[Live Writing classes that start in January?]

I'm just about at my wits end and am looking for a 10th grade writing class that starts in January. Any ideas? 

[Wilson Hill with Chromebook?]

If I remember correctly, it wouldn't have worked. I might be wrong though because we didn't end up getting it. I know it wouldn't have worked for either WHA or Virtual Homeschool Group. We ended up with a fairly cheap HP that has been great. It has a CD drive so she can watch her Saxon lessons, which was helpful also. It was an open box from Best Buy. I want to say it was normally around $220 and we got it for $180? Maybe? Anyway, after researching, my strong suggestion was to not go with the Chromebook because it simply doesn't work with everything. 

[Saxon Alg I advice needed]

I would look into virtualhomeschoolgroup.com - they have an at-your-own-pace Saxon Alg 1 course. It has REALLY helped my daughter. It is immediate feedback for grading, and she has to work every single homework problem until she gets full credit for it. So if she misses something, she has to another of the same type of problem until she gets it right 2 times in a row. It has caused her to do LOTS better on her quizzes!

[Wilson Hill Academy Great Conversation classes--Questions]

Wow. That's interesting. So she could get an A because the lectures covered everything she needed to know?  There was no output required from her to show she had read the book(s)? 

They have discussion questions all the time, and a couple different papers. My daughter has read lots, but not everything. She has an A in the class and I KNOW, for a fact, that she hasn't read everything. So yeah, I don't think the quizzes, discussion board entries, or essays, have proven that she's read everything. But, as I said, the lectures are awesome. 

[Wilson Hill Academy Great Conversation classes--Questions]

My 14 year old is in GC1+4 this year. She's thoroughly enjoyed the class. With that being said, we're switching to MFW for next year (which she wants to do) because I feel that the reading has been above her true abilities. It's hard stuff. The lectures have been GREAT, but I'm afraid they've also showed her that she could get an A in the class without actually reading the book...grrrr.

[Can you compare these reading lists for me please]

You are correct.  The books used in the My Father's World program are much more accessible to young readers than those on the Wilson Hill list.  The MFW list is also more standard for a high school program (although In His Steps and Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret are not standard works for English classes).  Are you looking to enroll her in online classes, or are you just wanting a good book list? 

 

She has really enjoyed the online style of Wilson Hill this year, so I wouldn't be opposed to another online class, but with a more manageable reading list. Do you have suggestions? LOL

[Can you compare these reading lists for me please]

I'm trying to narrow down choices for my 10th grader next year. She's in Wilson Hill's Great Conversation 1+4 class this year. She's really enjoyed it, but the reading has really bogged her down at times. Audio books have helped, but there are some times where she just doesn't understand what is going on in the book. I began looking and thought MFW's World Lit & History course looked a little easier (while still challenging), but I may be wrong because I don't know all of the books. Could some of you who are more well-read than me compare these lists and tell me if I'm looking at it wrong.

 

Wilson Hill:

The Holy Bible, Myths of the Norsemen (Roger Lancelyn Green), Confessions, On Christian Doctrine, The Consolation of Philosophy, The Koran, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Great Divorce (C.S. Lewis), St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis of Assisi (G.K. Chesterton), Summa Theologica (Kreeft editor), Inferno, Purgatory, Paradise, Canterbury Tales, Prince, Othello, The Praise of Folly, Here I Stand (Roland H. Bainton), Institutes of the Christian Religion, and Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves: Book 1 of Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene (Roy Maynard).

 

My Father's World:

Bible

• Heroes of the Faith
• More Than a Carpenter
• Christianity, Cults & Religions
• Four Views of the End Times
• Experiencing God: Student Edition (purchase one per additional student; one for each parent also recommended)

English

• Julius Caesar (Shakespeare Made Easy: Modern English Version Side-by-Side with Full Original Text)
• Beowulf (translated by Seamus Heaney)
• British Literature (Parallel Text)
• Teacher Guide for British Literature
• Practicing His Presence (Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach)
• Pilgrim's Progress in Modern English
• A Tale of Two Cities (abridged edition)
• Silas Marner
• Pride and Prejudice
• Cry, the Beloved Country
• Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret
• The Hiding Place
• Animal Farm
• In His Steps

[Honors Compostion at Wilson Hill --- Reveiw?]

