Jump to content

Menu

blessedmom3

Members
  • Posts

    2,195
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by blessedmom3

  1. Those are good ideas, especially less classes. He learns best by practicing or reading over and over.
  2. Farrar, you’re right, I guess he does have some ideas, however he worries about Chemistry because he said it did not make sense to him. This past year he used Discovering Chemistry in a co-op with a very good teacher, but he said he did not understand much. Because of this, I was hesitant to sign him up for any chemistry classes at the college. He does not mind to be around people if it he doesn’t have to talk too much. He prefers to work alone. Lawyer&mom, this is a student who has been struggling all his life with speech delay and comprehension. His IQ was estimated at around 80 when he was 11. I don’t know if it was accurate. He can’t carry on a good conversation, yet he can do quadratics in his head 😆 He has come so far but he still struggles with comprehension and higher order thinking ideas or concepts. He is determined to work very hard and he has an incredible grit but we have to set realistic goals. If he fails chemistry he might lose his scholarship. As far as computers, he has a hard time grasping how things work. His older brother is a computer science major and does not recommend this field for him. Not sure if exec. functioning has to do with this, but so far, he has been good with all his assignments, submitting everything on time even if he took 4 heavy classes this summer. I would like to nail it the first time and hit the right degree for him but I guess it will involve some trial and error…I am already encouraged by just you two posting here and, in my turn, I will encourage him to apply to anything he wants, even if it requires chemistry.
  3. My son is a senior and has no idea what to do after high school. He is interested in the medical field and loves anatomy, biology, he is great with memorization, however his social skills are not the best and he worries about chemistry and physics. He is currently dual enrolled (made high As in College Algebra and Statistics) and is expected to graduate high school with AA. He has a 4.0 gpa in all his college classes and had a high ACT score. He qualified for 100% merit scholarship. He was thinking healthcare informatics, but he is not good with learning software, anything that has to do with computers I think is too hard. He also is interested in working in a medical lab, but like I said, he is worried about chem and physics. He is also thinking about radiation therapy, nuclear medicine, or ultrasound technician. He would be good in a career that has repetitive steps. He is very hard worker, passionate, and dedicated. Only one month left to apply for college and we have no idea where! I would appreciate any advice.
  4. My son has all of these and I am proud to say that as an 11th grader he completed his first college classes with A. He got the highest score in his class in math and throughout the semester he got nothing under 96 while the average class in all tests were between 40-69. I want to encourage those of you with younger children to never give up hope and to keep working with them at their level and they will succeed. My son defied any prognosis and has high goals that I am sure he will reach despite all the labels and struggles. My advice is this : keep reading to them a lot and make them read a lot; do math every day and keep cementing one concept at a time until mastered. It might take a lot of tears from both of you but I assure you, it will be all worth it in the end. Starting in middle school, we used Unlock Math and it was a huge success because he could have unlimited practice and online tutoring. Their Algebra gave my son such a strong foundation that after Algebra 1 he took the college placement test and placed very high in College Algebra. So he skipped Algebra 2 and it was still a breeze. For writing, narrations, dictations helped immensely, then a College Prep class at the homeschool coop was a blessing and a true prep for college writing. He also had a writing tutor who helped him, it was a speech therapist paid by our insurance. If you have an older child, I would love to hear their success story to encourage others with younger ones.
  5. I think it is too late to register for summer, unfortunately. Plus, he works 30 hours/week until August.
  6. Rising Junior who wants to dual-enroll, placed high in College Algebra PERT ( college placement test) but he hasn’t taken Algebra 2 yet. I don’t want him to struggle in college courses, but since he is older and only allowed 4 semesters to dual-enroll, is it wise to skip Algebra 2 or Intermediate Algebra? I assume he placed so high either because he guessed some answers or because of the rigor of his Algebra 1 curriculum. He does struggle a bit with harder rationals and graphs. His score was 130 in PERT. I appreciate wise thoughts.
  7. What is the best choice for a senior who is finishing his AA before the end of high school. 1. Apply to MIT or Georgia Tech but his classes/credits likely won't be accepted. I think Georgia Tech might accept his English, Calculus and Physics, so 9 credits out of 60. 2 . Apply to a state university, where ALL 60 credits are accepted and he can go straight to junior. So he will only have 2 years to complete a bachelor. He has almost perfect SAT,very high GPA and extra curr. He would have a good shot at his preferred university, but he does not like the idea to stay 2 extra years in school. He will apply to about 5, in state and out of state, but at this time we are not 100% sure what is the best decision in case he will be accepted to his preferred ones. Can anyone give us any insight/advice?
