Due to personal illness, I feel the need to use online resources for the upcoming school year, and was thinking about math and language arts at giftedandtalented.com. However, I don't know anything about it other than it was developed by Stanford University. Has anyone here used it for any of their classes? If so, what are your thoughts and recommendations? My original plan was to use isingaporemath.com for math and Missouri University online middle school for language arts, but now I am wondering which would be better.

Does anyone have a student attending Stanford PreCollege Summer Institute (formerly called EPGY)? My dd will be in Math, session 2. It'd be great to connect with someone who's attending.

I am confused a bit trying to see what courses are available as an independent and how to sign up for them. I also cannot find samples for the LA portions. Are there placement tests for these courses? Where do I find them? Is the LA run the same (self paced) as the math? Do you have to prove your child is gifted? Where do I find the critieria? How about the independant options? Thank you.

... esp in California. We school through a charter in California (Pathways). I saw a mention of finding public funds for EPGY and thought I'd ask if anyone has ideas, experiences, or advice before I try for this through our charter (which lately moves with glacial slowness on my e-mails and requests, and is pretty opaque in its workings and decision processes -- to me, at least). We only use the charter b/c it gave us a lot of $$$, but the funds have dropped precipitously this year, so I would be happy to jettison the charter if that makes it harder to get support for EPGY; but all else being equal, I thought it would be easier to do this if we are in the system somehow as opposed to being registered as a private school (in CA, homeschooling independently involves registering with the state as a private school). thanks for any thoughts! (and, generally, thanks to all y'all ... I'm so grateful for the support & help & ideas I find here :))

Quick background: we move a lot - new school every year until now (no more moves!), 4th grade son, new school district tested him to be much higher in math than 4th grade but they don't know the exact level because they cannot accommodate him into higher level math until he is older so they stopped testing him. They are putting him in EPGY in the library during math time as a compromise (we will see - has yet to happen though) I've read online that with EPGY you start at your age appropriate grade level or even below so that you get used to the system. What method does EPGY use to accelerate the child to their actual grade level? I ask because if he has to sit through computer lectures on how ratios work or something he will be bored to tears (or, more likely, just have the program running while he reads a library book). Essentially - do they pretest? (or can you make it pretest?) Also, how does the program handle kids with holes in their education? Given how much we've moved, I can see that is a real possibility. Thank you,

I am looking to enroll my 5 year old son in the EPGY Math program as a supplement to his regular curriculum. He is doing Singapore Early Bird Math at home and finds it easy and loves it too. My question on EPGY is: 1. Is there a difference in content and course material between EPGY Gifted program and EPGY Open enrollment? 2. Is it easy to accelerate to a higher level in the EPGY Open enrollment program if my son found his level easy? Or is changing the level possible only in the EPGY Gifted program? The reason I ask is because my budget is restricted. EPGY gifted curriculum costs $500 every 3 months. But the EPGY open enrollment costs much less. I a willing to cut corners in my family's budget if I learn that EPGY Gifted curriculum is way different from the EPGY open enrollment curriculum. We are a "mathy" family and have no problem helping out our son if he raises questions at his level - meaning absence of online tutors on-call is not an issue (EPGY gifted program has tutors and certificates of completion, I am told). I have searched a lot and have not found a definite answer. Thanks for all your help in advance!

Over the years since I've been on this board, I've seen EPGY mentioned several times but have always glossed over the posts because I just assumed it wasn't for us (mostly cost). However, now I'm starting to re-think priorities, goals, etc. and want to investigate it further. At this point I'm mostly interested in the math but would love to here any comments about their other programs as well. One of my main questions is if it is intended to be a full math program. In other words, if we do their math sequence does it cover all that we need to? That is not saying we may not supplement with other stuff (who doesn't:D) but would we have to? Also, are the math courses intended to be completed in a year or less? Are the classes on-line or are there texts to go along with them? Do the kids progress at their own pace or is there a set schedule? Please, fill my head with knowledge about all things EPGY! Thanks!

I've heard wonderful things about the EPGY math program but can't seem to find much about their LAW (language arts & writing) program. The handful of reviews I found were mixed. Has anyone else used EPGY LAW program? Did you go through OE or use their pricey tutor? How about the RWL (Reading and Writing about Literature) with LAW? What did you think? Besides EPGY, can anyone else recommend a good online language arts programs? DD enjoys the independence of learning online and loves to read & read & read but we haven't much success with structured LA curriculum. Thanks for your input!

