Anne/Ankara
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Posts posted by Anne/Ankara
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Danielle, does the science camp issue a personalized "letter of evaluation" following the camp? You could possibly use that...
When my ds attended a science camp after 7th grade, and we were applying to a another science program that requested letters from "science teachers," we did ask the instructor of the summer science camp to write a letter of recommendation, which she did, which we used. So it is certainly possible!
But if you are thinking of when you dd will apply to university (several years from now) then probably more up-to-date recommendations will hold much more weight, so you can probably just hold off for now!
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My dd is currently taking a 3 week course in Forensic Science, and they use the book called The Forensic Casebook: The Science of Crime Scene by Ngaire Genge. Might be worth checking out!
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Here is another free online video tutorial, Hippocampus, but it is "Elementary Algebra" not pre-algebra...
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I would, will, and continue to place my dc in the learning environment I feel is best for them. Right now, that's me. But I'm not so stubborn (or convicted or prideful or whatever) to think that they will never be in public or private school somewhere else.
I agree with Shari-- for us, it's all about providing the best *overall* education as possible for the kids, which includes their social skills as well as academic ones.
We'll be trying out real school for the first time as we move to Turkey next week-- it looks like a fine school that really lines up with what we hoped to achieve with their education. That said, I'm sure it will have some disadvantages (as homeschooling did!). So we're going to try it out. Let's see how it goes!
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When I get bad rep it's gone after a while. Do the mods get rid of anon neg rep now?
How can you know if bad rep has gone or not? Don't you only see the last five reps in your User Control Panel? So how can you know anything other than those last five? Just curious!
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My ds also took the Number Theory course last spring, and enjoyed it, but wished he had more time (or at least *I* wished he had more time) to do more of the problem sets and really get all the learning out of it. I am hoping we can do the AMC course in the fall, but we may have time zone difficulties in the new place we're moving too... Oh well! But still, it is a great program, and really helpful.
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My portfolios (PA) are very similar to Tutor's-- just a 3 ring binder with divisions for each subject area, and samples included to show evidence of work done. It is easy to set it up in the beginning of the year, and then fill it in as the year goes by (math tests, book reports, lab reports, artwork copies). We had separate divisions in the front for Evaluator's Report (done at end of year) and my own overall description of the year, booklist, and test results. Other than that, it was straightforward.
We also included programs from art classes, field trips, workshops, sports groups, travel...
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I think you're on the right track with doubling up biology, chemistry and even physics, striving to hit mostly AP level science by the time he applies to university-- of course, in addition to calculus, English and the humanities! And adding volunteer work, extra-curriculars, and lots of general pre-med reading.... why not!
Here are some forums that hold regular discussions about pre-med education:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/
http://www.yale.edu/visvi/students/gradprof/media/readinglist.pdf
I have found a wealth of information on these sites. Good luck!
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I think we paid $100/month with slight discount for second child. I feel it was money well-spent, particularly as you get into the more advanced levels. If you stay at one level for a long time (year?) than maybe it is not worth it...
Just my opinion!
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YAY, I think I found something!!! Thank you all so much for all the tips! I found a price of $94/night at the Crystal City Marriott. And it's refundable up to the day before the trip, which is good. (I'm not really sure why some identical rooms with the same features are up to $100 more for exactly the same dates, right on the Marriott website, right below the $94 rate-- does anyone here know why that might be? Not that I'm complaining, but I want to be sure I'm not missing something.)
The hotel looks nice, has good reviews, an indoor pool (kids will be thrilled!), and is very convenient to the Metro. Does anyone happen to have an idea of approximately how much the Metro will cost per trip downtown to the Mall area? I saw that parking was $19 per night. If the Metro is also pretty expensive, we might need to cut back to one night.
You all really helped me on this. I think the major mistake I was making, was that I thought we needed a suite to fit all five of us. When I realized we could use a room with two double beds, as long as a roll-away bed was allowed in that room, that opened a lot more possibilities. Looking more outside the downtown area also helped a lot.
