Worldview and Current Events for HighSchoolers

A few years ago, my children surprised me by revealing a deep interest in politics, economics and in current events! I have been even more surprised to discover that it was not just a passing fancy! In fact, on any given evening you can find them arguing over who gets to read the “World” Magazine first, perusing the internet for the newest ”Louder with Crowder” video from PJ TV, or involved in a passionate discussion of economics!

So I decided that I would turn this integral interest in Government into coursework for my 9th Grader this year. When developing this course, I decided that I had to keep some of these things in mind:

1) Longterm goals (independent learning!)

2) Short term goals (a quality, generous High School regimen and hopefully – SCHOLARSHIP $$$ for Higher Education)  

3) Our “Year Round” schooling schedule (real learning takes “time” and doesn’t stop for Summer)

4) Our family’s Christian Worldview (nuff said)

5) Our educational foundations and philosophies (In a nutshell: Strong basic skills, along with integrated,  “interest driven” learning which utilizes my student’s academic strengths to teach to their weak areas, will be the most effective way to ensure that my students will be lifelong learners and leaders in our community!)

6) Choosing to use “Whole” books and  “real life” activities, rather than using only textbooks and written work, will enable my students to develop a love for learning as well as allowing them to delve deeper into the topics that they find most interesting.

7) We learn best when we are required to apply new information to an activity, or when we acquire new information that we need to have in order to complete that activity! (Learning by doing)

Taking all those things into consideration, I helped her arrange those activities and interests into a part of her academic program for credit this semester.

Here are just some of the resources and activities that we used:

The Fallacy Detective ( Logic and Debate)

The Deadliest Monster (Philosophy and Literature – Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and other literature of this genre)

Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury (Basic Economic Principles and History) 

How Should We Then Live? by Frances Shaffer (DVD Set) (Philosophy, History and Governments of Western Civilization are integrated here)

Drive By History with Dave Stotts- DVD’s ( Ancient History including Asia, Greece and Rome and their influence on Western Civilization)

Internet Research

Original Documents such as  The Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights and a study of the amendments.

Various 4H Projects- including writing and researching a Speech on the application of Second Amendment Rights which she presented at the District and State levels (integrating communication skills)

Participation in a Student Government position in our local 4H Club

Learning about “Parliamentary Procedure” at a Seminar

Our Local Newspaper

World Magazine, Citizen Magazine and the Mainstream Media outlets

Current Editorials; including editorials and news clips from those who would be considered “liberal”, and those who would be considered “conservative” and those who would be considered “Libertarian” in their political views.

Discussion

As you can see, we utilize a variety of materials in our learning program. This is to keep the interest level going :0) and because there are so many quality resources available that are “high interest” (other than her textbooks), we chose to include them as a vital part of her academic work.

Many of these things, she would have chosen to study on her own anyway  because she loves to learn about the things that interest her. Mainly, I think that she just loves to know more than me about any given subject! 

I guide the topics that she loves into the context of her coursework so that she becomes more challenged to keep her focus on them. As my reward, I have seen her develop projects on her own,  where she is going to be using the information she has gained.  

The benefits of this kind of education are obvious to me. Although it is sometimes more difficult to organize those materials into a list of  resources used for a particular course, because some of them cross over into other subject areas, it is well worth the extra work when you begin to see your children make those kinds of connections on their own. It is then that they are developing the kind of thinking skills that will grow them into the creative, thoughtful individuals that all societies need. 

I am still learning a lot about how to help my 9th Grader plan each elective and get all the required courses in as well, and I am enjoying sharing my ideas and thoughts here!

I hope that if you are teaching a homeschooled High Schooler you will be encouraged that others are still figuring it all out too! And I hope that if you are thinking of teaching your Highschooler at home you will see that with some perseverance and good resources it can be done.

Have a great weekend and remember this Mission is not only possible … it is worth the investment!

I am off to prepare for my next mission - Grades and Transcipts!

MeritK

Independent Learning- Courses from Duke University

There has been an increase in recent years in the number of educators and parents who recognize the value of learning that happens on an individual’s own timetable. Thus the number of independent learning courses that are available has also increased. Duke University offers independent coursework for your students in subject areas such as Algebra, Literature and Science.

You can check out their offerings here:

http://www.tip.duke.edu/independent_learning/index.html

Duke also offers your independent learner an opportunity to explore these subjects as a “TIP Tester”. Your student applies to “try out” the new courses that Duke wants to offer in exchange for the courses and textbooks being offered free. There are certain requirements and you can find out more about them here:

http://www.tip.duke.edu/loyo/Tester/index.html

Independent Learning is a great stress buster for the Homeschooling parent and as an added benefit, it creates an atmosphere of accountability for students who are motivated by that- another tool to help you accomplish your Homeschooling Mission!

