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at the beach

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Everything posted by at the beach

  1. That seems like a good reason to me to stick with Kolbe. :) I would not worry about the honors designations unless using one of Kolbe's courses as written. Then, I'd probably consider doing the honors version. I would think your child would still apply to colleges as a homeschooler, right? You can explain in your homeschool profile that you used Kolbe for purposes of having a third-party transcript and diploma, and you could also explain your personal philosophy on challenging/most rigorous curriculum and how you handled that. HTH.
  2. Mary, Nice to "see" you! And congrats to your dh!:)
  3. AO has suggestions for how to do this, possibly on the website or forums from what I recall. You could label your transcript by subject instead of year. In your course descriptions, you can explain how your half credit government credit was completed.
  4. I'm so sorry for the loss of your little boy.
  5. Read the REA Crash Course test prep book. My daughter took this exam last year as her first AP and scored a 5. She thought the REA book was very helpful. If your local bookstore doesn't have it, you can get it for the Kindle. Best wishes!:)
  6. I have not read all the replies you have received. I looked at your signature line. It looks like you have him in a lot of academic coursework. Two languages, for example. And to me, it seems like some of the coursework you have listed would require a fairly mature kid. Omnibus, for example. But then when I read the above quote of yours, it sounds like you are talking to a pretty young child or a child who is immature for 13. And I am not saying there is anything wrong with the way he is. Just that you need to take his maturity or lack thereof into account. As well, it sounds like he is uninterested in academics. I would tell him when he's old enough if he wants to get a job at McDonald's, I would be thrilled. :) And then move on. I would tell him we need to do certain academic subjects like reading, and writing, and math, and he needs to learn certain aspects of history and read certain lit books, etc. But maybe this is a kid who would prefer the stack of Lifepacs, CLE workbooks…or something else along those lines. If he doesn't understand that he can't earn enough $ at McDonald's to fund his education through flying school anytime soon, is he really at a point where he's mature enough to deal with discussion questions in Omnibus? And if he is as uninterested in academics as the quote above indicates, why two foreign languages, why MCT? I guess I am missing something. As well, you--based on the above quote--are engaging in this unrealistic flying idea (since you can't pay and nor can he, not to mention the concern (IMO) regarding whether he's mature enough to fly planes at this stage of his life) with him by talking to pilots, etc. I hope this doesn't sound harsh. Best wishes.
  7. I agree. My daughter is in Lili Serbicki's AP English Lit this year and will be taking the AP exam Thursday. It has been a great experience here, too. My daughter did not take AP Language prior to Lit.
  8. We would love to join the birthday shower!:) Please pm me Rowan's address.
  9. I haven't looked at these in a few years and never used the upper levels. I did not realize there was a 2013 edition. I had considered the upper levels at one point in time, and I recalled reading some positive reviews of them, so just wanted to share that. When I considered them, I intended to use them without using any previous levels.
  10. Here is a link to an old thread you might be interested in reading: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/67899-llatl-what-are-your-opinions-for-middle-and-high-school/?hl=%2Bllatl&do=findComment&comment=654984 Here is Cathy Duffy's review: http://cathyduffyreviews.com/phonics_reading/learning-language-arts-through-literature-gold.htm HTH. :)
  11. Hi again, Teachin'Mine. A bit of a hijack here. I am also looking at calculus options for next year. We're considering cc but I am also interested in considering a home-based option over the whole year that will cover one semester of college level calc. How do you think it would work to do Saxon Calculus (first edition) w/o having used Saxon before--and assuming the student has the appropriate preparatory work and is ready for a calc course. Thanks. :)
  12. Absolutely!:) It was a Saxon question. I will try to locate the thread and ask there!
  13. Teachin'Mine…I wanted to send you a pm about something, but there is always an error message. I think there is a problem with you receiving private messages. It says your name has to be fully typed in the recipient box??? I thought I recalled someone else saying this in another thread. Hope you see this!
  14. Rosa, Here is my opinion: Stick with what works. :) You have a child who is enthusiastic about continuing something. I would do that. For one, she may not respond to online classes in the same way as live classes. Also, in the long run, IMO if she can possibly get a letter of recommendation from a live instructor that would be better than an online instructor. There have been conversations on hs2coll (a yahoo group, which if you don't belong to, you should join) about AP vs dual enrollment. I was surprised at how many people talked about the benefits of college classes over online AP--even people whose kids had ended up going to top colleges. Plus, you are talking about a university here, not even a community college, right? So, you don't even have the alleged community college stigma. She sounds like a great 14 yo. :) She is very young yet. You said she gets stressed somewhat easily, so I'd pay attention to that. I would respect her opinions on what she wants and doesn't want to do within reason. When homeschooling high school, you really need a teen to be on board as much as possible IMO. Her request for the Great Books class seems totally reasonable and it makes sense to me. It doesn't make sense to me to stop that or switch to something else when it's worked well so far. I would be careful with taking away things she enjoys and replacing them with something that might actually be less worthy in the end, especially, just because it has the AP label. And yes, I think adding in the Geography AP sounds like it would be too much for next year.
