Jilly
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Posts posted by Jilly
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I'm sorry for your loss.
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The twins have been in the school for two days. I wanted to share my impressions so far. I am positive it will change as we progress further through the program.
My son is in four classes plus a language, and my daughter is taking five classes plus a language. The school seems very heavy on writing and quite rigorous to me. Even prior to the first day the twins had a few assignments due and only a few days into it they both have quite a bit of homework. This includes responding to discussions, reading, and writing short responses to questions. After looking through the syllabus it seems like there are a few papers due in each class (per term) and several projects, including a few year-long research projects that the student needs to be working on all year. The material for the classes is all online, even the textbooks and other readings, so there is no cost to the student. This is a positive for us, but I can see how some people might not like it.
The teachers vary in age, but some are quite young. If you don't want younger, inexperienced teachers for your children you would probably not like this school. My kids like all the teachers so far, and they do seem knowledgeable about their subjects.
Other first impressions...my kids have received direct feedback on their writing in their first pre-AP English assignment which I was happy about. The technology works great. The school uses Moodle. Their language instruction is done via Skype, and it is probably one of the stronger points of the program. My daughter's teacher is in Italy and she only has two students. It seems like the kids are going to have a good deal of time speaking the language with a native speaker which also makes me happy.
As far as what age/grade is this best for I would have to say at least a ninth grader if they are very academic. For most students I would say tenth or eleventh as the student needs to be quite self-motivated, independent, and organized.
That's it for now. I'll update throughout the year as we progress through the program. :)
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The teens and I watched White Nights this evening. They loved it regardless of all the bad 80s music.
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I thought the ones done this past year were great. They had more detail than previous years and seem to incorporate more grammar skills into them. My son especially enjoyed The Dreamer, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler. From the year before that he loved Prairie Thief, James and the Giant Peach, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
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I don't think the examples you listed demonstrate "gentle" parenting or "attachment" parenting. They look more like plain old "terrible" parenting to me!
:iagree:
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I checked out your blog, and I love how you did that — very clever! :thumbup1:
Thank you!
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My family of four recently moved from a 1300 sq. ft. apartment to an 800 sq. ft. apartment. I wanted to downsize to save money and to have less clutter. It has not been a perfect transition, but I am glad we did it.
It helps that we are in Southern California, so we can go outside almost year round. We live in an urban area with parks, restaurants, and activities all in walking distance, so everyone is not cramped in the house all day. We also have a huge patio that we turned into a dining room and I fashioned my son a bedroom out of our large living room. The one thing I do miss having is two bathrooms. Between two teens and one up-and-coming teen I feel like I have to fight for time just to take a shower. :lol:
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I'm very much a gentle parent here. I can't imagine parenting any other way.
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I voted other - my top choice is Veggie Grill because it is vegan and quite good. It is only on the west coast though.
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:grouphug: :grouphug:
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I have a priority code for 75% off. The code is 100879. Along with the 20% off coupon code it is a great sale. I am picking up the new geometry course and political course and Decisive Battles of World History. I am so excited! :)
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I would consider flying into Orange County and renting a car. You could spend a day or two in OC maybe visit Crystal Cove State Park, see a museum or two, take in a ball game. Then I would drive up to LA and do a few touristy things in Hollywood for a day. From LA I would drive up north to San Francisco. It is such a beautiful drive. You could spend some time in and around San Francisco and fly out from there.
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Many of the courses do align with high school course work. The math goes up to pre-calculus and the science includes biology, physics, and chemistry courses. As a parent you can place your student in which ever course you want, so a ninth grader can take English III if that is more appropriate. I would say that it is not WTM high school level, but it is high school level.
We tried it out at the beginning of last year for two weeks (free trial). My twins did not like it at all because they did not like sitting at the computer for every subject nor did they like the quiz format. I do think that it would work for some teens though, especially those who are good independent learners or those that just want to get the work done in order to have time for their own interests.
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I haven't been clear yet on whether the three sessions are Pre-AP then 2 semesters of the AP class, or 3 semesters of the AP, especially for history or English, since the three/two thing is confusing to me as well. I've wondered if one could take the pre-AP English in the spring, for instance, then the 2 semesters of the AP English the following school year. I haven't pursued the question further at this point as we wouldn't be looking at even the pre-AP until the fall or spring semester at the earliest. Sounds like the government is 3 semesters of the AP since it combines the two exams?
The pre-AP History course is three semesters. The pre-AP English course is one semester immediately followed by the AP English course for two semesters (thus allowing some students to just take the two semesters). AP Government is for three semesters.
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Please tell us how they go...I have to admit that I wouldn't risk such courses as there is only one AP per year. So if you fail, it's not easy to redo.
Sometimes when you are a single parent or when you are on a fixed budget you have to take risks. It is just the way it is.
I originally signed the twins up for some AP classes with PA Homeschoolers, but I realized the expense was too much. It would have taken away from our monthly budget in a way that was not doable.
Then I found Harari. It seems like a good match for us. The kids are excited about it, and I am optimistically hoping it will work out.
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I'm confused. If it's common for homeschoolers to take two terms instead of three, how does that work? Do they miss one-third of the content?
I was told that for the AP classes they like you to be enrolled for all three sessions. Some kids skip the summer session though and only do the other two. For some students it works, but you have to cram more info into a smaller time frame, and I got the impression that they allow it but don't recommend it.
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They have done the three study skills classes. Maybe they were in the same class? They enjoyed them especially finding out what their learning style is.
The rest they start on the 16th. They are looking forward to their foreign language class because the classes are so small. They are hoping they will learn more that way. -
My twins are enrolled for summer to see how it goes. So far we are all impressed, but they have only had a few classes. I am a single mom on a very limited income, so for us it was too good to pass up. At the same time I am somewhat skeptical because it is free, so I am making alternative plans for fall in case it is not as good as it seems.
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6.5 is still quite young. I would try not to worry too much. I had a very late reader, one average reader, and one very early reader. Kids are on their own timetable and the great thing about homeschooling is that you have the benefit of taking it at their speed. :grouphug:
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I haven't ordered from them in a while, but I wanted to say that we used AS1 when the twins were little and they loved it. They still talk about it all these years later and remember that year as one of their favorites. :)
If I was you I would only order the exclusives from them and get the other books somewhere else. Another option is looking on Ebay for a used set.
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I know I am in the minority here, but I would go. I would have to because if I didn't I might regret it. I have four brothers, three of them I get along with great. My other brother and I have a terrible relationship, but if I had the opportunity to repair it I would take it. You know it may not work out the way you hope, and I think it is great that you realize that. I think you should go with no expectations and see what happens. If it turns out terrible at least you know you have done all you can.
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Congratulations!! :hurray: :hurray:
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Thanks for posting this. I have been looking for some summer reading for my twins. I think they will love this. :)
How are children being forgotten in hot cars?
in The Chat Board
Posted
I have never left a child in a car, but I was left in one when I was a newborn. My mom had three boys already (ages 7, 6, and 4), and she had her hands full. I came along in June and about a week after my birth my mom took all of us over to her friends house so her friend could see me. My mom and the boys went to this friends house all the time, it was part of their routine. Anyway she pulled up to the house and she and the boys got out of the car, went in, and started visiting. A few minutes later the friend said to my mom. "What about the baby? Did you not bring her?" My mom ran out of the house and found me asleep in the back of the station wagon (not in a car seat). She was horrified that she had forgotten me!
Today the story it is part of our family lore. When someone tells the story we all laugh at my mom and how she had forgotten me, but at the time I know it scared her.