Aha...found the link to the November Open House for Wilson Hill here: https://wilsonhillacademy.adobeconnect.com/p27zxoc7wlsi/?proto=true

And Tom Viera wrote this blog post as well which speaks to the writing and the goal of the GC courses: Thinking in Slow Motion: The WHA Approach to Writing HOME » ACADEMICS » THINKING IN SLOW MOTION: THE WHA APPROACH TO WRITING NEXT POST PREVIOUS POST Years ago when I first began teaching, my headmaster gave me some advice on teaching writing. Quoting the poet and philosopher Walter Kaufmann, he told me that “Writing is thinking in slow motion.†In other words, learning how to write is not something separate from learning how to think. Writing is essential for learning how to think. My assigned course was quite similar to one of The Great Conversation classes we offer at WHA: a discussion-driven seminar in which we explored great books and wrote limited academic essays on them. The overarching objective was to teach students how to think, not what to think. And I was able to see quite easily how Socratic-style discussion suits that purpose well. But writing? Does composition teach my students how to think? Over the years, I have noticed a tendency in Socratic seminar courses to lean too heavily upon in-class discussion as the best and perhaps even exclusive way to teach thinking. The line of thought goes something like this: “Sure, students have to form an argument in an essay and that is all well and good, but ah, the seminar! The Socratic Method! These are the true instruments for intellectual empowerment.†Admittedly, I have been guilty of this mindset. But this mindset is mistaken – badly mistaken. Here was my first (and most important) clue: while our in-class discussions were often constructive and highly energizing, my students’ essays were typically ill-formed, anemic, or plastic. I couldn’t figure out why. How could my students plumb the depths of justice, selfishness, and virtue in The Great Gatsby or Plato’s Republic yet write such insipid analyses? It was not supposed to be this way. And then I began to realize the wisdom in my headmaster’s advice: “Writing is thinking in slow motion.†I had made an implicit assumption that writing is primarily (or maybe even entirely) expressive. Writing is about students telling me what they think, right? What I failed to recognize is that writing could also be formative – indeed, that at the middle and high school levels, writing is primarily formative. It is not simply about students telling me what they think, but is more importantly a means by which students actually learn how to think for themselves. The art of crafting an excellent sentence is not an exercise in some arbitrary skill called writing. It is an exercise in coherent thinking. And this is why grammar and style always count. There is no such thing as an essay that has “good content†but poor grammar and style, because grammar and style are the very means by which the reader grasps the content. The mistake here is to think of the essay as simply expressive. The student has got some ideas, and you as the teacher think you get them for the most part. But that’s not the point – or at least it’s not the only point. If the ideas are poorly phrased, or the content expressed in broken grammar, then there has been some kind of breakdown in the thinking process. And that breakdown should be the teacher’s primary concern. That the student “had given some thought to the question†is important, but only in the same way that putting gasoline into a car is important. It is necessary, but it is far from enough to get you to your destination. You must drive the car, and you must do so carefully and with a clear sense of direction. At WHA, we are committed to approaching writing as essential to the main goal in The Great Conversation courses, that of learning how to think. It is, we believe, ideal when writing instruction occurs within the context of careful reading and discussion of great books. We are always seeking ways to improve how we encourage good writing in these courses, particularly at the School of Rhetoric level when the foundational preparation in composition has already been set in the Language Arts courses. We hope to continue that good and faithful work throughout the 2017-18 school year and beyond. Dr. Tom Vierra teaches courses in The Great Conversation, Logic, and Rhetoric and is Director of Academics for Wilson Hill Academy.

I just saw this was posted last month about the Writing aspect of the GC courses. WHA is fully committed to student mastery in writing. The following outlines and summarizes our approach to writing instruction, beginning in the 5th grade and ending in the 12th grade. Key points about our writing approach: Our primary focus is essay writing.To teach essay writing is to teach thinking.All students can learn to write essays with proficiency and eloquence.Writing instruction is most effective when provided in a process that emphasizes ability, not just age/grade level. Writing in Great Conversation (GC) Courses: Every GC teacher is committed to the importance of writing as part of learning how to think. Writing expectations are consistent with grade level. The GC 1 and 2 courses correspond to the level of writing instruction provided in Language Arts 3 and 4 (School of Logic level) respectively. This writing instruction is designed to prepare students to eventually write well-formed academic essays by the end of 8th grade. The GC 3 – 6 courses require a minimum of four academic essays per year. The essay topics will increase in complexity and difficulty as the student progresses from GC 3 to GC 6. In order to reinforce key essay writing skills, students in GC 3 – 6 will also have regular “Thesis-Driven Paragraph†assignments as part of their writing grade in the course. Additionally, these courses incorporate at least two “Discussion Board†assignments per month. While these are not formal writing assignments, students are expected to use proper grammar and style (no texting language) in their efforts to discuss with others a key topic. WHA is committed to excellence in both expository and persuasive essay writing. We believe students should be trained, not only to persuade an audience with respect to a thesis, but also to thoughtfully and effectively interpret the meaning of a particular text in ways that are relevant for a given topic.

