Never mind! Didn't realize that the link I received was a gimmick. I'm so sorry! Great Courses has a free beta program going on through the end of September for a video subscription service they'll be launching "featuring nearly 5,000 lectures from their library of courses." You have to enter a credit card number to get access, but when the beta period is over, your subscription will apparently be cancelled and you are not obligated to sign up. I signed up and it looks like you get free access to a ton of their lectures, but only through the end of September. I can finally check out a bunch of individual lectures that I've been interested in!

Never mind! When I signed up there were no strings attached. Didn't realize the link they sent me was a marketing ploy. I'm so sorry! Deleting....

Deleting!

Never mind! When I signed up there were no strings attached. Didn't realize the link they sent me was a marketing ploy. I'm so sorry! Deleting....

One of my sons participated in a group class using this text. He got a lot out of it!

Don, If the DE courses are only to validate her study during the year, is there any reason you didn't have her take the SAT 2 subject exams instead? It seems like so much work for her to work through a full course during the school year and then, essentially, redo similar study during the summer. Maybe a DE grade carries more weight than an SAT 2 score? Do you roll the self-study and the DE courses into a single credit on the transcript? I kind of assumed, in planning my own kids' courses, that self-study with a good SAT 2 score would say more about a student than a DE course. CC/DE courses vary widely in quality and amount of spoon feeding they do. On the other hand, a student has to have stamina and self-discipline to self-study. I don't know how admissions people see it, though. Thanks, yvonne

Has anyone's student taken the AP French exam? How did he prepare for it? Self-study? Online class? My sons are planning to work through the Ladd AP French text and read several works of French literature, with the support of a native French tutor. I'm wondering what else others have done? Did you use a syllabus that had been approved and posted on the AP forums? (Not sure where those are, but I've heard they exist.) I don't see any overriding need to be able to label the course "AP" on their transcripts; we would just use a syllabus as a guide as to what to study, if there's a syllabus that you found effective. Thank you for any suggestions!

Let them write in the book! I was a lit major so my books are loved to death (ie, heavily annotated)! I think of it as fully engaging with the book, immersing oneself, incorporating one's own thoughts/feelings/impressions, almost like carrying on a conversation with the author. Personally, if it's a book I really like, I HAVE to write in it. It makes it my own. I like seeing those "thought prints" (like foot prints in sand) throughout the book when I reread it. I can see where I've been and whether my perspective has changed. If it's a book they might love, let them write in it! That said, I hate reading books that others have annotated, so I do purchase each child his own copy of a book. (I can often get unmarked, used books for a decent price.) To me the cost of the book (except for those pricey textbooks) is so minimal compared to the benefits they get from annotating freely in the book. Also, if I asked my kids to annotate on post it notes, I know it would become so onerous (for them, maybe not for all kids) that they would minimize any notes they made.

In what price range are you looking? The cheapest (but not necessarily best) accredited online courses are probably through your state's virtual K12 academy, if your state has one.

Hi, Lee, I don't have any experience with the online classes, but I would have no hesitation at all signing up a 14 year old for an LToW class. I've been to a couple of the parent/teacher workshops on how to implement the curriculum, and my children have all been to a live student writing workshop with Circe locally. My daughter was only 12 when she went, and she got a lot out of it. If they didn't have that 14 yo limit, I would have signed my dd up for the online class last year and I think she would have been completely fine. LToW has a lot to offer for any age, 12 & up, imho. Maybe it's easier for the instructors to work online with 14 yos. Maybe 14 yos have more life experience to draw on. I wish they would allow 12 & up, at the parent's discretion, though. I would go for it, if I were you!

nm

My boys had the same reaction looking at Jurgensen & Jacobs. I didn't want to teach geometry, so we used Wilson Hill's online class that uses Jurgensen.

Standard American high school French 1 & 2 texts are pretty much the same. My boys used Bon Voyage 2, because that's what's used at our local school and because it's as good as any other standard French text. It ended up being a good choice because every.single.lesson is structured exactly the same way.... 2-3 pages of new vocabulary based on the theme for the lesson (school, hospital/doctor, travel/hotels/restaurants, home/rooms/furniture, ...), 2-4 pages of exercises to practice that vocabulary, 2-4 pages of grammar, 2-4 pages of grammar exercises, a second round of vocab/exercises/grammar/exercises, a short conversation practice section I think, and two pages of cultural info about different regions of France, different Francophone countries, French art/music/literature, etc. It made it very easy to get into a groove, and, if we can get into a routine, it is so much easier to just "do the next thing." Most standard texts have workbook, test booklet, and audio support via cd or online. I found the BV texts and workbooks second hand, but not written in, online, and we purchased the test booklet and audio cds. We didn't end up using the audio cd's because my kids already hear French, I have some background in French, and they met with a French tutor once a week. If nobody in your household has any French background, you will definitely need something with an audio component and, if at all possible, a native French tutor for at least a one hour/week session. My daughter used the BJU French 1 text with the online TPS class this past year. It also has workbook, test, and DVD support. The content seemed similar to the BV 1 text. The BV text is "prettier" with its color images and photos, but that can also make for a "noisier" page. The BJU text is kind of bland by comparison, but it's kind of nice not to have all the noise. If we had another student coming up and I were going to be teaching, I'd probably go with the BV text.

