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Liza Q

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  1. I should have added that I added so much NF because my son asked me to. It's not that he dislikes all fiction, it's that he just prefers non-fiction. But he wouldn't have the time to read all the biographies, etc. he wanted without my cutting back somewhere. So I decided what I considered the bare minimum of literature - ymmv on that amount - and I filled in with non-fiction. I like the suggestions you have received. Hope one of them works for you!
  2. I have nothing to add to the discussion - but best.comment.ever!!
  3. My oldest did all of her academic work at home with me, though we did out-source art classes. She had no trouble being accepted to a few colleges, with nice scholarship offers from three of them. She is now 26, has her Masters, married - altogether doing well. My youngest is finishing up 11th grade and we outsourced 3 subjects - Physics, Algebra 2, and a few writing classes. I am very pleased with how he is doing and I think it has been money well spent. Different children, different home/family circumstances, different financial situations = different choices. So, yes, it can be done. But take it one year at a time. Be open to choosing what you think is best for your child - and you! - each year for each subject.
  4. This year we've been doing US History and Literature. In addition to short stories, poems, essays, speeches, and excerpts, I've assigned 28 works. 14 were fiction - 2 were plays and the rest were mostly typical HS Lit choices, like Huck Finn, The Call of the Wild, etc., and a few that I just thought he would enjoy, like True Grit. The other 14 were non-fiction - 10 biographies/auto-biographies and 4 regular non-fiction. A few of the them, like Up From Slavery and The AB of B. Franklin, are considered literary works. Some of these books we discussed, some he just read, and none of them were very long. I could have included more non-fiction...but I decided that there had to be about 2/3 "literature" for me to be comfortable calling it American Literature. Maybe you should take a look at a current public High School syllabus, as I believe that the Common Core Standards had added much more of what they call evidence-based reading. Maybe you could get a good idea of how much fiction you really "need". hth!
  5. I was all set to just use a textbook and supplement with a lab kit for some hands-on experiments and youtube videos for whenever he needed a little hand holding. Output would be lab reports and tests. And the textbook I chose is one we actually like better that Discovering Design. But my son has discovered that he actually learns better with online classes...and if we could get in the Monday class it would fit our schedule perfectly...and the price is great...and it's Dr. Wile!!! Well. Probably these classes will fill up so quickly that it will be too late by the time I make up my mind. I am giving myself till Monday to decide, though.
  6. I have made my own sort-of wardrobe in the last 2 years and it has been much better than before. I like to wear jeans, so I have blue and black. I bought blue and black capris as well. Almost all of my tops match blue and black - not too hard. I like comfy t-shirts with long cardigans and cozy sweaters. So my shirts (a few in each different sleeve length) are black, red, purple, blue, and grey or prints that are combinations of those colors. I have blue, black, and grey cardigans that each match almost all of tops. I have clogs, sneakers, sandals, and boots - all black. So I am always casual but I don't have to think too much about stuff matching - it just does. If I want to look dressier - like I am going out to dinner and I decide maybe I want to look a little better - I have a few scarves that look good with all of my solid tops. This would all be easier if I kept all of my tops solid, but I am a sucker for some prints. Those tops, I figure, are interesting enough so I don't worry about dressing them up. So when I get dressed I just have to think about the weather. I wear aprons for cooking/cleaning so I don't really have to think about keeping things from being stained. If I am doing dirty work or scrubbing the floor, I will wear one of the shirts and sweatpants that I use for exercising. Also. I didn't just go out and buy all new stuff. I just realized that I naturally gravitated to black/grey/blue, with a few bright colors. I stopped buying green and tan, which never work for me. And I was always buying skirts and then not wearing them - I had to just give it up. When I first started thinking about a "capsule wardrobe" several years ago, I imagined that I would wear a-line skirts and tights. Nope - I looked ridiculous. Everything I have bought in the past 2 years has matched stuff I already had. I do have 2 dressy tops than only look good with black, so I have a pair of pants just for them. And I have 2 dresses - both black. All of the cardigans look good with them. This sound complicated - but it is not dressy or flowing or fancy-ish. Just me. Of course, this will only keep working if I don't gain/lose any weight. I am at my heaviest weight right now and I actually dread losing weight...becasue I'll have to start getting new clothes! Sounds nice but it's really exhausting.