(originally asked on the General board) I've been intent on EPGY math for awhile now, primarily because my dc (dd(K) & ds(2nd)) love Headsprout for reading and seem to thrive on learning via the interactive online environment. BUT, I have been seeing A LOT of praise for CLE math and my children do well with workbooks as well, so... Anyone care to share and compare? (That rhymes! :lol:) Thanks in advance!

I've been intent on EPGY math for awhile now, primarily because my dc (dd(K) & ds(2nd)) love Headsprout for reading and seem to thrive on learning via the interactive online environment. BUT, I have been seeing A LOT of praise for CLE math and my children do well with workbooks as well, so... Anyone care to share and compare? (That rhymes! :lol:) Thanks in advance!

What is the difference between these two programs? What are the advantages to using one over the other? How well has your child retained what they have learned? Thank you.

My ds8 is currently doing the 5th grade level work in EPGY. He moves fairly quickly (does 2+ sessions a day) and I expect him to be moving up to 6th before the end of the year. He loves doing EPGY and usually gets close to 100%. His favorite part is the geometry. When he does make mistakes, usually it is because he is ADHD and careless (like mom, natch). He then does that exercise again. I know the site says that you should aim for 80%, but that just doesn't seem like true mastery to me. We've also started doing Life of Fred Fraction. He loves this! We got the book a week ago and are on chapter 11. He's been doing all the exercises, and the first bridge thus far. He brings out the book and begs to do more all the time. Question: How coordinated are these in level? LoF is supposedly "pre-algebra". Is 5th grade EPGY "pre-algebra"? If we move through both at this pace, when will we start algebra, and what program should I use? I love LoF, but I want a "full" program in addition as well--anyone have experience with EPGY all the way through? Does is matter if we move through two programs at different places/paces, or is that just a waste of time? Anyone?

I love you. My life has been changed. <3, me.

We enrolled my rising 5th grader in EPGY through open enrollment. He started the class. There was a race car thing and then some questions and they will do 3-5 questions in one topic and then move to another topic and then back? The only instruction is to click on lecture which is a short review but not explanation. So far it's been review for my child except for atomic/molecular. Is this a placement test? Is there a natural ending point? We had to quit after 30 minutes to go somewhere and it was still doing the same thing.

My ds just started an EPGY open enrollment course, and I have a question. There is one area where he scored pretty low (he's new to logic!). Does he need to go back over that area, or will it automatically include it again in a future session? Thanks to anyone who's already familiar with EPGY - we're just figuring it all out!

I'm curious about others' experiences with EPGY. My ds9 started EPGY (LA and Math) and is advancing at a rate of a grade level a month. At this rate the courses will be complete before October. Do you just keep adding higher level courses?

My DS5-almost-6 loves creative writing and is extremely talented. (He is also PG and a Davidson Institute Young Scholar.) We are homeschooling through a fabulous charter, but it's hard to find really interesting substantive LA/creative writing materials for him. I'm thinking about signing him up for Stanford's online EPGY 3-month "Language Arts and Writing" and "Reading/Writing about Literature" courses. Does anybody have any experience with this? I'm brand new to the world of EPGY/online education. Thank you! PS I talked with someone from the program, and there are no qualification issues.

Nice story, good luck to her and her brothers. http://www.pinnaclenews.com/news/contentview.asp?c=267285 Ready for the Ivy League Friday, March 19, 2010 By Katie Moeller Mackenzie Donovan, a Hollister [CA] resident, exceeded the average expectations of excellence even as a child. Adopted at birth into the home of Ron and Tammi Donovan, Donovan has always been considered "very special," the mother said. At an early age Donovan learned how to read by herself, excelling in home school and constantly striving to do her best. In fifth grade, Donovan and her mom heard about Johns Hopkins EPGY (Education Program for Gifted Youth), for which she applied and into which she was accepted. The program enabled her to take advanced classes in English and math. At the age of 12, Donovan received an award through the program for being a seventh-grader and scoring higher than the average college-bound senior on the high school SATs. After debating whether Donovan should continue with a home schooling program or try regular high school classes, the family's questions were answered when Tammi heard about the Stanford University EPGY Online High School program through the local news. The program works as an international independent school for gifted youth students from grades 7-12. The teachers are professors from Stanford, and "are incredible," according to Donovan. "They push you to your next level," said Donovan, who described her classes as relatively small, some with 15 to 20 students. The classroom setting is a webcam and microphone set up in Donavan's house, which gives the students the ability to instant message each other and have "lively conversation," just like a regular class. <rest of story at link>

