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April in CA

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Everything posted by April in CA

  1. Interesting! Thanks for posting this. It makes sense that STEM students would be more likely to stay with the major at schools that focus more on teaching undergraduates. That is one concern I have about ds #2's interest in studying chem eng at Texas A&M. I wonder if he would be better off at a smaller school where he could get more individualized attention. Hmm...Those statistics are sobering! Blessings, April
  2. Hi! Just off the cuff, I would add Huck Finn and Fahrenheit 451 to your American Lit list. Happy reading! Blessings, April
  3. Hi! My older ds used Thinkwell Calculus for a the 2nd semester of his senior year, after finishing ChalkDust PreCalc. I highly recommend both programs! Ds was very well prepared for calculus; the last couple of chapters of CD PreCalc are intro to calc. Ds completed a bit more than half of Thinkwell Calc and was very well prepared for his first semester of calculus at university. I will be purchasing both Thinkwell Precalc and Calc for younger ds this week through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op (substantial savings!). I may purchase thier econ as well. Older ds completed TW econ as part of Sonlight's Econ elective (also highly recommended, but I would stretch it to a year if you want to cover all of TW econ - too much for a single semester in high school). Younger son will finish AoPS Algebra 3 class in about 4 weeks (not sure right now of the end date), so he will really only need to do the TW trig, but I am going to get the precalc course so he can have another presentation of any tricky bits of the alg part of precalc. Older ds loved the ChalkDust precalc text so much he took it to college with him in TX, (go figure) and younger son needs a little different presentation along with being fried by 3 AP courses this year. Hope this helps! Blessings, April
  4. Hi Distancia! I see you are in Florida - do the State Uni's offer merit aid there? In our experience here in CA, the CA public schools offer very little in merit aid. And given our state's financial woes, what little ther is might be gone b the time my younger son graduates high school next year. Older ds was offered a $5K scholarship from the honors program at UC Riverside. He could have applied for a substantial scholarship at Fresno State, but Fresno was not high enough on his list to make it worth applying. Our FAFSA EFC was laughable - who knew we had that much money just laying around? I was stunned to find out that we would be expected to pay close to $30K a year! So, financial aid would NOT be forthcoming form our state schools. Given ds's scholarship, as long as he keeps it, it is cheaper by far for us to send him to an out of state private school in TX than it would be to send him to a public school here in CA. I am very concerned about the cost of higher education in our country. My sons are blessed to be able to test very well (and to have the smarts to back it up!), but not all of their friends are similarly blessed, even though they are just as smart. Funding college is very, very stressful for them. A little less obfuscation by all concerned would be a good thing. Thanks to all here as we attempt to educate each other! Blessings, April
  5. Hi Janice, as the mother of a merit scholarship recipient, I am interested in that data as well! My son's tuition is covered for 4 years as long as he keeps his GPA at 3.4 or better. As an engineering student, this is going to be tough. His goal is to maintain a 4.0 during his freshman year to give himself a buffer for the really hard classes coming next year. So far, so good! I sometimes remind him that he is being paid a substantial chunk of money each semester to achieve and earn good grades. There is no way he could afford his education if he blows the scholarship. I must admit that it seems a bit harsh that engineering majors have to maintain that same GPA that all others do (I was a business major - I know that my classes were not as hard as my dh's engineering classes!). Ds will just have to rise to the challenge. Thanks for the article! Blessings, April
  6. Thanks Luann! It is wonderful to see the new crop! It blesses all of us who homeschool when we see homeschooled students thriving! Blessings, April
