So, it looks like she has done this so far -- is this correct? Literature - To Kill a Mockingbird (PS class) - The Yearling (home) - The Chosen (home) Writing - writing/analysis project (PS class) - primary source analysis (PS class) - Bravewriter (Essay Prep: Dynamic Thinking) Grammar/Vocab - vocabulary study (PS class) - No Red Ink (home) ___________________ I totally understand that being on a block schedule throws everything off, as it sounds like she did no English in the fall semester, which means having to jam a full year of work into one semester now that she's home -- and reading and writing for an English credit are time-consuming activities. So I would guess you'll need to either double up a bit to finish well by the end of May, OR, go into June for a bit for a complete 1.0 credit course. JMO! 🙂 In case it helps for comparison: when I teach 1.0 credit English courses at my co-op, for each SEMESTER, students read 4 novels + several short stories or a play, and write 4-5 short (300-500 word (3-5 paragraph) essays + 1 longer (3-5 page) paper -- an analysis essay, or research paper with citations. Based on that, I would shoot for the following as a minimum for 1.0 credit of English: Literature: - at least 1 more novel* - and several short stories - and a poetry unit -- or -- a play * = a total of 6 novels for a 1-year/1 credit high school English course is pretty standard as a minimum, so only 4 novels would be "light" -- BUT, if doing all 3 of the Brave Writer courses (plus the work from the PS), then this English credit could be more weighted towards Writing rather than Literature, and would be worth a complete 1.0 credit Writing ideas: - do the next 2 Brave Writer courses in that 3-part series (she's doing part 1 of the 3 right now) - OR, several short reader response papers (1-5 paragraphs in response to a discussion question on each of several works) - OR, a longer (3-5 page) paper of some kind - OR, some real-world writing, creative writing, or journalism of some sort if she has an interest in those types of writing - OR, practice putting together and giving several oral presentations with slideshow element (public speaking is frequently an aspect of one of the years of a high school English class, and giving presentations with slideshow is very frequently required for college classes of all types, as well as for many types of jobs) Just my rambling 2 cents worth. BEST of luck as you plan for the rest of this unexpected homeschool high school semester! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Naturally Dyed Eggs Doily Stenciled Eggs Marbled Indigo Eggs Transferware Easter Eggs DIY Dyed Robin Eggs Whipped Cream Eggs Watercolor Eggs Galaxy Eggs Temporary Tattoo Eggs Botanical Egg Designs Silk-Dyed Eggs

Here's a list of common plants/parts that are toxic to deadly if ingested (dogs and kids sometimes try out plant parts). Hogweed, Giant Hogweed, and to a lesser amount, Queen Anne's Lace, can cause severe blistering of skin and blindness if it gets in the eye.

Spy Car's very cool posts about growing his own herbs from purchased cuttings reminds me to get going on my own "herb work". For the past number of years, I've been growing/cutting/drying my own bay leaf, basil, mint, oregano, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Living in a very dry climate makes drying herbs a snap, and I am at the point where, if I *remember* to keep up with the cutting/drying throughout the spring and again in the fall (the high growth times for herbs out here), I can just about keep up with my own cooking demands for those herbs. One of these days I hope to add dill and a few others to my herb pots! And while cilantro doesn't stand up to the hot sun *at all*, because of the cooler-than-usual spring (for us), I'm having fantastic luck this year -- two very full plants, with extra tall stems, and leaves of a size I've never seen before! And no sign of "bolting to seed" yet, so for dinners, we're having everything I can think of that has cilantro in the ingredients list, LOL. Check this out:

Yea Bear2K! Congratulations on your successful grad at college, and wishing you all a great journey as you finish up the other children in homeschool high school. Just to add on to Bear2K's encouragement -- there's lots of great help, wisdom, and BTDT experience to tap into on the WTM High School Board. Iif you're approaching the high school years, check out the big pinned thread at the top of the High School Board: "High School Motherlode #1". That is full of links to meaty past threads on all kinds of helpful topics, including: - High School Time Table (what to do/when for each year of high school)- Preparing for High School- Addressing Fears- Getting Started- Books & Resources- Making a High School Plan- Time Management- High School on a Budget- Expectations/Attitudes- Accreditation / Cover Schools - Plus: threads on all the tests: AP, PSAT, SAT/ACT, SAT Subject tests, CLEP There are also pinned threads to help you research high school curricula: Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Foreign Language. And there's also a pinned thread of "High School Motherlode #2", with links to past threads on more homeschooling high school topics: - Transcripts / Record Keeping - Credits - Grading / GPA - Honors Courses - Record Keeping / Course Descriptions / Letter of Recommendation / Volunteering - Graduation topics / Diplomas - High School Subjects (Writing, Sciences (other than Biology/Chemistry/Physics, and Electives) - Making Your Own Courses - Extracurricular Activities - Outsourcing - Online Classes - Tutors - Dual Enrollment And in the later years of homeschooling high school, and if thinking about college, there's are two pinned threads at the top of the WTM College Board to help you out: "What are you favorite websites for researching colleges?" -- tons of helpful info on how to do the college search process "College Motherlode" -- linked past threads on just about every topic for applying to, and starting at, college, plus threads on the Military, Alternatives to college, and Career Exploration Enjoy the wisdom of The Hive! Warmest regards, Lori D.

As long as both you and DD are good with the likelihood of adult topics or potentially explicit personal experiences that some of the fellow students may present, that could work.

A lot of language gets lost with a gap, so it may just be easier to start over again in high school, and not worry about the 8th grade course -- i.e., just consider the 8th grade course an introduction or preview. In looking at your signature, you've got a full load of courses and extracurriculars, and I imagine that will be the case for every year of high school, so it wouldn't be a big deal to not count the 8th grade Foreign Language. JMO! 🙂

If it was of high school rigor, and if the student continued with the next level of the same language into high school, then yes. (example: did Spanish I in 8th grade and Spanish II in 9th grade) If the student did not continue with that same foreign language in to high school, or more just "dabbled" in 8th grade and pretty much started over with the same foreign language in 9th grade, then no, I would not.

Yes, that's what our homeschool group's Student Council and Youth activities is all about -- drop off events (with a small handful of adults) for socializing, fun, or community service, with no younger siblings. It is a special event at the end of each school year when there is the end-of-the-year party and the 5th graders who will be 6th grade are invited to attend and see what it's all about, and meet the older youth. :) Some of the Youth (gr. 6-12) social events include things like: - a hike - air soft / paintball / laser tag - rock climbing or trampoline venue - game night (play board/card games and have snacks) - mini-golf / go karts / etc. - parties of different types (swim party; Christmas party; costume party) - movie night (family with a video projector projects a movie, and kids bring snacks) For the Junior High group social events, the groups are much smaller -- maybe 6-10 kids, so the activities can be more intimate. For example, the girls have done special crafts, stamping/making cards, jewelry making, or made some baked goods together. For 10 years, I coordinated the speakers for our annual Youth Seminar, an event for grades 6-12 and parents -- a sort of careers-day speakers + demos, hands-on, speakers on teen topics (such as driving), and organizations that youth could get involved with -- anything from Search & Rescue, to Community Youth Theater, to Worldview Academy. And usually a "track" of sessions for older students or parents on things like college search, college reps, alternatives to college, etc. SUPER fun event! We started the day with a keynote speaker, and then had 6 45-minute time slots, with 3-4 speakers in each, so students could choose which speaker to go to at each time slot. And we served lunch halfway through the day. The last few years I was involved, I was lining up 25-28 sessions, and we were getting 150-180 people attending. Whew!

When my boys hit middle school, I organized a series of field trips that were JUST for grades 6-12 and parents. That was great! However, as long as I had several other moms who were attending, I allowed drop-off, as some parents had younger children and just couldn't always find child care or swap care.

