My plan is to try both ways to see which one seems to work better for us. So, no help....just :lurk5:

I wish we would have done them this way. We used the Singapore bar method, which we have not used since. My dh never understood why I didn't just go straight to equations. I thought there was some brilliant reason to do the bar method first. There wasn't. At least not for my dd.

Great idea!

This is exactly how I feel! I'm so excited!

Well, if we're getting theoretical... :laugh: In late summer, I plan to print syllabi and help dd add assignments/deadlines to Homeschool Planet. (Lots of outsourcing next year.) She will also add her extra-curriculars and other commitments. We haven't linked Homeschool Planet to our Google calender yet, but may need to next year. Once the semester starts, every morning I plan to go over everything with her to make sure she knows what's going on and has a plan. I will check in throughout the day and in the evening. Bigger planning sessions on the weekends. I imagine this will taper off as the year progresses. She did one online class this semester, and I check in much less now than I did at the beginning. We set our Google Calendar to send texts/emails at various intervals before an online class starts. We usually remember, but at least once this saved us from forgetting and going out to dinner instead... ;)

http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/homeschool-planet-free-trial/ This might not be what you're looking for, but it was a game changer here. DD can have her own access password, chose her background and types of quotes to display, etc. For now, I add the assignments to make sure she doesn't miss anything, but she can check them off. At some point I will allow her access to add the assignments herself. We are gradually changing guard...

Are the students seen in video or just in text?

I would encourage you to consider Foerster for Algebra. It sounds like it might be an option at least worth investigating. From what you've described in the rest of your post - solid examples, increasing difficultly of problems, etc - Foerster might be a good fit. (One never knows, of course, but it would be a good one to at least consider. :) )

Excellent! Thanks!

Will there be an extra fee for the monthly payments?

This is another reason we left AoPS. Math was starting to hold back her science, which is a no no here. There was no need to struggle with a math program for the sake of struggling. She just wanted to be able to get through math to get to science. She wants to linger in the science, not the math. Math is a tool for her -- not a passion. Before anyone cries foul, she has a non-STEM science focus. (Although even my STEM dh found it not necessary. Is math necessary? Yes. AoPS? No.)

I had difficulty posting on the below thread because of threat detection: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/541894-asking-for-boardie-help-in-developing-our-online-home-school-convention/

I'm not sure why, but posting on this thread I'm getting a Threat warning...I'll post a note to OtherJohn...

For some reason I can't edit my post... When I click on the conference link on the webpage linked above, it takes me to a search with World Travel Market London and other listings for wtmonlineconference.

I did a google search to find the conferences and came to this link: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/combining-blogs/ It mentions the conferences, but the link it provides doesn't take me directly to the conference website. I found it a different way, but thought you might like to know.

Something else I forgot to mention... I wish I would have been more open to math supplements. We had always done at least two math programs up until that point, but somehow I got it into my mind (think Don Quixote here...) that there was something particularly valiant about not only using AoPS, but using it without supplements! (I've decided to make a conscious effort to, in the future, refrain from tilting at windmills...)

DD took 2 years to complete AoPS Pre-A. Two years partly due to home renovations/selling and two moves. That and.... um....needing, but not wanting, help with math. I struggle with taking two years with AoPS being worth it. At the time I thought it was, but now I'm not so sure. She got to Chapter 7, I think, of AoPS Algebra before my dh and I decided it was time to change. We were both noticing some strange thinking patterns at least partially due to AoPS's approach. She was resistant to our help and isn't a candidate for the AoPS classes, so we switched programs. I personally liked AoPS Pre-A better than AoPS Algebra. I'm not sure what I would have done differently with Pre-A. I do wish for Algebra we would have gone straight to Foerster's - it's been a great fit. Pre-A? In a different time of our lives, she probably could have done it in a year. Even with the upheavals, another program probably could have been completed in the usual year time-frame. Was AoPS worth it for her? At this point I'm leaning toward no. We seem to see more leftover issues than earth-shattering amazing thought processes. My dh had qualms about AoPS from the beginning for her. In some ways, I wish I would have listened. He could do AoPS without having done AoPS, if that makes sense, simply because he had a good foundation in math. He thought the added frustration of discovery was hurting more than helping. Looking back, he was probably right. I think if I were to do it again, I would maybe try the AoPS Pre-A class to know for sure it wouldn't work, rather than just presuming it wouldn't. I would also be much less likely to continue with something that clearly just wasn't a good fit. The Well-Trained Mind Academy is offering classes with the Pre-Algebra and Algebra AoPS books now. Had they been available, those would have been well worth trying.

