How about... *pursuing his passion in-depth if he hasn't had time to do so during the school year *trying something entirely new (like rock wall climbing, photography, fencing, cooking, etc.) *entering contests (depending on what he's good at and/or likes to do) such as art, writing, etc. *starting a small business just for the summer (lawn care/landscaping?)...not exactly FUN, but a nice way to build responsibility & grow the bank account *entering a 5k race *planning some family day trips (choose the destination, map the route, figure the costs, set a budget, etc.)

Have you checked into your local library to see if they offer such classes? My county library does not, but the next county over (which is much bigger & therefore has a bigger budget & better library) offers lots of free computer classes on Powerpoint, Excel, and even basic web design. Also, depending on what state you live in, many states now offer virtual school courses for free. For example, we live in Florida so we can take Florida Virtual School courses for free, and they offer computer courses. Worth checking into.

We bought Toon Boom for my 14yo son, and he's just starting to learn it, even though we bought it a few years ago. He enjoys it so far. (I think we've got an older version, perhaps version 4.5. The company has since updated the software, so it's probably even better.) You can read more about it at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Toon+Boom&x=0&y=0.

The 2nd edition features Michael Geisen, a brown haired, former middle school science teacher who looks about 35. Here's his bio from TTC: "Geisen was selected from among millions of public school educators to serve as the National Teacher of the Year in 2008. In this prestigious position, he helped educators and policy makers meet the unique needs of today's students. Named the 2009 Outstanding Teacher in K-12 Education by the Oregan Academy of Sciences, Geisen has been featured in numerous books and media appearances."

I'm using the new edition w/ my 6th grader & 9th grade boys. I can't compare it to the older one, but I can say that I think the new one is pretty good. They teacher (Michael Geisen) is kind of funny, which the boys like. And he covers topics relevant to all students (working in groups, taking notes, learning styles, etc.), even though the lectures are obviously geared to students in a public/private school environment. Nevertheless, I've found the info to be helpful, especially having it come from someone besides me. ;) And I'm having the boys practice their note-taking skills while they watch the lectures, so they're putting to good use some of the info they just learned. I bought the course on sale ($29, I think) and have found it worthwhile.

What John Stossel DVDs? Are they still free? How can we get them? Please share. :001_smile:

We'll be studying the middle ages in the spring. Thanks so much for the recommendation. This looks like a fun, interesting read!

If you have regular access to a computer, try these FREE resources: www.khanacademy.org - excellent for lots of math (high school level subjects from algebra thru calculus & more) & science (high school level biology, chemistry, physics & more) www.learner.org - from Annenberg Foundation, excellent video-based courses for high school & college in subjects such as arts, foreign language, literature, language arts, math, science, & social studies (Visit the resources page to browse by subject & grade level: http://www.learner.org/resources/browse.html) http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-open-courseware-projects - lists Open Courseware, which is free, online, college-level material but still accessible (and very doable) by high school students. Open courseware projects often offer lecture notes, chapters or entire textbooks online, illustrations, charts, and other tools that help the reader learn a given subject. They are provided free by many of the top colleges, including MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, Johns Hopkins University, Notre Dame, etc. Also, you mentioned that being completely home schooled and dropping out of public school is not a possibility. However, even as a public school student, you might have access to free virtual public school courses that you can take in addition to (or instead of) one or two (or more?) public school classes. It depends on what state you live in, but in FL, for example, Florida Virtual School (FLVS) is available for free to FL students, whether they are homeschooled or in public/private school. FLVS offers regular, honors & AP online courses in all core subjects plus electives. Many public/private school students take these virtual classes to supplement (and sometimes replace) a few of the classes they're taking at a traditional school. Depending on your school, you might be able to use your school's computer to work on these courses during the regular school day. If you're a junior, consider dual enrollment, where you take courses at your local community college and you'll receive both high school and college credit for them. In my particular county, high school students can take the courses for free, the required course textbooks are provided free and the school district even provides free transportation to/from the college campus. For two specific, inexpensive high school textbooks, here are my suggestions: World History: Spielvogel's Human Odyssey or Western Civilization. I bought a used copy of Western Civ. for about $5 on Amazon.com. My book also has a free companion website that helps you study the key concepts & vocabulary, maps, illustrations, timelines, etc. Health: Total Health: Choices for a Winning Lifestyle. I bought my used copy (along w/ a teacher's guide) for $10 at a used book sale. However, you can also find it cheaply on Amazon.com Hope these ideas help! Best of luck to you.

