I found him on Facebook, of all places! He said his website is offline for a few days. He gave me his phone # & email address. I'll post it here soon (too hard to do from my iPod Touch, which is how I'm posting this!). I'd still love info about what his classes are like, if anyone knows -- thanks! ~Laura ETA: Here's what I heard from Derek through Facebook (I'm such a newbie at FB, I'm tickled I found someone!): I still offer web-based computer science classes. My website will be off line for a few more days. I will send you the link once it is up. My email address is: dotieno@bellsouth.net, my phone number is: (678) 677-2517. Hope this helps someone!

I was looking for information about computer science courses with Derek Otieno, who used to teach with PA Homeschoolers, but I can't find his website. A fairly recent post on the forum gave it as acit.us.com, but that URL wasn't working for me today. I think I read that there are people here whose children are taking a class with him this year, so if you have his contact info / website address, I'd really appreciate it!! Also any feedback about his course(s) would be great. Thanks! ~Laura

Handmaiden, the info about Mr Connor's summer classes will be here: http://mrconnor.com/ For now it still has last year's classes listed. I can't remember what he's offering this summer (my son knows, but he's in bed ;-) It may not be Python this summer. I'll try to remember to ask my son tomorrow. You could always email Mr Connor and ask -- it's based on having enough demand, too, so it might help if he knew Python was wanted. ETA: My son says that Mr Connor's summer class this year will be Game Design with Python and PyGame. The prices for his summer classes are much higher than for regular Potter's classes, but it was worth it for us to have the learning opportunity over the summer. ~Laura

Ooh -- I can sort of answer this! My son isn't home, but I'll take a stab. CSS = cascading style sheets, and you learn it along with HTML (or XHTML). As I understand it, CSS tells *how* to style the elements of a web page -- for instance, all level-one headings might be bold, centered, 24-point, blue, Times New Roman font, etc. (In HTML, all you do is label various parts of the website as level-one heads, subheads, etc.; CSS tells how to style each element, and you can change these whenever you want.) You know how sometimes you bring up a web page and it's just a bunch of text, all flush left, all the same size, not formatted at all? that's because the CSS isn't linked in yet. So CSS is just something you learn in any web-design course along with HTML. Nothing too mysterious ;-) ~Laura

Mr Connor gives a short 'homily' at the beginning of each class, at least in Web Design II. (I don't remember this in Web Design I -- perhaps he had more material to cover, or perhaps it's something he's added this year.) My son enjoys these, but YMMV. This depends on the teacher, also. (Mr Gray just had a prayer to start class, and maybe a brief mention of something he learned in church the previous week. I don't know about Mr Madison.) ~Laura

I don't know if it will be 'too much' in terms of time, but to answer your second question, my son (who has studied both languages, at least at the intro/intermediate level) says that Java & Python are very different, both syntactically and in terms of capabilities (what functions they perform). He doesn't think your son will have a problem with taking both back to back. ~Laura

I'm happy to help! And it was by digging up Mr Madison's website that I saw he had Java this summer, too -- which I've been looking for! Same here -- and in fact I see that Mr Madison's Java class is *3* mornings a week (maybe he's packing a year's course into the summer?) -- more than my son will want, I think! Mr Connor is a great guy! He's a relatively new teacher, so he's still figuring out how to pace his classes, but he's very helpful, funny, has a good rapport with the students, etc. My son liked the first year of web design with Mr Connor so much last year that he's taking second-year web design this year. My son likes him very much. Oh, and he took Python with Mr Connor last summer (a once-a-week class!). I've heard good things about Mr Yonts, too. I've been corresponding with him and he always writes back right away. (I wanted to see if there was any chance of another section of Java -- 6:45 am is too early for us!! -- but there isn't, because of his work schedule.) I'm pleased this info might have been helpful! We love the Potter's programming classes, and are bummed the Java time doesn't work for us. Well, if we end up using Home Grown Programmers I will report back how it is! ~Laura

