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8filltheheart

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Everything posted by 8filltheheart

  1. That is interesting! Is that a more recent law written to reduce pressure cooker school situations? To encourage kids to take classes they are interested in without it sabotaging their GPA competitiveness?
  2. Do you not have community-level opportunities? No community theater? No youth sports leagues? (Upwards, I9 sports, county leagues, community track/running clubs??) No art centers? No museums/gardens/historical sites offering classes? Only when we lived very rurally were there no real community options (though even there we did find a community children's choir). I guess I fail to see if there are options why they need to be homeschool co-op type ones. I see your post as painting too broad a brush in the other direction. In most places there is wide range of ways to form social networks without having to tie yourself to homeschool co-ops.
  3. I have never seen an actual co-op that functioned that way nor offered anything close to quality courses/opportunities. Everything has been very much at the amateur, low-quality level. Depending on where you live, those types of opportunties may be offered at the community level or for pay with no parental teaching necessary. My kids are involved in choir with a retired PhD music teacher who opened up a class to homeschoolers. (My 2 dds and my my granddaughter whom I homeschool were all accepted to All-State Choir this yr.) My kids are involved or have been involved in community-level orchestra, theater, art. They take private voice lessons with a teacher who had open mic nights to create community. She also offers musical theater workshops. My kids are also actively involved in our church, so there is a great community there. We are blessed with a wonderful circle of homeschool friends. We would not remain friends if we were involved in homeschooling together. 🤣😂🤣None of us share similar homeschooling views/values. There are only 2 moms whom I am even willing to discuss homeschooling wtih. Strong personalities with very different values/goals don't mix well when it comes to curriculum selections/courses/workload. (I bite my tongue when they are talking about how hard their kids' schedules are when their courses are things like TT math.) But, I am a dinosaur who started homeschooling and continues to homeschool precisely bc I want to do things my way. I will never surrender those reins. It is why I am looking at my 30th yr of homeschooling in 24.
  4. Co-ops are a hard NO for me. They are time sucks with very little academic value. We turn to ECs for friendships bc solid time for learning for my kids requires being at home. Too much out of house time means everything gets sidetracked and poorer quality output.
  5. These quotes actually prove my pt. If students can get a GPA bump for an AP course and get an A regardless of output, then why would you take an honors course without the GPA boost? If the AP score has zero value added to your GPA and GPA is your focus, then AP courses are the only path that makes sense. FWIW, my high school offered 4 APs (and this was probably before many of you were even toddlers), and there is no way you could make an A without serious commitment to the subject. The classes were also only an option for a handful of students and were killer courses. (Our grades were 96-100= A, 87-95=B, and 77-86=C......getting an A was difficult.)
  6. As an outside observer, I think APs do have a negative effect. Is it possible that the reason AP scores are low (and honors courses pathetic) is bc AP classes are dumbed down for the masses to give the masses As but are not actually prepping for the exam and that those with high scores do self-prep? My personal belief is that anything that should be for a small % and then marketed to a large population means dumb downed.
  7. I'm sorry. 😞 It is so hard to watch when they work hard for something and then are rejected.
  8. Facing History and Ourselves has resources: Search | Facing History & Ourselves
  9. Agree. And for math, I grade as they work. I might grade 6 problems of 1 student and then turn and grade 2 of another. I just go back and forth grading as they work. It keeps the math conversation flowing and I can clarify understanding immediately.. it makes it 100% clear whether there is mastery with the odd silly error or if we need to stop and review.
  10. My dd went to StartTalk in LA and enjoyed it. She also did CLS 2 summers in row (but that was as a college student, not high school.)
