Weekly Wrap Up - The One With a Graduation

This past Saturday afternoon we hosted Olivia's high school graduation here at the house.  It was not what we'd originally planned, but then again, nothing has been as planned the last few months.  I'm certain that Olivia enjoyed this far more than a formal affair, so it worked out ok in the end.   Dinner was crack chicken sandwiches, macaroni salad, salad, finger foods and of course a huge celebratory cake.

Sunday morning we all went to church for the first time since March.  We attended the 9am service since the later one collides with Olivia's work schedule.   It was different as all the new rules are followed, but it's at least a step in the right direction.  The day was pretty low key other than church and Olivia's work at the farm.  Dinner was barbeque chicken and left over salad.

Monday was pretty low key here.  Bella's with her dad this week, which means she doesn't arrive until after 9:15am.  I worked on laundry, Olivia worked on job searches and online applications.  My younger brother had yet another heart procedure mid-morning.  This should be the final one, and it went smoothly.  I picked up our school food mid-morning as well.  The kids are finding out why people complain about school food, grins.  But, we are enjoying the free milk, snacks and fruits even if the meals are a little lack luster.     Dinner was left overs from Saturday's celebration.

Tuesday morning Bella was a bit later, so we had time for cup of coffee number 2 before she arrived.  It was pretty hot and muggy here.  The poor AC unit ran all day; it's 20 years old and probably should be updated, but that won't happen anytime soon.   Olivia went for a long walk around the neighborhood and noted that the eerie feeling of empty streets is now meshed with an uneasiness. In the evening, the girls were able to return to their BJJ class, sort of.  Class could resume, with no contact or sparring, and it was more of an exercise class than actual jui-jitsu.  Only the instructor and my girls showed up for the class.  They spent a lot of time talking (he's the dad of two little girls ages 5 and 1).  He was sharing his concerns for his kids as they grow up in what looks like a very different world than the rest of us have experienced.  I was happy to hear how my 17 and 14 year old kids were able to speak words of life and encouragement into him, and explain about having peace on the inside, despite the crazy on the outside.    Dinner was a combination of leftovers, and some of the school food meals, I called it a "hodgepodge".

Wednesday morning arrived with a start when the phone rang shortly after 6am.  There was an emergency at the farm and Olivia and I had to bolt out the door.  We got back just a bit before Bella arrived.  The morning was spent working on housework, and applying for more jobs on line.  Olivia and I went back to the farm mid-day to tend to the animals.   We got back to finally get the confirmation from the YMCA about Olivia's summer job.  The good news is, she isn't a group leader (with 9 kids all day every day).  Instead, she's the Assistant Site Coordinator and will be helping with supplies, cleaning and filling in for counselors for breaks/lunches and helping with activities.  The bad news is the Y had one employee test positive for the virus.   Lindsey had a pretty quick turn around, with Bella leaving at 5pm and her getting to her next babysitting gig by 5:30pm.  We had a quick dinner of fried kielbasa, mashed potatoes/gravy and corn.  

Thursday morning Bella arrived on time, and Olivia headed out for her first day of training for her new position.  I dropped her off and then went to pick up groceries.  I noticed that Aldi has stopped sanitizing carts and are requiring you to use a quarter again (this had stopped during the pandemic).  They are still limiting quantities on paper products, meat, canned goods, sugar and butter.   Walmart was crowded, with probably a 50/50 ratio of people wearing masks.  Paper products were better stocked, but a lot of grocery items were still very low, or non existent.  Olivia came home late afternoon, and shortly after her arrival received a text that two more employees at the Y have tested positive.   Her staff group, and her worksite is not housed in the Y, but at a local church, so there SHOULDN'T be an issue, ahem.    The girls headed out to jiu-jitsu in the evening. We had dinner...I'm sure of it, but I'm drawing a blank on what it was.

Friday morning Olivia had to be at work at 8:30am, so we were out the door before Bella got here. I worked on laundry and research most of the day. There's not much scheduled for the afternoon or evening.  I know we're having chilidogs and cheese fries for dinner, but that's about it.

Have a good weekend!

Preparing for High School

Let me start off by giving the disclaimer "I'm not an expert, but this is what has worked for me."  Ok?  That takes the pressure off me to solve all of your homeschool high school woes, yet still gives me an opening to share.   Here we go!

Know your child.   Each child is different, and you need to have an understanding of where your student is and where they are heading.   Not everyone will go to college, for that matter, not everyone SHOULD go to college.   Determine if you need to prepare them for college, trade school, military or going directly into the work force.

