Homeschool Chat

[DreadpiratK]

Are there any who have High School aged and are doing Homeschool?
Most of the thread seems to be little kids thru Middle school.
The HS are few and far between.

I'm considering Free public online HS because I don't have the knowledge to teach the math or the science course needed in HS but Ds has already taken a entrance test with one online Public HS and found glitches in the program which took DS much longer to finish than it was suppose to.
Worried that all there programs will be messed up--don't look forward to dealing with that.

Does anyone have any information for reasonable priced computer programs for HS? how do you find a Teacher to accredate the work?
or if you choose this path you can only get a GED?
Thanks for any information you can give me. I'm getting scared.

The thing to realize is that you don't have to be an expert in physics to teach physics, or anything else, you just have to have the ability to work through the material with your kids, and find help for the parts you don't understand. In my view that's a lot more like real life than having a teacher there supplying all the answers at need. I think it's kinda cool when our kids start explaining the material to me!

We have two in high school now, my DD graduates this year, and my younger DS is a sophomore (ish) We chose not to go with an online high school, but kept on making up their curriculum. As far as the math and science go, we just try and keep a little ahead of them in the text books, and use home-school groups for group learning in those areas. We also use a lot of self-directed learning in so far as requiring our kids to find the answers to their own questions if they can, so that we don't always have to have the answers for them.

What we did with my oldest who is now in college when he outstripped us in math was to enroll him in the local community college courses. He could take them for free if they weren't full, and got full credit. It worked well since he's now a junior at a top engineering school.

 

[DreadpiratK]

I don't know if links are allowed here, but I found this list online and thought I'd share it with y'all. It's a little cynical, but man I've wanted to say all of these things at one time or another:

http://www.secular-homeschooling.com/001/bitter_homeschooler.html

 

[Denine]

I don't know if links are allowed here, but I found this list online and thought I'd share it with y'all. It's a little cynical, but man I've wanted to say all of these things at one time or another:

http://www.secular-homeschooling.com/001/bitter_homeschooler.html

A bit bitter, but I understand!

 

[roadtrippin2wdw]

I have a few questions for the homeschooling veterans. I've decided to homeschool my daughter starting next year, which will be 1st grade. This past week I received all the info regarding registering her for next year at the school she attends now. I live in IL and I know that the homeschooling laws are pretty liberal. I don't know, though, if I have to tell the school during this registration time of our plans for next year since we are finishing this year out. Can anyone please tell what their experience was? Also, did anyone start off not using a specific curriculum? I wasn't planning on winging it, but using different online resources as guides. I've looked up many checklists that state what is expected of a first grader to be passed to the next grade. I want to be prepared...Thank you for your insight.

 

[robinsegg]

I have a few questions for the homeschooling veterans. I've decided to homeschool my daughter starting next year, which will be 1st grade. This past week I received all the info regarding registering her for next year at the school she attends now. I live in IL and I know that the homeschooling laws are pretty liberal. I don't know, though, if I have to tell the school during this registration time of our plans for next year since we are finishing this year out. Can anyone please tell what their experience was? Also, did anyone start off not using a specific curriculum? I wasn't planning on winging it, but using different online resources as guides. I've looked up many checklists that state what is expected of a first grader to be passed to the next grade. I want to be prepared...Thank you for your insight.

Hi!
All you really need to tell your daughter's school is that you're enrolling her in a private school next year . . . legally, Illinois looks at homeschools as private schools.
It's entirely possible to homeschool without using a "prepackaged curriculum"! It's called "eclectic homeschooling"!
Feel free to PM me with any questions. I am the first contact person for our homeschool group in IL.

 

[floydfamily4]

I don't know if links are allowed here, but I found this list online and thought I'd share it with y'all. It's a little cynical, but man I've wanted to say all of these things at one time or another:

http://www.secular-homeschooling.com/001/bitter_homeschooler.html

Wow! I love it!! Yes a bit cynical but I have to admit it made me smile and encouraged my heart a bit I love the one about socializing and socialization - gets me every time!!!

 

[TSRE]

We are starting to homeschool next year, and are going to continue with Saxon Math bc both of my kids have been using it at school and do really well with it. My problem is with picking the right level for them for next year. My DS10 will finish the 65 book this year, loves math and has an A in it (with little effort and NO help from me). Should I move to the 76 book for him? I know I've read some stuff about skipping certain levels, but it is a little confusing to me. I am going to read the Using John Saxon's Math book, but I would like to order sooner rather than later as we will be starting in July to allow us to take a break when kiddo #3 is born in November.

