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Nscribe

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  1. America The Last Best Hope by William Bennett goes a long way in the direction of conceptualizing the trivia of US history.
  2. We generally set aside 36-40 weeks, but I plan only 30 for the subject areas I administer/teach. Two weeks in May go toward AP tests and the intensive prep toward them. Midterms/special projects in Latin and/or AP classes tend to take a week or two out of the month of December. One week to meet the standardized testing requirements (looking ahead the SAT/ACT). One thing that helps me is to think in terms of 30 units of content, instead of weeks per se. Dd does a combination of outsourced courses and homegrown courses. Thinking in terms of the units we will cover in homegrown coursework allows us to work within the time parameters external coursework creates. So far my experience has been that having 30 solid units of content doesn't mean having too little to do. Inevitably as we work with material, ideas to expand or delve deeper emerge. It is easier to go with that flow and wander a bit when the framework has room to do so.
  3. :iagree: The good news is that the pain subsides a bit with the beginning of Advanced Math. Hang in there and don't forget to check you tube for alternate solutions.
  4. We bought the Teaching Company Latin video and like it. Dd is taking Latin with Lukeoin, but the video allows for us to review.
  5. I am beginning to think of what they are doing with the algebra based Physics as what they do with Micro/Macro Economics (and to some extent with AP Gov/Comparative Gov). I suspect these are catered to the block scheduling in schools. It will be odd indeed if students wind up spending 2 school years covering it (maybe less odd if two semsesters????).
  6. There really is a middle way. As someone suggested earlier in the thread, treat the upcoming year as though it is the freshman high school year with a four year plan in mind. Doing so allows you to have two factors that help a great deal. One, the student is older and has the experience of working as a high schooler. Two, the parent has a clearer picture of what works and doesn't work for the student at the end of the freshman year than at the beginning of the high school journey. We had an almost disabling array of options for Dd two years ago when we were at the high school starts next year junction. Option 1: Dd could hunker down, knock out some testing and be done in 2-3 years. Option 2: Dd could go a typical 4 year course. Option 3: Dd could spend 5 years instead of 4 (I did put one stipulation on this option - only credits earned in the 4 years before graduation would count). Dd is a bright kid who tests well and worked well above grade level all along. The picture that emerges at the end of that first year is much more in focus and involves a lot less guess work. As it turned out with Dd, at the end of the first year we still had the same options available (just shave a year off each). However, we were able to enter year 2 (which was this year) with a much clearer picture of what questions remained. This prompted trying taking a couple of AP's, adjusting some extracurriculars and trying some adjustments in other arenas of our lives. As year two is winding up, we still could graduate her early (would take a bit more scrambling to fit in some testing), graduate "on-time" or take that extra year. The thing is, she hasn't stopped learning, growing, being challenged or progressing thru high school. She is certain she doesn't want to shoot for the early exit route. She just has a lot she wants to do. That leaves us with either 2 more years or 3. Next year, she will be taking three AP's next year, two languages and continuing in Pre-Calc (moving into Calc). The difference in allowing this flexibility has not been academic. It has been about life and how she lives it beyond her identity as a student. She is free to make choices that allow her to stretch, try new things and grow. The older she gets, the more involved she is and the more she owns it all. I have far more faith in the decisions she makes now at 16, than I would in those she would make at 14. It doesn't have to be set up as something that is irreversable. Irreversable is more likely to come with those who enter college at 16 because they are bored with "high school" and then find they can't turn back when the things that really make college an adjustment hit them. It is all what you make it. These days the standard for high school is more and more "early college" and earning credit for college in high school. That plays in favor of those who might opt to take path that is longer in terms of time.
  7. Here comes the venting part. My youngest brother responded by texting me with a diatribe about how he has never doubted that my kids were academically prepared, but he just wanted to "let me know" that in his opinion, school is as much about learning to interact with other people, get cut from teams, run for office, etc. than school, and that those things can't be replicated at home. He followed that up with asking if dh or I had some horrible experience in our schooling past that made us not want our kids to have that experience. :confused1: That had actually never occurred to me as a reason to homeschool until he asked me today! It is the blue highlighted that struck me. Is this an exemplar of the sort of learning to interact with others he touts? Wow! What a way to engage a constructive dialouge! Did he really ask it that? Wow!
  8. “Never compare your insides to someone else’s outsides.†....wonderful line
  9. I second the suggestion to post this on the High School board, lots of great posters in the thick of high school doings.
