OhElizabeth, I have to take back my qualms about VP Self-Paced Course..

[HappyGrace]

We started the 30 day free trial for MARR yesterday and it is MUCH better than the OTAE sample they put out!

 

It had a lot better and more in-depth lesson and I love how they put the map there to fill in, etc. I do think it's maybe just a bit juvenile for 6th grade in some of the areas, but the info is very good and I understand they are trying to reach a wide age range (2-6 grade).

 

Which was maybe a bit of a drawback-some of the info was over ds8's head and some of the other stuff was juvenile for dd11. But generally I think it is very well done! I could see having a 5th grader use it to start note-taking, etc. Both dc loved the quizzes, etc, and I thought the pacing was good too-they'd switch things up just when the dc were about to zone out.

 

I'll see how it goes for the rest of the trial-I have this yr planned out but I might actually use it for ds next yr for Exp-1812!

 

(PS-if you respond to this, I won't be back till Thurs night to answer.)

[dkholland]

HappyGrace.....we totally agree with you!!!

 

I was on the fence until I saw VP was offering a 30-day free trial. My ds is doing the MARR also and we learned so much about Augustine last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The monks lecture on what is going on in the world and they add so much more to the card than I ever did when we did it before with another ds. I am sold on the self-paced course and think it is worth the money now.

 

I also had concerns that my ds and I wouldn't be sitting on the sofa together, reading and talking about history. That has not turned out to be the case at all. We still discuss all the interesting facts and places they talk about and then we are reading together and talking about the literature. It is will also free up some of my time to be heping my older dss with their work. I love it!!

 

We will follow the literature recommendations as they are suggested and then i am also adding in some fun reading and a few comprehension guides also.

 

Ohelizabeth....i read posts last year, maybe, on this and remember you recommending this program...Thank you!!:001_smile:

[PeterPan]

Well if you really wanna thank me, I think they're doing a referral program where we get points or something. :)

 

LOL

 

But seriously, you don't know how relieved I am! I mean seriously, I have spent the last 7 months in a COMPLEX over the comments a few people made about how young, immature, lacking content, whatever, whatever the VP MARR online, self-paced course is. Either my kid was WAY juvenile for her age (which no one around me hints at) or she's defective mentally (which again, no one else seems to think) or something!! And yet, you know me, I've had the self-doubt. My dd LOVES the VP self-paced classes. In fact, I'm getting ready to sign her up for another trial. I was going to let her do the first half of the american really fast and take the 2nd half slowly. No, this chickadee wants to do NTGR!! So I'll let her do that in the 30 days and then do both american courses this year.

 

Are they as detailed as a 7th grader could go? No. Will I pump them up with extra reading? Of course. (Like I could stop her, lol.) But the point is she ADORES them, learns from them, begs to do them, and RETAINS from them. She often brings up things she learned in MARR and relates them to what we're talking about. And it's nuances and little stuff that stuck because the whole set-up is so multi-modal and fantastic. When you have someone speaking and get the visual and have the pictures and maps and have the games (love that dopamine to get the neurons firing!), it's just good. It works.

 

So I'm sorry if someone doesn't like it or says it's immature, but my extremely bright, awesome awesome dd loves 'em. And I'm glad others are now seeing the light. :)

 

And yes, the graphics, everything is getting better! They were working on MARR last year, trying to keep ahead of people. I haven't asked, but I don't *think* they have the final american history done. So if that's the order, then you can use them and study the improvements. Dd became sort of an aficianado and opinionated about it.

 

Well cool. I'm so glad you wrote back about that. I've been dithering her, wondering if something was WRONG that my dd loves these so much, lol. Now I feel better. And I'm happy for you all to be enjoying it too. :)

 

PS. Watch 'em try to explain the conversion of St. Francis of Assisi. That was the one point where I stopped and had to have a little chat on our differences. But other than that, it was a great year. ;)

Edited August 18, 2011 by OhElizabeth

[littleWMN]

Well my 5th grader is using it and I plan to continue through 8th grade if we can (adding more depth, of course!). :)

[HappyGrace]

Of course, I was just judging from the sample of OTAE when I previously commented, and I KNEW I must be missing something, because our dd's are usually pretty comparable with content, etc.!

 

Doing that trial was the best thing they could have done for marketing. :)

 

Really interesting that they have already been making improvements; I'm glad to know that!

[PeterPan]

I don't think it's so much that they're going back and changing the prior courses as that their skills are evolving. That is what dd has commented on. She said the graphics, games, etc. got more sophisticated as the year progressed.

 

Well good, I'm glad you're so pleased! :)

[HappyGrace]

Oh, that's good too. I am actually excited for us to go back on tonight and watch it! :)