Has she done online or outsourced writing before? My soon to be 14 son is taking the 8th grade Fundamentals of Expository Writing. I am a little nervous like RootAnn, because the reading is not what ds would choose to do. He has taken two outsourced writing classes.

 

No, she never has done any outsourced writing. I have a friend whose son is in the Fundamentals of Expository Writing class and she said it's a large departure from the Great Conversations course he's also taking, but hopefully it will be good for him. I'm hoping the same for this Honors Composition course. We'll see!

[Honors Compostion at Wilson Hill --- Reveiw?]

Has she done online or outsourced writing before? My soon to be 14 son is taking the 8th grade Fundamentals of Expository Writing. I am a little nervous like RootAnn, because the reading is not what ds would choose to do. He has taken two outsourced writing classes.

 

No, she never has done any outsourced writing. I have a friend whose son is in the Fundamentals of Expository Writing class and she said it's a large departure from the Great Conversations course he's also taking, but hopefully it will be good for him. I'm hoping the same for this Honors Composition course. We'll see!

[Another Look at A-G for those of you looking at UC's]

Don't go and tempt me lol. I've finally resigned myself to my daughter not striving for a-g, but fulfilling requirements other ways. We've done about 1 month into a local charter school and while we could get a-g through them, it wouldn't be her doing any of the courses we have planned for her. It's been such a nightmare trying to decide what to do with all of this. 

[Credit questions about outsourced classes]

GREAT information for this mom with her first high schooler! Thank you Lori D.! 

[Credit questions about outsourced classes]

So I have a related question: some of the classes my child has taken have transcripts, but the "transcript" is a matter of the name of the school, class, year, and letter grade, printed off my home printer. Am I right in thinking that no college is going to ask for transcripts unless they are from a college/DE? If an outsourced course has a transcript from a local teacher/co-op or an online school, accredited, I will keep them on file, but will I need to explain the difference in the credit I assigned vs. what the transcript says when I write the course descriptions, or does it not matter?

 

Bumping this. I'm curious about this too. For example, my daughter is taking two Wilson Hill classes this year. Well, you can graduate from Wilson Hill, but she's not doing that. Do I just list the courses as if they were taken at our private school, or am I going to have to list them as if they are transferred in from Wilson Hill?

[Honors Compostion at Wilson Hill --- Reveiw?]

Thanks so much! I ended up signing her up for it. She was NOT happy to add this to her plate, but I think it will be good for her. She's m/w 2pm :)

[Honors Compostion at Wilson Hill --- Reveiw?]

Just bumping this to see if anyone new has any reviews. I'm debating about signing my daughter up for this class at the last minute (after attempting Lively Art of Writing at home is not working well). I'd love to hear some reviews before I commit.

[Algebra 1 Saxon - Online class or independent?]

I second this. My daughter took Alg. 1 through vhsg this year and I am very pleased. You would either need to volunteer or make a donation to be able to take the live class but it wouldn't need to be nearly as much as regular tuition for a live class. The teachers are available for help and the way the classes are structured helps the student do well. If they get less than 80 on a test they need to retake it in order to move on.

Same with homework.

 

eta: they meet 4 days/week and students can attend any section.

 

GREAT information! The office hours for questions is what I'm most concerned about, as I feel that the DVD that we have now will give a decent instruction of the lesson itself, but then she ALWAYS has questions as she comes to review work. I'm looking into it now!

[Algebra 1 Saxon - Online class or independent?]

I'm struggling here with what to do for my daughter who will be a Freshman next year. Math does NOT come easy for her. In fact, there are many days that it brings tears. It doesn't matter the curriculum, it's simply that her brain is not wired in a way that causes math to make sense. I'm NOT a math expert by any means. There are times that I've had to refresh my memory to try to help her with her pre-algebra work this year lol. She's in Saxon 1/2 this year and wants to continue with Saxon Algebra 1 next year. I have ordered the books, the solution manual, and the Art Reed DVDs. I then noticed that WTM has an online class that would fit in her schedule next year and I'm wondering if we should take the plunge with that too. Is this overkill? The teacher says she has office hours where you can ask her questions and such, and this part is really what is making me think it might be helpful lol. How much of Saxon Algebra 1 is reviewing of Saxon 1/2? Add on top of all of this that I am due with our surprise baby in October, so I'm really unsure how much help I'm truly going to be this year. Ideas? Suggestions? Am I stressing too much? I thought we had math worked out (as being an independent subject), but then we had tears again today and it made me question if it will really work or not next year :(

[Wilson Hill with Chromebook?]

