Yeah, I looked at that class. They have to use a "real" camera.

Hi Everyone, My daughter is a rising 10th grade student. Here is what she has done for science so far.... 6th Grade: Physical Science with Derek Owens (Pre-Algebra AOPS) 7th Grade: Biology using the Miller Levine text and 26 labs all with full lab reports. (Most of Honors Algebra I with AOPS text...not finished) 8th Grade: Clover Creek Physics (Honors Algebra I repeated, Derek Owens ) 9th Grade: Clover Valley Chemistry (Honors Algebra II Math, Derek Owens) She has no interest in taking an AP science class. She has expressed interest in pursuing an associates degree in computer science (interest is in cyber security) with the goal of cutting time off of school and saving money. However, I am having to balance that goal with making sure she receives a strong high school education. So I am not really sure what I should do next year. Do you think I would be able to pull her Biology credit up from 7th grade? Or do you think I should have her retake Biology again? The associates degree program has her taking a lot of computer science based classes. (See screenshots below.). If she took these as dual enrollment, could I count these as science credits, or would they be better listed under electives?

My children need a visual or performing arts credit in order to be accepted into one of the colleges they are looking at. They really dislike art, but they did both express an interest in photography. We do not have fancy cameras, but we do have iPhones! Has anyone ever put together their own iPhone photography class? If so, what materials did you use? I am also open to suggestions of online classes too. Thanks!

To answer your first question: One option would be Calculus BC this year and then Differential Equations at the community college? That is good advice: And since Derek Owens is self paced, we could go as slow as we need to. And that is one of the reasons I switched to self grading...so I could hand back things that I could tell he rushed through. BUT, the thing is that my son has dyslexia and ADHD. He is very smart, but careless errors seem like they may be a life long problem. (Just like some other things: We continue to work on spelling, but I have come to accept that he will probably never be a strong speller. Our goal is to get by in that area.).

Oh yes! You are correct. At the college he wants to attend, there are actually two physics degrees offered: Physics (from College of Arts and Sciences) and Engineering Physics (from the College of Engineering). (My son isn't really sure which one he should choose yet.). It looks like in all three, you have to take Calc I, II, III, then Differential Equations (ex. https://physics.osu.edu/sites/default/files/2021-06/fe_sample.pdf). ------ I really appreciate all of you taking the time to help. After posting, I realized that I need to better determine what my goals with math should be. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was thinking that we needed to impress this school by demonstrating rigor in math (and we would to that with either with DE or AP classes). Is that a valid concern? I worry also a lot about paying for college (or helping my DS pay for college). So I was also looking for ways to cut the cost down for him. And finally, I have heard that the classes at OSU are a lot more challenging/rigorous than the classes at the community college. So now I worry that he will not be ready for such a challenge. (The general theme of my post seems to be worry~)

I totally understand that! I think it is actually very healthy to "go tough" in some areas and to "go lighter" in others. We do that too in our schedules.

Ugh. Usually I have some idea of what I should do. My son will be a rising junior. So far he has taken Honors Algebra I (AOPS text), Honors Algebra II (Derek Owens), Honors Geometry (AOPS text), Honors Precalculus (Derek Owens). He seems to understand math, enjoys it, and is doing well with Derek Owens, but he makes a lot of careless errors in math. (He will add instead of multiply, write stuff down wrong,....stuff like that.). He says that he wants to major in physics in college at our flagship state university, which is actually pretty selective about who they will accept. I am not sure if that is the best option for him because, while he is good in math, I don't know if he is good enough in math to be a physics major...you know? I am also not sure what types of jobs there are for physics majors. Next year I am trying to decide between the following options: 1). Continue with Derek Owens Honors Calculus since it is working well 2). Take Derek Owens AP Calculus AB...but will the careless errors get him on the AP test? Also, is it looked down upon for a future physics major to "only" take the Calculus AB test? 3). Take AP Calculus BC with Ms. Yen (I've heard she is a great teacher, but again, I have the issue with the concern about the AP test.). 4). Take Calculus I & Calculus II at the community college (may be free...but I don't have much control over the quality of the teacher or the instruction. Also, guaranteed to transfer to our state flagship. I would have to worry about driving my son back and forth, when I have other kids who require a lot of teacher instruction). Any other options? Can anyone just tell me what to do?! (Just kidding about that last part.)

