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How to convince mom to stay homeschooled?


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I am trying to convince my mom to stay homeschooled because she wants to send me to a PCS this coming year, but I want to stay home!:glare: (going into tenth grade).

 

There are two subjects that she can't teach me, math and science, and a little bit of english that she can't teach me. The reason why she wants to send me to a PCS is because I am college bound, if I wasn't, then I could stay homeschooled. She doesn't want to ruin my chance of getting into a good college and getting poor SAT scores. I can see her point on this, but our local CC offers these classes and I could also take them at the PCS.

 

I have gotten good answers in recent posts, but does anyone have any other ideas how to convince my mom to allow me to stay homeschooled??!!

 

Can anyone reccomend excellent math, science and english programs????

 

Please help!!:001_huh::confused:

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Perhaps by doing something similar to what many people here have done in order to convince a reluctant or skeptical spouse? Design reasonable plan, and be ready to demonstrate that you are willing to work diligently at making it happen.

 

What colleges do you expect to apply to? How selective are they? Their admissions requirements will dictate to some extent what curricula you should consider. Does your mother feel that she'd like you to have the benefit of the school's guidance counselors? I ask because there's more to college admission than academic preparation. I can tell you that being guidance counselor was THE most difficult role for me and the one I least enjoyed. Are you prepared to take at least part of the responsibility for that aspect of preparing for college?

 

What kind of transportation issues do you anticipate? If you do some subjects at home and others away from home you'll need to account for potential disruptions in your schedule as well as time and money needed for commuting. You'll also want to consider whether or not your plan will be disruptive to your studying or to others in the family.

 

One thing that would affect my attitude toward a teen's wish to stay at home for schooling would be maturity level. For example, I could be more easily persuaded (given the situation you describe) by a young person who is punctual, willing to take on responsibility in a whole range of activities without being prodded, helpful around the house, and who doesn't require constant supervision to make sure that school work is done to a high standard and in a timely way.

 

Wishing you the best,

Martha

 

You mentioned the SAT. Are you planning to take the PSAT? I think you said you're going into 10th grade??? If so, that's coming up fairly soon;you might begin by showing your mom that you're serious by looking into how, when and where to sign up for the PSAT (your PCS might be an option) and setting up a plan for test prep and practice exams. My son registered at the official websites for SAT and ACT and signed up for the SAT question of the day the summer before 10th grade and started taking practice tests over the summer as well.

Edited by Martha in NM
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Perhaps by doing something similar to what many people here have done in order to convince a reluctant or skeptical spouse? Design reasonable plan, and be ready to demonstrate that you are willing to work diligently at making it happen.

 

What colleges do you expect to apply to? How selective are they? Their admissions requirements will dictate to some extent what curricula you should consider. Does your mother feel that she'd like you to have the benefit of the school's guidance counselors? I ask because there's more to college admission than academic preparation. I can tell you that being guidance counselor was THE most difficult role for me and the one I least enjoyed. Are you prepared to take at least part of the responsibility for that aspect of preparing for college?

 

What kind of transportation issues do you anticipate? If you do some subjects at home and others away from home you'll need to account for potential disruptions in your schedule as well as time and money needed for commuting. You'll also want to consider whether or not your plan will be disruptive to your studying or to others in the family.

 

One thing that would affect my attitude toward a teen's wish to stay at home for schooling would be maturity level. For example, I could be more easily persuaded (given the situation you describe) by a young person who is punctual, willing to take on responsibility in a whole range of activities without being prodded, helpful around the house, and who doesn't require constant supervision to make sure that school work is done to a high standard and in a timely way.

 

Wishing you the best,

Martha

 

You mentioned the SAT. Are you planning to take the PSAT? I think you said you're going into 10th grade??? If so, that's coming up fairly soon;you might begin by showing your mom that you're serious by looking into how, when and where to sign up for the PSAT (your PCS might be an option) and setting up a plan for test prep and practice exams. My son registered at the official websites for SAT and ACT and signed up for the SAT question of the day the summer before 10th grade and started taking practice tests over the summer as well.

 

Very thourough and exactly what I was looking for! I am very mature and everyone I meet (including my family members) tell me so. Sure I act childish at times, but you can't have any fun if you don't. I am going to take the PSAT coming up soon, I forgot to put the P in the PSAT, too much of a rush.

