Has anyone tried CLRC History classes? I am looking at the Renaissance and Early Modern World and wonder if it's a comprehensive course. We definitely need to pull either World or European History next year and I am not eliminating the possibility of doing it at home, but want to see what is available. My daughter will have a full schedule of online classes next year, so I hesitate adding another one. On the other hand we are not very good here keeping a schedule all by ourselves. We are not looking for the AP level necessarily, she will take AP US History next year, but this year we just need to have it done, so to speak.

I do get it as far as reading high quality literature. To me it always was something akin to a eating good food. With some time, it will start reflecting in one's writing. I suppose what Maya is saying is not to take the class for the sake of prepping. I don't know, Muse is a good class. It has elements of both, good reading and creative writing. Maybe sign up just for the Greek part first and see how it goes. If it's not your daughter's cup of tea, you can always spend spring semester doing something else. I wonder if you asked Sue Fisher might be open to accepting revisions on the papers or whatever else that would be helpful to be ready for the AP class. She is so flexible and giving. But as I say that, I remember also thinking that way in the beginning of the last year, that we have a year to get my kiddo up the speed for the AP English. I decided to try Julia Denne, and if necessary to add Brave Writer courses. It was during that class, I realized she is already there, not because there was any special prep, but because it gave her a safe and supporting space to stretch herself with a reflective thinking that was expressed writing. Muse would also serve that. The scope of literature is both interesting and challenging and the papers serve to reinforce what was read. And there I think ? My daughter also took Muse classes and loved it, loved the teacher. So much so, that she measures everyone by Sue Fisher's standard. But if you are looking for a writing class, that would help with the mechanics of writing, it is not it. There are 4 essays per semester, and Sue Fisher is giving wonderful

Thanks. to this list we didn't bother buying any of those devices, and none were missed. We took Geometry and Algebra 2 with WHA.

Mirabillis, we are following your footsteps (for some things :) ) AP Psych with PHA -- Excellent class! By the Onion Sea classes -- Super Hit! My daughter wants to take all her classes now. Algebra 2 with WHA-- Ok, this one is just ok. I know Mr. Reini is very popular. He is funny, he is goofy. Totally didn't work for my kid. She is too .. I don't know, serious? Anyway she did appreciate that he explains well. Overall she spent the least amount of time on this class. Pre AP Bio with Terry Kenner through Debrah Bell -- If you hope to be ready for the SAT Subject test, look somewhere else. At the same time my dd loved, adored when Dr. Kenner would bring real life applications to what they were studying. So, not a good test prep. Excellent exploratory class. Lone Pine -- Latin. That one is a heartbreak. It went under. But best, best teacher.

Perhaps Sue would be open to accepting revised papers as well, which is always valuable. Definitely talk to her. I don't know about Julia Denne would necessarily be a step up. Both give a place to ponder and reflect on ideas. In Muse it would be in her papers, for Russian lit, in weekly discussions and the term paper. It just for us, it really clicked with Julia because I think my daughter reached a certain level of maturity at that point. I guess what I am trying to say that I can't think of any special prep classes that I can point to, beside some writing and a lot of reading. Muse is great for it, because the reading selection is excellent and the paper topics make one reflect on it.

Well, I remember there was a post here some time back from a mom basically asking the same thing. What would prepare her dd for the AP Lang class? She actually contacted Maya Inspektor from PAH and her reply was to read, and read, and read. She said teaching how to write is not hard, but it is much easier if the student has read plenty of literature. And she meant both fiction and non fiction, as well as periodicals. Back then I was surprised at the answer, that the emphasis is on literature, not the writing, but I do get it now. We are taking the class with her next year and I think there will be some hand holding, at least in the beginning, as far as writing mechanics go. But it will also involve a lot of reading, processing and analyzing ideas. Muse classes are great. On some level, it is a little hard for me to answer if they will prepare for AP, because my dd was only 13 when she took them and she really struggled to keep her head above water. It was Sue Fisher's magic that kept her in. And it was well worth it. I suppose if she had taken it now, she would get so much more out of it. But this is what it looks like. A lecture (I don't remember much discussion during the lecture, but students could ask questions), assigned reading (various samples from poetry, speeches, medical journals, etc.), weekly quizzes, mostly checking recollection and comprehension of the material, and creative papers. Papers were returned with very constructive comments, but there was no rewriting them. Not to muddy the waters, but my kiddo took this https://bytheonionsea.com/tag/teen-classes last semester (it was Anna Karenina). And from it I have much better sense that she is ready for the AP. Did it prepare her? I think so. It definitely stretched her, just like Muse did two years ago in its own way. Lots and lots of in-depth discussions about the material covered, both live and off line. There is only one paper at the end, but that one paper gets revised numerous times. Very, very valuable. I think both classes will prepare her, actually. They are just somewhat different. If it makes any difference, it was Sue Fisher who recommended Julia Denne when I asked her what would be the next step for us ? Actually, i would suggest contacting any of the AP Lang. teachers at PAH and ask them that same question. Or for that matter both Sue Fisher or Julia Denne would most likely give you a very thoughtful reply. This is long winded answer, but I hope it was somewhat helpful. My daughter also took Muse classes and loved it, loved the teacher. So much so, that she measures everyone by Sue Fisher's standard. But if you are looking for a writing class, that would help with the mechanics of writing, it is not it. There are 4 essays per semester, and Sue Fisher is giving wonderful