Sorry, Dawn. I don't have the file anymore. I got a new laptop and decided I didn't need that anymore. 😞

Thanks for the instant message. These days I never seem to find the time to see these things. I will send it to you now. I just have to dig it up. 🙂

For those of you who have taken the class, how did you calculate a grade at the end of the year? It doesn't seem like there is much work assigned. I am sure they are great classes, but how did you communicate that in your course description?

Malam, I want to say THANK YOU! Both of your replies to my forum posts (this one and the electronics class post) have been incredibly helpful. You are a wealth of knowledge and have recommended such fun resources.

This would be online. Thanks for letting me know it can be done. I am not so much worried about the workload. DS is the hardest working kid I know and typically takes pretty difficult classes. I was more worried that it would become boring listening to SO much video instruction by the same person. My sons says it won’t be too bad, but sometimes he doesn’t think through situations completely. (Brain still developing on that front!)

Thanks everyone. I actually own the "Art of Electronics" (one of the books recommended on Lori's list). And I think it is brilliant reading. I can tell that it would be WAY too much for my daughter though. It would probably turn her off from the subject.

I am currently making both: one arranged by year and one arranged by subject with date taken column.

Ugh....I am so behind with homeschool planning this year. This is about as far as I have come with my Physics planning this year: My son (rising 10th grader) has so far taken Biology (using Miller-Levine), Chemistry (using Raymond Chang), and is NOW ready for Physics. I currently own the Giancoli book and was planning on using Derek Owen's for physics since it is based on that. (And I could use the textbook for extra practice and review as needed.). However, the problem is.... I am also planning on using Derek Owen's for Pre-calculus. Now I am worried that it is just TOO much Derek Owen's in a day! What do you think? Any other options you would suggest for a Physics class? I can be available to grade and check, but I need something that my son can do MOSTLY on his own. (For what it is worth, when I ask my son what he would like to do as a career he tells me "something with Quantum Mechanics". Last month he said, "something to do with Organic Chemistry". So he probably is headed towards a STEM path.).

Hi Everyone, So far to date, all of my high schooler's classes have used a standard textbook or have been part of an outsourced class. So credits have been easy to calculate and document in my course descriptions. My daughter (rising 9th grader) has spent some time with me this summer doing 19 different Electronics labs/project builds. (They took about 2 hours each to build.). After building them, I had her do a bit of python programing on a microcontroller. (Another 1.5 to 2 hours added on.). I also had her watch a few online videos to learn about basic electronic components. She would like to document this on her transcript. Based on time alone, I was thinking that this could be worth 1/2 credit as an elective. The thing is, we didn't use an actual book. My background is in Electronics Engineering, so I designed many of the labs/projects myself. Others I found inspiration through some various online websites. Should I add on a book or something for her to read, or do you think this sounds like enough to justify a 1/2 credit elective? Also, if anyone has any book suggestions, please share!

I am not RC. I am actually Anglican. And our church board is actually called a vestry. I called in a "board" on this post, because I have discovered that many people aren't familiar with the term. .

