Did he have any classes in German before he went? It sounds like he must have been quite fluent when he returned.

I am considering some kind of language immersion experience for my sophomore boys. One is learning French and the other is learning German. I am wondering about using some of the hours at a camp or on a trip as hours toward credit. Has anyone done that and if so, how many hours would be appropriate to use as credit? I am looking for a relatively efficient way to build some knowledge and fluency. They are taking first year German and French this year. They have a pretty rigorous course load with all of their other work so it would be nice to get some credit in the summer through some kind of intensive to that it might reduce next year's load. We spent 5 days in France when they were 10 years old and it was amazing how much they picked up in that short time, so I see that kind of learning as the ideal. Generally we have all been finding high school quite restrictive due to the necessary commitments of class schedules and requirements, so I am trying to find some ways to maximize learning while also creating some freedom from the typical high school schedule. We have family in Europe, so a trip to Germany and or France would be feasible, but both boys are quite reserved, so I am not sure how much they would learn just from a tourist-type experience. ETA: I am cross posting this to an earlier thread specifically about Concordia Village. Edited by Legomom, Today, 12:17 PM.

This is a thread from earlier this year, but I am considering some kind of language immersion experience for my sophomore boys. One is learning French and the other is learning German. I am wondering about using some of the hours at camp as hours toward credit. Has anyone done that and if so, how many hours would be appropriate to use as credit? I am looking for a relatively efficient way to build some knowledge and fluency. They are taking first year German and French with WTMA this year. They have a pretty rigorous course load with all of their other work so it would be nice to get some credit in the summer through some kind of intensive to that it might reduce next year's load. ETA: I am cross posting this to the high school thread to also get ideas for other options for immersion/accelerated language learning .

Carla Neggers. Older books were enjoyable (especially enjoy the New England settings) but the more recent ones feel like they were written in a rush and seem like they have a lot of filler.

My patronus is a buzzard! Ack! I was hoping for something cute and cuddly! My house is Gryffindor and I thought I would definitely be Ravenclaw. A prior unofficial quiz sorted me into Ravenclaw so I am sticking with it!

Just wondering if anyone has done this and if so what their experience has been. My teenager has an entrepreneurial/business bent and I wondered if this might be something worthwhile for him. He would like a place to meet other teens, but so far it has been difficult to find something that matches his interests.

So very sorry!

That is fun that you enjoyed the show--sorry to hear that you were sick though! Hope that you are feeling better now! We also wondered about the swearing in the show-- it seemed a little jarring based on the context. I wish we had a ramen shop nearby! And a place to try milk pudding! Also, of course I have to ask: who did you prefer for Nao? I think I liked Issei best. 😊

My ds started doing presentations in 4-H when he was 10 years old. It has been a great experience and the speaking a presentation skills that he has acquired have been very helpful to him in other areas (science fair etc) His club is very supportive and they do a great job of giving constructive feedback. The county also has a speech workshop to teach the kids how to speak and present. They have the opportunity to present from 1-4 times per year (county , state etc). As the others have mentioned it varies by club. Our county 4-H allows any topic as long as it fits into one of the 4-H subjects.

Today is my dad's birthday-- it his 80th, so a milestone birthday. He lost his identical twin 20 years ago. It was a complete shock and he was devastated. We are having a birthday party for my dad at my house today and we have invited his nieces and nephews. This is the first party that we have had where all of the nieces and nephews have been here. 3 of them are his twin's children. I would like to do something to acknowledge his brother but I am unsure what to do. My dad and my cousins are atheists and very unemotional -- at least they don't like to show emotion. So I would like to acknowledge him but something that isn't too emotional, nostalgic or spiritual. I know that doesn't sound very possible, but I also don't want it to remain unspoken since I am the host of the party. I would appreciate any ideas that you have!

Interesting! I was wondering about the accuracy of some of the translations.

Interesting to read about the table heaters! I would love to try one!

It is great to hear of someone else watching it! We watched the whole thing and loved it too!! Can't wait for the next season! I was hoping for a different person for Nao :) We went to our local Asian market trying to find milk pudding like they have on the show! We'll try watching Atelier!

Is anybody else watching this? It is on Netflix and is a romance/comedy set in Japan. It is a Netflix original made in cooperation with Fuji television. A friend of mine from Japan recommended it and said that while the storyline is improbable and silly (and cute), the Japanese culture shown is accurate. My teens and I are enjoying it, but we are wondering how much is accurate about Japan and how much is just part of the show. We have never been to Japan so it is interesting to see things like table heaters, milk pudding, ramen shops etc.

Thank you!! I am definitely glad to know that I wasn't imagining it!!

I am trying to solve a mini mystery. I seem to remember a post on Facebook about one of the WTMA classes. I thought it was on the WTMA Facebook page and I thought it was about Rhetoric, but now I can't find anything. It may have been about a different class, but I specifically remember that some of the kids had been meeting outside of class (possibly via Skype) and that the class had really fostered relationships among the students and they were working on a project outside of class. Does anyone know of this post or what class it was referring to? I am wondering if I saw it here or on Facebook. I am hoping someone else remembers it. It sounded like something my son would be interested in and we are working on signing up for classes right now. Also, at this point, I am just really curious to find out if I was just imagining this!!

I signed up for the WTM online homeschool conference last summer, but missed a few of the seminars, so I am listening to them (finally) this year (Bravewriter and one by SWB about high school). I want to look for a few other things to read or listen to as well.

