Actually I did file an affidavit for my yougest because I thought I had to. We aren't required to do any reporting in Albania. I believe it's legal for foreigners, but not for nationals. I figured I should have to report to someone. As you can tell, I'm still learning the ropes.

Thank you, Ellie! I will be meeting with a couple veteran homeschoolers here in Albania. I believe that they both homeschool independently (I know at least one does.) and one of them is from California. I'm eager to hear their experience. This forum is such an encouragement and help to me! Thank you WTM forum and posters!

Wouldn't it be best to stick with a PSP that is based in California? We are living out of country, but do still have a home in California. I definitely don't want to pay out of state tuition fees for my dd who will be returning to California for college. Would a PSP like CLASS raise questions about our residency?

My dd will be taking World History as a 10th grader next year. I narrowed it down to BJU, Spielvogel and Notgrass and let her choose. She chose Notgrass. I particularly like the literature component, but that can be easily added to anything you choose. My plan was to use Oak Meadow if we went with Spielvogel.

Thanks, Joan! I will check into ACE. I'm not planning to use their curriculum, but maybe we can still take part in some of their services.

We are currently in Albania where it is not legal to homeschool, but it is not monitored and is an acceptable choice for foreigners. Nationals would have a much harder time, but I hear that some things are in the works. The public schools here are not even an option although there is a great private Christian school, but we can't afford it. We are from California and still have a home there. I filed a private school affidavit (for our youngest) so we are covered by California requirements which is what I'm mostly concerned about. So I think that it varies depending on the country. One of the best things you could do is to begin corresponding with other missionsries from Africa to see what they've done. I have two high schoolers and I do keep in mind the graduation requirements for California when planning our curriculum. Before we left for the mission field we were cautioned by our local high school counselors that the public high school would probably not accept homeschool credits or even those from the private Chritian school here in Albania. It would be difficult to get them to accept courses unless they closely align to what the school is teaching. They also want to see it coming from something that is WASC accredited. This is why we initially enrolled our high schoolers in a California online charter school. This has worked well for one daughter and not so much for the other. We will be making some changes to homeschool one of our high schoolers independently next year. I understand that this decision will more than likely close doors for her to return to our former public high school and I'm ok with that. I don't imagine that will be an issue since we plan to remain in the mission field long term. The point is that you never know what the future holds and it's important to make well informed decisions. The Lord has given me a joy for homeschooling my children which is something I never thought I'd do. Much prayer goes into our planning each year. The plans may turn out differently than we sometimes expect, but we continue to see the Lord's guidance and blessing. Best wishes to you! :001_smile:

I wouldn't hesitate to join a PSP if the cost wasn't an issue. I'm also searching for California PSPs that offer discounted or free services for missionaries.

Laurel, we still have a home in California so we are considered "residence." We did file an affadavit for our youngest this year. It just seems like high school isn't as simple and I don't want to make any huge errors. I'm probably overthinking it. Fear of the unknown is definitely a big factor.

Wow, that looks great (and doable), Lisa! Thank you!!!

Can you tell me why I should or shouldn't use an umbrella school for record keeping and transcripts? I'm a little uneasy about doing this independently and am not sure the services justify the cost. The first year would cost almost $600 which includes two students and a required membership to HSLD. After the first year, the cost would be about $350 per year. I'm on the fence. We live over seas and wouldn't be able to take advantage of all of the PSP's resources. They would provide curriculum guidance and record keeping for attendance, report cards, transcripts and diploma. I would already be doing a good portion of the work by submitting the required course descriptions and information. Please help me decide! This is brand new territory and honestly I find it a bit intimidating.

Thank you for all your suggestions! Do students do the labs along with the DIVE video or just watch them? Would this be considered lab?

Thank you Mumto2! I will check into that. Would this be enough to count as lab even if we had to skip a couple as you have done? We live in Albania and finding some of the supplies may be a challenge. Did you need a microscope or anything along that line?

