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MM2

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  1. We like Derek Owens. Khan is nice but doesn't map onto the Jacobs book very well. By contrast, Owens uses the Jacobs book, so the link between videos and text is quite clear. Owens, BTW, is something like $58 per month IF you want him to grade the exams and give a grade. But if you just want access to the videos, tests, and notes, it's half price ($29). That's what we do.
  2. For philosophy, consider Michael Sandel's Harvard EdX course, "Justice." Really interesting and the level isn't too high for a curious HS student. The course is archived, but the readings and lectures are still online.
  3. I second Sebastian's thoughts, and I have a question: what is the assignment? If the assignment is terribly broad, then it will be up to him to narrow down the topic to something focused enough that he can have a detailed and interesting thesis. If the assignment is narrower, then a good thesis will respond in an interesting way to the prompt. Example of overbroad assignment: "Research one of the major world empires and write about it." (:-)) A research paper cannot possibly do that -- a single BOOK can't even do that. So narrow the focus to something that the student can actually learn about, and when you've done that, the thesis will fall out of the topic choice. For example: "The career of Rome's most famous emperor, Julius Caesar, illustrates both the reasons for Rome's long military success and the sources of its coming decline." Or "Rome's conquest and occupation of Gaul illustrates the long geographic reach of the empire and its lasting impact on language, economy, and culture in Western Europe." These are STILL way broad topics by college standards but illustrate the point. Example of echoing the prompt: "How did geography give Rome economic and military advantages over neighboring city-states as the Roman Empire grew?" In response to that prompt, you'd say, "Three features of the geography of central Italy and the specific site of the city of Rome gave the growing empire economic and military advantages over neighboring city-states: [then list the three.]" Hope this helps!
  4. Someone on this board referred me to the wonderful World History curriculum, rich with videos and other sources, at learner.org: Bridging World History. They're not AP prep per se, but they are college-intro-level and emphasize broad themes.
  5. Yes! Thank you so much for the prompt to give the dc what he needs and not what the good folks at the textbook companies think a 9th grader ought to need! College text is a great idea, and breaking it up, too, is a great idea. So thank you for shaking up my assumptions! We have actually done this in English -- "Beowulf" for an 8th grader? Why not! But I am more diffident about history. I need to get over that. :-) Thanks again for taking the time to reply. I will look into NHD too!
  6. Laurel Springs follows CA curriculum standards, which in turn require US History and US Government.
  7. The camps and classes ARE expensive and variable in quality -- often, IME, they are repackaged from other vendors (e.g. Thinkwell). Dc did one CTY camp, and it wasn't as high-level as they claimed or very well-supervised, so won't do it again. Still, we did CTY testing, and I'm glad we did it for the credential value. We homeschool to be independent, but the external validation from something like CTY has proved really useful as we talk to teachers, schools, and even neighbors: the CTY credential quiets a lot of the hostility we otherwise get (along the lines of, how can you possibly be doing a good job, etc.).
  8. Hi! I searched the boards but did not find answers quite on point, and I'd like to benefit from your experience. Our homeschool curriculum recommends World Geography for 9th graders, and there is an Honors version. But the text just is SO straightforward: the Middle East has these landforms, and this climate, etc., while North American has these landforms and this climate. I don't mean to underestimate geography as a field! I know there are fascinating connections to be made and lots of terrific scholarship. Instead, I am really questioning the depth of the 9th grade standard course for a particular advanced student. Looking at the the textbook, I wish dc had taken this course in 7th or 8th grade, as it's all quite helpful. By contrast, World History, usually a 10th grade class, looks to me a little broader and will explore not only connections to geography but also broader intellectual cross-currents in religion, philosophy and so on. If it helps, this is a kid who wrote a paper on the comparative politics and economics of three revolutions (Russian, French, and American) as a SIXTH grader. He wrote a long research paper on the ideas of the Reformation as a 7th grader. He took a Coursera college course on Justice as an 8th grader, and he has successfully completed Honors level high school English (grades 9 and 10). So, am I missing the boat, or is there a significant difference (for this kid) in intellectual breadth and depth between standard 9th grade Geography and 10th grade World History?
  9. My dc's have attended Laurel Springs for the last two years (7th and 8th) and will continue to the high school. Keep in mind that LSS has two divisions: Laurel Springs School and Laurel Springs Academy for the Gifted and Talented. The Academy is more expensive but offers additional services: they have a dedicated (and, in our experience, excellent) faculty and -- amazingly! -- will customize curriculum to enrich or tailor to students' intellectual interests or learning style, as long as the customized program meets their standards for rigor and doesn't conflict with accreditation rules. So, for instance, we were able to substitute Jacobs' Geometry for the standard textbook. On another occasion, we abandoned the English 8th grade textbook for creative assignments (created by the teacher) on novels, plays, and poetry. The teachers have been excellent and have real time to devote to the students. The work (at least in the courses we have chosen) is primarily written, and only rarely multiple-choice; the assignments (at least in HS Honors classes) involve quite a lot of lengthy and fairly complex essays and outstanding readings. My dc's work above grade level in many subjects, and that increases the rigor as well: as a 7th grader, ds read "The Odyssey" in full, and as an 8th grader, he read Kafka's "Metamorphosis" among other things. For all these reasons, the school is VERY different than other online providers we used: K12.com, Apex, and (shudder) Aventa. That said, it IS a homeschooling model -- you have to be prepared to teach mostly on your own (IME). The teachers definitely can teach, but they fill more of a supervisory role than a daily role, if that makes sense. LSS does permit unlimited acceleration (whether in the regular or Academy division): if your 7th grade dc is ready for 10th grade math, s/he can take it. The negative comment above about the computer assignments does not reflect our experience. Still, we do back up any substantial work rather than relying entirely on the online platform.
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