MommyThrice
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Posts posted by MommyThrice
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I don't know if you are shooting for secular or faith based, but if we have to do science at home next year (9th), we will probably do it online through Apologia Academy. They do the labs at home, then have to submit their lab reports to the instructor, as well as other assignments. Apologia may not be what you are after, but I am sure that there are plenty of other online science courses that have a similar accountability. If they have questions on their assignments or labs, they email the instructor.
I definitely want to stay with a Christian text for my 12yo for biology - we may stick with Apologia although I don't like the "chatty" style. My other sons felt that they learned a decent bit about both evolution and creation from Apologia. But for Chemistry and Physics, it isn't so important to me.
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For a science minded student, you can use introductory college textbooks for non-majors very well for high school sciences. The texts are written to the student and can be used as a stand-alone resource without a teacher. They do not assume any previous knowledge of the subject.
You can supplement the textbook with Khan academy videos, or a variety of online resources. You can buy study guides/student solution manuals/workbooks fro many of the books.
If you go this route, make sure to buy older editions which are available for very little money on abebooks.com or on amazon; stay away from the $150 current editions as the changes are largely cosmetic.
For labs, it is possible to do them at home. There are companies that supply complete lab kits for x number of experiments, all supplies included, with detailed instructions. We are currently doing chemistry at home, using the Chang general chem. text. We are using a lab kit from Labpaq with which we are very satisfied.
Then there is Open Courseware: free online lectures from MIT and other universities, for instance. So your student can watch the college lectures and follow along with the assignments.
Thanks. I'd never heard of Labpaq before. I guess if the experiments don't line up with the text perfectly, it doesn't really matter, right? I think I've heard of some students studying the text first, then doing ALL labs together the last month or so of class.
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How many of you successfully taught science at home? Or studied on-line?
I haven't been impressed with any of the science classes nearby. Two sons have taken from a local co-op with a great teacher, but they never have time to ask questions and most of the kids are not at all interested. They sit in class like tree moss! I even visited one that was supposed to be "more academic" and it wasn't. They need something more.
Now what? We do almost all of our classes at home except science, because I don't think I could answer my kids' questions. Any how do you do labs at home? I have a 14yo son that probably wants to be an engineer, so he needs a decent science foundation. A 12yo that wants to be some sort of scientist, so he really needs a good science foundation.
I only have to get the 14yo through one more year, then he can take classes at the local community college. He's studying biology this year. I'm tempted to let him take an elective - like maybe geology - and save chemistry for the college lab.
So, do you teach science at home? How do you accomplish the lab? Are there
any other options?
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Thanks, Gwen. I didn't mean to suggest anything negative - I just wanted to know where they are coming from. We've been spending a decent amount of time on college campuses for my son's moot court competitions, and I've been really shocked by some of what I'm hearing. I can't afford to be naive and take anyone's beliefs for granted.
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Thanks. I don't know anything about PA Homeschoolers. Do you have any idea of their worldview or philosophy of government, etc? We strongly favor our own republican form of government and a free market economy. I obviously want my kids to study other cultures and governments, I just don't want to pay someone to undermine our values.
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Can anyone recommend an online AP Comparative Government. Ds is INSISTENT that he wants to take this next year and I have no idea how to write my own AP course. Anyone with experience?
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That's surprising because my son's AP English teacher has been a pretty tough grader - of course, it is English so there are looking for those types of errors. What I really like about PHP is that they have spelled out every little detail of their grading system up front. Ask your son to find the grading rubric for that assignment. I bet it's there somewhere.
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I was just looking at this yesterday. Texas' requirements for substitution activities (like working out at a gym or team sports) state that they "must include at least 100 minutes per five-day school of week of moderate to vigorous physical activity".
We can also substitute a course such as (1) Foundations of Personal Fitness or (2) Adventure/Outdoor Education. But we don't seem to offer a PE credit for any type of Anatomy or Health course.
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The Lively Art of Writing.
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Not with that class, but we had a terrible experience with Scholars Online science in general. I've heard good things about their other classes - history and lit - but when I posted about my science woes last year, several others had had a similar experience.
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Yes to both.
Law is not an undergraduate major. What is he planning on majoring in to aim at law?
We've been discussing this and he just doesn't know right now. We have a good friend that is a patent attorney with an undergrad in engineering, but ds isn't interested in anything technical like that.