  15. No, advice, Jen. Just :grouphug: .
  16. I totally understand that how to educate him is your family's decision. Is public school out of the question? What is the draw for him there? I think you have relationship issues going on here, and I would try to deal with that. You said, "It get's complicated, but the main thing for now is time management." However, if other issues are at the root of this, I don't think you'll be able to address time management until you address the other issues. From reading both of your posts, it seems possible there could be more going on. There's only so much you can do to make a teen do things your way. Sorry I don't have better advice than that. :grouphug:
  17. It doesn't necessarily sound like she is unmotivated but that maybe the work is just too overwhelming for her. :grouphug: It is very hard to get a clear perspective when you are the one dealing with her and are very close to the situation. It can be hard to be objective. You also have a full plate it sounds like! You said she is a "weak reader." In your shoes, I would scale way way back on content and focus exclusively on skills for a while. Reading, writing, and math and in doses she can handle. If she has been overwhelmed, you might actually need to de-school for a while--but that doesn't mean watching TV 24/7. Obviously, this is JMO. And for her to work somewhat independently, you may have to have her working at a lower level than what you think she is capable of. For content, I would have her try watching documentaries and do some project-oriented learning in areas that interest her. Would she like creating blogs, power points, posters, growing a garden, getting a part-time job, learning a new skill? I strongly second the suggestion to get an evaluation. You can do that through your public school. You could be dealing with poor working memory among other things. None of this may be her fault, or anyone's fault! Focus on relationship. Academics are not the most important thing. When you say she wants to sleep or listen to music in her room, I think she could just be somewhat depressed about the situation. You haven't said what her interests are, her hopes for her future? Is she involved in volunteering in the community? What is her social life like? Lots of questions, I know. Best wishes to you and her.
  18. :hurray: Major congratulations to you and your son! Enjoy celebrating his accomplishment! :party:
  19. Hi, Lynne, First, I am quoting you below by copying and pasting. For some reason the quote feature wasn't working for me. "I truly love working with my older kids. This year, with this ds, we've read the Iliad and now the Odyssey aloud together, working through the MP guide. That's what tears me up, to think of giving that up, and giving up on him--which is what I feel like I'm doing. I'm not super-duper organized, though, and keeping on top of all his subjects for 36 weeks...I have to be honest with myself and know it ain't gonna happen. Maybe, as someone logically pointed out, I could find a way to outsource just the most difficult-to-keep-up-with subjects." Okay, based on the above, here are some thoughts: One thing I would outsource would be writing. We love Write at Home. The classes are highly efficient and you can choose a year-long high school composition option. Teaching writing can cause conflict with teens, and Write at Home is an excellent option and well worth it. Also, based on the above, I would continue with reading together and discussing. You can do this for English and even history. I would look look into doing literature and history in a more unschooling way, or as Brenda pointed out, utilizing Homeschool Connections via the $30 a month plan. There are so many ways you could do literature and history in a relaxed way but in a totally productive way. For math, I'd go with something he can do on his own or if you need to step in you can (or get a tutor). For science, what is he interested in? I read a book called, Homeschooling: A Family's Journey (published in 2008) and they used TTC Joy of Science as a spine for high school level science studies. You might want to see if you can read this book. I found this book very encouraging and inspirational. http://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Familys-Journey-Martine-Millman-ebook/dp/B001EYD1N4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392727954&sr=8-1&keywords=homeschooling%3A+a+family%27s+journey I will also add that I do not think online classes necessarily result in more accountability. It's not the same as a live class IMO. I think it still feels much more detached to kids, maybe? I think finding ways to get your son to buy into homeschooling is the way to go. Along with lots of oversight and some outsourcing of things (writing has been a big one here). Also, it helps me to keep in mind that if kids are reading a lot over the areas of literature, history, and science and discussing, writing, and focusing on math, they are learning necessary skills to succeed IMO. Best wishes. :grouphug:
  20. Yes! I think this drive for everyone to have credentials stems from compulsory education to an extent--JMO. There exists the idea that people can't be well-educated at whatever unless they have a document that says so and unless they have spent time in a traditional school setting. The push for standardization and credentialing for everything is bad IMO. Yes, for some things you need credentials, but for others not so much. As for the whole notion that college is worth it, yes and no. Depends on the person. Depends on the debt. I think studies like this can sometimes have the effect of giving people the go-ahead to take on lots of debt for a very tenuous benefit. I think studies like this help colleges stay in business and make it easier for colleges to keep raising tuition. Private student loans should be able to be discharged in bankruptcy. Then, banks would not hand out money so recklessly to people who will likely never pay it back. There are ways to get a college education without a lot of cost if you want that. You and/or your parents do not need access to huge amounts of $ via private loans, regardless of your ability to pay it back, so that you can get an undergrad degree. Also, don't be lulled into thinking some degrees pay off and others don't. Times are hard. Jobs are scarce. I hear of engineers and other STEM-degreed people who can't get jobs. It's not THAT uncommon. There are too many people I know who are willing to take on huge debt for a degree (way more than the government subsidized amount), and they do not care after the fact if they can't pay the debt. It is just this thing out there that doesn't really impact them all that much. It's a huge problem IMO. If the gov't has to come up with loan repayment programs where after X years your debt is wiped out or you pay based on your income, not your debt, and so on, there seems to be a problem. There must be quite a few people with more debt than they can handle, and that is not a good thing. JMO.
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