My friend (fellow WTM member) and I had SUCH a terrible experience at TPS that I joke and tell people I have "TPPSTD". The Potter's School Post Tramatic Stress Syndrome. We signed up for a French class. The class was SO unorganized I can't even tell you. The teacher's daughter was having a baby, and you could tell that she was very preoccupied with her personal life. To make matters worse, the school also decided to change to this online textbook and online platform this same year---however, the teacher was evidently too busy to test anything (or even look closely!) at any of the assignments or tools she was planning to use. TPS uses an online platform to give assignments, but the TPS website never matched the assignments listed on the new online French platform for the week. The TPS website would list things that were due that we couldn't find anywhere on the online textbook website. (The teacher could have included a link, but she chose not to do that.). So every week we had to email the teacher and clarify what exactly she wanted to be done. That is not too bad, we were willing to send a weekly email to clarify.... but things got worse and worse. For example, at one point and online workbook was assigned. We spent about 8+ hours trying to figure out how to open this workbook. We emailed the teacher and were told, "Oh, I guess it doesn't work. Skip that." (Strangely, none of the other students in the class had contacted her yet even though it was due in 2 days. ???). The teacher also made the mistake of trying to assign every single exercise and assignment in the entire chapter each week--- Not realizing that most modern e-textbooks include more work than any student could possibly complete in one week. I believe the intent is that teachers choose which assignments they think their students complete. But the TPS teacher evidently hadn't looked closely at what she had assigned. (My friend, out of frustration with the ridiculousness of the class, counted it up and there were 56+ hours of work assigned for one week of high school French!). Because of all of this, students would have to contact her each week and clarify what exactly she was expecting them to do and also let her know what things were not working well, etc. Picture long emails with a ton of screenshots. So the teacher would make random changes to the assignments throughout the week. Assignments were given out on Tuesday and due the following week. So many many times my daughter might have spent several hours working through the assignment list only to log in Thursday and realize that all of the assignments she had done were now deleted and different things had been added in their place. My friend was smart. She jumped ship after only a few weeks. When she contacted the school, the school told her that maybe her child was just incapable of succeeding in an online class. We didn't jump ship. We decided to cut the teacher some slack, and we stayed on hoping that the kinks would be worked out soon and things would get better. Bu finally, we couldn't take it anymore! Instead of talking to just the teacher, I brought my concerns to TPS Support. We emailed the school and we were basically told that perhaps my daughter was incapable of learning a foreign language because she was too young. (She was 13 btw). We were also told too that she wasn't mature enough for an online class. (The same thing my friend was told!) I pointed out that my daughter had taken three previous years of Latin with Memoria Press online academy and had earned straight As. She was also a gold medalist in the NLE. And I think that proves, in some small way, that she was indeed capable of learning a foreign language. (In hind sight, I probably shouldn't have gone there.) I also pointed out that my daughter had taken classes with WTMA, Integritas Academy, IEW, Derek Owens and more...and had earned straight As up until his point. She was no stranger to online classes. But instead of apologizing or taking any sort of responsibility, we were told that our child was immature and not capable of learning French at this point.

Please don't quote because I may delete it for privacy reasons. I am trying to work through some feelings I have been having lately. I cannot afford a therapist, so I am turning to the hive. 🙂 (Said with tongue in cheek...partly.) 😉 Over a year ago, I was put in charge of rolling out an entirely new children's ministry program at our church. I am in charge of scheduling lessons, buying (and even making/printing curriculum components), setting up and re-setting classrooms every week, scheduling teachers, putting together training programs, keeping records, filing / maintaining paperwork with our diocese (protection plans, ministry safe training, background checks). Not to mention I usually end up teaching every week because I struggle to find enough volunteers. I do this for both the young children and the youth group. I would say the position is about equal to a full or part-time job. (It usually is a full-time position at most churches, in fact.) However, I am an un-paid volunteer because our church's budget is very small. I am a member of our church board, and there have been a few conversations that have lead me to believe that I am not doing a good job communicating how much time children's ministry takes. The job also does not seem to be valued by anyone in our church. I want to do a better job communicating the importance of children's ministry in a church without sounding like I am tooting my own horn. And I want to do a better job especially conveying how much time and effort it takes to pull each week, without sounding like I am complaining. Any tips? I can give you some specific examples of certain conversations that have left me speechless lately too if that is helpful.

We used Generation Genius for 2nd grade. Add some library books to go with the topics, and I think you come pretty close to a full curriculum. We also enjoyed all of the demonstrations. Lots of fun. 🙂

Hi Everyone, I am trying to decide between the two grammar programs for my 8th/9th-grade daughter. (Not sure what grade to call her at this point.). If you have experience with either, could you compare or contrast them? Thanks!

I didn't mean to correct. I just wanted to share my opinion. 🙂 I am not an expert. I am learning this all right along with you. But there are several ways to calculate a high school level credit. The reason we are going back and forth on this is that a Foreign Language credit isn't standardized. It isn't like an "Algebra I" credit for example. It is more similar to granting a Fine Arts credit for a year of learning to play the piano. Let's say you want to grant your High Schooler a fine arts credit because they spent 180 hours over the school year practicing and learning the piano. Someone might argue, "Yeah, but they only were able to play a simple version of Für Elise by the end of the year, and my third grader is playing that same song." or "My fifth grader has been playing for 180 hours also and they are so much more advanced than your high schooler." (Hopefully, no one would actually say these things, but you get my point.) Obviously, their third grader started learning to play earlier. And obviously, some people can make quick progress with learning an instrument or a foreign language. You don't earn the Fine Arts credit based on natural talent or ability. PLUS, and perhaps more importantly, different High School students have different goals...and colleges know and understand this. A future classics major would probably want to study more Latin than just the Form Series in High school. Whereas a STEM-focused student would probably be just fine going through the Form Series in high school. In fact, at Highland's Latin School (the private school that uses Memoria Press's curriculum), Grades 3-6 are learning Latin Grammar (the Form series), then they go through the Henle series in Junior High, and finally, they spend all of High School (grades 9-12) reading/translating actual classical texts in Latin (Caesar, Virgil, etc.). So you can't go on grade level recommendation alone... especially when you are talking about an advanced/rigorous school like Highland's Latin. If you went by that logic, one might argue that you shouldn't grant a Foreign Language credit for high school Latin unless they are translating Virgil---and that even the Henle series shouldn't count since its recommended age is 7th grade. We know that isn't the case since many people use Henle in High School and count it for credit with no problem. Plus, students need to start somewhere with Latin. Some start earlier and some start later. Both paths are OK. If a student hadn't been through the Form series earlier, it would be close to impossible for them to start reading classic books in actual Latin in grade 9. All this to say: I think that as long as her student is spending at least 180 hours per year devoted to their Latin studies, they can count it as a Foreign Language. --- By the way, this question has been asked so many times at Memoria Press Online Academy that they have a whole FAQ devoted to it. https://www.memoriapressacademy.com/frequently-asked-questions/

