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shawthorne44

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Everything posted by shawthorne44

  1. Some more thoughts. We will sign DD up for more AOPS online math classes. It has been pretty intense, particularly after she reached the point where she'd hadn't done the alcumus or even read the book. If I had a redo, I'd have her do all the geometry alcumus, and one challenge problem from the book for each week's material before starting the class. She'll do AOPS until she has done all the basic classes, then switch to college classes. I know the college classes will be easier, so there will be no going back to AOPS after college classes.
  2. We are in Week 19-ish. I am really impressed with the Geometry class. She has figured out if she gets the challenge problems done right the first time, she gets a high score on it, and therefore has to do fewer challenge problems. She got a low score on the last writing problem, so I'll be looking over her next one. I'm pleased that the next three weeks are A.G., and then the final two weeks are an intro to trig. I'm also impressed with the challenge problems. I'll look at them and think, "There isn't near enough information provided." But there is. Like one recently where the provided info was the areas of the three different sides of a rect. prism, and the volume was needed. The solution is elegant. The instructor(s) have been very patient with my daughter.
  3. She's 13, so teenager with all that comes with it. Just this morning I said to her, "Ask the question. It shows you are engaged with the work. I can't answer because I haven't read the book." The response was a teenage dismissive noise. The videos are really nice. She'll miss those. She did ask what it takes to be a Math Tutor as if that might be something she'd want to do in the near future for extra money.
  4. It is now Week 15. She's gotten into the groove. daijobu wasn't joking about Week 7. This is her report card so far. Notice which one she struggled with. I also still struggling getting her to ask them questions. She'll ask me, and I don't know and I'll tell her to post a question. I look later, and she hasn't. Why doesn't she listen to me? She isn't a week ahead like I'd hoped for, but she is at least caught up, and she's done this week's Proof. In addition to proofs, this has also been an introduction to note taking, at least taking notes from the book. I definitely want her to stay with the AOPS online classes. Although, as a break I might have her do the Number Theory book on her own, and Algrebra 1 drills.
  5. As far as level, we are talking Algebra 1 equations. It isn't precisely that she can't do the problems. But it is like with the multiplication tables, she could figure out what 7x8 was. But, before pre-multiplication drills, she'd think "Well, 7x7 is 49 and add another 7 ..." I remember I didn't get the Algebra intuition until I was taking Trig EA. The instant recognition that if variables are on the bottom of a fraction move them to the top by multiplying. Then do what is needed to move the variables to one side, and the number-only things to the other side. She isn't to that point yet.
  6. For math. daughter has done Beast Academy and some AOPS. She is in Intro Geometry now. I realized that she needs more work in simplifying expressions. Just like she'd needed more work with the multiplication table. Anyone have a suggestion? Online or book would be fine, but it would have to be self-paced if online. I think once she gets the "click" where everything falls into place, she'll be fine on that and I'd hate for her to waste time.
  7. Mainly because it is a physical job, I'd insist on the AS that you were thinking of. At some point in the future if he was physically incapable of being a cowboy he'd be much closer to a more specific degree. Also, imagine at some point in the future he can't be a cowboy anymore, and all he has is a mommy high school degree? He'd be in a much worse place. Your DH needs to deal with the idea that this son won't get a college degree. That isn't in the cards.
  8. I wonder if part of the specialization of classes is to make it appear that the survey class was taken care of already. Like in math, if the High School transcript has Cal III and Differential Equations on it, then Algebra, etc are assumed to have been taken beforehand. Of course the specialized classes aren't a part of a progression, but the gut might think otherwise. History being interesting was one of the shockers of post-college life. Test or no test, it is like it is generally deliberately taught to remove all interest. Which when you think on it should be hard to do since history is really the interesting, important bits of Life in the past.
  9. Even experienced teachers get behind, and that is why I really don't have a problem with standardized testing. They may be teaching to the test, but at least they are teaching something more than their pet topics. In Texas History, the teacher spent 3 months on the conquistadors, 3 weeks on just the Alamo, including a week of watching the old movie, and 3 DAYS on the Civil War. This summer, we will be in Kansas City, and it seems that there is a good WWI Museum there. So, I'm looking into WWI audiobooks. My education consists of that World History teacher telling us to remember that Italy was with us on one war and against us the other, and the Monty Python skit explains the WWI origin.
  10. I am 53. The one and only time in public school that my class finished the textbook was in APUSH class. It was really nice. Didn't happen again until graduate school, and I even commented on it to that professor. I have large gaps in my history knowledge, for example WWI and WWII were mentioned together in part of one class in World History.
  11. It was a challenge problem. I didn't know that. Although I'll happily let DD stay in ignorance. Plus, I am a bit peeved with her at the moment. She got a 0 on a writing problem because she copied it straight from Google. Then yesterday she 'cleaned' the living room and put a pile of papers that I'd needed to sort through (and contained some important ones) into the burn pile next to our wood stove. It also contained a school book and one of her treasured Lego books. Because of the Lego book I don't think there was malice, just laziness. But, now my sort pile just got MUCH bigger.
  12. The holiday breaks seem nicely generous. They tell you ahead of time what days there won't be classes, but I must have miscalculated because I was thinking only one week off for Christmas. This is a screenshot from her report. The Date column is the class date. Daughter spends a week at Camp Grandparents before Christmas, so this two weeks off will be nice. I want her to stay a week ahead so that when we cruise for a week in Feb. she won't get behind. She's had to request an extension last week because she'd had one problem for Week 5 that wasn't done. That was approved automatically. I don't know if that was because it was the week of Thanksgiving, or her first time to request.
