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CAtoVA

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Everything posted by CAtoVA

  1. Well, this is the year to ramp up all the (online) DE as DD is starting to finish up some of her "required" courses for high school which will empty her schedule for the "fun" courses she WANTS to take. Online DE classes lasting 8-15 weeks suit my daughter quite well because she typically gets bored with a class after 15 weeks unless it's something she absolutely loves. Language Arts/Literature: Fall & Spring: Continue with home-made literary analysis of various texts and working through her reading list. I am College Board approved to teach AP Literature so I plan to integrate some AP type of assignments into her curriculum. Also, she has finally talked me into teaching a class at our local co-op; it will be a low-key, discussion only teen book club which she will attend. Language Arts/Grammar & Composition: Fall: Continue with writing across the curriculum using various college textbooks such as Everything's an Argument, Patterns of Writing, etc. I am College Board approved to teach AP Language so I plan to integrate some AP type of work into the curriculum. She also will work on Easy Grammar 11th grade and sentence combining and style to "keep sharp". Sadlier Vocabulary will round out her Language Arts program. Spring: Probably, DD will take DE English Composition 102. She took DE English Comp 101 in the fall of 2023 and did well. She will continue with Easy Grammar, sentence work, and Sadlier Vocabulary. Mathematics: This is not DD's strength or pleasure. She is finishing Algebra II with Mr. D Math this year and the plan is for her to take DE College Mathematics next as her 4th high school math course and for transfer to a college. She will be a liberal arts major and only needs one college-level math class for her degree. Science: Again, NOT a subject she enjoys; although, she likes science better than math! DD will take her 4th lab science as a DE class this summer (probably Geology/Earth Science w/lab) and will be finished with science for high school (and have science credits for transfer). She has already taken Honors Biology w/lab, Physics w/lab, and Genetics w/lab. Social Studies/History: Fall & Spring: DD really does not enjoy American history so up until now we have been taking our time with a year of high school world geography (online) and two years of world history (home-made). For 11th grade, however, my plan is for her to take DE American History I, DE American History II, and possibly also DE American Government. The classes are 8 weeks long each and will move quickly which is exactly what she wants. Electives: Fall & Spring: Advanced Creative Writing at our homeschool co-op which DD is excited about. Winter Session: Ethics in Popular Culture at Open Tent Academy. DD discovered she loves philosophy and ethics when she took courses in each at Open Tent Academy last year. Fine Arts: Continue with weekly piano lessons/performance & theory Continue with dance classes four days a week: advanced ballet w/pointe, contemporary, jazz, and tap
  2. My DD did the AP Lit (prep) class with Lilli S. at AIM Academy last summer. To say that I was underwhelmed would be an understatement after all the raving reviews I had heard about Lilli S and her teaching of this class. I'm sure everybody has an opinion; this is just MY opinion about MY experience. YMMV. I'm just trying to provide an honest review from my own point of view as I always appreciate hearing from others prior to signing my children up for specific classes. There were many things that were not stellar about the experience but two things were especially poor in my opinion. The class consisted of three units that were likely lifted from the longer year-long course which was entirely fine with me. However, to present the lesson content, the teacher used lots of powerpoint slides that were completely full of information (too much text written on each slide) and then proceeded to read each.one. of. the. slides. to. the. students! EACH. slide. This was the bulk of her "teaching" and it became tedious very quickly. Second, she gave marginal, "light" feedback on written work/essays. I had expected a deeper level of feedback (a more extensive critique) from the reviews I had read about her and about the classes she teaches. I ended up having to give the substantive feedback to my daughter that I had been expecting from Lilli S. Okay, but I did not expect to have had to pay $$ only to end up basically evaluating all of my daughter's work.
  3. We have had a Wondrium subscription for over a year now and love it!!! One of my children watches a lot of history lectures (for high school world history) and another watches whatever she fancies—ASL, Spanish, sewing/crafting, etc. It's been a great purchase!
  4. That's good to hear something positive about True North Academy. My daughter has now decided to switch her lab science for the upcoming year from Marine Biology (Athena's) to one semester of Genetics w/lab at TNA and one semester of Neuroscience w/lab at AIM Academy. I have had no previous experience with TNA and am just going to have to see if it works out for us. I think Kristin Moon is the teacher for the Genetics class.
  5. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention FundaFunda. My son took their Personal finance class two years ago and hands-down it was one of the best online classes we have ever taken. The curriculum was (is) creative, complete, and thoroughly engaging. AND the cost is criminally low!