  8. Notanumber, just curious, what level is your 8yo working on? She must be really smart to be able to solve this! At 8, most kids barely learn their facts.
  9. Brilliant, thank you for both examples. Super helpful!
  10. She drew some bars like she learned in Singapore Math. First, one bar (unit) for Paul and 5 bars for Dad. Then she drew Paul one bar and dad 4 bars. She added + 3 years then she got stuck. Honestly, I don't know how to solve it without a traditional algebra equation but there must be a simpler way.
  11. We need help to solve this problem in an non-algebra way and easy to explain to a 6th grader. This is from CLE Math 6th grade. Paul's dad is 5 times as old as Paul. In 3 years, Paul will be 1/4 his dad's age. What are their ages now?
  12. Wonderful! My son just finished it today with a 97% in the final and 95 overall. It took him 12 months to complete it because he had to repeat some concepts he struggled with or if he got under 85-90% . It was so beneficial to have the unlimited practice for each chapter or lesson in order to master each concept. BEST upper math program ever !
  13. I bought Jacob’s as well and thought it looked intensive for me. We still use & love Unlock Math! I am also pleasantly surprised that unlike other online math programs it incorporates higher order thinking skills and not just in the ‘challenge’ problems as they call them. They are mixed in the practice and stay sharp sections among simpler, procedural,ones. For me it is easier to go in the kids’ accounts and check only what they did wrong and go over the mistakes to make sure they get it. The solutions are given to them right away after they click submit, but I am afraid my kids (younger middle schoolers) will just skim through in a hurry without reading and trying to understand the solution. There are some minor issues that I hope they will fix in the future ( like if the student enters capital variable it is wrong— it has to be lowercase) but this is insignificant to the benefit of what it offers! Happy mom, happy kids finally, after I have a whole collections of Algebra textbooks 🙂
  14. My son has used it; I thought it was a decent math program. Similar to Saxon—incremental and lots of review, so if your student doesn’t learn that way it won’t work. The geometry part was a little weak IMO. We had to supplement with another geometry book. My son placed in College Algebra at a local college after using Shorman Algebra II. He is a strong math student and I was surprised he did not place higher. Shorman claims you can pass CLEP after Algebra II but I am not so sure. I am glad he took Algebra II at the college though; it was a good review for him and it filled in the gaps. For my next children, we have decided to go with Unlock Math. They just started Algebra I and love it! The set up of the program is wonderful and we love that it shows on the screen only one exercise/problem at a time. The videos are high quality, concise and very clear, speaking directly to the student, versus a computer screen in Shormann. They are also shorter than Shorman’s. If they struggle with a concept, the computer generates another set of problems and records the highest grade. If they still struggle, there is a chat button to ask directly a certified math teacher!!! My kids thought that was so cool. The teacher answered immediately! I have asked before here about the scope and sequence and someone replied that they thought it is comparable to any rigorous algebra program. ( you can search here, it was only about a week ago) I know you did not ask about another math program, but we are so excited to have found it and I had to share!
  15. Thank you for taking the time to compare. That helps so much and it makes me feel better knowing it covers all the topics. Signing up now.
  16. Yes, that is the link, thank you. I am highly considering it but still undecided between Unlock and Mr. D. My 8th grader needs a lot of review in order to solidify the concepts, so I don’t think Mr D will help. Plus, all that printing... So I was looking at Unlock and I am not sure it covers all the topics that a (rigorous) algebra I should cover. Please tell me your thoughts.
  17. I am considering Unlock Math Algebra. It is a new-ish program so there are no reviews. I was wondering if someone (a mathy person) would look at the S&S for me and tell me if it looks like a comprehensive and comparable with other Algebra programs. Thank you so much!