I'm in a similar boat -- we were planning for my son to take Java with Mr Yonts, but the class is at 6:45 a.m. our time -- just not going to work for us. I looked into JHU CTY's Java class, but it's very expensive, and like you, we want an interactive class. I think we're going to try Home Grown Programmers, based on someone's post here a year or so ago. I too would love to hear from someone who has actually used HGP, but for $150 and seeing as there are no other feasible options, we'll go for it even if I don't hear from anyone. But Sue, did you know that Mr Madison, who usually teaches Visual Basic for Potter's (I don't know why they're not offering it this year -- you could email him and ask), runs summer classes? If that works for you it may be a nice option: http://www.mrmadison.org/ My son took a summer class in Python last year from another 'moonlighting' Potter's teacher, Mr Connor, and loved it. ~Laura ETA: Oh, ha - I see Mr Madison has Java too. Maybe my son will do that!!

Kathy - I have a question about your kids' testing. It looks like from what you posted that they took the Math Level 2 SAT subject test about the same time they took the AP Calculus exam. My boys will be finishing up precalculus this summer and starting calculus in the fall. Is there an advantage to taking the SAT subject test about the same time as the AP Calculus exam? I guess I was thinking they would take the subject test sometime after finishing precalculus but well before the AP -- but maybe I'm missing something. Thanks for any advice you have! (I think we talked about this before -- how in the "old days" we just took all of our "achievement tests" the same day in 12th grade, with no prep ;-) Yes, state MathCounts was *very* exciting. A privilege to watch the countdown round. Those kids are amazing. And a boy my sons know from track is going to nationals! Oh, and my son is going to a math camp this summer (his first) -- and he's *very* excited. Another thing you recommended! (He decided against MathPath; he'll do one a bit closer to home.) ~Laura

Potter's is pretty flexible with, for example, some of their computer science classes. The Java teacher was willing to take my 11-year-old for a high-school class (it didn't hurt that my son had established a reputation in the junior-high programming class). OTOH, I've heard they have instituted lower age limits for their English classes, partly because it takes a certain maturity to handle the 'live' nature of the class (those emoticons are so tempting!), so no matter how bright a, say, 8-year-old is, she won't be allowed to take a junior-high English class. Those are the only two departments I have direct experience with. The age limit is something like 10 or 11, but you'd have to ask (I don't know).

You might want to try emailing again if you don't hear, or just call -- they're very receptive and helpful, but a bit swamped, I think. (This past year they had to close registration in September because of too much demand.) As for conversation, you call a toll-free number (or Skype -- this is what we do) once a week and chat for about 20 minutes. You talk with whoever's in the office right then -- students and (occasionally) Sabine herself, the creator of the program. They go over the last week's worksheets & make sure you understand everything. As my kids progress, more and more of this is in German. At about the halfway point in German 1, there is also an oral part to every chapter test, so you call for that, too. You can always hear, in the background, other calls. I have no idea how they deal with large classes! I imagine they break them down into smaller groups. Anyway for us it's been great. Since we do Skype, my kids see & hear the person at OSU, and they see & hear my kids. Occasionally they'll even ask my kids to hold a worksheet up to the web-cam (if it's a visual exercise). (I'm assuming we're talking about OSU German, by the way ;-) ~Laura

I'm not sure if this offer still is in effect, but a few years ago my sister-in-law signed up with Amazon Prime, and she was told she could sign up three additional households that were related to her, as long as they knew her birthdate. So she 'tagged' us and -- voila -- we got Amazon Prime. For free. I totally don't know how they make money off this. Sure, I buy more things from Amazon because of it, but that's $79 for four households. And, since there's no minimum and because their packaging has gotten so poor, I tend to split my orders up now. If, for example, I'm getting a thick hardcover book and a slim paperback, I will order them separately -- otherwise they come loose in a big box and the little book slides all over in transit and is all munched up (I hate that!). They used to shrink-wrap the contents together ... I assume this sloppy packaging is a cost- and time-saving measure for Amazon, but it ends up costing them much more in shipping ...

