I've decided we'll go with FundaFunda instead. I'm sure I'll add to the lab portion, and I'll beef up the plant, animal, and human biology I was already planning to do with my middle schooler so that my 9th grader can join us for that. By the end of the year I think my 9th grader will be ready for CLEP and/or SAT 2.

I believe she's still teaching those classes. It sounds like the goal was to lighten her teaching load by reducing the number of preps (and class hours).

Other options: Blue Tent Honors Biology $600 (confirmed by email that they have space) asynchronous, Holt McDougal text, prepares for either SAT2 test http://teacherweb.com/USA/BlueTent/Thompson/apt35.aspx AIM Academy Pre-AP Biology $675 + $15 registration fee Tuesday 4-5pm EST, Campbell, must apply to instructor by email https://debrabell.com/product/biology-pre-ap/ AIM also has a regular biology class $625 + $15 registration Tues 2-3pm EST, Miller Levine https://debrabell.com/product/biology/ FundaFunda Biology 1 $383 (includes tax) asynchronous, Miller Levine, lots of detail in this thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/633010-fundafunda-biology/ https://www.fundafundaacademy.com/product/biology/

The new biology instructor's background does seem odd at first glance, but her graduate work was done in a biophysics lab, studying fruit fly development. It's hard to guess how much biology coursework was required and/or taken, given that graduate programs vary widely. Informal learning and gap-filling happens in the course of any graduate project, but it would typically be too focused to be of much use for teaching at the secondary level. I'm more concerned about the lack of experience teaching high school students and teaching general biology at any level. When I was a student teacher, I relied heavily on my ability to see my students' faces for informal real-time comprehension checks. I also had access to several veteran teachers; their doors, shelves, and file cabinets were always open to me. I can't imagine teaching a completely new subject online on my first attempt. At the very least, I'd find a homeschool co-op to use as guinea pigs!

In the same boat. I don't fault the original teacher for needing to lighten her teaching load, and I wish the new teacher the best of luck. But this isn't the scenario we signed up for. A "give the new instructor a chance" approach seems risky, because if it doesn't work out, my kid is the one who suffers. 😕

Bump! Anyone have feedback yet? I've spent some time with the samples, but I'm very curious to get user reviews too.

All very helpful responses. Thanks to all!

Thanks OhElizabeth! You've given me lots of food for thought. :) We have a piano, but a keyboard might be a fun addition to our flock (horde?) of instruments. And yep, I agree with the idea that strings might be harder to match by ear. I hate to admit it, but I rely on an electronic tuner. I can't remember the last time I tuned my uke using a pitch pipe or the piano. And yes, self-concept is my main concern. I've been watching and waiting for the last six months, hoping it's just a developmental thing, but I think she's going to want help from someone who knows more than me. The idea of music therapy is very intriguing! We live in the boonies, but it's still pretty artsy, so I'll look into our options. Thank you again!

My 10 year old has been playing piano for a year and a half, and she dabbles in ukulele. She's frustrated with her inability to match pitch with the piano (can't hum along with her playing). She's extremely upset about being unable to sing along with her uke playing, to the extent that she won't play it anymore. It's as if her voice randomly hunts for the note, and she's rarely successful in finding it unless I sing along with her. I have a hard time relating, as I don't have trouble roughly matching pitches, and neither does my 12yo. But my husband, a serious pianist, can't match pitch to save his life.(However, he's much more sensitive than I am to out of tune pianos, so his ears are fine!) She's tried a few ear training apps that I use for myself, and she hasn't found them helpful. But I stick with free and very cheap apps, so maybe there's a great app out there that I haven't seen. Any DIY suggestions before I break down and find her a vocal coach? She has no interest in vocal performance, she just wants to noodle around on the uke and use her voice as an aid when studying piano. Many thanks in advance!

Yes, I did search before posting, using the word "Socratic." Is this the thread you mean? http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/564737-intro-to-socratic-discussion/ There was only one opinion given there. I'm hoping to get a few others! :) The other thread I found dates to before the first time the course was offered. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/546685-wtm-academy-intro-to-socratic-discussion/

I'm considering this one for my 7th grader. Does anyone have thoughts on it? Many thanks in advance!