FYI: I've been teaching Lit. & Comp co-op classes for middle school and high school students in my homeschool group over the past 7 years, and in almost every class I have at least 1, if not more, teenaged students with dyslexia or low-reading issue, and multiple students with very low writing abilities. As a result, I do NOT have the students do ANY writing *in class*, or require out-loud reading in class, so as to not shame struggling students. Unless you hand-pick all your families/students, you WILL very likely have older age students who can't do some of the grade-level work. That's not necessarily a bad thing -- all of those students have been great and have contributed in other ways -- BUT, it has meant a LOT of extra work for ME to find work-arounds for in-class activities, and individually adapting writing assignments the students do at home so that these students can have success and move forward from where they are. I have never seen that wide of an age spread in a single class. I can't image putting a 1st grader in with teens. 😳 I've only ever seen co-ops that had hard age or grade limits for each class -- like: ages 4-5, or ages 6-8. Or like: grades 3-5; grades 4-6; grades 7-8; grades 9-12. Finding an affordable facility is hard -- most charge a use-fee, and/or cleaning fee, and/or insurance. So if you have a small group, it is a big facility cost even spread amongst the families of a smallish co-op. On the other hand, keeping the co-op very small -- say, 5-8 families at most, means you could meet in homes, and not have the facility headache. It also means you can hand-pick / invite only the families you know who have similar goals and desires. That also will probably eliminate trouble-maker students and potential class behavior issues. And smaller groups tends to mean students are not so apt to cause trouble anyways. JMO, but I really think that is ONLY going to work if the parents DON'T have younger students. Having to stay, AND having to either teach or plan events stretches them too thin. re: parents staying From my experience of watching co-ops come and go in my town for the past 18 years, I see parents wanting/needing to drop-off for older students. OR, the co-op also offers classes for their younger kids. Or, at LEAST the facility has some classrooms available for parents to sit with and work with their younger children while older child is in class. Requiring parents to stay on site for a teen student means many families won't sign up. I get around this by allowing drop-off, charging for my classes, and offering two scholarships each semester -- in exchange for a parent staying and being my in-class assistant for half of the classes for the semester (and the other parent for the other half of the classes), I gift those two parents with either part or all of the class fee. That way, I always have a second adult in class, AND parents can drop-off/pick-up as needed, or older students can drive themselves. re: parents either teach or plan events Even "enrichment only" classes meeting 2x/month require quite a bit of outside-of-class time by the parent who is doing the teaching in order to make it a worthwhile class. And from my experience, what I actually see is that the quality of these required parent-led classes is frequently very low -- parents have enough on their plates between homeschooling all week + kid sports/activities + cooking/cleaning/church/etc. Who has time to spend a few hours a week prepping to teach a class that your student may not even be in? In my 18 years of watching homeschool co-ops in our city: every co-op that was only all-parent-led and required parents to teach, assist, or work in some way, died within 3 years. Parents just burn out. It's very difficult to find parents with both the skills AND the willingness AND the TIME to teach the higher level subjects that parents of middle/high school students really want help with -- Writing, Math, Science labs, Foreign Language. What *has* worked in our city a co-op is a hybrid: some classes for a fee led by an "outsider" (professional or retired homeschooler), and some free classes offered by motivated parents who have students in the co-op. That way, as the free parent-led classes come and go, the for-a-fee classes keep going and keep families coming back. I think this is very do-able -- and desirable -- for middle school. Probably far less so for high school. Again, just my experience in my city: By high school, a lot of the homeschool families are outsourcing their teens' classes to either online classes or dual enrollment at the community college, so they have schedule conflicts and can't come to co-op. Or students need all their time for the homework of those online or DE classes, and don't have time to come to enrichment co-op. Or, if parents do bring their high schoolers to a co-op class, it's because the class helps them accomplish a *credit* (or partial credit) for the transcript -- example: Science lab at a co-op that matches their at-home Science program, which takes some of the load off the parent to make the lab happen. In contrast, a Spanish enrichment club that doesn't fully knock out their required foreign language credit would be far less attended by high school students in our city. Debate, Logic, Art History, and Shakespeare are *awesome* extras -- but parents of *high school* students are usually desperate to check the required boxes FIRST: Writing/Literature; Math; Science; and Foreign Language. If they can get some of those credits covered or assisted with at co-op, THEN parents are much more likely to have their teens join in for the "extras". At least that has been my experience of seeing families at our co-op. Based on these items on your "wish list", perhaps consider starting with a tween/teen social support group, and then see if enough dedicated parents WANT an academic enrichment co-op and are the kind of people who will help make it happen, and happen *well*. That would be far less of a "headache project" than all the issues that arise in running a co-op. Example of a homeschool support group with social emphasis for teens: our homeschool group has a Student Council, for students in grades 6-12. Student Council members meet once a month after the Park Day time (maybe your older students could meet during Park Day play time??), at which the students break out into their committees and plan the (and execute) the once-a-month social activity and the once-a-month community service activity *for the following month*. Less formal are the "Junior High Boys" and "Junior High Girls" groups of our homeschool support group. Each group plans on doing 1-2 events per month; some years, the "spearheading" parent makes all the phone calls to set up events and keeps everyone in the loop with the details. Other years, the families each take a turn hosting/planning/overseeing one event, and by the end of the school year 8-12 events happened. Don't mean to sound like a "downer" about your ideas, lol. Truly, if you can find a good group of like-minded people with energy and dedication, a co-op can be fantastic! I believe Mom31257 of these boards has been running just such a co-op (although it's for all ages) for years, and it sounds fantastic. Hope it will work out for you, as well. BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

