Struggling with how to tackle computation skills with ds who is about to turn 13. He is technically in 7th grade, and he is strong in math, but not advanced. We used Singapore Math K-5, then in 6th grade he did Singapore 6 and some LOF. While he understood the concepts in LOF, I felt like he wasn't getting enough computation practice, so we switched to Khan Math at the start of this year, in part because I feel strongly that his computation skills need to be sharper before he starts algebra. He claims to like it, but in my opinion he is relying too much on the multiple choice options (sometimes using them to avoid actually doing the math), and he still isn't really getting the solid computation practice I am looking for. I am considering switching to AOPS Prealgebra, but I'm not completely sure on that. I have an older ds who used AOPS for all of his advanced math following Algebra I/II and Geometry, and he loved it, but I also have a dd who tried the AOPS Geometry and Counting & Probability and hated both (even though she is a very capable math student). If I can get ds to tackle the program diligently, will it give him the pencil-and-paper practice I am looking for? He tends to get very frustrated with what he perceives as busy work once he has mastered a topic, so I am hesitant to pull Saxon off the shelf. I really feel like with kid #4 this should not be such a struggle! ? Thank you!

Dd is filling out her National Merit finalist application, and one of the questions asks for her first school choice. Can/should she choose "Undecided" in that box? Odds are she is not going to one of the participating schools, but there are two National Merit colleges on her potential list of schools, so she could select one of them. At first I thought she should choose the one she would be more likely to attend, but now I'm wondering if that somehow eliminates other schools from being notified. Thank you!

We used Worldviews: A Children's Introduction to Missions (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989954560/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) last year when my son was in 6th grade, along with the Usborne Encyclopedia of World Religions. The Worldviews book was set up to cover five weeks, although it could easily be stretched to be longer depending on what you add to it. It covered 5 main groups: Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim, and Buddhist. It was a good starting point for us, and I liked that there was a cultural component to the book instead of just dry facts. My high school aged daughter was doing a more thorough study of world religions using World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599823292/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1). That was definitely a high school level text (but that was what prompted me to try to do some world religions work with my middle schooler).

Is there a simple way to print a spreadsheet or list of the lessons for a particular Khan class? It seems like that should be easy enough to do so I can visualize how to spread the course out over the year, but I can't find that anywhere on the dashboard when I'm logged in. Thank you!

Congratulations!!!

bump

My kids take it in the spring of their junior year. I know some kids who wait until fall of their senior year, but typically kids take the ACT and SAT sometime in their junior year, which gives them time to study and retake it if necessary.

Thank you! Fun ideas! I can see why that day would have been a favorite for everyone.

Thank you! Those are good suggestions. I had never considered science experiment tie-ins!

Does anyone have any suggestions for book club activities? We've started a bi-weekly book club for 10-12 year olds this year, and it has been a great experience! The kids discuss the book, starting with questions that are handed out during the club time, then we do some sort of activity, have a snack, and hang out. We've made bookmarks, done origami in shapes related to the story, done simple art projects, and played some games. But some books lend themselves to activities better than others, so I'm looking for some generic ideas for those meetings. For instance, this week we are discussing an abridged version of Oliver Twist -- there isn't really a craft to go along with that! :mellow: If anyone has suggestions, I'd sincerely appreciate it. Thank you!!!

Such a fabulous resource!

We've been enjoying Balderdash and Pit recently!

We are going to NYC for a few days over the holidays, and we are hoping to see a show. I'm not sure what would be appropriate/enjoyable for the range of ages we will have - 12, 16, early 20's, plus dh and me. Is School of Rock good? Is it worth the extra $$ for 6 tickets to see something like Wicked or The Lion King? Is Phantom something that a 12yo would enjoy? Any input would be appreciated! Feeling overwhelmed by this decision, although I'm probably overthinking and we'll enjoy whatever we end up seeing. Thank you!!!

I got distracted from the reason I initially got on this thread, which was to say that we are very happy with dd's score! All smiles this morning. I HATE these standardized tests, so it is some consolation to me when we are happy with the scores. :lol:

Scores can absolutely shift! When my oldest dd took the PSAT (fall 2011), her math score was below where she and I knew it could be. She took the SAT five months later and raised her math score by ~200 points, just by spending some time working through SAT math practice problems 4-5 days/week. I should mention that she did only a little prep for the PSAT, so that was a factor. But my point is that once she had that PSAT score, she was able to focus in on certain things and make gains in her SAT score. Similar situation for my oldest ds (PSAT fall 2013, SAT spring 2014), although his area of focus/score raising was in reading comprehension.

