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TarynB

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    Any Physician Assistants or know someone pursing this?

    in The College Board

    Posted

    Listening in . . . my DS is considering nursing or PA as a career path. Lisa R., I hope you won't mind me bumping/adding on . . . 

     

    I looked into PA school before deciding on going the NP route. The other thing she will need, for most PA schools, is clinical hours (some require 2000+ hours) of meaningful (ie most want paid) healthcare experience. So, I would also be thinking about how she intends to get her clinical experience. 

     

    SeaConquest, would you mind sharing what turned you towards nurse practitioner vs. PA? My apologies if you've discussed this on another thread already - maybe you could link me? (googling didn't help me find what seemed pertinent, but I seem to recall you have previous background in the legal profession?).

    Who's in planning mode yet for 2018-19? Want to share?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    This is what we're planning for 11th grade:

    • Pre-Calculus - Derek Owens 
    • Chemistry - Excelsior Classes
    • German 2 - Frau Cruz at Big River Academy (she also teaches for HSLDA Academy on a different day)
    • Essay, Research Paper, and Lit Analysis 8-week writing workshops - WriteAtHome
    • Modern Great Books - WriteAtHome (aka Wasko Lit)
    • US History - with me, to complement the above Great Books class, using The Great Courses and probably A Patriot's History of the United States by Schweikart
    • Fine Arts Appreciation - with me, using The Great Courses 

    Probably adding another science credit - TBD.

     

    Planning on dual enrollment, for the first time, in the spring semester for one class.

    Physics Help

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by TarynB

    Wilson Hill uses the Novare series for science. You can find samples of their books online. The authors are Christian but are not young earth. I don’t know whether that means theistic evolution or just Old earth. For algebra-based high school physics, that distinction might not matter either way.

     

    I think The Potters School also uses at least some of the Novare books.

     

    I would think that WHA physics would be a little stronger than CC as I believe CC uses Conceptual Physics, but am not sure.

     

    Another option is Derek Owens (online but not live).

     

    There are other options than in the listed thread, but it is more difficult to find reviews for them here. For example, some states have virtual schools that are mostly available for public school students, but will allow homeschoolers to take a class. These of course will be secular.

     

    Clover Creek Physics does use Conceptual Physics as its spine, but the instructor includes a lot of problem-solving too. Algebra I is a prerequisite. My son is taking Clover Creek Physics this year and it is an excellent class . . . I agree with all the rave reviews I've read here. 

     

    From their website http://www.clovercreekscience.com/

    the ancillary materials include extensive algebraic-based problem solving

     

    I'm not familiar with Novare/WHA physics to know how it compares.

    • Like 1

    Geometry online curriculum recently recommended here?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by TarynB

    That's good to hear, TarynB. I have heard of others like your son not have a bad experience. Can you tell me how your son normally does with math overall? Does it come naturally to him, does he struggle more than most kids, or..?

     

    I am a bit wary as you were after reading the problems. This is more compounded in this case for our middle dd who struggles quite a bit more with math. I need the program to be very clear and relatively easy for her to follow conceptually after putting in the work. So DO has been great for the most part. But yes, Jacobs 3rd edition may just not fit her learning style along with others.

     

    I'm not exactly sure how to answer that, since he's my only kid and I don't have another to compare him to. Math is not his favorite subject, he doesn't love it, and he has to work at it, but he did earn an A in the DO Geometry course. He's diligent but not naturally gifted in math. He does need to watch the videos and he does all of the assigned work, even the practice problems that are not turned in for a grade. I've read on here about kids who are able to skip watching the videos or who don't have to do all the assigned work and don't seem to require all the available practice. That's not my kid, LOL. He does appreciate DO's organizational skills and clear teaching style. The self-paced format and non-live interaction is appreciated here too. (DS doesn't like live classes that waste time and have distracting chats that veer way off-topic.)

    • Like 2

    Geometry online curriculum recently recommended here?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by TarynB

    I have to chime in and say, my son completed Derek Owens geometry last year as a 9th grader (age 14). I had also read the negative reviews by one parent whose kid took DO geometry, so I was a bit wary and unsure at first, but we did not have a poor experience at all. Completely positive experience for us. It was entirely hands-off for me. When DS (infrequently) had a question or wanted to know more about something, he emailed and got a helpful response quickly. He had no trouble understanding the textbook (Jacobs 3rd edition) or the DO materials, practice problems, homework, tests, etc. Having the proofs graded (in addition to homework and tests) was a huge plus for me. For him, there was no disconnect between the materials assigned. (IIRC, the negative reviews might have come from someone whose child was accomplished and accelerated in math but younger than the typical age for taking geometry. Of course I don't know if that might have had anything to do with it. I don't doubt that anyone could have a negative experience. Any program might not be a good fit for a particular student.) Just our experience, YMMV!