Thank you so much for these resources. I think I will need to pull the material together over the summer too. Thank you Borninthesouth for the simple suggestion to read the book over the summer. This is where we always get stumbled. Chores kicks in and I am the one who is not following up with reading during the year.

It really depends on the school. I have known someone who was denied an admission to the local state school with 3 math credits, while the same student got accepted to the excellent private university with the exactly same portfolio. So it would make sense to ask ahead of time. It might be that he doesn't need it. Or if he does, he will see it as another hoop to jump through if he wants to go to that specific school. But I imagine for lighting design, he will need at least physics, and physics is math. So..

I don't think the amount of reading is overwhelming in Muse. It got a little difficult with Aristotle. But overall, if spaced evenly during the week, it is doable. And they start with Greeks (fall semester), and that is usually a little easier going, more goofy. Just to emphasize, it is an excellent into into Greek and Roman body of literature with the creative writing component but it is not a writing mechanics class. The 4 essays per semester would definitely give her plenty of opportunity to be creative in how to approach assigned papers, but at the same time she needs to hit all the parameters assigned for that essay. The feedback that Sue Fisher gives on the essays is excellent, but there are no rewrites. So, in that sense it is not the class for someone who is looking on "how" to write or form an essay. On the other hand my daughter only turned 13 when she started the class and the teacher was totally flexible about it evaluating her work and meeting her at the level she was at the time. Her writing skills improved tremendously over that year, but it was mostly from the sheer amount of papers she had to work on. But most with most she was very engaged with. Sue Fisher is probably still one of her favorite teachers, so much so that she measures others to the mark of Sue Fisher. And very few come to it ? Actually, Julia Denne with " By the Onion Sea" has probably earned that place on the Mount Olympus for her next to Sue Fisher. ?

AP Psych was a delightful class and honestly, most of the time took less time than some of my dd's other regular classes. Bonus, is that her eyes light up when she hears psych. references in the conversations. Excellent first AP class. And I can't imagine more supportive and accommodating teacher than Bonnie Gonzalez.

Hi Satellite, We are thinking we are going to jump into this class. It will add more workload to the year, but my kiddo needs assignments and deadlines. And we need to get going on history. So... Anyone else??

So tempted. What makes me hesitate is that it will be adding a 3rd AP course to my dd's schedule next year. Has anyone taken this course? How many hours of work per week does it really take? I saw in FAQ 10-15 hours? Our experience has been that the hours stated are usually slightly inflated. But then again, all the teachers are different.

I certainly anticipate a huge load full. But I just know if my dd is liking the class and the teacher, she is like a locomotive engine, can work non stop. I just need to make sure she gets enough sleep and food :) Looking forward to it too, omd21!!

Julie that you so much!! I was concerned about having another teacher giving a feedback. So hearing that both are up to a high standard, we will give it a shot next year. Would you give an estimate of how much time does your son spends on this class? We are aiming to also enroll in AP Chem, and I know many kids here have done much more, but here it might be a stretch in addition to everything else my daughter does.

Perhaps someone who had AP Lang with Maya Inspektor in the past could help me here. We are enrolled in her class, but because I missed the beginning of the enrollment period, we fell into a small section of 10 students that is actually led by the co-teacher (Mrs I's former student). Both sections would be getting the same material, prompts, morning messages, but for the 10 students, the feedback and the grading will be given by the other teacher (not by Mrs I). Has anyone had a similar experience? Even if not, any feedback would very welcome. Any people who have taken Mrs I's classes? We have an option to go with Blue Tent when their registration opens on March 1st, as well. Thank you so much!!

