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jibaker103

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Everything posted by jibaker103

  1. Can someone please explain what the cutoff score is and means?
  2. He is a fabulous creative writer and that is all he cares about. He is great at writing narrative/descriptive essays because he still gets to tell a story. However, other essays and reports are unorganized with no clear thesis, structure, or support. He does not like taking advice from me or discussing his essays with me. I am a technical and business writer by profession so I have no problems teaching or critiquing him. We have completed IEW Ancient HBWL, TWSS, The Elegant Essay, and the HSEI Live Workshop. We have done more than 1/3 WWS 2 but it was like pulling teeth, we were doing the Lively Art of Writing with the syllabus when the book mysteriously disappeared to never be seen again in the middle of chapter 1, we tried Classical Writing which was pretty good for Aesop/Homer for Older Beginners but completely fell apart in Diogenes Maxim (I did not homeschooling him until 7th grade so all of the terminology and stories he just didn't get), and we also tried Writer's Guide to Powerful Paragraphs which he only completed the paragraphs he was already good at. He has Excellence in Literature which he loves and has a WWII History class both requiring a total of 8 essays over the semester. I know he will still need help with these essays so I am now trying to help him based on each assignment he has pulling sections from The Elegant Essay, WttW, and Writing Research Papers as needed (he is familiar with these). I am making WWS 3 Beta a requirement and he uses Writer's Inc. and/or TWSS Manual to look stuff up for himself. I think this may be a good plan but I still think I will need an outside person to evaluate/critique to show him mom is not crazy. He wants to perform for all teachers except me. So can any of you share with me your experience with my questions stated above?
  3. For those of you who struggle with: · teaching your student writing, · your student’s inability to handle your evaluation or criticism very well, · questioning whether or not your student’s writing is on grade level, or · wondering how an objective third party would view your student’s writing, Would you consider purchasing an evaluation/critique of your students writing, put them in an online class, or enroll them in dual credit at the CC? If classes or CC are not an option because of money or you’re afraid your student would not rise to the challenge, how much would you be willing to pay for a one-draft evaluation? What would you pay for a three-draft critique? I have definitely been struggling with these very issues with my ds 17. I am interested in hearing all ideas, suggestions, and information! Jennifer
  4. The best laid plans...sigh, lol! The following is how science will look on the transcript: 9th Grade - Honors Biology with Lab (1/2 Connections Academy and 1/2 CK12.org honors text) 10th Grade - Anatomy & Physiology with Lab (Self-Designed using Anatomy & Physiology an Interactive Journey Colbert/Ankney/Lee and Anatomy Coloring Book) 11th Grade - Integrated Chemistry & Physics with Lab (DIVE CD with Prentice Hall Concepts in Action) 12th Grade - Marine Biology with Lab (Co-Op: Marine Biology 5th or 6th edition, Castro/Huber) He still wants to add in Forensic Science but I'm not sure he has time to fit it in anywhere. Is this OK? It definitely is not typical!
  5. I am definitely in!!! My ds 17 will be doing chemistry either through co-op or at home. Since I don't know anything about the subject we are leaning so far over that we might tip toward the co-op, lol!!!
  6. Thanks for the advice I think I will let him chose between Forensics, A&P, Conceptual Chemistry, and Conceptual Physics.
  7. So do you think it matters if ds has chemistry or physics on his transcript? So far he has taken Biology, Integrated Physics & Chemistry, and Anatomy & Physiology. He wants his forth science to be Forensic Science. All of these are with labs. Is this ok?
  8. Yes, my library offers it free. My son is taking the English Composition 101 course right now and likes it very much. I plan for him to take the other writing courses plus history, government, science, and anything else that strikes his fancy.
  9. My ds 17 struggles tremendously with passing Algebra 1 (this is his 3rd attempt with MUS). He is smart as a whip in all other subjects (TOG History, Literature, and Government). I have had him tested and he is at grade level or above in reading areas and college level in math calculation but a few years below grade level in math fluency and applied problems. Please help me choose a full credit high school level chemistry course that is light or at least holds your hand through the math involved. I have narrowed it down to three secular choices. Please vote and tell me why you have chosen this curriculum and any experience you have with it. Thanks very much!
  10. My son has enrolled in one of the Universal Class writing class and loves it. He can go at his own pace, has an assigned teacher to ask questions and get timely answers, and graded assignments and essays. It eliminates the mom factor and therefore he receives an honest forthright opinion on his writing ability.
  11. My ds needs help with learning to write strong thesis statements, introductions, and conclusions using a variety of essay types. Also he has never written a long research report. I have decided to make it a year long class and teach it at co-op. What do you suggest for curriculum for 10th through 12th graders?
  12. Math is one of the areas that I wish I had followed my gut on earlier for my ds. When I pulled him out of 7th grade math test scores were at a 4th grade level! We tried TT and Khan Academy before settling on Lial's. My big mistake was rushing through Pre-Algebra the summer before 9th grade because the online school he was joining would not allow 9th graders take anything but Algebra 1. His fall semester of 9th grade was a complete and utter math disaster which cause many tears, self-doubt, and depression! That spring and summer I had him attempt pre-algebra again but every time my son got so far and hit a brick wall. I did not pickup on the fact that I needed to start further back until I discovered MUS in 10th grade. I had him start all the way back in Gamma (multiplication) and it has made a world of difference. Over the past 1.5 years I have seen my son get excited when a light bulb goes off and he says "so that's how it's done!" So, now here we are in the spring semester of 11th grade starting MUS Algebra 1 along with a book called Painless Algebra. So far so good but because I didn't start far enough back from the beginning I'm not sure if he will make it through Algebra 2 in enough time before graduating. The best advice I can give is if you see a problem stop and back track far enough to be successful and don't worry about rushing. Go at her pace so she thoroughly understands math and then she will take off and fly!