I would definitely ask your teen what he/she would prefer. If no preference, then simply map out a plan that you feel comfortable with. Here's what we're doing: 9th: Ancients to Renaissance (a la WTM, but condensed) 10th: Reformation to Modern (a la WTM, but condensed) 11th: U.S. History 12th: Economics/U.S. Government This will keep us in the same chronological order w/ both history & literature. Plus, it meets/surpasses our state graduation requirements, which I use to help guide our course of study. Hope this helps!

:lurk5:

BTDT with my 6th grader. Not at Algebra yet, but he and I butt heads particularly in math (his strength, my weakness). He would get SO mad at me when he didn't understand something, and I didn't know how else to explain a concept to him after several attempts. The BEST solution for us was to outsource this subject. He takes pre-algebra classes thru FLVS (FL Virtual School) and does SO much better handling his frustrations. I am almost out of the equation (excuse the pun). I help when I can, and when he gets too frustrated, I just say, "Call your teacher." This has relieved a LOT of stress in our homeschooling. Lisa

Lori, thanks for sharing the schedule ... and for the insights about not moving too fast just to squeeze the course in during the summer. MUCH appreciated!

Lori, what a GREAT idea! Do you happen to have a syllabus/outline/etc. for this economics course that you could share? I was thinking of outsourcing the economics course, but I like the materials you pulled together. This looks very doable as a 0.5 credit course, maybe over the summer.

We have not yet done formal logic, but it seems more intense and more structured than informal logic/critical thinking. Here is a description of one of the formal logic curriculums recommended by SWB: http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/index_logic.htm. This is the curriculum we plan to use. I like that they offer DVDs for self-study and even an online course if you don't want to teach logic. Both my 6th & 9th grade sons are currently doing informal logic/critical thinking. We are using a combination of the following resources: * Critical Thinking: Books 1 & 2 (This is from Critical Thinking Press, but it is not the same book as the Building Thinking Skills that you mentioned.) * The Art of Argument (much better than Fallacy Detective) * The Thinking Toolbox (for next summer) * A Rulebook for Arguments (9th grader only is reading/outlining this) Next year, both boys will start formal logic. From my understanding, a younger student will probably need to stretch formal logic over 2 years, which is what my then-7th grader will do. He will also be reading/outlining A Rulebook for Arguments then. My older son will be completing formal logic 1 & 2 at a faster pace in 10th grade. So they will not be able to work together in this course. Hope this helps.

Thank you for giving my brain a nudge with the creative ideas. I can see DS enjoying just about everything you all suggested. Thanks for the inspiration! :001_smile:

Thank you for the ideas -- especially the architecture and costume design slant. I never thought of that. And we watch quite a bit of history/lit-related movies, so sketching scenes would be another great way to incorporate more drawing. Laurie4B, I'm looking for ways to give him a legitimate reason to do something he likes (draw), while still learning high school level material in world history and English. DS often gives me the bare minimum when I give him a typical assignment like writing an essay, outlining the history text, etc. But any time I incorporate drawing into some element of an assignment, he will give me 110% effort because he loves drawing. So, while I do still give him the typical writing & outlining assignments, I also want to spice things up and tap into his passion, but do it in a way that is truly meaningful and relevant to what we're studying. In doing so, he gets to do what he loves while I get to see his best effort. Does that make sense?

My 9th grade DS LOVES to draw, and I try to incorporate drawing into assignments quite a bit in our history and literature studies. But my brain is fried and I'm looking for some creative ideas on allowing him to draw while still learning at a high school level. Some creative things we've done so far: notebooking pages that incorporate drawing and writing (for taking notes during lectures or while reading Spielvogel history text), creating a newspaper of Ancient Greece, drawing a comic strip of a key scene in the Iliad, hand-drawing maps of various ancient civilizations, illustrating short biography cards, creating a "Wanted" poster for a character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, etc. Any other ideas?