Cathy Duffy's 101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum reviews specific programs and suggests which of the 4 different learning styles that she describes at the start of the book may be a good fit for that program. A few quick thoughts: 1. Apparently, there is no scientific evidence "proving" any of the different theories of learning styles. 2. Most pre-K / kinder / early elementary curricula/materials incorporate multi-sensory techniques / multi-learning styles. Children in this age range are very hands-on, and most programs include a lot of manipulatives and visuals. 3. Many families find that their children don't seem to have any particularly strong leaning toward any one learning style*. 4. Because of #2 and #3, many families don't really need to worry about learning styles*. 5. Children with learning disabilities, processing issues, delayed timetable of maturing in an area, or other issue, are more apt to need specific learning techniques. 6. If your child has a very strong leaning towards one learning style*, start with materials that are the most natural/easiest way for the student to take in the information, and then add materials as supplement from the other learning style* areas to help strengthen the child's "weak" areas of in-taking information. Definition of terms: * = learning styles = ways people most naturally or most easily take in information (visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic) ** = brain dominance = ways people process that information in the brain: left hemisphere (abstract / sequential / parts to whole) right hemisphere (concrete / random / whole to parts) All that said, whether "scientifically proven" or not, I *absolutely* found learning style information and techniques immensely helpful here. Both of our DSs exhibited very strong and very different learning styles* and brain dominances**. While I could pretty much use any materials with DS#1, DS#2 had mild LDs and using materials that fit his learning style* absolutely made a huge difference in moving forward in educating him. Final thought: since your children are so VERY young, and because you are just getting started in your homeschool journey, I'd first focus on clarifying your own educational philosophy and think through your overall goals for your educational journey. From there, you can start thinking about what specific curricula will best help you achieve your educational goals. And once you get into the daily doing of homeschooling, if you find your choice of materials is not a fit, then you might look in to learning styles. I suggest this order because it's important to have your overall view in mind first, but also because of thought #2 above -- materials for your children's ages are usually including multiple learning style techniques, so you're likely covered on the learning styles front, LOL. In case it helps, below I am reprinting a list I have found useful. Wishing you all the BEST as you begin your homeschool journey! Warmest regards, Lori D. _________________________ These are generalizations; no student is only "all one thing". However, if your child is strongly falls into one learning style, "hook" your child's interest with their learning style strength, then present additional/supplemental material in all the learning styles to strengthen their weak areas and really embed the information in their brain in multiple ways. LEARNING STYLES (how we best/most naturally take in information) KINESTHETIC (Do-ers/Touchers) Kinesthetic Traits: - favors sports and building - high energy - loves to touch - uses body when antsy - in constant motion - dislikes sitting long - uses fingers to count - usually has rumpled clothes - has difficulty following oral directions Kinesthetic Helps: - math manipulatives - manipulatives - allow touching - take many breaks - use hands-on activities - divide chores up - allow building/construction - allow body movement to help with concentration AUDITORY (Talkers/Listeners) Auditory Traits: - remembers commercials - uses rhyming to remember - talks aloud doing math - a better listener than reader - reads aloud - has difficulty reading maps - very verbal - likes to talk to people Auditory Helps: - make audiotapes (esp. for spelling) - set learning to music - talk them through writing a paper - read aloud - study groups - have a quiet place for study/learning - watch videos (for audio narration) VISUAL (Watchers) Visual Traits: - assemble by pictures - closes eyes to memorize - observant - good with puzzles - vivid imagination - looks neat - better reader than listener - rarely volunteers answers - takes many notes - watches/learns from TV Visual Helps: - illustrate everything - make a mind-map (visual plan) for writing - use post-it notes to organize - highlight different topics in different colors - write down chores - use transparency sheets to reduce glare on white pages of books/workbooks BRAIN DOMINANCE (how we process information) LEFT BRAIN Left Brain Uses or is Strong with: - analytical - dates - numbers - taxon memory - lists - names - math facts - short term memory stored here Left Brain Processes: - words - the familiar - sequential - parts to whole - the abstract - listens - is a joiner - step-by-step - routine - organized - linear thinking - writing/talking - detailed - focused RIGHT BRAIN Right Brain Uses or is Strong with: - spatial - color - music - creativity - design - feelings - storytelling - hands-on - long-term memory stored here Right Brain Processes: - pictures - the new - processing is random (rather than sequential/orderly) - whole to parts - intuitive - sees overall patterns - participates - is independent - demonstrations - is impulsive - creative - 3-D thinking - drawing - highly distractible

