Christy B Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Okay, starting to plan for 9th grade, which for us will start in JULY -- and I am SO excited and so unprepared (I had given up my hopes for hs-ing high school, but dd ended up not liking her school at all and asked to be brought back home). One of the reasons we are so excited about hs-ing for high school, is our desire to create unique, meaningful, and interesting courses beyond the core curriculum. For example: I would love to have a course called "Vocational Arts" that included books like Tiner's "History of Medicine", volunteer work at the nursing home, maybe an "intro to pharmacology" study -- in other words, some varied instruction and exposure to help her determine if she wants to go into nursing (her current plan). How do I go about designing such a course, keeping records, and being able to know that it is truly "worthy" of a credit (or half credit)? We are probably going to go the community college route, and our state and local cc are very homeschool friendly -- I don't anticipate my transcript being questioned. On the other hand, 9th grade is far to early to rule out application to other colleges where there might be a closer look. I just want to be sure that I am designing a truly credit-worthy course. I would think a course like this would count as an elective, correct? Where do I start? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee in NC Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 The high schools in NC have courses called "Health Occupations" - you could fit all that in under that umbrella. Count hours - when she gets to 135 hours or so, call it a credit. I would document the volunteer experience, keep a list of books she read, and have her write about what she is learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 :iagree: It would be an elective and it sounds like a wonderful plan. What I recommend is planning out all 4 yrs of high school. What core classes do you plan for her to take each yr, and then see how much space you have for electives and put them in there. This way you can be sure to have space for fun classes like this and the others and not be overwhelmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 These are the names of the classes that our area HS offers for Medical Students in HS... Specialty Courses Medical Research I/II, Introduction to Medicine Biotechnology/Zoology Genetics Health Science I, Introduction to Health Careers Health Science II, Basic Health Care Medical Forensics Advanced Placement Courses Art Biology Calculus Chemistry Computer Science A English Language English Literature Environmental Science French U.S. Government Physics B Psychology Spanish Language Spanish Literature U.S. History Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy B Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Wow, what great suggestions! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Check out Barb Shelton's Home School Design Formula book. She gives forms and samples, etc of how to create and count high school credits. A carnegie unit is between 120-160 hours. You can google carnegie units and come up with lots of info. Barb's book contains it as well. She has a web-site: Homeschool Oasis. Depending on how the class is designed it sounds like you could go a couple of different ways with it. Have fun!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Check out Barb Shelton's Home School Design Formula book. She gives forms and samples, etc of how to create and count high school credits. A carnegie unit is between 120-160 hours. You can google carnegie units and come up with lots of info. And I've even heard numbers as high as 180 for a Carnegie unit (1 high school credit). Your plan sounds great. I'd add to the things you've already heard: keep good records of what your daughter does and also try to incorporate some writing into the class (a journal of what she's learning, a paper on a related topic, etc.) Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mchel210 Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 One of the books I am reading now says there is an average of about 120-180 but there are some schools that give 1 credit for 90-210 seat time. They also remind you that in HS the children only have to be present to receive that credit...not be working that full 120-150 hours. I would imagine if your state has certain requirements...that would factor in. We dont have to keep track of hours here in Fl, but I am doing my best to cover all the material we need to per subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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