  7. I did a full year of Ancient History and Literature for my daughters but I knew that would not work well for my son. Instead, I did a 2 yr overview of World History for 9th-10th grades and we focused on Myths and Legends in literature the first year. The only ancient work he read in its entirety was The Iliad. I assigned many excerpts from a World Lit textbook and he read a lot of other books - just not a lot of Ancient Literature. I am planning his senior year now and he asked to read The Odyssey. He really enjoyed The Iliad! I am considering adding The Oresteia...but there other things he wants to read. We'll see.
  8. Afaik, NY does not require Earth Science or actually any particular science - just 2 units during High School. If you haven't already read through the law, here is a link. Scroll down to required courses, grades 9-12 - http://www.nyhen.org/regs.htm That said, I agree with Laura. Go ahead and plan a year of Earth Science if you believe it will benefit your daughter. I think that Biology and Chemistry would also be valuable for a student wanting to be an environmental educator. And there is also an AP Environmental Science course - https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse/ap-environmental-science/course-details
  9. I used SOS Earth Science for my son when he was in the 9th grade. He had used Apologia General and Physical plus Power Basics Chemistry for 7th-8th grades. My primary goals were for him to learn to work more independently, study for tests, and follow a schedule. We were doing all of his other subjects together so it was an inexpensive way to push him to work on his own a bit. And he did ok - kept on track with minimal input from me and passed all of his tests. I think his average was an 86. If your goal is independent and not super difficult, this should work well! Though I would try the Monarch instead if you are at all tech-challenged. I had a very difficult time with making the schedule, understanding how he was supposed to upload some assignments, etc. I have a friend who uses Monarch and she thinks it is easier to manage than SOS. Of course, she may be underestimating my level of tech-challenge-ness!!
  10. You mentioned that your husband is starting a new job and he will have to get up earlier. Will your son coming in later affect his sleep? If so, maybe your husband should speak to your son, sort of man-to-man, about consideration and adult responsibilities. That might have way more weight to your son than just "Mom wants me home early because she is hopelessly out of step." Another thought. Our older girls lived at home through college so we had many years of working our schedules out to accommodate everyone's needs. Work and school, no matter whose, was the priority. I adjusted by learning to go to sleep even if they were out. They adjusted by checking in by text even if they were at the best.party.ever. if their plans had changed. Not coming home 20m later than planned, but not coming home at all, kwim? So maybe I am more relaxed with our son because I've already gone through it with the three girls, so we've all already settled what is reasonable, what works, etc. Last thought lol. My son might be a little behind in his schoolwork but he'll catch-up easily. So I will let him go out socially even if he has some work to do. But if being behind were a regular thing, I wouldn't let him go out just for fun. Work and lessons and team sports are commitments, but pizza and parties are not. Curfew would be the least of his problems!
  11. http://www.chalkdust.com/ https://mathwithoutborders.com/ https://www.askdrcallahan.com/product/algebra/ ETA: Should mention that these all use texts along with the videos.
  12. Bumping up this old thread to ask about scheduling. I bought the text used and my son and I really like it. So i bought the TM and I am starting to plan for the fall. But, in searching online for ideas/labs/etc, I have seen that several schools that use this text change the order of the chapters and leave out a few. For example, 1 syllabus spends 4 weeks on chs 3, 11, and 12, 4 weeks on ch 6 alone, and completely leaves out chs 1, 10, and 17. So. Is it fine/not optimal/too much (I am looking for a solid High School level, not honors, definitely not AP) if we just work through the book? I can schedule history, foreign language, and math texts and I always create my own English courses, but I am not comfortable enough with Chemistry to be able to pick and choose what is most important. Actually, has anyone set up a syllabus/schedule/plan for this text that I can take a look at?