Wow -- thanks, Kathy! One of my sons would love to go to a similar school (Caltech), and this is so helpful. On a side note, Kathy, I've been meaning to tell you we're about to start Spectrum chem (on your recommendation) and I'm very excited (I was a chem major). It looks like a great program -- exactly what I was looking for! And my son is going to state MathCounts this weekend -- another program you recommended! He's very excited about coaching MathCounts next year, too, like your daughter. And he's eating up the AoPS materials (books & website). I'm forever in your debt :001_smile: Best wishes to your daughter, and I'm sure we'll all be interested to hear where she eventually chooses to attend college! ~Laura

My son (just turned 13) is in his 3rd year of programming classes with Potter's and we have been very pleased. He took Mr Gray's Logo to Lego course (jr hi, so too young for your daughter), and Web Design and Python with Mr Connor. Python is a good language to know, as is Java. My son will probably take either Java or Data Structures & Algorithms next year with Potter's. (I have heard great things about Mr Madison's courses, but my son wasn't interested in Visual Basic; it's an intro course & he was more advanced; and plus, we didn't have a PC at the time, just Macs.) ~Laura

We've had Mrs Ives -- Writer's Workshop (she was wonderful) Mrs Neuman -- English 1 (also wonderful, and we even got to meet her when we were in Phoenix) Miss Shearon -- English 2 (the boys *really* like her teaching style) In fact, one of my sons just asked me if he could have Miss Shearon next year for English 3. (He noticed that she also teaches English 3.) It surprised me -- this is the first time he's asked for a certain teacher (part of that is his maturing and realizing how the whole 'school' thing works!). Miss Shearon has what I would call a 'jocular' style which works particularly well, I think, with junior-high boys. And we've heard great things about Mr Lemon! We ended up taking a class with someone else because of scheduling issues, but apparently he's very funny and very good. ~Laura

My two sons are in Potter's English 2 right now, after taking Writer's Workshop and English 1. I would say the teachers bend over backwards to be gentle and encouraging. There are always a number of boys in each class who really don't like writing, and the teachers seem to know that and just work to have them improve, even if they will never be writing at the level of some of the other kids in the class. Like Karen says, they are rigorous about format & grading, but the comments have always been professional and polite. We are *very* happy with all of the courses we've taken with Potter's. The children are also assigned partners within the class, and have to give their partners feedback on the papers they write. The teachers stress the need for the kids' comments to be polite and positive. No negative feedback is allowed. At first the whole partner business seemed like an unnecessary complication (emailing back and forth, compatibility between Macs & PCs, etc.), but recently one of my sons commented that giving feedback to a fellow student had taught him several things, including how to analyze writing (easier at first with someone else's writing), and how to give constructive criticism. Potter's calls it being "ESP" (encouraging, specific, and polite), and my 13-year-old son just told me that he thought that knowing how to give ESP feedback would help him for the rest of his life ;-) Also, the teachers we've had (three so far) have, for the most part, paired boys with other boys, which my sons greatly preferred ;-) My sons did receive harsh criticism on papers they wrote for a tutor in town, which totally deflated them, and it was then that they really appreciated the value of Potter's emphasis on politeness. I'd be happy to answer any more questions. ~Laura

Same here!! And I loved the illustrations by Edward Ardizzone. Another book I loved as a girl was The Velvet Room, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, about a 12-year-old girl during the Depression. Also White Ghost Summer (if your daughter likes horses or art), by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. Doesn't seem to be in print anymore ;-( But Velvet Room is!

