[Zumdahl Chemistry]

I believe there were quizzes that you can pull online for each chapter. I

[Lone Pine AP Latin (+ Lukeion questions)]

My daughter is taking Lone Pine second year and loves the teacher, Mrs K, the classroom atmosphere, and now she says she loves Latin. She also said the other day if Mrs K was teaching any other language, she would take it too, because she is just that kind excellent teacher. I couldn't have wished for more, to have a kid who wants to do Latin.

[Anatomy and Physiology courses?]

I know that the OP said they prefer self study, but just in case I want to mention this online course that intrigued us very much.

http://hscollegebound.com/Anatomy.htm

 

We have no personal experience with it at all, but my daughter wants to try it next year.

[Approved AP course w/o AP exam?]

I don't regularly come to this forum and the answers above, daijobu, 3andme, made me realize I need to lurk here more often. I am so grateful to both of your responses and help. Now I have something to work with.

Thank you so much!!!

[Approved AP course w/o AP exam?]

So, I guess I am learning as I go.

 

We are signed up with AP Psych course with PAH's and I am having a hard time finding a school that would sit my daughter for the AP exam next May. My thinking was that if I won't find a school that would be willing to proctor her (it would most likely be her alone as psych hardly ever taught in high school), it would be OK, she is curious in the subject, that's why she is taking it and she just won't take the exam. I knew it will be a tough call finding a school.

 

But now, with this thread my antennas are up. If the kid takes an AP course in the 9th grade and doesn't take the corresponding exam, that may be interpreted by the college admissions as questionable? It never even occurred to me.

Thank you for bringing this up. Wow.     

[Zumdahl World of Chemistry, questions]

Exactly our experience last year!

 

I also think World of Chemistry is a great book. Our copy was from 2006 or 2007 I think. But I don't imagine much has changed. I do remember when we were prepping for SAT Chem exam, some topics that came up in Barrons guide were not in Zumdahl book. So, be aware of it. I think something like 10% to 15% was new material. But I don't see it as a problem if your kids are not going for the test after. If they do, have a reference book that gives you an idea.

 

 

World of Chemistry is excellent.

 

I used it as a supplement to Spectrum and we did the Spectrum labs (which were also excellent).  If I had it to do over again, I would use World of Chemistry as the primary program and run the Spectrum labs somewhat behind.  

 

[Chemistry or Organic Chemistry? Future Science Path?]

I didn't read through all of the thread, so if it was mentioned, disregard it. If your daughter likes Great Courses format, their Chemistry and Our Universe course by Ron Davis is excellent. It does give more than is needed for the high school chemistry course, but if you have a textbook, you should be able to sort it out. Or dive right in, his explanations are excellent and he assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. It really helped me to understand the subject to teach the course last year to our little coop. And yes, I am glad we did chemistry last year before doing biology this year.

[Like Lukeion, but for English? Or history?]

Yes, definitely second Sue Fisher with Lukeion. My dd still considers one of the best teachers she's ever had, and that was two years ago.

 

We are starting Anna Karenina with Julia Denne in September and even though it will be our first time working with her, I hope she will come close to "Sue Fisher bar" as we call it in our house.

www.bytheonionsea.com

 

I wonder if there are similar recommendations for the history classes.

[WHA's Algebra 2, Graphing Tablet, is it needed?]

I'll ask my ds... he took it last year with Reini too and he was a super active class participant. But my feeling is he also never used it. I'll ask him and report back.

 

Thank you Mirabillis!! I am not eager to spend the money, especially that I don't see a use for it at the moment, besides for this class.

 

We are pathetically low tech people. And this is going to be a very foreign object in our household. :)

 

But if it's going to be the only way for my kid to interact in the class, then of course, I'll get it.

[WHA's Algebra 2, Graphing Tablet, is it needed?]