  13. We used it for 1 year - 8th grade, so Pre-Algebra. I think it worked well for my son. We both chose not to continue after a year, though - he was tired of all the work being done on the computer and I thought it was limiting and he needed to get back to working on paper. But it was a good year with a few pros - 1 - he needed to learn to work more independently. I had wanted to use Lials (I had uses it with my oldest) but I knew that he wasn't ready to be let loose with a textbook and we couldn't at that time afford an online class or tutor. 2 - he liked seeing his pie chart and knowing his strengths and watching his own improvement. 3 - I liked how it gave him extra practice where he needed it 4 - I liked that it was hands-off for me, beyond regularly checking to see if he had worked, how long he had worked, and how much he was accomplishing. I don't mind the monitoring, I just mind the math! I think the trial lasted a month.
  14. I used TT for several years and thought it was great, so I did recommend it to some families in my HS group. But why did I think it was great? I didn't have to teach it/understand it myself! And I thought Algebra was Algebra so I never thought that there would be any issue with the content. And my older children have chosen low-math majors and have not needed to go that far in college. FF a few years and now my youngest was in middle school. He had used TT for a few years (I had only used the upper grades with my older children) and wanted something different. We tried a few programs (Math Mammoth and ALEKS) and, even though I am not at all mathy, I saw that they were just going farther. Math Mammoth was "too hard" for us! But I thought he was on grade level!! So I did a little research here and when it came time to choose an Algebra program I asked for help. I was told that TT didn't go as far as other texts did, not that the instruction was actually bad. That matched what I had already noticed. And I found out that the HS TT level books had been revised and now all the work could be done on the computer, just like the younger grades. My older girls had used TT by watching the lessons, doing the work on paper, checking the answers in the TM, and then watching the video solutions for the ones they had wrong. Now the work could be entered in the computer, with hints and second chances. I thought that didn't seem reasonable for high school. So now, if someone asks me about TT (I'm one of the oldest/longest homeschooling moms in my HS group), I explain that the HS books don't go as far as other books I know of. I recommend that they look at the TOC and compare them to other texts. I ask them about their goals for their children. I recommend that they keep a close eye on their children's work, to be sure that they are not doing a lot of guessing. Some families choose it anyway, as the benefits outweigh the cons for them, but at least I am not giving them an unqualified recommendation. Also. I did not choose the most rigorous High School program I could find! But I see my son really learning and wanting to go much further in math in college and I feel confident that he is being well-prepared. And I still don't have to understand/teach it myself!!
  15. I think it has to do with expectations and goals. That sort of FL proficiency was not a goal of mine. My goals were more modest and 2 of my children have reached them and 1 has far exceeded them so I see success in this area! Not total success, as my other child did not even come close...but she is different and I am genuinely pleased with how far she has come, even if she has not met my expectations in any areas. Yes, homeschooling has many shortcomings. No argument there! And I have never had my children in school so while I can attribute all their successes and failures to my homeschooling, I figure that the balance of success to failure is not that different from what it would be if my children had always been schooled, since institutionalized school have their own shortcomings. Just different successes and failures. I am glad that I got to choose!
  16. Exactly! Even most of the parents I know who agree with keeping their children out of the system turn around and structure their homeschool academics to be as much like a school as possible. And so many are keeping the door open to go back to the same institution that they claim failed them. I am not saying that they are wrong (their children, their homeschool, whatever they feel is best for them) - but this thread is about how things have changed..and I have seen a change in this area.