While I'm not a big fan of lit. guides personally prior to 7th/8th grade (and even at the older ages, I'm not a fan of heavy use of lit. guides -- we did use bits of some guides to help springboard discussion), if your DD liked the looks of the MP lit. guides, and she's a "workbook learner" (likes workbooks and learns from them) and is requesting a workbook -- then go for it and try out a MP lit. guide! The FREE Glencoe Literature Library guides are geared for the middle school ages -- background info on the author/times; some fill-in answers to discussion questions; and some graphic organizers for thinking about/making connections with the literature. For other lit. guide ideas: in middle school, we did use and like Lightning Lit & Comp grade 7 and grade 8, which have work pages to practice the literary elements presented in each unit, and to practice beginning literary analysis (esp. in the grade 8 program). Nothing heavy, and very helpful guided, beginning literary analysis / formal lit. study. We also liked some of the Garlic Press Discovering Literature guides. We used some of the Challenger level guides (gr. 9-12) in late middle school/early high school. Very meaty! Some of the middle school guides (gr. 5-8) might work for you right now with an 11yo. ETA -- PS And, as Emba56 mentions below, you want to be careful to not suck the joy out of reading and love of good books. I wouldn't dig deep with a guide with more than 2-3 books in a school year in grades 5-6, and I wouldn't feel I *had* to use every bit of the guide, if it was making the child dislike the book or dislike reading in general.

I have vague memories of seeing this made for TV version when it came out, I can't recall how well-done it was, but my faint memories of seem to be that it was pretty faithful to the book. The clip I just watched from the 1958 black & white film, while done on a Hollywood sound stage, looks good.

Check out the stats for the average sports scholarship -- it's not much. Certainly not when you think of how many hours go in to earning that scholarship. I wonder if some students would have much less stress and earn more $$ by getting a part time job flipping burgers or making/serving coffee...

