Ideas for Homeschooling High School

There are lots of brand new homeschooler starting high school this year.

What worked for you and what did not work? How do you make a push for independence? How do  you set up school work accountability? Will you work in dual credits? AP classes (where did will your kids take these tests? Did you get your material approved for AP?), will you do dual enrollment? College classes? Online classes? Any non textbook things you plan to use?
Oh, the list seems endless!

Cool Flashcard Ideas

I came across this really cool website while the homeschooled young man was listing to a podcast on the Leah4Sci.com blog, she had this cool post about flashcards.

I'm always looking for something fun and interesting to do in our homeschool. I tended to think of flashcards as a way to learn math facts (addition, multiplication) and not as just another way to study. Well Leah has opened up my eyes to a whole new world!

Head on over to her blog and see what she has to offer.

Moe

Free Kindle Book:Getting Better Grades: A Strategic Approach for Inside and Outside the Classroom

Click here to get a free copy of Getting Better Grades: A Strategic Approach for Inside and Outside the Classroom.  FREE Kindle Book

I have not read it yet, but it looks good! Let me know what you think of it.

Thanks,
Moe

Changes To One Of My Favorite Homeschooling Websites...

Khan Academy has some new updates and a new dashboard! Sign up today and check them out.
Khan Academy has TONS of subject areas, videos, worktext problems, solutions and much more! I do know that the science is NOT Bible based, but there is still some decent info that can be gleaned from Khan Academy.

Sal is an AWESOME teacher and I just love how he goes about teaching, he is also very funny. I have to laugh he sounds exactly like a guy that I use to DJ with back in the 80's. One of those weird kinda things that when you close your eyes you can picture that person....lol. I do that every time I hear Sal's voice.

Our Homeschool young man enjoyed watching the medical video's that are on Khan Academy. Lots of pretty cool stuff on there. I remember back in the first years of Khan Academy, there were just lists of videos to watch. With the NEW and improved Khan Academy there are parent/student accounts, a dashboard, a reminder system, points system and suggestions of materials to look at and learn.

Check them out!

Science For High School: Physical Science Review

As members of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew we have had the exciting opportunity to review the Physical Science program from Science for High School. The program is called High School Physical Science In Your Home for the last several weeks in our homeschool. This course is for grades 9-12, but I think in home education you can use it with junior high aged kids if they are ready for the material. High School Physical Science In Your Home comes with a student and a teacher manual.

OK, first let me tell you what my experience with science has been. To me science was reading a chapter in the science book, memorizing the bold terms/definitions, answering the chapter checkup questions, taking a weekly quiz/test. Maybe doing a science poster or short write up once in awhile. Basically rote memorization skills were practiced in my kind of science. Toss those ideas right out the window with Science For High School.

Imagine a home school science curriculum actually written by a home school mom! After using the curriculum I am realizing that she understands that most home school Mommy’s don’t have a clue about science :O) This little sentence in the teacher manual sold me…lol. “(As in all home schools, we bend and fit all curricula to our home.) LOVE IT! Author Bridget Ardoin has been a home schooling mom for the past 12+ years. Ardoin has a degree in microbiology and has taught science in private high schools.

My student used the library, books, textbooks (what homeschooler is lacking in any type of book? LOL), science magazines and the Internet. I would caution the Internet use for research, be sure that your student is using legitimate websites. There is a lot of junk science out there.

For the High School Physical Science In Your Home review we received a Student Manual that was 3 hole punched, quizzes, a final exam for each semester and a spiral bound teacher edition. You can go here to purchase for $79.99. If you have more than one student you will need to purchase additional lab books here for $24.99. I love that you can go here to purchase the lab kit for $45.00. To save $ you can purchase the HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICAL SCIENCE IN YOUR HOME TOTAL PACKAGE for $110.00.
 

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS:

Each week I would give our son 1 Lab Sheet and 1 Experiment Sheet to work on, he had the next 7 days to prepare, take a quiz over previous material and then present his written material for the new week in a discussion format. Pretty simple for the teacher if you ask me :O) Our discussion time usually took on some added chatter…lol. I picked Thursday as our day to do this since it’s a less busy school day for us and allows for some fun and relaxed interaction.

 

What this homeschool Momma liked about High School Physical Science In Your Home:
1) Simple to use teacher‘ manual! LOL…Have I ever said that I can’t stand a teachers manual or answer key that is hard to use? Ya know the kind, where you have to hunt through the reading materials to find the tiny little number that matches the question that you are grading! Super easy teacher manual here with Science For High School with ANSWERS!.

2) I’m seeing 4-H projects written all over this curriculum!!

