Sometimes I send mine to go think about it. "Okay. Go think about it for 10 minutes, and come back when you have some ideas." They usually don't want to think about it and that will bring forth some answers. Another thing I've done is to give suggestions about different work environments and approaches etc... They may not always have a strong preference (or they may be able to more easily identify things they DON'T like than things they do!)

For us, we didn't use a lot of outside sources. We learned as we went through various materials. how to study: I did use the Superstar Student videos from Great Courses. Mainly we looked at study methods throughout high school (and some in junior high). I had my kids take T-Notes (like Cornell Notes) on their history reading. When they included things that were not really important but missed important things, I went through and showed them how I would take notes. I allowed them to use their notes for tests sometimes, or sometimes I told them they could earn points back on a poor test if the answer was in their notes. This encouraged them to take good notes and to learn effective methods and effective choices of what to include. We used Apologia Science, and those had a study guide--so we talked through how to use a study guide, and how to study for that type of test. Meta-cognition--this was an ongoing discussion throughout all of our school years--I would ask questions about what helped them work effectively, what distracted them, what kind of work environment they needed etc... We would experiment and try different things. We talked about note-taking methods and study methods (alone or with someone, linear notes or visual/graphic types, small chunks or big chunks, time of day, location, with or without music, etc...) discussions of varying dynamics: Hm... I think I meant the varying dynamics between homeschool and going to school, differences in expectations, deadlines, time management...things like that.

I think I would appeal to the college and explain the special circumstances. The worst that happens is that they still say no, and what would you have lost? Just because something is listed as a requirement doesn't necessarily mean there are never exceptions. I think it's worth pursuing higher up the chain if needed to see if they will consider your extenuating circumstances. Your "income" really isn't income for this year & it doesn't seem fair that it will be included as such.

I think this is going to vary a lot from school to school, and even instructor to instructor. Does the CC have a placement test? Ours requires one (or a certain ACT score--but I think the placement test is probably a better indicator of how the student would do) before taking the college-level writing course.

So I checked when the scores will be ready & they said they start posting them April 19! That seems earlier than ever (and of course, not all will be posted then). It also says they'll email when the score report is ready. I forgot to check it before my dd went in, but her's said 12:15 and it was about 12:30 when she got out. I didn't see anything on the ACT page where you have to pay $8 for seeing scores online. It wasn't that way when my ds took it. Maybe you were looking at some other report?

For most students, I don't think it's unfair. I think for a regular time student, knowing ahead of time might make them more tired etc... I wasn't upset that dd didn't know ahead of time--she gave her all to the 4 main tests, as I would hope. What was upsetting in her case is that the proctor didn't say why there was an extra test or that it wasn't part of the score--so that added unnecessary stress to her day. The proctor just said, "turn to the 5th test." Thankfully it's after the actual test, so I don't think it impacts performance--so that's why I say it's not unfair to most students. The one I think is unfair is the student who had extended time--those kids have to budget their own time, and they should make the expectations clear in that case. Applegreen's son's experience should never happen, and could easily be avoided. But yes, I was sitting and waiting, but as far as I knew, the breaks had just taken longer or something. My dd got an email, but I didn't (though I also signed up for the emails). Nothing clued her in though. I really think the proctor could easily clear this up for students though. It's not a huge deal in my mind, but her experience ended on a negative note unnecessarily.

Yes, offer both and each has a code showing what level/standard it meets.

Yeah, my dd had English. She came out upset--"Mom, did you know there were FIVE tests? I was freaking out because I knew I only studied for four!" Poor girl! They didn't tell the kids at our testing center that the scores didn't count, just had them turn to the page and take it. That would have been nice info for them to have. Thankfully I knew or I would have been surprised too.

I think that's unfair for a student with accommodations. They should either make it clear that they don't have to budget for that section, or not include it for kids in extended time. Kids have enough to remember on test day without having curve balls thrown their way!

Yes, that does seem early. They told dd 3-8 weeks (which is the "normal" time I think--though I've heard lately that scores are sometimes coming up sooner). DD had taken a variety of practice tests--thought the English and Reading were similar in difficulty to those, math was harder than her most recent practice test, but about the same as some of the others, and that science was a bit easier than her most recent practice... Her scores on practice tests have had a lot of variance...so I'm not sure what to expect! I forgot to tell her that sometimes they add on a 5th, shorter test of "trial" questions--she came out upset because she hadn't expected a 5th test, and the instructions confused her ("take out a calculator in case it's a math test"--but her's was English). Why don't they just tell kids what the test is?! I suppose they think some kids would just blow it off and not try.