Honestly, I'd just tell the teacher that we were not going to do any more homework for the rest of the year. Perhaps a gently-spoken "heads-up" to the teacher, along with a signed/dated letter to the effect of: "DD is melting down, no learning is happening with the work being sent home to do at night, and the added stress is negatively impacting her mental and physical health as well as that of the rest of the family. I take full responsibility for the decision to stop all homework for the rest of the year, and will not hold the school accountable for any consequences as a result of stopping. signed ________, date_______" If it helps, try "channeling" (LOL) SWB in her book Rethinking School and be polite but firm. If the school gives you major push-back, then at that point I would consider politely withdrawing, without burning any bridges.

Another vote for Jump In (gr. 6-9). Or perhaps head straight on to the high school level, The Power in Your Hand (gr. 8-12). Other ideas: - Beyond the Book Report (pub. by Analytical Grammar) - Write Shop levels I and II - Lost Tools of Writing level I Just an observation: Jump In -- and The Power in Your Hand -- are written to the student and largely done by independently by the student, so I'd ask your *student* if the informal format bugs *him* or not, as he will be the one largely interacting with the program, rather than you. ;)

I liked Chocolate-chip Chooky's found poem idea so much, I did another. Below is a poem with a line or two from each post, in order. Where there is an indent, it is the next poster's words, because some lines just seemed to beg to go together, lol. ___________________ "What Is Happening In Your Garden?" by The Hive I planted a jujube tree this week—I ought to be planting peas. The weeds are starting to sprout, and my kids stomped my daffodils I'm planting some indoor hibiscus outdoors —they won't last the winter but I don't care; they'll be gorgeous through the summer. I spend a lot of time thinking about what we should plant. I’m kind of obsessing about berries. One of the crocuses is up! Old timers call snow this time of year "robin snow”. Snow flurries hitting us, too. No garden plans for another month. My crocuses were eaten by bunnies. It's weeds and mud as far as the eye can see I am just getting started. We have zukes, cukes… and bell peppers. Leaves… are still frozen to the ground. Patches of grass showing… in the sunniest spots. Perennials are starting to come up. Redbuds are gorgeous. I'm going to try gladiolus, zucchini and maybe tomatoes this year, but who knows… If I could grow gladiolus I would be in heaven. Buried under a thick layer of frozen leaves. Spring is early and short here in the desert. Trumpet flowers… vibrating with the hum of busy bees. Mostly rain, mud, newts, banana slugs, weeds with occasional daffodils, grass, violets. Our daffodils have come and gone. Tulips are thinking of coming out. Herbs are waking up. No matter how gloriously above freezing it is right now, it’s not safe until about the beginning of June This is what we're growing right now! The yard is ready for some fresh plants. Gladiolus plants... fall over on their own weight Big bumble bees… are back, but… seem sad with not much in bloom Clouds of pollen are billowing all around. Mud and wet leaves with a few lingering handfuls of snow. Only cactus have thrived year round. Puppy is working on pulling out… shrubs and plants. I've been growing, harvesting, and replanting all winter. I'm trying to ward off the rats from infesting. Back lawn has turned into a prairie. Chickens do such a beautiful job of turning the soil that nothing grows except roses. In the orchard…there are apples; soon there will be fuyu fruit as well. I have been nauseous since the beginning of February; this baby is kicking my behind. I didn't dare go out there in case I disturbed the brown snake. I put in gravel paths and the weeding was killing me. Worms shiver. I can never figure out what’s lettuce and what’s weeds. We may have been eating weed sandwiches last year. Three thriving clumps of cilantro. We love homemade salsa all summer and fall. Someday I will grow onions and garlic. They've been turned over, enhanced and planted: brussell sprouts, french breakfast radishes, baby spinach, and sugar snap peas. Popcorn popping on my apricot tree. Ripping the bushes out is going to be a pain. Tell the husband, don't tell the husband? We used a flamethrower for weeding. Notice that there is more bare ground! Daffodils are blooming and another flower —I can't remember the name. IT IS THIRTY FIVE DEGREES AND HAILING IN CONNECTICUT at the moment. The earth is still frozen 6 inches down. So.Done.With.Winter. In the late fall… workers decimated… my garden. My hydrangea… is sprouting, as is the peony next to it. If the clematis also comes back, I may just have to forgive the painters after all!

