Recommendations for supplementing school

[Daphne Banks]

Hi there, my DDs highschool (in California) just decided to go fully online. As they are not experts in this, they are allowing kids to take classes through other institutions. As so many here have done online classes, programs, and homeschool alternatives, I thought there might be some good suggestions. My DD will go to her school online, but I might have her take a few classes elsewhere if they seem better. She will be a 9th grader and is academically advanced, so looking for good challenging options. Thank you!

 

[mommyof1]

My rising ninth-grader is currently enjoying a writing course through CTY at Johns Hopkins. Our contingency plan in case we have to pull her from public school this fall includes several CTY courses, and we are considering supplementing with one CTY course if we take the school’s on-line option. CTY is accredited and offers NCAA-approved options for many courses.

 

[gymgal]

You could look into AP courses. I think I read that the company that does AP gave free access to their videos/coursework this past semester. They may do the same for the fall. AP would allow her to earn college credits. 9th is a bit early but there are some courses that would work well like environmental science, psychology, or US history

 

[Deleted member 18037]

If our state allowed it as part of “school” mine would do K12.com

As it is we are preparing to supplement with that program and have to pay put of pocket

 

[mommyof1]

It is worth investigating whether your state has an existing on-line program. Ours has two, one through K12 and one developed by the state. The K12 program is free, but only to full-time students. The homegrown program offers individual courses or a full-time program free to registered public school students. Our child’s guidance counselor recommended against K12 for advanced students, though.

If your local community college is going on line, that may be another possibility.

Whatever you do, make sure to have the school approve the course in advance and in writing if you want credit or placement. Our high school has on occasion denied credit even for courses that are listed in its own curriculum guide as approved.

 

[fuzi]

I am not sure how old your daughter is and if she is academically prepared for college level work, but I started taking community college courses at age 15. Many community colleges have been doing online education for a long time. Obviously, the quality of courses values college to college and professor to professor, but you might look into concurrent enrollment in a college course.

 

[Freddy's Fred]

Our metro Atlanta public school just announced an all virtual start. They really don't have a choice. We are just going with whatever they offer, but I need by kids to direct their own education because all online is the pits.

 

[lostinfog]

Our State has an online curriculum not K12. I am trying to decide if I will go that route and supplement with Kahn or Kumon or whatever. Mine is elementary not HS or MS. The school will offer virtual but I’m trying to get an idea of the non “live” virtual will be of quality and not similar to what the state has sent us for “optional” summer school and th Spring.

 

[kendo348]

By take classes elsewhere do you mean only live online courses taught by a teacher? Or are you including self-directed homeschool curriculum? If the latter, Saxon is a really good (rigorous, effective, no fluff) math choice for advanced, motivated students.

 

[Gigi]

I recommend Khan Academy. It is lecture style but done in a light and easy to understand way. It covers many subjects and it is free.

 

[kendo348]

Art of Problem Solving might be another good online option to look into. It appears they are accredited and focused on courses designed for accelerated students. I don’t have personal experience with it but have had a couple people recommend it recently (as we’ve decided to go back to homeschooling this year.)

 

[rjb123]

I would encourage you to develop a list of classic literature for her to read. There is so much out there that kids today SHOULD read, but they never seem to cover like they used to when I was in school.

 

[mommyof1]

Art of Problem Solving might be another good online option to look into. It appears they are accredited and focused on courses designed for accelerated students. I don’t have personal experience with it but have had a couple people recommend it recently (as we’ve decided to go back to homeschooling this year.)

A warning about AOPS: It is suited to a very particular type of student. It is designed to lead the student through deriving the algorithms and properties for herself, and is best for very self-directed students and those interested in math competitions. I tried it with my daughter several years ago and it was not a good fit, even though she did very well with a similar style of instruction in small groups at school this year. She found the AOPS videos dry and the exercises frustrating. That said, if you can get your child to cooperate, AOPS should build a very solid understanding of the topic.

 

[gymgal]

Art of Problem Solving might be another good online option to look into. It appears they are accredited and focused on courses designed for accelerated students. I don’t have personal experience with it but have had a couple people recommend it recently (as we’ve decided to go back to homeschooling this year.)