 

You have listed many things that I haven't really thought of, and will design a plan soon to show my mom what the schedule will look like. At the PCS, I can take a few of their PSAT courses, take a few at the CC, and then be able to take the PSAT.

 

Your son was very smart to sign up during the summer, did the practice tests help? Do you need to pay for these? If yo have a link, could you please show me, I'd appreciate it. All of your ideas and questions have really helped me see my mom's point of view and a few of the things that I myself, need to work on...:tongue_smilie:

Thankfully, alot of these schools that I could go to aren't too far away, maybe 30 minutes tops. The local PS isn't an option, my mom doesn't like the school and it doesn't have a good reputation. I need to start a list soon, sign up for PSAT practice tests, start narrowing down the colleges I want to attend, thank you for your help! Please let me know of any other advice that I need!:001_smile:

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You've impressed me as being unusually thoughtful and articulate, and I'm sure that no matter what you and your family decide that you'll do well.

 

Yes, my son did find the practice tests helpful. Keep in mind, though, that it's counterproductive to try to "cram" for this type of test. The practice tests are really for helping you learn how to take the test and for expressing what you've already learned within the framework of the test. It's not a difficult thing for most people to master, but it is helpful to be familiar with the details and get some practice before the actual test.

 

We were given a free practice PSAT test booklet through the school when my son signed up, but I signed him up and paid the fee first and they notified me sometime later that the practice tests had come in and were available in the counselor's office. My son felt that the practice tests were always harder than the real thing for PSAT, SAT, and ACT, too.

 

We used a combination of online resources and a Princeton Review book which I'd picked up at Costco, but I also hear good things about Barron's if you'd like a book with several tear-out practice tests. They usually cost somewhere between $ 20-30 as I remember.

 

Here is a link to the "official" PSAT page at College Board that has links for immediate, free, online practice for different sections:

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/prep.html

 

I'd suggest that you inquire soon about what you'll need to do and when to sign up for the PSAT (You sign up for the PSAT through a local high school, but for the SAT and ACT even though you may take the test at a high school, you sign up at the website for the test you're planning to take.) However, it may be that the schools aren't fully staffed right now and won't be ready to talk to you and your parents about the PSAT until the school year starts in the fall. Since you know about a local private school, that might be your best bet. My son took the PSAT at the local high school, and while they were cordial to us they also made it clear that they didn't have time to answer questions or do any hand-holding. However, I was able to get enough information from the College Board website and the people who post here to sign up and have my son take the test without any trouble.

 

I'll look for more online test prep resources and post them tomorrow.

Edited by Martha in NM
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http://www.testprepreview.com/ (My son used this for several different tests.) He used the College Board and ACT sites too. Those three were his favorites. He also used official paper versions for ACT SAT as well as the Princeton Review book.

 

Keep in mind that there are many online resources available; some are free, and many of them will offer a few freebies, but have the ultimate goal of selling you product or services that you may not need or may not be a good fit for you. So, I strongly urge you to research these sites WITH ONE OR BOTH OF YOUR PARENTS sitting with you at the computer:

 

http://www.princetonreview.com/college/sat-psat-test-preparation.aspx

 

http://www.4tests.com/exams/examdetail.asp?eid=59

 

I did my son a disservice in the testing department by waiting until the last opportunity for taking the PSAT. It would have helped him to have a real-life chance to practice. As it was, he took it the first time the only year it counted, and he just missed the semi-finalist cutoff score for NM. Since he chose to begin at the Community College it did not matter quite so much, but I felt guilty all the same.

 

As I wrote in my first post, it is not desirable or even possible to cram for standardized tests. As such, you don't want to overdo the test prep, so keep things in perspective. If you do really, really well it may help you get scholarship money down the road. If you get poor or average scores, then these tests can be diagnostic tools to let you know that you may need a more rigorous curriculum or just apply yourself more. My son took the ACT and SAT to see which he preferred, and he chose to take the ACT a second time (in the fall of his senior year). His second ACT score was substantially better than the first.

 

I would also like you to know that as much as we loved home schooling, my son has told me that he would have enjoyed attending the private classical Christian school that one of his friends' younger brothers are attending. It was only started after he and his friend graduated from high school, so it wasn't an option for us. He feels that having more "iron-sharpening" contact with other students would have helped motivate him in ways that weren't possible in our home school. So, don't totally close yourself off from the possibility that the PCS might be a good option as well.