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135310 It gave me lots of ideas! ;-) ~Laura

I've wondered about this since I was a kid and first started reading classics. After a while I decided it was (at least sometimes) done so the author could take 'artistic license' and not have readers say things like But December 6th was a *Monday* that year! or But the railway line didn't extend to that town back then! or But there wasn't a full moon that night! -- which they could, if details like the place name or year were given. I'm pretty sure it was after I read an annotated version of Sherlock Holmes stories that I came to this conclusion -- the fans had spent an inordinate amount of time tracking down the most obscure details! So, the funny part -- I was just starting to read The Warden by Trollope (inspired, I think, by a recent thread here!) and here's the very beginning: The Rev. Septimus Harding was, a few years since, a beneficed clergyman residing in the cathedral town of ------; let us call it Barchester. Were we to name Wells or Salisbury, Exeter, Hereford, or Gloucester, it might be presumed that something personal was intended; and as this tale will refer mainly to the cathedral dignitaries of the town in question, we are anxious that no personality may be suspected. At least in this book it's spelled out ;-) ~Laura

Thank you! That is very helpful. ~Laura

momof7, would you mind describing her transcript in a bit more detail? I'm trying to visualize it. Is, say, 'math' one heading, and underneath that heading are all the math classes listed by year taken? Or is one column 'prior to 9th grade' and all high-level classes taken are listed under that? I'm very interested in this idea, because my 8th-grade son is in a position very similar to that of your son -- I'm thinking of having him take Alg. 3 with AoPS this March also! We've just started precalculus and I can see his math record, at least, will not be the traditional high-school sequence. Thank you for posting this! I love all the great ideas I learn from this board. Like Jen, I appreciate everyone's time! ~Laura

I also learned it in English Honors, 12th grade, going on (wow) 30 years ago now -- and I still remember it, and impress the kids also ;-) It *is* cool . . . knowing it, and saying words like "droghte" in the second line! (and as an aside, in a small way I'm sure wrapping my tongue around the pronunciation helped later when I learned German!). We learned it from a scratchy record -- I can still hear it . . .

Do you already have the book by Deitel, Java: How to Program? I got it because it was used in an online class. A friend of mine is teaching herself Java (for work) and she recommended Java: An Introduction to Problem Solving & Programming, 5/e, by Walter Savitch and Frank Carrano. It has a lot of self-test questions (with answers) and a lot of exercises.

Perhaps the book is wrong, as Karin suggested? (An annoying and all-too-frequent occurrence.) Here's what he wrote: There is no specific mention of gravity, but let's assume we're at sea level and there is gravity. So the downward force on the bottom block is the 170N plus the force of gravity from the middle and top block. Their total mass is 34 kg, so their weight is 34 kg * 9.8 m/s^2 = 333.2 N So the total force down is 503.2 N, and since (apparently) all the blocks are at rest, the bottom block must be exerting an upward force on the middle block of 503.2N.

I too have a 14-year-old boy, 9th grade, with a full plate (English & biology through Potter's School, trig, Greek/Roman Lit with a tutor, German, plus track 3x/week, college orchestra, piano and violin lessons, Scottish dance). It broke my heart a few weeks ago when he said he didn't think he'd have time to ride his bike (a new passion) until next summer. I told him high school is a time to explore & stretch himself, and we'd fit the school in somehow, and make sure he gets some long bike rides in. It helps that he's a hard worker, if rather deliberate & careful (--> slow), and a sweet boy. Well, today he told me he'd like to add viola lessons (so he has more options in the various orchestras he plays in). Eeek! He told me later he was afraid I'd freak out ;-) Like someone said above, getting up at a reasonable hour would really help, and that was my plan this year -- but . . . several of his activities (college orchestra, Scottish dance) keep him out until 10 pm, and as a growing boy, I think he needs to sleep in after those nights. We'll manage, but it does feel like a juggling act!! Thanks to all those who shared their wisdom in this thread. It's incredibly helpful. Also just knowing there are others struggling with this! I do tell him he should thank me (and he does) -- if he were in 'school,' he'd spend 6 or 7 hours there and *then* he'd have homework! There is NO way he could do all these enriching extracurricular activities . . . ~Laura