  17. A house with a yard that is also near a great park. Some household help so I would have more time. Tutors for things like music/art/foreign language. A few more online classes if they were exactly what we needed. A few more co-op classes - I would be the one to organize the class/pay for the teacher and I would invite the other teens in our group to take the class with us. Like debate and Spanish - we lost our teachers (who did it for free!) and our group has agreed that it would be too expensive to hire another teacher/rent a space. More travel...but like a few weeks a year, not so much that it disrupted our regular life. ETA: Oh yes - like others have said - tickets to everything! We'd see Anne-Sophie Mutter this weekend at Carnegie Hall....sigh.
  18. We do 3 things. 1. If we are picking him up, we consider the event and then pick him up when it is convenient for us. 2. If he is being driven home by the parents of one of his friends (none of his friends drive) or the youth pastor (who often drives a bunch of kids home), we let it go. I make sure I have a general idea of when the event will be over and I expect a text if things are running late. 3. If he is taking the subway/bus home, we expect him home by 10, even on the weekends. He calls/texts when he leaves. There are some things we won't let him do unless he will definitely get a ride home, as it is too late/far to get home by mass transportation early enough. And we always know where he is heading. If things change, he lets us know. And he knows that we would not respond well to "just a little more time" unless it was accompanied by "and Mr. so-and-so will drive me home". ETA: I forgot to add - I will let him stay out later than I would like even if it disrupts my sleep because my husband/daughter are not awakened when he gets home late. And I am willing to put up with the inconvenience because I can sleep in or catch a nap the next day if I need to. And...youth group is only every other week. And... his friends are either in school or have totally different home school schedules, so he doesn't get together with them often. So when he has the chance, I prioritize it...so long as my husband can get to sleep on time. Which means a ride!
  19. 1. Suppose you're a homeschool mom looking for high school science textbooks. You have two options: A well written, high quality text that references evolution as a valid scientific theory or a lesser quality Christian text. What do you choose? Today, high quality secular textbook, and discussed my beliefs and Genesis and shared a few online articles so they would understand exactly what Creation science was/meant. 12 years ago....I would have used the Christian text and supplemented with library books so I was sure that they learned exactly what evolution was/meant. And I have done both! 2. Do you perceive Christian homeschoolers to be more intimidated by science than other subjects? Why? Yes...but more because science and math are "hard" than the possibility that their child will encounter evolution in a book. But 3. Is evolutionary content a big issue for you in teaching science? Why? Yes...because I believe God created the heavens and the earth but I don't believe in a literal 6-day creation and making sure that my children see more than one pov is important to me. 4. Do you feel that many Christians feel threatened by evolutionary content? Why? Yes. If it is true it means that Genesis is not literal and then how do you pick and choose what in the Bible is literal and what is not? It used to worry me more because I am just not well educated enough/smart enough to really understand what I read about evolution. But now I think...it's ok if I don't know how God works. I believe that he works and that is enough for me. 5. What are the results of Christians homeschooled kids not being exposed to evolutionary content in high school? Don't know for sure. At any time they can choose to learn about it so not knowing doesn't have to be permanent. But if they are not exposed out of fear and they are too afraid to read something for fear of it wrecking their faith....that's a weak faith, I think. Any other thoughts on this concept? I see that lots of people have posted since I started so I'm going to read more before I say anything else!
  20. I see a few things. The Internet has made everything so much easier!! Searching for books. Comparing curriculum. Online classes. This message board :hurray: The parents I know who are trying to replicate PS at home are keeping their options open. Many of them have had their kids in and out of school enough that they want smooth transitions. And they seem to....it's odd. For all the talk about homeschooling being better, they seem to mean the family time and not having to follow the school schedule. They are not really interested in curriculum. ETA: Another thing. I don't know if this is just our local homeschool group but...hardly anyone homeschools eclectically. We have ABeka families. A few unschoolers. Monarch. All online classes. Classical Conversations. Public-school style curriculum. A few old-school Sonlighters and Calverters. At least one My Father's World family. But choosing something specific for each subject for each child seems more and more rare.
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