Thanks so much! I am so relieved to have this taken care of! Now I can have fun actually planning the trip!
Erica
Erica, I was just in Crystal City on Saturday, returning a rental car. It is a nice new area, near the Pentagon and all. The Metro in DC costs about $1.50 per person per complete ride (including a transfer if you need it). You buy the metro tickets in the machines at the metro entrance, and can put more money on a card if you run low with it.
You would probably best use the Crystal City metro stop, and take the Yellow Line into the city. Let us know if you need help!
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In June we attended the Falls Church, VA music camp (Suzuki Institute) and they recommened the local hotel there for out-of-town guests. Here is a copy of the info they sent:
Lodging for out-of-town participants
The Suzuki Institute has reserved a block of rooms at the Homestead Studio
Suites at its Tysons location. Some rooms can sleep up to 4 people. Rooms are
air-conditioned & have fully-equipped kitchenettes with utensils, in-house laundry.
Walk to restaurants & area's largest Tysons Corner Mall. Five miles to the
Institute. Reserve early & directly with the hotel by June 1. The Suzuki group rates
per night, per room:
1 Queen size bed in room $100 + 9% tax
1 King size bed or 2 Double beds in room $109.95 + 9% tax
Homestead Studio Suites (extendedstayhotels.com) 703-356-6300
8201 Old Courthouse Rd., Vienna, VA 22182
I know that is it close to the Orange Line Metro, and about 20 minutes into downtown Washington DC.
Anne/PA
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We used Kumon Math and Kumon Reading for about 4 years. It was very good-- ambitious and set to a high standard. Fairly quickly we went through the basic operations work, and then got into the good stuff-- Level J in Math (quadratic functions and all) and completed Level K in Reading (or whatever the last level is). The program is well prepared, and the worksheets really do teach the student mastery-- or else they re-do it.
The Kumon method is not for everyone, but we certainly benefited from our work there, and I would recommend that you try it out to see if it works for your kids!
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Ouch! Even a few seconds can be painful! Whew, hope this was an exaggeration!
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I posted on my blog a picture of the vacant lot I'm considering for a community garden (we're in the city). Has anyone ever done this? I'm trying to research it all online, but I'm wondering about ideas like: can it be both a play space for kids and also a garden? What should the layout be? What elements should I include: raised beds, in-ground gardening, play area, sitting area? This would be a long-term project of course.
I admire you for doing this-- there's a nice looking community garden in Arlington VA that I think would be great fun to be involved with (but haven't been able to join them, unfortunately).
It reminds me of a great poster I saw recently, "How to Build Community," which includes "planting flowers" as a way to affirm how pleasant a neighborhood can be, with someone doing some gardening! Here is a link to the poster, which is filled with good ideas like that-- http://www.northernsun.com/n/s/4193.html
How to Build Community
The Building Community Poster reads: Turn off your TV. Leave your house. Know your neighbors, Look up when you are walking; Greet people; Sit on your stoop; Plant flowers; Use your library; Play together; Buy from local merchants; Share what you have; Help a lost dog; Take children to the park; Garden together; Support neighborhood schools; Fix it even if you didn't break it; Have pot lucks; Honor elders; Pick up litter; Read storeis aloud; Dance in the street; Talk to the mail carrier; Listen to the birds; Put up a swing; Help carry something heavy; Barter for your goods; Start a tradition; Ask a question; Hire young people for odd jobs; Organize a block party; Bake extra and share; Ask for help when you need it; Open your shades; Sing together; Share your skills; Take back the night; Turn up the music; Turn down the music; Listen before you react to anger; Mediate a conflict; Seek to understand; Learn from new and uncomfortable angles; Know that no one is silent athough many are not heard. Work to change this.
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I've kept track of all the books my kids have read since they started school (now going into our ninth year). I keep a running "Independent Reading" list, and a list separated by subject area (once they got into middle school). At the end of each year I print it out and put it into the portfolio. Works great, and is not too time-consuming!
