Online Writing and/or Lit for 10th grade (LToW or ?)

[Matryoshka]

So, dd in 9th is coming home mid-year.  She and I no longer work well together, so I'm outsourcing.  For the rest of this year, I think I'm going to have her try Center for Lit's online class that reads a book a month with a 2-hour monthly Socratic discussion.  And I'll probably have her do their writing, which for 2nd semester will be one paper on Romeo & Juliet.  If that goes well, I may sign her up for their American Lit class next year, but I think I might do something else for writing.

 

Where she is now... the Accuplacer did place her into English 101, but I think I'd rather end high school with college classes rather than begin, so I think I'll have her wait to do English at the CC till 11th/12th.  She will not be taking AP English classes...  She is very good with grammar, but English is not her favorite subject as she really doesn't like to read much.  She can write a functional paper, but is not an avid writer, and I think she could use more polish and learn some more sophisticated thinking. She needs a live class, nothing asynchronous.   Also, most of the classical academies, including the new WTM one, have huge reading lists full of ponderous tomes that she'd never get through, so they're out. 

 

Options I'm thinking of:

 

Lost Tools of Writing online class. Is this enough for a 10th grader?  I know many do it in middle school...  Has anyone's kid taken the online class, and if so were they (and you) happy with it?

 

The Inspired Scholar - someone here posted a link to these classes; they look interesting.  They have two high-school level semester-long classes - Intro to Rhetoric (guess this is speaking more than writing, but that could also help with thinking and argumentation), and Literary Analysis (using WWtW, which like LoTW I always had on my "I'd love to use that" list).  Has anyone taken either of these classes, and if so, feedback?

 

They also have a year-long American Lit class.  I'm wondering if maybe that might work as a possible alternative to Center for Lit next year?  It's not clear to me how much writing this class would entail (would you then not take an extra writing class?)

 

Another option would be to do the WWtW class this spring (9th) and not sign up for the writing component at Center for Lit...

 

Also, if anyone's taken these classes, how overtly Christian are they?  I don't mind pointing out things like Christian symbolism in the lit, but I'm not looking for a heavy-handed certain flavor of Christian 'worldview' permeating everything, if you know what I mean...

 

Any opinions or feedback?  Any other classes that I've missed that would be a good fit?

Edited December 22, 2015 by Matryoshka

[freesia]

I vote the Windows to the World class. I loved doing it with Ds when he was in ninth grade and it incorporates writing so would take care of both for you. It is also short stories so she may enjoy it more.

 

However, I love Adam Andrews and I think the Center for Lit classes look great. I also like LTOW.

Amy from Attuneup mentioned doing a lit analysis class next spring. That would be another option.

[tdemauro]

I'm sorry that I cannot offer any feedback on those particular classes. I want to thank you for listing the courses with Center for Lit and with The Inspired Scholar. I have had the manual for Teaching the Classes on my shelf for years, but I didn't know that they offer online classes. I have never seen any posts mentioning The Inspired Scholar; the courses look interesting and, dare I say, promising.

 

I am in a similar situation as you. My ds(14) and my dd(12) spent last year trying out our local public school and spent the first quarter of this year at the school as well. After coming to the conclusion that they much prefer homeschooling, they came home last month. I have been scrambling to put together a plan for the remainder of this year (8th and 6th) while simultaneously panicking about homeschooling high school. I shamefully admit that I was relieved when they went to school, and I was off the hook for high school. We have a very good public school in our district here in MA, so I felt that they would be getting a solid education....not nearly as good as homeschooling but solid. Back to the drawing board...

 

Teaching writing and lit analysis has been the bane of my existence. We have tried nearly everything. When my son was in 6th, I opted to outsource, but both AIM Academy and Scholars Online were disastrous. My son begged to go back to WWS I. We finished the book, and then he went to ps for 7th. We are now on week 7 of WWS II, and I have registered him for the second semester at WTMA. Now we have a little over a month to get caught up to begin week 16 in January. I also registered him for Socratic Discussions and the Intro to Writing a Research Paper with WTMA.

 

For 9th grade I am contemplating these providers:

 

WTMA: continuing with WWS and then Rhetoric

Harvey Center: Rhetoric and Prose Analysis

CLRC: Intermediate Comp

Circe: LTOW

Coram Deo Tutorials: based on LTOW

 

I am going to add the two providers that you mentioned to my list. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we find something that works without spending a fortune. He did not finish his classes with AIM and with SO...they were awful, so I let him withdraw. What a waste of money!

 

Good luck to you and your daughter on the journey through high school!

Edited December 23, 2015 by tdemauro

[Matryoshka]

I'm sorry that I cannot offer any feedback on those particular classes. I want to thank you for listing the courses with Center for Lit and with The Inspired Scholar. I have had the manual for Teaching the Classes on my shelf for years, but I didn't know that they offer online classes. I have never seen any posts mentioning The Inspired Scholar; the courses look interesting and, dare I say, promising.

