BlessedMom Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 I have read the Geometry information in the pinned Math thread, however I would loves some personal recommendations. I would appreciate hearing the pros and cons of your experience with the course you choose. We are especially interested in any courses that have an online or DVD teaching components available for them. Are there any courses that contain some ongoing algebra review? Thank you for your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 We used teaching textbooks for geometry last year and were happy with it. My daughter did do the proofs on paper to work them out on her own. I know TT doesn't have the best reputation, but we felt it was very thorough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Erica, Thank you for sharing your experience with TT. When your daughter worked out the proofs on paper was there a resource included with TT that helped you evaluate her work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 We also used TT and had a good experience with it. Dd was well prepared for Algebra 2 and pre-Calculus 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 My dd took Geometry with Jann in TX and it was a good course. She seems to have a good understanding of geometry, and was well prepared for Algebra 2. Jann's courses have online classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 If you provide a little more info such as programs that your student has used in the past and what those experiences were like, you may get more personalized suggestions about what might be a good fit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 In my experience, the biggest stumbling block to teaching Geo at home is correcting proofs because often there is more than one right way to do each one. My eldest is going through Jurgensen's geo. She is using a resource that isn't for sale anymore, but there are free videos available for just about every lesson on YouTube (linked in other threads). There are algebra reviews in every chapter. When she needs help, I have to sit down with the materials before I can help. When I correct her tests and her (proof) answers don't match the key, I have to work the problem myself to see if her logic makes sense. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Erica, Thank you for sharing your experience with TT. When your daughter worked out the proofs on paper was there a resource included with TT that helped you evaluate her work? She used it independently and just compared her proofs to the solutions given on TT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 (edited) We really enjoyed Wilson Hill Academy's Geometry course. ds14 flourished in their interactive environment which was the first of its kind he had taken. Their courses are live online and interactive which is excellent. I feel they were some of the best money we've spent while homeschooling, definitely worth the cost of admission. WHA uses Jurgensen which is an excellent classical Geometry text that masterfully weaves proofs throughout. This is the same book which many high school honors courses use. It was great to have the teacher instruct in proof writing while providing valuable feedback in grading them. She emphasized the importance of efficiency among other techniques versus simply having students copying a particular pattern from a book. The problem with the later is that there is more than 'one' correct way to write proofs. However, many programs have one pattern and provide much less instruction in terms of thinking logically through the process. Its kind of like teaching to the test. So that is one the major downsides to the canned geometry programs. Edited June 29, 2016 by dereksurfs 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 We used TT as well--the pre computer graded one bc I wanted him to write out the proofs. I checked the proofs from the answer key and didn't find it that hard to grade ones that were different--wven though I cried through my geometry class years ago. Lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 Thank you all so much I really appreciate hearing your personal experiences with the different Geometry courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 :bigear: We should start geometry in January. I'm looking at Math without Borders, which uses Geometry: A Guided Inquiry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Derek, Thank you for sharing your positive experience with Wilson Hill Would you be willing to share a little more about how the class worked? Did you feel like two days a week of instruction was adequate for the assigned workload? Any details you are willing to share would be much appreciated. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodGrief Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 (edited) I used Teaching Textbooks with two daughters, one mathy and one not-so-much. It worked well for each of them. This was the older version of TT, and I believe there is a computer graded component now? My daughters just compared their work to the answers given on the solution cd. Both went on to successfully complete courses through calculus, and my mathy kid always had excellent test scores. The non-mathy one had "fine" test scores :-) My friend used Derek Owens for geometry for her reluctant math student and was successful. She did utilize a tutor to keep her daughter moving along. The tutor had very favorable remarks about the Derek Owens curric in comparision to other homeschool geometry curricula he had experienced, fwiw. We've used DO for higher level math courses and really like him. Edited June 30, 2016 by Gr8lander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I just loved Jurgensons. And you can get an older edition. My 1994 edition was the same, page for page, as the 2001 edition. I loved the clear explanations. I loved the look. There was nothing to not love. The problems were hard enough, but not too hard. You can see a sample online. