High School: Part One - Planning and Tracking

I recently realized that I neglect the topic of high school here at my blog.  I thought I might have some nuggets to share with people who are scared to death of homeschooling high school.  This is the first post in a new series of posts that I am creatively calling........ High School.   First let me say, you can homeschool high school.  Do not believe the lie that you are not qualified to homeschool high school or that you need to enroll in an umbrella program to successfully homeschool high school.  If your state requires it then I suppose you must, but if your state gives you the choice, in my opinion a customized homeschool program is best.

I love homeschooling high school.  I have graduated one child already and he is gainfully employed full time, with desires to finally start college in the fall after two years of discovery.  His "gap year" was two years.  Hehehe.  He has some college credits already from when he participated in the local community college's dual enrollment program.  Upon his homeschool graduation he decided he just wanted to work and skateboard.  OK then.  He was never really my academic kid and he doesn't enjoy reading.  I at one time considered that he was switched at birth, because we are a family of readers.  Except him.  Sigh.

Bear is totally opposite of his brother.  Whereas his brother is a total extrovert and loves being with people and the center of attention, Bear is content to speak only when he has something to say.  Bear will lay around reading a book for hours.  While he has many acquaintances that he likes and enjoys being around, he really only has 2 close friends, he hates public speaking and he does not like all eyes on him.  He is also more academically inclined than his older brother and has his whole life planned out.  He plans on majoring in Zoology, with a Masters or PhD in Marine Biology or Herpetology.  Herpetology is his first choice.  He knows he wants to do field research and work with animals in some capacity.

Because he will be a science major, that, in large part directs his homeschool high school journey.  We will not be taking a second mortgage or any other loan to pay for his college education.  He will either get scholarships, financial aid or his own student loans.  Plan A is, obviously, scholarships.  So that is what we have in mind when planning and record keeping.

For record keeping I use Homeschool Tracker Plus edition.  What do I track?  I track every book he reads, all his test scores, his extracurricular activities, volunteer hours, Boy Scout merit badges and advancements.   I keep samples of his essay writing, completed tests, photos of his artwork or actual artwork, nature notebooks, lab reports, research papers, standardized test scores and a list of textbooks used.  I write up course descriptions as well.

The Plan (subject to change)

9th Grade (current year)

Algebra 1 - 1.0 credit
Physical Science - 1.0 credit
History of Science - elective .5 credit
Health - .5 credit
Intro Philosophy - elective .5 credit
English 9 - 1.0 credit
Intro Literature - 1.0 credit
U.S. History I - 1.0 credit
U.S. Geography - .5 credit
Public Speaking - elective .5 credit
Fine Arts 9 - elective .5 credit
Physical Education - 1.0 credit
Christian Studies 9 - elective .5 credit

Daily SAT Prep- http://www.collegeboard.com/ SAT Practice Question of the Day.

Extracurriculars: Boy Scouts, volunteers at a nearby zoo, keeps and cares for five snakes and breeds rats.  Part time job to begin saving for science field study/education trip the summer after 11th grade.

10th Grade

Geometry - 1.0 credit
Biology - 1.0 credit (will take AP Biology test at end of school year)
Anatomy and Physiology - .5 credit
Logic I - elective 1.0 credit
English 10 - 1.0 credit
American Literature - 1.0 credit
U.S. History II - 1.0 credit
Intro Russian - 1.0 credit
Culinary Arts: Cooking - elective .5 credit
Worldview/Religions Survey - elective .5 credit
Fine Arts 10 - elective .5 credit
Physical Education - 1.0 credit

AP Biology Prep- Baron's AP Biology test practice.
Daily SAT Prep- http://www.collegeboard.com/ SAT Practice Question of the Day.

Extracurriculars: Continue with Boy Scouts (complete Eagle by Sept. 2012), continue volunteering at zoo, continue caring for snakes and breeding rats.  Part time job to save for overseas science/field study education trip to Africa or Australia.  Possibly a summer 2012 Science Camp, location TBD.