I had not even considered statistics. Is that something that could be taken as a dual credit class? That would be college statistics. Wouldn't he need college algebra first? Or are you suggesting a high school statistics?
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I would not give credit for test prep and review. His math credit for this year will be algebra II, and you should test his algebra II mastery and base his grade on that. But there is nothing wrong with giving him a comprehensive Algebra II final and using this grade only to base his letter grade on - if he gets an A and has shown mastery, you could give him an A for the course. (That's how I test my kids in math; no little assignments and chapter tests, but one comprehensive exam at the end.)
Thanks for your response. I wasn't clear in my op, but this is what I had in mind. Let him re-take the Alg II tests or use a separate final exam and factor that into his math grade. I think he's getting it, but I would like another test to prove it.
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I thought we were doing so well with school....<clip>
The girl has had vocabulary, grammar, writing and challenging reading all these years...
You are a better judge of what she has learned than one 3-hour test!!!
I assume that you homeschool because you want your child to receive an excellent education. You must feel that your curriculum choices are better than the ps, or you wouldn't be going to all this trouble. And I'm sure she is way ahead of where should would be if she attended ps - however good it may be - because you just can't beat the student/teacher ratio.
Get her a good test prep book and have her work through several practice tests before the next PSAT or SAT. Maybe she needs help with test-taking, but that doesn't mean she hasn't received a great education. Those are two totally different animals!
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I thought I had high school all planned out and now I'm second guessing. I'm questioning how much math my liberal arts minded future attorney needs to take. He is a sophomore, 2/3 way through Algebra II, with a solid "B". He's wanting to hurry through pre-calc this year, so he can get into calculus. He has been researching colleges (mostly upper tier - which I don't believe he has the slightest chance of attending; his PSAT scores are 95-97%) and has it in his head that they want lots of advanced courses. Yes. But I think making A's is more important than plowing through more advanced math. And he HATES math. I'm also of the opinion that really understanding algebra is the key to all future math. I could use a little direction.
I'm suggesting that after Alg II (in about 10-11 weeks), he spend the rest of the year using his math time to study for the PSAT and review both algebra and geometry. Is that a good idea? I may have him go back and re-take his Alg II tests. Would it be fair to give him any credit on his math score for the year? I'm usually a little hard-hearted about these things in an attempt to not "cheat".
When would you start on advanced math/pre calc? How much math should he plan to take? If he never takes calculus, he will need to do something to keep his math skills fresh before college. He will be eligible to take dual-credit courses next school year, so that is an option, but I haven't looked into which math classes he should take. I plan to have him take dc chemistry over the summer, and then spanish next school year.
We need to keep the time available for his focus - and his loves - reading, writing, history, debate, mock trial and law. And music.
How much math is important for someone like this? And how do you balance the need for excellent grades vs. taking more advanced math classes?
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Two of my non-science kids have used Apologia just fine... along comes #3 and he LOVES science! He wants to be a doctor. Goodness. I love liberal arts and math, but science?!?!
How can I help him? I don't think I want to teach this at home, b/c I can't answer his questions. I am leaning towards a local homeschool class that uses Apologia b/c (1) they do the labs in class and (2) the teacher loves science and will answer his bazillion questions. But it is a very easy class. Is there a good way to supplement this at home?
I would consider an online class only if there was a really easy way to ask a million questions. It is so much easier in person. If it were online, I would really want a Christian POV. I don't mind using secular materials at home where we can talk through it, but I don't want a strictly secular POV when I'm not around. Not at this young age, anyway.
I am looking at this for next year - he'll be taking biology in 8th grade. I'll need to keep him busy in science until after his sophomore year when he can start taking dual credit classes.
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No, ds was not in the accredited program.
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Thanks for all the great ideas.
He does get exercise - we all work out at the "Y" 3x/week. He also gets lots of exercise chopping wood whenever he fights with his brothers. And there is almost zero screen time other than school.
Right now I'm withholding the drivers' license as a carrot. When he gets caught up and stays caught up, then he will be driving.
He's working on goal-setting and organizing his time tonight. We'll see...
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I can't speak to their transcript, but I would caution you to get all the details before you register. My oldest son took their writing class - from a well-respecting writing teacher - and it was a disaster. He received one... yes, ONE... returned paper with teacher's comments in the entire first semester. I emailed the teacher several times throughout the semester, but it never improved. We dropped the class and lost our $500, or whatever it was.
