April in CA
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Posts posted by April in CA
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Thanks for the update, Nan! It is very interesting how some real-life, hands-on experience can help with learning concepts! My big guy really loved his manufacturing process class this term - he learned welding and lathing - and proudly brought home his bolt to show us! Engineering graphics was another big hit. Those were the only classes with entirely new material. He is now involved in some serious power-sleeping!
Blessings,
April
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Thank you! Younger ds was able to get lots of chemistry and math done today since older ds slept til past noon! His goal is to catch up on sleep and fun - he is off to a good start!
Blessings,
April
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HI Debbie,
As an alternate resource, you might want to take a look at Thinkwell precal. I don't have personal experience with that particular course, but my older son used Thinkwell Calculus for a semester during his senior year of high school (did the equivalent of one sem of college calc). He felt very well prepared for his college calculus class this semester - just finished with an A. Perhaps the different format would help your son review and progress through the material. Hope this helps!
Blessings,
April
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Thank you! we are home from picking ds up at the airport and soon we will be off to a celebratory dinner. It is going to be very hard to focus on school next week - I am in holiday mode now!
Blessings,
April
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That is an interesting question! I wonder if that guy who researches homeschooling issues has tracked this? (how is that for vagueness? grin) One thing that might skew the data is homeschoolers in CA. We homeschool through our local private Christian high school. We have a specific number that we use with the college board - not the homeschool code. So, according to the cb and the state of CA, my son is a student of JCHS, rather than an independent homeschooler. But, we are definitely homeschoolers - we choose and pay for all our curriculum. Our umbrella school serves as our interface with the state of CA and keeps our records. So, all that to say, collecting data might be challenging on homeschooled NMFs! (at least in CA!) But, I would love to know the answer! (sorry my response is so scattered - I am so excited about my son coming home and my other son's scores I really am not terribly coherent today!)
Blessings,
April
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Rejoice with me! my older ds has finished his first semester at LeTourneau University and is now winging his way home for Christmas Break! We get him for a month! Combined with ds #2's PSAT score, I will be getting my gifts early!
Blessings,
April
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We god DS#2's PSAT scores yesterday!! Brag moment - he scored 227! I think we will be doing the national merit stuff one more time...I am so profoundly thankful, and so proud of my son!
Blessings to you all as you wait for scores. I wish all of our kids could be NMFs!
April
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Hi!
Regentude gave you some very helpful advice, and hopefully this will help you as well. Start with what you know about a certain type of figure. What information are you given? Where do you want to end up? Think of it as baby steps, or maybe as a flow chart of logic. Start looking for relationships and things you can say, even if they don't turn out to be what you need to say - you never know what bit of information you can use! Another good way to go about things is to work backwards, Where do you want to end up? What do you need to know to get there? Don't worry about doing proofs in the fewest number of steps right now. You can always clean them up later if you find that you have rabbit trails that are not needed. Think of your proofs as a journey of logical discovery - be curious. Also, finding parallel lines and congruent triangles often comes in extremely handy! Good luck! Also, try googling how to do proofs - you will likely come up with some video clips that may be helpful to you.
Blessings,
April
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Hello! I would suggest setting up a schedule, making expectations clear, and having rewards ad "consequences" in place for exceeding, meeting, and failing to meet those expectations. Being self-motivated is challenging, and if she is used to being in school where she was told what to do and when to do it, she most likely does not have the skills to organize her time and prioritize her studies. Also, she is all of a sudden at home, with no one to compete with, so an external motivator is gone. Talk with her about the importance of learning for its own sake and the value of owning her education. Also, make sure she has some academic activities/pursuits that are special - that make homeschooling something that cannot be duplicated in a classroom full of students. All of these things are learned skills for most of us, so don't be surprised if it takes time for her to truly become self-motivated. In the meantime, be on the lookout for signs of depression, but consider that she may just really be enjoying "decompressing" from public school while not feeling a sense of urgency about getting rolling again. Hope this is helpful!
Blessings,
April
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Hello! Last year, my ds used the DIVE chemistry program with both the Apologia texts very successfully. Since he enjoyed it and did so well, this year he is studying AP chemistry with Peter Moskaluk. We found him through PA Homeschoolers. My son is thriving with the challenge and doing very well. Hopefully that will translate into a high AP score. He is even thinking about chemical engineering as a career now! I would NOT put a child straight into AP chemistry, but she might find the honors chemistry to be the right level of challenge and delight. And I am sure she would learn enough to make that wonderful lab book fun rather than over her head. Blessings as you search for the right resources for your daughter!
April
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Hi Sarahv! I am sure you will find what works for you and your family - there are so many wonderful choices out there that I sometimes wish that I had a whole bunch of kids to try them out on! My younger ds is a junior this year, and the years of crafts and "hands-on" are behind us.
We are very happy TOG users here, having used TOG Redesigned for high school. Older son did years 1-4 in order; younger ds will finish with yr 2 as a senior. We are blessed to be part of an on-line co-op, which makes administering TOG a snap. Really, though, TOG Redesigned is pretty to plan and execute, even if you are doing it with only your family. The biggest challenge is keeping yourself on a time-schedule, but that is true for any history program if you are a history lover. I just wanted you to not think that TOG is too challenging to implement! Have fun exploring the possibilities of the wonderful options out there!
