Dec. 8, 2008 - Homeschool Spotlight - High School Info
Here is some information I shared at a Mom's Night Out regarding teaching through high school:
Please understand that I am not speaking as a voice of authority on this. My daughter hasn't even started high school, so I am in no way claiming to be an expert on the topic. Rather, I am wanting to share information I have researched over the last several months, in hopes of helping others who are also on this journey.
Realize that while you are a super mom, you are not going to be "Super Mom" when it comes to teaching high school. You will not be able to teach them everything they need to study in the high school years.
Do you remember everything you ever studied in high school? Me either. So, that being said, realize that there will likely be some gaps in your student's education. This will be true whether they are home schooled, public schooled, private schooled, or even tutored by someone. So what do you do when you need to know something you haven't learned? You look it up! In other words, equip your students to know where to look for things which they don't know. Cover basic knowledge. Teach the basic tools of learning. Start with establishing educational goals which will include the basic foundational knowledge you want to cover in those high school years.
I found some great books to use in preparing for this stage:
Transcripts Made Easy by Janice Campbell
Get a Jump Start on College also by Janice Campbell
The High School Handbook by Mary Schofield (This book was recommended at one of the KASH opening night sessions from a couple of years ago.)
Homeschool High School and Beyond by Beverly Adams Gordon
Successfully Homeschooling the High School Student (e-book)
There is a wealth of information in these books! A couple of them even show you how to write up a course description. Homeschooling the High Schooler is a fantastic resource for un-schoolers or those who use unit studies. Transcripts Made Easy has a section on how to deal with transcripts for a special needs child.
For those of you in Indiana, get a copy of the Indiana Core 40 requirements:
This is recommended by the IAHE because of how lax the laws are in Indiana. One of the rules is to provide an "equivalent" education of the public schools. So, by using the Indiana Core 40 as a guide, it will help to ensure that you cover what should be covered.
Find a home school board online which you can join. Home school moms have a heart to help others in the journey. It is a great way to meet other moms and learn from their experiences.
Join the Homeschool Buyers Co-op: http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/ . It is free, and is a fantastic way to save some BIG bucks on curriculum. I bought a $250 Spanish program, designed just for home schooling, and I got it half price. It has more than enough teaching on it to cover 4 years of Spanish. I also recently purchased a cd-rom on anatomy and physiology that normally runs $250. I got it for less than $30, including the shipping!
Do some of your high school courses in 8th grade, but count them for 9th grade. This saves you time and money. Plus, as your student approaches their junior and senior years, because they've completed some classes early, they can start taking some classes at a local college and count as dual credit (counting as a high school credit and a college credit).
Some colleges want detailed records. It is a good idea to type up a course description just in case the college wants more information than what you have on a transcript. They may want to see what was required to earn the credit on the transcript. For course descriptions, sometimes you can use what is on the back of the book, modifying it for a home school setting. Another way to do it is by using the information posted on the Internet. For instance, you might be able to find enough information for the course in the description found on www.cbd.com or www.rainbowresource.com, etc.
Copy the table of contents from every course you use!
Here is a free GPA calculator:
Though Indiana is very lax on keeping track of hours, some colleges are not! An easy way to do this is by allowing 50 minutes per day, per semester to earn a credit. A one year course is roughly 150 hours, thus a semester course should run about 75 hours. 75 hours for 18 weeks = about 4 hours a week, which = 240 minutes. 240 minutes divided by 5 days a week averages 50 minutes per day on that subject. If your student is able to get done before the 50 minutes allotted every day, still count it as the full 50 minutes because they did complete all of the work for that day.
Literature options:
I am looking at using Progeny Press and Total Language Plus for literature. The reason for using both is because while some books in the Progeny Press catalog are for grades 6-8, in the Total Language Plus, the same books can count for high school literature. A couple of examples are The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Hiding Place.
FYI -- Reading 4 books and doing 4 study guides counts as 2 credits by Indiana standards. (2 semesters)
Writing:
This seems to be a course where most moms struggle. I am planning to have my daughter take a writing class taught by a local, former home school mom. She has some curriculum published by Apologia. It is called Jump-In. I am sure that she could do a more effective job on this subject, and this is an important one for your student to learn! Every person needs to learn to communicate effectively, and by learning to write well, your student will be well-equipped for the future.
Math:
Some of the most popular math curriculum are Math U See and Teaching Textbooks. While they are a bit pricey, the resale value on Ebay is fantastic! You can sell them for nearly what you paid for them. Also, some parents find their student is able to handle doing Algebra I in 8th grade, so there is one more course you can finish early.
PE - It is a little different from other courses. Whereas, a semester of geography will earn you one credit, a semester in PE earns 1/2 credit. Also, though you post it on your transcript that you completed the PE requirements, you do not count it toward your GPA. (Grade point average)
Be sure to keep track of when your student can take the PSAT (which helps them earn scholarship money), and the SAT. It is a good idea to allow them to take the SAT at least twice, if not three times. Each time they improve their scores, it helps them to earn more in scholarship money.
There are also CLEP test and AP tests. If your student passes the AP test, they don't have to take that particular course in college, thus saving you more money.
Sign up for e-zines that focus on high school. Here are a couple of places to find them:
Another tip I read recently is to find a homeschool mom who has gone through the whole high school thing. Take her out to lunch so you can "pick her brain." That is a very inexpensive way to get some priceless information!
And remember, you can make it through the high school years!
Come back tomorrow for the recipe to the cookies I'm taking for the Mom's Night Out Christmas Cookie Exchange. 
~~ Stacy ~~
Comments
Dec. 8, 2008 - Finally...
Posted by kympossible
after many weeks of good intentions, I did write an entry for the spotlight today.
Blessings,
Kym
Dec. 9, 2008 - Notgrass
Posted by kympossible
I think it would fine to leave out the one-day/week Bible lesson in the Notgrass curriculum, but it does really tie together with the History lesson. so far it looks like that Bible lesson is less time-consuming than the History and Lit/Writing portions - mostly read the lesson and answer some questions, and there is a Bible verse to memorize for the week. I don't know what requirements you are under for credits - my umbrella group requires one Bible credit and my DS already had that, so the additional credit he is earning with notgrass is going as an elective. Hope that helps clarify.
blessings,
Kym
Apr. 23, 2009 - Thank you
Posted by AnnieKate
I'm so glad to find this post! Thank you for mentioning it in your comments on my blog. It's good to see things from several angles, and I'm going to check out the transcript books you mentioned.
Annie Kate
