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Heather in VA

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Everything posted by Heather in VA

  1. I just wanted to update you guys on this. First - I got the book and I love it. I guess that's also the bad news because I emailed the Critical Thinking Co about the 'Book 1' notation and asked about Book 2. This is the answer I got back. The author of World History Detective has moved on to other projects, so, though we are hoping to eventually continue the series, we do not currently have an author or a timeline for when that might be available. So while it looks like the original intent was for a book 2 - there doesn't seem to be one in the foreseeable future. Bummer. I know there are two books for US History but I was hoping for more World History before taking on the US books.
  2. Thank you so much for posting this in regards to the new version. A couple of months ago I posted asking about something for when we are done with Winston Grammar. A couple of people suggested Fix-It and honestly I never really paid attention to that recommendation because I tried it a few years ago and it was a mess and I just couldn't teach it effectively. I didn't realize there was a new version now. I just checked it out and it looks great. So much more straightforward and easy to use.
  3. I agree with EKS. My youngest needs the whiteboard. We have used it exclusively until this year. She's in pre algebra now. We still use the whiteboard a lot. She does lots of practice on the whiteboard before moving to problems on paper. She needs it more than my older two did but I have no issues using it at all.
  4. It is stupid, but I have one better. When I was in high school they were testing an Organic Chemistry class. My school was a training ground for the soon-to-be-opened Jefferson science and tech school. But in November our teacher was diagnosed with cancer and couldn't continue (obviously). Since there aren't a lot of organic chemistry high school teachers laying around they were scrambling for a replacement. My dad, who has a PhD in organic chem and was a professor for several years offered to take a leave of absence from his job and teach the course. They wouldn't let him because he didn't have a high school teaching certificate. So they hired a woman with an English degree and she spent each day reading the textbook, clearly with no idea what any of it meant.
  5. The core of their program is their cards. Each year has 32 people/events that serve as the spine for the studies. All of those books are materials you can use with the cards. Each card has specific assignments from a selection of those materials if you want something spelled out. The TEacher's manual helps guide the learning as well and provides activities and worksheets. Or you can do the self-paced history which does the same thing, following the cards, but does all the fleshing out and teaching for you as well as the memory work of memorizing the cards in order.
  6. Junior Analytical Grammar or Winston Grammar
  7. That sounds fantastic! The layout of the other one drove me nuts too. I could deal with my political differences with the author but the constant feeling that the book was yelling 'Squirrel!!' was intolerable to me. I'll have to check it out.
  8. I didn't know there was a concise version. Is it still for the middle school ages? Does it leave a lot out to turn it into 'concise'?
  9. I was the one who said that and the OP would, IMHO, still need some kind of validation to help boost her transcript in terms of UVA. The question referred to finishing her foreign language in 10th grade and having 5 credits on the transcript. There was no reference to IB/AP exams or DE. I assumed since she planned to stop the studies she wouldn't be pursuing additional studies via DE so I would highly recommend taking the AP exam even though she's already done the SAT subject test. Of course this is all in a vacuum without knowing anything about test scores, other course work, extra curricular (a big emphasis for UVA) or all those other things.
  10. UVA will expect you to take any AP exam where the transcript indicates achievement at that level. SAT Subject tests are necessary as well but won't be a substitute for taking the AP exam. They hold those in very high regard. Typically kids accepted will have 8 - 10 AP exams. Again, how many can vary depending on in-state or out and where you live in VA, but if a class of that level is on the transcript, they will expect the AP exam.
  11. I don't know where the OP lives, but if you are out of state these states for UVA are way below what you will need to get in. You will need multiple AP exams and at least 2 SAT subject tests. If you are in-state you will still need these things but admittance chances will vary depending on where in the state you live.
  12. Interesting... Both amazon and Christianbook call it book 1 but then I went to the Critical Thinking website and it says 'Ancient, Medieval, and Early American Civilizations'. So maybe Amazon and CB just added the 'book 1' in anticipation of a potential book 2. Either way it sounds like what I want LOL.
  13. I've been looking at this and it's referred to as 'World History Detective Book 1'. However, I can't find any sign of 'Book 2'. Is it just called Book 1 for convenience in case they come out with a Book 2 someday or is there a book 2 that I just haven't found yet?
  14. Thanks - I much prefer American woven in as well. That's what I've done with my older two. This last one is just different. She has learning issues and things need to be spelled out for her. She's smart and likes history but things aren't intuitive to her. My other kids did Omnibus and Biblioplan. It went great. They didn't do a ton of writing, maybe one essay a week, and I really never had to work to make connections or pull out the ideas. And I never had to help them understand concurrent events or see cause and effect. This one won't be doing AP or dual enrollment. I do think she'll be able to go to college but it won't be until she's of college age and then will probably start with community college. She just needs more time to develop that kind of thinking and to learn to work with her learning issues. All that to say that's why I wonder if a focused American history wouldn't be better for her. We are currently doing a cycle in 3 years using Human Odyssey so she won't be completely ignorant of the other events. Why is it that kids aren't exactly alike :lol: ?
  15. This is my problem. I'd love to do a World Geography/Cultures one year and probably a 20th century. If I then did 1 year of American it would only leave on year for a 'World History' and everything I see looks fast and superficial. It's probably not, but after doing years of 4 year cycle history it's hard to adjust to. I'd love to find a really good program that does it in two years. That might be a good compromise. I know I could use a 1 year program and expand but if I could avoid designing my own I'd prefer that. I do Government and Econ as electives so that won't take up a year of history.
  16. Wow - so many great ideas. I'm not sure if that's good or not LOL. I'm going to have to expand my horizons and have some fun.
  17. I agree with swimmermom. I don't think you'll have trouble drumming up excitement after they start seeing what they will get to visit. We still love going there and we live here. You could start with the Smithsonian website. There are digital learning labs and other resources there. I haven't used them but you could see what might be of interest. Most of the ideas I have would give away the surprise but after they know I'd get travel books and let them check out the various museum websites so they can see the kinds of things they will find here. I like to point out a visit to the Archives. Lots of kids are really amazed at the idea of seeing the actual Declaration and Constitution when they realize it's not just a copy but the actual one that was signed that day. They are very faded but it's still incredible. My kids are kind of sick of going because I cry every time LOL
  18. I'm going to ask how he knows he doesn't like Biology. I wouldn't let him assume he doesn't like it just based on Biology topics from younger years. And doing something light is just going to reinforce that disinterest. However, a rigorous Biology course has a LOT of Chemistry in it and you can even make it more Chemistry if you want. So if he loves Chemistry, he might find it more interesting than he thinks. Also, I agree with Lori D that since he sounds like a STEM student he really does need to do a full-fledged Biology program to aid him down the road.
  19. What have you don't instead? I'm curious to hear which subjects/time periods, which curriculum, etc. Anything you've done, I'd love to hear about it. I have done the 4 year cycle with my 2 older ones but I'm thinking with my last one I might not so I'm trying to see what we might do instead.
  20. There is a sample on amazon but it's very short so you really can't see the meat of the book.
  21. I like her materials too which is why I was looking at it. I think it's pretty new so maybe we will have to be the guinea pigs :-)
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