Roy, have you ever had advanced middle school students in your classes or are they restricted to high school age students?

I can say that, at the SD Academy location, and I would imagine the other locations as well, the demographic is almost entirely public and private afterschoolers taking these classes for extra challenge or (more likely, I think) accelerating so that they can compete in math competitions and, by the time they take the classes in their regular schools, get a very high grade with relatively little effort.

I'm with you. If I had to endure it, I suppose that I could. But, it certainly would not be my preferred method of instruction, and I say this as someone who has a lot of experience with distance learning modalities. I've never encountered any other all text-based program like AoPS. Can some extremely bright students manage it? Sure. But, IMHO, it is not the best way to teach the vast majority of students (regardless of age).

I think this is an important point. By the time the kids get to you in pre-calc, they've self-selected quite a bit to the format of those classes. So, even among our mathiest kids, you're only seeing that segment who have been able to keep up with the pace of the online classes and can deal with the all-text format. You're also seeing kids who have grown a huge amount in their mathematical maturity from when they first started AoPS with PA.

Wingspan arrived today, but promptly was added to my wall of shame because I don't have time today to play. 😞

I hope that means that we will finally get more RR videos at the Geometry and above levels!!

Oh, I show him how to use the textbook, and I model that that is the first thing that I turn to -- especially since the problems say explicitly look at problem X in the textbook (and it has been FOREVER since I have done any math). He is currently in PA, but finishing up the geometry section and heading into statistics and some basic counting. It's not that there is a particular kind of problem that trips him up, it's just that when he gets tripped up, he has an aversion to the textbook. It is dense and wordy and no fun for a 10 year old like BA was. I don't think he feels like he knows how to learn from it yet either. But, I do show him how I use it and model it for him. It's just going to take time. The difference is that Lewelma's son only had the textbook for those first 3 years of algebra. He had to struggle through with it and learn how to learn from it. And all those skills he learned paid off in spades for him. Sacha hasn't really had to learn to do that yet. He has gone from doing BA mostly orally in my lap to BA online to now Academy classes with a live lecturer, separate in-class "extension" activities, and the online homework system. Like I said, when he gets stuck, he struggles with it for awhile, and then will turn on an RR video to see if it helps refresh before he calls me for help. So, the textbook is used very little, and that's a shame, but it's also a function of the fact that we've been outsourcing.

I think that was true when I was more hands on with him, in the early days of BA, but before he was at the Academy and BA online came out. I guess, once I started shelling out the $$$$ for the live instruction, I became a lot more hands off. He also became a lot more independent just naturally. I mean, he's basically doing the entire Python class himself now. I can't help him with that stuff at all. So, yes, when it was him and I reading the BA books together, I could guide him, but now that he's more independent, he's still not yet at the point that he's getting it from the textbook. Hopefully, he's getting it from the lectures. I hope!

As I recall, your son was a bit "older" when took those courses. From my perspective, working with a relatively young kid, I don't think he really gets the whole "discovery method" thing yet. I'm not sure that he really understand that that's what happening. I see it, you see it, your son saw it, but I think it's a math/overall maturity thing. I am not sure that my son really has the mathematical maturity yet to really get it. At this point in his math career with AoPS, he has only really done (that he remembers), BA online and now the AoPS Academy online format, so he's never done any of the problems in the textbooks, and I don't think he really "gets" how to use the textbook yet. He goes to his academy lectures, and if he cant figure out how to do a problem, he will struggle through it for awhile and then call me. He may remember to look at the videos, but he will never look at the message boards (which are not really used in his class) and he will never look to the textbook (which is always the first thing I will grab). As he gets older, I assume that he will learn how to learn from a textbook, but (at 10) he is just not there yet.

Rush, Sacha is taking Clover Creek Physics next year and he's only had AoPS PA. We just supplemented his Algebra skills with the first part of the CTY/Thinkwell Honors Algebra course (before we dropped it -- waaaaay too many problems) and selected problem sets from Dolciani and Jacobs Algebra. I really don't think you need to have completed AoPS Algebra in order to take the course (mine will also be taking AoPS Algebra at the Academy concurrently, which is 36 weeks, and includes C&P) -- just any Algebra course. I think the point is just to be able to solve physics equations using algebra. You might email Jetta to see what specific algebra skills are required to be successful in the course, but AoPS Algebra skills are overkill IMHO.

I bought it as well, but I think the deal is already dead. 😞

Did you ever get help with this? I never saw a PM, so if you need any help, please let me know. 🙂

I just wish they'd just get rid of that G-d-forsaken text-based format altogether. I mean, this isn't 1997. How hard is it to implement Canvas or Moodle or GoToMeeting? What about the kids that need a little audio/visual stimulation? I know the classes sell out each time, but Square, have their been any discussions about changing the format to something more appropriate for a wider variety of learning styles? That would be at the top of my AoPS wishlist, along with financial aid.

