Pennsylvania Homeschoolers' AP Courses

[swimmermom3]

We are finishing our first week with our first PA Homeschoolers AP course.

 

It's worth every penny and then some. It is a pleasure to see my son fully engaged and excited about the course materials and the discussions with the other students. This is what school should be, in my opinion.

[nancy in nj]

I absolutely agree! My dd took 6 classes with PA homeschoolers over her last 2 years of highschool. Our only regret is that we didn't put her in a class or two in 9th and 10th grade.

The great thing about PA Homeschoolers is that (for most classes) they are able to teach difficult material in an engaging, collaberative way with a focus on learning rather than cramming for one test after another.

[Kathy in Richmond]

Isn't it a great course? I've been singing the praises of  their AP English Lang course for a while now. It was some of the best $$ I ever spent on homeschooling, too. It prepared my daughter very well for college discussions & writing. Doing well on the AP exam was a natural consequence of the class instead of something it focused much upon. Great readings, discussions, and intelligent & engaged classmates = a winner. And dd's teacher is still in touch with her & encouraging her four years later. :)

[mommamagistra]

:iagree:  Some classes are more engaging than others, but this depends as much on the subject matter as the teacher. The English classes have more opportunities for interpersonal class relations and the exchange of ideas than some other classes, but if learning the material and doing well on the AP exam is one's ultimate goal then we have not been let down by any class. They are issuing official transcripts too, which you can forward to colleges. You cannot go wrong with PAHS, and the Richmans are always available for guidance and advice. A++ transaction, as they would say on Ebay!

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

DS loved his Computer Science class last year, so this year, we reiterated with Physics. There is no interaction! No class time!

What a bummer.. To be fair to PA Homeschoolers, it was stated on their website, I just didn't read everything. :-(

[TheApprentice]

My son is taking the AP English course and he came out of the first lecture/homework assignment feeling a bit overwhelmed. After he went over the homework assignment with my sister (she's in town this week), he's feeling more comfortable.

 

I too think it's going to be money well spent.

[swimmermom3]

Isn't it a great course? I've been singing the praises of  their AP English Lang course for a while now. It was some of the best $$ I ever spent on homeschooling, too. It prepared my daughter very well for college discussions & writing. Doing well on the AP exam was a natural consequence of the class instead of something it focused much upon. Great readings, discussions, and intelligent & engaged classmates = a winner. And dd's teacher is still in touch with her & encouraging her four years later. :)

 

Kathy, it really is a great course and I will admit to acquiring a new guilty pleasure; I get up earlier  so I can enjoy my coffee and the Morning Message in peace and quiet. The teacher's thought provoking messages have already inspired some ideas that I want to cover junior year - which will be my last one teaching a formal English class.  If this year proceeds as I expect it will, I am sure my son will be on board for the AP Literature class.

 

The discussions with "intelligent and engaged classmates" is a huge bonus as providing quality peer discussions has been challenging for our high school experience. My older kids took AP European History from a very good teacher at the public school, but they had starkly different experiences. The older one had lively discussions, while her brother had almost zero discussion three years later. I had hoped my youngest could take the class from Mr. M, but the lack of discussion is a deal-breaker.

 

Yep, my son took 6 courses: AP Calc (5), AP Gov (5) AP Chem (4) AP Calc (5) AP Economics (4) and AP Physics B (5)

 

It was worth every penny since I could not teach the upper level math courses!!!  But he liked Economics so much that he might minor in it...

 

Dr. Richman's Macroeconomics course is on our agenda for next year so it is good to hear about your positive experience. The class seems almost tailor-made for my son's interests.  One of the neighbor kids suggested we look at AP Econ and AP Government in place of AP US History. Apparently for some bizarre reason, our state does not count AP history courses as social science credits, but as electives. However, I have read excellent comments on Mrs. Richman's US History course and think my son would enjoy it as well.

 

 

 

My son is taking the AP English course and he came out of the first lecture/homework assignment feeling a bit overwhelmed. After he went over the homework assignment with my sister (she's in town this week), he's feeling more comfortable.

 

I too think it's going to be money well spent.

 

I think our boys must be in class together. Mine is a bit anxious about that King Lear prompt, especially since he is working on it while traveling. I had to remind him that it is the first of the year and by the end, he will be an old hand at dealing with those types of questions.

[TheApprentice]

I don't know Swimmermom3 if our sons are in the same class. My son is in Lillian's class and his first assignment was Patrick Henry's speech. Is your son taking Lillian's class?

[swimmermom3]

I don't know Swimmermom3 if our sons are in the same class. My son is in Lillian's class and his first assignment was Patrick Henry's speech. Is your son taking Lillian's class?

 

Nope. I forgot that there was more than one instructor. Ds's first assignment beyond the summer work was an essay on why high school students don't read and the part high school literature classes play in that dilemma. It was an excellent ice breaker.

[FloridaLisa]

They are issuing official transcripts too, which you can forward to colleges. You cannot go wrong with PAHS, and the Richmans are always available for guidance and advice. A++ transaction, as they would say on Ebay!

