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summerreading

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Posts posted by summerreading

    Any feedback on Catapult Engineering Academy?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I'm coming back to this a year later to give my own feedback. My son took Introduction to Solid Modeling & Engineering Design and really enjoyed it. A TA was assigned to him and answered all his questions promptly. I was impressed with the class and his final project. Taking the class has made him more sure about studying engineering at college and he will be taking another of their classes this coming year. Just wanted to post an update in case anyone was looking for a review. The class descriptions can be found here. https://catapultea.com/curriculum/course-descriptions/

     

    • Thanks 2

    Working from Home and Homeschooling

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Hi I work at home too, leaning more towards full time these days. I try to get my work done in the early morning like you but usually I need to pull some night hours as well. Days out of the house for homeschooling really throw my off. Sorry I am not helping much! Just here to say it's can be rough sometimes and hang in there. How do you want your ideal schedule to look like? If you want to spend more hands on time with them with school work, are you able to make that work during the time you're not working?

    Can I limit writing to just English in High School?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    On 11/6/2019 at 2:56 PM, City Mouse said:

    I agree that a student who plans to go to college needs to be able to do the 5-paragraph essay for any subject. My DH has reading and writing issues (not officially dyslexia, but “learning disability”) and is taking college DE courses. He has had to write essays for psychology and Introduction to Art so far. 

    You may want to have him start learning to use speech to text software to compose his writing. 

     


    Thanks. Did you require term papers as well in high school?

    Driving anxiety after an accident

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    6 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

    if it's being so difficult to "get back on the horse", you might want to consider a counselor for PTSD.   EMDR is a therapy that could help move past the trigger of driving.

     

    I appreciate the suggestion. It probably would be ideal and help out. 

    6 hours ago, livetoread said:

    Most common treatment would be pairing relaxation techniques with the feared activity. It’s great you are still driving, because avoiding might make it worse. That strongly suggests this will be temporary. Practicing deep breathing and mental checks of your body to physically relax yourself while driving helps. Your anxiety is your body trying to keep you safe after danger, so acknowledging that and thanking your body is good. Fighting the anxiety-producing thoughts can be unhelpful. Instead acknowledge them and then try and gradually go beyond them with more realistic thoughts like I am a skilled driver and was able to use my skills to avoid making that accident worse. Practicing deep breathing and relaxation apart from driving makes it easier to do while driving. It can be really short - just a few minutes a day. For more paired relaxation, you can try listening to certain calming music while doing your deep breathing and then also playing that in the car. Lots of people find a calming app useful.

    It is traumatic to be reminded that we are all just one unavoidable second away from disaster while driving. This is doubly true when we are driving children. However, this reality was true before your near miss and you managed to drive without this much anxiety before. Being reminded can serve as a wake up call, which can be turned into a good thing (I now can use that experience to be more present etc). Nothing has changed danger wise. If anything you are in less danger now, having been given that wake up call so it’s possible to see it as something to be grateful for.

     

    Thanks, this is really helpful. I never thought to thank my body for the adrenaline rush. 

    • Like 1

    Driving anxiety after an accident

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Had anyone gone through anxiety driving after an accident? I was in one a few months. No one was hurt. It would have been a much worse accident if there wasn't a turning lane I swerved into. I'm hyper vigilant driving now and have to mentally coach myself through routes I take all the time. I'm driving all the time for homeschooling. 

    Wondering if you took some steps to get over it. Please share. 

    Can I limit writing to just English in High School?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

     

    9 minutes ago, lewelma said:

    Just an FYI in case you had never thought about it, writing for English class does not mean you have to write about literature.  My focus with my boys has been purpose, audience, and evaluating sources. For my older boy who wants to be a scientist, he wrote research papers on Genetic Engineering and Fracking (evaluating sources was goal). He also wrote papers mimicking The Economist science news articles, and the Scientific American policy recommendation articles (Purpose and Audience was the goal). We studied how these different genre were created, what kind of support they used, and then he wrote about space flight, nuclear power, fracking, etc. These papers were much more useful to him than any literary analysis would be

    My younger boy who has dysgraphia wants to be a geographer. So has written research papers on Demography and Environmental use. His purpose and audience paper he is writing this term is mimicking a National Geographic article.  He is studying how they sway your opinion through creative nonfiction rather than straight argument. He will also be working on synthesis of sources in essay writing, and this one will be under time pressure so he will be prepared for exams in university. But he is Not writing about literature.