We used this text book for pre-algebra and algebra. I am not sure they had an online option at the time. I would not recommend it unless you have a child who love math and figuring out problems. One of my children did great with it. The other two hated it. The premise is that the student works through problems as they best see fit to get the right answers. Then the curriculum provides more efficient ways to solve the problems. It's great for students who are natural problem solvers and good at math but unnecessarily frustrating for students who would do better with a more straight forward "teach the concept" curriculum

 

[kendo348]

A warning about AOPS: It is suited to a very particular type of student. It is designed to lead the student through deriving the algorithms and properties for herself, and is best for very self-directed students and those interested in math competitions. I tried it with my daughter several years ago and it was not a good fit, even though she did very well with a similar style of instruction in small groups at school this year. She found the AOPS videos dry and the exercises frustrating. That said, if you can get your child to cooperate, AOPS should build a very solid understanding of the topic.

We used this text book for pre-algebra and algebra. I am not sure they had an online option at the time. I would not recommend it unless you have a child who love math and figuring out problems. One of my children did great with it. The other two hated it. The premise is that the student works through problems as they best see fit to get the right answers. Then the curriculum provides more efficient ways to solve the problems. It's great for students who are natural problem solvers and good at math but unnecessarily frustrating for students who would do better with a more straight forward "teach the concept" curriculum

Thank you for adding that info to clarify. They do offer live online courses now. Two of my kids are natural math students and love it, one is an unusually quick learner, so it was recommended to me in that context. Thought I would pass it on as the OP is looking for “good challenging options.” It seems worth looking into for someone in the market, but yes it is probably not a good fit for everyone.

 

[Daphne Banks]

Thank you for adding that info to clarify. They do offer live online courses now. Two of my kids are natural math students and love it, one is an unusually quick learner, so it was recommended to me in that context. Thought I would pass it on as the OP is looking for “good challenging options.” It seems worth looking into for someone in the market, but yes it is probably not a good fit for everyone.

OP here. Yes, Art of Problem Solving sounds like a great fit for my DD. She loves math, will be doing 11th-grade math in 9th grade this year, but the school curriculum (in person or not) has never been that deep/stimulating. This is exactly the kind of thing that might be a fit for her. I'll look into it.

 

[raenndrops]

You could look into AP courses. I think I read that the company that does AP gave free access to their videos/coursework this past semester. They may do the same for the fall. AP would allow her to earn college credits. 9th is a bit early but there are some courses that would work well like environmental science, psychology, or US history

In some states, 9th graders can actually take college courses (sometimes they are even free as long as they don't fail). While AP classes are a great option for a lot of students, I actually prefer college courses to AP classes where the college credit is dependent on 1 test.

 

[Madden3]

Hi there, my DDs highschool (in California) just decided to go fully online. As they are not experts in this, they are allowing kids to take classes through other institutions. As so many here have done online classes, programs, and homeschool alternatives, I thought there might be some good suggestions. My DD will go to her school online, but I might have her take a few classes elsewhere if they seem better. She will be a 9th grader and is academically advanced, so looking for good challenging options. Thank you!

Wow that is kind of crazy! Is the school paying for kids to take these classes, or do parents need to foot the bill? Maybe this is a private school?

My son is a rising HS Junior at a California public school. What his experience has taught me is that Freshmen usually have to be careful about what classes they take because they need to make sure they are on track to meet graduation requirements both for their High school and for A-g course completion by graduation (assuming CA 4 year college is desired.) This means being careful to get prerequisites covered and required classes started early on. I would just suggest getting clarity from the school on what classes the school is going to accept for these.

I agree with looking into community college courses. She may be able to get college credit. But she may be too young yet. Different colleges have different age rules for in person classes, not sure if that changes for online.

A friend's homeschooled high school aged daughter took online classes a couple years ago with Brigham Young University, and they thought they were very good.

 

[kendo348]

A friend's homeschooled high school aged daughter took online classes a couple years ago with Brigham Young University, and they thought they were very good.

Yes I know someone who homeschooled only temporarily (like six months) and had her super smart teenagers take courses through BYU during that time - I think even her middle schooler did his math through them - and same, they felt it worked out really well.