But here's a warning-- the list can get long. To paraphrase Wanda Gag, you might be faced with "hundred of books, thousands of books, millions
and billions and trillions of books!"
It's a source of pride and accomplishment for my kids!
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Yes-- do call them. We got ours about two weeks ago in PA.
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We've got two scientifically-minded kids here, and we have taken advantage of all the museum science workshops and university courses that we have in our local city (Pittsburgh PA). Many of those were quite fantastic, and the kids learned a lot.
Then, as they got a bit older (now 14 and 12) we have done more science summer camps, such as Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth. These are really wonderful, and the kids get a fine education in dissection, lab reports, science ethics, and up-to-date curricula. Highly recommended!
We also farmed out one science class in eighth grade (Environmental Science) at a local university, which was a good opportunity. We followed it with an AP exam, so that we could test the waters about the feasiblity of working at that level.
So far, so good. Next year we will transition to a high school environment, so let's see what that means for us.
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We have used the TI-84 Silver Plus graphing calculator, which seems fine. Recently someone posted a link for a nice discount on it...
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We're in the middle of a move to Turkey, for my dh's work, and are very excited about it-- but it will probably only be for 4-6 years, so it is not indefinite. There certainly will be challenges, but we are somewhat familiar with the culture, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. And we're moving to a very nice place.
There is a lot of paperwork: entry visa, work permits, resident permits, since I am not a citizen of Turkey, and will work there, but it is worth it! The children will attend an International School and truly get a global education.
Our roots are here in the US and we plan to return, but this chapter of life will be a grand adventure for all of us!
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If I were you, I would choose healthful vegetble dishes and lean protein for main entry, and then something like plain washed blueberries for dessert. They are delicious and have great nutrient value, and a small serving would probably be fine with him (of course, he may by-pass dessert entirely).
The things I would avoid on the menu are the white starches (large servings of white pasta, rice, potato, white bread, etc) and sugared desserts.
At least that is what we do here, since my dh watches his blood sugar level.
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Small world, isn't it! Yes, Aimee, we are moving in about two weeks (yikes!) to Bilkent University where my dh will take on an mechanical engineering professor role-- he works on jet engines, so he would definitely have something to talk with your dh at Boeing about! And we've visited Ankara only a few times (but we've summered in Turkey for the past 15 summers).
Speaking of Five in a Row, I would think that it's best used a bit later, since it is a very rich, wonderful program based on picture books that teaches the child a bit of history, language, math, science, art on each of five days in which that picture book was read. Wonderful series, and I'm bringing all my books to Turkey, so maybe we can share resources when we're there!
I'll PM you if I can figure out how...
Anne/PA
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Actually, now I see that you're specifically asking about free resources from the Internet, which I know there are many! Searching these boards will yeild some answers, but now that my kids are older (12 and 14) I don't have ready suggestions-- but I'm sure others here do!
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Wow, you live in Turkey??? We are moving there later this month (Ankara). Anyway, about your original question, certainly it is not pushy to help an inquisitive child learn new things. At that age we did a lot of picture book reading (or any other colorful book), hands-on experiences, talking, singing and such. In the later "preschool" years, about age 4-5, we did the Five in a Row series.
Do you have access to a library with English books, or not really? That is what I am wondering about. If you live near a university, you may be able to use their library free of charge (Bilkent for instance allows this for local residents) but I don't know how extensive their English book collection for young children would be.
There are many resources from the Internet that you could use-- for early reading, I have seen that the Explode the Code is now available online for something like $40 a year through the Homeschool Buyers club. But that might be too much for a two-year old.
Good for you! Enjoy your homeschooling adventure, and good luck with the coming baby!
Anyone used Schaum's Guides for math-are they complete?
in High School and Self-Education Board
Posted
When I worked at McGraw-Hill, both the Schaum's Outline Series, and the Schaum's Solved Problems series were *very* successful books. I know that the Chemistry 3000 Solved Problems is highly recommended in particular. So yes, I think you can definitely use them as supplements.