Our experience was somewhat similar to yours with Saxon, although my son just did Algebra 1 (we had done Singapore math prior to that). Saxon was very time consuming and while my son received an "A" (it was an outside class), I sensed that he wasn't seeing the big picture. This was particularly disappointing because prior to this he had been quite intuitive about math and problem solving, but the step-by-step approach almost seemed to diminish his ability to approach the problems while seeing the big picture. I saw this happen with specific problems that in the past he would have been able to visualize quickly and then he started bogging down in the method approach. I was hopeful that his standardized test scores would reflect his "A" in math, but they didn't. He liked using Saxon, but because it was time consuming and he didn't seem to make the kind of progress that I thought was necessary, we went with Jacobs for Geometry. I hoped that changing the type of textbook (which included algebra review) would help. He really disliked it and he ended up dropping Geometry and after much discussion, he is going to go back to Saxon (Algebra 2) and then take Advanced Math to complete his geometry credit. At this point I am hoping that things will click as he moves forward. Part of the reason that he wants to stay with Saxon is because it is offered by the same online provider that he had for Algebra one. All this to say, I can relate to your experience with Saxon and I wish you better luck than I had with changing programs. Looking back, I am not sure what I would have done differently -- I think that his ideal is a live online teacher, so I should have found one with a different text for Algebra 1.

The science fair is indoors at the university here. I hadn't thought of a rolling white board -- I wish that we had a couple of those in our office, and then we could bring those to the fair. I looked at the table top easels online and there are a few inexpensive ones that might work well -- more like a display easel than an art or writing easel. Yes, the $50 is quite pricey for printing, so they may end up doing the trifold boards this year. There is an option to sign up for a PowerPoint presentation instead but the registration deadline has passed for this year. Both DS like that idea for next year -- the PowerPoint would be easier to set up and cheaper. I had (mistakenly) thought that they prefer the trifold/poster option since they don't have to present to a group, but they said that they don't mind. There is no predicting teenagers I guess :) Thank you for the ideas! I really appreciate the WTM boards!

My DS are participating in the city/regional science fair again this year and we have noticed a trend towards using posters rather than trifold boards. It is a middle school/high school science fair. They are trying to decide whether to make trifold boards this year, or whether to make posters. A few questions have arisen if they use posters: 1. Where is the best place to get the posters printed? 2. What is the best way to mount and display the posters? At the science fair last year and at the graduate symposium that I attended this spring, it appeared to be difficult to display them well. It is difficult to mount them on trifold boards and difficult to get anything else to stand up on a table. Easels are tricky for the judges and attendees to maneuver around. 3. What is the best (easy!) software to use to create the poster? Photoshop? One DS is a photographer and is experienced with Photoshop. As a side note, Ruth in NZ's science fair posts have been extremely helpful in choosing and pursuing the science fair projects. It has been a lot of work (and fun), so now the next big step is displaying and presenting the work well!

How difficult would relocating be for all of you? In my own situation, I have contemplated moving for better educational opportunities for my teens, but when I really think about the logistics and upheaval, it isn't worth it for us. Of course that may be different in your situation, but if it would be difficult to relocate, I don't think that it is selfish not to do so (I agree with not sending him for the boarding school portion). In our case, we have family, business etc that could be worked around, but it would be a lot of work to do so and we would be in a less satisfactory situation overall. Also, last year we were in somewhat of a reverse situation. I wanted my teens to have the opportunity of trying the local prep school so they participated in the shadowing day. I thought that it would be full of great opportunities for them, but they decided not to go. One of my sons was very turned off by his perception of the elitism there, even though it was quite diverse economically. As a teen, I don't think that would have bothered me at all because I would have been focused on the opportunities. All that to say, there is no predicting teenagers! So letting him shadow a student could be enlighening for all of you. I can sympathize with potentially letting go of dreams for high school. The son who was turned off by elitism has decided to go for dual enrollment at the community college instead. I was really looking forward to spending a few more years with him and had some great curriculum and events planned!!

A couple of thoughts regarding spending 1 month on geometry: The Robinson Center for Young Scholars at the University of Washington has a 4-5 week intensive geometry class that is meant to count as a full high school credit, There are teaching assistants that help with concepts and problems but it is not a lecture based class. The students work alone or in groups and proceed through the material with assistance as necessary. There is a lot of homework, so my impression is that geometry is the student's full-time job for 5 weeks, which could be 160-200 hours. It has certain eligibility requirements, so it is not for everyone, but it is something that ds seriously considered as alternative to spending a year on geometry. Also, we have a graduate math student who works with my teens on their math studies and in his opinion, the most important part of geometry is learning how to write proofs, particularly for students who may go on to higher math. I don't have experience in higher math, but I thought that this was interesting to hear and I am not sure how this would affect spending 1 intensive month on geometry versus spending one year on it. Anyway, just a few thoughts -- best wishes in your decision.

Is anyone on the boards attending? I may have the opportunity to go and wondered if other WTMers would be there.

So sorry for your loss.

I have been using Quarks and Quirks biology https://quarksandquirks.wordpress.com/biology-hs-level/for my freshman boys this year and so far it has been going well. We have been supplementing it with Ellen Mc Henry's Cells and plan on adding in some genetic books such as The Code of Life and Cartoon Guide to Genetics which have been recommended on these forums. My kids are ready for the first test but there is no answer key and I was wondering if anyone has created one? Also, I wondered if anyone has created additional tests for the curriculum or used tests from another source? She posted that she has not done these. I really like the resources that she recommends and the lesson plan, but it would be great to know what others have done for testing purposes!