11th Grade

Algebra 2 - 1.0 credit
English Comp I and II - 1.0 credit each (dual enrollment at cc)
American Government - .5 credit
Economics - .5 credit
Marine Biology - 1.0 credit
Art History I- elective .5 credit (dual enrollment at cc) OR Fine Arts 11 at home
Physical Education - 1.0 credit
British Literature - 1.0 credit
Russian I, II - 1.0 credit (dual enrollment at cc)
Logic II - elective - 1.0 credit
Culinary Arts: Baking - elective .5 credit

Daily SAT Prep- http://www.collegeboard.com/ SAT Practice Question of the Day.  Take PSAT.

Extracurriculars: Continue Boy Scouts as an Eagle Scout, continue volunteering at zoo, continue caring for snakes with possibility of breeding them and continue to breed rats.  Summer science/field study program overseas - Africa or Australia.

12th Grade

Pre-Calculus - 1.0 credit
Consumer Math - elective 1.0 credit
English 12 - 1.0 credit
World History- 1.0 credit
Texas History and Government - 1.0 credit (dual enrollment at cc)
Russian III and IV - 1. 0 credit (dual enrollment at cc)
Chemistry - 1.0 credit
Fine Arts 12 elective - 1.0 credit

Daily SAT Prep- http://www.collegeboard.com/ SAT Practice Question of the Day.  Take SAT and ACT. 

Extracurriculars: Continue Boy Scouts as an Eagle Scout, continue volunteering at zoo, continue caring for snakes with possibility of breeding them and continue to breed rats. Summer science/field study program overseas - Africa or Australia. 

You many notice that Driver's Education is missing.  That is because I do not allow driving until they are 18 and can be legally and financially responsible for their own driver education, vehicle and insurance.  Super Duper (graduated DS) started studying for the driver's test second semester of his senior year.  We allowed him to drive in parking lots and around town while we were in the vehicle.  He passed the written test right out of the gate, but didn't pass the actual driving test until the third try.  He paid for his own insurance and borrowed our vehicles to get to work until he bought his own vehicle.  I know some parents disagree, but that's how we do it.

I'll admit, it scares me seeing our plan in print again.  However, Bear is ambitious and determined so I have no qualms about pursuing this plan.  He will possibly take some CLEP tests so he can focus more on classes in his major when he gets to college.  We haven't determined which ones he will take.

Besides being diligent in planning, I suggest you take advantage of all opportunities you can afford.  For Super Duper we schooled at home, participated in a high school co-op and used the dual enrollment program at the community college. 

Your student may not be college bound and that is OK.  You may just be wondering, "What's required for high school?"  Typically, 24-28 credits are required for high school graduation.  It really depends on what state you live in and whether or not your child plans on attending a University.  The best place to start is looking up what your local school district requires for high school graduation and then go from there.  If your local district has a decent website you can get ideas for courses and electives. A  whole credit (1.0) is usually 120-180 hours of work.  A half credit (.5) is 60-90 hours of work.

In future posts I plan on discussing how we tackle our courses, resources I utilize, sharing lesson plans, how I organize our binders, time management, researching colleges and whatever else I think of along the way.

Next in the High School series: Course Descriptions and Resources

Homeschool Mother's Journal and Weekly Report

In my life this week…Gameroom flooring.  Sore knees.  It all started with this.  In case anyone was curious, it is STILL in my family room.  Why, you ask?  Because my husband's initial $40 "steal" has inspired/motivated him to completely overhaul our gameroom.  The one I can count on one hand how many times he has stepped in to, for the last six years.  First he patched a hole that one of the kids made in the wall, then he painted (49er colors) and then he decided the carpet had to go.  I am totally fine with that carpet going too, it was gross.  I am fine with all of it, except the part where I am "helping" with the floors.  Read:  I.Am.Putting.Them.In.  At least he did everything else, and he is helping with the floors, ie; he runs the saw.  When it is all said and done I will post pictures, but you can see a sneak peek at the end of this post.
In our homeschool this week…Science experiments.  Two for Noodle and two for Bear.  Fun times.  One of Bear's experiments involved balloons..........my Sister Mothers of Boys, I know you can see it coming.  I apologize in advance to all who live in proper households or households without boys, but this is my life.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…..The usual.  Grandma's house, co-op, park day.  No exciting destinations this week.  Not even a doctor or vet appointment. Ho hum.