Have a great week-

Merit K

Connecting with our Teens

One thing that I have noticed that is different for me in dealing with my Teen is that my Teenager is thinking for herself!  Now granted, this is exactly what we wanted when my hubbie and I talked about how we would raise our children. We wanted them to see all the different philosophies and ideas that are out there and make personal decisions based on logic and from their own hearts. But for some reason when it actually happened, I was surprised

It is both beautiful to see her growing into a young adult and- I will admit it –  painful! She and I have great discussions, but she is a better debater than me!  She is dreaming big and I love it! She is thinking deep thoughts and I love that too! When she makes a mistake or forgets something important, it is easy for me to get “bent out of shape”. I want to have high expectations for her, but yet remain balanced and realistic.

Mark Gregston has some great advice on connecting with our Teens:

“Now, here are appropriate motivations and goals to focus on as you have that talk:

• To be clear and concise, and make sure your teen understands your concern for them.
• To better understand your teen, or communicate you’d like to better understand them.
• To give them rest from a wearying situation – yes, their transgressions can be emotionally burdensome.
• To more clearly communicate your household beliefs, rules, and consequences.
• To solve the problem at hand and prevent it from happening again.

You’ll notice that I positioned “To solve the problem” last on that list, not first. That’s because you’ll never get to really solving the problem unless you first work on the relationship. Problem-solving demands a good relationship and trust by your teen that you have their best interests at heart.
 
Please don’t hear me say that a parent should act subservient or apologetic to a teen when they are confronting inappropriate behavior. Say what you mean when you speak, and mean what you say, but choose words that won’t cause your teen to have to defend who they are as a person, and make sure your motivations are right.
 
I also recommend adding some levity to the discussion. It reduces the tension and allows you to focus on the issue without sounding angry or upset. And sometimes it doesn’t need to be a long drawn-out discussion. For instance, when I confront kids I usually do so with a big smile, saying something like, “Wow! You really blew it! What happened?” Approaching it this way tends to make the teen respond, “Yeah, I guess I did.” Getting them to agree and take ownership for their mistake is a healthy first step. And asking them “what happened?” gives them an opportunity to respond and explain themselves without inferring that it was entirely their fault.”
 

Read his whole article here on OneNews http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=850232

I am enjoying these years and learning right along with my Teen!

Merit K

Free Homeschool High School Webinar

The one thing that I hear about most often from parents who ask me about Homeschooling through High School is concern about keeping good records. Creating professional looking documents such as transcripts and keeping track of the credit hours our students are earning can seem daunting at first glance.

But as I have mentioned here on this blog before – there are many parents who have gone before us and have graduated their students from a Home Education program.

Some of them have dedicated a lot of time to educating us about how to do this. There is no need to panic and no need to spend a ton of time re-inventing the wheel when there are such wonderful resources out there.

Today I want to point you towards a free Webinar sponsored by “The Homeschooler’s Notebook”. Lee Binz (who has had two Homeschool Graduates) is going to present information about how to grade and determine credits for your courses. It looks like it will be very helpful.

You can go here to register for this FREE High School Webinar:

It is THIS THURSDAY,  January 21st at 8:00 PM EST :

 

“This FREE one hour webinar is offered by special invitation from Heather Idoni to readers of her Homeschooler’s Notebook newsletter, as well as guests from her network of homeschooling websites, email groups and The Homeschool Encouragement Center at HomeschoolChat.us.

Join us for this FREE one hour class and we will take the mystery out of determining high school credits and assigning homeschool grades.  You will also learn an easy-to-implement option for creating an amazing homeschool transcript at home.  A transcript that will save you loads of time, money and frustration and will AMAZE the colleges!”  Lee Binz

You can sign up for the “Homeschooler’s Notebook” which is an Email newsletter for High School here: http://www.familyclassroom.net/screensubs.html

I highly recommend these encouraging resources for those who are going the distance and customizing a High School Program for their Homeschool students!

Have a really great week - Let me know if you get a lot out of the Webinar !

MeritK

Eloquence is an Art!

Good communication truly is an art form.

Some people just seem to have a natural ability in this area. For example, former President, Ronald Reagan was well-known for his clear and interesting speeches as well as for his hilarious and insightful quips. He had a way of wording things that was simply memorable.

We might despair of ever improving our abilities in this area except for one thing, we know that better communication skills can be learned!

High School in particular, is a time when students have many opportunities to be involved in areas which require good communication skills.