Well, there is the year-long Literary Lessons from The Lord of the Rings. (See sample lessons and program scope.) We did that in our homeschooling years and enjoyed it immensely. It's a very gentle introduction to studying literature more deeply, with the meat of the program being the chapter notes and discussion questions at the end of each of the chapter notes, but especially the 12 units on related topics. LLftLotR is esp. good for grades 7-9, and for students who have not done much formal analysis or lit. study previously. [Side note: check out this past thread for some fabulous extension resources, links, books, etc.: "Any serious Tolkien fans..." to any study of Tolkien or Lord of the Rings.] Years later, when I went to teach this class, I thought I would use LLftLotR and adapt it slightly, but it ended up not being as meaty as I wanted for my class, so I ended up creating my own program from scratch. (:D

::sweating:: Over 90˚ today, so not much got done outside. Instead, I'll share a photo or two of my wall of cross vine flowers and think cool thoughts, lol:

Similar to everyone else: KIND bars or trail mix, pecans or almonds, banana, apple, sandwich bag of cut up non-squishy veggies (carrots, celery, bell pepper, pea pods, etc.). And a good quality bar of chocolate (:D . A bagel with cream cheese spread on in advance is fine not being refrigerated for hours. I try and avoid peanuts or peanut butter, as the air is recirculated on the airplane, and peanuts on the breath of a person can cause a reaction in someone with an extreme allergy (like it has for my nephew 😞 ).

With my own DSs in our homeschool: Worldviews in Classic Sci-Fi Favorite high school class of DSs -- it was the lit. portion of an English credit we created ourselves, plus discussing the philosophies and worldviews behind the works we read. Fine Arts: Film Production Quite honestly, DS#1 came up with the idea and ran with it. I just provided some overall structure and a few resources. I had him read through a software guide on the editing program he used, plus a short book on how to make films for teens. And for output, he did 6 complete short films with titles and credits, each adding new techniques and trying out new ideas, and put them all on a DVD with clickable links. I also had him write 3 short papers on his experiences: one about pre-production, one about production, and one about post-production. With my homeschool co-op classes: Film in Focus An intro to film analysis class. We showed and discussed a movie every week, and I also worked in a little early film history, plus taught the students how cinematic elements (lighting, framing, editing, camera angle, motion, color, sound, etc.) help a film maker express themes and "big ideas". Journey Through Middle Earth A 1.0 credit English course I created -- a year-long in-depth study of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, plus 4 Medieval works and a Tolkien short story and a bit of poetry. (I also taught the composition aspect of the English credit as well.) [I also put together a super-fun hands-on science one year for the homeschool co-op, but it was for grades 1-3 and another section for grades 4-6, so no help for your high school brainstorming, lol. (:D ]

