pgr
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Posts posted by pgr
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This is pgr's daughter, a graduating senior, homeschooled for 12 years. Here's my take, in no particular order or arrangement, written in my mind to any and all high schoolers:
--Use online classes, but don't overdo it. My personal maximum is 3 live classes and 1 semi-asynchronous one. For specific providers, I agree that WHA has been excellent, particularly for science (I was in the same class as JennaH for AP Bio, and can second her recommendation of Mrs. Chen!). I also had a very positive experience with Schole Academy (for Latin, especially with Mr. Kotynski) and Clover Valley Chemistry (for organic/biochemistry). My only caveats for these would be that WHA and SA are both very distinctly Christian; however, despite having some fairly significant ideological disagreements, I enjoyed my time at both schools. Clover Valley Chemistry was a great source for me, as I plan to major in STEM; however, it might be too much for a non-STEM kid. That said, the class I took was the most advanced one offered at CVC, so that may be a factor.
--If possible, take Senior Thesis. I took the Rhetoric 2/Senior Thesis class at WHA with Mr. Choi, and can highly recommend it. I spent all year researching a topic, writing a paper on it, and then presenting a speech and defense to a panel. What I particularly enjoy with WHA's approach (that I don't believe SA or WTMA utilize) is that anyone in the school, or anyone you invite, can watch your defense. It was extremely rewarding to share my research and work with my acquaintances from different schools. Also, if you plan to pursue a master's degree or a PhD, you'll already have a very rough understanding of the thesis process.
--AP classes are great - in moderation. I took only 3 AP classes over all 4 years, and honestly cannot understand how people who take upwards of 10 APs manage it. My impression seems to be that colleges might not care about AP/DE as much as they care about whether you've challenged yourself.
--If you plan to apply to a college that requires a personal statement (and many don't), start writing it early, maybe the spring of your junior year. I started mine the summer before senior year and had a fairly decent draft done by the fall, but I was still scrambling to fine-tune it in time to submit my ED application.
--Extracurriculars shouldn't be a grind. I went to an online Latin club, participated in an online newspaper, and danced my freshman year. After COVID hit, the additional "extracurricular" spots on the Common App were filled with things like helping with a small business, distributing political signs, and taking care of the family chickens. I felt woefully under-enrolled, yet received a scholarship that was granted "not only for academic achievement, but also for your involvement in extracurriculars and your community". Go figure.
--Don't ditch the middle grade novels and/or picture books. My family and I listen mostly to middle grade novels (i.e. geared for the 8-12yo audience) in the car, and it's been a delight. Characters like Ramona Quimby can provide just the respite you need after finishing essays, AP reading assignments, experiments, and/or tests.
--Try to find an interest/prospective major, but don't panic if you don't. In some colleges, you declare your major in your application; in others, you don't choose one until sophomore year. Either way, you can always change it. However, it might be practical to dig deeper into the area(s) that interest you. But don't forget the other subjects! Even if you don't plan on applying to a super-selective school, most colleges like to see that you have 4 years of math, 4 of English, etc. And even if you don't want to go to college at all, it's still good to have all your bases covered.
--Talk about college, but don't stress out over it. Set your expectations well ahead of senior year: will you be applying to selective schools or not? Large or small? State or private? Any particular affiliations or geographical locations? How much are your parents willing or able to pay (and keep in mind that this is something that can change unexpectedly, as it did for my family)? Do you want to attend graduate/medical/law/etc. school? The traditional 4-year college path isn't for everyone, but you should at least discuss your plans and options early, openly, and often.
--Challenge yourself, but don't feel obligated to stick with something that doesn't work. On the other hand, just because it's annoying doesn't mean you should immediately give it up. For some subjects, we switched textbooks mid-year when a source that had always worked was suddenly no longer making sense at the next level. Conversely, I ended up grinding through a different excruciatingly long and boring work of literature and/or memoir every spring, and there's a sense of triumph on the other side.
--Not every "course" needs to be neat and tidy. I read literature, discussed it with my mom, and wrote essays. We divided those books into rough categories, and those were the English courses on the transcript. As long as you have the skills and knowledge that's listed, no one cares if you actually read 1984 the same year as Animal Farm or War and Peace.
