HistoryBuff Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I mean follow the guidelines yet do your own books (that you find) and your own exams/quizzes/find lectures and materials online and at the library? It's the way I have been home schooling. NY State gives you requirements but how you teach them, using what materials, is up to you. Just wondering if anyone out there is (as insane) as me!!:lol::tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 That's all I ever do for English or history. It doesn't work so well for sciences or math for me, because it's so much easier to just use a text. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5wolfcubs Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Yes for some subjects, no for others. Last year my oldest had a math text and oh, my! I can't even remember! One other subject that was by the book...but I don't remember what it was. All the others were what we called "self-designed" which meant we came up with a plan & worked out what she would do together. Actually we were using Tapestry of Grace and so she got credits in Ancient History, Ancient Lit & Comp, Art, Geography, Philosophy, and Government based on TOG's plan and heavily extended by me using library books, Teaching Company lectures, mapping the local area, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I mean follow the guidelines yet do your own books (that you find) and your own exams/quizzes/find lectures and materials online and at the library? It's the way I have been home schooling. NY State gives you requirements but how you teach them, using what materials, is up to you. Just wondering if anyone out there is (as insane) as me!!:lol::tongue_smilie: This is pretty much how we do literature and history. I have an older copy of Tapestry of Grace that I look at occasionally when I need to get back on schedule (in younger grades, I used Veritas Press cards for the same purpose). That gives me a nudge to study something deeper or move it along. But we don't often match our high school readings to anything that I've found. DH pulls together history units for different subjects. In the past, assessment has been to discuss the topic, often while on a trip to a battlefield or historic site. This year, we're adding in using AP US History document based question sets as inspiration for essays. I don't time them and allow them to do research on the topic. But it gives us a springboard for the level of detail. We did something similar for geology, although we let time get away from us and didn't complete as much as I had hoped. This year with physics, we are using a standard texts and some extraordinary schedules from Regentrude. I'm adding teaching company lectures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I do it for history. Everything else I require more guidance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junebug Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) I did my own curriculum totally when I homeschooled my two dds, but I now homeschool 3 of my grandkids and we use Abeka...but I would say for history and science Abeka is the spine and I like to add notebooking and lapbooks etc. We are notebooking history totally this year...I have them read the assignment in the book we discuss comprehension questions and I choose notebooking pages to go along with the subject matter. I am also working with the two olders, 12 and 14 yrs old, teaching them how to summarize the section they have just read. Basically, if you know all the answers to the comprehension questions, you just write in narration form. Edited September 13, 2012 by junebug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) I did my own thing for English, history, and science (this would be for my former high school student). We did use textbooks for history and science, but they were just one part of the courses. Edited September 13, 2012 by EKS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 For history and English, I completely design my own courses. For science and math, we follow textbooks, but I write my own exams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I mean follow the guidelines yet do your own books (that you find) and your own exams/quizzes/find lectures and materials online and at the library? Sure. I write my own plans for at least a few subjects each year. This year, my son is using the chemistry text from ck12, Destinos for Spanish, a NaNoWriMo workbook for creative writing and Life of Fred for math. I'm supplementing chemistry and Spanish with additional materials, but we're pretty much following the curriculum for those four subjects. However, I wrote my own plans for: - English - Modern U.S. History - American Government - Music History: American Composers - Art History: American Artists - Kitchen Science (second semester) I am both cheap and allergic to following faithfully someone else's plans. So, we do our own thing whenever possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I can't follow a pre-planned program. I don't self-design everything, but we don't follow any pre-written plans. I merge a lot of portions of things together and create our own concoction. I've done this for the last few years, this is our first at the high school level. We're in week six and most of it is working well. I've only had to seriously tweak math, which was one of the areas we're using a text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bee Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Mostly. 11th grade dd is taking some college classes but only 1 uses a textbook. We are using textbooks for American govt and economics but no pre-made tests (those are just get 'er done" subjects). And half a semester of Lightning Lit. Dd is using other books and resources for chemistry and consumer math/math review. Dd highly dislikes textbooks. It has always been an issue for her. I choose what we cover in the textbooks and skip what i feel is uneccessary or "busy work". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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