mazakaal Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 I've been homeschooling for 15 years, but need some new insight. I've been using a variety of curriculum that I've chosen over the years based on its quality and affordability, and while I know that it is all good material, it has become a problem because it has become rather frustrating for my kids and quite time-consuming for me. I've started working part-time and am recently widowed, so I really need something that they can do more independently. I'm actually considering putting the kids in school next year, but also trying to look for different options for homeschooling if I can't find a school that is suitable. I need to find materials that can be done fairly independently, that require little time and attention from me, but will be engaging and educational for the kids. Money is not as much of a concern as it was in the past. I am now in a position that I can consider online classes or other things that were quite out of our price range when we were missionaries. So I'm thinking about Teaching Textbooks for math. I know it's not an exceptional curriculum, but it will get the job done without a lot of time from me. I'm looking at Write at Home classes for composition, but am open to other suggestions that would involve someone else critiquing and grading their writing. My 12yo dd likes the idea of a literature based curriculum. She is not especially academic, but is artsy and likes to read. She's also been struggling a lot emotionally the past couple of years between puberty and some major life changes (my husband's fight with cancer, his subsequent death, and an international move), so I'd like to find something that she can relax in and enjoy that will involve little stress. I'm considering possibly Sonlight Eastern Hemispheres (though one person said that she found Sonlight to be very time consuming for her as a teacher) or MFW Exploring Countries and Cultures with the 7th and 8th grade supplement. Any opinions on these or suggestions for other literature based curriculum for 8th grade? For science she wants to do Apologia General Science (this is what I did with my older son when he was young), but I'm afraid this may be too challenging. I'd love to hear other ideas for 8th grade science. The 11yo would like some live online classes as he would like the interaction. He is very bright, but also quite energetic. Is there an online school that is challenging, but not extremely time consuming? One person recommended Veritas Press Academy and someone else has recommended Potter's School. I have no experience with either. Opinions or other suggestions? Thanks for reading this far. I look forward to any help you can offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 For the 11 yo, you might look at Onlineg3 or Athena's Advanced Academy. These two providers offer courses oriented toward gifted children so the material is higher level but I believe the output requirements are usually less demanding than a similar course elsewhere. You don't need to be gifted to take these, they just skew toward younger ages I believe. Athena's has classes using SOTW 1-4 and Onlineg3 has classes using Hakim's Story of US among others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 These look good. Thanks for the suggestions, 3andme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 For your dd, had you thought about Beautiful Feet? She can use her artsy tendencies to make her notebook into something pretty & fun -- with maps & self-drawn pictures, if she likes. If she uses the writing prompts throughout, it cover cover at least some of her language arts, too. I'd probably let her pick & choose among the assignments this year, if I was her mom. :grouphug: I'm sorry to hear about your family's loss. Best of luck finding whatever it is that will work for your family during this time of so much change. :sad: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Yes! I used to use their website for book ideas to supplement SOTW, but had completely forgotten about them. I'll check them out. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 For the 12 yo, Virtual Homeschool Group has a free self paced course for Apologia General Science. I've read good things about the higher level VHSG science courses. For the history/literature, you might take a look at Landry Academy. They have a course called Adventures in World History - A Step Beyond American Girls. It's designed for 7th/8th graders and based on the Girls of Many Lands series. I've copied a brief excerpt from Landry's site in quotes below. Landry also has a similar course based on Percy Jackson for Ancient Times and the Henty books (more for boys). If you were doing American history, something like Notgrass' America the Beautiful might work too. For something really different, I always thought Where the Brook and the River Meet (a unit study based on the Anne of Green Gables books) looked interesting - but I only have boys so who knows. Send your daughter on a unique tour of world history! Studying history through living books will help ignite your daughter’s interest in the past as she identifies with the protagonist in the era presented in each book. This approach brings history to life as we read four books each semester based on the lives of young women (age 12) in different countries and different epochs. As we read, discuss, and research, we learn some of the history, the culture, the language, and the customs and daily lives of people the world over. These girls faced civil and political discord, intrigue, colonization issues, war, disease, justice and injustice based on social standing and gender, while coming of age themselves. We discuss each of these issues as it arises. While these books are not (generally) written from a Christian world view, we bring our faith to the books, the issues, and the history as your daughters continue to learn to practice discernment in evaluating the content of these books (or any book or text) from a Biblical perspective. The books are part of a series published by American Girl called “Girls of Many Landsâ€. In the first semester, we move chronologically from Tudor England with Isabel (1592), to the court of Louis XIV (the Sun King) in France with Cécile (1711), to Turkey during the Tulip Period with Leyla (1720), and finally to Ethiopia during the Age of Judges with Saba (1846). Since the history, topics and situations the girls are involved with are more mature than the historical American Girl books, students should be in middle school, from ages of about 11 to 14. The books are available at Amazon in paperback or for Kindle. Purchase is not necessary unless your student wants to write in the book (a wonderful practice!). You may check them out of the library or borrow them if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 Great ideas! I can also use the Virtual Homeschool class for my 17yo who's struggling with Apologia chemistry right now. And I really like the look of the Adventures in World History course. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdobis Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 We love the self paced classes at Veritas Press. My daughter uses their history courses without any help from me at all. I've heard that the Omnibus classes are great as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 The self paced Omnibus has quite a nice bit for three of their lessons if you go to the Vertias Press website (or just Google Omnibus self paced). My son greatly enjoys the games they involve. However, Omni is not really very artsy and does involve quite a significant amount of reading. I have heard Oak Meadow leans much more to the arts, but I have not used them. My son is much more academic. Other than with music, he stays quite away from art stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 It's great to hear positive reports about Veritas. I'll look into Oak Meadow too. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I was also going to suggest Oak Meadow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 Have you used Oak Meadow, 8FillTheHeart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus2 Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Moving Beyond the Page could be a good fit for your 12 year old. The curriculum is written to the student at that level, so your required input is limited. Watch the video overview for the level you are looking at. It gives a really good picture of what MBtP is and how it works. I've had issues with the videos recently; they have been working in IE, but not in Chrome. The only thing you need to add is a math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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