The room was packed here. Wow! Hope our students do well.

Congratulations!

Our CC is part of a state-wide initiative. Courses are regulated and automatically accepted by all of the state schools as well as a number of private schools. They have a system of approving a course and assigning it a number recognized by all of the schools that are part of the initiative. If a school is not on the list, you may have to do more leg work to get courses to transfer, though that can often turn out well too. It really makes college within reach for us--and likely wouldn't be otherwise.

That's annoying! argh. Is there another source you can check for the requirements? Fulfilling the requirement might mean she can take one less writing course and fill in with an elective instead. I think it would be worth asking, anyway.

If he's going to go to college, I would require it. It's much better that he have this experience first now than to have the first experience come in college. You may have to help a lot: Let him brainstorm orally and you write down his ideas Let him write orally with speech-to-text software Help with writing/revising the speech as much as needed Have him practice at home and give him tips and lots of encouragement etc... Whatever help he needs. Not everyone will blossom for speech class, but he will come out with some confidence at least knowing he can do it if & when he has to, even if the thought still terrifies him. If he's going to college, he'll be glad you made him, even if he never likes it. If he's not going to college, I'd probably still make him do it. You never know when you might have to speak before a group--whether a few people or many people. I think it's a good experience. (I think our state actually requires speech, but it's been awhile since I checked!)

I'd be fuming and would have to step in, LOL! Even if it's futile as RootAnn said! And if it wasn't rectified, I'd absolutely be posting negative reviews somewhere on the internet (wherever is an appropriate place to post a review). Sounds like a bunch of people should probably consider doing that, actually. This is really not excusable, and isn't fair to kids at all. OTOH, if it's really not rectifiable, it's a hard lesson learned to the son who sent the grades to the other email address as instructed but then didn't follow up for 2 months--there are times in life when we just have to keep following up until we know something is taken care of. Many times (like this one), it shouldn't be that way, but sometimes it is.

All About Spelling has dictation.

With her ACT score, why would she take Comp 1 then? Can't she just start in Comp 2? That's how it is at ds's college as well.

Also, Irasshai will include a good amount of culture in the videos.

The Ziggy games work with the phonogram and word cards. (Or, some people use them for reviewing the sound and key cards from AAS too--you really can use them with any kind of concept you want to review). If you don't have phonogram cards, you can pick up a set of just those. Or use index cards to make those and/or to make word cards you want to review.

I know it *seems* like copywork should be really easy for kids--but sometimes it's not. I wrote about that on my blog. Here's what I would consider: -how much can she write without getting upset? 1 sentence? 2 sentences? X number of words? Start at her level, whatever point that is, and gradually help her increase that. Let her know what the goal is that you are working towards (make it a baby-step--very doable--not something like jumping from being able to write 4 words to copying 20, or going from 1 sentence to a paragraph, etc...) Build in lots of encouragement along the way. Help her to see her progress. -consider the difficulty of the words. Could she easily read the words if they were in her reader? Does she understand how the phonics are working in those words? If not, she'll be trying to copy letter by letter--which really is counter-productive. -consider "helping" more. For example, if you looked at the list and thought--she normally can copy only about half this many words, offer to write every other line, or to let her write the first half and you write the second half on her board--or some other reasonable accommodation. Or, ask her to write for X minutes, and then you'll write the rest--as long as she writes diligently for that long. Start with small goals and work up--better 1 minute of writing with good attention and attitude, than 20 minutes of tears and teeth-gnashing, right? Try to find something doable, and something that can be a positive experience that can result in praise for something--even if it's not a perfect experience. Hang in there!

The first four lessons are in the sample for the teacher's manual and activity book. You could try working through those and see how she does, to help you get a feel for her readiness. (If you don't have letter tiles yet, you could use magnet letters for now, or write on a white board). Definitely continue to work in Ziggy since she responds well to him! You might try things like: Have your daughter read to Ziggy Have Ziggy take turns doing some of the reading (he might get some things wrong and your dd might be able to correct and help him) Ziggy could read tile words or build tile words. Ziggy could participate in activities and get some of the rhymes incorrect and need help. Ziggy could try to remember letter sounds when reviewing the yellow phonogram cards And so on. See what ways you and your dd might like to include Ziggy in AAR 1. If you do decide she's ready, I'll second the Ziggy supplement--she'd likely enjoy that too!