I am super excited because my copy of WINGSPAN is finally on its way!!! I also recently ordered (but haven't yet played) Lisboa, Doppelt/Twice As Clever, Railroad Ink, Brass Birmingham, and Century Eastern Wonders (the sequel to Century Spice Road). I'm waiting for our summer charter school money, so I can buy a bunch more games that I have in my wishlist. We've been playing a lot of Splendor, Battle Sheep, Sagrada, Camel Up, and Memoir 44 lately (my older DS is taking a WW2 history class using Memoir 44). I'm trying to get my DH to play heavier games with me.

Posting in case it helps others with 2e kids: http://schoolslegalservice.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2017/09/2-2E-Students.pdf

I'm slammed right this second (my parents are on their way over), but read Wrightslaw in the 2e section. I can paste my letter later.

This is a common misconception and a way that school districts try to weasel out of paying for services, but completely false. I fought for Sacha to be properly assessed for LDs. The school came back with that same tired line. I sent them a letter, informing of them of what the law actually says on the matter, and lo and behold, he was was referred to special ed for an iep meeting. Testing eventually showed that a 504 plan would be more appropriate in his case, but please do not let the school try to dissuade you from getting necessary services. I can paste a copy of my letter if you'd like.

So, I forgot that I took this video a week after we moved in. We moved in and then immediately went on a road trip wine tasting and to Joshua Tree, etc. Anyway, the place is a total disaster, and doesn't show the upgrades that we have done in the three years since, but it gives you more of an idea. I will switch it back to private eventually.

This is like the one I would have bought:

Their model is actually older than ours, so there are some differences: We have a king bed, a washer/dryer, a dishwasher, stainless appliances, and nicer finishings (nicer lights, a sprayer sink, stuff like that). You cannot tell in the video, but there is actually a bathtub and the RV has very high ceilings everywhere except that master bedroom, so you don't feel closed in. The patio provides tons of natural light. I have a flower/herb garden hanging from the railings and we have a gas patio heater outside with some comfy zero gravity lounge chairs from Costco, so we can enjoy our view of the water year-round. Ours has a TV in the master bedroom and a much larger TV in the kids room where they play video games. Yes, that is 4 TVs! We kept the couch that came below the bunk because the kids hang out there (the bed goes up), and the couch folds out into a bed for sleepovers. We have tons of books all along the back wall of the boys room, make copious use of the library and our charter school resource center, and they listen to lots of audiobooks. Where they have that little couch in the entry and their essential oils, we ripped out the couch and turned that into a desk area with storage for school stuff and board games, and a faux fireplace heater where the oils were above the desk. But yes, the RV and the boat both hold a ton of stuff. We also have an enormous underbelly for storage, a 300 sq feet storage space, and our actual business location. I really wanted a 45 foot toy hauler that was even cooler than this model (it had two patios -- a side patio and a back patio), but we would have had to get a dually truck to tow it and my husband didn't want to get that as a daily driver in SD. It was also going to be 30k more expensive (plus another 15k more for the dually), so we compromised on this model. Man, that toy hauler was cool though. The issue they were having with the water was (as I recall) because their little girl flooded their back bathroom. I think she left the faucet on and it flooded the whole place or something. I only vaguely recall what happened, but no, no water issues for us. In the summer time, we generally take the RV either to the repair shop with a punch list of things to fix and tell them to give it back to us at the end of the summer (they are happy not to have to fix it in a rush) or we park it at a friend's house who has some land (about 45 mins outside of downtown SD). Other people from Campland just go to RV parks that have summer monthly rates and then come back in September.

But, this was basically his best friend. Someone he was with regularly where he lives and at school, that he had known for 5+ years, and had no reason to suspect would end the friendship because he'd done nothing wrong, no argument, etc. So, it was very sudden and shocking for him.

Right, like that's the thing. Generally, I am in favor of letting them work it out. If my kid is too immature for him, let him communicate that and him and my kid work it out. But, the parents got involved and basically said that the kid wanted to end the friendship. And my husband made it clear that if they did this to my kid, there was no going back a year from now when their son inevitably changed his mind, like you said. When kids are left alone, friendships often move in and out, and kids learn how to navigate those situations.

I don't know. We were friends with the parents as well. They actually gave us the idea to move into the RV and move to Campland. I didn't even know this place was here until we came to visit them. We lived very close to their old house when we lived up the hill. So when they moved to the RV, we came to visit them here and I was just amazed at this place -- it was like kid heaven. Meanwhile, our HOA had so many restrictions, the kids couldn't do anything. When I told my husband that I wanted to move to Campland, he thought I was joking, but we did it shortly after they did. And the boys were so happy for two years here, doing everything together. The whole thing was just weird. Weird and inexplicably sad.

Yes, Heartland Gateway. I have no idea about any offgassing, but I haven't noticed any weird smells. This is our third season here.

It's pretty cool for the boys. They like that they have free range within the campground as long as they follow our few safety rules. And the rangers know all the kids and patrol all around (mostly to keep adults in line). It's rare to find a campground like this in the middle of a city -- not to mention steps from the beach -- so it's nice to kinda have the best of both worlds. And I have a dishwasher and washer/dryer etc, so it's not like I'm roughing it. 😉