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Help--need suggestions for courses for my senior


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My senior only has 4 definite credits for this year so far:  Apologia Marine Biology, Civics/Econ, 2 Lightning Lit courses, and art.

 

She is very excited about the Marine Biology, and it will be her fourth science credit, because she loves science.  The rest she could care less about (with the possible exception of the art--we are using Artistic Pursuits).

 

She already has 3 math credits, and Algebra 2 was such a battle that we don't want to attempt Pre-Calc.

 

I've looked all over for a history program that might be challenging enough for a senior--perhaps modern history, since we've already done Notgrass World and American, and she is interested in WWII, but I am not coming up with anything.

 

We've already got credit for Driver's Ed and ACT/SAT test prep from junior year.

 

She's completed through Spanish 3 via Monarch (i.e. Switched-On-Schoolhouse)--that's all the higher it goes, and given her performance towards the end of that, it's probably not a good idea to go higher, anyway.  

 

I've been looking for a geography course--but again, everything seems kinda lightweight when considered for use by a senior.

 

I am NO GOOD at designing courses and don't want to attempt it now.  I NEED objective evaluation criteria.  I have four younger students and just cannot handle trying to design and implement something on my own.

 

She has NO IDEA what she wants to do after she graduates.  We have not decided yet if she will go to college or take a gap year (or years, lol) until she figures it out.

 

Any suggestions, ladies?  Especially if you can recommend a particular curriculum??  I'm getting sort of desperate here--don't want to start her on something too incredibly late... aargh.

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What about something like Ethics/Philosophy/Worldview? I have no idea what your religious beliefs are, but we plan on using this program for our daughter's senior year.

 

http://www.summit.org/curriculum/high-school/home-school/

That looks really interesting.  Anything like that (worldview, theology, philosophy, etc.) has to go through my husband first, but I've forwarded the link to him.  I also like that it is not very expensive. :-)

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Have you looked at Sonight's 20th Century World History? It's something I'm considering for the winter term for my ds. FWIW

I LOVE the concept of Sonlight, and we did it as a family when the kids were all in elementary.  But as the kids got older I had to find more economical options.  Might be worth looking into finding a used set, though.  Thanks for the suggestion! :-)

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If you have already done World History and American History, have you done government/economics?  If not required or already done I would certainly go with specialized WWII history.

 

I will look around if I see any specific curriculum for WWII.  However, with the amount of biography/memories written about this time period I think she could learn tons with reading and then writing a few papers. 

 

She could do a comparison analysis of the survivors life for those that lived in concentrations camps, lived through Hiroshima and Japanese life in internment camps in the US for example. 

 

Or the POW's, for example the US men held in Russia. 

 

I am tight for time right now to post more information.  But if you are interested in more information/ideas/resources on this topic let me know and I can put something together.

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You might look at some of the MOOC options, maybe have her complete a few courses to piece together a credit. Coursera, EdX, Udacity are a few of the big names. 

Wow, you have opened a whole new world for me; I didn't know these even existed.  Am definitely spending some time browsing to see if we can use this somehow--if not with the senior, then maybe for myself! :-)

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Consumer Math?

Trigonometry?

Business Math?

Accounting

Computer  or Business/Office Systems

Home Ec?

Health?

Speech/Communication

Architecture?

Cake Decorating?

Floral Design?

Photography?

 

Since she is undecided about college, then something that would aid in aquiring a job.

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If she doesn't have a geography credit, there's nothing wrong with doing geography.  You don't have to have every class be super-challenging.  It sounds like she might be a little burnt out anyway.

 

How about wandering through the list of available stuff at Teaching Company?  There are a lot of things to choose form, and maybe she'd find something she might major in for college there?

 

 

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If she doesn't have a geography credit, there's nothing wrong with doing geography.  You don't have to have every class be super-challenging.  It sounds like she might be a little burnt out anyway.

I've been looking at geography.  I'm thinking maybe Trail Guide, but just for a half credit.  The consensus seems to be it's a little light for a whole credit.  Any other input about curriculum for geography, anyone?

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If you have already done World History and American History, have you done government/economics?  If not required or already done I would certainly go with specialized WWII history.

 

I will look around if I see any specific curriculum for WWII.  However, with the amount of biography/memories written about this time period I think she could learn tons with reading and then writing a few papers. 

 

She could do a comparison analysis of the survivors life for those that lived in concentrations camps, lived through Hiroshima and Japanese life in internment camps in the US for example. 

 

Or the POW's, for example the US men held in Russia. 

All this sounds really wonderful--but I am just so not capable of carrying it out.  I have no idea how to give a grade for papers or discussion.  This is probably the main downfall of our homeschool--that we do mostly textbooks with tests and evaluation rubricks included so I can feel confident that I am grading them fairly.

 

And yes, to answer your question, govt/econ will be happening this year.  That's one of the courses I actually have figured out.  Notgrass again, for the reasons stated just now! :-)

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I've been looking at geography.  I'm thinking maybe Trail Guide, but just for a half credit.  The consensus seems to be it's a little light for a whole credit.  Any other input about curriculum for geography, anyone?

 

Look at PAC.  We used it last year.  It is a full credit.  We enjoyed it and found it easy to do "as is" or "add to" if you want.  It is easy to add music and art from a country by looking online or checking a book and/or cd out of the library.  Adding food is easy too by going out to eat or making a recipe at home. 

 

BJU Cultural Geography is also a full credit. 

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I would do World Geography and some sort of math - Consumer, Statistics, Accounting or maybe even a college algebra text to keep it fresh in her head.

 

I would let her follow some of her own interests through various sources, though I'd probably turn it into a credit. How many credits does she have so far?

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Look at PAC.  We used it last year.  It is a full credit.  We enjoyed it and found it easy to do "as is" or "add to" if you want.  It is easy to add music and art from a country by looking online or checking a book and/or cd out of the library.  Adding food is easy too by going out to eat or making a recipe at home. 

 

BJU Cultural Geography is also a full credit. 

I remember looking at PAC before, and now based on your recommendation am looking at it again.  I am very intrigued by it, because I think my daughter would like it, but how does it count for a full credit when, if I am calculating correctly, it has only 90 lessons?  Is that done by supplementing, as you mentioned?

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Would she be interested in a part time job?   It might help her to think in terms of what she wants to do after graduation.  Maybe a course at the community college might help her to think in terms of some programs they have available, whether she goes for her associates degree or a certificate.    Just some thoughts.

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I remember looking at PAC before, and now based on your recommendation am looking at it again.  I am very intrigued by it, because I think my daughter would like it, but how does it count for a full credit when, if I am calculating correctly, it has only 90 lessons?  Is that done by supplementing, as you mentioned?

 

You are correct.  There are 15 lessons per "book" and 6 books.  It could be done in a semester and given a 1/2 credit.  That would be 1 book every 3 weeks plus a day for the testing and a few days for quizes, mapwork, and section review.  So....roughly 1 book a month.  We found the books took a bit longer than 1 month to do not including test/quiz days.  Last year, we started the program in early Aug and finished first of April.  But, as I said, we added a bit.

 

Thing I added:

1 writing assignment per book

music of the various countries (very easy using internet)

art of various countries (used the art books we already had on hand plus net)

food of various countries (usually one meal or sample such as dessert)

sports if applicable (some countries are known for football [soccer] or cricket for example)

literature from that country.

dvds

 

Keep in mind, the texts are covering animal/plant life, tourism, attractions, natural resources, etc.  It is easy to take a tangent into any of those areas.  Youngest dd asked to write a paper on birds in the Amazon rainforest.  Oldest was interested in the style of cathedrals in Europe for a paper.  We read exerpts of literature or poetry from the various regions.  Our library has travel dvds we used.  Also, travel channels on cable frequently have travel shows. We were able to watch several that included most of Europe, one on Russia, a few from the Middle East and various parts of Africa, and several from South America. 

 

This program might not be what you are looking for.  But, I do think it is worth a look.

 

Many love BJU Cultural geography.  You would not need to add anything to that program.

 

Also, Glencoe has a World Geography book worth a look.  Oak Meadow uses it as the spine for their high school course

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