DO's Algebra I is based on the Dolciani book, and his Geometry is based on Jacob's. My boys took Alg 1 with DO, too, and we were happy with it. The self-paced format was helpful because the boys had a heavy load that year and could do less on some weeks and more on others.

We went from Horizons 1-6 (+ Singapore K-7A with my boys) to the Dolciani sequence. It was a seamless transition. Part of the reason we went this route is that I found a number of top private, college-prep high schools were using it, so I knew it would be a solid program. Pre-Algebra: An Accelerated Course Algebra I Geometry Algebra II/Trigonometry Advanced Math (pre-calc) This one is authored by Brown, one of the co-authors of the others Regarding the Jurgensen Geometry text....... Dolciani was listed as a co-author w/ Jurgensen of the early editions, but she is no longer listed. She died in 1995. However, Brown, the other co-author of the Algebra I & II texts, is still listed as a co-author of the Geometry text along w/ Jurgensen. That makes me think that the Geometry text is pretty well sync'd up to the Algebra texts. The only provider of online courses using the entire sequence that I could find is Wilson Hill. We did the Pre-Algebra text on our own. My boys did Algebra I through Derek Owens, Geometry through WHA, and will be doing Algebra II with WHA this fall. My daughter will be doing Alg 1 with WHA in the fall.

The pre-ACT exam is the ACT Aspire, formerly PLAN, right? So, other than for talent search programs, I guess the advantage to taking a pre-real exam like the PSAT or Aspire rather than just taking the SAT or ACT is that they give you a baseline, but the scores don't go on the student's permanent record?

:iagree: I got the impression from the op that either class would be relatively easy for him and was suggesting that the op might be able to broaden the options for him. I know I've gone with a course, before high school, that turned out to be essentially treading water for a year & it still bugs me that I didn't have more confidence in my boys' abilities. Now that they're in high school, time is more limited because they "have" to take some specific courses. So, if they're going to spend time on a course, I want it to be the best use of their time.

How about finding a physics course or a solid biology course, if he's academically ready for one of those? Has he had algebra 1? Derek Owens and many other providers offer algebra-based physics. There are also online options for honors biology or "pre-AP" biology that would give him a much stronger foundation than it sounds like the co-op biology would give him. For a student who is hoping to be premed, I'd skip both Physical Science AND the lightweight biology. Why bother w/ either of those?

Why not pick the best courses/instructors from a variety of providers rather than going an all-in-one route with all classes from one provider? With a student advanced in some areas, it seems like that would give the most flexibility and still provide you/him with the accountability you're seeking.

nm Can't seem to upload....

Curious..... which countries, whose native language is not German, are more familiar with German than English?

What grade will she be in? Have you used any online classes in the past that she either liked/didn't like? Do you want one, single source of all her subjects? Or would you be willing to use different providers for different subjects? (Some single source/complete program providers: Calvert, K12, Veritas Press, Memoria Press, your state's virtual high school, if you have one.) Have you done any standardized testing (SAT? SAT10? ITBS? other?) that gives you some idea of what her strengths/weaknesses are? K12 through a public charter would be the most economical (free or close to free), but definitely the least flexible in terms of courses. It also tends to get tedious to do all subjects in the same format. K12 also doesn't have much of a real time, live component. Individual providers can be more pricy, but you get to pick and choose the best classes and the best teachers for your particular student. Live online classes (where a group of students and teacher meet live, all students being able to hear the teacher and see her "whiteboard" and being able to chat their answers/thoughts) tend to be much more engaging than watching recorded lectures.

No nightlife? But... but... but.... they see it in American tv shows and movies! It sounds like they have some serious stereotypes about the US to get over. So what if it's a country mouse/city mouse thing? This might be their one chance to try a lifestyle and do things they've never experienced before. Take advantage of it. Be grateful for the opportunity. But that outlook might take some maturity. You and your son are bending over backward to share with them all the things you love most. For them to just sit and not attempt to engage borders on rude. What do they say they want to do, now that they know clubbing/drinking/chasing American girls is out?

Thanks so much for the feedback on how your students prepped. I'll have to look for the Direct Hits books. Haven't seen them yet. Is that bec. the SAT has been revised, but the PSAT hasn't ? Or vice versa?

I think someone on the list did do a DO course at an accelerated pace. I'm sure you could. Email Derek to confirm, though. He's been very responsive when I've emailed him.