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Proverbs*Mom

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    *another "help me plan high school" thread*

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    If you want her science to be rigorous, I don't know that you should use the course you have laid out. From what I've researched Apologia Biology, Chemistry, and Physics are not really Honors or AP level courses. They are if you combine with with Apologia's Advanced courses and do both in one year, though.

     

    I am considering DIVE science next year. In the introduction video, the instructor has charts comparing the level of thoroughness of various curricula. Here is a link to the video. For physics, he only uses Saxon Physics.

     

    I don't know how rigorous science needs to be for the NA, but I would assume that it needs to be very good courses.

     

    Yes, if she doesn't invest the time in science in high school-she will pay during her Plebe year, should she be selected.

     

    Thank you for posting this. Her younger sisters do two Apologia books per year. I'm not really sure why Anne does not. I guess I just assumed they were full year courses?

     

    She's never really enjoyed science, to be quite honest. We used Calvert School until 7th grade, and then we went right to Apologia General Science. She's doing Physical Science now. I'll talk to her this evening and see if she thinks she could handle two per year. Thank you so much for the link to the Dive CDs. We used Dive for Saxon Alg 1/2, and she liked it. I've never seen them for Apologia, though. I was planning on purchasing this:

     

    http://www.christianbook.com/exploring-creation-biology-2nd-edition-version/pd/536403?event=BB&bookbag=1&item_code=WW

     

    Perhaps I should rethink that choice. Can you tell I'm not much of a science fan?

     

    And you are saying I should use Saxon's Physics instead of Apologia's?

    *another "help me plan high school" thread*

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    :bigear:

     

    I'm interested to read the feedback you get. I feel we are in a similar boat...starting high school next year, have homeschooled from the beginning, and ds wants to do meteorology at the Air Force Academy. He's a straight A student and tests high. And highschool makes me want to throw up my hands. :tongue_smilie:

     

    We're also doing Saxon and Apologia. He's dropping Latin (not a big fan) and starting Spanish next year. The AFA doesn't accept classical languages. My ds is not disappointed. I'm cobbling together history and lit as I haven't found anything ready made that I think I would actually do. I'm hoping to get in a few AP courses: Geography, American Gov't, Literature, Economics, Spanish, Calculus? Environmental Science? AP scares me. I can't afford to outsource it and it's daunting to me. I never had an AP class or taken an AP test. I wish I had more first-hand experience with it.

     

    Your dd sounds like she's got a great advantage with her swimming. The varsity sport requirement is something we are going to struggle with. My ds plays AYSO soccer and he can play on a varsity homeschool team in the fall. But he's not particularly gifted. He might only make the JV team. He does play the tuba well and is part of an award-winning band but that just doesn't seem like it's as much what they are looking for as sports.

     

    I can't remember now if your post mentioned service/leadership projects for your dd. My ds has joined the Civil Air Patrol. It's a leadership development program for young people. Well, that's not ALL it is, but I think that's a good description of the cadet program. Anyway, I know the Navy has one as well. The Seabees? My ds is very ambitious and is promoting as fast as the regulations will allow. He's planning on going to camp this summer and he signs up for every single extra training or service opportunity out there. Thankfully, it is not a terribly expensive program.

     

    I've read one book on getting into the Air Force and began another about life inside...Skies to Conquer...but haven't finished it yet. I learned alot. It actually scared me. I had a heart to heart with my ds and explained in no uncertain terms that he could change his mind at any time, not to feel locked into this decision (despite his father going all ape, in an excited, atta boy kind of way) and that I would help him find alternative schools/scholarships should he change his mind.

     

    Initially I was very scared about the pressure it put on me to "get him into" a service academy. After reading the book I realized it really is all on him. Even if his test scores aren't stellar, even if he doesn't get the right amount of points, whatever...if he truly desires with all of his heart to go there and he takes that desire and pounds it into action he WILL get to go, even if it's not the first year out of highschool. If he doesn't get accepted the first year and he gives up and decides to go to another college then he obviously wasn't cut out for it. I'm really praying that if God doesn't want him there he will keep him out despite all of our best efforts to get him there. His spiritual welfare is more important than anything else and I don't want to sacrifice that on the altar of pride and success or free college and job security or service to country or whatever our motives are to pursue this dream.

