For earth science content: Masters books has many options. Interesting things like books about caves, geology ... books about a specific subject rather than a fat book with lots of chapters. They also have study guides to combine sets of books for a high school credit. http://www.masterbooks.com/ I combined a physical science course with an additional astronomy course to meet our state's syllabus requirements for earth science.

I have been working on the same thing. I have a musical loving daughter too. I am thinking of calling it survey of Broadway musicals, Introduction to Broadway musicals, maybe even as a music history..... One of the things I like to do is to do web searches for college course descriptions for a topic to get some ideas. For now, I am keeping track of all the library lists of what she checks out related to the topic. My girl also likes to participate in musicals, but I am told these look better as an extra curricular rather then yet another music performance credit. I will do some research on this. It is something I have wanted to get to anyway. I do have one half of one of the great courses lecture course about musicals. What I am thinking though is a survey course that will include any musicals we are able to go and see; as well as the video performances I just found this: a book that might make a good spine. https://www.scribd.com/book/109068764/The-Broadway-Musical-A-Critical-and-Musical-Survey http://www.newyork.com/resources/broadway-and-theater-history/ This looks promising! It has loads of links that will give you ideas for titles for your course. Basically, what I am planning is a "delight -directed course," borrowing from Lee Binz' terminology. I will log the multitude of musicals my daughter checks out from the library, listens to on her iPad, and the ones in which she sings locally, and anything we are able to attend in person. I will require at least one paper on any related topic of her choice. She is always comparing the different performances of her favorite musical... or discussing the composer's musical elements that help carry the story... I might require reading either online or in a particular book too. I still have not decided. If any of the local summer Broadway camps work out for us, I would count that participation time as a percentage of her grade.This is what I have in mind. As you can see, I am still developing ideas for this elective. Here is a college course description for ideas: http://english8.fsu.edu/Courses/LIT4044_F10/ This one is much shorter: http://www.monroecc.edu/etsdbs/MCCatPub.nsf/Web+Course+Descriptions/262D1DB5E27A26CC85257E90006DEE2F?OpenDocument Wow, a PBS series on Broadway Musicals: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/about/episode-descriptions/ Well, I am seeing a lot on the searches I just did in the last 5 minutes. I hope this can give you some ideas. I am finding several college courses with this content. So, if you include the words course description or syllabus - you might get more specific information on what you are looking for.

I have seen the videos listed for Physical. I do not remember if General is included. I am thinking about investing in this for my oldest who is using their biology this next school year. I'm so glad you started this post!

Hi. I use BJ Math. The 5th grade book is a workbook. The 3rd edition, not the 2nd edition. This is the math I am preparing to use for my middle child this year. My oldest has some digraphia issues and the looking back and forth in upper level math slows her down. We used some brain training exercises that have made a world of difference in her math speeds. Whether or not you pick Saxon or BJ Press or Horizons or CLE etc... do not feel like you have to assign all of the problems. Teachers all over assign even or odd, or whatever is the appropriate sampling. Have you looked at any online math programs? You would probably print out the work, then later key in the answers. CTC math covers all levels, Math mammoth, Thinkwell starts in 6th grade level, Alex or Alexis?? some similar title is another respected online choice. The homeschool buyers coop has a lot of reviews from these online programs. There are many more too. That might also be a workbook style option so your student doesn't have to slow down to copy the problems.

I used the base 10 blocks the same way with my middle child. I did not have a set with my oldest, just unifix cubes. The base 10 allowed us to physically work the double and triple digit addition and subtraction. I knew when to stop the manipulatives with her when she thought it was just faster to rename the 10 stick as 10 ones by writing the numbers on paper. I also just use the base 10 or unifix to make big numbers just for fun. Then we make the same value with felt letters. Then we go up or down 1. Then 10. Then 100. All changing the felt numbers too. My children liked the tactile feel of the felt. I have also used wooden blocks and written a numerical digit on each side. We use 2 or 3 blocks to create numbers. It is fun - like a game. I'm sure there are lots of iPad apps and more "professional" looking products to teach the same concepts. But for us, this worked.

I just wrote my daughter's course descriptions for last year's Omni 1. I discussed it as 2 separate courses for English and History. We did other things for a Bible credit. I do not know how RR works. Integrated is not a problem for 2 separate classes or one 2 or 3 credit course. Check out your state requirements. As far as US history, govt, econ, I am planning to count Omni 3 (when we get to it) as US history, or US govt. We will have to take a separate economics course and probably a separate govt course. I am still investigating this. I know you are going with RR. I will have to look it over. But whatever you choose, you can write it as 2 or 3 separate courses or as one multicredit course.

