My dd is going to nursing school. I am really concerned about the jump from homeschool to nursing school. So I am planning on the following: 1. Work with her to develop good note taking skills both from lectures (at our homeschool group) and textbooks. 2. Help her develop good methods for studying. 3. Giving her most of the responsibility for her school work. She will need to read and follow the syllabus for each class. I want to help her plan out her time so nursing school won't be such a shock. 4. Work more on her essay writing skills. She isn't a writer and this is a struggle for her. I am looking forward to seeing what others feel are important skills to prepare our seniors for college.

Well, I graduated HS 27 years ago. Wow seems like a really long time when I actually type it out. Never in a million years did I think I would be here. Graduated HS thinking I was going to law school and graduated instead with a BS in chemistry. Married my best friend who never fails to make me laugh. After meeting my wonderful dh, I found Christ. We are raising 3 amazing dc. Never thought I would home school until my youngest (ds) was ready for kindergarten. I didn't want to send him away. I had a dear friend who decided to homeschool her three dc and showed me I could do it as well. Seven years later we are going strong. My oldest dd will be a senior in the fall. I can't even believe where the time has gone. I am blessed in more ways than I could have ever imagined. DH and I both have stable jobs. I can work pt at home. My dc are healthy and happy. Homeschooling has been an amazing journey for us. Easy, no; amazing, yes! I wouldn't trade this incredible ride for anything in the world! Now I had better get back to the stack of paperwork calling my name. The joys of working from home!

Yesterday my dd (11th grade) took her SAT for the 2nd time. I asked her what she thought and she said it was better. However the writing was still a challenge for her. She actually said to me, "Mom, they must teach PS kids something different. All the PS kids around me wrote 2 full pages for their essays and I could barely finish a page". This is my child who hates writing. I have had her in 2 outside the home writing classes and last year we did IEW at home. I really felt she was "getting it". Now I am doubting myself. She understands what a paragraph needs (topic sentence, supporting evidence, and concluding sentence) but her writing sounds exactly like she speaks. Also her paragraphs are not well developed. I also realize that she has never had to take an essay test. And with her senior year coming up I need to get her prepared for college writing and testing. I am considering putting her in a writing class at our co-op. Does anyone have advice??? I am just panicking at this point and don't know what direction to head for her senior year. I am struggling with the feeling of failing her. Thanks for listening.......

Sue, I am currently planning out Breaking the Barrier French 1 for my dds. I think if you took it slow, a 7th grader could do the Spanish 1. Have you looked at Spanish for Children? I am using it with my 7th grade ds in the fall. I wanted something to give him an intro to the language before we delve into it in 9th grade. It seems meaty enough for a Jr. High student.

Chris, Can I ask a couple of questions? Did you make up the Constitution worksheet or find it on the internet? For the paper you required on a major bill, court case, or program, what major points did you want to see them cover in the paper? I am designing a government class for my dd and your ideas sound awesome. Thanks

Before the end of the 9th grade year, our district will take returning home school students. After that, I was told from my evaluator not to bother trying. They won't take you. I don't know how they get away with "not taking you". We did have one family take the district to court and the district won. This family decided not to incur more court cost by appealing the decision and let it drop.

Wow! And I thought PA had restrictive laws...... We don't even have to have a child evaluated until they turn 8 years of age. You are doing a fine job with a K'er. Don't let anyone make you doubt that for one second. I personally think that a ps K teacher had to find something negative to say. I agree with the posters who have said that she was probably intimidated by your ds. Keep up the awesome job!!!

Sounds great! Only we need to throw in some 80's hairband music as well! So I sat down with dd this afternoon and casually talked about college. She does really want to try for the hospital nursing school. But she also wants to check out the CC as well. So we signed up for both open houses. We talked in general about the SAT. She felt that she needed a little more prep with math. So I told her which SAT math prep DVD's to use and put them out on the table. I told her that if she felt she needed the review they were there to watch. I wouldn't be checking up on her that it was totally up to her. She seemed really good with that. We will see how the week goes. I think she knows that I will be here for her but she needs to be taking on the responsibility. Thanks to everyone for your great advice. I really have lots to think through.

Nancy, I can sympathize. My father has many racial prejudices. When my dc were younger, he would make very off-color comments. Finally one day I got up the nerve and said, "Dad I would appreciate it if you would keep those comments to yourself. I am not raising my children that way". That was all I needed to say. He has respected my decision and never made any more comments. Not sure if talking to your mil would help or not. I know in my situation it did.

Thanks Liz. I think I needed to hear that. Thanks everyone else for your responses. I know in some areas she is not ready to grow up. She has always been my most emotionally needy child. And quite frankly it has taken my focus away from my other children at times. I am starting to wonder how much of this is her way of rebeling? As I thought about this last night I realize that she wants to go to CC for nursing. However I have talked to several friends who are in the field she wants and all have said the hospital school is much better. What she wants to do is labor and delivery and it is very hard to get into that area where we live. Should I just tell her if CC is what she wants to do then the decision is hers? Maybe that's where she starts..... Thanks for listening.

