Favorite PA Homeschoolers AP course?

[Homeschoolmom3]

Would love to hear your child's favorite AP class from PA homeschoolers.  Thinking of taking a couple and debating whether to dual enroll or try some of their AP courses.  Thanks!

[stephinsocal]

My ds16 has taken English Language (Mrs Inspektor) and Chemistry. Both have been fantastic.

[Jen in NY]

My kids among them have taken and loved AP Eng Lang with Mrs. Walker, APCalcBC with Mrs. Gilleran, Chemistry with Mr. Moskaluk (exceptionally well run, IMHO), and Stats with Mrs. Matheny. They've done other APs and studied some at home as well, but these were the ones that would get two thumbs up... one from them and one from me. :)

 

ETA, they also took Phys B with Mr. Lanctot... which was good and they liked, but doesn't exist anymore. Perhaps other Phys people can weigh in on the new class/test.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Jen in NY

[swimmermom3]

Ds has taken or is taking the following courses through PAHS:

 

English Language - Mrs. Inspektor

English Literature - Mrs. Inspektor

Statistics - Mrs. Matheny

Macroeconomics - Dr. Richman

Spanish - Ray Leven

Comparative Government - Julia Reed

U.S. Government - Julia Reed

 

Mrs. I's English Language class is his all-time favorite. Actually there is only one class he has been less than happy about and that is the US Government class, but that is in part due to the fact that we are a bit left of center and that the class is taught from a far right perspective. However, some of that has toned down recently and he can work with it.  He said that the Comparative Gov. class is on a whole different level and he really enjoys it. The stats class got a big thumbs up for practicality; ds was just bummed that he didn't give it as much time as he should have. (4 AP classes in hindsight last year was too much given the combination).  DS has been working with Ray Leven for just over a year and a half and is pleased with the AP Spanish class even though he really should be in Spanish 5 instead.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

AP Psychology gets two thumbs up here.

[mckive6]

My dd's favorite AP classes at PA Homeschoolers are AP US History with Mrs. Richman and AP English Lit with Ms. Inspektor (actually she is Mrs. Richman's daughter).  Both of these teachers are fantastic!  Mrs. Richman offers the kids lots of incentives like bonus points to interact with the material as much as possible.  Ms. Inspektor provides so much teaching in the asynchronous class.  She sent a midterm report with my dd's grade and it was 14 pages long! She offered so much detail, with every assignment, her grade and what she needed to learn from it.  She has 30 students so this is amazing.

 

 

[Kathy in Richmond]

AP Language and AP Statistics with PA Homeschoolers were hits with my daughter (not mentioning teachers here because these two no longer work there). Both classes were highly interactive & challenging, with little to no busy work.

 

I could not have duplicated AP Lang at home; it was absolutely worthwhile in its frequent writing assignments (several short assignments each week, and longer papers every month or so) & the level of *intelligent* interaction on the class discussion boards. It went over & above the material covered on the AP exam; for instance, dd's class spent a couple of months on an extended research paper. This class more than anything else prepared dd for her college's writing expectations.

 

Statistics was also delightful. Even though I'd taught it previously at home to my son, we found the PA Homeschooler version worthwhile for my more social daughter, who enjoyed the classroom interaction. They worked with each other on FRQs, explained topics to each other (much harder to do than just solving stats problems!), each presented a short paper to the class, and they chatted a lot on the class social board.  The teacher did a superb job individualizing assignments as the class went on, so students didn't need to keep practicing topics that they'd already mastered.

[Homeschoolmom3]

Thanks everyone, very helpful....any others? 

 

One question for govt./history/lit/psych. classes I noticed that they offer one day where there is a live aspect to the class can you all tell me how this has gone? 

 

Also, debating next year on how many APs and dual enrolled.  How do you feel the rigor is in regards to time spent in class?  Is what they list on their page about right in time spent each week? 

 

Thank you all!

[mjbucks1]

My ds has taken the following:

 

AP Chem (GREAT class)

AP Comp Sci

AP Physics B (no longer offered, but excellent class with Mr. Lanctot)

AP Physics C (both Mech and E&M with Mr. Lanctot)

AP Calc AB (with Mr. Lanctot)

AP Calc BC (Mrs. Gilleran, very good class)

AP Eng Lit (with Mrs. Inspektor.  This class has consistently received great reviews, and for good reason.  My STEM loving kid LOVES this class and states he                              actually doesn't mind writing a literary analysis paper now!!!)

