mmasc Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Has anyone tried any of these for the middle grades? I’d love some reviews! Or a link to a past thread if it has already been discussed at length. ? TY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 My daughter has taken Latin, literature, classical studies, and composition with MPOA. We’ve had great experiences. Love the classes. Love the teachers. She will be a freshman next year and it will be her 5th year taking classes there. Do you have specific questions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 4 hours ago, SevenDaisies said: My daughter has taken Latin, literature, classical studies, and composition with MPOA. We’ve had great experiences. Love the classes. Love the teachers. She will be a freshman next year and it will be her 5th year taking classes there. Do you have specific questions? Yes! I’m looking at Middle School literature and science. Can you tell me about the literature classes? Or a specific teacher? My son likes to read, but I’m afraid doing all of those lit guides will be overkill. Plus anything additional and it will be much more than what we’ve done in the past. Do you think the eighth grade lit class is much harder than the seventh? Do they actually talk and discuss in class, or is it just text box typing? Or neither? thank you! eta: the lit classes I’m considering are called Middle School 1 or Middle School 2. Teachers are Dewberry, Lacy, or Golden. I’m leaning towards 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 I don’t know how familiar you are with MP, but they believe in reading less but deeper. The reading load is pretty light in my opinion, leaving lots of room for free reading or reading in other courses. The guides are assigned but never checked. My daughter used to complete the guides, but now she usually marks where the answers are found in the book as she reads. Some of the teachers will go over the questions in the guide, in which case she will write her answers in the guide because she likes to answer in class when there is opportunity, Most of her teachers have discussed the material without actually sticking to the questions in the guide. There is usually one extra assignment per book or per quarter. It is usually an essay but there is some variation here. There are weekly quizzes over the reading, but they are actually due once a quarter. There is usually an exam after each book. There is a lot of conversing in the chat box, but there is reading aloud and some discussion on the mic. My daughter loves getting on the mic and she has plenty of opportunities. I do not think MSII is much harder than MSI, although I do think the books in MSIII are a bigger step up in difficulty. My daughter has had Ms Dewberry the last two years and she’s great. She has enjoyed her classes. She’s never had Ms Lacy, but she will have Ms Golden next year for two classes. I’ve been very pleased with all her teachers. There have been a couple that she has not loved (generally the ones who are more strict) but I still thought they were great teachers, and I know other parents who have said their kids loved them. We’ve never done science classes with MPOA, but she will take Bio next year. Are you looking at the MS Science classes or Physical Science/Earth Science? I would recommend the latter two as they are more rigorous courses. I have used the Novare texts and I LOVE them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmasc Posted July 20, 2018 Author Share Posted July 20, 2018 This is very helpful! Thank you! You’ve helped me decide that MSII lit is probably the way to go. We’ve used many MP materials, but we usually discuss the guides and not actually write out the answers. Also, my DS has never had quizzes and tests on books so this will be a change for him. Regarding science, I’m considering Physical. Earth does not work because of another class conflict. We’ve done several Tiner books at home, so he’s not very interested in covering 3 of those in a year (and one he has done already). So that leaves us with Physical. I’m really wanting a step up in his science study (mostly Tiner and hands-on stuff so far), but I’m a bit worried that this might be too much. (Rigorous is in the description!). I want him challenged but not overwhelmed. I’m torn on this year’s science! But it’s one of the classes we want outsourced. (Lit and math are our other two). I like the Novare samples I’ve seen online. I also like that there will be labs that are modified for home. My DS will not be content just watching demos in science, which is what many online/dvd science classes offer. Decisions....decisions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SevenDaisies Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 I didn’t find Physical Science to be too rigorous, but it is more rigorous then the Tiner books. The Novare HS texts do split off into a standard track and an accelerated track, but the middle school books have a single track. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosyRose Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Hi mmasc & SevenDaisies, I am planning on entering my daughter in MPOA in September. I was wondering if students are able to view each other during their online classes? The class demo video only shows the instructor and not students, I don't know if it's to protect the students identity or if that the way the classes are normally viewed. If someone can answer my question I would greatly appreciate it. TY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Hello! In case you don’t get an answer here, MP had a forum as well— you could try posting there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 (edited) I’m a big fan. My current 7th grade dd started in 5th and she has now taken Latina Christiana, First Form, and Second Form Latin, Narrative, Chreia/Maxim, and Ref/Con Composition, Middle School Science 1, 7th and 8th grade lit, 6th grade math, prealgebra, and Classical Studies 1. She has really enjoyed all the classes. I feel like they are challenging and worthwhile without being too hard. She has taken 5-6 classes without being overwhelmed. The students are rarely on video. Once in a while they will turn their cameras on at the end of class or to present something but that is rare. It is generally just the teacher visible with students on the text chat. Teachers exert various levels of control on the chat and it seems I hear my dd going on mic to speak nearly every class. My dd is going to try a cottage school next year and might just take science from MPOA. She wants to try the in person classes but it is no reflection on MPOA. She is sad to leave her teachers there and I would go back to MPOA without hesitation if the cottage school doesn’t work out. There is good info on the MP forums but you won’t get much negative feedback. The administrators and teachers at MP post on there and they are so nice I don’t think people post much negative. But you could ask your questions there. You might get pms with more honest feedback. I’ve also seen more critical feedback on the MPOA families FB page so that is another place to seek info. Just realized this was a really old thread! Edited January 22, 2021 by teachermom2834 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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