     

    Last night I saw that a facebook friend of mine, pastor's wife, lives close to the AFA and the wheels are already turning wondering if they would consider being one of those community sponsor families for my ds if he were to make it there.

     

    These next 4 years are going to be a wild ride. And, the next 4 after that if he reaches the goal. I hope I'm ready for it. :D Best of luck to you and your dd as you pursue the goal.

     

    Wow... could we be twins? Same name, similar children? :)

     

    There is only one JROTC program in our county. It's in a different district, and they don't admit homeschoolers. There are no young Navy groups. I am located between two young Marine groups, one is about 1 hours away, and one is 40 minutes away. However, both primarily meet on Saturday mornings-when we have swim meets and triathlons.

     

    She did serve as a leader last year at Awana. This year she is doing youth group, and she is looking for a new opportunity to serve. She serves others quite a bit "unofficially"...baking bread for friends, etc. You are correct though, we do need to find something official for our application.

    *another "help me plan high school" thread*

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Thank you. You read between the lines...you knew what I was really asking, through all that, was "How can I get her in??" :)

     

    She is a "B" swimmer. She does great at IM and longer distances, but she is NOT a sprinter. She did make it to all-stars (her seed time was 5th out of the whole county) her first season aging up to 13/14 in IM this past winter. She didn't join the team until she was 10, so she's had a lot of catching up to do. That being said, since she started running and doing Tris, she's dropped a lot of time...so maybe she'll surprise us?

     

    Hmmm....So Terri...would you recommend Navy Swim Camp to get in her in front of the coaches? We know two students who are/have attended the NA. One got in academically from a non-competitive state (CO). PA is quite competitive for appointments, since we are close to the USNA. The second student, who I only "know of", is a gifted swimmer. His mom told my friend to tell me (ha ha) to send Anne to swim camp there, that would improve her chances. She's a bit shy to go, especially alone. We could commute, but it's 1 hour and 40 minutes each way. But, if that's what it takes?

     

    Decisions, decisions.

    *another "help me plan high school" thread*

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    My daughter is entering high school next year. I've gone back and forth between several options...College Plus (aka, me thinking:"let's just skip High School") SOS disks (aka, me telling myself: "there's NO WAY I can teach high school!!"). After about a year of prayerful consideration, I've decided to stick with what has been successful so far for my family. We've homeschooled since 1st grade...so yes, we know we are weird in liking some of the products we like. ;) Ha ha!

     

    My daughter has high goals. She'd like to be admitted to the Naval Academy. While we know her chances are slim to get selected for the NA, our philosophy is to aim high, and even if we fail we still will have achieved a lot. She currently is a straight A student who tests about 93rd percentile in Reading and 96th in Math. We test her annually and she is consistent, so I expect she will test well on the college entrance tests. She has not taken the SAT or PSAT.

     

    Ok, so here's the plan. I'd love your input.

     

    grade 9

     

    Saxon Geometry (with CDrom)-she loves Saxon

    Apologia Biology

    Communication (Communicate! by Verderber & Verderber)

    Learning Adventures-Western and Onward (history and literature)

    Spanish 2 (Rosetta Stone)

    Greek 3 (Gatchell)

    Latina Christiana 2

    Wordly Wise 3000

    Spelling Power (should complete in 9th grade)

    SAT prep

     

    grade 10

    Saxon Alg 2

    Apologia Chemistry

    American Literature

    Civil War-1920 history

    PA State History

    Spanish 3

    Greek 4 (Gatchell)

    Latin (unsure)

    Wordly Wise 3000

    SAT prep

     

    grade 11

    Saxon Advanced Mathematics

    Apologia Physics

    Modern History

    Modern Lit

    Spanish 4

    Greek-??? (perhaps at college?)

    Latin (unsure)

    Wordly Wise 3000

    SAT prep

     

    grade 12

    Saxon Calculus

    College level Chemistry (PSU?)