 

The last thing I want to do is come between you and your parents. They know you and your family circumstances. I do not. And, it's obvious from your posts that they have done a superb job of bringing you this far; you can trust them to want the best for you. Don't forget,too, that they have experience looking at the big picture. Home schooling is wonderful, but there ARE downsides, and there are other good educational options too. I know that I've missed out on what might have been great opportunities sometimes because I was "comfortable" where I was and not eager to try something new.

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Luving Life, have you asked what curriculum the cs would use? Most christian schools use a base of one thing (Abeka, BJU, Paces, something) and then diverge in one or two subjects. They do this because publishers coordinate their materials to work together. (The vocabulary necessary for the history gets introduced in the english, that type thing.) Anyways, and I'm trying to be really delicate here, your mom IS correct that doing the lowest level of curriculum you can find on a computer is NOT going to give you the same type of education as having someone talk through these things with you, discuss, and challenge you. It's just not. I had friends in college who were homeschooled using PACES (ACE) exclusively for instance, and they really regretted it. They saw that their education, while enough to get them into college, had been poor preparation for what they realized they wanted to do. So I would NOT discount the wisdom of your mother. That's why God gave her to you. :)

 

That said, I interpret your questions only as trying to HELP your mother, which is reasonable. And so, to me, one logical path would be to ask what curriculum the cs uses and replicate it. If they use BJU, then get BJU. BJU can be done entirely on dvd/online/hard drive now, is a quality program, and is affordable. If they use Abeka, then pursue the Abeka video school. Or you could look to some of the other programs out there (Potter's School, VP Scholars, etc.). You'll find them by searching for individual titles here on the high school board. Do a search of just this forum and put in biology for instance and you'll see plenty of options. That type thing.

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http://www.testprepreview.com/ (My son used this for several different tests.) He used the College Board and ACT sites too. Those three were his favorites. He also used official paper versions for ACT SAT as well as the Princeton Review book.

 

Keep in mind that there are many online resources available; some are free, and many of them will offer a few freebies, but have the ultimate goal of selling you product or services that you may not need or may not be a good fit for you. So, I strongly urge you to research these sites WITH ONE OR BOTH OF YOUR PARENTS sitting with you at the computer:

 

http://www.princetonreview.com/college/sat-psat-test-preparation.aspx

 

http://www.4tests.com/exams/examdetail.asp?eid=59

 

I did my son a disservice in the testing department by waiting until the last opportunity for taking the PSAT. It would have helped him to have a real-life chance to practice. As it was, he took it the first time the only year it counted, and he just missed the semi-finalist cutoff score for NM. Since he chose to begin at the Community College it did not matter quite so much, but I felt guilty all the same.

 

As I wrote in my first post, it is not desirable or even possible to cram for standardized tests. As such, you don't want to overdo the test prep, so keep things in perspective. If you do really, really well it may help you get scholarship money down the road. If you get poor or average scores, then these tests can be diagnostic tools to let you know that you may need a more rigorous curriculum or just apply yourself more. My son took the ACT and SAT to see which he preferred, and he chose to take the ACT a second time (in the fall of his senior year). His second ACT score was substantially better than the first.

 

I would also like you to know that as much as we loved home schooling, my son has told me that he would have enjoyed attending the private classical Christian school that one of his friends' younger brothers are attending. It was only started after he and his friend graduated from high school, so it wasn't an option for us. He feels that having more "iron-sharpening" contact with other students would have helped motivate him in ways that weren't possible in our home school. So, don't totally close yourself off from the possibility that the PCS might be a good option as well.

 

The last thing I want to do is come between you and your parents. They know you and your family circumstances. I do not. And, it's obvious from your posts that they have done a superb job of bringing you this far; you can trust them to want the best for you. Don't forget,too, that they have experience looking at the big picture. Home schooling is wonderful, but there ARE downsides, and there are other good educational options too. I know that I've missed out on what might have been great opportunities sometimes because I was "comfortable" where I was and not eager to try something new.

