Feedback on 11th grade options? Help with AP Physics 1, gov't, econ?

[learningtoneversaynever]

Hi WTM,

I'm in the initial planning stages for the 2023-24 school year for my kid. Can people chime in about these vendors (ideally for these classes, but I'll take any feedback)? My kid is with a public charter, so our vendors are limited. (I'm toying with switching to a PSA, but...am just not sure. PSA options in parentheses.)

Pre-Calc H (or AP Pre-Calc? This confuses me): Blue Tent. Ashley Porter seems to have mostly positive reviews, but some negative ones. (Will either stay with BT or switch to MathAmelia.)

APUSH: Aim Academy. Lisa Hawkins has great reviews from when she was at PAH. My daughter is freaked out about this class for some unknown reason, so she might DE it instead.

AP Physics 1: HELP! Our only option is UC Scout, which has been a poor experience this year. Taylor Made Science is not an option to join the charter. (I tried, believe me, I tried.).Jack Kernion is looking into becoming a vendor so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed. But if this doesn't work, does anyone have any suggestions? Or a physics H class? "All" the physics profs at the local CCs have dismal reviews except one--but I asked her and she's not sure if she's teaching the early physics course next fall.

AP Eng Lang: Blue Tent (Lisa Glover) or AIM (Lili Serbecki). Opinions? Or, since my kid *loves* Christine Proctor at Blue Tent, does she jump to AP Eng Lit and enjoy her for another year? (My kid would absolutely ask her for a rec for college, if that sways anyone's thoughts.)

Gov't Honors/Econ Honors: I'm totally not opposed to APs for either of these, but the only vendor options for the APs (gov't and macro/micro) are APEX, FLVS, and UC Scout. So I'm thinking we'll try Thinkwell? Maybe? Thoughts? 

2 DE classes (likely psych related, as she's loving her intro to psych class this term).

Thanks for letting me engage the hive mind!

 

[Malam]

I would go for AP lit for a better LoR. I don't know anywhere that does AP Precalc yet

[learningtoneversaynever]

Malam, I don't know if I even *want* AP Precalc. I was just planning on having my kid do Precalc H, but then it sprang up both for BTO and MathAmelia, so now I'm unsure what she should do. Thanks for the input re: Lit.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I totally agree - if she loves Proctor then absolutely do another year with her and use her for a rec, those are worth gold, especially from English teachers lol. I've heard wonderful things about her AP class. Would she take AP Lang in 12th or just skip it? 

[Malam]

7 hours ago, learningtoneversaynever said:

Malam, I don't know if I even *want* AP Precalc. I was just planning on having my kid do Precalc H, but then it sprang up both for BTO and MathAmelia, so now I'm unsure what she should do. Thanks for the input re: Lit.

AP precalc is supposed to be a terminal course, so it won't be a problem at all to take honors precalc, especially if you're taking calculus next year.

As for physics, is Thinkwell a vendor? It wouldn't be live, of course, but I haven't heard too much negative feedback about it here

Edited February 17, 2023 by Malam

[learningtoneversaynever]

Ann, if it's worth its weight in gold, maybe that's a sign. 🙂 Just clarifying, as this is my first kid, she couldn't ask her for a rec if she is taking AP Lit with her while applying for colleges (in 12th)? My guess is she'd take AP Lang in 12th if she took AP Lit in 11th, unless there's a different DE English class that strikes her fancy. (The plan was to do 11th Lang, 12th Lit, so if I'm upending "the plan" then I'm open to other suggestions.)

Malam, Thinkwell has an Honors Physics 1, but it's calculus based, so I'm presuming it wouldn't be appropriate for my kid taking pre-calc next year. Right?  (They are also not technically a vendor for physics for us, but I'd be willing to ask our charter to add it to the binder.)

Edited February 17, 2023 by learningtoneversaynever

[Ann.without.an.e]

20 minutes ago, learningtoneversaynever said:

Ann, if it's worth its weight in gold, maybe that's a sign. 🙂 Just clarifying, as this is my first kid, she couldn't ask her for a rec if she is taking AP Lit with her while applying for colleges (in 12th)? My guess is she'd take AP Lang in 12th if she took AP Lit in 11th, unless there's a different DE English class that strikes her fancy. (The plan was to do 11th Lang, 12th Lit, so if I'm upending "the plan" then I'm open to other suggestions.)

Malam, Thinkwell has an Honors Physics 1, but it's calculus based, so I'm presuming it wouldn't be appropriate for my kid taking pre-calc next year. Right?  (They are also not technically a vendor for physics for us, but I'd be willing to ask our charter to add it to the binder.)

If you’re not aiming for AP Physics then have you checked out Derek Owens? His is self paced. 
 

If your dd is a strong reader with good writing skills then it really won’t matter if she takes AP Lit first. I can’t remember them building on each other at all. DD didn’t even take an AP class for them, she just self studied and took the exams and got 5’s on both. 

Edited February 17, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[Malam]

Yes you're right, my bad!

You could do another science, or go with something less structured like https://www.edx.org/course/ap-physics-1-2 or a Udemy course or self study.

Doing Lang or DE in 12th seems fine.

[learningtoneversaynever]

@Ann.without.an.e, we can't use Derek Owens. He's not a vendor. I reached out to his group this year to see if they could become a vendor, and , long story short, the answer is no. Our options for any physics that is honors or AP is limited to UC Scout and DE unless I can find a new vendor.

I'm going to consider AP Lit first. (She spent K-9 in public school, so is reticent to switch things up bc her friends won't take it until 12th, but I can probably convince her.)

@Malam, you're making me want to just do a PSA. Kiddo will be applying to at least a few highly rejectives and she's not a totally out of the box kid, so I think she needs to have the triumvirate of bio/chem/physics. I'll keep looking....

[Guest]

3 hours ago, learningtoneversaynever said:

you're making me want to just do a PSA

You do lose the funding, but PSA offers much more flexibility. 
 

[learningtoneversaynever]

@WTM, I know. Where I struggle with it is this:

1. My kid isn't outside the box. Either by nature or nurture, she's still taking pretty much what she'd be taking at the B&M school. I feel like so many homeschool parents do all this amazing creative stuff that reflects their kids' personalities and looks totally different than a public school education. If I'm not careful, I can feel sensitive that her education looks much more traditional. (To be fair, we've only been homeschooling a year, so it's not like I've had ample opportunity to deviate. This year was also an experiment to see if she liked homeschooling, so we mirrored what she would take in the B&M in case she went back next year. But she likes it!) I feel like there's this expectation that my homeschooled via PSA child will look different than that, and that because she doesn't she will be rejected on the face of it.

2. Aside from vendor choices, which I acknowledge to be a big issue, I'm not sure how different her courses would look. Freely admitted here is that if Blue Tent were not a vendor, I would be PSA'ing in a heartbeat. But BTO has been a very good fit for my kid, so I'm feeling like between them, AIM Academy, and DEs we can make the public charter work. Well, aside from physics, gov't, and econ, hence the post. And really, it's physics that haunts me. I'm willing to deal with a less than stellar gov't/econ since they will likely be a semester each.

[Guest]

@learningtoneversayneveryou might try the Facebook group “CA homeschool college seekers.” They may have more suggestions for other options for physics, etc!