My youngest ds is taking latin and having a great experience this year. But I now ask specifically: how many papers are graded? by whom? how fast is the turnaround? what kind of feedback can I expect?
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It wasn't until I realized that I wanted to clerk for a federal appellate court or teach ...
Best of luck.
Laura
So, were you able to do this? Or what did you end up doing?
Ds would like to practice appellate law (I don't know too much about it yet). He has loved moot court and con law.
You mentioned undergrad at Harvard Law. I've been hearing for undergrad it is better to be at the top of your class in a lesser school, than a lower rank from an elite school. Do you disagree?
Thanks for you input!
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Thanks for the ideas. He's looking at admissions info right now. My fear is that schools list MINIMUM requirements, not what he will probably need as a white, middle-class, homeschooler.
I know he'll be around lots of law students at his moot court contest at Washington College of Law - I'll look for opportunities to discuss law school competition while we're there.
I don't know if our local law school - Univ of Texas - will allow a high schooler to come visit, but it might be worth a try. I'll see if I can come up with a good excuse.
Thanks again,
Tracie
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Would it work with just one student rather than a co-op?
Thanks,
Karen
(Economics in a Box) - yes. My son is using it at home alone. It takes about 18 weeks.
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PHC Prep is offering the Comp. Government AP class next year. My son can't wait to take it. He's taking their AP Engl. Lang class this year & they are incredibly organized.
For economics, we used Economics in a Box, by Greg Rhemke. It is from an Austrian school of economic POV.
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I am tired of all the battles... and his laziness.
Ds is a 16-yo sophomore. We constantly battle over school and what he needs to accomplish. His has high aspirations - he wants to study constitutional law - but he seems to think he can get there on good looks and charm. :glare: and I'm a little worried that it just might work. :scared:
This is a kid that doesn't do anything until the last minute. He's always behind and does only the bare minimum. He prepares debate and mock trial cases at the last minute, and then does really well in competition. I think this has given him the false impression that he can get wherever he wants to go in this manner. Right now I can't imagine him succeeding in college. Math is difficult - he has a solid B in Algebra 2. His writing is weak. He no longer likes to read. He spends way too much time "doing school" and doesn't have much to show for it. He's getting a decent education, just not one that will get him into a great law school.
Let me say that I am finally okay with that... but he isn't. He thinks he is keeping up with his high-achieving friends. You know, the kids that are studying Greek and Arabic, winning all kinds of scholarship competitions, and being asked to intern for think-tanks. It must be the testosterone, but he just doesn't see what his friends are accomplishing that he isn't. (But, of course, they spend their time together talking about iPhones and cars, not school!) He's planning to compete in mock trial this year, but just wound up on the "B" team, instead of the "A" team with his friends. It has never entered his mind that it might be because the coach knows how he works compared to the others.
Anyway, he really needs to take more responsibility. I'm willing to let him fail, (okay, not really, but I'm willing to let him make B's and go to a state school) but I'm not willing to let him remain ignorant of his doing so. He's taking a pretty light load this year (so he could do mock trial and take dual-credit science this summer) but when I mentioned the light load today, he asked, "Why do you call this a light load? What else should I be taking?" He just doesnt know. So what I really need are some suggestions for books I can get for him to read. Maybe books on what colleges/law school want - that sort of thing. I really want him to be aware of where he's heading and what he could accomplish, as well as taking more responsibility for that path.
FWIW, his friends are accomplishing some pretty "out of the box" things that he won't find in a book. And I really want to stress excellent writing, not just scoring well on the AP English Lang test. So I don't want to over-emphasize a list of advanced-sounding class titles. I want him to get motivated to meet his own goals and quit fighting me.
Any book suggestions? Any other ideas?
Thanks for listening!
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Thanks, klmama. That does help. It did seem like a typo in the answer key, but usually when I assume there is a typo, I found out that I just didn't understand something. Thanks for confirming.
I guess we will discuss reflexive pronouns tomorrow. I have no idea how anyone learns Spanish using RS without a grammar text to explain these things. And you still have to know where to look in the grammar book.
Thanks, everyone!
No decent science classes nearby, now what?
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
So, how do you order from Labpaq? Do you fill out a request form?