 

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your help!! I am very glad that maybe going to the private school won't be so bad... My parents and I are going to try to contact them to see what options they will give us. Then we will contact the local CC and see what they have as well. Finally, we will contact the local public school for their PSAT test dates and compare all of them to see which is best for me.

 

I really appreciate all of your kind and helpful words!! Thank you for the links as well, they are very helpful and I am going to enjoy them for sure.:D

 

I hope I can do a dual enrollment type thing and see how it goes, hopefully it will work out, but as you said it is definitely my parents decision. Thank you again for all of your help!:001_smile::001_smile:

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Luving Life, have you asked what curriculum the cs would use? Most christian schools use a base of one thing (Abeka, BJU, Paces, something) and then diverge in one or two subjects. They do this because publishers coordinate their materials to work together. (The vocabulary necessary for the history gets introduced in the english, that type thing.) Anyways, and I'm trying to be really delicate here, your mom IS correct that doing the lowest level of curriculum you can find on a computer is NOT going to give you the same type of education as having someone talk through these things with you, discuss, and challenge you. It's just not. I had friends in college who were homeschooled using PACES (ACE) exclusively for instance, and they really regretted it. They saw that their education, while enough to get them into college, had been poor preparation for what they realized they wanted to do. So I would NOT discount the wisdom of your mother. That's why God gave her to you. :)

 

That said, I interpret your questions only as trying to HELP your mother, which is reasonable. And so, to me, one logical path would be to ask what curriculum the cs uses and replicate it. If they use BJU, then get BJU. BJU can be done entirely on dvd/online/hard drive now, is a quality program, and is affordable. If they use Abeka, then pursue the Abeka video school. Or you could look to some of the other programs out there (Potter's School, VP Scholars, etc.). You'll find them by searching for individual titles here on the high school board. Do a search of just this forum and put in biology for instance and you'll see plenty of options. That type thing.

 

Wow, I never though of that and you're right. Maybe I could do that, I would really enjoy it and still go to the CS for spanish or maybe extra help in classes that my mom can't give me. I am only trying to help my mom, I hope that whatever happens though will be for the best!;) Thanks!

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Luving Life, you are most welcome; I hope that what I've passed along will be helpful. OhElizabeth's curricula suggestions are excellent, and I read your other thread and saw a lot of good advice there too.

 

One thing, FYI, is that the PSAT is offered only on two days during a single week in October each year, and it only "counts" for scholarship eligibility when you take it in 11th grade but it's a good idea to (and there's no penalty) take it in 10th as well. The PSAT is not expensive; the cost for each test is usually between 10 and 20 dollars. Be aware that most of the time 10th grade students don't do as well as 11th graders.[PLEASE, anyone, correct me if I'm giving bad information here. :D]

 

You will also want to find out whether the schools you're considering as testing locations will test on Wednesday or Saturday. When my son signed up the school told me they'd ordered the Saturday test (different version than the Wednesday test) because they had a community college fair scheduled that week. However, the College Board shipped them the Wednesday version which arrived via UPS late Monday afternoon and there was not enough time to return and re-ship the correct version. So, I got a frantic call on Tuesday morning and our plans for a leisurely practice test on Friday morning had to be scrapped.

 

So, for PSAT testing (SAT and ACT procedures are somewhat different)my advice is:

1. Verify for yourself any advice you get (including mine ;)) with the official site/and/or the school official who will be administering the PSAT.

2. Mark and check your calendar and be vigilant about keeping outside distractions to a minimum for about a week prior to the test.

3. Keep in touch with the person administering the PSAT but don't contact them for information you can get yourself at the College Board webpage or here.

4. Be flexible if the unexpected happens and don't let things throw you. My son watched several people leave his testing room in tears, visibly upset, and feeling nauseated all because they had planned to test on Saturday and had to move it up a couple of days.

5. Take the test seriously, but don't stress unduly!

 

I've thrown a lot of ideas at you in the past couple of days, but you do have plenty of time to sort through to see what applies to you and what isn't a good fit. I'll look forward to hearing how things progress!

 

Martha

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Thank you so much for all of the advice, I really appreciate it!!! My mom said I could do the classes at the cs that she can't teach me, and will homeschool me for the other subjects!!!!!!:D:D:D

 

The information for the PSAT is very helpful and I feel more prepared now, thanks again!!:grouphug::grouphug:

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