Good communication (both written and verbal) will benefit our homeschooled High School students in many ways. In some ways, it is even more important for young people who are benefiting from a liberal Home Education program to be able to communicate what they know. They will be required ( possibly more so than students who will graduate from a government High School Education) to be able to inform and share about their accomplishments to those who will help them to meet their future goals. They will need to be confident in public speaking and the materials from “Art of Eloquence” can be valuable tools to help both those who are naturally verbal to hone those skills as well as encouraging and educating those who struggle with expressing themselves.

I would encourage you to consider teaching Communication as an elective and I encourage you to check out the choices in curriculum including those from AOE here:

 

 

I have personally used some of these in my Homeschool and have found them to be very helpful !

You can check out my review link here:

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/CreativeLearning/754823/

Hope that you are having a good holiday!

Merit K

ACT Gives You The Advantage!

ACT gives you the advantage by helping you to EXPLORE and PLAN

ACT has several programs that are beneficial to Homeschoolers who are planning to attend College including the “Discover” Program Online, (http://www.act.org/discover/index.html I previously reviewed that program on this blog) as well as the EXPLORE and PLAN programs.

The EXPLORE and PLAN programs were designed to provide 8-10th grade students and their parents a baseline assessment of academic progress in order to help them identify any areas in need of improvement and intervene early in the student’s High School experience.

This is especially pertinent for Homeschooled students (like mine) and their parents who love to obsess over their academic prowess!

ACT is a not for profit group that focuses on helping students prepare for college and improve their readiness in this area. Their Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS) is very thorough, tho you would expect no less from this company who has been involved in assessing and preparing students academically since 1959!

It is obvious from their written and online materials, that they recognize the value of their test prep and their college/career planning tools for the average Home Educated student and that they want to make the Homeschooling community aware of those benefits.  

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (TOS) Crew was given the EXPLORE and PLAN sample test packets to review by ACT through their special Homeschooling division The ACT Advantage; homeschool Solutions for Families / the Link is here:

This packet included:

The EXPLORE Sample Test Booklet and Answer sheet

The PLAN Sample Test Booklet and Answer sheet

Explanation Booklets on how to understand and utilize the results from the two sample tests and

A Booklet on College Readiness Standards, which includes benchmark scores for you to use as a way to determine your student’s readiness in each academic area covered by the test.

The  subjects covered in the tests are English, Mathematics, Science and Reading. 

The materials appear to be valuable ways to help our Homeschooled High Schoolers plan their High School classes as well as prepare for college and the ACT exam.

You can find tons of detailed information on their excellent website: http://www.act.org/education/index.html

The tests are available individually at the website for the reasonable price of $22.95 each along with a lot of really good free information and tips as well as other educational tools that you might want to check out and try too. I am personally very impressed with the Homeschool Advantage programs I reviewed and I will use these with each of my students.

The above referenced materials were provided soley for the purpose of this review without charge. No other compensation was received in return for this review and my personal opinion of the effectiveness of the materials is offered with no guarentees, always check out out the resources yourself to be sure that they are suitable for your family!

It’s a Beautiful thing- Professor in A Box!

Really it is a “Professor” in a box!

This is such a simple but beautiful concept that I am still in awe of  this product. This is a course in Accounting taught by Michael P. Licata, Ph.D who is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Accountancy in the Villanova School of Business  at Villanova University.

 Professor Licata has taught the financial accounting course dozens of times and has specialized in teaching distance learning courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. And did I mention that he and his wife Homeschool their two children?

All of this expertise combined to make this product one of the most useful ones that I have reviewed for the TOS Crew yet!

Professor Licata is familiar with the needs, strengths and weaknesses of Homeschooling through High School and this type of program is just what we need!

Here is what you get in the box (Besides the Professor):

Here is how simple it is to use:

Students should:

• Watch the narrated lecture (there is no textbook to purchase or read!)
and read a brief Key Concepts and Terms file.

• Work the assigned homework problems.

• Review the homework solutions

• Take the exam (after each 4 chapters) – there are also quizzes provided
for each chapter.

When you are finished:

“Students completing this course will earn 1 high school credit (Math
Elective) and can earn 3 college credits. “

To earn the 3 college credits just do the following:

• Go to the CLEP Website

• Register for the CLEP Financial Accounting Exam

• Pass the CLEP exam and earn 3 college credits accepted at 1,100 Colleges
& Universities

Students and Parents have options when it comes to scheduling this Accounting Course:

Students can work through the course in the following flexible formats:

• A traditional college semester format (September through December or January through May) working two lessons per week for 14 weeks.
• An entire academic year format (September through May) working one lesson per week for 28 weeks.
• A summer school format (June through July) working three lessons per week for 9 weeks.