Thank you Musicmom and Lisa! Is there a particular biology text that offers virtual lab that you would recommend? Cost and location is a factor, but I'd love to include lab if we can.

Our plans are still very tentative, but this is what we are looking at for 10th grade. I would love to hear your thoughts/suggestions. Is this well rounded, too much, on target, etc? A little background: My daughter was in a California public school for K-6, an international private Christian school for 7-8 and an online California charter school for 9th. This will be our first year planning curriculum and homeschooling independently for high school. My dd enjoys creative writing, but I feel that we may need to cover a bit of writing structure as well as a bit of grammar. She will probably attend a community college before going on to college, but I want to keep all the doors open for her to straight to a 4 year university if she chooses. At this point it doesn't appear that she will be a science major so I'm not too concerned about the science lab component. World History - Notgrass Geography - World History Map Activities by Marvin Scott for 1 semester English Comp & Lit - using Notgrass as well as a couple PP lit guides, Easy Grammar Plus & possibly Jensen's Format Writing Geometry - probably Teaching Textbooks Biology - Apologia – probably without labs because of our overseas location Spanish 2 - maybe Breaking the Barrier or Visual Link - still trying to figure out what to use after Rosetta Stone Spanish 1 Fine art- Guitar (my husband will teach and select a book) PE - Aerobics and Volleyball Bible 1/2 credit using Notgrass as is or adding extras for a full credit

Oak Meadow looks good! I was planning on using their course guide if we went with Spielvogel. However, my dd just looked at the textbook and still wants to try Notgrass. There is a Yahoo group for Notgrass users that appears to have some good information. Thanks everyone!

I had my daughter look at samples from BJU and Notgrass and she chose Notgrass. I like the look of Spielvogel too and may show that to her as well, but I have a feeling she will stick with Notgrass. I think the writing suits her and she liked the way it was laid out.

Our plans are still very tentative, but this is what we are looking at: Notgrass Exploring World History (I want to add geography, but am still figuring out what) English Comp & Lit using Notgrass as well as a couple PP lit guides, Easy Grammar Plus & Jensen's Format Writing Geometry (probably TT) Biology (Apologia) Spanish 2 (maybe Breaking the Barrier or Visual Link - still trying to figure out what to use after Rosetta Stone Spanish 1) Fine art- Guitar PE - Aerobics and Volleyball Electives - Bible and Typing

I'm late in the game here, but hope that some of you are still lurking. I'm looking at Notgrass, BJU or Speilvogel for a 10th grade world history course. Planning high school courses is a completely new thing for me. I'm wondering if Spielvogel is too much to cover in a year. Do you have a specific version of Spielvogel that you would recommend? I'd also like to tie in literature without totally overwhelming my dd. She is a very capable student who loves to read, but has only homeschooled one year using an online charter school. This next year will definitely be a learning curve for both of us. Which would you choose and why? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you!

Thank you, Mary! I must admit that I've gone back to leaning towards WHL because it fits nicely into the sequence I'd like to keep and starting with ancients seems like it would overload her schedule her senior year. I do wish we had gone with MFW for 9th grade, but we are still fairly new at this and learning what fits and what doesn't. I am on the look out for used WHL curriculum, but it appears to be hard to come by. Still exploring options, but MFW remains my first choice.

We are first year homeschoolers using Adventures with our second grader and loving it!

Bump :bigear:

Thanks Margaret! I have looked at it and am giving it serious consideration. May I ask what you added? Is it too light on it's own?

I'm hoping to use MFW, but need less expensive options. What's your favorite curriculum for world history?

I just wish the texts had some color ! :-)

I'm also looking at this for next year when my dd will be in 10th grade. I'd love to use MFW for World History, but don't know if I can afford it. Notgrass looks solid on it's own and I like that the literature package can be purchased as well. If I go this route I may throw in another book for bible (maybe Experiencing God youth edition) and include a few lit comp guides and we are set.