Khan Academy update - use it for math

I did math this evening.... for fun.

I am brushing up my math skills to eventually get the nerve to go take college Algebra and maybe do some college-ing myself.  I figure working the old noggin will put of senility.  I was much sharper when we were homeschooling.  Why not homeschool myself?

In the meantime, I started at arithmetic.  The photo shows how much I have done in two sittings.  An hour a month ago and two hours today.

If I remember to keep at it, I should be through all the high school maths, or at least through Algebra in a month.

I think this is a Free math program that parents should consider for their homeschooled kids. I've always loved this site, even back when it was just very quietly  spoken videos.  I loved it when it had a weird way of tracking progress, but now they've really got it together.

While my kids hated videos, they would stop and use them if they got stuck, so this math program now offers the best of two worlds... even if a student is not going to use it as the main curriculum, I highly recommend it for tutoring and review (which is pretty much what public and private school students use it for.)

Sooooo close to finished.... yet so far.

It is so hard to focus on the final academics that need to be done before graduation.  There are almost 2 months before graduation, so there is plenty of time, but a lot of that time is accounted for with the SR. Project for her arts program.  She has had to write, design, and will need to rehearse and perform a show on graduation day.  So I want the academics done.

Left to do:

2 Lifepac paces for Physical science
1 term paper for economics.
1 full .5 credit study on health.

The college she is going to also wants her to take a math test, a writing test, and a spanish test online right away.

Meanwhile, I am having problems pulling her attention from her SR. Project, as that is most exciting.

Sigh.

I'm just glad to know that I won't have to micro-manage her work anymore.  She responds much better to teachers (like the one who is mentoring her Sr. Project).  I'm not worried about college... just anxious to get 12th grade finished.


FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE
ahermitt.com

Time for prom gown shopping again

So, daughter and I are on the prowl for a prom dress.  I found what we thought was the perfect one a couple weeks ago and snapped a photo of it.  Everyone fell in love with it immediately.  But when we went to try it on today, it was more of a miss than a hit.

The dress is a sheath mini with a sweetheart neckline. It is embedded with gems, and it has a long sheer-ish overskirt.  I know.  Not very modest. It looked pretty modest on the mannequin though. But when you are dealing with real human pieces and parts, it doesn't cover up nearly as much.

So now that we know EXACTLY the style she wants, we have to find a more modest version.

I am looking at removable overskirts that tie on at the waist, this has become popular in wedding dresses so brides can take off the long skirt and have on a short dress.  For the main dress, we still want a sweetheart neckline, but with wide shoulder straps and a skirt that reaches the knee.

I pray I find it.... soon.

I know this seems trivial... a homeschooler worried about a prom dress, but you only graduate once.  Her other proms were fun, but we didn't sweat over the dress at all.  Her Dad has insisted this one be special, and I am trying to accommodate.

Of course me and the kid both hate dress shopping.


Update:  Apparently the best way to find a prom dress is to take DAD with you.  (You probably need the right dad, but it worked.) We got something completely unlike what we had imagined, and completely modest, and not at all matronly or old fashioned looking.  (The bad side of having Dad with us is that he had the nerve to put a time limit on how long we would shop.)

After this last experience, and 4 years of buying prom dresses, the trick was to have her wear the style of bra she plans to wear to prom, and to find a dress that would cover the bra.... completely.  While the vast majority of formals were strapless or one shoulder, it only had to go into 3 stores to find one that stocked more than strapless dresses.  Looking at those dresses we chose one that best suited her shape and that was long.  Bingo.  And we were in and out the store in about 40 minutes. 

The dress cost about $100 more than I wanted to pay, but it is no nice, and so non-typical-prom-like that she can continue to wear it for many years to come, which is very important as she is a performer and needs recital dresses. 


FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE
ahermitt.com

Spent the whole day compiling my favorite curriculum resources

I have been asked for a homeschool high school guide a million times, so I spent the day compiling it.

You will find it on my curriculum blog or here.  It is a compilation of the last few posts I did subject by subject and free resources all over the net.

Enjoy.


FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE
ahermitt.com

High School Homeschool Curriculum Recap- History

This is part 3 of my curriculum recap series.  Please scroll to the bottom for other subjects.  This installment specifically covers history in the high school years.  Before the high school years, I feel that history should be taught chronologically.  Personally, I prefer that it also be taught chronologically in the high school years as well, but for the college bound student, that is not always possible.

To keep things interesting, and for continuity's sake, I always pair my literature choices with the history/social studies unit.  You can find my k-12 language arts plan here.

American History:
Each of my kids actually did two year of American History.  There is just so much information to cover.  We used Hippocampus.org, and studied Discovery to Civil War the first year and

High School Homeschool Curriculum Recap- Science

This is part two of my curriculum recap series.  In it I am attempting to look back at my kids high school years and give lessons learned and what we loved and hated.  Here is a review of my children's science subjects.

Neither of my children were very excited about science as they are more artsy people, so we did not go out of our way to do AP courses or take SATII's which science minded kids will want to look into.

Environmental Science:

My daughter Used Hippocampus for Environmental science.  She used it in conjunction to one of the recommended textbooks on the site, and mostly followed the hippocampus format.  I just mapped

Homeschool Blogging A to Z: H is for Highschool

As my kids got closer and closer to high school age, their homeschool friends started disappearing.  Where I only had to drive five or 10 minutes to do things with other homeschoolers, we now drive 40 minutes regularly, especially if we want a large crowd of homeschoolers.