We are in VA, and our scores weren't accessible this morning, either. I called the CollegeBoard and they got me access immediately. The scores weren't showing up because dd's info was linked to 2 accounts - the one for the school where she took the test, and her own CollegeBoard account. So you might be able to get scores with a phone call if there is a similar issue!

Thank you! Helpful input. My dd disliked even the brief how-our-courses-work video, so this is not looking like the right choice for us at this point!

Has anyone used the Schmoop European History course? Trying to cover that with 11th grade dd, and we are floundering a bit from a lack of structure. I'm considering moving to this, but we haven't used any Schmoop courses before. Also, do I need to have both a teacher and a student account, or could I just subscribe to the teacher option and let dd work through that? Thank you!

When we were looking at schools, we didn't look specifically for honors programs in math, but rather at honors colleges within the university. Once we were on campus, we talked with math professors about honors math offerings, but we found that while there are many standard honors courses, often professors will work with students to create an honors section for classes that don't already have them or even create an individual honors-level course where a student works closely with a professor.

I would definitely suggest visiting campuses and talking with math profs, and I would encourage you to look at schools that have an honors college. I have two students currently in college, and both have feel that their honors classes and programs have greatly enhanced their college experience. Both would say that their honors classes have been their favorite classes, in part because they expose them to so many people and ideas outside of their major. As for math, ds20 is currently a math major at George Mason University (in VA). He loves the school, which is very diverse (students from all 50 U.S. states and students representing over 130 countries). It is also a Tier 1 research university with a big emphasis on undergrad research. The math department, while they couldn't give him credit for his high school courses in number theory or combinatorics, was eager to work with him on exempting some of the entry level math classes that he would have taken. He met with his math/honors advisor, and between his transcript and sitting for a test in the advisor's office, they took care of it before he registered for his first semester of classes. When it came to looking at schools, I found it harder to search for ds than I did for dd22 (she graduates in May with a BS in Nursing). EVERYONE has a math program, which was not the case with nursing. So while we had to get much more specific in what features we were looking for at a university even to narrow our search initially, ultimately it helped us to have criteria in mind when we visited campuses and met with faculty.

Thanks for the input! That is exactly what I'm looking for. I may try Paper Rater (free!) instead of spending the $ on something else. Paper Rater also looks a bit more straightforward than MyAccess - there is no login to use the free version, just cut/paste/submit your paper and a report is automatically generated. I'm hoping that it helps with the initial proofreading phase for papers, and at the same time lets the kids polish their papers without having to wait on me for personal input. I also found reviews yesterday for the Hemingway App http://www.hemingwayapp.com/. It looks like it focuses less on grammar and more on readability. My kids take writing input from me very personally (not always in a good way!). So while I am looking for a tool to teach them editing skills, I am also hoping for something that lets us skip some emotional moments centered on verb tenses and passive voice!

Both! The schools my kids were applying to seemed to favor the SAT, but accepted either score, so we prepped for the SAT and took it first, then did more minor prep for the ACT a few months later. Dd scored slightly better on the SAT; Ds scored better on the ACT. For me, it was completely worth the peace of mind to have both scores to present to schools (it felt like they were validating the transcript and other scores), and it stopped me from wondering, "What if...?" Also, after prepping for one, it was a simple task to prep for the other. Really, the only thing we did for the ACT was to take a few practice tests in advance, and since the kids already had SAT scores they were happy with, it didn't seem to put much pressure on them to take another.

I am looking to use an automated writing feedback program with dd15. My plan is for her to be able to use it for her own editing on essays wrt grammar, readability, etc. before she submits her essays to me. Does anyone have any input on either My Access (http://myaccess.com) or Paper Rater (http://paperrater.com)? Thank you!

Another resource at the high school level is the Crash Course History series (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBDA2E52FB1EF80C9) on YouTube. I believe there are study guides available online that correspond to it, or you could use the videos as a starting point and then look for more in-depth books and documentaries to add to the videos. I haven't seen all of them, but there is a little bit of language in some of the videos, so you may want to preview them if that would be an issue. Other than that, I was suprised at what a good overview of history they provided.

Thank you for the input! I may have her try the C&P class this summer. That seems like it could be "fun" for her. We have been part of a school-year math club for several years, which is great, but it shifted this past year to be more of a critical thinking gaming group as most of the kids are not interested in taking the AMC at any point. Dd loves the group, but would actually like to take the AMC10/12 as well, so I may have to try to find her an online math club or add that in here somehow to her math routine. Thanks!