  7. Hi Tiger, Try to mimic actual testing conditions when you take your practice tests - quiet, no snacks, no potty breaks, no phones - all that sort of thing. Next, don't be afraid o the test - if you know th math, you can learn test-taking strategies for the SAT. Remember that it is a reasoning test, and that it is possible to finish the math portion of the test in the allotted time. It is not easy, mind you, but it is possible. Thus, every problem should be solvable in about a minute. Do not get bogged down in laborious calculations. Read the complete question and make sure you know what they are asking for, then think for a moment to see if you can determine a mental range for what you think is the correct answer, then read the answer choices to see if any match. Often you can eliminate one or two answers pretty quickly. If that is true and you have to guess you have a better chance of guessing correctly. Also remember that you get the same points for answering easy questions right as you do for answering hard questions right. So, look for the easy questions and answer those first! Just make sure that you fill in the bubbles correctly - you don't want to get out of order on you answer sheet! There are several SAT prep books out there - we found Barron's to be a good choice. The College Board puts out a book of 10 real SATs that is very helpful as well. I suggest that you get a SAT Math prep book and take the diagnostic test, then review every section of the book, paying close attention to the strategy pointers. Really, I think doing some each day starting now would be a better idea than cramming it all in the week before the exam. I think I am just rambling now - I got interrupted by a phone call - but I hope i have said something helpful and encouraging! Blessings as you prepare for this exam! April
  8. Hi! If you already own Apologia Chem, you could do that together. Have your guys read the text at different times of the day (if you only have one copy), and you need to read it too - then you can all meet together in the afternoon or at lunch or whatever and discuss what you read and do all the problems (or you can check their work). Do the labs together at a set time each week or every two weeks. You can assign outside research on the labs if you want. You might also consider adding in the DIVE Chemistry cd and watch the lectures together and then discuss. If you go the DIVE route, you can cover most of both the Apologia texts in one year. My younger son did that last year - lots of work, but great prep for AP chemistry this year. My older son did both Apologia Chem books over 2 years (9th and 10th grades) We met with another young man for labs, which made things more fun. My older son is now a freshman in college; he is in his 2nd semester of chemistry (engineering major), and he says that most of what he is learning is review from his advanced chem in high school. So, all that to say, Apologia is a fine chemistry program! You can jazz it up, but I wouldn't dump it unless you fall in love with something else. I will say that Spectrum Chem looks like lots of fun to me as well - the author definitely has a more concise writing style than Wyle does, which many people appreciate. Good luck finding what you want! Blessings, April
  9. Hi Christine! When I assign TOG tests, I always review with my guys (some of this is past tense now, since one is in college close to you!). We sometimes use the weekly quiz questions as review (we don't generally do the quizzes weekly), and I typically review the actual test with them orally to make sure they are on the right track.(this is actually fun) We discuss the essay questions at length, and both guys generally have lots to say about them. The discussion helps them frame answers to all the questions, and then they decide which ones they want to answer in writing. I also let the guys decide how long to make each essay, so I sometimes need to adjust the point value of various components of the test. I also award extra credit for giving more than required on short answer questions. We also extend the time limit. In this case, I think I would go back and discuss the question with your son, prompting him for specifics. Then show him how those specifics can make his essay stronger, even if he is laboring under a strict time constraint. Do you let him type his answers? My guys always type their essays (everything on the test except the time-line and the geography) -they typically give a much more complete answer that way! Hope this helps! Blessings, April
  10. Hi! You might run into issues with math-readiness, depending on what physics you plan to use. First year-chem requires good basic algebra skills, but physics requires more advanced algebra, I believe. My son took physics concurrently with precalculus, and he was glad he had already studied algebra. Hope this helps! Blessings, April