     

    ETA: If deciding between DO and another geometry program, I'd suggest getting a copy of Jacobs Geometry 3rd ed. (which is used in the DO course) and seeing how your DC likes it. It's a gentle form of discovery-based learning and the author has a humorous writing style. If that book/writing style doesn't resonate, move on. Jurgenson is another great choice.

    • Like 2

    Master list of on-line classes...

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I updated a post on the bottom of the first page with my review (so far) of Coram Deo's Intro to Essay Writing class.

     

    Reserving this post for my review (once DD gets her final grade in a couple weeks!) of Lukeion's Advanced Composition and Research Writing class that was brand new this fall semester (2017).

    Edited to add my review of Lukeion's Composition and Research class.

     

    This class was brand new & offered for the first time in Fall of 2017. It is recommended for those working at the 11th & 12th grade level and was taught by Randee Baty.

    The purpose of the class, according to the syllabus, was to "help you understand what makes good academic writing and to help your writing become stronger, faster, more efficient, and more academic in form and tone." In the first nine weeks, the kids wrote six papers of various types (narrative, descriptive, extended definition, etc.). Three of those papers received teacher feedback before the final draft had to be turned in. One was commented on by two peers before the final draft was turned in, and two had no draft versions. They also were responsible for discussion posts based on teacher prompts on the one book they read (Hound of the Baskervilles) during the middle of the course. During the last seven weeks (two of those weeks were holidays & had no class meeting), they were responsible for writing a compare and contrast paper and a research paper - both of which had rough drafts commented on by the teacher.

     

    Pros (for us)

    - This class wrote a lot of papers.

     

    Cons (for us)

    - Teacher feedback (for us) was minimal - both on the rough draft and with the final grade. There was rarely any specific feedback. Mostly, it was general things like, "use more examples" and "your tone is too casual for an academic paper."

    - Grading took a long time (3-4 weeks usually - while two to three other papers were turned in)

    - Teaching was "lecture style" in a once-per-week one hour live meeting with very little student interaction (outside of the chat box) = very easy to tune out. If you wanted to rewatch, you had to request access to the password vs. it just being available to view a section again if you didn't catch it the first time. 

     

    If you aren't a very good writer, I'm not sure this class will get you there with the minimal feedback and honestly, minimal hands-on teaching. If you are already a good writer, I'm not sure what this class will do for you, either. DD is somewhere in the middle. She found out that she can, indeed, write a 3-4 page paper in less than an hour and still get a decent grade. (As her mom, I was glad to see she could churn out a paper in a short period of time, but not so sure I wanted her to get a good grade on her sloppy work. It was a mixed blessing.)

     

    I don't know what level of writers were in the class or what the grading was like (hard? easy? middle?), so it is difficult to know what the teacher was seeing and grading on (vs. my daughter's papers).

    I did see one glowing review of the class on another site, so someone got something out of the class. So, your mileage may vary!

     

    RootAnn, I'm so glad you linked to this updated review post in another thread. I saw it when you first posted but I had missed the update until today. Thank you for sharing your DD's experience with the new-this-year Lukeion class.

    • Like 2

    What computer knowledge do kids need by the time they're done high school?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by TarynB

    My son took the Computer Applications course through FundaFunda Academy (1 credit) and will take their Python programming course (1/2 credit). The skills he learned/will learn in these courses are the minimum that I want him to have exposure and practice with before he graduates high school. You can see what is covered in the Computer Applications course in the syllabus here. Lots of the things mentioned above: word processing, spreadsheets, charts, creating a website, photo editing, and more. Another plus is that this course uses software available online for free (Google Docs as an alternative to Word, Google Slides as an alternative to PowerPoint, etc., but they all work in basically the same way). 

     

    I want him to have at least some exposure to programming. The specific "language" isn't as important to me as the skills learned, since programming evolves so quickly.

     

    Before I started homeschooling, in my career as an accountant, and prior to that, as a lab tech, having basic programming skills was pretty much expected on the multi-disciplinary teams that I worked on and those that didn't had to spend more time to get their jobs done, self-teaching and playing catch-up. Even though programming wasn't an explicit job requirement, it made my life much easier to know the basics. So I think basic programming exposure will be helpful for DS, no matter which career path he takes. Even if DS never does programming as an adult, having a basic understanding of how programming is meant to work will never be a bad thing.

