Ruth in Canada
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Posts posted by Ruth in Canada
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It sounds like you are trying to have the less mathy twin learn more without you--am I reading that right? I think I'd do it the other way around.
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Grades 11 and 12 can be quite intense because they try to pack so much into it--perhaps because they are trying to do 3 years in two. (For example, high schoolers headed for math intense subjects take at least 2 math classes in grade 12. I assume one of those classes used to be a grade 13 class.) On the other hand, if you are headed for liberal arts fields, all you absolutely must have is grade 12 English. (You need 5 other grade 12 classes, but usually there are no requirements on which ones you take.)
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and we're happily using his geometry book. I think it really depends on the kid.
I did get the teacher's manuals--not to help me teach, but to make checking work faster.
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Hi Cleo--
I know you are dealing with a different system than I am--but is it possible to take university courses early, while technically still CEGEP age? The reason I ask is that our local university welcomes grade 11 and 12 high school students with a gpa of over 85 to take one or two classes each semester. Not many have the time to do this. However, local homeschoolers love the program. (The local university has waived the gpa regulation for homeschoolers.) DD will probably have 6 courses completed by the time she is 18--and the universities she's interested in attending, so far, are willing to base their acceptance on those courses. It's nice to be in local classes, but you could also do correspondence courses from U of Athabasca, for example. Would Quebec universities then accept your kids as transfer students?
--Ruth
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Ontario students who are headed towards math, science and engineering are expected to take the high school calculus class. This is not a full-blown calculus class, but it is an introduction.
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and so far they have all said that calculators are not allowed on calculus exams at university.
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One issue is availability and cost: I've found it hard to convince Canadian publishers to sell me teacher's editions and solution manuals, even with a letter from my school board. When they have agreed, the cost is much higher than I'd pay in the States. US materials are also more readily found used.
The other issue is content: I can borrow the "official" math and science texts from my library. Some of them I like. Others are, I think, too watered down. The Ontario science curriculum, for example, is very weak in grades 9 and 10, and very intense in grades 11 and 12. Because my kids were ready for more serious science earlier, it didn't make sense to use the official materials.
I guess part of the problem is the size of the market--there just aren't enough homeschooling Canadians to make an attractive market. The other part of the problem is the "official" textbooks--there's not a lot of incentive for publishers to produce materials other than those that have been officially blessed by the province.
I have correlated what we've done (with US texts) to the Ontario curriculum, and I'm confident that my kids are going to be on par (or ahead) by the end of grade 12. If I expected that my kids were going to enter high school mid-stream, I'd be working harder to match year by year.
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We're just starting to use the "Principles" version of Kinetic Books physics. I can't figure out a way to print out the end of the chapter complete problems. Am I missing something? I could go to the pdf version of the text and print out the problem pages, but I was hoping dd could print off the completed problems for me to mark. Any thoughts?
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We just had a thread on all of the great history documentaries available. This might not seem like as much work as reading books. I'd make sure "Guns Germs and Steel" is on the list because it provides a good framework for thinking about history.
On the other hand--if she likes to read, there are lots of great, accessible history books aimed at the lay public. And lots of great historical fiction. Again, this might not seem like "work" compared to using a text book, but would still provide lots of background.
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My quite responsible 16 year old is thriving in the courses she's taking at the local university. This particular student is ready to be out of our house and out of our control in increasing amounts. She's learning more about how to be independent about getting around and dealing with people she doesn't know--and is also realizing that she really wants to go to university because she enjoys the intellectual challenge.
Her classmates are not all model students--but that's good for her to see too. (She reported one comment between students before a mid-term test: "Did you study for this?" DD had studied for hours--and her grade reflected that. My comment was "Sometimes diligence will get you a long way.")
Had you asked me even a year and a half ago if this would work, I would have told you I wasn't sure.
Different things work for different kids and different families. I'm posting this so that parents with younger kids know that this is one option that may be just right--even if you can't now imagine it working.
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For the past couple of years, I've just been a step ahead of dd in a number of subjects. In most cases I am relearning--rather than learning new material. If you want to relearn algebra, science, and all of these other interesting topics--go for it! You'll understand it much better than you did the first time around--and may enjoy it more tool. (I'm now on my 4th time through chemistry, and I like it much better now.) Learning new things is supposed to help prevent Alzheimers, so I joke that my daughter is helping me keep my brain healthy. I really like this part of homeschooling. It doesn't seem to do the kids any harm--and they are very pleased when they "get" something faster than I do. It is helpful to have an expert to turn to if you really get stuck--I keep track of who knows what among friends and relatives. But I don't often have to call.
Do you want specific suggestions for relearning algebra? Tell us what you've tried and we can offer suggestions.