  11. Hi! IO feel your pain - my guys are both resistant to making phone calls and being the"squeaky wheel." I am somewhat phone-phobic as well. Just knowing tha something needs to be cone does not make it easy to do. I would suggest modeling the desired behavior and walking through the process with her. Get the phone and the phone numbers (tell her where you found them) and sit there while she dials the phone and wades through the automated menu. Commiserate with her about the agonies of being on hold forever. Have a note pad with you so you can quickly write down the questions she forgets to ask but needs to before she hangs up. Remind her to write down the info she received (keep notes!) Praise her for doing the hard things! My older son confessed to me that he took to heart so much my instruction to him when he was little to not answer the phone unless he knew the caller that he had a hard time learning to feel comfortable using the phone for business rather than chatting with friends. I suspect my younger son is the same way. It may or may not be comforting to you to know that my older ds, currently a freshman in college, didn't pay close attention to application deadlines for summer jobs, so he may be unemployed and poor this summer. I think we need to do some training in understanding and using a personal calendar or planner to stay on top of such details. Rather, I think my DH will have to teach him - since I still find some of those things rather mysterious... Seriously, I would strongly encourage you to walk through this process with your daughter. It really is kind of like getting them ready for kindergarten all over again. Our kids think they are grown up, and sometimes we think they are grown up, but they really aren't - not yet! Blessings, April
  12. Hi! Another robot mom here! My sons have been part of an FTC team for several years, and we are on our way to the World Championships for the 3rd time - very exciting! I would strongly suggest you consider FIRST Tech Challenge unless you have huge amounts of cash and space available for an FRC team. FTC is growing rapidly and is much more affordable. There are also more events regionally, which is important to consider. Also, FRC has a very short build season (only about 6 weeks from the time the challenge is released until bots are shipped to competition). You mentioned the San Diego area. There are several really good FTC teams in your area that would be happy to help a rookie team. We are in the Antelope Valley (PHI Robotics), so we are a few hours away, but we have good relationships with some SD teams. I would be happy to talk with you about our experiences! Oh, we typically compete in three tournaments each year - the LA regional, the San Diego Regional at Madison High School, and the Las Vegas tournament. We were blessed to win the SD tournament, so we are off to St Louis in April! Blessings, April
  13. Sweet! Congratulations to you and your son, Luann! My ds is a freshman at LeTU with the blessing of a wonderful NMF scholarship. (about the same as the Heritage Scholarship, I believe) You will still be responsible for fees and books (around $1000 per semester, in our experience so far) and room and board. My son has to keep a 3.4 GPA to keep his scholarship - regardless of major. He is working very hard as a mech engineering student - he is very motivated by that scholarship! What does you son want to study? I hope he enjoys LeTU as much as my son does! My son does wish there were more girls on campus - perhaps your son can add his prayers! Blessings, April
  14. Hi Christine! My son is taking the exam in May and is part of an AP lit class. Do you think this would be a worthwhile study aid over the next 6 weeks or so, or is it designed to be used over a school year? Thanks! Blessings, April
  15. I am enjoying reading about all the Spring Break activities! Older ds is a freshman in TX (home is in CA). In addition to his classes, he is acting as a grunt for the Senior Design team (there may be more than one team, I am not sure). He and a couple other freshman grunts have been invited to spend Spring break at some windy place on the TX coast testing the wind turbine the seniors have built. He is very excited - they will be camping on the beach. I hope he remembers sunscreen! I am sure he will have a great time, and I am really looking forward to mid-May when he will come home for the summer (during which I hope he is gainfully employed...) Blessings, April (who thinks spending Spring break in the Bahamas sounds amazing!)
