The biggest thing on my mind is organizing what we'll be doing with math going forward. While we've always done something with math, I've never been over organized with it. I blame my children. We'd start a math book with good intentions...only to find out after explaining the basic idea, they intuitively understood all of it. What do you do with that?
Anyway, Youngest is doing Singapore Math and seems to be happy with it. He'll sit and do ten pages one day and the not touch it for a week or two and that's fine with me. I'll probably stick with Singapore for a while though I'm sure he'll jump in spurts like the other two did.
Middle is doing Geometry with a mix of books because I've yet to find a Geometry book I like. Even when I taught College Geometry, I couldn't find one book that had everything - all the basics as well as constructions and proofs. He's done with the basics and now we're working on constructions. Life has been made a little easier in this department with this website that covers exactly what I usually teach. I'm considering combining his proofs with a whole logic type of course for our homeschool group in late spring or summer.
What to do next? I suspect he needs some review of Algebra before moving on to Algebra 2. If we do a review of Algebra then an easier version of Algebra 2 then Precalculus, this will put him roughly on the same path Oldest did. Sigh. Maybe I'll have it figured out by then. Regardless, I'll need to dig through my stuff to see what I have for some Algebra review. If anyone has any suggestion of how to stretch it further without stopping entirely, I'm all ears (eyes) because Calculus at 12/13 isn't the easiest thing to deal with...
This brings us to Oldest. She's finishing Precalculus now. She did Algebra 2 and Precalculus which is kind of redundant being mostly the same material, but she's doing a harder version now, so I guess it's kind of spiral-like and she is definitely more confident with it. My thoughts had always been that she'd probably want college credit by the time she got to Calculus, but now we're facing this at 12 years old. She's not ready for a college setting. She would feel self-conscious and put too much pressure on herself, like just about any 12 year old probably would. She's ready academically for AP Calc AB, but again, the pressure of ONE big test, her being the youngest...I think it would not go well.
I'm thinking about having her do regular Calculus through FLVS so that she gets used to the setting and sees that she is capable (because Mom telling you means nothing, of course) and then have her take AP Calc BC the next year. After that, we will have to go the dual enrollment route if she wants to continue in math, but she will (hopefully) have proven herself and she will be 14, almost 15, and blend in a little easier with the older students. The only downside is being locked into the FLVS schedule all next year. Maybe I can convince her to work ahead? Ha!
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You have the fact you are math inclined on your side. At least you can help your kids.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I can think of that might help is if she could find a tutoring situation or a small co-op with high school juniors/seniors. That might help ease her into a classroom setting with young adults. At 12, she would be the same age as the Duke TIP kids who take the SAT. That's another thought that might boost her confidence. Your idea of having her do the FLVS class is a pretty good one. I agree that sticking to that schedule would be blah, but it would be the same as taking any other class.
For the middle one...have you thought about Art of Problem Solving? I hear all kinds of good things about it.
She's in a teen group socially now, but there aren't really co-op type situations like that. Even so, there is a big difference between 13-15 year olds and college students. She's acutely aware that she will stick out with 18-20 year olds and doesn't want to be noticed for being different like that. The blending curse. If she didn't care, it would be no big deal, but she does.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of the Art of Problem solving. I'll go look it up now. He's pretty much done with math after this week so we'll have time to cover some extras.