--Don't assume that summers have to be free from school; rather, use them to do the projects and lessons that you didn't have time for during the school year. Very often, my (at home) strictly scheduled math was de-emphasized so that I could have time for my online classes during the school year, and I used the summers to catch up. Also, one summer, I compiled an index; another summer, I wrote a 30-page paper on a topic I was extremely interested in. We took those two, combined them with my memoir-reading, and made an elective course out of it on the transcript. In the end, I probably learned more from this independent study than if I had taken a similar, structured course.
--Don't assume that a "self-paced" course will have less of a time commitment. I took a semi-asynchronous course this year (you had to complete the chapter's work within a 2- or 3-week block, but there were no live classes), and ended up spending more time on it than on one of my live online classes.
--Finally, celebrate homeschooled high school! In my area, high schools distribute yard signs to seniors; we're putting together one on Shutterfly, featuring our homeschool's logo. You did it! Even if you don't have prom, a formal graduation, etc., your achievement is no less than that of the public schoolers, and you will do great things wherever you go next.
Anyway, I hope all of that makes some sense, and hopefully it's at least a bit helpful to those still fighting the good fight! 🤓
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17 hours ago, ScoutTN said:
@Miss Tick Has your Ds made a choice?
@pgr, @h2bh, @EmilyGF@gstharr, @Arcadia @threedogfarm, @strawberries
What about your kids? Final decisions yet?
Yes, UMaine Honors for DD
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We're in Maine and I've been considering emailing the NYT, especially since shooting at random cars on the highway seems to be relevant to everyone, not just Mainers. On the other hand, I sometimes wonder if would-be future psychopathic perpetrators feed off the publicity these horrific events get.
The fact that this is "the new normal" is not OK. Nor is it normal.
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54 minutes ago, silver said:
My son did AOPS pre-algebra through precalculus. I switched him to Larson Calculus EFT 6th edition for Calculus. To cover roughly calc 1, you could skip chapter 1 (it's precalc review), and do chapters 2-5 in their entirety, and do sections 6.1-6.3 along with 7.1-7.3. Solutions for odd problems can be found on https://www.calcchat.com/book/Calculus-ETF-6e/ Since he's not starting from scratch, it should be doable.
That might just work! Thank you also for the suggested tweaks.
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Because we use AOPS with our kids, I've been asked for help with choosing a math curriculum to switch to, and I'm at a bit of a loss so I thought I'd ask here.
What would the Hive suggest for a kid who has successfully used AOPS for math through pre-calculus, but this year is struggling with the calculus book? This is a senior, already accepted and committed to a college, will not be majoring in anything mathy (and is not taking the AP Calc exam), and is generally motivated and works efficiently. They're looking for something to be completed independently, finishing over the summer months if needed.
Yes, all parties (me included) are aware it's April, but I thought I'd ask because I only have experience with AOPS.
TIA!
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DD accepted to Mount Holyoke, waitlisted at Smith.
She has also been accepted as a Pulver Science Scholar at Colby College.
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Regardless of whether or not you actually messed up (and I don't think you did), this is definitely a problem with HER reaction. She has known you for 20 years. You have apologized. You have called to try to sort it out. If she is choosing to shut you out and doesn't have the ability to give you the benefit of the doubt or hear you out, well, there's really nothing you can do about it. Even if you had messed up terribly, there's always room to talk things through and figure it out if both people are willing.
I hear where you're coming from; so much so that I probably shouldn't be giving you my input here (I was wrongly chided by a sandwich shop a few weeks ago for something must have been an online order glitch and I didn't actually do, and I'm still replaying the conversation in my head while seriously considering going in and trying to resolve it. I've also avoided the shop, though we usually go in so often that they recognize our car through the window.)
I think that, in your position, I would definitely feel squirmy inside until things were resolved with the wife. However, sometimes the other side just isn't going to show up for that. I think in this case, maybe it's best to just let her and the whole conflict go. If she approaches you in peace (slim chance, I know), listen to her side, however crazy. Mad people often don't want to hear your defense, they want to vent. If she ignores you, you can approach her when she's next to her husband or they are both in a group and, as previously suggested, wish them all the best in anything that the future may hold.
It sounds like you've already decided to go to the party. Really, that one is a question of which your future self will wish you had chosen. It's a party celebrating the partner's milestone. I think, once all the feelings have settled down and they have moved on out of your life, you'd regret it if you hadn't gone.
Look not at what mistake you may or may not have done. Look at your actions, words, and choices after you realized something may be amiss. You've done your part, it's her choice how she responds.
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15 minutes ago, Miss Tick said:
Just "liked" this part. Sorry to hear that the other two schools made such a grievous error.