  10. The College Board is working with Kahn Academcy to make the prep materials available free. This free platform for prep is a key goal in order to attempt to take away the advantage of preparation via programs that may be out of reach financially for many test takers.
  11. Lori's post is great. We know a sizable number of homeschooler teens locally, and given the number of them starting at state colleges at age 15-16-17, it really makes me scratch my head when I look at something like College Confidential. It seems like a great deal depends on SAT/ACT scores. Dd is the only teen homeschooler we know face to face that is even taking AP at all (think 1 out of 60+). We actually take some grief locally for "caving to the big test scam" from some fellow homeschoolers. We chose to take AP 1 via an online class and one self study this year to allow her to learn to conform to non-mom expectations. For Dd, this first year experience doing so has been great (whatever the test scores wind up being). She has learned she can write on demand and found some peers to communicate with on topics she finds interesting. I draw the line at taking any class simply to wind up with a transcript that might impress. I understand colleges want some way to quantify what a student has done with their time and guage how that might compare with other students they may be considering. There are many ways to achieve that via homeschooling and reflect it on the transcript.
  12. Dd will be taking her first two AP exams in May and will likely take the ACT in June. I know I will sleep better when it is done, because at the moment it is the not knowing what to expect at all that is stress inducing. Although we have done standardized testing every year, I will rest better when I know how she manages this first round of high school challenge. Feels a bit like diving blindfolded.
  13. Tentatively (Subject to change depending AP and ACT results).... Math: Saxon Advanced Math with Art Reed DVD's AP Language and Composition PA Homeschoolers Latin 2: Lukeion Human Geography with AP exam: 11th Edition Fellman, Human Geography in Action (Kuby) plus TC and other online video-this will be a homespun course Earth/Space: Tarbuck Earth Science text, Pasachoff The Cosmos text, Teaching Company dvds including Meterology, Oceanography, Astronomy, Night Sky, How the Earth Works, the Nature of Earth, and The Worlds Greatest Geological Wonders (totals about 120 hours of lecture) Spanish 2-3: Wrap up grammar begin the fun parts (Also on the planning table: Psychology, Italian, Philosophy, Dystopian Lit/Comparative Politics & Government, Logic with Rhetorical elements, Art History, Economics (macro and micro) and Music: not for next year but all on her wish list beyond core studies.) Extracurriculars: Dance (8-10 hours/week), Voice + Choir, Guitar, Theatre, Weekly volunteer hours, Chess club....and more. Dd wants to add one of the subjects from the "planning table", but I am weary of taking on more. I am trying to see if I can find a compromise.
  14. This all depends on the editions you are using. If your Algebra 1 is the orange one with Algebra spelled out on the cover...move on to Algebra 2 with the red book with Algebra spelled out on the cover and then to Advanced Math (Green). If you are in the new editions then you will need to do Geometry.
  15. Dd's extracurriculars operate on the traditional school year schedule and often involve end of semester performances, competitions and so forth. Summers are often the time when the best intensives are available to her. Thus, breaks in the sense of being free of obligations, are very hard to come by for us. For example, she often performs on Christmas Eve, MLK day, Memorial Day Weekend... Next year, I am trying to work out a combination of 5-6 week terms which would allow us to take academic breaks ranging from 5 day weekends to a two full weeks at Christmas/New Years span. The challenge is making it work to fit in testing dates for AP's, SAT's, ACT.... I found if the break in academics is too long, it takes us a while to ramp back up and get re-oriented. Thus, breaks tend to be more like disruptions than breaks. On the other hand, no break of any kind for more than about a month and a half leaves like trolls. The hardest challenge is getting others (family/traditional schedule friends) to understand homeschoolling does not equal always available when they may be.
  16. Yes. We have Elegant Essay and Windows to the World. Neither needed previous IEW experience to use effectively. Although I have pulled ideas from Elegant Essay, I haven't had Dd walk through it. On the other hand, Windows to the World Dd worked through as part of a literature class with other materials, novels and so forth. It worked nicely to formally and efficiently cover the material and speaks directly to the student.
  17. I haven't really looked into it but have you checked the College Board's AP Environmental Science website to see what they do for labs? Do this for Bio and Chem has helped me plan.
  18. :cheers2: and :grouphug: !!! It is hard to pat yourself on the back for a job well done and celebrate the accomplishment when you are struggling to let go.
  19. I stumbled onto this article and thought others might enjoy it, especially his comments about the essay section. I must admit, it made me think about registering to go take it when Dd does.
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