    Civics

    Economics

    College Level Spanish

    Greek (college) year two

    Latin (unsure)

     

    My daughter is a year round competitive swimmer, and will likely compete at the Varsity level and swim on the summer club team. Last summer she completed 3 5ks, and would like to add 2 more each year of high school. Her passion is triathlons. She did 2 last year, her first season, and had 6 on schedule for this summer along with a tri camp. Her academic passion, as I am sure you guessed from above, are languages and history. Her career goal is to be in diplomacy, intelligence, or be a history teacher. Or, if God should lead her to not pursue a career, she would be quite happy as a homeschooling mom. :smile:

     

    Ok, so here are my specific questions:

     

     

     

    • She does not play an instrument, she is just not artistic or musical. She is thinking of adding another language in order to make her really stand out to the Naval Academy. We considered Arabic, Russian, Korean...but I think in consideration of her existing load and the fact that the UN uses it, we have decided on French. Good idea or not?
    • I'm unsure with what to do after she finished Latin. She does not want to be in the medical or science fields, so I lean towards dropping it entirely.
    • It's fine (transcript wise, I mean) to take Chem twice, right? I've heard it's the class that kills midshipmen, so I want to make sure she REALLY knows it and has a college level lab course.
    • When should she take her ACT, PSATs and SATs? As many times as possible? Her scores need to be HIGH!
    • Should she take a dedicated Trig course? I see there is a SOS Trig disk. We could do that as an elective.
    • Do you feel, considering her goal of attending the NA, I am on the right track? I have read 3 books about the requirements of the school, and feel pretty good about our choices...but can't shake the nagging feeling that so much is riding on the decisions we are making this spring for next year, and I could let her down.
    • A question that is very NA specific---if anyone knows---She would actually qualify to enter the NA after her junior year, since her bday is 7/1. Would it be crazy to try a year early, so that if she doesn't make it, she could just proceed with 12th grade, as usual? I think she would have enough, if not-nearly enough, to "graduate" early. Perhaps a bit of juggling might be necessary in 10th grade should we be told this is a good idea.
    • Am I overlooking anything?

     

    Thank you all for your wisdom.

    Is it possible to use coupons and eat healthily?

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    I personally didn't find it to be possible. Around here, the coupons for non-processed foods are few and far between. Of course, my family is also gluten-free, so I am not excited by coupons for cake mixes and pasta, lol. :) Also, at this point in my life, admittedly, coupons are not something I can seem to keep up on. It's really hard for my perfectionist nature to admit that! The piles of coupons and "missed deals" were actually stressing me out, so I just quit trying. I have issues. Ha ha!

     

    I do love (correction-used to love, I haven't done it lately) going to CVS and getting great deals on health and beauty items. My favorite site is:

     

    http://www.iheartcvs.com

    learning adventures vs. sonlight?

    in K-8 Curriculum Board

    Posted

    I haven't used Sonlight, but I am in my second year of Learning Adventures. There is a lot of teacher reading in LA, we found the lesson plans to be mini-lectures and my kids got a bit bored of that. Maybe it's because it was coupled with the oral literature readings, but it just felt like I was ALWAYS talking. That being said, we loved it and are using ANWOA this year...but I have purchased lots of the books we're reading on CD. ;) Your son is older than my youngest two, so he could just read them independently. Hope this helps!

    Talk to me about Calvert and the like

    in General Education Discussion Board

    Posted

    Hi there!

     

    I've used Calvert, all grades from Pre-K-6th grade. My girls are 11, 8, and 6 right now and in 6th, 2nd and 1st.

     

    I :heart: Calvert in theory. It's an excellent education-my oldest daughter is doing very well compared to her peers. We just submitted her test 140, and it included a 8 page research paper of her choice (China), with a bibliography and outline. But sigh, this is our last year. We have MEGA textbook burn-out. The tests take 4-5 days to complete, which a major issue we are having as well. It's 19 days of lessons, then the 20th day is testing (20, 40, 60, 80...etc...) My first and second graders can get their tests done in one day, but you can imagine how much material that is for an older child. To prepare for and complete a test takes a week. We are very disciplined/task oriented people-I can imagine this would be overwhelming to someone who was more laid back.

     

    We have found the textbooks and support to be excellent. No complaints-we are just tired out going in three separate directions and all the tests. Next year we will be starting the WTM philosophy with Learning Adventures, Saxon Alg 1/2, Christine Gatchell's Greek and Rod and Staff grammar. My girls are SOOO excited, our new books are starting to arrive!! I think we are going to start "next year" right away (in May)...so just in case it doesn't work out...we can go back to Calvert in September without falling behind.

     

    I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. I'm new here, I hope I was able to help you!!

    Rebecca

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