Note: The average time per lesson is 75 minutes to view the Flash lecture plus 1.5 to 2.5 hours to work the homework problems.

The website has lots of good information and samples of what you can expect from the CDs and lectures.

http://www.professorinabox.com/SampleChapter/SampleChapter.htm

You can purchase ”Professor In A Box.” Here : http://www.professorinabox.com/purchase.html

I judged this product to be well worth the $134.99, it is thorough and the material is well organized. It is very user friendly!  

“Professor in a Box” provides a Full Money Back Guarantee – Work through the first three chapters and if you’re not satisfied with the course, send it back for a full refund including shipping!

Yes, Homeschooling Parents everywhere breathe a sigh of relief. There are brilliant educators out there creating products to help you in your Homeschooling Journey through High School. We don’t have to do it all ourselves!

Mission Possible!

This product was sent to me in exchange for my impartial opinion about how it would work for me as a Home Educator in my personal Homeschool Program. No other compensation was received. I am not affiliated with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine or Professor in a Box.

DISCOVER- A Career Planner for Your High School Student

DISCOVER Career Program Online from ACT Advantage

“DISCOVER” is a comprehensive education and career planning tool that is available online from ACT Advantage.

ACT has provided a wonderful service to Homeschool Families by putting Interest, Ability and Values Inventories online, and all in one place. Not only is it convenient, but once your student has lined up careers in which they are interested, this program provides even more. The service gives further guidance and information to you and your student.

If your child has chosen an occupation (it lets you choose more than one and makes a notation of your favorites) that involves college or technical training, information is provided on schools in your area. You can access information on pre-requisites you will need to have in High School, what type of testing they require and even tuition and boarding costs for each school. But the service is still not done! You can then search for specific information on scholarships, financial aid and assistance. There are links provided right there at the DISCOVER website.

You can also find information on other education methods such as Internships, Apprenticeships and tips (for the entrepreneurial among us) on how to start a small business.

DISCOVER even gives your student tips on writing a resume and cover letter and helps them to prepare for a job interview.

 You can then print out (or save) a portfolio of favorite occupations, job and educational requirements, favorite schools,  Apprenticeship information and Resume information. This enables your student to transfer all this data to an action plan for their High School Years and beyond.

 My ninth grade daughter took the inventories first and then I looked at the further information that was provided on the site. She felt that her interests were rather broad at this point in her young life, but the inventories narrowed her choice of fields down within the range of both her interests/values and abilities.

 The occupations the program suggested to her were right in line with what I would have suggested to her based on how well I know my girl!

I would say that the assessments were accurate and DISCOVER assisted her in getting further information on not only what careers were available to her, but what was required to obtain licensing or degrees in those areas.

The full listing of careers was also interesting to her, since as a 14 year old, she has had a rather limited exposure to the working world at this point and there is so much to choose from today.

 

The information and links on the site were up to date and easy to use. The DISCOVER program has been researched and developed over many years and in 2002 they released this internet version which can be used for students or for adults wishing to get further information about a career change. More information about the program is available at their website: www.actadvantage.org and the online “Home version” of the program is available as a 3 month plan for just $19.95 or the 6 month term for $24.95.

We had a very good experience with the 30 day free trial provided to us to try the program and review it for this company. I liked that it was very easy to use and that you can print out or save the portfolio materials to keep and refer back to when needed. My daughter enjoyed learning more about herself and thinking about and planning her future. I loved the information that was accessible for the colleges and schools – they even included the school code for your SAT tests. Everything they provide on this site makes our life as parents/guidance counselors easier!

We plan to use it again in her Junior Year.

Please note: I am not affiliated with DISCOVER or Act Advantage. I received a free 30 day trial of this program so that I could use and give my opinion of it and no compensation was received.   

A Homeschool Support Group

 

We are getting ready to get back into a full school schedule!

We homeschool all year round, but in Summer we focus more on “hands-on” activities such as Science experiments, gardening, crafting, sewing projects and educational DVDs as well as spending time every day on Reading and Math( Alecks, Math U See and Teaching Textbooks).

In the Fall, we begin to add in our other core subjects such as working on our History Timeline and American History (All AMerican History from Bright Ideas Press) Science (Apologia and the God’s Design Series) and Grammar/Creative writing (One Year Adventure Novel; Easy Grammar and Vantage Learning).

This year we also plan to have “fencing lessons”, write and produce a play, participate in our Homeschool Book Club and 4H Club. Help with our new support group’s newsletter and web site and have ton’s of field trips!