My favorite thing this week was…..It's a toss up between science with the boys and working with my husband on the game room floors.  We haven't argued over it......yet! 

What’s working/not working for us…This is nothing new, but can I just say again, how much I love, love, love Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, CLE LA and Explode the Code?!!??!  I also love, love, love Tapestry of Grace history studies, especially the D/R discussions.  Speaking of TOG - I am now a TOG Affiliate.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have…... Plans, plans, plans and more plans!  I love planning almost as much as I like bringing them to fruition.  I thrive on planning and some of my homeschool friends make fun of me for my planning.  I am just beginning the plans for our 2011-2012 school year. It makes me giddy!  The smell of the books, the sound of my pen/pencil on the paper, turning pages, picking projects, researching books - hold me back!!!!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…  As promised, a sneak peek to what's happening in our game room.

First Grade Science- Elemental Science and Real Science Odyssey

Most of this school year we have been using Elemental Science.  Recently we added Real Science Odyssey to our lineup.  I am finding the combination of the two refreshing, since ES can get monotonous at times.  This week for Elemental Science we read, learned about and discussed Shrimp, Crabs and Spiders.  Yummy on the shrimp and crab, but YIKES on the spiders.  Noodle soaks up information about animals.  He is like his big brother, Bear, in that way.  I think I have yet another future vet or Zoologist on my hands.

Here he is drawing animal pictures on his narration page.

We did short experiment called "Telegraph Lines" to learn about how spiders know when they have a good meal on their web.  Spiders can feel the vibrations and determine if it is a meal they want to spin and wrap up for later.  Very small vibrations are ignored as well as very large vibrations.  Like Goldilocks, the spiders wait for one that is "just right."  We tied a string from a door knob to a chair, pulled it taut and took turns plucking the string to feel for the vibrations.  This activity was suggested by ES and is in Janice Van Cleave's Biology for Every Kid book.

Here is the final write up for the activity, "Telegraph Lines."

For Real Science Odyssey, this week we learned more about cells, this time specifically the egg cell.  First he inspected it closely with a magnifying glass, looking for the tiny pores.

Then we cracked it open to check out the parts and learned how the shell protects what is inside.  The white of the egg protects the cell (yolk) by cushioning it.

After identifying all the parts and discussing what each part does, he broke the yolk to see what would happen.  He enjoyed this a little too much.  Boys and mess, go together hand in hand.

Here is the worksheet, properly labeled and colored.  These activities and accompanying worksheets are what I really love about RSO.

Wordless Wednesday - Just for Uncle Kevin :)

Games We Play

We love games at our homeschool.  I just thought I would share some of our recent favorites.
















Boggle- the old school version!

Curriculum Clean Out - Giveaway!

My other giveaway hasn't ended yet, but here is another one for the Curriculum Cleanout over at Homeschool Creations.

This one is another Teacher Created Resources item - I really like their workbooks and literature units.  This one is a math workbook focusing on Money.  It is for Pre K- 1st and has 48 pages.  No writing, practically brand new with just a little shelf wear.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The winner will be chosen using random.org.  Winner will need to provide a mailing address (U.S. addresses only). I will mail the book to the winner, via USPS Media Mail with Delivery Confirmation.  To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post.     This giveaway ends at Midnight on May 1, 2011.
 
Be sure to go to Homeschool Creations to see all the other great giveaways!

