4ofus Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 What have I gotten us into???please make me calmer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I have no idea, but I cannot wait to hear about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 The homeschool restrictions make it not feasible for us to do it, but I think it looks super cool. I'll bet they learn a ton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 It's restrictive? I haven't looked. I'm aware of several homeschool teams, so I didn't realize it was difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I started a thread last spring on Science Olympiad. I really wanted to do it, but we're so busy now, and the learning curve just looked too steep for me. It does seem like an awesome program. Maybe I can still pull it off for this year? :lurk5: Listening in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 I coached a middle school team to state as well as coached (taught) three events last year. We have been involved with SO for three years. We joined a SO homeschool middle school team when my dd12 was a 4th grader. She competed in three study events, two of which I co-coached and won two 4th place medals at Regionals. The next year she competed in four study events and got 2nd & 3rd place State medals. Last year as a sixth grader she competed in five study events and got 1st &3rd place State medals. SO is a huge commitment but a wonderful way to teach and experience science. I stated the above medals because it is possible for young students to earn them as long as it is the child's goal to do so. Medals are earned, there are no participation medals. Kids who do well with SO enjoy the competition as well as the science. What division is your team (I'm assuming B)? How many kids are on your team? Are you a head coach and/or event coach? Do you have highly involved parents to coach events? How many events are your kids doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 It's restrictive? I haven't looked. I'm aware of several homeschool teams, so I didn't realize it was difficult. It's just a function of where we live. You cannot have a team that crosses any school district lines. But there are almost no homeschooled kids my boys' age in our district. We have a ton of friends just a few miles away in all cases, but in THREE adjacent school districts. But the rules mean I could never put together a team of them. When I realized that, I stopped looking into it. I think the rule is unfair - I get why they did it - they're trying to prevent homeschool "superteams" that are basically kids who drop out to do a competition like this because they're super brilliant and draw from all over their state - but I think they're probably preventing one or two instances of that in favor of keeping many dozens (or maybe more?) of homeschoolers out. We're definitely not the only people who live where homeschoolers are geographically scattered. As I understand it, we could choose to compete individually. It's not a huge deal. Many other organizations don't have that rule and our competition cup is probably full anyway. It was just an idea I flirted with until I realized the lack of feasibility for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Farrar, is the crossing-school-district-lines rule specific for DC? The national rule for homeschooled teams is that the kids must come from two contiguous counties in the state: (see option 2 under homeschool) https://www.soinc.org/home_virtual_schools We are a SO family. I have been an event coach, an assistant coach, and a head coach for 13 years (!!!). I am a big SO cheerleader. I'm happy to answer any questions from anyone, especially the OP :) Quote me or pm me, because I don't regularly visit the Logic Board anymore. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Farrar, is the crossing-school-district-lines rule specific for DC? The national rule for homeschooled teams is that the kids must come from two contiguous counties in the state: (see option 2 under homeschool) https://www.soinc.org/home_virtual_schools We are a SO family. I have been an event coach, an assistant coach, and a head coach for 13 years (!!!). I am a big SO cheerleader. I'm happy to answer any questions from anyone, especially the OP :) Quote me or pm me, because I don't regularly visit the Logic Board anymore. I thought they couldn't come from more than one at all. But maybe I misunderstood. Since there is only one district in DC, I suppose we don't have any contiguous districts to draw from, so maybe this rule only effects us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Farrar, contacting someone from the national SO website may help clarify the homeschool team rules pertaining to the D.C area. Let us know what you find out, I am now curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 It's just a function of where we live. You cannot have a team that crosses any school district lines. But there are almost no homeschooled kids my boys' age in our district. We have a ton of friends just a few miles away in all cases, but in THREE adjacent school districts. But the rules mean I could never put together a team of them. When I realized that, I stopped looking into it. I think the rule is unfair - I get why they did it - they're trying to prevent homeschool "superteams" that are basically kids who drop out to do a competition like this because they're super brilliant and draw from all over their state - but I think they're probably preventing one or two instances of that in favor of keeping many dozens (or maybe more?) of homeschoolers out. We're definitely not the only people who live where homeschoolers are geographically scattered. As I understand it, we could choose to compete individually. It's not a huge deal. Many other organizations don't have that rule and our competition cup is probably full anyway. It was just an idea I flirted with until I realized the lack of feasibility for us. This is not the national level rule, as I understand it. Homeschool teams must be composed of homeschool students in no more than two contiguous counties. Our B team started as 4 kids the year before last, and everyone earned at least one regional medal. Last year we managed to get 11 kids on one team that went to State. This year we have enough to have a full (15 kids) varsity and a partial JV team. I think they may have a chance at nationals in a couple more years as a high school team. We have 4 different counties in our group, so we have several teams (high school, middle school, JV middle, different county middle, etc). Our experience has been that SO is great for homeschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 If it's just you and your kids then I suggest letting them do as few or as many events as they want. There are 21 events total, but you can only be in