I will be the voice of decent. 😉 I think it is fine to give 4 Foreign Language credits for that Latin sequence. In fact, I've seen people give Foreign Language credits for a lot less! I wanted to point out that if a student takes Second Form Latin at Memoria Press's Online Academy in 9th Grade, it counts for 1 high school credit. (See this page: https://www.memoriapressacademy.com/second-form-latin/). In fact, even if they take First Form Latin in 9th grade from Memoria Press Academy, they can count it as a Foreign Language credit. (NOTE: This just works if it is taken in 9th grade. I would not suggest pulling up early credits for 1st-3rd form taken in middle school.) Colleges seem just fine accepting this Foreign Language credit. (Again, you should SEE some of the stuff I see homeschoolers try to count as a Foreign Language credit! ). I also want to point out that if you are following the lesson plans at home, you are probably doing more at home than is required by Memoria Press's online academy. We've done both options, and we always do more Latin when I am teaching as opposed to the online instructors. When I went through the Form series, we spent at least an hour per day for 36 weeks doing our Latin studies---which is plenty of hours to count as a credit if you are taking the class in your 9th grade year. Another reason I personally say that you can claim this as a high school credit is that my son took First-Third Form Latin in middle school and then I moved him to CLRC High School Latin, which uses the Oxford Latin books. It is hard to switch textbooks with a foreign language since what is covered at each level is not standardized. I had to make a guess, so I started him in CLRC Latin II and most of the year was review. He covered very few new things. He also is an NLE Gold Medal winner for the various levels after just covering the form series (plus the MP NLE prep books), which I think helps back up the fact that you can count these for high school credit too! (Just a note: I highly recommend that you study for and take the NLE tests. It will help back up your credits and grades. )

Hello Everyone, My 8th/9th-grade daughter has dyslexia and wants to learn French. Up until now we have been learning Latin together because a) the spelling is VERY regular, b) the grammar is pretty explicit, and c) pronunciation is not as big of a deal as a modern language. However, she really wants to switch to French in High School. I am concerned because I feel like this may be one of the most difficult languages for a person with dyslexia to learn. On the other hand, since she is asking to take it, I would like to find a way to support her. I currently have her enrolled in AIM Academy's French program with Mme Barstow. (I've heard nothing but good things about this class.). I've reached out to the teacher and explained some of my concerns before enrolling my daughter. Mrs. Barstow says that she can work with a child with learning challenges. However, I am still worried that the pace of the class will prove too difficult for my daughter. I am afraid that the class will move too fast, and my daughter won't actually be able to work toward mastery. (But, obviously, it's so hard to predict how she will do. I had some concerns with her learning Latin, but I enrolled her in the Memoria Press online classes in middle school. She was able to earn all As! So she may do great with French too.) I enrolled her in the class because she does not do well working independently. Plus, I have another high schooler and a 3rd grader with learning challenges. So I don't have a huge amount of time to devote to teaching French this year. At the most, I could do an assign and check approach. My question is this: What would you do if you were me? Do I keep her in the class with AIM Academy? Or perhaps try to teach her French at home this year so she can work at her own pace? If I keep her at home, what would I use to teach her (ULAT, Getting Started with French, etc.?) She is currently going through the Paul Noble audio program (listening and speaking only) and Duolingo over the summer to prepare. I also happen to own Getting Started with French.

Thanks! Do you feel it has enough lab work? That is my one concern.