What did you say about the Geometry materials list being revised?  We bought that tablet a couple of months ago just so we could use it for Geometry.  Guess we'll use it someday anyway, but didn't realize changes have been made.  I guess I better check the other classes, too...

 

I didn't learn of WHA till last year, but have heard from one mom that the tablets that she bought for her kids for the Geometry class were never used. They took the class prior to us, so I assume it was on the list of the materials for the class back then. It is not there now. But it could also be the situation of kids participating or not.

[WHA's Algebra 2, Graphing Tablet, is it needed?]

Thank you Jetta, that is a great insight. My daughter also tends to stay in the background. But once she is comfortable and is familiar with the group, she actually enjoys participating. So, I guess we'll go with the tablet. 

[WHA's Algebra 2, Graphing Tablet, is it needed?]

For those that took Algebra 2 with Wilson Hill, did your student use

Wacom Intuos Draw CTL490DW Digital Drawing and Graphics Tablet?

 

Hah, the price on the Amazon is around $80.00, which I totally didn't expect to spend on top of the $120 for the textbook and the answer key book for this course.

 

I would love to hear if the students really get to use it. I also see that the same tablet is being requested  in their later courses, PreCalculus and Calculus, as well as Statistics. My daughter may continue with them for all of their math and if so, we would end up using it.

 

The reason I am asking is because I have heard from the parent 2 years ago, that it was also requested for the Geometry and they ended up not using it, which of course was frustrating. To be fare, it is taken off the Geometry materials page.

 

Thanks,

Irene

[Online Chemistry?]

I would just add that we did Chemistry 'on our own' this year, hooking up with a couple of friends to do lab experiments every other week.  It was tough, tough, tough to grade assignments and tests as you have to follow the math in the chemical equations to know where your student went wrong (or not).  I thought I would be able to keep up with the Chemistry and do the course alongside my ds since I had achieved an 'A' in high school chemistry EONS ago, but I ended up having my dh take over the grading that year and he did not have an easy time, either. 

 

 

 

I had this knowing smile when I read this. I took over teaching Chemistry this past year, thinking also how hard can it be. I also used to be good in chemistry and took # of courses in college (25 years ago :) ) It really took my all available time. And when it came to algorithms, I just handed it over to my students. Luckily they figured it out quick themselves as everyone had Algebra 1 done.  

But once it was done, I felt really good about it. 

[Biology with WTMA questions]

I am not finding any feedback for the Blue Tent class. We were thinking of it earlier, but still, I would love to hear if anyone had any experience with it.

 

The fact that the new teacher with WTM is there for just one year is another reason, I don't feel comfortable.

It's interesting that the website didn't replace Mrs. Up's name on her other classes, P&A and another one, Philosophy of Science(?)

[Well, y'all, I haven't been on in a good, long while, but I'm back with some happy news....]

Thank you so much for this! I so much needed this reminder right now.

[Biology with WTMA questions]

Yes, it looks like the instructors background is in Physics. But on the other hand, I see that during her PHD years she is was working in bio labs/projects (?)

[Biology with WTMA questions]

Well, apparently there will be a different teacher for this class now.  I just got an email this morning.

 

Yes, I got that email too and trying to logically think through this one, what the next step should be. We certainly signed up because of the great teacher recommendations.

My daughter is also begging for the live dissections, which this class doesn't offer. (was thinking of doing it on our own).

I wonder if I should post a new topic about that.

Irene

[9th grade science?]

I would also recommend Derek Owens' Physical Science, but it would only work if your son can work independently and keep up with the schedule on his own. My daughter started it in the 7th grade, liked it initially, but half way gave up because other classes and commitments took the front seat for her. And perhaps she was a bit young.

Conceptual approach to science may work too, Chemistry or Physics, but be aware that the books are very long winded. I was thinking of it as a supplement for the Chemistry last year, but quickly realized that the amount of reading is huge. Perhaps if he starts now, it may be ok.

[Biology with WTMA questions]

I hope someone can answer these questions regarding Biology class with Well Trained Mind Academy. 