Prepare Accordingly.  Based on the information you have from above, begin to plan out an overall view of their high school time.  If you aren't 100% sure about college, but you want to have your student ready "just in case", then take a look at your state or local school districts graduation requirements.  This will give you a good  baseline to what classes are generally expected for graduation.  You can then tailor your plan to fit your child's interests, while keeping college preparation in the realm of possibility.

If you know that your student is college bound, then check college requirements at their preferred school(s) and make sure you get all of the required classes covered.   Again, looking at your state or local school district's graduation information will show you what an "advanced" or "AP"  diploma would require, and this again is a good baseline to make sure your student is competitive academically when applying to colleges.

For trade school, or going directly into the work force, begin looking at your local options first.   Some areas will allow homeschooled students to attend the vocational technical schools.   Apprenticeships are also a great opportunity, and often are paid positions.    If there is nothing locally that suits your needs, then go to our friend the internet and do research, research and more research.   There are more options than you can imagine out there, but sometimes you have to do some digging to find the right one.

Realize that consumer math and business math are great options for high school.   Don't make yourself crazy with high end academics if you know your student isn't going to need it.   Also, realize if later in life they suddenly decide they want to further their education, they can do classes on their own, online or at community college.

Make a general outline.    Don't make yourself crazy by trying to pick out all four years worth of curriculum at one time.  Do figure out what classes you want/need your student to take each year.   Donna Young has great, free resources on her website for this.   Or you can just write it on notebook paper and go from there.

Talk to your student.   Allow your student to have some input into what curriculum picks are made, and how their schedule will look.   You may find that they would prefer block scheduling over an all year routine; or perhaps they have found that they prefer a certain learning method over the standard textbook.   Use the four years of high school to help your student become more independent and take more ownership in their schedule.  This will make the transition after high school a great deal easier.

Document everything.    A simple spiral notebook can be a great help here.   Keep track of extra curricular activities, awards, reading log and curriculum vendor information.    Basically this notebook will be a history of your students high school career.   Write it down now, because you will forget, trust me.    This will help you create transcripts, complete college applications and even job applications.

Transcripts.    This one word strikes fear into the heart of many a homeschooling parent, and it shouldn't.    If you're documenting things as you go (see above) it makes transcripts much easier.   However if you still are worried about pulling it all together into something usable, there are several great online option.   I use My Home School Grades to track everything, then with a click of the button   I have a transcript printed.

Testing.   PSAT, SAT...the dreaded "testing" is another area that causes panic in some parents.   College Board online gives you all the info you need to prepare, deadlines for registering, and get your students test results.

Lastly, remember this is a marathon, not a sprint.   You do not have to do everything today.  But, remember the easiest way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.   The smaller the bite, the easier it is to digest...likewise don't wait to the week before college applications are due and try pulling it all together out of your magic hat. 

Economics For Everybody (Review and Give Away)

 

Economics for Everybody is today's Timberdoodle product review.   Be sure to read to the bottom of the post, I'm also hosting a give away of this product (open to U.S. mailing addresses only).

The product consists of a spiral bound study guide and two corresponding DVDs that cover 12 lessons.   The study guide also contains a two page list of additional resources that would benefit the student, but these are not required to complete this 1/2 credit course.  The DVD lessons are fairly short, with the longest only lasting 27 minutes.

R.C. Sproul, Jr. is unapologetic in sharing from a Christian world view, using actual Bible references to expound on his economic teaching.    Historical movie footage (some graphic in nature) and old black and white movie footage adds visual affirmations as well as a bit of comic relief.    Sproul, who enthusiastically teaches each DVD lesson is engaging and lively, with a twinkle in his eye.   This is not your typical dry, boring economics class.

Admittedly,  I sat down and watched 4 lessons in the first night.  No I'm not a glutton for punishment, but it really was interesting; and Sproul presented a few points that I had never really considered in regards to economics linking to the Bible.   Am I the only one who never tied the 10 Commandments to economics?!

Overall I really like the way this program is done.   We'll definitely be keeping this in my "curriculum to be used later" box to cover as the girls get older.

**For clarification purposes, the note above about some graphic in nature footage is from concentration camps and starving persons in 3rd world countries, not graphic as in vulgar.

Economics for Everybody is part of Timberdoodle's 12th Grade Curriculum Kit.

Give Away!

One lucky winner will win a free copy of Economics for Everybody!   Simply leave me a message (make sure your leave me a way to contact you) and I'll pick a random winner on October 20, 2016.   Winner will have 48 hours to respond, or another winner will be picked.

I received a free copy of this product for review purposes only.  I received no other compensation, nor was I required to write a positive review.

Concurrent Enrollment for High School Students

If you have a high school student, you may want to look into the benefits of dual (or concurrent) enrollment at your local community colleges.   Typically this applies to students in their junior and senior year of high school.   Rules and regulations may vary by state, and possibly by school; however, here are a few things to think about.