  6. Still formulating plans, but we school year round with breaks so things are started when others finish (aside from online courses). Here's what I have so far; Language Arts/Grammar & Composition: Sadlier Vocabulary Book E Easy Grammar 180 Lessons (11th Grade) Megawords Books 6 & 7 Dual Enrollment w/Southeast University online English Composition 1 using IEW SSS Level C materials (fall) Continue with various textbook spines for writing such as Writing with Skill Levels 2 & 3, Patterns for Writing, Rhetorical Devices, etc. (spring) Language Arts/Literature: Homemade AP Literature & Composition using College Board approved syllabus Mathematics: Thinkwell online Algebra II Science: Not sure yet but either In-Depth Marine Biology w/lab online at Athena's Advanced Academy (1 year) OR 1 semester Genetics w/lab online at True North Homeschool Academy AND 1 semester Neuroscience w/lab at AIM Academy History: Continue with Homemade World History (start Part II) using various resources including Wondrium and the Spielvogel textbook Foreign Language: Italian II online at Big River Academy Homeschool Co-Op: High School Choir Teacher Assistant (3rd year) for primary grade literature class Fine Arts/P.E.: Continue with piano lessons Continue with dance: Advanced ballet w/pointe, contemporary, tap, and Broadway jazz
  7. We have had quite good experiences with Open Tent Academy, IEW online, Home2Teach (writing), Lantern English (writing), Veritas Academy, and some excellent providers on Outschool. We have had moderately good experiences so far with Blue Tent Academy and Aim Academy. I am willing to try more classes at BTA and AA; this has been our experience thus far. With The Potter's School, the teachers and classes were fine, but the admin and general policies are not. This upcoming school year, my children are trying classes at Big River Academy, Athena's Academy, Online G3, and My Fun Science for the first time. I have never tried Time4Learning or Acellus. I have not heard good things about either provider, but I do not know anything about them personally.
  8. This is how I am currently teaching World History I: Ancient to Medieval to my 9th grader. I also subscribe to Study.com and use a variety of trade and text books to round out the course. Right now we are studying ancient/medieval China. My daughter really loves the variety of resources and is receiving a very well-rounded World History education (better than the AP World History class I took in high school).
  9. Yes, I am listed as a (State) Homeschool in my profile. I guess I will have to wait until 7/1/23 to get into the AP Classroom for that course. My primary job function is listed as K-12 other or something like that.
  10. So I logged in and there are two areas: AP Teachers and AP Coordinators and Administrators. Both have yellow buttons and I am focused on the Teacher side.: Teachers Gain access to AP and Pre-AP Classroom by submitting a subject-specific Course Audit form and having it approved by your AP and Pre-AP Course Audit administrator. My course is already approved. When I push the yellow button beneath the message, I get taken right back in a circle to the log in page again. It's confusing and frustrating. I have emailed the College Board but have not heard back yet. This is probably happening because, even though I am approved, the course is for next year so I can't get into the classroom yet?
  11. That's probably why I can't see anything or get connected to the AP Classroom. I got approved for my AP Art History class for the school year 2023-2024. I couldn't find anything that told me what you did (about not being allowed into the classroom until July 1st) so Thank You for that!!!
  12. I have an account and I have an approved AP Art History course. What I can't seem to do is get inside the AP Classroom. Is this where I will get exams and practice documents? I am being asked for an access code which I don't seem to have anywhere. There was a tab for Practice Exams and Secure documents where I think I should be able to get exams (?). All I get is a download of the AP logo : ( How do I access the AP Classroom? Thanks!
  13. We have been using tons of lectures/documentaries from Wondrium (I have a subscription that costs $15.00 a month). There are many aspects of history presented depending on which lectures/documentaries you choose which my daughter really appreciates, i.e, political/military (traditional topics), social history (daily life), cultural history, deep dives into the lives of specific historical figures, fine arts/art history, even culinary history. The lectures are typically presented in 30 minute segments which we also like. It takes me some time curating a list of lectures for her to watch for various historical time periods, but her enthusiasm and enjoyment is worth the time. I am supplementing Wondrium with selected lesson topics from Study.com (teacher subscription) and assigning her readings from assorted trade and textbooks including Foundations of Western Civ and History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective. She also will create maps for each civilization we are studying. In addition, my daughter reads literature that goes with specific historical periods (i.e. Gilgamesh during the study of Mesopotamia, etc.). We typically discuss topics as we go along and she also has some essays and short response questions I assign. Occasionally I will supplement what we are doing with short classes from Outschool. Brandy Dalhen is one of my daughter's favorite Outschool teachers. She has taken and loved World Literature 1: Ancient Times Literature in Historic Context with Brandy.
  14. I am using a mixture of textbooks, "real" books, Wondrium documentaries, and Study.com lessons to teach World History to my 9th grade DD. You can subscribe to Wondrium for $15.00 a month.
  15. www.study.com has a lot of art history courses for the high school level. Your daughter can do the lessons and quizzes independently and then you can check her progress. I also second the Great Courses (Wondrium). I have a $15.00 a month subscription and it's been wonderful for my kids.