one event each hour (except for builds which are scheduled differently). You can get others to join in with you to fill up a team, or you can just do it with the intent of doing well in your preferred I ndividual events. Know your rules - they are the be-all end-all of the event. The SO wiki has a test exchange, which is helpful for getting a feel for what study events are like. Many people post videos of their build events on YouTube. I think the hardest ones to get a feel for before actually attending an event are the lab events (Crime Busters, BioProcess Lab, etc). If there are invitationals in your area you could attend for some experience before the official regional and state tournaments. You will have to be "coach" - so there are some official things on tournament day for you to do, but in terms of coaching your kids in their events it's mostly helping them develop study habits, procuring materials, quizzing things with them, and practicing with old tests or dry runs of their lab/build events. Have so much fun - and best wishes!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 listening along.. considering for next year. I especially like the idea that we could just do a small team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Targhee, the best of luck with your teams this year! :hurray: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 We hit the contiguous counties rule because we're on a state border, so our homeschool group hits multiple states as well as 5 counties. I've developed a real fondness for Continental Math/National Acience League. They're not as challenging and don't have the live competitions that MathCounts or Science Olympiqd do-but they truly don't care that my fourth grade team this year comes from three counties in three states, including one child who is actually driving through three counties and 3 hours to find homeschool activities. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visitor Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Are there any books to prepare for the Olympiad Science competition ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I don't know if any books specifically on competitions, or how to prepare for the competition as a whole. The resources you use to prepare for each *event* are up to you. This point frustrates some people - they want to be told what book to study or how to build a basic bottle rocket, but figuring that out on your own IS part of the competition. *The rules ARE your framework for study, and that's pretty much all you (or anyone else) gets.* This is one reason that seasoned teams, with seasoned coaches, may have an advantage - they may have resources amassed, past tests to study from, or are familiar with an event from some years ago. However, homeschoolers usually do really well because they often make SO their school work, and therefore could potentially have a lot more time to invest in SO. Besides, seasoned teams and coaches in any competition, whether spelling bee or basketball, have an advantage over newcomers - it's the nature of experience. Check the SciOly wiki for general info about events, past tests, and sometimes suggestions of where to look next. You'll probably find most SO people friendly and encouraging but competitive, and guarded about their resources and strategies. Hope that answered your questions 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineMom Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 SO also has an online store where you can buy CD's and/or materials for specific events. The store should be linked on the national website. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visitor Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Thanks Tharghee and jewel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Thanks y'all, for all the discussion. Our leaders assure us that all will be well ;). I feel sort of like we're fumbling in the dark, but then, maybe that's where the learning lies. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleBears Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Just curious, can special need kids participate, or is there a certain level of academic expectancy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Just curious, can special need kids participate, or is there a certain level of academic expectancy? Science Olympiad is by nature an academic competition. There is nothing that excludes an individual with special needs from participating, but they do not change event parameters to accommodate special needs. For example, my oldest has ADD and a language based LD, but she still participates in SO. She probably would do better on written parts of tests (those that go beyond multiple choice) if she was given more time because she knows the material but it takes her a longer time to form the language and write it down, but there is no accommodation. Everything is run by the rules. Most tests are written by the local event supervisors only a few days before the events. You could contact your regional/state SO organizations to ask more specifically. There are non-study events (builds) that may be more suited to some students with special needs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 One more thing to add, most events are for 2 people. So if you have a partner who can help your child with a difficulty (like someone who scribes for them) that is OK. Our team in the past has had very high functioning ASD/Aspergers members, and currently has at one (I think 2) with dyslexia. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 So how is Sci Oly going for people this year? Our team has been working so hard over the past few months. They went to the regional competition recently and did well enough to move on to the state competition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 We had two invitationals already, at which the team did alright (I think we were 9th place and 11th, out of 22 or 23 teams each time). Between my two kids we have three build (oy!) and three study events (oy!). We have one build done, solid. One build still in the design phase. One build that needs tweaking. Regionals is in two weeks. Time to cram and build!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 States in two weeks----crunch time for dd. She has three study events this year, the same as last, and is hopeful of medaling again (a 3rd and a 5th last year). We'll see. She's barely touched the material for one event. (High school Division C) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4ofus Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 Our team is heading to state as well. It is our first year with the team, & I'm super proud of the kids. It has been a ride, that's for sure! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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