Thank you for this... it's definitely hard on them, and when we also carry the weight of questioning if we did it "right", it's also hard for us not to get sucked into the voices (both in our heads and belonging to others) chattering about the should'as and the could'as.
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DD accepted to Colby.
Sadly, not accepted to Bowdoin, which was by far her first choice - she had applied ED and was deferred to RD. Also not accepted at Wellesley.
Still waiting to hear from three others.
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University of New Hampshire, DD pgr (scholarship)
University of Vermont, DD pgr (scholarship)
updated info re: University of Maine, DD pgr - she's also accepted to the Honors College
Still waiting on the rest
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I know I've read a comment in a writing thread about going through W&R at a faster pace. It was something about CAP having suggested an alternative sequence in which some of the earlier books are skipped mid-sequence for an older kid. I'm trying to find it to send to a friend and have had absolutely no luck. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It was something along the lines of (totally making up the numbers here): do books 4, 5, then skip 6, 7, 8, then continue to 9.
Thank you!
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University of Maine (scholarship) DD of pgr
And she got a deferral from her top choice (Bowdoin). Still waiting to hear back from all the others.
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Thank you @Dmmetler and @Shoes+Ships+SealingWax, I appreciate the input very much.
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@8filltheheartThank you for your perspective (I have years of experience with dance and hockey, but not music), that all makes sense.
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Thank you @HomeAgain and @maize, I'll check those out!
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Our DS 11 has some affinity for music and dabbles in piano and guitar. He has shown some interest in learning to play the violin, coming back to the subject off and on over the last couple years. A family member can loan him an (I think child-sized?) instrument.
An obvious option would be to consider hiring a teacher, but we're already stretched very thin for time right now and adding in formal lessons wouldn't be fair to anyone. We'd love for him to be able to try a bit of semi-formal instruction first, to better decide if this is something that he's actually ready to commit to learning.
He has watched some video instruction, but has run into the problem of being unable to ask questions when needed. Has anyone tried online instruction at the beginner level; zoom, self-paced, or otherwise? Any recommendations? TIA!
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18 hours ago, rzberrymom said:
I do alumni interviews for an ivy, and the most important advice I have is for your daughter to be ready to really communicate why that particular school. These days, I swear 90% of my task is to figure out if the kid really even wants to go there or if it was just one of 25+ applications. Most kids seem like they’ve never spent even 5 minutes learning about the school or the department they’re aiming for, and I’ve had kids ask me about OTHER schools during the interview.
We get instructions to remember the kid is only 17, that we should be supportive and kind, don’t expect it to be like a job interview with an adult. I think she’ll do great. 🙂
Thank you for this, it’s reassuring. It blows my mind that kids are going into interviews without doing very basic research about the school or department, but I believe it…
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Thank you!
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Is hiring someone to do a mock interview a possibility? Those that do alumnus/a interviews for your alma mater, would you ever consider doing this? I'm trying to figure out how to help my very introverted DD who communicates well with people she knows but not so much with those she doesn't.
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@8filltheheart and @daijobu that's very helpful, thank you both!
ETA: We're in a town that doesn't have its own HS - DD was eligible to one of three that are in the area. Their statistics vary widely. The one in the nearest town scores <25/100 and lists very low SAT scores on USNWR, while the one in the city of which our town is a suburb scores 53/100 overall with "well above expected" SAT scores. Which do I use?
Her first choice is in our home state; I'm sure it will be pretty clear if I chose to show the good stats or the bad (though for what it's worth, her scores are above the mean compared to either). Am I overthinking this part?
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Thank you for all the input. I'm getting it all down on paper and then I'll see - maybe I'll make the profile more formal and add more feeling to the counselor letter. A big part of why we chose homeschooling is directly based on who our daughter is as a person.
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19 minutes ago, 8filltheheart said:
Mine is not "just facts." I definitely incorporated why we homeschool. Our homeschool is nothing like a traditional school approach, so I wanted to highlight that it more than simply a different location covering similar topics without classroom teachers. It is fundamentally a different education.
Thank you, and I agree. But can it read like our story? For example, "I often wonder how many lives turn out mostly as planned; ours most definitely did not."
versus
"Our family's collective educational background is quite varied; this led us to be more open to crafting a unique education for our children".
Incoming freshman - check in here
in The College Board
Posted
Have your kids received their schedules? All my DD's classes start at 8AM (which is fine), but one day a week her classes will be 8AM - 9PM. Intense.