  16. Thank you! Have you actually used it? Coincidentally, I just was looking at an edition of Prego on Amazon. It does seem to be a popular choice in high schools and colleges.
  17. I've read that 7-12 is an appropriate and feasible number of labs to shoot for for a typical high school lab science credit. Twenty labs sounds like more than enough so scaling back is understandable.
  18. One of my daughters is taking high school Italian I through The Potter's School this year and, while we like the teacher (native speaker living in Italy) the textbook is poor in my and my daughter's opinion. The book is called Chiaroscuro Uno (Level One ). One of the biggest problems is that is it is only available online and the navigation between sections is much more difficult than it needs to be. It's also too much "immersion" without anything presented systematically. In a few pages, you'll get tons of expressions thrown at you, maybe a few verbs, some cultural facts, some geography facts, a list of random nouns (one color), etc. I am having my daughter create color coded flashcards to help her pick up verbs, nouns, adjectives, expressions, as they are haphazardly presented. But I think I would like her to have a more "old-school" type of textbook to use alongside this one—something that goes through learning a foreign language like I remember when I took Latin, French, and Spanish in junior high, high school, and college, lol. You know, start with a few useful greetings, learn some nouns (with articles) and adjectives, learn colors and numbers, learn some "regular verbs" and conjugated endings, etc. Then put those things together into sentences that you read and write, etc., and keep going from there. Could someone please recommend a high school level textbook for learning the Italian language that is easy to use, well organized and useful? Thanks!!
  19. Yes, these ideas are very helpful—thank you! Now my girls are really after me to start a book club (or two) for them, lol. I have another title to add for your consideration: Scar Island which is its own story but contains some aspects of Lord of the Flies.
  20. Thank you so much for your thorough response!! Could you give me an idea or two of what an activity/craft you might do would look like?
  21. There are still openings in some classes (various subjects) at www.opententacademy.com. One of Miss Eva's writing classes will provide an excellent, rigorous year of composition based on IEW principles but with her own unique spin. You could also look at classes at www.fundafunda.com (Funda Funda Academy), https://at-tps.org (The Potter's School), or www.excelsiorclasses.com (Excelsior Classes). For Science and Math: www.myfunscience.com
  22. Some books that are not too "academically classic" but that still provide "meat" for discussion: The Night Gardener, Small Spaces, The Giver, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Tale of Despereaux, The Phantom Tollbooth. Frankenstein in the form of a graphic novel might be more accessible than the text for younger teens. There is a graphic novel that uses the original text but the pictures greatly assist with interpretation. A little "dark" but could generate some good discussion: The Lord of the Flies. I second The Call of the Wild and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You could also include (as a break from novels) a group of short stories such as four classic Edgar Allan Poe short stories (maybe good for around Halloween), or a group of Ray Bradbury short stories or Shirley Jackson short stories. Alternatively, (or in addition), you could read a group of short stories organized thematically or by genre, for example dystopian/sci fi stories with one story each from Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ursula K. LeGuin. The themes for groupings could be endless, i.e., stories with "surprise" endings (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, The Open Window, etc.) or stories by "feminist" authors such as Kate Chopin, etc. Do you mind sharing how you facilitate your book club? I have been thinking of doing something similar for one or both of my daughters (11 and 14 yo) but I'm not sure what it would/should "look" like. Do the teens meet in your home or is the club at a co-op? About how many kids do you think is a "good" number to have? Do you charge a fee to the parents or is this just something you "do"? How often do you meet? Is there anything required besides reading the selection (any writing or activities, etc.)? Sorry for so many questions, but I am curious. Feel free to totally ignore me, lol.
  23. My daughter is signed up for Jetta's class next year; I think her live class sections are full already but there may be space for the recorded sessions. There is a fair amount of math (Algebra 1) involved.
  24. I ran across this provider for science. I don't know anything about them; I'm just throwing it out there : ) https://courses.homesciencesupport.com/ My oldest daughter is taking the Mythology class from Next Level right now. It's six lessons (self-paced asynchronous) with a short quiz and a project due for each lesson. All assignments are due by 8/22. She is not working on it this week due to participating in a dance intensive but so far she has completed the following three projects: created a storyboard illustrating the Hero's Journey (using Storyboard That!), written an original creation myth, and completed a stop action animation film portraying a myth featuring a "wise-man" archetype character (using Fisher Price Little People!) She is very picky about online classes and this is the first class we have ever taken with Next Level. She thinks the lecture/lesson content is intriguing and fairly substantive and the workload/output is adequate for a self-paced summer class (not too onerous and she likes the open-ended type of assignments). I would be willing to try another class with them in the future if anything fits.
  25. I saw you asked about Funda Funda. My son took their Personal Finance class and it was fantastic!!! The course is inexpensive, solid, interesting, and substantive. It hits all the marks, lol. It is self-paced and some weeks there is more work than other weeks so your daughter will need to stay on top of the workload.
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