  13. No the units do not have to be done in order, each unit is self-contained. However, yes the first year or two maybe a little easier based on the literature selected but I find that to be a matter of opinion. As far as what you should use to help your daughter with writing is based upon what you feel comfortable doing. If you are a a pretty good writer yourself and feel comfortable with teaching it you could probably just use a handbook such as Writer's Inc.or Writing Aids. If you don't have a clue as where to start or how to help her you probably want a curriculum such as the Elegant Essay, which gives you the basic foundation for essay writing, and/or Windows to the World which focuses on analytical analysis essays. Both of these published, by IEW, are one semester courses. Whether you go the handbook route or the full blown curriculum you will need to be your daughter's editor and help her with the writing process from brainstorming, to outlining, to editing and revising each draft.
  14. www.coursera.org has an 12 week anatomy class that just started today.
  15. I bought EIL The Complete Curriculum so that I could pick and chose the order ds completes the units to match our chronological history. It does not have writing instructions so you will have to be able to teach it yourself or buy a writing curriculum (this will still require some teaching on your part). You could use one or a combination of the following: the Lively Art of Writing (book) and free workbook The Elegant Essay (IEW) Writer's Inc. (Write Source) Windows to the World (IEW) Writing Research Papers (IEW) Writing Strands Evaluating Writing (NWI) My ds struggles with organization, structure, and strong thesis statements. He is fabulous with creative and some expository writing such as narrative and descriptive writing. He flounders with persuasive, research, argumentative, etc. It is not fun trying to catch up in 11th grade so it is good that you are recognizing her writing issues now. The best advice I can give is to follow through and keep pushing no matter how much she doesn't like it or seem not to get it. At the end she will be grateful!
  16. Thank you all for your input. You have given me a lot think about and consider.
  17. Thank you for the heads up on the answer key at the end. Sounds like I will have to cut and paste it into a Word document and correct all of the grammar errors or print it out and make a workbook. I would like to get everyone's opinion on using Connect the Thoughts for US & World History starting in the 20th century for an 8/9th grader and an 11/12th grader. Is this curriculum as rigorous as TOG only secular and less books? Do I need to add anything to it to make it high school credit worthy? Is it interesting and engaging or start to get monotonousness after a while? I also really like Beautiful Feet's US & World History, how would you compare the two? Do you think I could combine CTT and BF effectively or would this be repetitive or overkill? My 17 yr old ds is a very strong reader and loves to read (He plans to double major in history and creative writing so that he can write historical fiction as his career). My 14 year old dn is ADHD Inattentive and struggles with reading, comprehension, and spelling/vocabulary but is improving greatly this year (he wants to be an artist). If I use CTT as a discussion for both and require full blown essays for my son and start my nephew with paragraphs or half of a page for writing do you think this could work? I am also interested in the life skills bundle, current events bundle, civics, and science (basic, chemistry, and physics). Is there anything I should know about these? Are they as good as they seem? I am nervous about spending so much money on something I cannot resell. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
  18. In light of the pricing changes for used TOG and since I will only have one student using it I have decided to move away from TOG next year. I would like to get everyone's opinion on using Connect the Thoughts for US & World History starting in the 20th century for an 11/12th grader. Is this curriculum as rigorous as TOG only secular? Do I need to add anything to it to make it high school credit worthy? Is it interesting and engaging or start to get monotonousness after a while? I also really like Beautiful Feet's US & World History, how would you compare the two? Do you think I could combine CTT and BF effectively or would this be repetitive or overkill? Ds is a very strong reader and loves to read. He plans to double major in history and creative writing so that he can write historical fiction as his career.
  19. No school, no free room and board! If he or she is that anxious to start their grown up life then let them have it full force - pay rent, buy food, clean up after themselves, etc. There is a reason why they are called children and live with parents, some need a big dose of reality to figure it out.
  20. 1 semester at the cc would equal 1 year of high school credit as dual enrollment. I would create a high school transcript that reflected this. Hence, she would have 4 credits of math, 4 credits of science, and 1-2 credits of social sciences (you did not specifically say how many college credits). I do not see why she would have to take additional classes, she is working hard already!
  21. I am glad to know I am not the only one who does not like Diogenes! My ds gained so much knowledge from Homer/Aesop for OB but when we attempted Diogenes the structure of the lessons and layout of the books was less than desirable. After so much research and planning I really wanted CW to work. We are now using a combination of TWTM and IEW. Maybe the best thing to do is move on Heredotus which I wanted to use from the beginning. Hmmm....
  22. Thank you for this suggestion. I registered and viewed the first two lectures. I will definitely incorporate this into my course! However, the price of the book that you suggest which goes with the course is pretty steep so I will not be using it. Which two of my books will you be using? Will you be including a persuasive writing component to your course? I am leaning toward the Lively Art of Writing over the Argument Builder. What do you think?
  23. A Workbook for Arguments has the book a Rulebook for Arguments inside of it along with exercises and samples for practice and understanding each of the rules.So ds will get the chance to research and analyze others writing. I already own A Workbook for Arguments and The Art of Argument. Maybe I should use the Lively Art of Writing instead of The Argument Builder. I have noticed a lot of people have been raving about this tiny book and I already have a workbook for it that someone from this board designed.
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