Because it helps me to list credits, lol, it looks like this is what you're planning? 9th grade = 1.0 credit Social Studies 1.0 credit = History: World: Ancient & Medieval 10th grade = 1.0 credit Social Studies 0.5 credit = History: World: Renaissance to Enlightenment 0.5 credit = History: American, part 1 11th grade = 1.25 credit Social Studies 0.5 credit = History: World: 19th Century 0.25 credit = History: American, part 2 0.5 credit = Government 12th grade = 1.25 credit Social Studies 0.5 credit = History: World: 20th Century World History 0.25 credit = History: American, part 3 0.5 credit = Economics 4.5 credits = TOTAL Social Studies ______________________ My thoughts, FWIW: 1. Colleges will not be put off by whatever you do for Social Studies in high school, lol: - Colleges do not care when History credits were completed during high school. - Colleges do not care how many History credits you do (as long as you do 1 credit of Amer. Hist., and possibly 1 credit of World Hist.). - Colleges do not care about a chronological History rotation (unless *possibly* the student were going to major in Classics or History). What colleges care about is that the student meets the # of required credits in each subject area to be eligible for admission. For the subject of *Social Studies* (Social Science), most colleges want to see 2-4 credit of Social Studies, with these being the specific credits most frequently wanted: most colleges = 1 credit = American History some colleges = 1 credit = World History (or World Geography) some colleges = 0.5 credit each = Economics and Government Any Social Studies credits beyond that are frosting on top, and would be considered "Academic Electives". Other areas (besides History, Geography, Economics, and Government) that colleges also happily accept as Social Studies credits include: - Anthropology - Archeology - Gender/Ethnic Studies - Philosophy - Political Science - Psychology - Religious Studies - Sociology __________ 2. Just me, but I prefer sticking to one subject at a time. So, do all of 1.0 credit of American History in one year, all of 1-2 credits of World History in 1-2 years, and 0.5 credit each of Econ & Gov't each in one semester, for a total of 3-4 credits. Spreading out a critical credit (American History) over 3 years sounds like potential for it not getting finished, especially if the subject is not of high interest to the student. The further into high school you get, the more the student tends to want direct their own study choices, and often has a harder time finishing up hours to complete partial credits. __________ 3. If your student is not a history buff, and also isn't planning on a History college major, then this seems like a lot of History. If the student enjoyed History as a hobby, then yes, I'd work to do a 4 year History rotation + American History + any other needed or wanted Social Studies credits, and plan on having a transcript heavy on Humanities.However... That does not appear to be the case with this student. Again, just me, but with a student who doesn't hate History but is also not passionate about it, then I'd work to bang out all of American History in 1 year (and be okay knowing that there is a lot of overlap in 20th century US history and World history and not worry having to do intensive 4 year world history cycle) -- and then EITHER do all of World History in 1-2 credits for the other Social Studies credits -- OR, let DS pick the world history period of highest interest to him to study and do 1 credit of World History: _____ time period. Another option, is to do the American History, and skip any World History, and instead do a year of World Cultures/Geography + Comparative Religions (we did this in 8th grade -- one of the MOST useful Social Studies credits ever!) -- OR -- let DS pick a different Social Studies area from those listed above that would be of higher interest to *him*. Most colleges will work with you about Social Studies admission requirement, as long as the student accomplished the minimum amount of required Social Studies credits wanted by that college. __________ 4. Related to #3 -- also consider reducing History credits to open up time for the student to study subjects that the student may be going into for a college degree or for a career. There's nothing wrong with doing an all-of-History overview in 1 year, or possible 2 years, as the grand finale to your homeschool History studies. ______________________ Whatever you decide, do hold lightly to your plans, as students change a LOT in high school, their interests (and thus "needed credits) change a lot, and you also want to be able to bend and flex as unexpected opportunities that arise throughout the high school years. But -- you already know that from your older student. 😉 BEST of luck in deciding what's best for high school Social Studies! Warmly, Lori D.

Yes, the Social Sciences (versus the "Natural Sciences" of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, etc.) are things like: - History - Geography - Government - Economics - Political Science - Psychology - Philosophy - Religious Studies - Sociology - Anthropology - Archaeology - Gender/Ethnic Studies

Starting in 6th grade, I had DS switch to learning typing, and they were typing their all their papers by the end of 6th grade. SOOOO much easier for the revising and proof-editing, and I could get so much more out of them for Writing. Side note: I found that *writing* spelling words as practice did NOT help either DS retain spelling. We needed to use oral out loud back and forth practice, plus working with words on the white board to actually learn spelling, so practicing cursive with Spelling was a complete no-go here. YMMV. However, one thing we did as a hand-written activity in middle school was to create an "atlas" to go along with our World Cultures/Geography study. I had DSs do 1 page per country (doing 2 countries per week), where they read about the country and then wrote a paragraph (5-6 sentences) of key things or most interesting things they discovered about the country. Similarly, if you do some sort of year-long notebooking project in History, Science, Geography, or other subject, you could have your student add 1 paragraph per week in cursive.