Taking the Plunge
E is about to take the plunge into the world of online classes.
I find it kind of interesting that E is only 4 grades behind P, though 4.5 years younger. This happened for the same reason that P is only 1 year behind L in math and science, though 2 grades younger. You have a little kid who is bright and capable and eager to learn and do, and they're coming along behind the older ones, so you just hand them a crayon and a math book and let them run, so to speak. If E were in public school, I'd have held her back, because it's not a good situation for many reasons to be the youngest girl in a classroom. I could very much see her taking a year off between graduation and college, like I did—which was one of the better decisions I ever made; thanks, Mom and Dad.
I find it kind of interesting that E is only 4 grades behind P, though 4.5 years younger. This happened for the same reason that P is only 1 year behind L in math and science, though 2 grades younger. You have a little kid who is bright and capable and eager to learn and do, and they're coming along behind the older ones, so you just hand them a crayon and a math book and let them run, so to speak. If E were in public school, I'd have held her back, because it's not a good situation for many reasons to be the youngest girl in a classroom. I could very much see her taking a year off between graduation and college, like I did—which was one of the better decisions I ever made; thanks, Mom and Dad.
But here she is, heading towards starting 5th grade the very month she turns 10, and she's doing well. I used to kind of despair over her standardized test scores, which were way behind her brothers' at her age, but she's coming into her own. What really encourages me is her math skills. She has come a long way there, though she still has trouble problem solving. I have to walk her through using the Socratic method: "What are they asking for? What do you know? How are you going to use that to find what you don't know?" I've benefited from P's chemistry teacher, who teaches them the AGES acronym: What is the problem Asking for? What information is Given? How will you use that info to Evaluate? Does your answer make Sense in the given context? (Honestly, I think this chemistry course, with this teacher, is one of the best things that has happened to P. This has taken my evaluation of TPS from "pretty good" to "success!")
I recently had a long consultation over the phone with the Shormann Math people. My problem is that Singapore Math would take her through 6th grade, but Shormann Math doesn't start until Algebra 1, and I needed something that would bridge the gap. (Good news. You didn't hear this from me, but I have very good reason to believe that by the time E needs pre-algebra, there will be a new Shormann Math Pre-Algebra course ready and available.) Long story short, they suggest I just move her on over to Saxon Math, with the DIVE video lectures taught by Dr. Shormann. It's not the convenient system of Shormann Math, it's just Dr. S teaching Saxon Math in video lectures... but there's a reason he bases his math on the traditional Saxon Math, because it's just about the best out there.
I looked at the placement test for Saxon middle grade math and began evaluating E's skills along those lines, and was ecstatic to figure out that I can confidently place her into Math 6/5. This means she is on track for her grade. Meanwhile, although I will oversee her math, she will have formal lectures taught by Dr. Shormann, which means she's getting a better math teacher than me from now on. (Although I've managed pretty well so far with the Singapore Math.) I can't tell you how relieved I am to realize that she's actually quite a capable little math student, and she is not doomed to wait until college, as I did, to realize that she has a functioning brain and can take on the math world with confidence.
Registration at TPS just opened Thursday night for returning families. Note that we get to sign up earlier than new students, but AFTER the overseas students and the ones who are taking multiple courses that total a minimum amount. In retrospect, I actually think we might have qualified for that, but anyway, returning students got to start enrolling Thursday night, and by Friday morning one of the two American History/Lit/Comp sections was already waitlisted.😟 Aaaand... that was the 8am session. 😳 😳 Fortunately, that wasn't the one P wanted. (Who knew he's not an 8am-er, by druthers? He chose the M/W 11:30-1 slot. And his French class is T/R 1:15-2:45, in case you're dying to know.)
So after I got him all squared away, I went back and pondered E's schedule. How do you commit to days and times starting 5+ months away for a whole 8+ months?? When it's your kid's first rodeo and you don't even know what will be important to her? This English teacher or that one? We don't have experience with any of them. Early morning? She's a morning person. But 8am on a Monday seems like it could be a big pill to swallow on some Mondays. And what about Mom's needs? I'm a group fitness instructor. At the moment, I only have one weekday class, but that could change. So in the end, we opted to keep the lunchtime hours free (since that's when people want to do workout classes, as opposed to mid-morning or afternoon, therefore leaving my teaching options open) and go for a mirrored schedule: English on Mondays and science on Thursdays, both at 1:15pm.
Her science teacher was a no-brainer. Not only is she the only one teaching the class (hey, I said it was a no-brainer), she is the same teacher that both boys had for Life Science and L has had this year for Honors Chemistry. She will be a fabulous elementary school science teacher. With the English course, we had to choose from multiple sessions options that involved multiple teachers. We ended up with a session taught by a lady who not only has studied abroad in Uganda, The Netherlands, and Belgium (we read her bio), she also holds a K-9 teaching license. Ve-Ry Kewl.
And E is jump-up-and-down excited about starting her summer writing course with yet another teacher, one who is apparently the published author of children's stories, although I can't find anything she's written.
Buckle up, folks, this girl is heading off into the sunrise!
I looked at the placement test for Saxon middle grade math and began evaluating E's skills along those lines, and was ecstatic to figure out that I can confidently place her into Math 6/5. This means she is on track for her grade. Meanwhile, although I will oversee her math, she will have formal lectures taught by Dr. Shormann, which means she's getting a better math teacher than me from now on. (Although I've managed pretty well so far with the Singapore Math.) I can't tell you how relieved I am to realize that she's actually quite a capable little math student, and she is not doomed to wait until college, as I did, to realize that she has a functioning brain and can take on the math world with confidence.
Registration at TPS just opened Thursday night for returning families. Note that we get to sign up earlier than new students, but AFTER the overseas students and the ones who are taking multiple courses that total a minimum amount. In retrospect, I actually think we might have qualified for that, but anyway, returning students got to start enrolling Thursday night, and by Friday morning one of the two American History/Lit/Comp sections was already waitlisted.😟 Aaaand... that was the 8am session. 😳 😳 Fortunately, that wasn't the one P wanted. (Who knew he's not an 8am-er, by druthers? He chose the M/W 11:30-1 slot. And his French class is T/R 1:15-2:45, in case you're dying to know.)
So after I got him all squared away, I went back and pondered E's schedule. How do you commit to days and times starting 5+ months away for a whole 8+ months?? When it's your kid's first rodeo and you don't even know what will be important to her? This English teacher or that one? We don't have experience with any of them. Early morning? She's a morning person. But 8am on a Monday seems like it could be a big pill to swallow on some Mondays. And what about Mom's needs? I'm a group fitness instructor. At the moment, I only have one weekday class, but that could change. So in the end, we opted to keep the lunchtime hours free (since that's when people want to do workout classes, as opposed to mid-morning or afternoon, therefore leaving my teaching options open) and go for a mirrored schedule: English on Mondays and science on Thursdays, both at 1:15pm.
Her science teacher was a no-brainer. Not only is she the only one teaching the class (hey, I said it was a no-brainer), she is the same teacher that both boys had for Life Science and L has had this year for Honors Chemistry. She will be a fabulous elementary school science teacher. With the English course, we had to choose from multiple sessions options that involved multiple teachers. We ended up with a session taught by a lady who not only has studied abroad in Uganda, The Netherlands, and Belgium (we read her bio), she also holds a K-9 teaching license. Ve-Ry Kewl.
And E is jump-up-and-down excited about starting her summer writing course with yet another teacher, one who is apparently the published author of children's stories, although I can't find anything she's written.
Buckle up, folks, this girl is heading off into the sunrise!
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