I haven't used Fluenz Spanish, but I looked at the scope & sequence for the Latin American Spanish product provided at this link. http://fluenz.com/languages/learn-latin-american-spanish/#what-you-learn Personally I'd require all 5 lesson sets to cover Spanish 1 and 2. Fluenz Spanish 4 covers por/para expressions, which is usually a Spanish 2 topic. The imperfect tense and how to use preterite and imperfect tenses together are covered in Fluenz Spanish 5. Those topics are also usually introduced in Spanish 2. Also, though I didn't study the subjunctive until Spanish 3, many current high school Spanish texts begin to cover the subjunctive mood in Spanish 2. Fluenz doesn't cover the subjunctive at all. I don't think it's a deal breaker, but it's something your daughter should be aware of if she decides to continue her study of Spanish at the college level.

Very helpful, thank you!

Oops, duplicate. :blushing:

Thanks for all of your thoughts! They're very helpful. I'll plan to revisit the issue a couple times a year to figure out the best strategy for this kid.

I did do a search and didn't find anything recent. My apologies if this is a re-tread! My 12yo daughter has a late September birthday. In many states she'd be a 6th grader now, but in our state she'd be a 7th grader. Based on his own experiences, my husband feels strongly that she shouldn't start college until she's 18 (almost 19). I agree that it's generally not great to start college as one of the youngest students on campus. But I also can't see into the future and predict what she'll be like as a 17yo. Given that she's currently considered a 7th grader, waiting until she's already 18 to begin college will either mean taking a gap year or planning an extra year of schooling. I don't have any objection to a gap year. But I also think it could serve her well to start her high school years (transcript-wise) a year later than our current schedule. It would allow her more time to pursue more advanced coursework and explore personal interests. In any case, I don't think I want to make a firm decision before 10th grade. At the moment, the only situation I can see it mattering for is the PSAT. I would like her to do some practice runs, perhaps starting as early as next year, but I don't want her stated grade level on the practice runs to influence her eligibility for NM when we decide she's officially in 11th grade. Does anyone know how this would work? Socially I don't think it'll be an issue either way. At the moment she's less wordly (less jaded?) than other 12yo girls. Though she's tall, she often looks young when she's with other 12yo girls, because her body language is less self-conscious. On her swim team, she swims mostly with 10 year olds, because swim groups are based on times, not age. This doesn't bother her at all. Are there any other things I should be considering? Any other thoughts, based on either experience or opinion (humble or not)? Thanks!

You can download the complete Destinos audio as MP3 files at the link below. My guess is that they are the 2nd edition, given the date the files were uploaded to the website, but I don't know whether they are the regular or alternate edition, and I haven't used them myself, so I don't know how well they match up with the 1st edition materials. The first edition did have audio, in cassette form. There are little cassette icons in the margins of my 1st edition textbook and workbooks. Given how little textbook companies tend to alter things from edition to edition, and the fact that it would be labor-intensive & expensive to record all new audio, my educated guess is that they use the same audio, unless there were serious quality issues with the 1st edition audio. http://wlcmedia.csumb.edu/Spanish/Destinos/audio/

The print materials have a combo textbook/workbook. The iPad version has lots of exercises, so I suspect it contains all of the text/workbook material. All of the audio is embedded in the iBook, so you don't need the audio CDs either. What you don't get with the iBook is the testing program. When I asked a couple years ago, they weren't willing to sell the testing program to me (as a homeschooler) without the rest of the printed materials. Hopefully they've changed their minds on that by now.

Not with one iPad. I think you could do it with 2 iPads. You'd need to either put one into Airplane mode or (better choice) use iTunes settings to prevent syncing between the two tablets.

Will do!

For more listening practice, I'm tempted to buy Avatar: The Last Airbender Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD, because they include the Spanish language tracks. We love (LOVE!) Avatar and practically have it memorized in English. Inexplicably, the Season 3 DVD does not have Spanish.

If you want some exposure to the accent used in Spain, check out BBC's Mi Vida Loca. No kidding. I want it for *myself*, but I can't justify the cost . . . at least not today. Tomorrow I may change my mind. Or maybe the next day. We need a group buy!