Monday Musing

What is so special about Monday?  It isn't even the first day of the week, so why is it the day when things begin?  You know, the diet, the exercise, the new commitment to finishing a whole school day, etc., etc.

I am beginning to detest Mondays.  I am sitting here with my cup of coffee, feeling rather disgusted with myself for another weekend of overindulgence in food - and it wasn't even good food or worth it!  I suppose I should be putting this on my weight loss blog, but let's face it, nobody reads that one.  At least on this end I know there are homeschool mommies who have lost weight, are losing weight, being diligent about fitness, etc., that can relate to at least some of what I am saying.

I am in panic mode.  I don't want to weigh myself today.  I don't want to know.  I just want to make it through the day with good food choices, not too many calories and hopefully a bike ride.  I might be over ambitious considering I have a lot to do today.  Something has got to give - either school or the bike ride.  I need the bike ride.  Bear can complete a full school day without me, but Noodle may have a half day so that I can get my bike ride in.  It feels wrong.  I could let him ride with me and we could call it PE.  Maybe we can practice reciting some memory work while we are riding along or skip counting.  Maybe I can just stop being so uptight right now and realize that setting an example of health for my children is what needs to happen today.

I have to do something and re-start somewhere.  I don't want my weight loss of the last year to disappear and be all for nothing.  I need to keep going - 50 more pounds.  I know I will feel good, I know how good it feels to be disciplined.  So what happened?  Why do I go back to the familiar even when the familiar (pardon my French), sucks?

Is this what they call self sabotage?  My most recent A1C was 5.7 - which is pretty good.  Am I subconsciously deceiving myself that I am "normal" and don't have to pay attention?  I really think I am just bummed that I am in the condition I am in - age 39, 50 pounds to lose, Type 2 Diabetic with high blood pressure and kidneys that are dropping protein.  How did I get here?

I want to be that mom who has given birth three times and doesn't look like it.  I don't mean an unrealistic ideal body- I'd be ecstatic if I could just wear a size 12.  I have already come far enough to run around the back yard with Noodle, without losing my breath and to go on bike rides.  Those things were part of my goal.  I'd like to go on hikes and run at least one type of marathon (the short kind!).  But also, I want cute mommy clothes, a normal BMI and clothes that aren't in the politically correct "plus size" section of the stores.  Technically I don't have to buy "plus size" anymore since they sell 16's on the normal side now, but still, I am fat.

I am going to California next month (less than 3 weeks) for my brother's wedding.  I wanted to be in Onederland by now (less than 200 pounds) but that isn't going to happen. I just need to let that go and focus on one good choice at a time and drinking water.  I haven't been drinking enough water or hardly any water actually. I think that is part of the problem.  I am confusing thirst for hunger and I eat and feel unsatisfied and eat some more. 

I am sorry I am so depressing today, I just needed to get it out  Alright, so here is my plan today:

Stay under 1500 calories.
Go on a bike ride.
Get the basics of school done with Noode: Reading, Math, Phonics and CLE LA.  Science and History can wait if we don't get to it.
Go to Austin and back without getting fast food.
Drink a lot of water.

Wish me luck.

Homeschool Mother's Journal

The Homeschool Chick - HSMJ Link Up

In my life this week… A normal week, but at the moment I am a little peeved with Verizon Wireless.  Several times a year it seems like their voice mail system takes a vacation.  Last night my Blackberry made several rapid beeping sounds.  They were voice mail alerts.  From.All.Week.   Nice!  Luckily four of them were from my mother, whom I talk to daily so that was no big deal.  But the other five were calls I needed to return.  UGH!

In our homeschool this week… I guess it is just because it is "that time of year" when things start to wind down and we get ready for a relaxed summer schedule, but this week we had another "half" week.  Monday and Tuesday we babysat for a friend's children so school was really light.  Wednesday we had a full day, Thursday was co-op and about an hour of school at the house before we left for the park.  Today, well, it hasn't happened yet, but I know we need to finish whatever we do by 2:20 because I need to leave for an appointment with a friend. 