3) DISCUSSION! LOVE IT!! Each week you sit down with your child and they discuss with you the research that they did that week on the assignment. If you have more than 1 child this is a great opportunity for them to absorb the information while sitting in on the discussion :O)

4) BONUS! A high school curriculum that prepares homeschoolers for college? GREAT! The author brings this up when explaining how to give quizzes and tests. “This gives the student a chance to develop skills to study for a quiz while having other assignments, something that will prove useful while in college.”

5) I think that no matter what learning style your child has High School Physical Science In Your Home will fit the bill. It touches on all learning styles

6) I’m thinking Homeschool Co-op Class with this curriculum!!! You know we are always looking for something challenging in a homeschool Co-op for our teens!

7) A good reminder! The author reminds us as homeschool moms that some colleges and universities want to see copies of the student lab notes.

8) Easy list of items needed for the experiments, so far I have not had to hunt far for items, I’ve pretty much had them on hand. Though I am glad I looked ahead to second semester, there are a few things I will need to hunt up.

9) She gives an idea of how to score the quizzes and tests, which is nice, sometimes with homeschool materials I have had to stand on my head to figure out how to give a grade.

10) EUREKA!! Second Semester we learn about the Periodic Table of Elements, you ask “What on earth is that?” lol…Yeah, homeschooling Sista, I am right there with ya! And I plan to learn this right along with my child. All I can say is Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

11) So far what we have worked through has really had a college feel to it, the way the material is laid out, the lab sheets and the discussion each week. Many college classes, not just science are using the discussion format each week.

12) Everything is laid out plain as day for you! LOVE IT!
　

What this homeschool Momma didn’t like about High School Physical Science In Your Home:

1) When we first got the materials someone (home school student who shall remain nameless…lol) decided to take the High School Physical Science In Your Home student materials in the car to review, without first putting them in a 3 ring binder (not included) and they dumped all over and had to be picked up and put back together. They are now secured in a 3 ring binder.

2) I thought that a few of the labs were a bit grade schoolish or middle schoolish to me. I was expecting a bit more difficulty across the board. But I think that High School Physical Science In Your Home would be a great place to start if your homeschool science program has been lacking in experiments because the first semester ones were pretty simple and the second semester ones seem more advanced. It could be a confidence booster for your homeschooler.

3) I do have some concern about this program when it comes to my son being interested in a medical career. I am just not sure that it meets the standards of the tough STEM requirements. STEM education is an acronym for the areas of study in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States.

What this homeschool student liked about High School Physical Science In Your Home:
1) I kinda got to look up things that I wanted to look up and study things the way I wanted to study them :O)

2) I liked the experiments, sometimes they did not work out, but I had fun with them.

3) I can’t wait to get to second semester to study electricity, I think this might help with my 4-H electricity project next year. COOL!

4) I like how the author tells us in our student manual that we need to do a little bit of work each day. If she had not said this I would probably have waited until the night before to work on it.

What this homeschool student didn’t about High School Physical Science In Your Home:
1) This was a totally different way of doing science that was very new to me. So I think it’s going to take some getting use to the change.

2) It was a bit hard for me to keep motivated to work each day on my own, Mom had to nag me at first, but then I started to look forward to working on my research.

I really like the program as it seems very easy to use, but as I said above I have reservations regarding the STEM and college admissions if your child will be entering a career field that is heavy on science. So if you have a student that will need a strong science background look over the material and decided if this is for you. We plan to use this as a supplement to our current science program.

 

Please see what my buddies had to say about Science For High School products, some got to review chemistry and biology.

READY OR NOT, HERE IT COMES!

THE TEEN YEARS ARE ALMOST HERE!

~11 more days until my baby boy turns 13~

 

~I am not exactly sure how this has transpired, but alas it has.~

 

~He is starting Freshman year, lol,
he wants to call it 9th grade.
Think back to your growing up years,
you wanted to be a FRESHMAN!! Right?I mean you had waited all those years
to get to high school and now
you had that COOL title.~

 ~Got to love our homeschooled kids, they don't
need a title, they don't care to keep up with the
Jones' (no offense to my readers or my family
member with the last name of Jones).~

~So what is it in your homeschool?9th grade or Freshman?~

~I plan to post some articles talking about homeschooling teens and high schoolers
 in the coming days.~
 

 

Who is eagerly awaiting the teen years, slightly fearful, a bit unsure, excited, thrilled and a lot of other things...lol. Earnestly praying for my future daughter-in-law, where ever she may be, as well as praying for her parents. I pray that they are raising her in "the fear and admonition of the Lord".