We also love to be involved in all kinds of Community service throughout the year. It is a pleasure to be flexible enough in our schedule to allow our teen to work with “Big Brothers and Big Sisters” and for us to be able to serve in other areas in our community as a family.

Some Supplemental courses we love this year are; Rosetta Stone Spanish, Latin (from Mars Hill) Art and Music appreciation and Poetry(Ambleside Online Schedule).

This year promises to be a full and exciting one as I embark on helping to establish a new support group (T.E.A.C.H.) for our area. Our goal is to focus on Parent support and education as well as providing enrichment activities and fellowship for our children.

I have lots of reviews planned as well;

College Genius Prep for the SAT

All American History

Nature Friend Magazine

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

Roots and Fruits

Growing Healthy Homes

Books from Guardian Angel Press and Sarah Books

 Plus, here you will find out what a ”Study Pod” is !

Rather than just reading through the books and giving you my opinions, we will actually be using these materials in our Homeschool and giving you the details on what worked for us and what did not.

I am looking forward to our school year and all that there is in store for us on this new “Mission” !

 

Merit K

Who is ALEKS?

Homeschoolers Get 1 Month Free!

Who is ALEKS? Or – What is ALEKS? (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces )

It is an online Math Program for PC or Mac. ALECKS is actually considered a complete curriculum for Math and with your fee, you have access to their full course Library which enables your student to move on when they are ready, not just at the end of a year. There are no additional textbooks to purchase and you have unlimited online access.

This Math program is recommended for Grades 3-12 and uses “artificial intelligence” to identify and target learning gaps your student may have.

(read more about this here: http://www.aleks.com/homeschool/research_behind_aleks )

It provides individualized learning and assesses your student and automatically updates you as to their progress and their quiz scores. This makes record keeping simple as you just print out their grades when you receive their reports. Or you can go online to your Master Account and check their progress.

 Also available complimentary with your ALECKS fee is a program called quick tables which focuses on helping your child master their Math “facts” for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This program makes it fun to practice just the facts! Your child will be rewarded as he/she makes progress by being able to play a new game.

 

I found the parent/teacher area to be very flexible and “user friendly”. I needed to change my son’s level after he took the assessment test, and it was very easy to do. The records for that level are not kept once you change it, so you would need to print out scores for your student before you change the level, but this was made very clear to me in their instructions. The Student report was easy to read and see at a glance what topics the student is working in and how long they worked at the site. Quiz results are included in the report as well, if they have done any.

The student area is very user friendly as well. Instructions are given in a tutorial, assessment is “low to no pressure” and visually oriented with a “pie” tracking system that lets them see right away what areas they will be working in. As they improve in an area, their “piece of pie” increases. My daughter felt a surge of confidence as she quickly saw that she could do it and I could almost feel her anxiety melt away as she looked at her results. She is back to enjoying Math again because the work/solution is shown right on the screen and she had immediate feedback. In the past, it was difficult at times for her to understand my verbal instructions when she needed help with a formula, but this way she can literally see how it is done. My son enjoyed the instruction as well as seeing the percentages and the list of topics that he had mastered as well. They both are enjoying working independently and I am enjoying it as well  I must admit!

 I have to highly recommend that you get the FREE TRIAL they are offering and use it. It is really working for us! Over the last two school years, it has been a challenge to find a single Math curriculum that my DD really enjoys because she doesn’t care for a “lecture” type program and she is distracted by Math computer games. The ALECKS online computer Math curriculum would be great for anyone who has a “visual-spatial” learning style like my daughter. After just about an hour on ALECKS she told me “This is it”!  She loves doing her work independently and is back to loving Math again!

 The Free trial for Homeschoolers is 30 days vs. the free trial they normally offer from their website which is only 48 hours, so click through here to get the longer trial:   

 

 

  Individual Costs for the program are:

• $19.95 per month
• only $99.95 for 6 months!   Six months for the cost of five
• only $179.95 for 12 months!   Best Deal: You save $59.45 

 There is also a family discount price if you enroll more than one student.

 

Of importance for High school students like my daughter,  is the fact that you can enroll for college credit with certain courses offered by ALECKS. Once ALEKS and ACE have confirmed the student’s completed work in ALEKS, an ACE transcript is provided. The ACE transcript can then be used to request up to three semester hours of college credit per course at educational institutions that grant credit for ACE credit-recommended courses.  

You can check out more details here: http://www.aleks.com/homeschool/ace_credit

 As you can see, this is a well rounded program that would be helpful to those students who need remedial work in Math as well as to those students who want to work ahead of their grade level and maybe even receive college credit for their work during High school. Ultimately, it is a program which encourages independent learning and isn’t that what Homeschooling is all about?