I am including this in the homeschool section because for Bear it is an educational experience.  As I have previously mentioned, he is breeding rats for snake food.  (I know, EWWWWWWWWW)  Well this week we have had three litters of rats born.  It is crazy.  They are bigger than I expected them to be.  Frankly, I can't go look at any of them for too long because I am the "furry pet" type of person and I cannot get attached to any of these rats knowing they are going to see death in the near future.  I honestly don't know where Bear got his fascination for reptiles because it surely wasn't from me.  I suppose I could blame my husband since he is the one who brought the first snake home.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing… Nothing exciting this week.  We babysat friends, we went to co-op and the park.  We saw family.  We went shopping.  Thrills.  I wish I could say we went on a road trip or took a flight to NYC for a whirlwind field trip, but, nope.  Sorry.

My favorite thing this week was… I always enjoy my family and hanging with the kids, but I have to say my big excitement this week was seeing the movie trailer for The Help.  I can't wait for this to be released! I will be there opening night.




What’s working/not working for us… I am starting to feel like I have a really boring life.  School is working for us.  I love all our curriculum and I am pleased with our progress and results.  I do wish I could get to science and history more than once a week with Noodle, but for now it's OK.

Homeschool questions/thoughts I have… How am I going to pay for all of the stuff I need for Bear's 10th grade year?  Holy moley, Rosetta Stone $300+, Biology $150-200, Geometry $185 and about $400 for everything else.  I buy used whenever I can, but still.  I am thankful for being able to buy wholesale through my book distributor for the business, but it will still be pricey.  We are a one income family for the most part.  I bring in a little and it covers some of my book addiction, but not the whole kit and kaboodle.
A photo, video, link, or quote to share… Going old school today....mommy and oldest ds.  He was almost 2 years old here.  It seems like yesterday when we started calling him Super Duper Lukester.  :(

I Have a Blog Button!

I am so excited!  Thank you to Linda at My Heart's Desire for creating my button and thank you to Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations for the proper coding!

I know because I have a blog it might seem like I am Technology Savvy, but truly I am not.  I know a lot more today than I did last year, but that isn't saying much.  I thank God for people like Linda and Jolanthe who freely and willingly share their knowledge with novice bloggers like myself.  I am too embarrassed to tell you how much time I spent this morning learning how to get the button on my sidebar.  Let's just say it was a "two cups of coffee" event.

Here is the cute button Linda made - you can "grab it" on the side bar to the right.

Wordless Wednesday.....sort of

A Texas Blind Snake.....yes, snake, not a worm.

SCORED at the Used Book Sale!

I really LOVE this time of year.  Curriculum selling and buying time, rules!  I went to TWO sales last night.  I was a power seller and power shopper.  I went to one from 4-6pm in one town, and scored two awesome books with a full retail value of  $64.95 - for only FOUR BUCKS TOTAL!  Woooooohhoooooo! I am a girl that loves a bargain.  I bought a like brand new, hardcover copy, with CD of The Story of the Orchestra and a like new, looks like it was never cracked open, A Young Historian's Introduction to Worldview.

Some other good finds included an art and music history book for $1, an Evan-Moor History Pockets book, gently used for $2 and a hardcover short stories book for .50 cents.  Also for FREE, I picked up Ronald Reagan: An American Hero.  It is a beautiful hardcover, coffee table quality book. Gotta Have God Ages 6-9 was also FREE. 

I left that sale and went 30 miles to another town, was 45 minutes late, but set up my stuff for sale anyway.  I sold a few more items there, but I also scored some good stuff there too.