  18. Thank you all. He said he will write an email to the professor tonight and see what happens. His class is always online, except for the exams, so he cannot meet the professor unless he makes an appointment with her. I looked at his previous scores and they are all way above class average, but these count only 5-25 points, while each mid and final count as 100. Maybe if the professor looks at his grades, she can see that he works hard and he understands the material and maybe she will find a way to improve his grade. The school’s calendar says the withdrawal for this class was in Feb 14th. It started in Jan 5th. We are in a state where dual enrollment and books are free. He will also call the advisor tomorrow and ask what it is best for him to do. Both my husband and I talked to him today and tried to encourage him but he is still very depressed. This is a good learning opportunity for him to not only make sure that he follows instructions, asks questions instead of assuming, and most importantly, I want him to learn that it is not all about grades. I hope he gets it.
  19. My 10th grader is heartbroken. He is dual-enrolled and took his midterm in Trigonometry and got a 60%. He said he thought he was allowed to take a formula sheet in the exam room, but he did not read correctly the instructions on his course portal that the only sheet allowed is the one provided by the professor. So they did not allow him to bring in his own sheet and without the formulas he bombed the test. He has been in DE for three semesters and his GPA is 4.0; He has high goals for his future, including highly competitive universities. He did very well in Trigonometry until now and has only 90’s, but with the midterm being worth 100 points, his grade now is 64%. Even if he gets a 100% in the final and over 90s in homework and tests, he will barely pull a C. So my question is, should he withdraw from the class so his GPA won’t be affected? Will they mark his transcript with a W and is this really bad for college admission? Should he write his professor explaining that he wasn’t aware about the college’s policy ( about allowing only their sheet) ? And is there anything the professor can do about that, i.e. is there any way to re-take the midterm or maybe do extra credit? He understands the concepts very well, but has a hard time memorizing all the formulas. He just wasn’t sure which formulas are required to memorize and for which ones you can use a sheet? He is really upset about that and he even said he has no purpose for living!!!! I am considering bringing him to a counselor. He is very perfectionistic and was always a high achiever, so this grade affects him deeply. I told him that he is more than a grade and I try to comfort him...but he keeps saying that he is not smart enough to memorize all the formulas and that he is a failure. I am so desperate and I don’t know how to help him. I am also upset that he hasn’t ask the professor before what exactly he can bring in the exam room, but of course I don’t want to throw that at him now... Any other advice/ thoughts? ( and excuse my poor writing, English is not my first language)
  20. Yes, this 15 yo brother is very gifted and he started taking online dual-enrollment community college at 12 and is almost done with both CC and high school. He is teaching my 8th grader a lot of great skills. He is very compassionate and understanding and they are always together. The 15 yo is also somewhat reserved and introverted, but he has excellent communication and social skills. My younger kids are also a little shy, but they have good social skills too. Yet, so many blame ME for homeschooling the 8th grader and they say that is the reason why he is like that... Even my family on my side and my husband’s side blame homeschooling, so it is heart-breaking and another reason to send him to school. But my son also wants to go to school because he is hoping he would find some friends. In our homeschool circle he has not been able to find a friend yet. Even if he has social and communication problems, he still craves for a friend 😞
  21. Storygirl, actually he scored highest in the IQ test in the processing speed, both times when he was tested, although all four areas were only 5-10 points from each other. He does have a horrible writing and he is lefty. He was also diagnosed with “Binocular Vision” by a visual therapist, but our pediatrician and the psychologist are not convinced about this... It does seem that he has most signs from nonverbal LD, except that he did not have early speech and language acquisition, contrary, he was delayed and did not start talking in two words sentences until he was 3.5. But he did learn how to read at 4.5 which is strange. By first grade he was able to read ( or decode words) at 4th or 5th grade yet he was barely comprehending simple kindergarten books. Also, it seems like right brain hemisphere dysfunction might fit him (avoids eye contact, lacks the gestures that normally accompanies and accentuate speech, can’t convey thoughts and feelings in speech). The reason he has these problems might be that when my first born was only four months, I got pregnant with him, therefore my body did not have enough time to recuperate; especially my thyroid, since I have a mild Hashimoto syndrome ( sometimes hypo, other times hyperthyroid) It is proven that many children born from moms with thyroid problems suffer some kind of brain damage. But regardless of what diagnosis he has or what has caused it, what is depressing to me is that I am not sure how to help him. I wish our public school had the resources to help like yours, Storygirl, like for ex help with a career goal, etc. But other parents I know with middle and high schoolers say that the school has failed their children, both academically and emotionally ( bullying) so I am so reluctant about our school. Some of them pulled them out to homeschool or moved them to private schools. We live in a middle class neighborhood, so maybe if I move him to another upper class school, which is allowed, he will he provided with better services. I did a comprehensive career test for him and his highest score was Medical Informatics Analyst, and the second was accountant. IT or accountant were some jobs he said he wants to do since he was very young, but these require such high problem solving skills and high math that I am not sure if he should pursue it. We will continue to work hard on academics like we did, but still I am not sure if it is realistic to expect to reach that or should we rather focus on life skills and more therapy. He has a special need scholarship that is 10,000/ year! This can cover any therapy, music lessons, sports, school supply, therapy programs or kits, etc. Or a private school tuition. Please help me spend it!!! Give me suggestions on what to buy to help with any kind of therapy. In the past years, I bought a lot of games and books on social skills and speech, but they were’t applicable to him because he is not too delayed. My house is full of those, but nothing really applicable to his needs.
