that. :D Let me know! The Technical Writing link is interesting for our family and I've asked my sons if they have gotten or will get such a course....Is it a required subject for your son? Looks quite useful for engineers...It's a required course for all NMT degree candidates, and seems to be unique (in NM). In-state transfer students are warned that it's NOT the same as the basic Tech Writing course offered at other NM schools. Ds' technical writing course from CNM transferred as a core state required English credit but he'll still have to take Eng. 341. Your comments about writing are a good stimulus for me - I've been getting dd to do more writing since your thread but it's not up to 3-5 pages yet....A gradual process works best, IME. I've searched this a bit here but tend to find posts that just list it as something they used.....then searched in the Advanced Search and it wouldn't even show this thread...Have you posted descriptions about it before? Could you link anything you've written? I'm still learning to use the search features here. Don't know what others can see as opposed to what I see, but I think there's a link to members' threads and posts on individual profile pages. For detailed information on CW, I usually send people here. I'll try to think more about who I've had conversations with about CW. I'm drawing a blank today. Probably Jane's Let's talk math thread...? Yes, that is the one I was talking about, but I also remember other threads from the old,old boards. They are archived somewhere and can still be accessed (scary thought, eh?) but I don't think I saved the link which someone posted--don't even remember which of the forums. :bigear: Glad your son is back safe and sound! :-) Here's hoping you have warm holidays together...Thank you! I'm glad to have him home--he's got a full month off and we're looking forward to it! Thank you Nan and Martha! You're welcome; I always enjoy reading Nan's perspective! Her wisdom was so very helpful to me during our high school years. Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Joan - Yes, that is the book. As I said, it won't all apply, but I think the advice about how to develop interests makes sense and will apply to your situation. Good luck! Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 14, 2012 Author Share Posted December 14, 2012 The Technical Writing link is interesting for our family and I've asked my sons if they have gotten or will get such a course....Is it a required subject for your son? Looks quite useful for engineers...It's a required course for all NMT degree candidates, and seems to be unique (in NM). In-state transfer students are warned that it's NOT the same as the basic Tech Writing course offered at other NM schools. Ds' technical writing course from CNM transferred as a core state required English credit but he'll still have to take Eng. 341. Your comments about writing are a good stimulus for me - I've been getting dd to do more writing since your thread but it's not up to 3-5 pages yet....A gradual process works best, IME. I've searched this a bit here but tend to find posts that just list it as something they used.....then searched in the Advanced Search and it wouldn't even show this thread...Have you posted descriptions about it before? Could you link anything you've written? I'm still learning to use the search features here. Don't know what others can see as opposed to what I see, but I think there's a link to members' threads and posts on individual profile pages. For detailed information on CW, I usually send people here. I'll try to think more about who I've had conversations with about CW. I'm drawing a blank today. Probably Jane's Let's talk math thread...? Yes, that is the one I was talking about, but I also remember other threads from the old,old boards. They are archived somewhere and can still be accessed (scary thought, eh?) but I don't think I saved the link which someone posted--don't even remember which of the forums. :bigear: I got an answer from one son who is graduated and he didn't have such a course (so doubt other ds will)....He said he's getting experience now. Will your son have that course soon? (Wondering about any links he could recommend..) Thanks for the Classical Writing link and let me know if you happen upon those old math threads... thanks Martha! Joan - Yes, that is the book. As I said, it won't all apply, but I think the advice about how to develop interests makes sense and will apply to your situation. Good luck! Nan Yep - I'll look at the second half of the book :-) Thanks! Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tullia Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I got an answer from one son who is graduated and he didn't have such a course (so doubt other ds will)....He said he's getting experience now. Will your son have that course soon? (Wondering about any links he could recommend..) Thanks for the Classical Writing link and let me know if you happen upon those old math threads... thanks Martha! Joan He will probably won't take the course until next year; there's a requirement that a minimum number of hours be completed in the major before enrolling. I'll see if he has heard about any links. He has a grad student mentor in addition to his faculty advisor who might have more information. If I'm able to find the link to the archive of the old boards I'll post it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Continue nature hikes and journals but add things such as photography and a blog to the mix. This article made me think of your comment....I love walking and have been doing much more lately - it's a great time to reflect and maybe invent and ask questions....I've certainly had a lot of questions lately...So far though, my dc are not nearly as interested though one loves to bike... It says that if you want to be more creative - go outdoors... http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/12/13/167181498/ah-wilderness-nature-hike-could-unlock-your-imagination?ft=3&f=122101520&sc=nl&cc=sh-20121215 Yes, that is the one I was talking about, but I also remember other threads from the old,old boards. They are archived somewhere and can still be accessed (scary thought, eh?) but I don't think I saved the link which someone posted--don't even remember which of the forums. Here is another thread by Jane - A discussion of high school mathematics courses...but not from the old board... Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 My oldest is a junior and studying for the SAT. My youngest is in 8th grade. I am absolutely making changes. Some of the changes are due to learning style and interest. But, others are things I've come across along the way. I am not using Saxon with my youngest. We are finishing up Horizon Pre-algebra and I've purchased Lial's introductory algebra for her. My oldest is finishing math with Lial's pre-calculus rather than Saxon. I'm using Scott Foresman literature with youngest rather than whole book study guides. My oldest used Apologia science for physical and my youngest is using Abeka. I started foreign language earlier with my youngest mainly so she can do it along side my oldest. But, I'm seeing how crowded my 11th grader's schedule is becoming and I think it is a good idea for us to knock out some electives earlier with the youngest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 No big regrets, really. We have access to more options now than when the oldest hit high school. I wasn't overly pleased with that first year of high school, but we had to stick with a situation that wasn't challenging enough at that point because of family circumstances. I wish that I had packed in more electives that year too, but we did what we could. I like what we've done since though, and plan to stay the course. A few lessons... If you can swing it, outsourcing carefully can give your student a superstar teacher for an area you aren't strong in and accountability to someone other than you. I'm so thankful that we've been able to do this because it takes the pressure off of me and makes them more self-starting. Inspect what you expect. I can't stress that enough. Even with outsourced classes, I read the papers and want to know how they plan to meet the big project deadlines. Put them into situations where they sweat some but can excel. No regrets about that. Every kid is different, but it isn't bad to struggle appropriately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 Joan - You might find it helpful to read How to Be a High School Superstar. The book finally got here on Fri and dd snapped it up immediately. She started reading at the beginning (very unlike her mom who has a lot of trouble starting at the beginning of a book) and is almost half-way through due to a busy weekend. But she wants me to one of his other books as well and has started implementing some of his ideas. She said to tell you "Thank you"! Joan PS to others who posted later - I was mostly offline for the last month due to a variety of issues and am just rediscovering the board...:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 The book finally got here on Fri and dd snapped it up immediately. She started reading at the beginning (very unlike her mom who has a lot of trouble starting at the beginning of a book) and is almost half-way through due to a busy weekend. But she wants me to one of his other books as well and has started implementing some of his ideas. She said to tell you "Thank you"! Joan PS to others who posted later - I was mostly offline for the last month due to a variety of issues and am just rediscovering the board...:-) Joan - I am so glad. Tell her that the red book (can't remember the title, it's about studying, something about A+ student?) has lots of good advice but I would be cautious about implementing his advice for a science course. I think for a science course, the Roberson book (blue and green, another study skills book) is much better. I'll get you the amazon links if you need them. I am interested in reading the new book about jobs. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted January 16, 2013 Author Share Posted January 16, 2013 Joan - I am so glad. Tell her that the red book (can't remember the title, it's about studying, something about A+ student?) has lots of good advice but I would be cautious about implementing his advice for a science course. I think for a science course, the Roberson book (blue and green, another study skills book) is much better. I'll get you the amazon links if you need them. I am interested in reading the new book about jobs. Nan - I'm not sure which book you mean. I search Amazon for a Roberson but am not sure if what I am seeing is what you meant. But I'm not making an order just yet so no rush. Yes, she asked for the A+ book :-) Thanks! Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 16, 2013 Share Posted January 16, 2013 http://www.amazon.com/What-Smart-Students-Know-Learning/dp/0517880857/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1358370337&sr=8-6&keywords=study+skills This one. It is overkill for most subjects, but it is very good for a difficult science class. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joan in GE Posted January 17, 2013 Author Share Posted January 17, 2013 Thanks Nan! I hadn't seen that one. Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I think it is excellent. Combine it with the A+ book and your daughter should be all set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I think it is excellent. Combine it with the A+ book and your daughter should be all set. Is there a link or complete title for the A+ book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Combine it with the A+ book and your daughter should be all set. Is this the book you're referring to, Nan? How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Is this the book you're referring to, Nan? How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport Regards, Kareni Hmm... Mine has a red cover. It's packed or I would look at it for you. Maybe he has two? And mine is the other one? It could be that either one would do, or it could be that this is a newer version of the one I have. Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.