    So, if you want to teach writing for an engineer, perhaps focus on topics that might actually help him in the future. People need to be able to write, but they don't have to be able to write literary analysis. 

    Ruth in NZ

     

    This makes a lot of sense. What did you use to teach writing at this level?

     

    Can I limit writing to just English in High School?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    2 hours ago, texasmama said:

    Yes, both of my teens essentially followed this plan and have transitioned well to the CC.  I was their writing/English teacher and used EIW with great results.  They combined literature analysis with writing, and they wrote six papers of 700-ish words each per year in addition to class discussion on the novels.  For a reluctant literature and writing kid, I loved Windows to the World.  Uses short stories for lit analysis and a slow ramp up to writing.  IEW experience not necessary.  

    I also like to tell people  how I failed to compel one son to do any writing program for very long until his 9th grade year (he was 12 at the time).  Our home is still  littered  with writing programs one quarter of the way done.  In spite of mine and his failings in this area, he is a fabulous writer when necessary, and he has done quite well in CC.

    They summarized salient points in a handwritten spiral notebook for history in high school until they transitioned to CC.  I think your plan is fine for a STEM kid.

     

     

    Thank you, this makes me feel a bit better. Glad things are working out for your teens and CC. I had a ton of writing programs and then sold them, now I need to rebuy one of them!

    Can I limit writing to just English in High School?

    in The Learning Challenges Board

    Posted

    I want to know if I can just limit writing like essays and papers to my son's English credit. He is dyslexic and dysgraphic. Do I need to make him try to write papers for history? Would short essays be enough for English? Are term papers an absolute must? Right now he is working on taking notes for his history chapters and answering questions out loud. Can I call that enough? 

    He wants to be an engineer and he does have short writing that's required in the engineering class he is taking, so I feel he is getting some practice in professional communication. 

    Thanks. 

    Creative ways to make money

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    10 minutes ago, moonflower said:

    We have an Etsy store.  What skills/talents do you have or are you interested in developing?  

     

    I can crochet and knit, which I started a blog about and need to write some more. I would love to learn to make patterns. Also thinking about/researching starting a robotics class.

    Does Etsy have a big learning curve?

    10 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

    I have a relative who makes a decent amount of money writing blog posts for people through Legiit.  

     

    Thanks will look that up. 

    Creative ways to make money

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I need to hear some success stories from anyone who has found a creative way to make an income or just side money.  Did you start a class, a blog an etsy store?

    I've exhausted all the work at home opportunities. I've had the same - until now- very good freelance contract for years that is starting to flake out on me. I need some fresh ideas.

    Thanks

    VideoText Algebra course description

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    5 minutes ago, Momto6inIN said:

    @summerreading and @Mom21 I realize my comments sound snippy and condescending. That wasn't my intent, so please forgive me!

    I just think that course descriptions provided by a curriculum provider exist to sell a particular product to us, as homeschool parents who have already chosen a somewhat off the beaten path education for our kids. So they are tailored for that purpose. And that's a very different purpose than the course descriptions that we provide to colleges in our order to "sell" our student to someone who likely is pretty firmly entrenched in traditional education. So our descriptions should be tailored for our particular purpose as well. Please feel free to disregard my opinions 🙂

     

    I'm new to getting my records in order and I appreciate your feedback. I totally get what you are saying and see the difference in your description verses the website description.  Thank you!

    • Like 1

    VideoText Algebra course description

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    15 hours ago, Mom21 said:

    I compiled the following course descriptions from information provided on VT's site and created Course Description pages similar to Lee Binz's approach. With permission from VideoTextInteractive, I've also included an image (linkable in pdf format to the larger online image) of the Course Schematics for Algebra (I & II) and Geometry, as found on their site. On a side note, I've already started setting up my Comprehensive Record and found the Staples 24-page presentation book to be ideal for my young man's ninth grade high school record. I'll probably do this annually, one for each year, and then a final Comprehensive High School Record using the Itoya I-Series Art Portfolio, which has more pages available. If you're interested, I'll pm samples of these Course Description pages to you.