AP Biology (a bit of a rough start as some components of the class were confusing, but overall a good class.  The instructor really seems to prepare the kids well                      for the exam, but we will know for sure in May)

 

Ds has taken 3 courses with Mr. Lanctot (all the physics courses and AP Calc AB) and has really enjoyed those classes.  Mr. Lanctot even called me at home when I had a question regarding the AP Physics C class.

 

I have not been disappointed with any of the classes ds has taken.

 

Also, debating next year on how many APs and dual enrolled.  How do you feel the rigor is in regards to time spent in class?  Is what they list on their page about right in time spent each week? 

 

 

In general, I think the times listed on the course pages are accurate.  The classes are rigorous and I do not feel there is busy work.  Nearly all of the classes are asynchronous, which has worked out very well for us because of extracurricular activities (swim meets and debate tournaments).  Occasionally ds would have a conflict with a test and a swim meet or debate tournament (this seemed especially true last year).  Ds always notified his teacher of the conflict as was prepared to take the exam early, but he was usually allowed to take it a day late.. 

[chiguirre]

Has anyone done the Geography and Environmental Science classes?

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Thanks everyone, very helpful....any others? 

 

One question for govt./history/lit/psych. classes I noticed that they offer one day where there is a live aspect to the class can you all tell me how this has gone? 

 

Also, debating next year on how many APs and dual enrolled.  How do you feel the rigor is in regards to time spent in class?  Is what they list on their page about right in time spent each week? 

 

Thank you all!

 

 

AP Psychology has a live lecture and live chat each week. The beginning of the school year felt a little chaotic as the times for those were being determined. The teacher was trying to accommodate as many student schedules as possible. In the end she offered two or three day/time slots for each type of meeting -- live lecture and live chat.  This added valuable flexibility because students could choose which ones to attend each week. The sessions were also recorded for students who couldn't make the live meetings.

 

The AP Psych course description lists 5-10 hours a week. That sounds correct for the average week. There were some weeks dd probably spent more than 10 hours, but not many. She took the class as a 9th grade student. I imagine the older students spend less time. 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2016 by Woodland Mist Academy

[Homeschoolmom3]

Thank you all for your comments, a lot to think upon!

[brookspr]

My daughter LOVE, LOVE, LOVES the AP Human Geography class. She is in 10th grade this year and it has sparked a real interest in her to study a few different cultures and take Spanish. Well, our trip to Costa Rica over winter break did also help with that as well :) But she really loves everything about the class, how it is set up, the interaction with the other students, the responsiveness of the teacher, and the quality of the work she is required to do. It is a huge amount of reading, but she has really loved everything about the class. 

[JoanHomeEd]

So far, Mrs Green's AP Lit.

Maybe by May, there would a tie with another class  :)

Edited February 4, 2016 by JoanHomeEd

[daijobu]

Another thumbs up for AP Chem with Mr. Moskaluk.  But this class seems to self-selecting for high achieving students, and most students appear to be working hard and doing very well in the class.  It does require fair amount of initiative on the part of the student to make sure he/she understands the material thoroughly and taking advantage of the discussion boards if they do not.  

[learners4life]

Has anyone done the Geography and Environmental Science classes?

My daughter is taking it with Molly Olsson this year.  She likes the class and the teacher.  Very fast at grading work!

[cuckoomamma]

My daughter is also taking Environmental Science with Molly Olsson and loves it.  We highly recommend the class! 

 

We were looking at the World and European History choices for next year.  Are these all relatively new teachers?  Is there a better alternative if she wants to take those?  Does anyone have experience with these?

[Kareni]

My daughter took only one class through PA Homeschoolers ~ AP Statistics with Carole Matheny.  It was definitely a good course; my daughter was well prepared for the exam and scored a five.  I'd recommend it.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[5Wizards]

My daughter (9th grade) is taking Human Geography this year.  She is really enjoying it, and the pace is quite manageable for her.  This is her first online class, so I have nothing to compare it to, but she now wants to take 1-2 AP classes online next year as a result of her experience this year.