DD 14 finishing 9th grade at home this year after being in PS

[Kidlit]

To make a long story short, my 14 yo dd came home (as of yesterday, officially) to finish her ninth grade year after going to public school for the first time in the fall. The school she attended is on a block schedule, so she completed the first semester with a credit for biology, Algebra I, Spanish I, and world history.  This semester she was about a month in to English 9 honors (pre-AP), geometry, Spanish II, and career prep (which is a public school requirement in our state).  We attempted to get her into a couple of virtual academies through public school systems, but this didn't work because of the block schedule she has already been on.  Two weeks ago I had no idea we'd be finishing this year at home, but due to some serious anxiety issues (which we are in the process of sorting out), it looks like home is the best place for her for now. She is a bright student and enjoys an organized and methodical approach to education.  One of the compelling reasons we sent her to school to begin with is because she thrives in a system in which she is graded, and I stink at doing that at home. 

My biggest problem right now is that this is all so unexpected and I really don't have the time in my schedule to add a student who requires a lot from me right now.  I'm homeschooling my three younger children (grades 7, 3, and K), and I teach English at the local community college, in addition to being (over)committed at our homeschool co-op. For my eldest, we're looking at finishing English and geometry at home right now.  Finishing Spanish would be a bonus. Career prep seems to be what I did in typing class years ago in high school--resumes, word processing, etc., and even including some budgeting and that sort of thing. 

Right now I'm considering Derek Owens for geometry, or perhaps Mr. D Math.  Thoughts on these?

For the English credit, I've considered a Bravewriter class or two (the sequence leading up to essay writing, starting with Dynamic Thinking).  I've been looking at Progeny Press literature guides to round out the literature portion.  I'd also like to add some organized vocabulary studies with an eye toward the PSAT.  She took the PSAT at school earlier in the year, and I don't think National Merit is out of the question for her (especially if she remembers to take a calculator to the test this time 😉 ) .  

Thoughts on any of this?  Any BTDT advice?  Encouragement?  My only request is that whatever you say, please be gentle.  This has been something of a rough go for us (though we have plenty of experience with mental health difficulties in our family, so at least we know what to do--ha!)  I'm feeling quite vulnerable and out of sorts about all of this.  

[chiguirre]

I think DO Geometry and Brave Writer are excellent choices for your situation. I'd look into Homeschool Spanish Academy to continue that. They do a placement test and the lessons are 1:1 so she'll just pick up where she places. They do break down their grammar lessons into high school years so it's easy to transcript.

[Ravin]

In your shoes I would look some more to see if you can find a virtual high school that does block scheduling. 

[8filltheheart]

I think DO geo would be a good choice. No idea about the English credit. For Spanish, if she is anxious and needs less pressure and is self-motivated, you could look at BtB iBook. 

 

[Matryoshka]

27 minutes ago, chiguirre said:

I think DO Geometry and Brave Writer are excellent choices for your situation. I'd look into Homeschool Spanish Academy to continue that. They do a placement test and the lessons are 1:1 so she'll just pick up where she places. They do break down their grammar lessons into high school years so it's easy to transcript.

My dd also came back home partway through 9th grade.  We were fortunate (I guess) that she came home early enough that she was able to pick up a couple of classes at the CC in the spring, but we did use DO for math and Bravewriter to round out her English for the year.  Homeschool Spanish Academy is another great idea (my dd was taking German, so that wasn't a fit in our case; she was able to finish it at the CC).

She ended up doing more and more at the CC, and will be graduating this spring (at 18) with an AS and transferring to a 4-year in the fall.  She also had trouble with the pace and hours at the high school, and the CC schedule, where she only had a class or two a day and didn't have to get up early, was much better for her.  She didn't want to work with me anymore, so some kind of outside classes were a must.

[RootAnn]

I think you have a good plan. I want to toss out a couple alternatives to Bravewriter. Lantern English has some lit / writing options that are short like Bravewriter but cheaper (last I checked $60 for 8 wks- pick writing, lit, or double up). Fourth quarter enrollment opens soon. Roy Speed has a great (low output) Shakespeare class to diversify the English credit. His classes are more expensive (like BW). 