  11. My older dd who took from Julia is now 25, so Julia has changed who she works with since then. When my dd started with her, she had no Russian background but she had already completed 3 yrs of high school Latin and many yrs of French. That dd loved working with Julia. Julia helped her achieve a high level of proficiency, so much so that she was selected as 1 of 5 students to represent the US at an international olympiad in Moscow (she ended up with a third place for her speech that she have there.) She ended up majoring in Russian in college. Julia started working with my youngest dd when she was in 5th grade. She only did so bc she enjoyed working with our older dd so much; I'm pretty sure she does not accept other lower level students anymore. She is absolutely fabulous. She is one of the best teachers I have ever encountered in all my yrs of homeschooling. But, I know she recommends Inga to students who are not at an advanced level. If Julia recommends her, I am sure she is excellent.
  12. I just looked at the magazine you linked. I doubt very seriously that her ds could read that magazine. It is rated as B2-C1 That is a significantly high level of Russian mastery. My older dd graduated from high school with a B1+/B2- level after working Ms. Denne privately for 4 yrs. C is considered a professional level of fluency for Russian.
  13. That is what I thought the first time I read through her post. I was confused and I was going to say that my 8th grader is currently reading Winne the Pooh in Russian bc that is all she is capable of reading in Russian at this pt. BUt, then I thought maybe she is adding a separate lit component in English.
  14. Light, pleasant reading and Russian literature seem incongruous. 🙂 I'm assuming you know about Baba Yaga. Maybe short stories like "The Portrait" by Gogol or some of Chekhov's. My dd really liked The Master and Margarita but it does not fit your criteria. 😉
  15. You could look at Chalkdust pre-alg. It is definitely not difficult. It is very easy. I'm using it with my granddaughter this yr bc she was not ready to take the same path as my kids. It is a solid review of elementary math concepts. Chalk Dust Company Prealgebra 2nd edition Textbook & Solutions Manual | eBay Chalk Dust Company Pre Algebra (5th edition) 10 DVDs by Dana Mosely Uncle Buck | eBay
  16. I took some pictures. Note that I dont correct their notes. I see their notes as for them to learn. (So spelling is awful. Handwriting is poor. And sometimes they insert comments like, "I dont care, " or "People are just stupid." 😉 One is my 12th grader's econ notes, one from my 7th grade granddaughter's science notes, and 2 pages from my 8th grader's history (she took 2 pages to complete her notes that day). In middle school, they take notes from science and history reading. In high school, all subjects.
  17. I'm reading your posts to understand the process since I think this is the direction dd is heading. Right now she is waiting for All State Orchestra results and that is stress enough for the both of us! I cant fathom your ds's stress level!
  18. I'm confused. Did he do CLE 5 or 6 last yr? If he did 6, pre-alg shouldn't be a leap. FWIW, if you watch the videos with him and interact with him about what the videos are teaching, it would essentially be the same thing as scripted instruction. I'm trying to parse out the distinction.
  19. I watch a CN video with them and intensely monitor their notes for a few days to ensure they are understanding the process.
  20. Have you tried sitting with him through the videos and stopping the videos to discuss the concepts/asking him to solve similar problems? Alternatively, you could watch the videos and then teach the concepts directly.
  21. Agree. I just didn't want to go there, but I am glad you did. 😁
  22. I 2nd @HomeAgain's suggestion of just getting whatever you like. Winston Grammar, Easy Grammar, or Jr Analytical Grammar might be other options to look through. To expand on her red flags comment....CC is most definitely not representative of classical education. If you like it, wonderful. That is important. But, it isnt a CE. It is a neoclassical knock-off treating The Lost Tools of Learning's ages/stages as if they are the backbone of classical ed. (CE has nothing to do with ages/stages. That was Dorothy Sayer's opinion on ed.) CC is far removed from CE Socratic teaching methodology and philosophy of cognitive formation. (But that is true of all currently CE marketed materials. It is a marketing tool that put a shiny title on a modern pedagogy box.)
  23. Agree with Scout. Reading library books, observing nature...those are the best options for kids all the way through to high school level science, gifted or not. Real science studies beyond that are controlled by math. (I have had a child graduate from high school with the equivalent of minors in physics and math and that's the approach he took. He took his first physics course in 8th grade. My current 8th grader is taking high school biology.)
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