  16. Hi! Just popped over from the high schoolk board. We are in suburban southern CA and we are part of Abundant Harvest Organics (can find them online), a group of organic farmers from the central valley of CA. We pay around $35 weekly for a big box of organic veggies and fruits - whatever is in season. We can set vacation weeks, so we are not obligated to get a box every week if we don't want or need it (we do have to set these dates in advance), and we can change our box size to small if we want to (about $25 for a small box). Right now we are getting veggies once or twice a month. I love it, and I think the price is fair for the product. I also like supporting small farmers. It is kind of like getting a birthday gift every time we gt a box - we are never quite sure what will be in it! So, I say go for it! Blessings, April
  17. Hi Michelle! I might suggest spending the next year (regardless of when you start, now or in the summer) to go through Apologia Chem and Adv Chem. If your son is motivated, he could do both texts in a year (12 months). Have you thought of using DIVE Chem along with the texts? We did that with great success, and found it to be good preparation for AP Chem this year. (my son is a junior) Also consider the math required for the advanced sciences - your son will need to be comfortable with logs and big equations when doing adv chem and AP chem. My son has had to learn some of these things in context along with learning how to use a graphing calculator inherited from his older brother. If your son is really a fire-eater with math and science, you might be able to cover both chemistry texts (esp if you use DIVE) and get started on physics before your son starts 10th grade. I really would encourage you to let him have 9th grade to study chemistry for a year before launching into AP chem. AP Chem is very demanding, both in content and time required, and you really don't want your son to burn out by being overloaded with too much of a good thing. Hope this helps! Blessings, April
  18. I second the motion for AP Chem with ChemAdvantage! Great class, well organized, very rigorous! My son is pouring himself into this class - hopefully it will result in a 5 on the AP exam! Definitely worth the money for us. I could never teach this stuff at this level. Blessings, April
  19. Thanks for the poll, Nan! My husband and I have been saving $400 a month for each of our guys for several years now (was $500 for a while, but had to cut back a bit a few years ago). With all the economic ups and downs, we are never quite sure what they are going to have! Our original goal was to save enough to cover 75% of a state school education. Given the cost of CA schools (cost of living as well as tuition), we missed that goal. However, we should have enough to cover room and board and travel for our older son who received a 4-year full tuition scholarship from LeTourneau (just down the road from Christine!). I cannot express how profoundly grateful I am for that scholarship! We have stopped contributing to his fund this year because we paid for his first semester room and board out of our own savings. Rather than taking money form his account to repay that money, we are trying (not terribly successfully) to pay ourselves back by paying down our mortgage. Younger son's accounts should have enough to cover 4 years of room and board as well. We are very hopeful that he will follow in older brother's footsteps with merit scholarships. Otherwise, even with years of saving, I really don't see how we could pull off college without debt. Like tithing, saving for college was a decision we made early on, when we didn't have much. There have been many times when I have seen friends with big "toys" or seen the stock market consume substantial portions of our savings (retirement included!) that I have been discouraged; keeping that long-term perspective has been vital. Sometimes being part of the much-squeezed middle class is hard! Several of you have mentioned family culture. I am only one generation away from abject poverty in rural Arkansas, where both my parents grew up. My father dropped out of school and ran away to join the Navy at age 16 (lied about his age). Later, as fireman, he completed high school, got his AA, got his BA in political science, then got his masters in public administration. He and my mother were determined that I would go to college right after high school. College was a when, not an if. Sadly, my parents divorced when I was in college. My mother, now back in AR returned to college in her 40's for her BS and then her MS in social work. I am grateful that my parents valued may and their own education so highly. That is one of the reasons that we chose to homeschool. It is music to my ears when my son tells me he is able to handle the workload in his college courses and looks forward to English Comp 2 as a nice break from math and science because he went to college knowing how to write well. My prayers are with all of us as we seek to meet the need of our families now and plan for future needs at the same time. Blessings, April
  20. Thanks for that tip and the link! I will definitely check it out1 blessings, April
  21. Thank you Gwen and Mommymilkies! You have given me interesting things to think about and discuss with my son! I think materials science and engineering sounds really interesting, personally, and using that as a path to art restoration is fascinating! Gwen, where is your daughter going for her graduate work? Thanks for sharing your husband's experience, Mommymilkies. I hope he is able to do some more teaching soon! Thanks again for keeping me informed about what is a totally new field for me! blessings, April
  22. Yay! Very well done! Congrats to you both! I love happy mom moments! Blessings, April
  23. This looks so cool, but the apps were due on 2/15/11. I am very sad now - even though my engineer son would have been a long-shot! I loved reading the info, though - thanks for posting it. How did you find it? Blessings, April
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