Apologia Class Dropout?

[Joy at Home]

I enrolled dd12 in an Apologia homeschool class on Tuesday a week. It's her first class experience, and her real first science experience for that matter. I thought we'd try the class for a number of reasons. I thought it would take some of the burden off of me, as I tend to be inconsistent with the oldest's harder subjects because we put it aside during the day if we can't get to it or if the littles are too demanding, then sometimes don't get back to it. Being it's her first heavy science course, I thought sharing the burden with a teacher and having dd be accountable to someone else would be a good experience for her. Also, the class experience and learning study skills, etc, would be helpful as she gets older.

 

I also thought it would encourage her to meet new people, as she really doesn't have any friends. That sounds so sad to type, but it isn't really. She is a perfectly happy young lady, is involved in a handful of meaningful activities, drives racecars and has friends at the racetrack, but no one she can call and make plans with.

 

Anyone, she has been dreading this class and begged me not to sign her up. I don't usually push with stuff like this, but felt it important for her to try a new experience and step out of her comfort zone.

 

Well, class was today and she says she hates it and doesn't want to go back. I pinned her down as far as specific reasons, and she said that the kids were annoying (20 kids, boys being boys, burping out loud, talking, etc), and she felt like she was the only one who "didn't know anything".

 

Granted, the material for a non-science kid is difficult. I knew it would be (not to mom - cover science formally in elementary next time around), but I gave her the whole talk about needing to persevere, weed through the material, and apply herself. It's only a once a week class, so obviously I still carry responsibility for helping her "get it", giving her the tests, etc.

 

I'm just wondering if it's worth the trouble. I basically have to reteach everything she heard in class and claims she "doesn't understand". Granted, she'd do the lab there, but I don't necessarily consider the labs a crucial aspect anyway.

 

Would you continue to demand dd go to a class she hates, or just cover the subject at home? I'm also considering an online Apologia class, but I don't know. I paid 1/3 for the class, and still have to pay the rest, and don't want to shell out the money if it's going to be a bad experience.

 

Any thoughts? I'm usually very relaxed about homeschooling decisions, but can't seem to gain traction on this one. It shouldn't be a big issue, but part of me feels that dd is mentally lazy and needs to, for no other reason than to prepare for college, sit through a class, struggle with the material, but ultimately dig in, persevere, and learn it.

 

any opinions would be welcome.

 

thanks,

lisa

[Julie in MN]

Can she just have a "first group class" experience this year, and save the "first formal science" experience for next time?

 

Julie

[gingersmom]

My 12 year old daughter is new to homeschooling and is doing Apologia General Science.

 

I wanted her to do the online class but she refuses to do anything online. So I purchased a copy of the lecture for module 1 from red wagon tutorials. She has only done 4 days worth of reading and experiments and then today I made her listen/watch the lecture up to what she had read so far.

 

I have been told by many online that module 1 is the hardest thing in the whole book.

 

Maybe try to convince her to go another time or two and see if things change.

 

My 9 year old went to a homeschool science class with about 10 other children. He is a science geek and he was the only one paying attention. The teacher would talk for 5 minutes, yell at kids, talk, separate kids, talk some more. I found it annoying but my son is the type that is oblivious to all this.

[keithfamily5]

I've also heard that module 1 is the hardest. I joined a yahoo group and am using the worksheets that someone posted. It's basically an assignment page. Read pgs x-y, lists vocab words from the reading that she needs to define, I made a place for her to write the answers to the On Your Own questions and it also tells her if there are any labs she should do that day, on the next page (if there's a lab) it has the lab notes page.

 

She's a little overwhelmed by it. I stopped making her do it everyday. We're doing it every other. I'm trying to get her to hang in there with it until she gets through the first module.

 

Maybe you could make her a deal. She sticks with it until the 2nd or 3rd module and if she still doesn't like it, then maybe you could do it at home.

 

I'm not sure how long you have until you have to pay. I would try the deal first. Sometimes the unfamiliar is difficult.

 

I can tell you that my daughter has trouble with reading comprehension at times and I've tried to be firm about me being very "hands off". She's struggled through some of it and I'll help her when she gets stuck, but she's showing herself quite capable of handling this on her own. I check to make sure she did everything she was supposed to that day and discuss the On Your Own questions with her.

 

By the way, the experiments are her favorite part. Her siblings are lining up to watch them! They seem to always work too!

[Mom2boys]

I enrolled dd12 in an Apologia homeschool class on Tuesday a week. It's her first class experience, and her real first science experience for that matter. I thought we'd try the class for a number of reasons. I thought it would take some of the burden off of me, as I tend to be inconsistent with the oldest's harder subjects because we put it aside during the day if we can't get to it or if the littles are too demanding, then sometimes don't get back to it. Being it's her first heavy science course, I thought sharing the burden with a teacher and having dd be accountable to someone else would be a good experience for her. Also, the class experience and learning study skills, etc, would be helpful as she gets older.

 

I also thought it would encourage her to meet new people, as she really doesn't have any friends.

 

Anyhow, she has been dreading this class and begged me not to sign her up. I don't usually push with stuff like this, but felt it important for her to try a new experience and step out of her comfort zone.

 

Any thoughts? I'm usually very relaxed about homeschooling decisions, but can't seem to gain traction on this one. It shouldn't be a big issue, but part of me feels that dd is mentally lazy and needs to, for no other reason than to prepare for college, sit through a class, struggle with the material, but ultimately dig in, persevere, and learn it.

 

 

You have listed many good reasons for her to be in this class. I would have her stick with it.