I sat in on the open house last month with Wilson Hill where Bruce Etter, Michael Viera, a veteran parent, and two students who talked about the philosophy and approach (aka vision) of WHA especially as it pertained to the Great Conversation courses. I also sat in on a couple of live Great Conversation classes when WHA did an open house/online campus days last January. I was seriously impressed and am planning to do this at Wilson Hill when my son is old enough. The level of thoughtful discussion as led by the instructors and how the students engaged with the instructors and each other was wonderful. It's something that I could never manage to produce on my own. I appreciated that the emphasis was not to shy away from difficult material and topics, but to engage deeply, critically and thoughtfully. I also like that they also want students to be able to write and speak effectively as well. I sat in on lots of other classes and across the board, and I was happy with the quality of the teachers at WHA I observed. Hopefully, they will do it again this January?

There are a fair number who have done that with mathy kids. If you are at all interested in Singapore Mental Math, the Fan Math Express Speed Math books are really good for that. I would suggest possibly adding that into your TB/IP/CWP lineup. http://www.rainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?subject=Mathematics/10&category=Math+Express+Speed+Maths+Strategies/9226

You might want to look at Fan Math's Process Skills in Problem Solving. These are Singapore Math type problems but with instruction.

If you think about it almost every school uses different publishers for each subject.

Yes, =) It does mean something...to the tune of a multi-million dollar lawsuit. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/us/oxford-comma-lawsuit.html

+ 1 on multiple providers. See my siggy. All-in-one or grade level would be a horrible fit over here.

You can do this with the Lego WeDo kit and program it using a computer or tablet.

Just saw this posted in GHF's feed this morning. Parents can help their gifted students develop executive functionshttps://expertbeacon.com/parents-can-help-their-gifted-students-develop-executive-functions/#.Wh75qkqnE2y

Thanks for posting the links, LMD. I just ordered the first reader. I don't need the workbooks as I am just using this for supplemental fun reading since we are doing LFC A. It looks great for how I was thinking of using it.

not sure if screen shots would be possible.

I really like the Order out of Chaos planners that I learned about from other boardies. I actually don't like using electronic planners for students. The physicality of planner and having to manually write things out actually helps with memory. You have to watch the youtube video where she explains the way it works. She developed this to help her ADHD son with his EF issues. I'm totally using this planner next year since I already have a planner that I am using for this year. The planners are sold on Amazon. If you homeschool, she recommends the smaller sized planner which has more appt hours than just after school like the larger sized planner. This is helpful to block out when my son's classes are meeting during the daytime. That's the only complaint I have is that this is not available in the larger sized planner. http://orderoochaos.com/ Here's a demo through the planner. She talks about EF issues here:

Do they appear leveled? I assume English and Latin are offered. Are they in different sections, line by line, or opposite pages? What grade level does it look to be aimed at?

I didn't realize how much my son is truly enjoying learning Latin and am now thinking I ought to get him some readers. Any feedback on these that I saw on RR?

Mathematics: A Human Endeavor by Harold Jacobs. His algebra and geometry books are talked about more on the boards. MHE explores math topics outside the normal scope and sequence of high school math.

My kiddo has finished SM5 along with CWP and IP and could probably make the jump to AOPS Pre-A. However, I have listened to RR speak and been convicted about going wider and deeper rather than faster. Currently, he finishing up BA5. I plan to go thorugh JA and MHE and wander around while in math with some other resources before doing PA. It's important to me for him to explore, play and enjoy math.

If you are unfamiliar with Singapore math, then an alternative to the CWP is Fan Math's Process Skills in Problem Solving which has explicit instruction for SM style word problems. I really like the IP books as well. I personally would not use MUS with a mathy kid, but that's me. If you switch, I don't like using BA stand alone. This has been discussed extensively on these boards. I choose to use it a level behind SM. We do a lot of math around here. So Zaccaro, Hard Math, Cleo Borac's books, Borenson's Hands on Equations, Michael Serra's books. MOEMS, etc.

Mine loves this program. It's never a chore to do a history lesson.

That's what the petition is about...controlling the content in the kid profile so they only see what you want them to see.

Frustrated with the lack of adequate parental controls and ability to block content in Netflix? Join this petition to let them know. Feel free to share this. It was started by a homeschooling mom. https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/netflix-parental-controls/sign.html

I haven't heard people debate different editions of MHE like I've seen the strong opinion about 2nd edition Jacobs over the 3rd edition. I have MHE on the shelf as well and will be using it as part of my semi-planned leisurely journey through pre-A. I'm not in a rush to get to higher maths and would am planning to do a lot of math exploration in topics outside the normal scope and sequence.

Are the schools you applying to super scoring or are you required to report all scores? If the latter, I would consider passing on it if you think he will perform poorly and the original score was reasonably decent for your target schools.

Mine is now 9. My plan is to go for JA first as soon as we finish with Beast 5 which should go quickly because we already completed SM5. I have the AOPS pre-A text and may pull it out to use alongside.