who here has used Home2Teach online classes for 9/10 year olds?

[Karie]

I'm considering doing this with my almost 10 year old son. I'm thinking of signing him up for the first fundamentals class. Has anyone else done this and what are your thoughts-truthfully!

Thanks!
Karie

[teacalm]

Hi,

Dd9 is now on her 3rd session and I have nothing bad to say. It's been a positive experience. I saw her writing, typing, ability to edit, cut down wordy paragraphs, and ability to submit the work on time improved beyond what I imagined. She started with Fundamentals 1 class, moved on to Fund. 2 class, and now on her 3rd session, still on Fund. 2 class per her teacher Brianna's suggestions. It's amazing how my 2 dcs takes their teacher's suggestions without a single complaint. I love, love it and plans to continue with their classes.

I planned on enrolling dd8 for next year's class.

[Sue in St Pete]

Hi,

Dd9 is now on her 3rd session and I have nothing bad to say. It's been a positive experience. I saw her writing, typing, ability to edit, cut down wordy paragraphs, and ability to submit the work on time improved beyond what I imagined. She started with Fundamentals 1 class, moved on to Fund. 2 class, and now on her 3rd session, still on Fund. 2 class per her teacher Brianna's suggestions. It's amazing how my 2 dcs takes their teacher's suggestions without a single complaint. I love, love it and plans to continue with their classes.

I planned on enrolling dd8 for next year's class.

I'm curious about your 12yo ds because I just signed my 13yo ds up for Fund 1. Sigh. I was hoping he'd place out of the beginning class. So, does 12yo ds take classes there as well?

And, for the OP. If you do a search, you will come up with several threads. Here are 2:
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17350&highlight=Home2Teach

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17350&highlight=Home2Teach

[Mamabegood]

My newly-turned 11yodd took the Fundamentals 2 class over the summer. It was a great class, but I wish we'd started with a more advanced class. She enjoyed it, but a lot of it was review, and we don't use any kind of rigorous writing program in our homeschool. I think an average 9 or 10yo would have no problem taking Fundamentals 1.

[Tina in WA]

I have used it for a few years now with my 8th grader. She really enjoys it and I have to say it has really helped her is other area's of academics where writing or reports are concerned.

I haven't started my 6th grader with it yet because he got a slow start to reading. I think he will be ready to start in the fall though. We will definitely put him here if I decide to do a online writing class for him.

HTH's~Tina

[Karie]

Sue, I was the OP for one of the threads you gave me. I totally forgot I had asked this question! When I asked this at the beginning of last year my son wasn't old enough to take the classes, but is now. I think I'm going to sign him up and see how he does for one session and go from there.

[Karen in WA]

I have been reading the thread on this and have looked at the website.
I am considering it for my 14 year old daughter. Should I start out with the Fundamentals 1 class? Last year she took a live English class and did fine.
I am struggling with getting her to write this year, but know she needs to be doing more than we are currently doing. I don't mind starting her at the beginning, if that is where she needs to be. Any advice?
Thanks,
Karen in WA

[Sue in St Pete]

Sue, I was the OP for one of the threads you gave me. I totally forgot I had asked this question!
How funny. :lol:

I just investigated online writing classes. Write@Home comes up a lot, too, but I notice that the reviews are mostly positive but some negative. The reviews about Home2Teach are consistently positive. The other thing that is nice (for me anyway) is that the classes are only 6 weeks long. So, I don't have to invest a lot of time and money to see if it will work for us. Good luck!

I will admit that I'm a little nervous because we got a brand new teacher. Anybody have any idea how many teachers they have?

[Sue in St Pete]

I have been reading the thread on this and have looked at the website.
I am considering it for my 14 year old daughter. Should I start out with the Fundamentals 1 class? Last year she took a live English class and did fine.
I am struggling with getting her to write this year, but know she needs to be doing more than we are currently doing. I don't mind starting her at the beginning, if that is where she needs to be. Any advice?
Thanks,
Karen in WA

Hi Karen,

From the FAQ (http://www.home2teach.com/faq.htm):
I'm not sure of the proper placement for my child. Can I send a writing sample for you to evaluate?
Yes, especially for the Paragraph and higher classes. The writing sample must be something the student has written with absolutely no input, suggestions, help, revisions or edits from the parent or any other adult. In other words, this must be the student's own draft. This is the only way we can accurately evaluate the STUDENT's level of writing. The sample needs to be a minimum of one paragraph of at least 10 lines. It needs to be typed in Word and sent as an attachment to e-mail.

This is what I did with my 13yo ds.

Out of curiosity, where did your dd take the live English class and what did you/she think of it?

[teacalm]

[QUOTE=Sue in St Pete;719528]I'm curious about your 12yo ds because I just signed my 13yo ds up for Fund 1. Sigh. I was hoping he'd place out of the beginning class. So, does 12yo ds take classes there as well?



Yup, ds12 had to start with Fundamental 1 class. I wasn't happy with it, but Eileen was adamant in starting everyone in the Fund. 1 class. Ds12 was upset that he was grouped together with his younger dd9. I even submitted a sample of ds12's work, and Eileen commented that he lacked knowledge in using semicolon. They always remind you not to help your kids in any way whatsoever, but if I had known, I would have briefed ds about its usage, and "lie" about his age. I really wanted ds12 in the paragraph class to prepare him for the CA STAR 7th Gr writing this spring 2009.

I picked this book " Symbol & Sense" by Hawley and it helped me guide ds through the paragraph construction process. This is one of the best book I came across with that simply provides step by step instruction on how to build a paragraph. Ever since I used this in conjunction with home2teach, his paragraphs improved. I didn't even notice it until the last lesson of Session 2. He typed a compare/contrast of "THe Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" movie vs book, and I was blown away.

If your child is 13, he/she can start with the paragraph class and bypass all the other classes. I still think ds12 would have benefitted from the paragraph class more.

[Melinda S in TX]

I will admit that I'm a little nervous because we got a brand new teacher. Anybody have any idea how many teachers they have?

My 13dd has taken Fundamental 1 and Fundamental 2 and had a different teacher both times. She is going to take Narrative in a couple of weeks and will have yet another teacher. The teacher for Narrative is somewhat new. She sat in on dd's Fund 1 class a couple of semesters ago to learn how things work.

Melinda S in TX

[Karen in WA]

Out of curiosity, where did your dd take the live English class and what did you/she think of it?[/quote]


Sue,

The class she took was at a public school/parent partnered program.
They met for one hour a week and then did the homework throughout the week. It was a lot of work for her, but she learned a lot and was more
willing to do the work for someone other then me.

Karen in WA