I just need to vent. My 17 year old dd who will be a senior is so frustrating. She has required lots of hand holding to get things done. She is my dc who always does the bare minimum of school work and if I don't check up on her daily will skip assignments she doesn't like or those that require any amount of work or effort. She is a very bright child just totally not motivated. She took her SAT last year and didn't do very well. I purchased lots of prep material and worked through it with her and she still did poorly. Fast forward to now..... SAT's are next Saturday. She has been "doing" SAT prep the last several months. I question how much "doing" she has been doing. I just decided today that I am done. This is all on her now. I am tired of nagging and tired of worrying about it. It is her future and she will be 18 in October. She wants to go to nursing school. The best school in our area requires SAT scores higher than the ones she has and it is very competetive. I guess I am realizing that this child may need a dose of reality and the real world before she gets serious about life. She works a part time job right now and says this is not what she wants to do the rest of her life. I guess if there was a college major in texting your friends she would be a whole lot more motivated. Has anyone else experienced this? Any words of wisdom? Thanks

Sue, You and your dh have made the right decision. Just stick to your guns. My ds is 12 as well and there have been many days this school year where I thought I would pull my hair out of my head (the pre-teen attitude and mouth). But it is my dh and my God-given responsibility to train him up the right way. What helped us the most was my dh just sitting my son down occasionally and reminding him of how a godly man behaves. You can do this!!!!!! :thumbup: Trust in the Lord and lean on Him for strength. Blessings

My advice would be to talk with your evaluator about what is expected based on the school district you are in. According to my evaluator, in my county almost every district has different ideas about what is required. Some are very relaxed and don't even want to see the portfolio; others require it all. Your evaluator will also tell you what she expects to see. My daily log lists what the kids do each day. It is my way of teaching them to be responsible. They fill it out each morning from my master planner and then check off things as they are completed. It is what works for our family. My portfolios are based on what my evaluator expects to see and what my district wants as well. Yours may be totally different. I live in a not very homeschool friendly district.

Don't forget to include any health checkups required (unless you opt out for religious reasons). We include a summary showing 180 days of school, reading list, and curriculum list all from homeschool tracker. We also include a daily log. Some people do a check off list others, like me, have my dc fill in an assignment book. I also include any standardized testing required and health info. Then I have page protectors for each subject area. I try to include a picture and always write a summary of what we did (1-2 paragraphs). I include 8-10 samples of their best work. For something like art, I take pictures of their art work and copy them into a Word document on the computer. For writing I make sure to include at least one rough draft (my evaluator says if I show a rough draft, that's all I need for grammar instruction but I always do a separate grammar program). I take pride in these as they are memories for my dc. They love to get their portfolios down from previous years and go through them. It is really a nice thing to have. I don't view it as a chore for the state but something special for my kids. HTH

I am a conservative as well. I feel that these changes are biased. Maybe the PS system should stop worrying about pushing an agenda and start teaching students to think critically and develop their own opinions. Just one of many reasons my dc are not in the ps system. It all just makes me sad....

Thanks for all the additional info!!! I am going to look through those today. :001_smile: I now have some ideas for the Canterbury Tales. Anyone else for which ones we should do? I did order a Beowulf translation so I am adding that to the list. So much more to research.....

Wow! You all have given me great suggestions. My oldest has read several Dicken's novels and he is one of her favorite authors. My youngest read A Christmas Carol last year. So that explains the lack of Dickens on the list. She will read more in 12th grade (we will do American Lit in 11th). Lynn: Thanks for the input on The Heart of Darkness. I was questioning that one as I remember it from HS and really didn't enjoy it. We did Romeo and Juliet last year. My girls same a modern day adaptation of Mid-Summer Night's Dream and that is what they requested. I would love to do Macbeth as it is one of my personal favorites. I am going to see if we can fit it in. Lori: Thanks for the suggestion of summer reading. My 10th grade dd is going to read the LOTR trilogy. My oldest is going to read Jane Eyre over the summer since my youngest will loathe it (she is a LOTR kind of a girls not a romance girl). I am going to spend the weekend investigating the great ideas given here. You all are a wealth of knowledge! Many, many thanks!!!! :001_smile:

Ok, I am planning a British lit class at home for my dd's grades 10 and 12. So far this is what I've come up with: Canterbury Tales (selected tales - any recommendations?) Mid-Summer Night's Dream Pride and Prejudice Frankenstein Jane Eyre Heart of Darkness Animal Farm (10th grader) 1984 (12th grader - she already read Animal Farm) Robinson Crusoe Gulliver's Travels Alice In Wonderland (something light and fun) Peter Pan (10th grader - already read Alice in Wonderland) The Time Machine Short Stories (any recommendations for ones not to miss?) Poetry unit (any recommendations for ones not to miss?) We will use a variety of methods: read alouds, books on CD and silent reading. There will be a few writing assignments and lots of discussion as we read together. How does this look? Thanks

Thanks for all the great ideas! I have lots to look through and plan. :001_smile:

I am trying to create a British lit class for my 2 dd's. I am looking for a resource to use for British poets. Can anyone recommend one for me? I looked a LLATL Gold but are there any others? Thanks

I have also experienced similar things in a co-op where I teach chemistry and earth science. There are some really great students but also a few bad apples. It is so frustrating when you prep to teach a class and students don't study, don't turn in homework, etc. I always offer to help students outside my classes but rarely have anyone take me up on the offer. I would not offer a make up test. I find the students who would benefit from it won't put the effort in to do well the second time around. I would put the grade on the test: 33/100 = 33% and let it go at that.

Literature by far! Give me math and science anyday. :001_smile:

I am soooo thrilled! I am going to CHAP this year in Harrisburg strictly to hear Andrew Pudewa. I am really disappointed in the speaking line up this year. I really want seminars on how to teach certain subjects not things I can get a church each week. The Philly conference looks promising. Count me in! Finally sounds like something I am looking for. :001_smile:

My dd will be taking the following: Precalculus (Lials) Chemistry (Apologia) Government and Economics (Notgrass) HS Literature (at our co-op) Finishing Analytical Grammar IEW Advanced Communication Series and Character Based Writing Lessons French 1 (Breaking the French Barrier 1) Personal Finance (Money Matters for Teens) Bible

Sue, My 9th grade dd is finishing up R&S 7 right now. It was definately challenging for her and she is a strong grammar student.