Hi. It's me again....I just re- read your original post. It sounds like your girl does not understand place value. I would definitely recommend a Base 10 set. If you do not want to teach this yourself, the online animated videos at CTC math are very well done. Students take a placement test. They have a free trial. I have read reviews of children doing very well with this and improving several grade levels in a year because they are finally understanding math. I used one of these free trials to explore the course for lower level elementary. It is well done, and the teacher has an Australian accent, which is just fun to hear. For middle school level, the Thinkwell online teacher is very good also. I used him as back up for math explanations with my oldest student. Even though the content of our text books was more advanced than his course - we absolutely loved his teaching style. It might be worth looking up once you get her caught up. http://ctcmath.com/ctcmath/ http://www.thinkwellhomeschool.com/

Hello, Do you have a base 10 set? It makes a huge difference in conceptual understanding in math. Also fraction tiles. Also just learning even/odd number basics visually with 3D objects, or even felt numbers combined with unifix cubes or base 10 set. All of these ideas will help with any curriculum you choose. You might need to go back to teach with manipulatives, then pictures of objects, then the abstract numbers until she is comprehending the meaning of abstract numbers. Have you worked with her to memorize lists of math multiples? It will make learning multiplication so much easier. I use music to teach them to my children. (the 3's to the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat, 7's to the tune of happy Birthday, 12's to the tune of Amazing Grace, etc.) You might consider reviewing math concepts with a general math book like one from DK or Usborne for the sake of ideas and an order in which to review these conceptual gaps. For a child struggling with a specific concept, I like the little math books you can find at the grocery store or a book store, Evan Moore publisher has lots to choose from. A struggling learner might benefit from reviewing one kind of math at a time, rather than the usual spiral approach of many publishers. Dianne Craft's website has some checklists for possible learning issues and specific math helps ideas. I have taken one teacher class through her, and am working on another right brain learning class. Her information has helped me pinpoint the learning needs/weaknesses of my children. The link below is open to Dianne's lesson plans tab for right brain ideas for teaching math. Also, Dr. Ruth Beechick has some resources still in print that used to be individual books: My little yellow one is called An Easy Start in Arithmetic. Since then ( I have used mine for about 15 years) editors have combines this book with the others from the series into one volume that has a title that sounds something like the 3 R's. Even though your daughter is older, if you need ideas with how to teach progression of math concepts, that might also be worth looking at for ideas. I have also used Times Tales to help my right brained learner with an audio processing issue learn her multiplication and division facts. I also really like the math mammoth website. I am still learning all the stuff there. Maria offers 400 pages of free review PDFs if you sign up for her newsletter. It is one of the many sources to gain teaching knowledge. http://www.diannecraft.org/math-program/ http://www.timestales.com/TTDVDPage.html I use BJ Press for Math and have been very happy with the teaching of "understanding first" before "performance." It has been a good fit for my family. Any curriculum will involve you teaching the material to your child. That is why sometimes even a great curriculum with a solid teacher's manual might be one of a few tools that you use to help you child learn. I wish you well! I hope some of these ideas will be useful to you or act as a springboard to lead you to better useful ideas of your own. Be encouraged, so much good teaching information is available these days!

Thank you. It has been a while since I was on the funda funda website. I will revisit it to compare it. I remember they seemed to have some nice course descriptions.

I purchases this at the end of May for a balancer in my home school. Since I teach only one area of trivium kind of science (this next year it will be biological science), I though this would help my children to fill in general elementary level content from lots of science areas. My younger students are using it for fun this summer and they are loving it. The projects are well planned to actually increase the understanding of the students. If you do not do the projects, all your children will do is just "watch the screen." We pick and choose among the projects. I like it that they are not at all busy work, but well though out experiments that teach scientific method.