Thanks Derek! While I agree that chrome should be chrome (and it's my browser of choice), Lots of times there are plugins and such that are installed on the computer so it makes me wonder if Wilson Hill has this. I've read that they are not compatible with all online classes because of this :( And I had no idea about the digital pen! That's good info. Thank you!

[Wilson Hill with Chromebook?]

I know this is a crazy question, but I'm just wondering if anyone has successfully (or unsuccessfully lol) used a Chromebook for Wilson Hill Academy's live courses?

[2 years of LTOW...suggestions for 9th grade Composition?]

We've gone through Lost Tools of Writing in Challenge A & B of Classical Conversations. Circumstances have changed for 9th grade and I'm on the hunt for a composition class. Preferably a live class or something where my daughter's writings can be critiqued. Suggestions?

[How much writing in Bruce Etter's Great Conversation class?]

Yes, it does, but I don't feel comfortable C&Ping everything from the syllabus ;). Here's Bruce Etter's email address. He's been very quick to respond to my questions: better@wilsonhillacademy.com 

[How much writing in Bruce Etter's Great Conversation class?]

There was no response on here, so I thought I'd update. I emailed Mr. Etter about the 1+4 class and he sent me the syllabus. Here's what it said:

 

Key Assignments

 

Each semester the final grade for the course will be determined through the following 

 

types of assignments: 

 

ï‚· Class Participation/Discussion Boards: Students are expected to engage in 

 

daily discussions using both the microphone and chat during class, and the 

 

online discussion board between classes:  25%. 

 

ï‚· Quizzes: Review is vital. Students will be given a short quiz at the beginning of 

 

class on material already covered:  25%. 

 

ï‚· Papers: Students will write brief responses on a regular basis, less frequent five-

 

paragraph essays, and three larger papers (4-6 pages) per year:  30%

 

ï‚· Semester Exams: At the end of each semester, students will take an exam on 

 

material covered during that semester:  20%.

[Grammar in CC Foundations?!?]

You don't NEED any specific grammar.  I actually think the Foundations English work leads you very nicely into the Essentials program.  I did work with my daughter on some Key Word Outlines and VERY basic IEW techniques using IEW's Bible Heroes book, simply because she is NOT a writer...at ALL lol, and I didn't want her to struggle too much, but I don't think it was necessary, just a nice added benefit :)

[Classical Conversations - Employee or Independent Contractor]

Sorry, I don't buy the practicum training as a reason they're an employee either.  No one says which practicum you have to go to, and they're not going to hire an IC that is not qualified.  If I hire an electrician as an IC to fix the wiring in my house, I'm not going to be able to dictate WHICH electrical school they got their training from, but I will be able to be confident that they have the required training to complete the job appropriately.  I would never contract an electrician that wasn't trained ;)

[Classical Conversations - Employee or Independent Contractor]

I think tutors and directors are absolutely ICs (I don't have first hand knowledge of how the levels above that work, so I can't comment on those).  An IC needs to provide their own tools to do their own job, and provide the completed service as contracted.  This is why tutors have to buy their own books, boards, etc.  The director provides the items for the STUDENTS, but cannot provide anything for the tutor, because the tutor is an IC and needs to provide that on her own.  And I don't know about you, but no one has told me how I need to tutor.  They've told me what they want accomplished at the end of the day, and given me ideas to help things along, but never "sing this song, have them write out this work, etc".  The way I structure the class is up to me, as the contracted tutor, who is an IC.  As for a director, they can choose what projects they want to provide supplies for, they can choose what days and hours they want to run their community and they can choose how they want to do many other things.  These are all things an IC is able to choose.  I really don't see that tutors and directors qualify as employees at all, and personally, I'm happy about that.  I'm proud of being able to run my class the way I want, do as much or as little training as I want, and hold my "business" the way I want.  

[Do you match up Classical Conversations with your other curricula?]

I personally LOVE to stay in the general time period and course of study, but not stress about lining things up.  It allows the memory work "ah ha" connections to be made quite often, but allows us to work at our own pace.  :)