My daughter is in PreAP Bio with Dr Kenner. No evolution. She said she will provide some guidance, if needed, but students will do it on their own.

Depends what the English class is. I would call it more of an exposure to the Greek and Latin literature class and that would include poetry, plays, memoirs, speeches, philosophical works, historical accounts, even medical writings. It is not a class on mechanics of writing an essay, though the feedback the teacher provided was excellent. So, yes, I would say it's a solid literature course, with a writing component. It would play beautifully if one did Ancient History along with it. That would be an excellent combo. I think we overlapped Latin Muse (second part of the class) with a Lukeion grammar course. But it wasn't to supplement it. We were planning on her starting Latin the next year and thought to get her grammar together.

Thank you so much Texasmom33! So, no secret feature that I have missed. You gave me good ideas and I will see how to organize the things that are important to us. Thank you again!

Just wanted to put it out here for anyone who is planning AP science for next year. My DD is taking PreAP Bio with Dr. Terry Kenner this year and she just asked her today what would she recommend next year AP Bio or AP Chem? The recommendation was AP Chem before AP Bio as well basic Statistics course would also helpful for AP Bio. Just passing on... :)

Consider Russian Lit class, By the Onion Sea. Excellent class, teacher, in depth discussions and super helpful feedback on the essay.

We are huge fans of Sue Fisher. So much so that all the other teachers are measured by "Sue Fisher" bar. :) Very few came in close. My daughter was just turned13 when she took it, of course I was concerned about overall load and the essays specifically. Mrs. Fisher said that her evaluation of my kid would be based just on her alone and on the progress she makes and, of course, she wouldn't expect her to perform on the level of a high school senior. Her essay topics were super engaging and her feedback was really good. The reading load was substantial, essays were I think 4 per semester (can't remember now), so I considered that a "stretching" class. And stretch it did. I think it changed my daughter's whole perspective on what to expect from a high quality - excellent teacher class. In fact it was Sue Fisher who recommended us Julia Denne (By the Onion Sea). Don't want to switch topics here, but Julia is definitely up there on the Mount Olympus along with Sue Fisher for my kiddo :)

We are huge fans of Sue Fisher. So much so that all the other teachers are measured by "Sue Fisher" bar. :) Very few came in close. My daughter was just turned13 when she took it, of course I was concerned about overall load and the essays specifically. Mrs. Fisher said that her evaluation of my kid would be based just on her alone and on the progress she makes and, of course, she wouldn't expect her to perform on the level of a high school senior. Her essay topics were super engaging and her feedback was really good. The reading load was substantial, essays were I think 4 per semester (can't remember now), so I considered that a "stretching" class. And stretch it did. I think it changed my daughter's whole perspective on what to expect from a high quality - excellent teacher class. In fact it was Sue Fisher who recommended us Julia Denne (By the Onion Sea). Don't want to switch topics here, but Julia is definitely up there on the Mount Olympus along with Sue Fisher for my kiddo :)

Hi, I have been posting for a bit, but mostly lurking and reading. This forum is a treasure trove of ideas. My problem is that I can't seem to figure out how to save, bookmark conversations that I like and will need to refer later. Could anyone help? I do see people keep referencing old threads that are relevant to the conversations. But do they go and search for them every time? Or there is a way to save what is useful to the member? I hope I am making sense. And hope someone could guide me or refer to some tutorial that I missed. Thank you so much!!! Irene

Yes, chemistry first. Having basics in chemistry would definitely help with bio.

Chiming in late, but yes absolutely worthy class to take. I was initially concerned that the themes of Anna Karenina were a bit mature for my daughter. And there were moments of "Mom! How could she do it? She has a son!" as she was reading the book. But Julia Denne is a superb teacher and while she set the high bar in her class, she was most supportive of her students. The discussions were deep (in class and in writing) and the final essay needed a lot of work and rewriting. But the teacher was always there and always supportive. This was my daughter's favorite class along with Lone Pine Latin (which unfortunately closing down). And now she is saying she wants Julia classes every year. Recently she told me that there would be very little chance to have a teacher like Julia if she went to B&M high school. I had to agree :) So, yes, I definitely recommend her. It's a high quality, thinking class. But your child should be ready to read close to 100 pages a week.