There's a great book of small group math games/activities suitable for middle school called "Family Family Math: The Middle School Years" by Virginia Thompson and Karen Mayfield-Ingram. You can read the reviews and buy it used on Amazon for less than $4: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/091251129X?SubscriptionId=0QCHRJVSKG6F3BRGBNG2&tag=pbs_00004-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=091251129X Games involve simple supplies such as cards, dice, pen, paper, calculators, etc. Although the book is written to encourage families to enjoy math games together at home, the activities seem suitable to adapt to a middle school classroom. Not sure if they would appeal to high schoolers, tho. You could see a sample activity here: http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/equals/pdfs/ms_cats.pdf. And you can preview the table of contents and a few other pages: http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/equals/browse/EQbkmid.html.

9th grade DS took PSAT cold this year, with these results: Critical Reading: 63 Math: 59 Writing: 52 Score: 174 I'm pleased with the results knowing he did no prep and still scored well. I'll be slowly building in some prep work before he takes PSAT in 10th grade, doing things such as timed essays, answering the SAT question of the day, building vocabulary, etc. And then prior to taking the SAT in 11th, DS will work his way through a prep book or the College Prep Genius course I've heard so much about.

Yes, we've just started using this book about once or twice a week as a fun way to supplement grammar. My two boys (ages 11 & 14) enjoy the ongoing story (included in the book) and like spotting the errors. It's a quick and painless way to reinforce previous concepts and make grammar somewhat bearable. I don't use it to introduce new concepts, tho.

Just wondering -- do you not live near a public school or are you near a public school that is not homeschool-friendly? I say this because I homeschool my 9th grader, but he takes 2 classes at our local public school (art & band). The guidance counselor there has been very helpful in getting him signed up for the right classes, working with him on some scheduling issues, helping him get signed up to take the PSAT, etc. If I needed any college planning advice, I would not hesitate to ask her for guidance. If that's not an option, I would talk with a trusted adult to help you through the process -- parent, aunt, uncle, neighbor, your friends' parents, etc. At the very least, they might be able to point you to some resources or to the right person who could help you through the process. Also, I'm not that familiar with it, but I believe there's a website called College Confidential that helps with the college-planning process. And, of course, I'm sure your local librarian could point you toward some good college-planning books. Of course, these aren't quite the personal assistance you're looking for, but being more informed does help you ask the right questions when you do get more personal assistance. I know college planning does seem like a daunting task, but help is out there. Just keep asking. Best of luck to you!

I've heard such great things about AoPS. I'm hesitant to use it, tho, since I'm not mathy. I was ready to outsource math for pre-algebra and beyond. Can a 6th grader enroll in the online courses without parental involvement? My fear is that he will be stuck at some point, and I will not be able to help him.

DS is in 9th grade and working thru Critical Thinking Books 1 & 2. We're also working in "The Art of Argument" from Classical Academic Press to learn about informal fallacies. Next year, for 10th grade, he will tackle formal logic. Since SWB recommends "The Art of Argument," I was wondering if the next book in CAP's logic series, The Discovery of Deduction: An Introduction to Formal Logic, would be on par with Memoria Press's "Traditional Logic 1." Can anyone compare the two for me?

I cannot vouch for either of these programs (and I don't know if you can adapt them for a month-long study), but I was impressed with the description of "The Art of Poetry" at http://classicalacademicpress.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=23. And, I just ordered (from IEW) "The Grammar of Poetry," which seems to be more of trying to understand the structure and poetic elements of poems (iambic pentameter, dactyl and other poetic words I do not yet understand!). Thought I'd mention them just in case.

We're taking a break in between the Iliad & the Odyssey to read some Aesop's Fables and perhaps do some kind of fun project related to the fables. Does anyone know of any relevant links/resources/project ideas/lesson plans for the high school level? I found tons of things for elementary school, but no luck for high school. Of course, I could pull something together myself, but I was hoping not to have to recreate the wheel, as this is not a big focus in our study of ancient literature this year.