Hello,
I would really appreciate feedback regarding next steps for my DD9 with AOPS. She started AOPS pre-algebra last year when she was 8.5. I initially had no intentions of enrolling her in the online class due to worries of pace and maturity, but after speaking to some parents at Epsilon, I decided to give it a trial. She loves the online class, and despite the written problems being challenging/frustrating for her, she has persistently worked diligently each week on them and has improved drastically with her proofs.
The problem is that she wants to continue with the online class for Algebra A. I am really torn about this because whilst she loves AOPS pretty passionately, I can't imagine how she will handle the Algebra online class at the pace they offer. Also, she works to "blue" on Alcumus and because she often gets level 25 problems, she can spend an hour at times with the these. However, she will not put in an incorrect answer to proceed forward, even when she is getting frustrated, so this sometimes causes her math for the day to take 2 hours (on a couple occasions, 3). Note that this is something that she is driven to do, despite my pleading to move on and continue the next day. Her written responses can also take a few hours, due to the solving, detailed writing and LaTex, and has received "blue" for almost all written problems as well. She often works 1 week or 2 ahead of the class. The challenge set tends to be easiest for her and she often breezes through those, unlike her Alcumus questions, which can be can be difficult due to the level. Basically, she is getting blue across the board, and because she is also a fast processor, she gets posted in her class a great majority of the time.
Because I want her to have a very strong foundation in Algebra rather than rush her, I'd rather she work at her own pace and work from the book and Alcumus. However, she doesn't want to give up the class or the graded written responses. For those of you who have kids that completed both, could you kindly share your experiences regarding the ramping up in pace for the Algebra class? I just can't see how a young student can read through an entire chapter and work through the problems in the book in a week, in addition to the Alcumus topic, challenge and written problems. I am not a strong math person and am nervous about next year! Thank you.