Also, can anyone who is doing Saxon Math 3 tell me how close Lesson 35-1 is to the end of that book? He doesn't get a book in school, just the sheets from day to day. He is in 2nd grade, and has an A in math as well, same as DS10, comes very easily to him. What should he move on to next year?

Thank you for any help

 

[DawnM]

Who knows what the discounts are for Williamsburg for homeschoolers who go during non-HS days?

We can never make it for HS weeks as my husband's work schedule is very busy during those weeks (he is an accountant).

I have heard that HSers still get a very good discount, but I don't know what it is?????

Anyone know?

Dawn

(yes, I did ask about Teacher discounts as well. In my former life I was a teacher and still have all my credentials, etc....so was trying to see which discount might be best. It looks like the teacher discount is quite small.)

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Hi ladies!!
I just wanted to share some curriculum-ordering-happiness with you!!! I have been researching, planning for next year for a while...I usually start scoping/pricing in Feb or so....like to have my stuff ordered by June to avoid rush/sell-out dilemmas! So....
for DD7, (2nd grade) we are doing Heart of Dakota. It's more of a boxed curriculum. It's a Christian curriculum including Bible, reading, history, science,...math & Eng. But, we are doing Rod & Staff for Math & English. It fits into the curriculum nicely. So...most of the readers and a few other books I already have...the others are at our library, so I only had to order 3 or 4 readers!!! So...dd is taken care of!
DS11-(6th grade) We are doing Creation to Christ..Heart of Dakota also...He is doing R&S English (ordered)...will do Teaching Textbooks for math.(will use book from ds14) ....again, have lots of his readers, some of the Science & History books....Need to make sure what reading books we already have..didn't want to break the bank with one huge order!
DS14 (9th)...Will let him do Bible with ds11...it has extensions for older students....R&S Eng,(ordered!!) Teaching Textbooks, might do Heart of Dakota for History,...but probably stick to Truth Quest...we are already on a roll here with History. Science is Apologia Biology....
For all three from Heart of Dakota, I am using their Literature program...it can be started at 2nd grade level and on up....I will use this with a classic list for my older son....
Okay...well,...I should be finished looking through readers/lit books for the boys next week and we will be set!!! I do need to pick a few for summer reading...but I have some in mind.
So..are any of you ordering already? I start school in July, so I like to have all my stuff in and not be waiting for backorders....

 

[Kimberly Hill]

We're unschoolers and will be using some packaged curriculum as it suits our needs. Math-U-See and Getty-Dubay are ordered and on their way! (DD is a rising 2nd grader)

 

[disneymom3]

Are there any who have High School aged and are doing Homeschool?
Most of the thread seems to be little kids thru Middle school.
The HS are few and far between.

I'm considering Free public online HS because I don't have the knowledge to teach the math or the science course needed in HS but Ds has already taken a entrance test with one online Public HS and found glitches in the program which took DS much longer to finish than it was suppose to.
Worried that all there programs will be messed up--don't look forward to dealing with that.

Does anyone have any information for reasonable priced computer programs for HS? how do you find a Teacher to accredate the work?
or if you choose this path you can only get a GED?
Thanks for any information you can give me. I'm getting scared.

I am pretty sure graygables has homeschooled older kids. SHe will be along soon, I am sure. My daughter is going into 9th grade but will be attending a small charter school for next year at least.

However, I have done a lot of prep for high school in case I need it. One of the questions to start out with, is what are you preparing your child for? If it's the college route, you need to take a look at what credits your child needs to be considered a high school graduate in your state. For instance, for us, each semester full time class is considered one point. For math, they need 4 points, for history it's 6 points, science is also 6 points etc.

In addition, I have also looked at various college entrance expectations. I know when I went to high school that in order to graduate we did not have to take a foreign language, but the majority of 4 year colleges required 2 years for entrance. Now, my best friend was going to a technical colllege for vet tech stuff so for her, it didn't matter if she took foreign language but for me it did. Same deal with a friend who was going into the service. so, that is going to effect your course of study.

I personally, do not like the public high school at home options. For one thing, you are not homeschooling in it's true definition. Your child IS enrolled in a public school. You are therefore responsible for all the requirements that they set for your student. For me, one of the beauties of homeschooling is hte flexibility we have with it. As for the "harder" classes, there are many many individual programs out there. To recommend any, I will honestly have to know if you are going to be using Christian curriculum or not. For instance, I absolutely LOVE Apologia sciences but it is completely from a Creation standpoint so that has to be taken into consideration. For high school math, my two highest recommendations are Teaching Textbooks and Video Tutor.