Blessings,
April
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We are big fans of the Art of Problem Solving Geometry book. It is designed to be self-teaching, and it demands a lot of you as a student. Good luck with whatever you choose!
Blessings,
April
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Hello!
We are here in CA as well. Have you found out the registration dates for the Spring semester? At our local community college registration started at the beginning of November. My ds is a junior as we decided not to even try the cc route this year since he would be considered a "special admit" student - very last to be able to register. Due to budget cuts and lots of additional students, classes are very hard to get. We may try something over the summer or next fall. Good luck getting in!
Blessings,
April
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I would love to see the older series as well. I sometimes see it as a set at Costco, but the price has always thrown me - but so many of you say it is worth watching that we may just spring for it as a family gift this year! Thanks for the recommendation!
Blessings,
April
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We are really enjoying these new Sherlocks as well - shown on Thursdays here in southern CA. DS watched with me last night - we were both stunned by the cliffhanger! I really don't want to wait until next fall for more...perhaps we will all read some of the stories over Christmas break! I saw the set of Sherlock at Costco - that may be on DS's Christmas wish list!
Blessings,
April
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Thanks, Lisa!
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Hi Christine!
I am glad you had a great experience at LeTU! My son is a freshman mech eng student there - I wonder if he participated yesterday?! I will have to ask him. He is really loving his time there and enjoying his studies. I certainly appreciate that LeTU is so welcoming to homeschooled students. I have seen the campus twice myself, but we didn't have the opportunity to attend a homeschool preview day; thanks for sharing your experience! I had forgotten about the classes open to high school students - I will have to see if there is anything my younger son might be interested in. Thanks again!
Blessings,
April
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Hello! I didn't see a thread regarding that; however, in a recent conversation with Richard R (I will NOT tr to spell his last name!) he said that a student should do the counting and probability book to get those topics that are generally included in high achoo alg 1 and alg 2. AoPS covers them in different books, obviously. My ds is taking Alg 3 with AoPS online and will probably do Precalc with them in the spring. I am thinking about having him do C &P over the summer or at least some time before he does the SAT. Hope this helps!
Blessings,
April
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Very cool, Christine! How did you find this? We live in CA and I would love to find something closer to home.
Blessings,
April
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These examples would be hysterically funny if they weren't so sad a commentary on the state of basic education in our country. That's one of the reasons most of us homeschool - to NOT see our kids on those segments featuring clueless young people on The Tonight Show...(those basic geography questions make me cringe...) Thanks for sharing!
Blessings,
Arpil
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Hi Karen,
Just remembered some more info about IEW HSEI. The program comes with a CD of very helpful essay prompts and exercises that would make planning a class easier. Something to stress with your students is that it is better to make a couple of points well and have time for a conclusion than to make three points and have no time for a conclusion. Also, it is very helpful to know a couple of classic works of literature very well (my son chose Pride and Prejudice and All Quiet on the Western Front (from TOG 3 and 4)). Having a good command of history is also beneficial. Personal experiences and opinions are also important essay fodder. If you can put them all together in a meaningful way in 25 minutes, you are on your way! Mr. Puduwa also stressed the vital need to answer the prompt. If a student writes a beautiful essay, but does not address the prompt, the score will be 0. That motivated my son!
Again, blessings as you search for the right materials!
April
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Hi Myra,
We have used DIVE for chemistry only, not bio, but I would expect the format to be the same. For chemistry, you can print the workbook pages from your computer, including the lab worksheets, or you can pay for a copy for a printed copy of the workbook pages. I thought that choice was worth the money.
In chemistry, the labs were just labs. Bio might be different in terms of the amount of commentary. Are there any sample labs on the website?
Blessings,
April
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Both my guys used AoPS Geometry successfully. It is quite challenging, and very worthwhile. younger son is now doing the online AoPS Algebra 3 class which uses their Intermediate Algebra book. I admit that AoPS sometimes makes me feel like a bear of very little brain (to quote Winnie the Pooh), but it really does promote understanding and problem solving skills. We have LofF Advanced Algebra, but my son found that it didn't provide enough explanation. LoF Geometry might be different. My son might find LoF easier to understand now that he has AoPS Intro to Alg under his belt, also. Both programs are quite affordable - could you swing both?
Good luck with your decision!
Blessings,
April
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Hi Karen,
I don't have any experience with Stobaugh, but my older son used IEW High School Essay Intensive at a very quick pace as he was preparing for the SAT. In addition, he did lots of practice essays using prompts form the College Board's 10 Real SATs book. I highly recommend the HSEI from IEW and I think it could be made to work in the time frame you are looking at. Mr. Puduwa gives some great advise on how to approach the SAT essay - my son found it very helpful. Brag moment - he scored an 800 on the writing portion of his SAT (which includes more than just the essay). I will definitely do this again with my younger son. One of the biggest challenges for my son was to write an essay in only 25 minutes. All that practice for the SAT helped increase his overall writing speed as well - which was a good thing since he had to do so many essays for college apps!
Hope this helps!
Blessings,
April
College book reminder
in The College Board
Posted
Along wioth many of you , I am grateful that two of the massively expensive books ds needed 1st semester will also be used 2nd semester (Calc and Chem). I think he can buy his physics book from a dorm-mate. Hopefully this set of books will be much less expensive than the first! When the big guy finally drags out of be, I will ask him what he needs to be hunting for on-line!
Blessings,
April