Hi. Is anyone familiar with this course or the homeschool programming company? Here is a link to the course description: http://www.homeschoolprogramming.com/courses/digital_savvy.php I am looking for possible computer options for my soon to be 10th grader. Here is a link to the syllabus. http://homeschoolprogramming.com/samples/DigitalSavvy/Digital_Savvy_Planner_Syllabus_HSP_online.pdf

I just finished Omni 1 with my oldest child. We used it for 9th grade and loved it. The primary and secondary go together beautifully. Really, you can start anywhere. The Veritas website recommends starting with Omni 1, but also suggests starting with Omni 3 for a student not ready for the challenging literature in Omni 1. We did the self paced for the primary books, and I assigned and substituted with the secondary list as worked for us. One of the things I like about Omni 1 is the Biblical Analysis writing assignments. If you go through the discussions as outlined on the Teacher manual Cd pdf documents, your student will be very prepared for the writing assignments. It gives plenty of opportunity for develop essay skills. If you go with Omni 1, be aware that the reading assignments are very long. Great reading. But it was challenging for my student. About the books: I did purchase all of the primary and the secondary. The primary books I bought some new from Veritas and many used from Amazon sellers. I already had many of the secondary books, so I only had to order 3 or 4. Getting the editor/translator and if possible the edition thye recommend really makes a difference when you are reading something like Herodotus = which is fascinating by the way. You could also borrow many of the secondary books from your library.

I was on the CLE website checking self paced options for electives. They have a very nice home ec course that is made of 10 booklets - several of which deal with cooking in a very thorough way. I am considering this to use with my daughter, rather than me putting my own course together.

You might be able to sign up with a private school that does a secretary still answering the phone. I signed my dd up in March to be added to this school's list. I was on a webinar today from Lee Binz. She said May or Sept to sign up for this year. You might be able to check the college board website.

I have used AG and bits and pieces of BBR and before that used Robin Finley's Essay and Research paper units. All of these were helpful and good. They were a wonderful help for middle school era and allowed me to pick my own literature and apply their writing concepts. I am planning to use Sharon Watson's Power in Your Hands to strengthen my 10th grader's expos writing skills. I think the AG, and Robin's other writing resources were good for middle school, but I like the detailed ideas presented in Power in Your Hands. Sharon Watson has a few chapter PDF's on her website free for anyone interested.

Some art museums offer art courses for adults, teens, and children. Many offer people drawing with a model. A museum might admit an interested high school student into an adult class - if you ask. You could also check one of your local art guilds. Sometimes, groups of artists will hire a model for the sake of practicing. An experienced artist might also be willing to "mentor" an interested young artist.

A couple ideas. If you want a slanted surface, you could use a clip board or just a piece of masonite leaning on your the edge of your table and in your daughter's lap. When I have had to teach pencil grip. ( I teach drawing....) Some kids understand better if we do hand exercises first. Make your hand like a mouth: thumb as bottom lip and fingers as top lip. Bend fingers and thumb and practice opening and closing. Now, you - the teacher- slide a pencil down the hand and let the mouth grab it just above the wood and paint line. For a challenge, don't allow the student to use the ring finger and pinky. I have let students throw rubber tipped darts into Styrofoam to also practice this grip. I have used this approach with several kids. Also having a reward system for a good grip can make unlearning a bad habit more fun. Another thought, is there an eyesight issue? For posture, sometimes using a stool for the dangling feet can help stabilize a child in a too big chair.

Thanks. I actually made a typo that I already fixed. It should be Gilbert. And I can adjust that sentence to make it clear that this is participation in the performance, rather than attending a performance. I am leaning towards just listing this as an extracurricular activity since she does not need the credit for the sake of meeting a graduation requirement. So, I may not need the course description.

What an awesome amount of helpful information! :hurray: A few more ideas: If you the teacher do not have an expertise in a subject, buy curriculum written to the student or specifically for a homeschooling parent to teach. For example, Apologia science is written to the student and in a conversational tone. I have also used Answers in Genesis and Masters books among lots of other resources from the Well Trained Mind's old edition lists. For math, there really are so many choices. Know your children's learning style and just be a researcher. The math mammoth website has lots of great information in their resource section. I use BJ Press math, but that will probably change once we get past Alg 2. My point is, it is possible to adapt teaching from an inexpensive/old edition textbook, but if you can find something already a good fit and buy it used or scratch and dent, it will make your year a lot smoother. AS the parent, you have to make the calls of what is appropriate based on the times. For subjects where you are gifted, you can be more creative. For history and literature, we have use a spine of specific world events/dates or literary works and work from there using library books. I have always done this until this last school year. We switched to Veritas Press for self paced online courses. I needed my high school student to learn how to listen to lectures and take notes, etc. I could and can make the old way work, but I also have a 2 younger children who need to learn arithmetic and phonics. Some ideas for history through literature titles would be Beautiful Feet Books, the Tapestry of Grace website for ideas for book lists, Sonlight, the Veritas Press catalog. Our library also has a lot of Great Courses from the Teaching Company. These can be checked out for a month at a time and then renewed. The post above has tons of very good ideas in this area. Getting on the "Homeschool Freebies" email list gives options for lots of free e-book style materials - many very appropriate for middle school and high school. I buy a lot of used books and use them in my homeschool for a fraction of the price of new. But good curriculum does help one to avoid gaps. I also love the products from Memoria Press. I think old-school style teaching where the parent physically sits there and carefully teaches can and does definitely work! Quality homeschool education does not have to involve coops and online classes. The coops can really hog time and run your curriculum choices. But having outside help can make the upper level years much easier. Also, other teacher can be good role models. I know I can teach a lot. But it is hard to keep all 3 of my children in forward gear at the same time is challenging. Your children are close enough in age - and old enough - that you can probably teach most everything yourself for a long time because they can work together or at least start out together. Sometimes, an outside teacher - even online - can be a help in giving assignments that are accepted without complaining. As you go into the high school years, you will evaluate one year at a time; when, if at all, to pull in outside supplementation for teaching. Good luck in your research as you carefully plan one year at a time. :laugh:

