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LunaLee

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Posts posted by LunaLee

    If you were only going to have your student read 10 "classics"...

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Thanks everyone. A lot of those are titles I chose as well. DS has become a dawdler. Procrastinator. 15 y/o boy. Something. I don't know. I don't want to say this year has been a bust,  but it cetainly hasn't gone well as I had hoped. He isn't reading as much he should be and so anytime we study/read a novel it's like 6-8 weeks with reading and writing. At that pace we won't hit nearly as many classics as I'd like. I also have him read non-fiction in science. 

     

    For example this year he's read:

    Ender's Game (this was mostly free reading)

    Murder on the Orient Express

    Treasure Island

    To Kill a Mockingbird

    Gulliver's Travels (just now starting)

    Microbe Hunters

    Silent Spring

    The Violinist's Thumb

    Cats Are Not Peas

    On the Origin of Species

    Hot Zone (starting Next week)

     

    It's about half of what I had planned which was one novel and one science/geography book per month.

     

    There are A LOT of really good books out there and not all of them are "classics"-I just wanted to come up with a base list of 10 or so MUST READ books for the next three years and build from there. Must read because there's a particular lesson/value I want him to learn from it, makes him think about his beliefs, is alluded to in other literature or media and is culturally important.

    Math Sequence for HS

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Thank you everyone for the feedback, I really appreciate it

     

    The CC where he'll be going won't require higher than the 3 years of the algebra/geometry sequence. We don't do dual enrollment-it's a big pain in the a$$ around here and not worth the trouble. If he wants to graduate after 3.5 years, he'll have that option and just enroll at the CC as a freshman. With dd they saw she took alg. 2 and bypassed her straight into Stats which, is what he would most likely need to get his degree. The only thing I will try to have him do is take stats the first year instead of in the second-something which dd is now regretting.

     

     

    Math Sequence for HS

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    The reason the tutor suggested going with Alg. 2 next, was to keep Algebra fresh as ds moves deeper into it so there's no gap between the two and none of that supposed forgetting that happens with that geometry year. While I understand the concept behind that, I am concerned that he will not be mature enough for the more advanced concepts of Alg. 2. He's a decent math student, good at some kinds of logic, but not accelerated by any means, and sometimes he has a hard time remembering things. He will most likely not continue with upper level math after 11th grade anyways. I'm not limiting him, it's just something I don't foresee him pursuing on his own and given the college route he will most likely go, nothing higher than Alg. 2 is needed. Plus, I like to use the fourth year of math to do consumer math, accounting, or entrepreneurship skills.

     

    I can use whatever text I want. I go with the Prentice Hall because it's readily available to me, it comes with parent/student support, and is mastery. According to Prentice Hall's customer service there's no real scope and sequence for the math after Algebra 1. The charter school just defaults to the traditional sequence because it's traditional. Like I said, they’re usually pretty open to a parent's reasoning for doing things out of sequence, but before I decide that's what I want to do and contact the admin, I want to have my facts and my reasoning straight. While I trust the tutor, I'm not going to necessarily do something because one person recommends it- I like to examine all points of view.

    Math Sequence for HS

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    DD did the more traditional sequence, which I always thought was kind of silly, but I'm not a math person, so I just went with the flow. But...DS's tutor is recommending we follow Algebra 1 with Algebra 2, then Geometry. I'm getting some resistance from my charter school as to my request to change the sequence. However, they are usually pretty accomodating, but before I push the issue, I want to research it a little more. So, what do you guys think?

    Academic plans for next year?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I usually start planning in February because my peak season at work is back to school season, which usually starts around June, believe it or not. So I don't really have a lot of time or mental energy to be planning over summer.

     

    For 10th grade next year, I'm looking at a continuation of mostly everything from this year, which is nice. That includes:

    OM World History (with a Great Books list)

    OM Chemistry

    OM PE/Health (continiuing from this year)

     

    Prentice Hall Geometry

    IEW Literature, or a Mythology focus...haven't decided yet, Daily Grams, Wordly Wise, etc.

    Power Glide French

    Artistic Pursuits

     

    If I go this route, he'll have outstide tutoring in Math, and a lab class for Chemistry, SAT/ACT prep, and other art classes

     

    or...

     

    If transportation and scheduling works out, I'll enroll him in a hybrid Charter and he'll take Graphic Design, Geometry, English, Art and Robotics onsite and do the rest at home with the above.

    So what are your hs-age kids reading this week? :)

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I'll warn you that McCarthy is pretty violent.  But -- when my middle dd was assigned No Country for Old Men for AP Lit, I read it first and warned her about the violence.  She read it and said, "Mom, that wasn't half as bad as the Iliad, which you made me read in 7th grade!"  Ds is writing a paper on No Country for Old Men for AP Lit today.  

     

    If you want to read one McCarthy novel, I'd recommend The Road.  It is post-apocalyptic and dark, but absolutely masterful, in my opinion.

     

    I agree about The Road as well. Love it so much I refuse to watch the movie because I don't want to ruin it.

     

    DD's is reading No Country for Old Men in her English 1B class as part of their dystopian unit. Personally, I thought The Road would have been a better choice for that, but hey, who am I.

    "Outside the box" for high school?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Thank you for this post,Lisa. Although I'm silently crying on the inside because I know we are just doing school at home more or less, and not as outside of the box as I'd like, or as I think ds would enjoy. It's all my fault, really, because I can't let go of what I'm "supposed" to be doing. He's bored. I'm bored. It's all bad... PLEASE if you are out-schooling, share what you're doing, regardless of how you think other people will perceive it.

    This applying for colleges thing is hard work...

    in The College Board

    Posted

    Are you fretting over your 9th grader already?  :grouphug:

     

    No, Sue. The college Soph...she's transferring (DS doesn't play sports :glare:). She'll have her AA at the end of the year, and needs to move on.

     

    It's not so much the actual application process...4 of her top schools are state and they all use the same application, so that's nice, but still a lot of work...NAIA, NCAA, DIV 1 or DIV 2, ( DIV 3 schools don't offer sports scholarships) small school, big school, private, Faith based, do they have a major that fits... Does this school need an outfielder, how many JR/SR outfielders do they have? "My current coach is supposed to be helping, but she's not", etc...

     

    She's a decent student, with a below 3.00 GPA, her stats are average, but she's an awesome kid, and a great player, just on paper it isn't stellar, so it's been a challenge trying to make who she is stand out. She has some regrets about the choices she made and now she's having to deal with that also. Heavy sigh...

     

    I know lots of folks on this board are going through this process too right now,  so thanks for the support. :grouphug:

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