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We're using Duiker's World History as a 4-year spine--which may or may not help you. (It's a university level book, and was a challenge for dd in grade 9.) But we're adding in as many quality documentaries as I can find. There's a great series by PBS called "Empires" and "Guns, Germs and Steel" is excellent. DS (grade 8) won't start on this part of history until next year, but meanwhile he has watched all of "Canada: A People's History", several films from the Canadian Film Board, and is currently working his way through the "Walking with . . ." series (pre-history). I've also identified a couple of PBS tv series that mix science and history (available on line.) Because he absorbs material this way very easily, I'll probably look for even more documentaries to add to his high school history.
(I've found many of these documentaries in our library system, but DS has discovered a lot of stuff on You Tube. He says you have to know what you're looking for--so he studies the PBS website or whatever to get names of videos--then switches to You Tube to watch them.)
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try a month of ALEKS to see how that works as a review and extender. DD used MUS Algebra and then continued with the Jacobs/Foerster series. We've dipped into ALEKS as a review several times when she seemed to be stuck. DS used Jacobs for algebra, and still benefited from review with ALEKS. It seems to take a while to cement some of these concepts.
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I have been surprised at the growth that happens in the middle teens. One of dd's passions has been clear for a long time--but the other one, and probably the one that will shape her career, I wouldn't have predicted. I think you just continue to be supportive and provide opportunities. In our case, as dd started moving into the larger world, she connected with people and causes that excited her.
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If she has LDs and can work on coping strategies now, she might be better prepared for university later.
Around here, a "super senior" year is very typical. In fact, Grade 13 was just abolished about 5 years ago. Parents felt the extra year was a big plus in terms of maturity.
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They use different materials, and I don't make any attempt to teach them together. But it means that I don't have to get my head around two different sciences, and they do overhear me working with each other.
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It's a university-level book, but we are using it as a spine over the course of 4 years. I wanted to cover world history, not western history.
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I still have to do lots of prompting, but she's much better about being organized and carrying through. It was a very sudden--but welcome--change.
DH and I, on the other hand, remember our parents being completely uninvolved in high schoo. I pointed out to my parents that I was getting excellent grades and asked them to leave me alone. (Hopefully I asked politely!)
I think it all depends on the kid. Some of it is brain development, some is about consequences, and some about getting good systems in place.
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We continued to consider our kids in the grade they would have been chronologically, but moved ahead in the fields they were ready for. DD, for example, did algebra I, geometry and two official on-line classes before she was chronologically in grade 9. Realistically, she also did advanced science and English, but that was harder to quantify and I just let it go. On the other end of this now, dd will have 6 university credits before she graduates. She would not have been mature enough, or clear enough on what she wants to do, to go to university a year early. I just put her early high school work on her transcript. I know that some US universities only want the most recent 4 years of work--but you'll probably have plenty for that anyway--or you can just leave off the dates.
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I would ask at your local university--and if I was told "no", I'd ask again--directly with the department, or someone higher in admissions. Where I live now, there is a specific program for grade 11 and 12 kids. However, when I was 16/17 (and living somewhere else), I took university courses at the local university as a special student. You could also look at Athabasca University, which is known for it's correspondence courses and open admissions policy.
My province doesn't have colleges that feed to universities (for the most part), but I'm told there are more of those out west. Do you have that option in BC?
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Fortunately her brain clicked in at almost 16 and I can now comfortably imagine her heading off to university. I think this is a reasonable goal by the end of high school. In our house, it would not have been a reasonable pre-high school goal.
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I hear raves about how clear Lial's books are for algebra, etc--but I don't think I've heard anything about the calculus books. Can anyone comment? I should add that I'm not sure we're going to attempt all of AP calculus AB--my goal is to provide an introduction. If that goes well, we'll see how far we can get in a year.
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At the moment he doesn't get enough of our time (because we're juggling two kids) so I'm looking forward to having a lot more time available just for him.
I'm not convinced that group academic experiences with same-age peers is all that important--and when siblings are separated by a number of years, they don't get that at home either. (I suppose they do learn that they can't constantly be the centre of attention when there's more than one sibling.
I do think that group experiences are important. My kids get those through high-commitment choirs, casual sports, church, theatre, etc. Some groups are more have a 4 or 5 year age span, others are mixed kid/adults. I like the wide age spans--when our kids are the youngest, they have role models. When they are among the oldest, they have an opportunity to be leaders.
DD (oldest) has just started university courses. (We don't have a CC option here.) It worked out well in that her first course was academically easy but gave her lots of opportunities to get used to a different learning environment. It was an easy transition and she's looking forward to the next class.
I think I'm going to move my dd up a grade.
in High School and Self-Education Board
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She'll be taking 4 of her courses at the local university, which is as many as they'll let her take as a special student. Two more will be with music teachers. The final two will be at home. This will provide plenty of academic challenge, plus give her the outside qualifications she'll use for admission to university. We'll consider her graduated after this year, when she will be just about to turn 19.
I don't know what your options are, but I wonder if you can provide challenge academically (with distance courses, for example) without your daughter leaving home? That said, I headed off to university at 17--didn't turn 18 until that December--just because of how my birthday fell. I didn't feel out of place or have difficulties.