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Gratia271

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Everything posted by Gratia271

  1. Given varying comments on the boards about Davidson in relation to homeschoolers, can you share about the environment there and their reception of homeschoolers?
  2. I'm going to try to talk to my son's fencing coach about the core requirements and his experience with other fencers. Since DS is so far out of grade level in several subjects, I need to make sure how I should proceed with AP type exams and things in case I need to slow him down on paper.
  3. Sorry to say of all of my children's fixations, handwriting has never been one of them. :)
  4. In terms of the ages for introduction and mastery, I think people vary widely in their opinions. What I have done with all three of my children is focus extensively on input in the early academic years. So prior to middle school (6-7th) their writing generally consists of written narrative summaries. Middle school (6th-7th) is when they really take off with writing compositions with analysis of content or ideas. If research papers are defined in terms of using outside sources, then they begin writing those in 7th grade, generally with three sources at a level they can analyze and synthesize in order to write a well constructed, thoughtful paper. Mastery is not really an age thing IMO so much as a stage thing. For me, a well-structured, insightful way of thinking about things acts as a springboard for effective writing. Without that component, I don't think written ability can develop significantly, regardless of how many assignments are given. Just my .02
  5. There was not a lot of real linear progression around here at that age. I let DC go as deeply as they wanted in different areas, which amounted to a lot of fits and spurts. After intense interest in math for a while, oldest DD would want a break. Then she'd follow the next thing with the same vigor. Her progression in subjects in the early years was more like go through three levels intensely then break and so on. Her siblings basically followed suit. I just went with it. :)
  6. If you want to move on (oldest DD wanted to when the sections got dense with word problems), you could just incorporate one or two each day for a couple of weeks. If I recall correctly, Foerster also suggested it was perfectly fine to choose some randomly and save others for tests or cumulative assessment. They are great problems to work through, however you do it.
  7. What I have been told is that it won't count for HS because it wasn't taken during high school. I am new to the whole process, so I don't have a clue. The confusion for me is how strange it would look to have a HS transcript that has practically no high school classes on it. I am just out of my depth here.
  8. Thanks for the link. I may be getting bad information from people IRL. Since he has done substantial HS work already, I was told he would not likely get credit for it. He has supporting standardized scores to substantiate all of it. I think maybe the people I have talked to may just be accustomed to the B & M approach. One member of the fencing club homeschooled thru 8th grade and began HS at a B & M to avoid problems. However, the school works well for him because he is not "advanced" to the point that traditional schools aren't able to meet his needs.
  9. That is the big issue I'm finding as we research. By the time she matriculates, she will have 6 years of Greek and 5 of Latin... She loves studying it, and it is tough finding schools that go really far in the languages or allow undergrads to go further.
  10. I am trying to figure out how things work with NCAA and high school course work completed during middle school. I have searched the threads and came up with nothing about this. Can anyone help with how I need to think about this for DS. He is a competitive fencer, and the last thing I want to do is put him in a B&M for high school years to avoid accreditation issues, but I'm at a loss as to how I can transcript work if nothing beside HS years gets transcripted. By grade nine, he will already have substantial course work completed in 2 foreign languages, math and science. How do I handle it? Am I just missing the obvious?
  11. DD and I have been trying to research the best schools for an undergrad in the Classics. She will be pairing this with either math or Chem. We are having a hard time figuring out the best schools at the undergrad level. We need to arrive at a short list of schools to visit this fall. In terms of her background in the Classics, she is in her 5th year of Attic Greek, focusing on tragedy, and her 4th year/AP Latin. The schools we have come up with that have course offerings so far are University of Chicago, Princeton and Stanford. What others should she look at?
  12. I would recommend the AP class first. Not only would you have the benefit of AP to transcript for college admissions, the Lukeion class is a highly advanced research writing course. Understanding they are not "accredited" and all that, Lukeion and Regan's syllabus is akin to the ACP College Comp Research Writing class I took my senior year at private school.
  13. Oldest DD took Bio in middle school also. She completed pre-AP Chem and Honors Physics freshman year, not integrated but compacted so that she finished Chem in 6 months then took 4 months for Honors Physics. Lots of options so that you can move on to higher content levels at whatever pace you can or desire to manage.
  14. Yep, this is how we approach things. Writing skills across the disciplines is simply crucial. Generally speaking, people tend to gravitate toward one or the other. For us, both are essential.
  15. Could you share your experience with Davidson? It is on my daughter's list to consider. She will be majoring in Classics. She is considering a double major, pairing Classics with Math or Chem but realizes she may need to minor in them instead depending on the school she attends. ETA: She will have multiple AP classes and will complete 5 SAT2's by end of Sophomore year/beginning of Junior year.
  16. I don't think it's overkill....It's what we are doing here. :tongue_smilie: I think rounding out the comp studies with advanced research writing will be advantageous in the college years, and you can't go wrong with Regan. He is simply an outstanding teacher.
  17. Other homeschooling moms in my area quickly talked me out of talking to them about anything regarding my children.
  18. The best scenario for my outlier children is non-academic groups. In the early years, oldest DD attended a coop for one or two classes. The adult women were intimidated by this sweet girl, and my oldest DD is genuinely sweet. Adults were mean to a six year old girl.... ??????? Oldest figured out pretty quickly that the treatment she received was about their hang-ups and really had nothing directly to do with her so much as how she made them feel about their kids. Toxic stuff for a child to deal with. In our experience, there is an acceptable range of quirkiness, achievement, etc.. outside which the group conformity issue kicks in. The more someone stands out, the more problematic it can be. Fortunately, our kids don't care about "fitting" in. What they have done in groups, particularly the oldest, is focus on the other people. They understand that in the group context it is about them giving to others and relating to others where they are; it's not about them. They are nurtured and loved for who they are by their people... the people who really "get" them. They don't expect that from outsiders.
  19. This is what we do as well. Socratic learning is a way of life for my kids.
  20. Some form of Bio, Chem and Physics are required here, regardless of "interest." I don't want my kids to be limited in options down the road because they were absolutely sure at that time they'd never be interested in "x" topic that they later develop interest in. I require them to have enough exposure to the major sciences so that they can at least have a reasonable basis for their opinion about what they like/don't like. Advanced studies/course work are negotiable.
  21. Just yesterday I was sharing with oldest DD about the day in Barnes and Noble (she was 2 years old) when I randomly picked up WTM book. I vividly recall that day. It was truly a life changer for us.... just like the forum!
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