 

Official transcripts?   :bigear:

 

As in accredited? Off to check but how I wish they would add this feature!  

 

Lisa

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

Official transcript as in recognised by the CollegeBoard. I don't know if that would mean it's accredited. I'm assuming it would vary per state.

[MtnTeaching]

Nope. I forgot that there was more than one instructor. Ds's first assignment beyond the summer work was an essay on why high school students don't read and the part high school literature classes play in that dilemma. It was an excellent ice breaker.

 

Hi Lisa,

 

I think there is a very good chance our guys are in the same class.  I am guessing here - but I am betting my guy is listed directly under yours in the bio section of the classroom.  :001_smile:  The King Lear assignment is also causing us a bit of concern since my ds will also be traveling.  He is loving the class, though.

[Kareni]

We were very pleased with the AP Statistics course that my daughter took with Carole Matheny a number of years ago.  She was well prepared for the exam and scored a five.

 

In talking recently about which of her high school classes she found most valuable during her years at college, my daughter named AP Statistics as one of them.  (The other was a literature class in Mythology and Folktales that she took at the local community college.)  I imagine that a judgement such as this would vary wildly from student to student; my daughter majored in Latin and minored in Geology.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[swimmermom3]

Hi Lisa,

 

I think there is a very good chance our guys are in the same class.  I am guessing here - but I am betting my guy is listed directly under yours in the bio section of the classroom.  :001_smile:  The King Lear assignment is also causing us a bit of concern since my ds will also be traveling.  He is loving the class, though.

 

Hi Leslie,

 

If your son likes Dr. Who, then I think you are right.  I don't know how you figured out which one was my son. ;)

 

I look forward to seeing how their instructor coaches them along after they turn in that rough draft. Ds has read and enjoyed King Lear, is also an avid current events kind of guy and he still struggled after developing his thesis.

 

[Gwen in VA]

My kids have taken a total of 13+ AP classes (I'd have to dig out transcripts to verify...) through PAH, and there was only one class that was in the least bit "ordinary" -- the rest were truly outstanding. And the "ordinary" one was just that -- ordinary, not bad or horrible but just okay. That ratio of outstanding to ordinary is amazing to me! PAH has truly been a blessing to our homeschool.

[8filltheheart]

Angela,

 

What classes did she take???? Every single one of my son's classes had weekly free response questions that they had to do. ( The free response are the essays or in math/science they give you a multi step problem you must do as well as explain why you do what your do) They also had multiple choice questions. DAILY. The final exams for all of his classes were actual AP exams. Most of his classes gave him 3 or 4 ACTUAL AP exams that had been used to practice on.... I can't imagine what class you were talking about.. He was SO well prepared for his 6 tests.

Not Angela, but we did have a very bad experience with one PAH course. It was the psy course a few yrs ago. The teacher did zero AP prep with the class. He taught a great psy class, but it was not anything like chem where the class incorporated AP type questions and practice. My child received an A in the class, but she was completely unprepared for the AP exam. But the chem class......fabulous.

[MtnTeaching]

Hi Leslie,

 

If your son likes Dr. Who, then I think you are right.  I don't know how you figured out which one was my son. ;)

 

I look forward to seeing how their instructor coaches them along after they turn in that rough draft. Ds has read and enjoyed King Lear, is also an avid current events kind of guy and he still struggled after developing his thesis.

 

 

Hi Lisa,

 

Yes, my guy likes Dr. Who.  He gets his braces off in about a week and is ready to petition the teacher to allow him to upgrade his picture. That is a great pic of your Dude, by the way.

 

It was a wild guess with a bit of deductive reasoning regarding the class assignment, the fact your dude loves to sail, and that I have enjoyed reading your posts over the years.  You and I have had a few of the same struggles, triumphs, and curriculum over the years  :D.  

 

We were camping all weekend out of internet range and the instructor allowed Luke until today when we were back in range to turn his in.  She was extremely willing to be flexible for him.  When he started working on it, Ds thought this one was going to be easy for him, but it was not.  It took more work and thought than he anticipated.  I too am looking forward to seeing how she works with him on this.  I almost wish I could take it with him.  I looks like an outstanding class.

[prim*rose]

Resurrecting this thread to get a feel for the AP Bio class offered by Pennsylvania Homeschoolers. My 12.5 yr old is advanced, and wants to start high school courses next year. She is thinking of doing AP Bio, but the PA Homeschoolers mentions the class is for 11th & 12th graders. Does anyone have experience with putting a younger student in the class (or if it's even allowed)?

[Jen in NY]

FWIW, both of my dd's took the PAH APBio class in 10th grade. If your daughter has really good math skills (for instance - is totally comfortable with conversion factors, scientific notation, and balancing chemical equations) and really, really likes to study processes and memorize terms, she'd probably be fine. Last year the kids studied in Google Chat groups, too, so it would be to her advantage if you are OK with that.

 

If it were me, I would make sure my dd had a good grasp of high school chemistry before signing up for the class, or it might be a real slog and no fun at all.