The reason is that homeschoolers drop off (enroll in public and private school) as they reach high school age.

Free Sample Transcript

 I have viewed alot of homeschool transcripts, and a couple of public school transcripts too.  I don't pretend to be an expert on transcripts, but I am a quick study.  I came up with my own one page form that I plan to use.

Update:  This transcript was used to get my son accepted in multiple colleges with scholarship offers.

It is easy to scan, makes room for all the electives homeschoolers participate in.  It also takes into account the possibility of weighted grades due to AP classes and CLEP exams.

I have already customized one for each of my kids even filling in classes that I plan for them to take in the future... it really helped this visual person to see it laid out like that. 

Click here to view the transcript sample with notes:  
Feel free to use it as your own sample.

I've discontinued selling the template for this.  I feel it needs updating.  Thanks for your patronage. 

What our homeschool schedules look like

 Keep in my that my kids are in grades 10 and 11 and planning to go to college.  In fact, we have already started our college search.  (As previous posts demonstrate).  We are eclectic homeschoolers with a cross between Classical and Charlotte Mason.

Here is a sample of my daughters weekly schedule.  

*On weeks when she doesn't have a science center lab class, her Friday schedule  resembles any other day.
 * This does not include completed assignments (mostly drama and dance practice) for Artios Classes, which must be done on evenings and weekends.
*If she needs a day off, she will need to do work on the weekends, but I will excuse non-core courses such as piano practice, test prep time, and Chinese lessons.
*There are about 4 weeks during the year when the entire schedule gets scrapped because of trips with Artios Academy or for Drama Club productions. 

*My son's schedule is similar except that he is only studying one language and one music discipline, but taking more advanced core classes. (Grade 11).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com Check out FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE for free homeschool links and resources

Tentative plan for my rising sophomore

 If you read my last post, you will know that my son is a rising Jr.  My 13 year old daughter is only 1 year behind him.  Her plan for finishing high school is a little less clear.  I do know that while he is taking the calculus  and physics route with plans to study computer science and graphics, she is a much more a practical thinking person (versus theoretical) who wants to be an actor and costume designer.  Plus she is already frustrated with Algebra, so I am worried about Algebra 2 and Calculus.  After a conversation with her and my husband, here is how I think it will go:

Grade 10:
~*Continue Algebra 1, then study for Algebra Clep Test.  This will equate to Algebra 1 plus College level Algebra 1
~Biology (non majors biology hippocampus)
~Spanish 2
~Intro to Chinese
~Modern Literature
~Study for US History 1 Clep Exam & then do US History 2
~Artios Academies for chorus, Christian World View, Musical Theater, Musical Theater Dance, Voice Lessons

Grade 11
~*Geometry?  Teaching Textbooks?
~Chemistry
~Chinese 2
~Grammar/ Lit: Analyzing and Interpreting Lit CLEP
~US History 2
~Artios Academies electives in Theater and Music

Grade 12
~ *Maybe Personal Finance or perhaps Algebra 2
~American or English Literature
~Artios Academies electives in Theater and Music and a Senior Project

I would love some input in the flexibility of homeschool math and College admissions!

*This is a work in progress... I have already several things since I have posted this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com Check out FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE for free homeschool links and resources

Preparing to take the CLEP History 1 Exam

You may remember that we are planning to take a CLEP approach to homeschool high school.   Originally, I started working with my 15 year old son, who passed the Analyzing and Interpreting Literature Exam, and before long my 13 year old wanted in on the fun. 

We are now getting ready to take the History 1 Exam because my kids have a great grasp on history thanks to their Fine Arts and History program at Artios Academies. 

I had them use Hippocampus.com to watch the history videos and take the quizzes.  My daughter finished ahead of schedule so I had her take the short (65) question exam from the large blue College Board CLEP book.  She did exceedingly well, answering 2/3 of the questions right when you need to answer 50% right to pass the test. Her unofficial score was equivalent to a B in a college level class!  She hasn't even started using the recommended REA test prep book yet.  My kids will take the test in about 2 weeks, giving them time for more review and practice tests.
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Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom

Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog

Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com

Check out FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE for free homeschool links and resources

Sharing Classnotes on Facebook

There is a new website designed to help college students share notes with other students. It allows them to flesh out classnotes, and to get a different perspective. The way this works is that a student in a... at lets say University of Wisconsin POLI SCI 104 course is working on a Political Science Paper and feels they are missing something. They can go through this facebook application to to access notes of a student in another college in another state, or even in the same class to see if their notes reveal something different. In short Coursehero allows students to share information and coursework over a facbook application.

Now if you are thinking that this is an excellent way to cheat and plagarize, you should know that you can and very likely will get caught. This site was designed for ethical sharing of personal class notes and nothing more.

What does this have to do with homeschooling you might ask? Well, if you autodidact homeschooled child is interested in learning,more about political science, or ants to take a CLEP exam for English Literature, they could access notes from students across the country and get a good feel of what is taught in the class. This could turn out to be an excellent resource for homeschoolers, even if college students push the envelope of ethics while using it.




Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom

Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog

Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com

Making a High School Plan

The time has come to chart out my son's plan for graduation. I feel like we just started homeschooling yesterday.

Read my Families.com blog, Do you have a High School Graduation Plan?

Read more Notes From a Homeschooling Mom

Visit Me at the Families.com Homeschool Blog

Visit My Education Column at Examiner.com