 

1. How much live on mike student participation is there? The reason I am asking is a strange one. We are cobbling our schedule of local and online classes together and my daughter may need to be taking  Tuesday classes from the public library. She would be OK listening in or typing her answers, but might not be very eager to participate on mike if she is in the public space herself. 

 

2. Regarding the labs. Is there benefit (or possibility) to do the labs for this class with a friend? I taught a small chemistry with labs class last year and kids want to continue having labs together. How long do actual labs take place? Do you think it's a possibility? They would be working with their own set of lab specimen. 

 

Thank you so much!!

 

Irene

[Summer Readiness for Chemistry Honors and Algebra II]

Memorizing first 20 elements is probably helpful, but honestly, he will be working with them so much that it will come on its own. But yes, if he doesn't mind, memorizing first 20 with their atomic masses, probably would help with needing to look them up all the time, and so save time.

[New Russian Literature Online Classes]

I am so glad seeing this post. We are signed up to this class. It will be our first experience with Julia, but we have heard so much positive feedback about her classes (personal and online) that we decided to take a plunge. My daughter will be 15 in September, so she will be on the younger side, but with the supportive, caring teacher, I think it will be an excellent experience for her. It looks like the class is still enrolling, so, even without personal experience, I will dare to say, I hope some of you will take this opportunity and join it.

Irene

 

P.S. I have recently decided to reread Anna Karenina (after 20 years?). And I must say I am enjoying every bit of it. There is so much to this book. I think this class will be great... And challenging.

[Chemistry: real hands-on lab or virtual lab?]

I second Spectrum Chemistry labs. Everything comes in one package and really compliments the textbook, I love above comparison of watching Food Network and cooking yourself. Exactly.

We ended up mixing Spectrum and Zumdahl and that was a good thing, because my students decided to go for the SAT Chemistry test and Spectrum alone wouldn't prepare them.

[Need Algebra 1 suggestions for my 8th grader]

Another good course is by Live Online Math. We didn't end up taking it, because it is out on the West Coast and the timing didn't work for us, but my daughter took few classes as a trial and said that the teacher Joh Bovey was very thorough and had every student involved. They are also quite inexpensive.

[Recs For Latin?]

Based on his experience as a self-learner, you might look at Lingua Latina/Familia Romana. It's an immersive textbook—all in Latin, telling a (sometimes funny) story about a Roman family. As you read through it, each chapter gives you more of a foundation in the language, with new concepts built in. There are supporting materials that you or he could use to go along with it that give more information and/or practice. Or, having Wheelock on hand (I believe there is an older edition for free somewhere online that someone on the boards mentioned). From past threads I've read on the board, covering the first 15 chapters would be a reasonable Latin 1 high school course. Finishing the book could be Latin 2. We have combined it with the National Latin Exam.

 

Erica in OR

 

I highly recommend Lone Pine Classical School. They use Lingua Latina book, Erica mentioned above. Classes are live and led by an excellent, caring teacher. My daughter made a huge progress this year, she did need to study a lot, but still considers this to be one of the best classes.

Irene    

[Science Advice Please!!]

I'd highly recommend Spectrum Chemistry. I think it'd be just what you want. 

 

Definitely second Spectrum Chemistry. The labs that are the main part are excellent in "Got it!" moment. I find myself constantly referring to this or that lab when I explain something. What I don't like about them is that at the last third of the book, they stopped explaining how to solve math problems, expecting a student to figure it out. Didn't really work for my group. So, switched back to the Zumdahl book.

 

There is definitely math, but it is very basic. So, if your daughter is doing Algebra 1 concurrently, it should be OK. I think if the student understands how to manipulate an algebraic equation, it should be sufficient for the 80% of the course.

 

As far as doing Chemistry before the Biology, it is the sequence that actually makes sense as an Advanced Biology heavily relies on knowledge of Chemistry. And that is what we decided on as well.