  13. I think a lot of it was DD. She somehow forgot that Week 5 existed. Looking back when she should have been working on Week 5 she was working on the next Alumnus, which I think is assigned in late Feb. Then she did half of week 6. Then when I pointed out that No, she hadn't done week 5, then she panicked.
  14. Last two sections of Chapter 5, and first two of Chapter 6.
  15. Week 5 is due on the 20th. It has started to get real. Of course, a big problem was that DD kept looking at week 6 when I was telling her to get week 5 done. So, she's got a few challenge problems done in week 6. I'm hearing some complaints because she is having to work.
  16. Daughter and I have been really really enjoying this one. Available on Audible Plus. How to Listen to and Understand Opera By: Robert Greenberg, He starts out with the history and how it evolved then goes on to the different schools of opera. He has many clips and we've bookmarked several of them and listened to them over and over again. He loves opera so deeply that his attitude is "Of course everyone would love opera if they just gave it a try." (I think he is correct). He is also entertaining. I'm considering spending some Audible credits on his that aren't on Plus or Kanopy.
  17. We are in week 3. Her first proof was very weak but that was to be expected. They provided an example for her to use for the next one, and the second one she did looks much better to me. Still happy with the class. She isn't complaining and she isn't behind.
  18. She told me yesterday that the kids talk before the class started. Apparently they all said that their favorite game was (I forget). But that she'd checked out the game and thought it was dumb. But the important part was that she seemed to enjoy that little bit of connection with random kids. Note, we don't keep her locked in a basement, but we do live in a small town.
  19. You know what, it is. I'm a little more involved than I'd rather. but really all I do is to remind her to "Do Science" and also give her the test. He goes over the test with her, and the other stuff. We had gotten a textbook that came with a matching exam creator CD. So, I make up the end of chapter exams too, and I enjoy that.
  20. Thoughts after the first week. I am pleased with the level of the challenge problems. Also that they required the challenge problems and not added in a bunch normal problems beyond the alcumus. Kids can do the problems in the book as needed. I'd gotten one of the problems wrong when DD asked me about it, she had been right. 🙂 I'd been wrong about when the homework was due. Week 1 homework is due around the time of the Week 2 lecture. So, they have about two weeks from when the homework was given. Unrelated, but y'll might be amused. Heard in our house yesterday. Me: "Hey, why aren't you still working on your science test?" DD: "Oh, sorry, I got distracted." Me, "Was a cat involved" DD: "Noooo (embarrassed) " Me, "Then there is no excuse"
  21. Also, to be fair, alcumus has videos of the fearless leader explaining things.
  22. So, she did her first class. She said it was cool. The class wasn't quite what I expected since it didn't have sound. But it seemed to work. They post homework a week in advance, so they had the Week1 homework posted before the class started. Then the homework is due a couple of weeks after. So that seems that it allows a lot of flexibility for people like us that take random breaks when other people don't. For example, we have a week-long cruise in Feb. Deliberately scheduled for when other kids are in school. As a Nervous Nellie, I wish they posted work more than a week in advance. But I admit that is just me. I'd rather she stay two weeks ahead.
  23. Well, the direction I ended up going doesn't match my original plan, but I like it. I'd picked out some history and literature audiobooks for her to listen to. I could tell she needed something to do with her hands while listening and I'm the same way, so I understand. Now she plays her favorite video games while listening to what I picked out. The monitor she uses is the big, main computer one that I can easily see if I turn my head while WFH. She's building houses in SIMS4. I didn't want the video game to be too intense and distracting. She finished everything I picked out, and now she's picking her own from the Great Courses and then showing it to me for approval. For example, she picked out the History of the Bible course.
  24. Class starts Sunday. We are a bit excited. I imagine that the Alcumus problems are the easiest of the ones for the class. But, the geometry alcumus problem seem much easier than the algebra alcumus. Maybe because she's familiar now with the non-comic book textbook and the online problems. But she's getting to Mastery in about 10 minutes per lesson. Or maybe the Beast Academy geometry stuff prepared her well. I told her about many in the class having already had Geometry at a middle school and she said blithely, "I've had it too," referring to the BA stuff. She also already knew about the Whisper thing. Kids these days know so much. According to her the Whisper function is when you might be asking a dumb question.
  25. Yeah, I hear you on that. Both DH and I have Physics degrees, which meant we had enough math classes to double major in Math. Those geometry proofs just aren't our thing. When the answer should be 7 and she tells us 9, there isn't an argument that "the answer is fine." I could totally see that happening with Proofs. I'd been wanting to ease her into official classes with lectures, grading, etc. anyway. So, this seemed like a good time to basically pay someone else to grade. We also need to work on her showing work in a linear fashion. She tends to treat "showing work" in a scratch-pad manner. So, she she'll on this part of the page, then runs out of room and picks a random blank spot on the page to continue. Drives me batty. Proofs, since the middle part is important, that won't fly. I also told her to review the stuff online on how to do geometry proofs. She showed me recently the 5 trial runs she did to figure out an alcumus problem. It described some triangles, then she had to correctly draw it in order to get the answer.
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