    • Like 4

    What do you consider a reasonable time frame for feedback on papers?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by TarynB

    One more thought: Are your son's papers handed in and returned via some type of online platform or portal? Or is it handled via email? Either way, maybe its possible that your son's paper was returned and he doesn't know it due to a glitch or spam filter or some notification that he didn't get or missed? But still, if that was the case, he should be able to see a grade assigned to that paper, assuming they use a gradebook in an online platform. Definitely have him ask about it.

     

    Let us know what you find out!

    What do you consider a reasonable time frame for feedback on papers?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted · Edited by TarynB

    I would have him ask the instructor. I think that's totally appropriate in this situation. Especially if the paper he's waiting on is the very first paper for that class and the next one is due soon. It's hard to know what the instructor's expectations and suggestions are if the previous paper hasn't been passed back yet. 

     

    My DS is taking a writing class online that has a paper due every Thursday. The previous week's paper is returned on the same day the next one is due. So a one week turnaround, but his papers aren't that long, only 2 to 3 pages. But we knew going in that was how it would work.

     

    If there are not that many papers assigned over the entire course, I can see it taking longer to get feedback, but still, 3 weeks seems like plenty of time to grade and return.

    Well... Canadian dd wrote the SAT this past weekend :)

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Good luck to your DD on the scholarship!

     

     

    And I'm still working towards a start date of Fall 2018 for online high school chemistry courses for homeschoolers. :)  I need to get the website set up so that I can have folks sign up for an email announcement as to when registration will open up.  In addition to the Reg and Hons Chem courses, the Organic Chem/Biochem course that I'm creating for dd for this year seems to be going well so I should have that ready to go, too.

     

    So busy.  So little sleep.  But it's "chemistry busy" so that makes it fun. :p :D

     

    :hurray:  Yay, so glad to hear about the progress on your future online chem courses! Can't wait to learn more!!!   :drool5:

     

    Also glad that you're having fun this year too! Sounds like you're in your happy place.  :)

    • Like 3

    teen flying with friends--anything I need to know

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by TarynB

    My kids have flown without me quite a few times and I've flown with other people's kids. ID was never an issue. They have been asked at times but when they've given their age, TSA just moved on. It wasn't an issue.

     

    Personally, in my experience, it goes a long way toward making the passage through security easier to have boarding pass ready to go and tell the kid to just look secure and confident. The only time I've ever had trouble was when someone elses kid was with me and he mom insisted she give them passport, state ID, letter to allow he to travel with me, etc. When the TSA agent learned she was 15, he was more aggravated by the extra 'stuff' she handed him than anything else.

     

    YMMV, of course, but in my experience, it has never been a big deal.

    Yes, that seems over the top. I don't see a letter as doing much good and doesn't prove identity anyway. And a passport is just overkill (for domestic travel) if you already have a state ID.

     

    And then there was my then-14 year old who got an eye roll and a stern admonishment from a TSA agent because he held up the line when he didn't have his ID out and ready to hand over along with his boarding pass. He was polite and just complied with the demand, even though under-18 isn't supposed to need an ID. What the rules say and the reality of what happens at the gate can be two different things. You can't win sometimes.

    • Like 1

    teen flying with friends--anything I need to know

    in The Chat Board

    Posted · Edited by TarynB

    My son was asked for ID when he flew at age 14 and age 15. After showing his boarding pass, he had to get his ID out. I was with him both times. He's tall, so might appear "older", but he has a young face, doesn't shave yet. It's hard to predict. I'd recommend a state ID especially for a teen.

     

    ETA: domestic flights both times. And recent: fall 2016 and spring 2017.

    More Transcript Questions - Another question!

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    My son is only a 10th grader, so I haven't graduated one yet, but I'm building his transcript as we go. I'm including a statement like the following on his transcript, just above the line at the bottom where I will sign my name as the school administrator:

     

    I hereby certify this is the official homeschool high school transcript for [FirstName LastName] for 2016 - 2020 and the information herein is complete and accurate. I also certify this secondary school education has been carried out in a homeschool setting in compliance with [state Statute Number].

     

    OP, if you wanted to include it, it looks like the applicable state statute for Missouri would be Missouri Revised Statutes §167.031.  http://www.moga.mo.gov/mostatutes/chapters/chapText167.html (scroll down to find Section .031.)

    • Like 1
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