Junior year fail. Need LOTS of help and a pinch of compassion.

[DB in NJ]

I have failed my son.

 

Life has completely taken over, and I have allowed myself to get sucked away from making school a priority for my 11th grader.

 

I am not new at this -- this is my 19th year of homeschooling. I am comfortable figuring out credit completion in most areas.

 

And then there's science.

 

I need ideas pronto for 2 credit-worthy basic science courses. Any suggestions you have are more than welcome.

 

Thank you so much!

[maize]

Our school district offers intensive high school science and math classes during the summer, they are open to anyone for a minimal fee. Any chance your local schools do something similar?

 

I know that is a long shot but thought I would throw it out there.

[KarenNC]

If you are okay with Apologia, the Virtual Homeschool Group has their sciences online free as at your own pace courses. www.virtualhomeschoolgroup.org. A lot of folks seem to combine those with Landry science lab intensives if there's one in your area.

 

For chemistry, physical science, or physics, you could look at www.conceptualacademy.com. They offer very reasonably priced self-paced courses.

Edited March 22, 2016 by KarenNC

[madteaparty]

Landry academy offers science intensives, as well.

My DS is taking one in May.

[Mom22ns]

Has he already done one or more sciences? If so what has he done? If not, how are his math skills? Do you prefer Christian or secular science materials? Is DE an option?

 

We did all of our sciences, and most of our other classes on a semester block system - a full credit in one semester like a college. I don't think it will be a problem for him to get two science credits done in a little over a year, if he is motivated.

[Matryoshka]

Do you have access to a decent CC?  The whole one semester of CC = 1 year high school credit comes in really handy in a catch-up situation, and labs are included...

[katilac]

College prep or not?

[melmichigan]

Would any of the EdX accelerated courses work?  I had DD do the Intro to Solar System Astronomy earlier this year to make up a credit that I thought was to easy for her from last year.  They have changed it a little, but at the time it was a four credit hour science, with a lab.  We both audited it, and with the lab it was challenging.  She will use one of their courses as an elective this summer.

 

Homeschool Connection Online also has high school science AYOP classes.

Edited March 23, 2016 by melmichigan

[DB in NJ]

Thank you all so very much!

 

Yes, this guy will be going to college, but not as a STEM student. He has not done much by way of science at all.

[OneStepAtATime]

Since he really hasn't done much in the way of science, what are his/your goals for him for graduation?  He is already mostly through his Junior year, right?  Does he intend to graduate at the end of this next year?  He wants to go to college.  What colleges has he looked at, if any?  I would look at their requirements for admission ASAP then look at the resources listed in the stickies on this forum.  

 

If he does better with self-paced you might look at something like Plato Learning for science but pair it with appropriate Landry Academy 2 day intensive if you can get to one.  He could start now with Plato and do the intensive when they are in your area.  

 

Or see if there are any schools in the area that offer High School level summer science credits.  There is a school for dyslexics in San Antonio, TX for instance that offers a summer program where the student does an all day science class for several weeks to cover the same material that would have been covered over a school year.  It allows students to catch up in science credits if they had fallen behind. It is not the whole summer.  Doesn't have to just be a dyslexic student, either.  Maybe 4 or 5 weeks.  You could see if something like that was available in your area.

 

There is an educational company that offers specialized summer programs with one on one tutoring called Fusion.  You might look to see if they operate in your area.  Pricey but I have heard they usually do a good job of teaching the material.

Edited March 23, 2016 by OneStepAtATime

[katilac]

What about geology? You can do a very credit-worthy course with much less math than many of the typical choices, and you can make it very field and lab intensive, which might be a huge plus if you are attempting two at once, for fun and variety. There are many labs that do not require special supplies or equipment. 

 

I am just starting to plan geology for my rising junior, but I will share what I've found so far. 

 

This site links to a ton of teacher resources: http://geology.com/teacher/ 

 

one of the best is NASA Wavelength, which is listed first. Lots of lessons and activities, some of which use NASA pictures, data, etc. Each lesson says about how long it will take, which is great for planning purposes. Some of the lessons use a free online PDF curriculum, the name of which I can't recall at the moment. 

 

For the second one, lots of colleges require biology. Bio, chem, physics is a standard request, but I think missing bio is most likely to raise eyebrows. I would look at a few strong possibilities (for college) and see which sciences are required vs recommended. 

 

If they only have recommendations, I would consider a 2nd science that ties together with my first, that I could give a very reasonable explanation for. For example, if he did choose geology, maybe ecology or evolution. 

 

Look at college web sites for out-of-the-box ideas. Yesterday I saw one university that had a Dinosaurs class listed for non-majors, all about the different types, when and where they lived, and so on. I think it may have even used the description "high interest" which generally translates into "you will learn cool facts, and we won't make you do complicated calculations."