Blue Tent vs PA Homeschoolers

[48820592]

My ds will be a junior next year and has done several years of IEW.  He is currently taking Advanced Communications through a co-op.  He doesn't like to write at all and is not gifted in that area.  He also has trouble going deeper in his reading as he does some lit analysis.  I am wondering about an on-line class for him. I have read the reviews and am looking at Blue Tent and PA Homeschoolers.  AP Language and Comp seems like it would be a class for exceptional writers, is that fair to say?  

 

Does anyone have a child, who was not a gifted writer, take this class from either vendor? Was it a good choice?  

 

Thanks for your advice.

[Luckymama]

Dd is in her third year with Blue Tent, taking AP Lang.

 

Hahahahaha she is NOT a gifted writer :lol: She suffers through the required writing and especially despises literary analysis. But.....her grades this year are better than last in Honors English 2. And the writing in Honors English 1 reduced her to tears every single time.

 

I can tell the difference when it comes to non-English writing, both for classwork and her extracurriculars (Model UN and Youth in Government). She is a much stronger writer with more cohesive arguments. I think she'll do well in college.

 

She chose Blue Tent over PA Homeschoolers based on the class descriptions of assignments and the works to be read. Blue Tent appealed more :)

[hopskipjump]

My kid - definitely not a gifted writer. lol We chose AP English Lit last year simply BECAUSE English was her weakest, and generally, her laziest subject.

 

The beginning of the class was SO tough for her. It was a lot to take in! But, she struggled through - and within the first couple of months, English became her favorite subject. (She is a STEM kid, and that has never, ever happened before).

 

We chose Blue Tent and I am SO happy we did. Brigid was the perfect balance between strict expectations and pliable allowances. Her feedback was extraordinary, encouraging, and helpful to dd. There was a lot that dd simply Did. Not. Know. in the beginning, and Brigid was amazing in with her clear explanations and instructions.

 

Hands-down, the best online class we have ever chosen. The class remained very challenging all year for dd but Brigid's schedule and pacing remain constant throughout, so it was easy for dd to get a handle on... and she began to speed up on the reading and writing assignments. The forum postings were dds MAIN time-suck in the early months and she hated them. BUT once she got "in the groove," reading through all of the discussions became her favorite part of the class. The kids had some thought-provoking discussions that were helpful once it came time to write the essay.

 

DD2 will be taking a Blue Tent class next year, and I am considering the new 8th grade class option for ds as well.

[Mom22ns]

My dd took Blue Tent Honors English 2, while ds took AP English through PA Homeschoolers. It wasn't the same course, so I can't do a fair comparison, but I would choose PA Homeschoolers (with Maya). Blue Tent was full of busy work and had dd going in a hundred directions all the time. AP English was very focused: read, write about what you read, discuss with others what you read, write some more. Ds was a gifted writer, but only as a creative writer. He hated the style of writing required for AP English, but he improved tremendously at it and it has served him SO well in college that he finally admits it was a good choice.

[quark]

DS seems to have grown quite a bit writing wise in the last year and we are thinking of jumping out of his comfort zone a bit and pursuing AP Lit just because of how much more I think he will grow. But not a gifted writer...just writing more expressively and with maturity than before.

 

Can anyone comment on Mrs S's AP Lit with PAH?

 

Could I also ask about estimated time per week with Blue Tent's? And with PAH? DS will actually love to spend a lot of time on Lit if he could but trying to work out what else we should plan for fall-spring and what he could drop from the plan if he takes this route.

 

One more Q...if we submit apps in March how soon will we hear back from PAH and Blue Tent if he has a spot? We need to plan budget and schedule in advance due to DE classes.

[G5052]

DS seems to have grown quite a bit writing wise in the last year and we are thinking of jumping out of his comfort zone a bit and pursuing AP Lit just because of how much more I think he will grow. But not a gifted writer...just writing more expressively and with maturity than before.

 

Can anyone comment on Mrs S's AP Lit with PAH?

 

Could I also ask about estimated time per week with Blue Tent's? And with PAH? DS will actually love to spend a lot of time on Lit if he could but trying to work out what else we should plan for fall-spring and what he could drop from the plan if he takes this route.

 

One more Q...if we submit apps in March how soon will we hear back from PAH and Blue Tent if he has a spot? We need to plan budget and schedule in advance due to DE classes.

 

PAH is almost immediate. And FWIW, they allow payment as late as July. It's worth contacting them and asking.

[quark]

Thank you G5052!

[quark]

Wow...DS received a reply early this morning from PAH after submitting his app yesterday evening. Very quick! :) Updating for anyone else wondering about turnaround time.

[freesia]

Wow...DS received a reply early this morning from PAH after submitting his app yesterday evening. Very quick! :) Updating for anyone else wondering about turnaround time.

We had a reply within hours from PA homeschoolers. I was shocked and impressed (and thrilled b/c I was a bit nervous filling out the app with him).