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lizziebeth

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Posts posted by lizziebeth

    Biology's a no go - need something else

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    Have you considered going a non-textbook route? The Teaching Company series of lectures, Biology the Science of Life, is excellent. Each lecture is only 30 minutes, and the professor is good. You could match that with the Biology Coloring Book and with projects from Biology Corner. It doesn't look like an orthodox high school science program, but it would cover the same material as a text book and would give varied activities each week.

     

     

    Jenn, I had considered the TTC course, because we've used many other ones with great success; however, I was concerned about several of the reviews on TTC's website for this course - namely, one of the reviewers said he/she had a degree in chemistry but thought the first 45 lectures re biochemistry were too difficult to understand. Can you tell me a bit more about your opinion of the course and the teacher? Does it cover pretty much what a "standard" biology course should cover? I would love to do the lectures along with other books that I pick out (the living books idea is great, btw!)

    Biology's a no go - need something else

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I purchased the 2010 Miller & Levine Biology book, but it's just not for us. Since my ds has attention problems anyways, I find that messy textbooks with stuff all over the pages is way too distracting. I need something clean, neat, organized, and perhaps with a higher level of vocabulary (but not TOO difficult to read). Maybe Campbell's? Are there others? Any suggestions?

    Does anyone have any experience with Rosetta Stone?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    My ds started with RS French this year, and we've progressed through almost two levels, but I added a LOT of additional work with French grammar books and verb workbooks. He's really enjoyed RS, and it's a great, fun introduction to a foreign language, but I don't think it can be used as a stand-alone program. He's picked up quite a bit of vocabulary, but I'm afraid he would be light-years behind a "typical" French I or II student if I hadn't added the workbooks.

     

    So, if it will be used in your class as a supplemental aid, then I think it'll be fine!

    Are college scholarships taxable?

    in The College Board

    Posted

    I agree with what you stated. (Did I write something that seemed otherwise? :001_huh: If so, oops!) I believe that education credits are only available for out of pocket expenses that the family pays for tuition, certain fees, books, and certain required supplies, perhaps things like required art supplies and something like a required Mac for a graphic design major. (I'm a bit unclear on the last category, so don't quote me.)

     

    The situation that I had in mind was that if a student receives funding that covers part of the eligible expenses, but the parents has to pay the rest, then the parent can claim the amount they paid a tax credit, within the rules established by the IRS. Here's an example, without getting into need-based funding. Say a kid gets a merit scholarship that pays for all of their tuition. They would still have the cost of books, fees, and the grey "required supplies" area that would be creditable expenses on the parents' income tax. While the student could claim those expenses on their tax return, if the student is not earning very much, and thus would not owe enough to take advantage of the credit, it might be in the best interest of the famly for the credit to be taken on the parents' return. If the student owes nothing or less than the credit allows, I believe there is a refund available, but it is capped at 40% (?) of the creditable amount. In our case, b/c we'll be paying those expenses and she is a dependent, it will come off our return, not hers.

     

    Did that help?

     

    Aaaah, I see. Thank you for taking the time to clear that up - I guess I had "scholarships in excess of expenses" on the brain since I just finished working on my dd's tax return. It still feels "wrong" to me that tax should have to be paid on scholarship $$ - but, hey, who said our tax system makes sense?

    Are college scholarships taxable?

    in The College Board

    Posted

    Valerie - I'm wondering how an education credit is available if the student has received funds in excess of eligible expenses? Am i missing something? I had always assumed that no credits would be available since neither the parent nor the student paid the expenses personally. I hope I'm wrong!

    Any experience doing Physics in 9th grade?

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    My 9th grader is also doing the high school version of Conceptual Physics, and we both love it! It is fascinating, and the book is very well written and covers many, many topics. So - I have a question for those of you who have done this course...

     

    We are using it along with The Teaching Company videos "Physics In Your Life," and I want my son to go through the entire textbook and all of the dvds this year; however, that's a lot to get through. We started out working through many of the problems at the end of each chapter, but I soon realized that there would be no way to get through the whole course if we took that much time with each chapter. So, we have decided to only do the concept checks at the end of each chapter before moving on to the next. That way I know he read and understand the main concepts - but, of course, it doesn't give any practice in working through problems.

     

    How have others handled this? Did you cover everything, including problems and labs, or did you skip some chapters, or what did you do?

    What are you using for your 9th grader this year I

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    we started on a part-time basis a few weeks ago and will begin full-time school next week. ds 14 is doing the following:

     

    French - Rosetta Stone French I

     

    Physics - Conceptual Physics - Hewitt, along with TTC Physics in Your Life dvd lectures

     

    Ancient History - Dorling Kindersley History: The Definitive Guide, along with TTC World History and TTC Foundations of Western Civ (only the lectures relating to Ancient History for now)

     

    Literature - Great Books to go along with Ancient History, along with TTC History of World Literature (only the portion relating to Ancient History for now) and TTC Classical Mythology

     

    Vocabulary - Vocabulary from Classical Roots Books A & B

     

    Grammar - Analytical Grammar

     

    Art & Art History - The Annotated Mona Lisa

    Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

    TTC Museum Masterpieces (MMA and Louvre)

     

    Speech - Critical Thinking book one

    Teaching Co. all on sale til midnight 7/12

    in High School and Self-Education Board

    Posted

    I have been previewing the art history courses for my upcoming 9th grader to go along with Ancient History, and then I plan to use the remaining lectures as we work our way up to that part of history during the next few years (if I'm fortunate enough to get to homeschool him for all of highschool.)

     

    I first ordered TTC Art Across the Ages, but I found it to be too advanced. I thought the vocabulary and some of the concepts were above his level of understanding, and it really got into much more detail than I thought he would enjoy. So.... I traded that in for the course you mentioned above: The Louvre and the MMA set by Professor Brettell. I sat through the first 6 lectures of the MMA course on the first night I received the dvds, and I LOVED it. In fact, I wish I could go to NY right now to visit it! He does a very good job of placing the objects into their historical context and then explaining why it's considered a work of art. There are very nice photos of the objects he's talking about, and the professor has excellent presentation skills (and clearly loves his subject).

     

    Now I'm trying to come up with a few art projects to go along with it.....

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