Community colleges often have guaranteed enrollment programs with 4 year colleges. What this means is that if your student graduates a 2 year program, they are guaranteed transfer to select 4 year colleges.   In theory, your student could graduate high school and college with an associates degree and transfer into a 4 year college as a junior, at age 18.

Pros:
The biggest pro, of course would be getting a head start on college, while still being in the comfort zone of home.

Your student can begin to expand his horizons and grow academically and socially, with the safety net of still being at home.

Students can use their college classes for high school credit.   One class, twice the return, that’s a good investment!

Academic advisors can help students to get the classes that are needed to get them into their 4 year school of choice.

Cons:
Students must be high school graduates in order to apply for financial aid. You would be footing the bill for these two years of concurrent enrollment.

Students cannot take “developmental math” while concurrently enrolled.   A student should be proficient in Algebra II before taking the college placement exam, and equally their language arts/composition needs to be pretty firm.   A student placing lower than Algebra II would need to develop their math skills through their homeschooling, not by taking Algebra II during dual enrollment.

Community colleges also offer several types of degrees/programs.   Associate of Arts & Science as well as Associate of Science Degrees are typically transfer oriented programs.   Associate of Applied Science Degrees are typically “go to work” degrees.   There are also career study certificates, diplomas, and continued education certificates.

Like with any other thing, dual enrollment is not a one size fits all scenario. Make sure your student is emotionally and socially mature enough to handle college at an early age.   If your student isn’t ready for college at 16, don’t sweat it, don’t push it and don’t treat it as a failure.   College will be there if and when your child is ready.

Looking At High School Differently

We are quickly approaching the high school years.   I know a lot of people look at homeschooling high school with much fear and trepidation, and a great deal of that is brought on by trying to compete with the public school system.   To be honest, I've gotten sucked into that a bit as well. However, in recent weeks I've been rethinking my position somewhat.

Like all parents, I want my children to be well prepared to be successful in their career choices.  What I don't want is for my kids to get pigeonholed into a "career" that carries a stigma of success, while they are miserable in it.   I want them to be able to do what they love, and have peace knowing that it's ok.

There truly are some people who know from a very young age what they want to be when they grow up.  However, I think most teens, and even adults if they are honest, want to try life, experience a few things and then see what's a good fit.   Not everyone is bound for college or the white collar world.  Some people truly love working with their hands, getting dirty and coming home physically tired at the end of the day....and there's nothing shameful about that.

 While I do want my kids to have the best possible education, I don't want them wasting valuable years cramming math formula's into their brains and hating every minute of it, just to never need to use that information in real life.   I do want them to have opportunities that will broaden their knowledge base and open new doors.

I've been muddling this around in my head for the last few weeks.   I've been trying to decide if I want to follow the "force feed them higher education" route, or if I want to give them liberty to pursue passions, or at least minor interests without squelching their interest.   In my muddling, I stumbled across this interesting article about a law making it's way through the Virginia General Assembly.

Interestingly enough, back in high school (and yes it was public school) there was more than one path to success.   There was the "advanced diploma" path that included the higher maths, foreign language and chemistry with a lab.   Then there was the "standard diploma" which meant you took the regular classes (language arts, biology, basic math) and then you either went to vocational/technical school for a trade, or took shop, home economics and general studies.

Do you want to know a secret?  I've never had "higher math", not even pre-algebra.  Shocking right?   Instead, I took the business classes that were offered, including shorthand (gasp), typing, business math and the like.  For the six years following graduation I did various jobs, before deciding to go to business college.   I graduated the top of the class, landed a job with the largest civil engineering firm on the east coast, working my way up from receptionist to office administrator...and I loved it.

I say all that to say this, I don't know that at 12 or 13 my child (either of them) has the slightest clue about her future.  I certainly don't have it all figured out either.   What I do know, is that if  I equip her with the desire to learn and grow, and give her room to spread her wings she'll figure it out.  If I force feed her facts, formulas and figures and make her doubt her abilities, she'll flounder and settle for whatever life hands her.

That's not acceptable as far as I'm concerned.    What does that mean, and look like in reality?   I don't know, truthfully.  It may mean that we cram a lot of academics into 9th and 10th grade and then allow for more exploration in 11th and 12th.   It may mean the opposite, or perhaps it'll be more relaxed all four years?

I'll spend some time praying about it, and consulting with the husband, and perusing the options available.   My curriculum picks for the upcoming year may be a bit late this year.   Time will tell I guess.

What about you?   Are you in the more academically strenuous high school camp, or the more delight driven or do you land somewhere in the middle like me?