Both book sales combined- I sold $106 of stuff and I spent $9 !!! Here's all the goodies I came home with:

Weekly Accomplishments 4/11 - 4/15

~What we are reading~

Me: Late, Late, at Night by Rick Springfield

Bear: Every Young Man's Battle and Scarlet Letter

Noodle:  Read Aloud- Ben and Me

All:  Book on CD - Carry on Mr. Bowditch

Monday:  We went to a small local zoo for a field trip.  Bear developed a fever while there and slept all afternoon.  Noodle took a math test, visited Grandma and had a baseball game.  Noodle got his first base hit of the season!!!  He made it safely to first base and was so excited!! 

The zoo we visited is the same zoo Bear voluteers at on weekends.  He is part of the Jr. Zookeeper program.  Here are some pictures from the zoo trip:

This is Ivory and her mate.  They are Albino Burmese Pythons.

A not so bright Peacock, displaying, for the Guinea Pigs.

Chippy, the Prairie Dog.

Noodle and friends feeding the goats.

Petting the Tortoise.

Ring Tail Lemur and babies! Soooooo stinking cute!

Another Prairie Dog enjoying a snack.  He looks like he is praying.

The Zebras.

My friend, "K", her son and Bear relaxing in the shade

Here's a short video I took of Noodle and the Guinea Pigs.  It was cut short because we had kids jumping the rope fence!

Tuesday:  We had pancakes for breakfast, at Bear's request.  He was starting to feel better.  He still spent the better part of his day on the couch, reading for school and watching episodes of Rogue Nature on the Science Channel.  The fever finally went away and he took a badly needed shower in the afternoon.  He was feeling well enough to go to the gym and to Boy Scouts, amazingly.  (But mind you, grammar and Algebra were too strenuous for him to tackle earlier in the day.  Ahem.)

Noodle had his regular day of school, starting with Explode the Code Book 3 and math.   Math introduced a new concept today - CARRYING!  I don't remember learning carrying in the first grade, but the Abeka Lesson 133 introduces it.  After that we headed out to the baseball field   our backyard, to play some catch and practice batting.

Next we did an OPGTR lesson and reading some Bob Books for practice.  He breezes right through them, but I want him to get used to what it feels like to read at a normal pace, when you know the words you're reading really well.  We finished the day with a lesson from Elemental Science.  We read about the human body and introudced a couple of new vocabulary words- cells and anatomy.  We will be making a Noodle life size mural with all the internal parts over the next few weeks.  He loves doing murals - his favorite being the one we did for our Rainforest Unit.

Wednesday:  Noodle went to Grandma's for most of his school work.  They made Hasty Pudding!  The recipe came from this website.

He came back home to do math, language arts and his reading lesson.  Bear already lost a couple of days to sickness so I decided to call it a miscellaneous day for him.  He worked on some Boy Scout Merit Badge workbooks, grammar, typed up the essay he had already written, read a few chapters from the Scarlet Letter and called it a day.

Thursday:  We had Co-op this morning.  Only three more weeks- yay!! I am pretty burned out on co-op, as I am teaching three classes.  I am so burned out that I am thinking of not doing co-op next year, but the feeling will pass.  Noodle had speech therapy, went to the grocery store to buy something with his own money (paid exact change) and did a reading lesson.  Then we went to the park, had baseball practice and I went to Mom's Night with my homeschool group. 

Friday:  Today is Bear's birthday.  He pertty much gets today off because of it.  This week was definitely not a full week for him, but this is one example of why we school year round.  We can have weeks like this because we don't take summers off.  He will do some reading today and an outline on a excerpt from

Smithsoian Institution Animal Encyclopedia.  Grandma is taking him to lunch at Chili's, so he is looking forward to that.

Noodle should have a regular day.  I have a used book sale this afternoon - I am going to shop and sell.  I can't wait!  Sadly, I will miss Noode's baseball game tonight because of it.  He has another Monday though, and I will be there. 

Next week we should be back on a regular school schedule.  I am trying to work on finishing up plans for this school year (which ends in July) and starting shopping and planning for next school year (which starts in August).  These are my favorite homeschool things to do - shop and plan!!

If you haven't seen my new Giveaway, be sure to check it out and please spread the word.  Thanks!!