Night Elf Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 (edited) (22 hours posted and not one response yet? I'm changing the title! Surely I'm not the only one thinking about high school without an official program. I'll cross post on the high school board too.) While my dd16 is using a correspondence program to earn an accredited diploma, my son will likely not follow that path. We prefer to take the portfolio route for him using a general course outline I found online. It includes things like 4 units for English, 4 units for Math, etc. I need to find specfic information on how to determine appropriately leveled materials and grant credit. Math seems easy because we can use a textbook program appropriately labeled, i.e. Algebra, Geometry, etc. But if I don't want to use textbooks for the other subjects, I need to learn how to create a course outline, how to find materials for it, and how to know how much credit it's worth. Edited January 14, 2009 by Night Elf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Bump! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 I've never had to count hours so I'm not sure how to go about it. That seems a poor way for an accelerated learner to earn credit. One assignment may take one child 1 hour to complete while another child may do the same work in half the time. Ugh, my son is going to *freak*. I just might order some books from amazon on homeschooling in the teen years. I've already gotten the ones from the library and they weren't helpful at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I have no help for you but I wanted to chime in to say you are certainly correct in counting hours being a poor way to count credits for an accelerated student. I'd love to learn a better way before my kids hit jr high even. I have a similar problem just at a much younger age. We use a virtual academy that requires 20 hours a week for my son and 25 hours a week for my daughter. My son meets his requirements (20 hours) simply because more than half of them are PE. He takes 10+ hours of taekwondo a week. My daughter (25 hours) doesn't meet her requirements unless I count everything that can possibly be considered educational...like chores, helping in the kitchen, playing with her baby brother, self-care and grooming, reading for fun, writing for fun, blogging, emailing, going to the library (or anywhere else for that matter), drawing for fun, and even playing with friends. I wrote all of that into her learning plan as lifeskills, social studies, and health just so we'd meet the hourly requirements. I'd hate to fill hours for high school credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmomof2boys Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 A good book to read is Barbara Shelton's "Senior High: A Home-Designed Form+U+La." She explains how she graded her three children. There are forms and examples. It's worth reading. She has a web site, homeschooloasis.com. She has a lot of information there, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhonda in TX Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Even if you're not using AO, you might find it helpful since they don't use textbooks at all. HEO yahoo group I'm pretty sure they have something in the files section. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in SouthGa Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 The best information I have gotten has been from other homeschool moms who have already been-there-done-that. From what I gather so far, the difference with high school is that you are counting how long you work on each subject (instead of your total hours that you homeschool per week), and when you get so many hours (can't remember off the top of my head, but it equals out to 50 min. a day five days a week for 180 days) that is a Carnegie credit. I'm in the same boat as you...my son is done with his school work every day by lunch or earlier, so I don't know how we are going to stretch it out. Extra projects and reading, dvds and audio books, field trips, computer games? I hate to heap extra work on him for no reason other than to meet someone else's expectations! Here is an article I just found, but haven't had time to read yet, on the Georgia Home Educators site: http://www.ghea.org/pages/articles/focus.php?ID=2&parent=3 I just bought a cd set from christianbook.com called Teaching High School at Home by Dr. Jay Wile of Apologia. Again, I haven't listened to it yet, so I can't make an informed comment. GHEA also has cds and mp3 downloads of seminars from their conferences for the last few years. http://www.ghea.org/pages/audioStore/index.php?year=2007 I'm sure other HS conventions also do this. What has helped me most, though, is talking to other moms. They got me down off the ledge...well, sorta.:blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 ... but here it is again. ; ) Some books on homeschooling high school... I found these two books helpful in figuring out what is required for high school graduation/college entrance, AND for figuring out "what makes a unit/credit", how to "create a high school course", and how to put together transcripts: Mary Schofield's "The High School Handbook: For Junior High, Too" http://www.amazon.com/High-School-Ha...1979444&sr=8-1 Vicki Bently's "High School 101: Blueprint for Success" http://www.lulu.com/content/346549 And a great overview of homeschooling high school are these two books by Cafi Cohen: - "Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook: Preparing Your 12- to 18-Year-Old for a Smooth Transition" - "Homeschooling: The Teen Years: Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the 13- to 18- Year-Old" BEST of luck -- and welcome (again!) to homeschooling high school! : ) Warmly regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Anything by Cafi Cohen is absolutely terrific! Also, if you can find tapes by Inge Cannon (she doesn't do books), those would be informative. She does high school boot camp seminars.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Look at all the homeschool programs for high school. There's quite a variety and they all put their info on-line, for free. I like to pick and choose whatever fits my idea of "college prep," given his interests. You could also check a few colleges of choice and see what their recommendations/minimums are. The state doesn't require us to count hours and I can't see any other possible use for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 This thread Whine!! I didn't sign up to be guidance counselor! has lots of good advice and a catchy title! Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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