I think all the writing was the hardest. Writing to take notes, homework assignments, essay tests, papers...it's just a lot of writing. I don't think it will be quite as hard for my 2nd, because writing comes easier to her. Things I did that helped: Taught note-taking (and modeled and discussed how to improve) from texts encouraged (but didn't require) note-taking from sermons worked on sentence and paragraph structure, grammar and editing, and various essay styles. speech Things I didn't do that might have helped: more note-taking from oral sources (my college son suggested in retrospect reading aloud and note-taking from that) practice essay tests (something I wanted to get to but didn't with my writer who struggled greatly) I'm not sure I could have with this particular student, but with my next I'll ramp up the length more in the senior year. Other things I did that helped with the transition, outside of writing: Throughout all the years of high school, we worked hard on study skills--how to effectively study for a test, how to decide what's important to study, etc... Involved my kids in planning their schedule/routine Meta-cognition talks (thinking about how you think, how you work, how you study--what helps, what doesn't help etc...) encouraged them to take responsibility for their daily schedule Gave practice with a syllabus-style course (here are the tests and project due-dates, complete with how the grade will be docked for late work, student has to decide how to break up the work)--when original plan didn't work, the student had to come up with a new one and show it to me. Incorporate basic life skills (food prep, laundry, organizational skills in home and of school work) lots of discussion about the varying dynamics being available to walk alongside as needed during that first year (especially if your student will be living at home)

There are only so many hours in a day...and more specifically, only so many hours in our homeschool day. I limit what we can do by time, and then gauge books covered by our discussions. When we have a good discussion going and the discussion is captivating us, we spend more time on a book and dig deeper. If not...sometimes I think exposure is enough. They'll be ready for the conversation later. For us this means that literature, religious studies, philosophy, and history need to be more fluid. I have a "yearly plan" that leaves wiggle room. I asterisk my "must do's" and include some others I consider important, and then I have an optional list (if we have time). I make sure we do my "must-do's," but am willing to let go of things I consider really important but which may get pushed aside by delving into the must-do's. I make a general call on where items fit before I start the year, but sometimes make adjustments during the year as well. And then we dig in and enjoy. I don't feel that "stuffing" my kids full of books and information is a healthy or helpful approach--but the pace that is right for us may or may not match the pace that is right for another family. I do want roughly 150-180 hours for a credit (and in some cases we exceed that), and find that's a limiter that keeps academics and other areas of life balanced for us. Math--we finish all of the lessons, but not necessarily all of the work within each lesson (if they've got it, we test and move on). I find science is kind of in between math and literature in my thinking. I'd like to cover all the content--but we just don't always work at a pace to make that practical. I'd rather spend more time on some concepts and make sure there is an understanding than to move too quickly. Some years that means only finishing about 80% of the textbook. Some years it has meant I make some chapters "read only."

Yes, absolutely way too much conversation. I think he's become very skilled at arguing in such a way that he won't get in trouble. It's a common stall tactic, which I find many kids learn around age 7 or 8. They know that "no" will only land them in trouble, but they become skillful little lawyers. Here are your examples and how I would respond. You're arguing. Are you choosing to disobey? You're arguing. Do the song as written. Go put them (specify where you want them) with no more arguing. I let my kids know that choosing to argue was choosing to disobey. Sometimes I gave them a reminder, such as simply stating, "You're arguing." Or sometimes I asked, "Are you choosing to disobey?" Choosing to disobey was the same as saying "no" to something I told them to do. "When you choose to disobey, you choose a consequence." Someone told me early on in my parenting that arguing is an act of cooperation. It takes two to argue--and by arguing back with your son and continuing the conversation, you are communicating that he is on your level and he has the authority to choose what he should and should not have to do. If you do not mean to give him this authority, don't argue with him. He is not offering you legitimate objections. He is merely stalling and/or trying to assert his right to decide rather than respecting your decision. I would cut the conversations much shorter unless he actually gives you legitimate reasons why he should or shouldn't do something. Legitimate examples might be: Example 1, Latin Book: I have art class at 12:30 and it's 12. Can I eat lunch now instead and do Latin later? Example 2, piano practice: My teacher told me to do it just like the recording. Do you still want me to use a lift here? These would be legitimate petitions to do things differently than you said. They have actual information that you might not have known or that you might have forgotten about, and they are respectfully phrased--it's obvious the child intends to obey and is asking a clarifying question. HTH some!