If you are looking for a curriculum provider who will give you personalized advice, I cannot recommend highly enough that you call Heppner's Legacy Homeschool Resources. Their prices are not going to be what you find at Rainbow, but the customer service and personal service they will give you is beyond value! Their actual store front is located right in my town, but they have an 800 number too. Their website is http://legacyhomeschool.com/ They have articles and recommended resources and then of course their number is listed on there as well. The couple who owns it have homeschooled their three kids, the oldest two who are in college and the youngest is at some point in high school.

 

[graygables]

Are there any who have High School aged and are doing Homeschool?
Most of the thread seems to be little kids thru Middle school.
The HS are few and far between.

We have had a varied homeschool experience including in and out of public schools as well as using virtual charter schools. My oldest wound up graduating from a public school after re-entering the system in the 8th grade. Our district at the time would not allow anyone in the advanced math track unless they had started it IN the district IN the 8th grade. Oldest went there, then moved to my parents for better opportunities (AP courses, dual enrollment) and graduated there (although we all wished we'd skipped the commencement as it was a free-for-all nightmare). She went to college for a year, but really struggled (so much for the public school's "college preparatory" education ). She went to Disney with the College Program and wound up staying on. She's full time here and has recently gone back to school to work on her Associate's.

2nd DD returned to PS in the 8th grade (same reasons), but I wound up pulling her in 9th grade due to continued problems with the school. We used a virtual charter school which was a disaster (it was in its early years and hadn't worked out the glitches). We unschooled for awhile and she finally asked if she could just take the GED at 16yo and get on with her life. She did, did great, took the ACT and went to college at 17. She wound up doing the Disney College Program, too, and stayed on. Earlier this year, she went "seasonal" at Disney and moved to Colorado with her boyfriend (don't get me started on THAT one). She has debated returning to school, but she really isn't all that interested in any of it. She's very happy with her life and that's all I ask of any of my children.

3rd DD is entering 9th grade. She's not a fan of the curriculum we've been using (Oak Meadow), so I told her, as a summer project, to research curricula and see if she can find one she likes better. If I concur, we'll use that instead. We also tend to unschool more and use the curriculum loosely. We do use Teaching Textbooks for math and both DDs love it.

As far as the higher maths/sciences go, we will seek out the help we need as the time comes. If I have to find a tutor or a co-op or a local center with a class, that's what we do. Homeschoolers find ways to fill the gaps in the knowledge (or gaps in confidence) in order to fully educate our children. We also need to remember that not every child is cut out for college. Our society has long focused on college being the end-all and it is not. In our family, happiness is the end-all. Fulfillment, a good life, contentment are our goals. If we have "enough", it is enough (and that is going to be different for each person). My oldest, "enough" includes spendy trips to Whole Foods and expensive Disney restaurants. For my 2nd, "enough" is no debt and a solid emergency fund while still having time to go hiking or camping with her friends.

My children have seen positive benefits of a college education and know that we do value it, but don't prize it. I am currently in grad school (graduating in September ) and they see that my educational path has led me to a statused manager position at WDW. My Dad is also a college professor, so there is that example as well. Again, though, we let them decide their paths and do our best to provide them with ample opportunities to pursue wherever those paths may lead.

As far as the GED goes, I've said it before, but it has not been a hindrance in any way to my 21yo. Many schools are wising up that a "diploma" isn't worth the paper it is printed on and rely more on ACT and SAT scores (both of which were very good for my DDs) as indicators of future success in the university (although, again, not everyone is cut out for the college experience).

The world is SO much bigger than curriculum or schools allow it to be. My daughters amaze me every day with what they have learned simply by asking a question and following where it leads. 14yo and I recently had a long, quite mature discussion on Haiti and Chile and I learned that her heart is as big as the universe and it wouldn't surprise me to find her signing up soon with a volunteer organization that will carry her around the globe. Her "enough" seems to be a lot smaller than the rest of us in the family, so we are learning from HER as well.

 

[BelleRocks]

3rd DD is entering 9th grade. She's not a fan of the curriculum we've been using (Oak Meadow), so I told her, as a summer project, to research curricula and see if she can find one she likes better.

I'm starting OM with my daughter next year for 6th grade. What was your DD's experience with it that she wants to switch?

(I was already thinking I might just do OM for middle school, then switch to something else for high school.)

PS - love and agree with your philosophy about college not being the end-all for everyone. College doesn't always equal happiness and fulfillment for everyone!