Ok. I think I am understanding what you mean. Since in our case, we will have the fine arts more than covered - listing this opera, or string ensemble participation, or a play in the extracurricular activities will probably be more wise in the long run if we already have a general credit in this area. With this in mind, I took the string ensemble out of her violin perfomance credit course description in order to re-list it as an extra curricular. I just changed the violin credit value to 1/2 credit to reflect the change. This idea will probably apply to a lot of different situations. Sports or fine arts. Maybe even science or history if someone participated in the local museum type of specialized camps for high school students.

Thank you for the feedback. I do plan to put recital type of performances and competitions on the activity list. This really took a lot of hours of prep work, it seems like more than just an activity. I am still learning how to know when to list something as an "activity" versus a "credit." I will think about what you all have said. Music is her love, and her gift from God. She would be in as many musical performances as I let her, but alas - she is not an only child..... Is there always a difference between an activity and a credit? Can something be both? or can the activity be related to the credit. I could have listed this as voice performance and grouped this with her one semester of voice lessons. I could rewirite the credit as voice performance and then list the opera as an activity. But I put this on instead of the voice lessons since she was only able to take lessons for 6 months of the school year because her teacher moved. She won a scholarship for this next year, so it will make financing the voice lessons along with her other 2 instruments will be easier. Fine arts credits will not be a problem for her. She will have some every year God allows lessons to work out financially. I am not expecting her to have trouble being accepted to a college. She has good grades, her test scores are fine so far. She just can't always get the test done in the time limit. So I do not know how ACT/SAT will turn out for her. We will study, but on the other hand - I want to help her show her strengths in ways that is not standardized. I want to do everything I can to keep good records to help her have a shot at scholarships. Probably like many of you.. This is my first high school student so I have much to learn about the best way to write the paperwork. Regentrude and DebbS, thank you both for your insight.

Because she wants to be a music major in college, I think listing this experience as a credit, rather than an activity, gives more validity to her homeschool transcript. She also learned a lot. It was hard music to learn, and she had to work hard. I want to highlight the fine art strengths since shining on a standardized test will not display her strengths.

I did some combining and totally cut out the box about percentages. It looks a lot cleaner. I appreciate the feedback. I am following Lee Binz' template for a "delight directed learning" course. I just want to skip the hours and percentages so to write up all of the electives the same way. I complied the specific skills off of numerous public high school course descriptions.

I just used Henle for a Latin 3 credit for my daughter. We had done Latina Christiana I and II, first form and part of second form, and BJ Press Latin previously, I called our Latin this year Latin 3: Advanced Christian Latin. With your plans for next year, you might call it something like "Readings in Latin Literature" or Survey of Latin Literature. Applied Christian Latin: Survey of Latin Literature Selections. Introduction to Latin Literature. When I checked the first form series, Memoria calls each course 1/2 credit. But you are adding in additional literature. You could even consider a Latin 3a and a Latin 3b. I also very much like your title: Latin Language, Literature, and Culture. It gives you wiggle room to adapt this course to be really interesting and a good fit for your high school student. And I do not think it is too long. It is precise. Much better than just Latin Language and Culture. Adding in the literature implies that your student must have a degree of mastery to even read the literature.

Hi everyone, I specifically need some ideas of how to better show my daughter's grade than by the percentages. I would rather not list counted hours even though I do have a tally (73) because I may not be able to put hours on all of my elective courses. I want to be consistent, with all of my course descriptions as a whole. Any ideas?