Homeschool Spanish Academy, like chiguirre said, might be a good option to continue Spanish this year (low stress).

She'll likely need some time to destress and get to dr apts, so try to give her that time as much as you can. Hugs to you both.

Edited February 12, 2019 by RootAnn

[...................]

My dd loves Teaching Textbooks Geometry! We are very happy customers! 🙂

for world history, look at Paradigm accelerated. The course is sold in “chapters” which take about a month to complete and you can look on the syllabus and be sure to cover what she hasn’t already covered. I’m adding Document Based questions for World History to that as well as some reports to round it out and make it more college prep. Even with the DBQ and reports you couldn’t call it Honors though. 

[katilac]

8 hours ago, hopeistheword said:

This semester she was about a month in to English 9 honors (pre-AP), geometry, Spanish II, and career prep (which is a public school requirement in our state).   

 

Thinking out loud here . . . finishing English and geometry would give her 6 credits for the year, so that would be fine. If she's fairly good at Spanish, I'd probably try to keep going so she at least doesn't lose ground and hopefully finishes the credit. I second taking a look at Breaking the Barrier, we used it for French with success (although we used the books and not the ipad version, my kids need to write). BtB is three books for four years, so you would probably be starting somewhere in book 1. Shoot them an email and ask, I found them very helpful and responsive. 

Geometry: if she has already done some proofs, I'd consider something like ALEKS if you have trouble finding an online class at this point. I'd hate to skip proofs completely, although I know even some brick and mortar classes do. The advantage of ALEKS would be that it does an assessment and figures out what you have already mastered, that saves time over starting from scratch and is easier than figuring it out yourself. 

English: again, somewhat depends on what she has already covered. If she is a decent writer already and likes to read, I'd be tempted to go with lots of great literature. Discussion would be ideal, but answering questions from lit guides could work also. If she is grade-level and/or strong in this area, it won't hurt to not have the typical assignments (she will have three more years of English!). 

I wouldn't worry about career prep unless she plans to go back to school and they will accept the homeschool credit. 

Basically, my plans would depend on what has already been covered and what future plans are. If she's going to be homeschooling, my energies would be best targeted at next year, looking for graded classes and making overall plans for high school. If she's going to use a virtual charter school or return to brick and mortar, are they even going to accept any credits from this semester? If they are known to accept homeschool credits, gear it to that. If they are know to not accept them (much or at all), then it doesn't matter and you can do what you want. 

 

 

[Kidlit]

Many, many thanks to everyone who has responded! DD got to attend our homeschool co-op today, and she was welcomed back with open arms by students and parents alike.  It was heartwarming to see her with "her people" again.  🙂 I appreciate all of the feedback I've received.  It helps to have options and to look at things from various perspectives.  Right now, DD is not interested in returning to school, and while I never take any option completely off the table (unless it is cost prohibitive from the outset! 😋), I am encouraging her to think of herself as a homeschooler (again) now.  I think that dipping her toe in that water for a semester is enough for her.  From what I can understand, the prinicipal/counselor would have to see the curriculum's scope and sequence to evaluate whether or not a course is credit-worthy, should she decide to go back to school.  I feel pretty sure that what we have done and will do at home is AT LEAST comparable to what the school does, and as such should count for credit.  However, I also know that homeschooling is not something those within our local institutions really understand, so I would never assume that it would be.  DD does have an eye toward DE at our community college or local university, so we're keeping that as a possibility for her starting her eleventh grade year.  Knowing that, I feel like I have something for which to aim.  

What I've decided to do is Derek Owens geometry and a cobbled-together English credit using some literature picks and, as I mentioned before, a BW class.  I am intrigued by the Lantern English and BtB Spanish, as both of these are ones I've never looked into.  

Again, thank you ALL for your help!  It makes me feel like this is doable.