Belacqua
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Posts posted by Belacqua
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Eleanor Estes wrote some lovely books, including Ginger Pye and Pinkie Pye. They're older books and appropriately old-fashioned (in a good way).
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Kathy, thank you! What wonderful insights you have.
I'm delighted by what you've told us, as it confirms what my son already suspected. He's thinking about next summer (he's back at MP this summer), and he's heavily leaning toward MathCamp or HCSSIM. Your comment that HCSSIM provides more structure than MC is something to consider, but that may just be my overprotectiveness talking.
As you said, the number theory programs seem a bit limited in scope. And some AOPS posters have suggested that they're not always challenging enough for first-years who have number theory experience.
What are your thoughts on the contest-based programs such as Awesome Math and Idea Math (Dr. Feng's program in Massachusetts)? They don't appeal to my son, even though he's very much enjoyed the contest math. I think he finds them intimidating. Similarly, he's both hopeful of making Red MOP next year but also kind of terrified by the prospect.
So thank you again for all the inside information. I'm so pleased to hear you like talking about this stuff, as I'm going to have lots of questions over the next few years! :)
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I'm weird in that I don't mind the heat but I'm not overly fond of sunshine. I just love gray, rainy, breezy days.
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I eagerly await the wisdom to come.
I guess what helped me a little was to have a perfectionist kid and see how much it complicated his life. Once I started encouraging him to embrace "better done than perfect," I started believing it myself.
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I'd have some of the same safety and flooding concerns others have mentioned.
Another issue, depending upon where you live, is what lives (and dies) in the creek. A friend of mine has a beautiful creek in her back yard. When I commented on how lovely it is, she smiled ruefully and said, "It is nice. Except in December and January, when the spawning salmon all die. The smell is unbelievable."
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My son had the time of his life at MathPath. Something I particularly liked about it, aside from how much The Boy loved it, was the excellent communication from the teachers and staff. We got frequent updates, even if they just said something like, "Everything is fine. We went rafting and nobody fell in."
I'm curious to hear from parents with older kids about the other programs, such as MathCamp, PROMYS, Hampshire, etc. And, of course, MOP.
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My excitement (tempered with sheer terror) is about our new schedule.
From kindergarten through Grade 8, I didn't use a particularly strict day-to-day schedule. I had a list of everything I wanted to accomplish in a week, and every night I would list out what we would do the next day.
But for high school, I'm going with a proper schedule. I'm basing it on the kind I had in college, with particular classes on either M/W/F or T/Th. It does cut down on flexibility somewhat, but the structure just makes me happy.
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The Standard Deviants have dvds on most math subjects. I've re-learned a great deal from them, and that's just by being in the same room as my son when he watches them. They're rather silly, but the math is solid.
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I was having lunch with some other homeschooling moms at the mall food court and we were enjoying watching some young women showing each other their purchases. They were rhapsodizing about one another's new shoes and jewelry. Very sweet to see.
Then one of us had to go and say, "How sad. We're just like them, only with the Minimus Teacher's Guide."
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Binders. Loose papers make me twitchy, so everything goes into a binder.
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We haven't used the CTY online classes. I've heard that they can be quite hit or miss, depending on the class and even on the tutor you get. I've heard good things about the Crafting the Essay class and bad things about the math classes (they just use Thinkwell, which you can get for much less money on your own).
We didn't go to the ceremony, as we live on the opposite coast. Even if it had been nearby, though, we probably wouldn't have participated.
The Boy did, however, spend two wonderful summers at CTY camp. He did the younger students' camp, known fondly as Baby CTY, and just loved it.
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Can you use a scanner to import books (via ISBN)?
I'm pretty sure you can.
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Are you familiar with Library Thing? (http://www.librarything.com)
We use that to catalog our books and it's been really useful for checking whether we already have something.
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It is scary, isn't it? Our son, who had never even had a sleepover other than with a grandparent, went to summer camp for three weeks when he was 10. It was several states from where we live.
He was fine. And, more amazingly, so was I. I was jittery for a few days, but it was much easier than I expected. He went to camp for four weeks last summer (age 12), also quite far away, and he loved it.
So if you find a camp you trust and your daughter is excited about it, you'll do fine. And if she's hesitant, there's always next summer. Good luck!
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We're looking into using one of the math courses in the upcoming year. It's causing some planning problems for me, though, as I don't know whether it will be better to treat it as a one- or two-semester course.
I suppose I'll plan for one semester and have another class planned for spring but be prepared to postpone the other class if we need to extend the first one.
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MUS is awesome. But so, evidently, is your son. Great job!
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I agree with everybody who recommends Art of Problem Solving. Especially if you think your kids might be interested in math competitions (Mathcounts, AMCs, USAMTS), AOPS is a lifesaver.
Thinkwell recently introduced math courses for younger kids, starting with Grade 6. I can't speak to those particular classes, but we've been really pleased with Thinkwell's calculus course, which uses the same professor.
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Brand new here, and delighted to have found this forum.
Our household is my husband (a writer who works from home), our son, who is just finishing Grade 8, and me. Plus two indolent housecats. People ask if we drive one another crazy being home most of the time, but we've managed to avoid fisticuffs so far. :001_smile:
In what I can only figure must be a grand gesture of universal humor, I've been blessed with a math-loving kid. Whereas high school precalc was very nearly the death of me. So far, we've been able to make it work.
We've always homeschooled and plan to continue through high school, which seems to surprise a lot of people.
My proudest accomplishment of late? Reading all 600-some pages of the high school board in four days.
So pleased to meet you all.
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Nakia, I am a complete newbie here, and the post you refer to served only to make me feel more welcome. I was so pleased to see that troubling matters are addressed directly and politely.
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The Art of Problem Solving website has a wiki with explanations of mathematical concepts. If you do a search for "combination" on that site, you might find some helpful information, as well as some practice problems.
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No better reason to make my first post, I think, than to congratulate a successful student. Well done!
What great news. I've heard such good things about the UW program.
I'm also delighted to hear that the math campers are well-received. My son attends the younger kid version of the camp Nicole and Kathy are discussing, and I've worried that the kids might be a bit of a challenge.
Have we talked about House season finale??
in General Education Discussion Board
Posted
Agreed. I vote real, also.