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steppingstonemomma

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Posts posted by steppingstonemomma

    Write @ Home users...please help me out!

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    What is so critical about using the HS Composition 1 annual class before Comp2?

     

    I am really wanting my son to work on opinion essays from the Lively Art of Writing. We don't need creative writing which is what Comp 1's first semester seems to be.

     

    BUT, I really wanted a whole year's class. So I'm looking at Comp 2. It does what I want, but I just want to know why they say it is so critical that you do Comp1 first?

     

    He's been doing IEW the past few years so he has a good writing basis so I hate to waste time doing stuff he doesn't need (or like).

     

    Someone please help? Give me some advice!

    Lightbulb moment! 15yodd has reading comprehension issues! Now what???

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I just thought that I would update this post in case it will help anyone!

    After all the great advice, I was able to rule out any kind of decoding issues. We did an intensive reading comprehension workbook (found it on my library's free resource list) that I printed and worked through with her. She actually did go take the placement test at the CC and surprised both of us by placing into English 101 (fairly high level, too)! I'm not sure that makes me feel super comfortable because I know sometimes those test aren't a very good indicator of skills....watered down...etc.

    So, the other thing I did the rest of the school year was make her type up a paragraph summary after each subsection of the Apologia Bio book. That was the subject she was having the most difficulty with and I felt sure it was due to comprehension issues. Lo and behold, her test scores sky rocketed! She did so much better. And then, if she got lazy (and I forgot to follow up) and didn't do good summaries, her test scores went down. So we both have discussed how necessary it is for her to do this...and she is much more willing since she knows for sure it works.

    For other reasons, we have decided not to do Eng 101 at the college this fall and instead give her another semester or 2 at home to practice these skills more thoroughly.

    Lori, I am still planning on having her take that online comprehension class this summer. I just couldn't add it on to her workload this past school year with all the co-op classes she was taking. But, thanks for the link. It looks perfect. And much more economical for the budget than a CC remedial class.

     

    Oh, and I forgot to add that she is currently working on the EPS workbook this summer... So thank you for that recommendation!

    Write @ Home or Laurel Tree better Eng 101 prep?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Would you say the High School Composition classes from Write @ Home or the Laurel Tree Tutorials would be a better and more appropriate preparation for someone who was planning on one year of writing instruction before dual enrolling in the community college?

     

    And, if you think Write @ Home is better, which level? Or would a combination of workshops be better? Which ones?

     

    Thanks!

    Tiffany

    Blue Tent AP English Questions

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    This looks really good from the website. Has anyone used this before? Reviews? Feel like it prepares students for university level writing sufficiently?

     

    If a student is not planning on taking the AP exam will it feel like a lot of the class is a waste? Do they devote a lot of time to just teaching for the test? I also really like Laurel Tree, and that is our 2nd choice.

     

    Also, how much instruction on writing is given? Are they just assignments with a grade given or is there thorough instruction and lots of feedback? How specific is the feedback?

     

    Any help is most appreciated!

     

    http://teacherweb.com/USA/BlueTent/Thompson/apt21.aspx

    Saxon and Engineering

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Thanks everyone... I am feeling insecure especially since I am NOT a math person. My son wants to go into engineering and I just want to prepare him well enough. I think the main issue is that I want to be sure it is stretching his problem solving skills. BUT, this week he starts attending the First Technic Challenge group and I think that will help with strengthening that skill over the next few years.

     

    I will definitely try out a few other curricula to see if the skills are transferring over to other areas. Thanks for all the help!

    Saxon and Engineering

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Am I doing a disservice to my son (alg 1- 8th grade) by using Saxon through high school Calculus if he wants to go into Aerospace Engineering at University of MD???

     

    We have jumped around through the middle school years and have finally settling on Saxon. And, it's working. He understands it, likes the review, and does very well other than a few careless mistakes. I LOVE it since it has the Saxon Teacher dvd/Art Reed instructional dvd, and he is virtually independent. A necessity since I am hopeless at math.

     

    BUT, I keep hearing that Saxon doesn't prepare kids for problem solving skills. He is definitely going to need them in engineering. I just want to prepare him the most thorough way possible. Any advice?

    BJU US History... how does this work?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I have a 10th and 9th grader who really just need a git 'er done type history. In looking at the samples at the website it looks pretty interesting to read vs the Notgrass sample which looked dry. Would you all agree?

     

    Also, I've never used BJU. Is this going to be difficult to use if we aren't in a classroom? I really just need something low-key and easy to get done, nothing extra, but easy for me to grade and implement...

     

    So for you who have used BJU high school level history books, what does a weekly plan look like?

    4th grade reading curr that uses real books instead of readers???

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I need something completely prepped for me to just open and go. BUT, I don't want to give up using real classic books? I've seen some pitfalls with my older kids just not getting all the skills they needed in reading because I used a living books/narration kind of learning. I don't think it is the method's fault, just mine. I couldn't keep on top of all I needed to incorporate.

     

    I really just want to use CLE's reading or BJU's reading, but I can't bring myself to let my kids miss out on lots of real literature! Please someone tell me there is a curriculum out there that will meet my needs?

    How critical are formal proofs in Geometry for a future engineer?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I need to decide whether to stick with Saxon/Saxon Teacher cd combo for my 14yo son for Geometry OR do an online Geometry class. He wants to be an engineer so I want to give him the best preparation possible, but I'm clueless as to how critical "proofs" are in geometry. Honestly, I have NO IDEA what I'm asking. I skipped 3/4ths of my basic level geometry class and learned absolutely nothing and have no clue what a proof even is! I only know about them from reading about a 100 threads today on geometry an proofs! LOL!

     

    So how needed are proofs in engineering?

    Does Saxon cover proofs (if we use it all the way through Calc)?

     

     

    Please, someone put me out of my misery.... I've been researching like a crazy woman for too many hours today on topics I know nothing about! LOL!

     

    Tiffany

    Need suggestions for other online classes with same format as PA Homeschoolers...

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I just finished reading the PA Homeschoolers thread, http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/456977-pa-homeschoolers-question/ where it explained that it usually isn't a streaming video class. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEED! We can't get any kind of streaming video due to having limits on our mobile hotspot internet access (due to living in the boonies) but I have been desperately trying to come up with a way to outsource a lot of classes for my 2 high schoolers. I just figured all online classes used streaming video! I can't tell you how excited and hopeful I am right now!!!

     

     

     

    So, do you know of any other online class that doesn't use a streaming video to teach? We can do an occasional video clip or even download a class (I could do it while at another location), and email, web forums, etc are all fine.

     

     

    I like PA Homeschoolers class list but I know my kids are not up for doing AP level work. And frankly they don't need to take AP tests since I am 99% sure they will end up at community college where they don't accept them. So I'm looking for basic online classes (multiple subjects/grades) or even an honors level class.

     

    Ok....GO!

     

    :) THANKS! (Feeling cautiously optimistic...)

    Intensive review of grammar/punctuation for 15yo?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    My daughter did CLE's Language Arts from 4-7th. Took off all grammar for 8th and 9th to focus heavily on writing, and I am looking to have her do a one year intensive study of grammar/punctuation during 10th grade.

     

    What program could I use that would be totally independent, workbooky (she likes them), and super solid? I've even contemplated using R&S's 8th grade book (but from the samples it looked like more writing instruction than grammar...?).

     

    Any ideas or rec's?

    Tiffany

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