 

I am in a similar situation as you. My ds(14) and my dd(12) spent last year trying out our local public school and spent the first quarter of this year at the school as well. After coming to the conclusion that they much prefer homeschooling, they came home last month. I have been scrambling to put together a plan for the remainder of this year (8th and 6th) while simultaneously panicking about homeschooling high school. I shamefully admit that I was relieved when they went to school, and I was off the hook for high school. We have a very good public school in our district here in MA, so I felt that they would be getting a solid education....not nearly as good as homeschooling but solid. Back to the drawing board...

 

Teaching writing and lit analysis has been the bane of my existence. We have tried nearly everything. When my son was in 6th, I opted to outsource, but both AIM Academy and Scholars Online were disastrous. My son begged to go back to WWS I. We finished the book, and then he went to ps for 7th. We are now on week 7 of WWS II, and I have registered him for the second semester at WTMA. Now we have a little over a month to get caught up to begin week 16 in January. I also registered him for Socratic Discussions and the Intro to Writing a Research Paper with WTMA.

 

For 9th grade I am contemplating these providers:

 

WTMA: continuing with WWS and then Rhetoric

Harvey Center: Rhetoric and Prose Analysis

CLRC: Intermediate Comp

Circe: LTOW

Coral Deo Tutorials: based on LTOW

 

I am going to add the two providers that you mentioned to my list. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we find something that works without spending a fortune. He did not finish his classes with AIM and with SO...they were awful, so I let him withdraw. What a waste of money!

 

Good luck to you and your daughter on the journey through high school!

 

Thanks for the brainstorming!  We also did an AIM class in 6th that wasn't so great.  Which one did you do?  We did Middle School Tools.  She did finish, at least, but it was only a semester.  I was also a bit relieved when she went to school.  We're also in MA, and the school system is highly rated - but also a bit of a pressure cooker.. My other dd who came back from high school at least lasted two years, not a couple of months...  I think changing course mid-year is extra nerve-wracking!  Just got our approval letter today, so at least now we can move forward. :)

 

Thanks for pointing me at Coram Deo, too - I think I might be leaning towards LToW, at least for the moment. ;)  Now the question is, which would be better, Circe or Coram Deo?  More choices are always good...

 

 

[tdemauro]

Thanks for the brainstorming! We also did an AIM class in 6th that wasn't so great. Which one did you do? We did Middle School Tools. She did finish, at least, but it was only a semester. I was also a bit relieved when she went to school. We're also in MA, and the school system is highly rated - but also a bit of a pressure cooker.. My other dd who came back from high school at least lasted two years, not a couple of months... I think changing course mid-year is extra nerve-wracking! Just got our approval letter today, so at least now we can move forward. :)

 

Thanks for pointing me at Coram Deo, too - I think I might be leaning towards LToW, at least for the moment. ;) Now the question is, which would be better, Circe or Coram Deo? More choices are always good...

We also did Middle School Tools with Lauren Bailes. My son found the class to be more on the creative side, and that approach does not work well for him. At this point we are very pleased with WWS II; I agree with other posters that this level is better than the previous one, but my son has also matured quite a bit in two years, which may be why we are not struggling with it.

 

I am so glad that you have your approval letter in hand...one less thing to worry about. The public school experience taught me that I didn't fail them or ruin them. They were able to play the game by making excellent grades and high MCAS scores, even though we had not been grooming them for years. They felt school was too long of a day with so much wasted time = highly inefficient. They missed learning for the sake of learning.

 

And I completely agree with your assessment about many MA high schools being "pressure cookers". My oldest daughter, who did not homeschool, graduated from the hs in 2014 and was constantly stressed, as were her peers. Many of them functioned on 4-5 hours of sleep, took tons of AP's, involved in numerous clubs and sports, performed community service and volunteer work, held part-time jobs, etc. Like your hs, we have students competing for and accepted to highly selective and Ivy League schools. My daughter and many of her friends suffered from headaches and digestive issues...just really awful. My 8th grader was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease(Crohn's) at the age of 9, so it is probably a blessing in disguise that he elected to come home. Although I was relieved at the prospect of not teaching hs, I often worried that he might have a relapse upon entering that environment.

 

As far as choosing between Circe and Coram Deo, I wish I had that figured out 🙂 Also, do you use an umbrella/cover school? My son will most likely stay local for college due to his condition, which includes Worcester State. They require an accredited diploma or GED as does UMass Amherst, I believe. I intend to use Kolbe; however, I would love to hear from others who have been through the experience. Do you have any recommendations on a specific CC? If you are not comfortable posting publicly, I would appreciate any information or suggestions being pm'd to me.

 

It is comforting to "talk" with someone who has experience in my own state! Thank you!

 

Tanya

Edited December 23, 2015 by tdemauro