 

[graygables]

I'm starting OM with my daughter next year for 6th grade. What was your DD's experience with it that she wants to switch?

(I was already thinking I might just do OM for middle school, then switch to something else for high school.)

PS - love and agree with your philosophy about college not being the end-all for everyone. College doesn't always equal happiness and fulfillment for everyone!

My 14yo DD has some learning difficulties and OM has a lot of reading involved which she hates. We have not been successful in finding leisure reading for her, so reading for school is torture. I've been trying to get her to use the books on audio, but it's the assignments that she just really isn't interested in.

11yo has no problems and likes OM better than anything else we've used.

and thanks for the PS. My Dad, Mr. Smartie Pants, reading the encyclopedia while hand-washing dishes at 5yo now college prof always told us kids, "You can be a garbage collector if that's what makes you happy, but you'd better be the best garbage collector you can possibly be." He was more concerned with us being happy and doing our very best than the rest of it.

 

[DisneyMom5]

Originally Posted by SGMCO
Are there any who have High School aged and are doing Homeschool?
Most of the thread seems to be little kids thru Middle school.
The HS are few and far between.

I have one finishing 10th grade, and one finishing 8th grade, so I'll have two in hs next year. We plan on homeschooling all the way through.

I'm considering Free public online HS because I don't have the knowledge to teach the math or the science course needed in HS but Ds has already taken a entrance test with one online Public HS and found glitches in the program which took DS much longer to finish than it was suppose to.
Worried that all there programs will be messed up--don't look forward to dealing with that.

You always have that option, but you then are at the mercy of the school. Part of the reason why I homeschool is so that I decide what we do and when.

Does anyone have any information for reasonable priced computer programs for HS?

Many use Alpha Omega's Switched on Schoolhouse. It is Christian based. My kids are using their civics course only, but really dislike it. They think it is boring, and get frustrated when it doesn't recognize correct answers. It has not made my life easier, as I have to monitor it all the time. Can't imagine doing ALL of their courses that way! At least face to face we can discuss it immediately.

how do you find a Teacher to accredate the work?

Here in Michigan, we don't have to. We're only required to cover "subjects the equivalent of the required subjects" and then there is a list of subjects. I love our homeschool laws here.

or if you choose this path you can only get a GED?

We, the parents, are allowed to issue a diploma. Diplomas don't mean much anyway, it's all about the transcript.
Colleges here seem to usually require a transcript, and ACT/SAT scores for homeschoolers, with more weight on the test scores.

Thanks for any information you can give me. I'm getting scared.

Don't be scared! Learn what the laws of your state are in regards to homeschooling, and what requirements colleges have for homeschoolers.
Most people are under the assumption that much more is required of their students then really is. But, again, know your laws.

Happy schooling!

 

[TSRE]

We also need to remember that not every child is cut out for college. Our society has long focused on college being the end-all and it is not. In our family, happiness is the end-all. Fulfillment, a good life, contentment are our goals. If we have "enough", it is enough (and that is going to be different for each person).

I totally agree - you said it well. Plus, no-one really talks about cost vs. value when it comes to college. Sometimes, especially with tuition skyrocketing, it just doesn't make sense.

 

[nono]

I totally agree - you said it well. Plus, no-one really talks about cost vs. value when it comes to college. Sometimes, especially with tuition skyrocketing, it just doesn't make sense.

Agreed! My husband and I talk regularly about not setting our kids up for failure by loading them with debt and 4-5 years less earning years by having them major full-time in a course of study that does nothing to significantly raise their income at the outcome.

While we both think pursuing education is, of itself, a worthy goal, that can be done on a part-time or independent basis where the economic impact is less overwhelming.

 

[wvdislover]

Has anyone here used ACE? Looking at it for our DD12. Thx!

 

[02AggieGirl]

Hi! We are winding down our first year of hs--DD is in K. She is reading pretty well (I used Scholastic phonics program) and we used Saxon Math 1. We did some science and social studies too. She was also enrolled in Kindermusik and just graduated. I worry that I failed her somehow though. Did she miss out on something that she would have learned in a public school? Does anyone else ever worry about this?? Am I just silly for worrying about that? I just don't want her to be behind, you know?

 

[Denine]

Aggie girl: DD is 7 and has never been to "regular" school. She is not missing out on anything. Actually, I feel she has more opportunities!

Yesterday was Box Day! We got our first Sonlight box. I just LOVE all the books! I told DD she could read as many as she wants, but we aren't starting back up yet.