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad S Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 (edited) We used Jacobs Geometry, 3rd edition, and it worked great for us. We also used the Teacher's Guide (basically for the answers) and the AskDrCallahan.com videos, although DS often didn't need the videos as he was able to get the material from the book, which seems very clear. We mostly followed the syllabus that comes with the AskDrCallahan.com videos, except that we added the non-Euclidean chapter at the end, which I think is very informative, and used different materials for the algebra review, which I really don't like -- we just got a book that's used in a lot of schools and DS read the book and did the end of chapter problem sets. In that same book, we also used the chapters on basic data analysis and statistics which are now pretty standard, and which I'd recommend you do along the way of your homeschooling. IMO the Jacobs Geometry algebra review problems are just calculation practice. IMO the geometry is great; the algebra review is useless (though easily replaced by picking another book for review or running algebra 2 and geometry simultaneously over two years) and the lack of data analysis and statistics is a shortcoming, but also easily fixed. As wapiti said above, it's hard to make any specific recommendations without knowing more about the student's background, but I would not hesitate to use Jacobs Geometry again and think it would suit a lot of different learners. (By the way, we did NOT run the course as a "discovery approach," which was easy to do, but it could be done that way if your student would benefit and you've got the time.) The other (book-based) courses I've heard the most good things about, which make sense to me, are AoPS Geometry and Jurgenson's Geometry, although they may also need separate algebra review and data analysis instruction. ETA: "(book-based)" type of course I was discussing, to clarify. Edited July 1, 2016 by Brad S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 (edited) Derek, Thank you for sharing your positive experience with Wilson Hill Would you be willing to share a little more about how the class worked? Did you feel like two days a week of instruction was adequate for the assigned workload? Any details you are willing to share would be much appreciated. Thank you Hi BlessedMom, Yes, the class meets twice a week which seems like a perfect balance of teacher instruction, classroom interaction and independence. It is actually very much like a college course in that regard. More often would probably be too much. But less and it there may be need for more outside class time help from the teacher or parents. Ds14 took it with Leslie Smith two years ago. I'm not sure she is still teaching it. So, the details of how the class runs may be somewhat different with another instructor. In Leslie's class, she started each session with a review of the homework problems. During this time she strongly encouraged classroom participation. So, this gave our son a good chance to ask any question he may have including areas he may be having difficulty. Although they start each class with prayer, a number of secular families asked me if it was overly religious. My answer was no, its a Geometry course and as such the focus is on math plain and simple. I do have to say though that the teachers go above and beyond the classroom to demonstrate care for each student. When we've had things come up during the school year like family vacations, they have been more than willing to work with us so that our son could keep up with all classroom assignments. Overall, it was much more than I had expected from an online course provider. I think the teachers really have a heart from young students and a passion to help them grow and learn as well as the skills to accomplish it. That was very evident to me during our past two years of math courses at WHA. Our son truly flourished in that environment. Edited July 1, 2016 by dereksurfs 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 I just loved Jurgensons. And you can get an older edition. My 1994 edition was the same, page for page, as the 2001 edition. I loved the clear explanations. I loved the look. There was nothing to not love. The problems were hard enough, but not too hard. You can see a sample online.Did you teach this yourself? How did you grade the proof? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EppieJ Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Eavesdropping.... :patriot: Happy Fourth, Everyone! Derek, how does this work? Let me try that again. :tongue_smilie: If there's an 8:00am Geo class that they offer (Eastern Time) does that mean my student would have to be at his computer at 5:00am (PNW)? I'm intrigued by the school, but we've never done online courses. Ds takes most of his at our PPP. He got waitlisted next year for Geometry, tho, so I'm looking for alternatives. TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlessedMom Posted August 10, 2016 Author Share Posted August 10, 2016 Thank you all for you recommendations. I will try to look at TT, Math without Boarders, Derek Owens, Jacobs & Jurgensons. Derek, Thank you for the additional information on WHA. Leslie Smith still teaches the Geometry so I am especially thankful to know you were happy with her class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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