I answered on the other thread, so I'll quote myself: It depends how you want to use it. As a supplement, you need nothing, though the transcript would be nice, and maybe the Viewer's Handbooks too, to provide some pre- and post-viewing activities. The textbook and workbooks are what you'd want if you're using it as a full Spanish curriculum. In that case you'd just choose an edition and collect the associated materials. Foreign Language textbook publishers usually make only small changes from one edition to the next, so it shouldn't matter much which one you choose. The transcript is very helpful if a fluent speaker is not available to provide help when needed. The Spanish is spoken clearly, but there are still times when it is challenging to tease out the words. You can decide to just accept that you'll never get 100% comprehension. That's fine too. But sometimes it bugs me to not be able to figure out a specific phrase or sentence.

One more video program to consider: Sol y Viento. This one is also by Bill van Patten, but it was made after Destinos. The full length movie can be found on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6DkBdO0Dew A PDF of the transcript can be found here: http://faculty.gordonstate.edu/dbroome/SPA1001/spring%202010/soy%20y%20viento_script.pdf I guess you could use the transcript to figure out the breaks between the episodes. You can also search for individual episodes on YouTube. At the moment there are at least a few fairly inexpensive copies of the DVD on Amazon. Search Amazon for "Sol y Viento Instructional DVD" to find it. It depends how you want to use it. As a supplement, you need nothing, though the transcript would be nice, and maybe the Viewer's Handbooks too, to provide some pre- and post-viewing activities. The textbook and workbooks are what you'd want if you're using it as a full Spanish curriculum. In that case you'd just choose an edition and collect the associated materials. Foreign Language textbook publishers usually make only small changes from one edition to the next, so it shouldn't matter much which one you choose.

My older daughter is using Vistas plus online Supersite with Sr. Gamache, but I'm adding a few things, including a couple Level 1 books from TPR Storytelling.com. Over the summer we'll work on Destinos and/or El Cuarto Misterioso (see more on that below). Destinos can be watched on its own, used with textbook and workbooks, or if you're using it as a supplement to another text, you could get the two Viewer's Handbooks. The Viewer's Handbooks have a few pages of written activities for each episode. Each volume should last you a year or so, depending on your pace. They're available used fairly cheaply on Amazon. There are multiple editions, so read through all listings to find the cheaper ones. There's also a Destinos Videoscript with transcripts of every lesson, but that's not cheap right now, even used. Finally, there are even more online resources if you go to the McGrawHill page for Destinos. No textbook code is needed to access the Student Edition of the Online Learning Center. There's an episode recap, and short auto-graded online quizzes that go along with the textbook material. http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072497084/information_center_view0/index.html There's also a similar site for Nuevos Destinos: http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072492597/information_center_view0/supplements.html If Gamache's Spanish class wasn't in our budget this year, we'd probably be using either BtB Spanish for iPad or Spanish Now! (if no iPad). I haven't looked at Avancemos yet. YouTube videos might swing me over to that option instead. After a few months I'd add Destinos (@ Learner.org) plus the viewer's handbooks, and the Practice Makes Perfect Guides by Dorothy Richmond (I'm not familiar with the ones by Nissenberg). The "premium" app that is supposed to go along with the PMP books isn't ready for prime time yet, so don't buy it for that. The books are quite good on their own though. Another video option is El Cuarto Misterioso. It's a videonovela that goes along with the Spanish textbooks put out by EMC publishing. You can buy used video manuals for this as well, titled with either the title of the program or as "Navegando video manual." (Navegando is the old name of EMC's Spanish textbook.) This program is used over 3 years of high school Spanish, so there are 3 video manuals. The publisher's resources website (no code needed!) has the videos with and without subtitles. After the twenty El Cuarto Misterioso episodes there are also 5 documentary videos. Find videos 1-10 here (if you can't see the scroll column to get to the higher number episodes, move the scroll bar at the bottom to the right) http://irc.emcp.com/index.php?titleID=2146&title=%A1Aventura%21%201 and 11-20 here http://irc.emcp.com/index.php?titleID=2147&title=%A1Aventura%21%202 Documentary videos here http://irc.emcp.com/index.php?titleID=2148&title=%A1Aventura%21%203 Best wishes with your Spanish adventures!