The FAQ section mentions monthly parent/teacher conferences. How do these work? Are conferences required? One-on-one meetings or groups? When are they scheduled?

Thanks for the confirmation!

Thanks again for your detailed responses. These two sentences in particular went to the heart of my concerns. The first concern – staying in a forward motion – is one we've decided to remedy by outsourcing some subjects to carefully chosen instructors. Outsourcing actually serves many purposes beyond keeping us on track with credits, but that is certainly one of them. The second concern – viewing “extras†as “less important†-- has led me to some reflection about myself and the teen in front of me. I've realized that due to concerns of credits and my homeschooling high school version of keeping up with the Joneses, we've lost some of the essence of what got us this far so successfully. I'm past the point I can support dd in both the core subjects and the extras. Many books and one other person discussing every subject is no longer enough for her; it hasn't been for some time. It was an epiphany that struck me one day as we were sitting in the study doing our work.... “This is absurd.†Within days I had outsourced her first subject – Spanish. I had no idea that within weeks I would be researching other subjects. Not because I couldn't do them. The question was if teaching or even planning these subjects would be the best use of my time and energy. Not to mention asking myself if I was truly the best person for the job. Capable and best are words with vastly different meanings....Would I hire me? What am I bringing to the table that is superior to the options available to us? While trying to rally myself from the blow that the answers gave to my self-esteem, it occurred to me that by passing along the subjects others could do just as well, if not better, I would be freed to do that which I truly can do best – researching and finding opportunities to support her interests and life, intellectual and otherwise, outside of credits and school. There is so much going on in her life and mind right now. Being overly concerned with what counts as a credit is something I'd rather not be focused on. We may end up doing some ex post facto credits for interests, but I'm not going to count on them. There are plenty of options for dealing with core subjects and credit concerns. Supporting her interests and supporting her as a person is something that is much harder to outsource. (Yes, Charlotte, I hear you. I'm pulling out your first volume to refresh my memory right now...) The end of my homeschooling days are closer than I care to admit. I don't want these final years, months, and days to be filled with grading, counting hours, and keeping us on track in several subjects. I want them to be like they were in the beginning.... Lots of reading and discussing until we had finished. Moving on only when we were ready...lingering when it felt right. Literature, poetry, music, art, science, history, psychology, philosophy... And time outside. Lots of time outside... When she was little, her intellectual life away from me was filled with the written thoughts of others. Now, in addition to those, her intellectual life away from me will be filled with the spoken words of teachers and mentors, as well as conversations with other students and kindred spirits. This is right and good. It's as it should be for her. I am speaking of no one else. Thanks again for sharing your journeys. You've helped me find my way and given me courage.

Totally. I was actually referring to a different comment in which someone mentioned the pace of the class wasn't fast for her child. That was just something I hadn't heard before, or at least not often. I've also heard various reports about the actual classes. I was just sort of thinking aloud.... I agree that personalities have lots to do with responding to a class. I'm thrilled The Well-Trained Mind Academy offers an alternative for students who aren't a good fit for the AoPS classes, but might thrive with the books in a different setting.

Maybe I've gotten the wrong impression about the classes. Interesting to hear some say they aren't fast paced....I've always heard otherwise...hmm.... Fwiw, the typing wouldn't be a concern here. It's just my dd wouldn't like the speed responding to math problems, which may or may not be happening...I'm hearing conflicting reports... It's not that she can't read and respond Minecraft style. That's not the issue at all. It's the preference of seeing and hearing the teacher speaking vs simply reading text.

Sounds like a good plan to me! My dd went from Singapore 5b to AoPS Pre-A. I think if The Well-Trained Mind Academy had been around when she started AoPS Pre-A, she would have taken the class. The fast, text only classes AoPS offers wouldn't have been a good fit for her.

Thank you so much! Very helpful!

I would be interested in hearing anything you'd like to share about this class! Thanks!