LisaKinVA Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 who doesn't just "love" to read, how "rigorous" did you make their history/literature components? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 My DS does not enjoy history or literature. We do SL and I do it with him. He will not be doing AP exams for either subject. Maybe CLEP to get ot out of the way. This way he is getting some and enjoys the discussions etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilliums Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 We are not necessarily rigorous WTMers, but wanted to share a bit how this has worked out for my kids. The kids have taken advantage of the numerous audio and video resources available at the high school and college level. Not only can we find lectures on virtually any imaginable subject from The Teaching Co and online university broadcasts (MIT open courseware, iTunes U, etc) but newer organizations with interactive platforms are forming (such as coursera.org). Learning via these methods has cut down on some of the reading load for my 9th grader in particular. He is completing World History this year with Spielvogel's World History and Stearn's World Civilizations as spines. We supplemented heavily with Teaching Co lectures and online sources. He also is using World History map workbook--I think this has been the best part about his WH studies this year. Writing assignments have come from the textbooks as well as an AP world history prep book from the library. He will not be taking the AP exam but the prep book did have an interesting way of posing questions. Also, as DS has matured, he has changed a lot. His attitude towards an increased reading and writing work load has surprised me. He wants to experience challenges that will prepare him for college level work in all subjects--not just math and science. He will probably take AP European History next year; not because he wants AP test scores, but because it is the most rigorous history class available to him at the public school. We haven't sorted out his other subjects, but it is looking like it will be a demanding work load in several areas. I am actually at the point where I am wondering if I need to curb his ambitions. :lol: I do want him to challenge himself, but do not want him to crash and burn. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moki4 Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Teaching company lectures History channel DVD's (NETFLIX) LL (2 per yr) Tag along with 4 yr history cycle with younger siblings (2X/wk) and listens to SWB Story of the World audio's. I pick out age-appropriate nonfiction to go along with this. Junior or Senior yr she will do AP World history. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 who doesn't just "love" to read, how "rigorous" did you make their history/literature components? We've discussed this on the board before. For some of us, high school required study is the only "liberal arts" our kids may get, so we take it even more seriously than for a student who is naturally bent towards these things. For my son, I don't want to ram things down his throat, but I do tell him that I want to bring him up to the level of joining in the conversation that is literate adults. The references to literature just permeate our society, I hear them everywhere, in speeches and names and entertainment. And the history of course affects the world he will be living in and voting in. I do adapt things somewhat for my son who will likely never be a reader, with lots of videos and audios as someone mentioned, and a somewhat pared down reading list to focus on what I feel is most important (and still way beyond what the public schools in my area are doing). But I don't want to drop the ball in this area, either. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 My ds2, off to get a degree in naval architecture, in violently allergic to history and literature. :tongue_smilie: With my other kids we went the AP route for junior and senior years, but for ds2 I did design a program that was lighter in the humanities. While he is capable of doing top-level work in them, he simply doesn't care. Stacking on work that he doesn't care about doesn't benefit anybody! Literature -- For ds2, instead of Scholars Online for literature, he did some home-brewed classes with me. I deliberately chose high-interest books and avoided the ones that tend to go on and on -- no Dickens or Tolkien (other than short stories) for him. I wanted him to remember the books fondly in order to increase the chances that he'll continue reading later in life! For senior year he wanted something more "applied" than literature, so he took College Comp 101 at our CC and then Technical Writing at our CC. History -- Instead of interlinking great books with his study of history, we stuck pretty close to a textbook for 9th and 10th grade. For 11th grade he took history at the CC (at our CC, the CC US history class is significantly easier than AP). For senior year he didn't do any history or social studies class -- he took computer-aided design instead! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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