  22. Wow, that is amazing, Storygirl, that list completely describes my son! Yes, he can’t cut properly with a knife, although we have tried teaching him so many times! And by the way, my son also plays and loves drums. He plays the piano also, but he doesn’t like it. I am going to check out nonverbal learning disorder. I have heard about it, but didn’t think he might have it and I don’t remember why.
  23. I so agree with this! That is why I worry about his future. I worked very hard with him ever since he was a baby, we read tons of books, worked on two math programs at a time, worked hard in grammar and writing, ( that was HARD because English is not my first language!) and now he is not too bad academically. But academics won’t really help much in life like you said. He is very delayed in vital areas. The psychologist was not sure if he is in the ASD, because he didn’t score high enough, but he had a lot of symptoms. The only recommendation she gave was to start speech therapy and enroll him in school to practice social skills. She also said there is a discrepancy between his IQ score (low average- all four sub tests were about the same) and his last academic test scores, which were mostly above average or very high. Low only in comprehension and math problem solving. She said it is because anyone with this IQ can be taught anything, yet he will struggle with simple problems solving in life. My husband thinks that it is impossible to perform so well if his IQ was accurate. He just doesn’t see that it is because I have been working with him all those years. He has been in speech, in public school and private speech, but I did not see any progress at all, so we discontinued it. I think his best speech therapists are his 4 siblings, especially his 15 year old brother. I will consider putting him back in speech. Right now he does a FaceTime speech for his stuttering only, but they work a little bit with him on “small talk “ as well. In our area, public schools are not the best, so I don’t think it will work. The principal from a private school said we may try one free school day and see how he does and also if they can accommodate him. He is very quiet, sweet, polite and hard working, so they won’t have any behavior problems with him, but academically, he will need one on one in order to understand concepts. How do I know that? Besides our literature-based full curriculum, he is also doing full Acellus, an online curriculum, and he doesn’t seem to get it when the teacher explains new concepts that he hasn’t studied yet. I have to go over again and explain, then he gets it. So my guess is that it will be the same in school. Thank you again for all your thoughts. I am sure I will come back to this thread to read the recommendations, especially the tests suggested by Kbutton. He will have a complete evaluation again in February for ASD,IQ, LD, and academic, so we will see what they recommend.
  24. Lecka, can you tell me how do I find out what options we have in our community? Any organization or website you can suggest? When we tested him, they said he might also have a mild form of autism and anxiety. He has poor communication and very delayed social skills. He moderately stutters also. He can’t do some basic skills like tying shoelaces for ex. Basic things/ common sense are hard for him. I am going to enroll him in a private school next year for the first time, in 9th grade, and see if those life skills will improve. Especially social skills. Some people, including the psychologist, say that his social skills are delayed because he hasn’t been in school at all. I feel that by homeschooling him, he has been able to learn a lot, but I will never know if he is so delayed because “he was sheltered” as the psychologist said. He knows a lot of facts in history, science, math, grammar, a lot more than most peers his age, yet, when he is in a youth group or other people, his social and communications skills withold him from showing how much he knows. Yet, those are just “facts” maybe to pass a test, and these do not really help him in life and in a career where you need problem solving and critical thinking skills. But my husband, who as you said, does not work with him at all, thinks he can succeed in a career that requires systematic work and repetition, such as a programmer or accountant. My husband is a software engineer. I am just more pessimistic because I see him performing in a daily life...
×
×
  • Create New...