My ds, 8yo, has completed the 4th level in EPGY. The program has started him into level 5. When I realized this, I added MCT's Building Language and Rummy Roots on alternate days to slow it down a bit as his handwriting and output aren't really up to a 5th grade level, kwim? I am wondering where level 5 goes in terms of writing and grammar. Does the prog start requiring any input in terms of original writing/typing? (I'm worried I'm missing something from EPGY but am not finding more when I login) Can I rely on it for the full grammar ed? Or shall I expand as I am thinking below? The last month or so, I have been running ds back through HWOTs printing book 2 as a refresher (especially b, d, p and g!) but having him do more writing per day than last fall. For book reports, narrations or essay questions, yes, he still narrates things to me, I write them down, and he copies them. But I have noticed he can write better sentences when asked to create them on his own as part of his handwriting/vocab/spelling work so I'm thinking he is ready for a bit more workbook grammar work. So of course I am looking at MCT again though I have looked at WWE and some other writing curric's I've found out about on the boards here - yet, MCT seems to be a good fit. Maybe not a great fit but better than the others. Sentence Island we've used and now Building Languages but should I pick up one of the Practice books? Island or Town? EPGY has started working on Paragraphs and topics with him. He is in level 5 in the strands below: Strand 1: Parts of Speech Strand 2: Sentence Structure Strand 3: Sentence Composition Strand 4: Paragraphs And I have been comparing the samples from Practice Island and Practice Town and so help me I have no idea which to do because there's only one sample of each. EPGY hasn't done complete sentence analysis yet like MCT but has worked on more parts than are included in the Practice Island example. Recommends? And do either of these books require original output or do they just stick to analysis? And if I pick up Music for the Hemispheres can I get by with just the Teacher's Manual as I could have with SI and BL? Can you tell that I am trying to broaden out a bit for him? As always, I appreciate your thoughts - they are always so helpful for me! - Jill

Hi Everyone, I'm new to this Forum. I have DD9 (4th) and DD11 (5th) who are in PS, in self-contained all-GATE classrooms. I try to afterschool/supplement when we can, especially in Math which they study one-grade above in school, but I figure they can always use more practice, especially as they gear up for Algebra and beyond. To broaden their math horizon and keep their interests up, I try to expose them to programs which emphasize creative problem-solving methodologies, but I wouldn't mind if they got more solid practice on the fundamentals too. Both DDs like to learn advanced concepts, but unfortunately, they also have their moments of miscalculations and calculation process errors, so practice is always good! :banghead: We have variety of things we (try) to do as enrichment when we have the time - workbooks or online courses. Since we are afterschooling /weekendschooling, I'm finding that the more structured the curriculum, the more disciplined we are. The kids do, in priority order -- 1) Beestar.com Math and GT Math (two 10 problem quizzes every week, timed and scored - I particularly like the GT Math problems which are creative and advanced. Parents can review and track progress. Kids also like the science and SS problems) 2) Singapore CWP (occasionally) 3) Ed Zaccarro's Primary and Challenge for Middle School (hit or miss, unfortunatly) 4) Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle School (this is new, they like) Given that we seem to do better with a structured program with structured schedule (vs. workbooks), I'm thinking of investigating actual courses now: 1) CTY Online Math (not classes that are based on EPGY or Thinkwell, but the Enrichment series - ie. "Problem Solving in Arithmatic", or Competitive Series - ie. "Math Olympiad", "MathCounts" with weekly whiteboard classes etc) 2) EPGY Accelerated 3) AoPS (not quite ready yet- maybe in a year.) Question: Does anyone out there have any experience using the CTY Online Math Enrichment/Competitive Series or EPGY as a enrichment/supplement? I know many use EPGY as main curriculum, but I wasn't sure if it would be too overwhelming for afterschooling. We had very good experience with the CTY Online literature courses during the summer, hence we thought to look into their other courses. Any advice or thoughts welcome. thank you!

Hi, my ten year old has completed EPGY Precalculus with Trigonometry and every other EPGY math course that they offer. He has also done up to grade ten in vocabulary workbooks with me at home (and up to grade 7 with EPGY language arts). We home school because he is quite talented in music and sports yet we want him to have a transcript. I would like to know if anyone has any advice as to where we can go on in math. Do we go on with the EPGY geometry course or does anyone have experience in this regard? Thanks.

I just wanted to update everyone with part of an email I received today: Stanford EPGY Open Enrollment Program is happy to announce the addition of two more courses to our program. For a slight additional fee students can now sign up for Introduction to Algebra and Reading Writing and Literature. Our epgy.stanford.edu/district website has also been updated. Please take a minute to view the site and become familiar with the new information. To add the new courses students must first enroll in the two basic courses. A student cannot switch from a completed course to one of the new courses. In other words courses can be added but not dropped. Thanks for your commitment to furthering your students education with the Stanford EPGY Open Enrollment Program.