     

     

    Thank you for the ideas, you seem super organized! :)

    VideoText Algebra course description

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    3 hours ago, Momto6inIN said:

    I don't generally like course descriptions from websites, I think they sound too much like a commercial 🙂

    When we used VT, I wrote a separate one for each year and called one Algebra 1 and the other Algebra 2: "A year long high school level course meeting 5 times a week. Evaluated by daily exercises, quizzes, and unit exams. Covered (insert titles of the units we finished that year here) with an emphasis on solving word problems. Text used: Video Text Algebra modules X - Y. Credit: 1.0 Grade: X

    Thank you. That's makes more sense. I realize my description is still kind of cringey. 

    • Like 1

    VideoText Algebra course description

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    VT has a course description here we can use, but I am just wondering if others have split the description up into 2 years or listed both Algebra 1 and 2 together noting it took two years (if it did).

    I slightly modified the description given to read "This course thoroughly covers all aspects of Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and Algebra 2, laying a firm foundation for students advancing to geometry. Lessons are covered in a conceptual manner. Topics such as the structure of mathematics, first-degree (and higher) relations, rational relations, quadratic relations, conic sections, and literal degree relations, are broken down into detailed examinations of each in order to master every individual concept within."

    Did anyone add anything more or less?

    Thanks

    Write at Home for a very reluctant writer

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    1 hour ago, TarynB said:

    Since you mentioned other writing programs, and if you don't mind hearing about another option, I can wholeheartedly recommend Logical Communication with Mr. Roy Speed. It was a huge hit for us this past year. It has been the best money we've spent out of 9 years of homeschooling and many online classes. DS will be taking the next course in his writing series (Essay Writing and Appreciation) in the upcoming year. DS decided to do this instead of taking English Comp through dual enrollment because he thoroughly enjoys the live class sessions and knows he will benefit significantly more from the class with Mr. Speed as opposed to taking English Comp 1 and 2 at our local university. Mr. Speed is known here on the forum for his Shakespeare courses, but he's offering writing instruction online now too (his website is hscollegebound.com). He has also taught at a co-op for years and teaches writing to professionals, so he's experienced with writers at a variety of levels. Mr. Speed has spoken with us personally by phone about our son's strengths and areas he can improve on next, and I was impressed by his reaching out to us to do that. I'll paste below my comments from another thread:

    Logical Communication with Mr. Roy Speed has been a big hit. It focuses on clear thinking, organizing ideas and arguments, backing up your ideas with evidence, logical flow, and rhetorical devices, all in conjunction with analyzing high-quality essays. The instructor has appropriately high standards and is enthusiastic, the live classroom is well-managed and has interactive discussions, the workload is just right (emphasis on quality, not quantity), and the feedback is individualized (appropriate for a range of abilities), prompt and constructive. DS has taken several composition courses before this, and this one is the best he's had by far. Mr. Speed is known here on the forum for his Shakespeare courses, and he's offering full-year writing courses online now too. He also teaches writing to corporate professionals. DS will be taking his Essay Writing and Appreciation course next year.
     

     

    Thank you for the recommendation. I agree it does look like a wonderful class that might be a perfect fit. I'm sure it's worth every penny, but I'm in a bit of sticker shock at the moment. The class will, however, have a high spot on my wishlist. 

    Write at Home for a very reluctant writer

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    14 hours ago, mirabillis said:

    i have a different take on WAH. we are fans of WAH and we are signing up my 2nd dd for WAH workshops for her sophomore year... but with that said, i don't feel WAH provides any explicit writing instruction. you need to come into it knowing the basics of essay writing or persuasive writing or even literary analysis to get the most out of it, imo. we are big fans of IEW, b/c i feel it really teaches them the basics of 'how' to write, then leads them to where they can apply these basics now in their own way. so that's what my oldest did - IEW through SICC-B / Elegant Essay - then we jumped into WAH - took 1/2 semester High School (but that had too much creative writing for my taste). then in his sophomore year, he jumped to workshops - Essay 1, Essay 2 & Literary Analysis. (lit analysis was more of a struggle, as he'd never 'learned' lit analysis before)

    the constant feedback loop is great, and if that's the best way for kids to learn how to write, then perhaps there is instruction. just make sure you come into it with something under your belt is my opinion... my ds just finished AP Eng Lang after his WAH experience and while writing is not his forte naturally, he did pull an A and we'll see how he fared on the AP exam this week... and we are enrolling my dd who has just finished IEW through SICC-C in the WAH workshops this coming year too. so it's a great program, just know what it is and what it is not.

     

    Thank you. I think I really needed to read this. 

     

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