JMHO, tho.... YMMV. :)

[swimmermom3]

FWIW, both of my dd's took the PAH APBio class in 10th grade. If your daughter has really good math skills (for instance - is totally comfortable with conversion factors, scientific notation, and balancing chemical equations) and really, really likes to study processes and memorize terms, she'd probably be fine. Last year the kids studied in Google Chat groups, too, so it would be to her advantage if you are OK with that.

 

If it were me, I would make sure my dd had a good grasp of high school chemistry before signing up for the class, or it might be a real slog and no fun at all.

JMHO, tho.... YMMV. :)

 

Thanks for the review, Jen. We need to do more than the biology course that is offered at school for 11th grade, but were already set on APUSH and AP Macroeconomics. I suspect the workload might be too heavy with three AP classes from PA Homeschoolers. I am not sure I could convince ds to trade out history for science since he has heard such good things about their APUSH class.

 

FWIW, it's still the best money I have spent so far in homeschooling. I was comparing notes with an AP English Language student at our high school and ds is doing far more advanced work than her class is doing.

 

[prim*rose]

FWIW, both of my dd's took the PAH APBio class in 10th grade. If your daughter has really good math skills (for instance - is totally comfortable with conversion factors, scientific notation, and balancing chemical equations) and really, really likes to study processes and memorize terms, she'd probably be fine. Last year the kids studied in Google Chat groups, too, so it would be to her advantage if you are OK with that.

 

If it were me, I would make sure my dd had a good grasp of high school chemistry before signing up for the class, or it might be a real slog and no fun at all.

JMHO, tho.... YMMV. :)

 

This is very helpful, thank you! Dd has the scientific notation and conversion factors down, but hasn't done much with balancing chemical equations. Looks like we should hold off a year to better prepare. I want to make sure she's not overwhelmed, and has all the tools to succeed. 

[Jen in NY]

One thing you might do is grab a review book for the AP Exam (Make sure it's for the new one, though, which was offered in 2013 for the first time) and look through it yourself. And/or you could peruse the videos at Bozeman science (http://www.bozemanscience.com/new-ap-biology-exam-users-guide) which also discuss the new exam at length.

 

I was definitely not trying to discourage. :)

 

HTH!

[swimmermom3]

We are finishing our first week with our first PA Homeschoolers AP course.

 

It's worth every penny and then some. It is a pleasure to see my son fully engaged and excited about the course materials and the discussions with the other students. This is what school should be, in my opinion.

 

It's now eight months after I started this thread and tomorrow is the AP English Language exam.

 

I still maintain that this is the best money we have spent for education up to this point.

 

Today's Morning Message was humorous and inspirational. Between Mrs. I's writing and some of the students' responses, I found myself getting tearful - about an English class. Imagine that!

 

Whatever the AP score, my son is leaving the class a much better writer and a stronger student. A big "thank you" to all of you who encouraged us to check out PAHS and this class in particular.

[Laura in CA]

:iagree:

 

 

MRS I ROCKS!!!!!!!      :hurray:

 

 

signed,

Mom of teenage boy who didn't think he could write

 

[Kelly1730]

I really appreciate this thread! We are not quite there yet but it's so encouraging to know there are classes like this available. I bet the PA Homeschoolers will be at CHAP this weekend:). I'll have to check out the info. 

[Brenda in MA]

My son is just finishing up the PA Homeschoolers AP Stats class this month. He has enjoyed the class and thinks he will do well on the exam tomorrow.

 

If anyone needs the book (ISBN 142924559X) & software (Fathom), I will sell ours for $65ppd -- send me a PM if you're interested.

 

Brenda

[vettechmomof2]

I really appreciate this thread! We are not quite there yet but it's so encouraging to know there are classes like this available. I bet the PA Homeschoolers will be at CHAP this weekend:). I'll have to check out the info.

PA Homeschoolers are normally not at CHAP. I am always so sad about that :(

[swimmermom3]

I really appreciate this thread! We are not quite there yet but it's so encouraging to know there are classes like this available. I bet the PA Homeschoolers will be at CHAP this weekend:). I'll have to check out the info. 

 

While I am a staunch supporter of homeschooling, I am still in awe of what a skilled teacher or professor who is armed with enthusiasm for their discipline, a gift for teaching, and genuine concern for the growth of their students can accomplish.

 

 

[chiguirre]

While I am a staunch supporter of homeschooling, I am still in awe of what a skilled teacher or professor who is armed with enthusiasm for their discipline, a gift for teaching, and genuine concern for the growth of their students can accomplish.

Yes, but because we homeschool we can make sure that our kids get those opportunities. In a B&M school you get the luck of the draw, even when you're paying private school tuition.

[swimmermom3]

Yes, but because we homeschool we can make sure that our kids get those opportunities. In a B&M school you get the luck of the draw, even when you're paying private school tuition.

 

Very true, and even if the teacher is excellent, there is no guarantee even in an AP course that the students will participate in meaningful conversations, as my older kids will tell you. :tongue_smilie: