Ideas for 1/2 credit in Economics???

[brendafromtenn]

My son has been reading the "Fair Tax Book" and taken a Dave Ramsey Money Management course for Teens, and suddenly he is VERY interested in Economics and Business. (Wow, going to jump on that quickly! Even though, I already had his "plan" for this year.......)

 

What are some ideas for an economics course? Would the study guide and book to "What ever happened to Penny Candy?" be enough.....Or would we need to look into the Bob Jones DVD course of GOV/ECON? Any ideas?

 

Blessings,

 

Brenda

[Kareni]

Here is a past thread that addresses the same topic:

 

What does everyone use for economics?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[danielle]

How about the video on demand available for free from Annenberg/CPB. My memory is that there is at least one, possibly more econ courses available from them.

 

Also, the National Association of Investment Clubs (NAIC) has a terrifc Youth Handbook course focusing on investing that he might enjoy.

Danielle

[Janice H]

http://www.amazon.com/Applied-Economics-Thinking-Beyond-Stage/dp/0465081436/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218838641&sr=1-1

I read through this book a few weeks ago. It would be a wonderful supplement or a stand alone reading in economics. It presupposes no econ background. It is clearly written and thought provoking.

 

Sowell also has an economics "textbook" called Basic Economics ..., although without the heft and glossy charts of standard textbooks. It is probably on the same Amazon page. I like Sowell because he writes very well and is honest about his point of view. "He is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution. He writes on economics, history, social policy, ethnicity, and the history of ideas." (quote form Hoover Institution website)

 

Both books mentioned above were at my library.

[Liz CA]

My son has been reading the "Fair Tax Book" and taken a Dave Ramsey Money Management course for Teens, and suddenly he is VERY interested in Economics and Business. (Wow, going to jump on that quickly! Even though, I already had his "plan" for this year.......)

 

What are some ideas for an economics course? Would the study guide and book to "What ever happened to Penny Candy?" be enough.....Or would we need to look into the Bob Jones DVD course of GOV/ECON? Any ideas?

 

Blessings,

 

Brenda

 

We read "Whatever happened to Penny Candy" some years back and it was a sort of introduction to the subject.

Don't know if you ds is too old/advanced for it. I think, ds was in 8th or 9th grade when we covered this.

[Sandy in Indy]

My dd used Carson's Basic Economics but found it pretty dry and tough to get through. DS completed JA's Finance Park program (with a group of homeschoolers) and read "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" I felt that was enough for his credit as JA says their program alone is enough for a credit.

[brendafromtenn]

I am always amazed at the wonderful ideas that come from these boards. It gives me so much to think about and pray about.....

 

I really like the idea of the Teaching Company Video on Econ by Timothy Taylor....But the cost is $374.95! Would this ever go on sale like the high school courses are on sale presently? Was thinking of using this along with the "Penny Candy" book as an intro.

 

 

Thanks!

 

Brenda

[Tina]

Yep. They all go on sale at least once a year. You could also check the swap boards to see if someone if selling them.

[Jean in Wisc]

My daughter choose to use ABeka's. It was more interesting to her than Bob Jone's (which is a 1 credit class). Sowell and Hazlitt have WONDERFUL books (non-textbook), but my dd preferred the more traditional courses in high school. She wanted to know that she had to read and take the test rather than read, discuss, write papers, continue-to-do until mom says it is enough...just a preference that both my high schoolers have chosen.

 

ABeka seems to be well written and the author is rather well-known in the field of econ (or so I am told--don't know that personally).

 

My 8th grader read Penny Candy within a very short time. I would not count this as a high school class--but it does a very nice job of introducing ideas our children may never have encountered.

 

J

[Lisa TX]

There are a few subjects over the years that we have used ACE Paces because I thought the written materials were good for that specific subject. I don't like their fill-in-the-blank work, so I had my son skip it, but he did use their economics as a reader (just for exposure) along with a Money Matters teen personal finance workbook.

 

Again, it was only good for exposure and introduction, but I figured if it whet his appetite, he could take economics dual credit at the local community college.