Nailed down this years curriculum... again

We really thought this year's curriculum plan for my SR. daughter was going to be easy peasy, then we decided to go for Accreditation. So, instead, we found ourselves adding classes in some areas which meant scaling back in others. 

Here is a brief accounting of our new and improved plans:

Math:  Business Math with Personal Finance:  ALEKS.COM
Language Arts: Analyzing and Interpreting Lit (study for CLEP exam)
History: Government 1/2 credit Hippocampus.org
Social Studies: Economics:  Uncle Erics Books

• Whatever Happened to Penny Candy
• Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career, and Financial Security (An Uncle Eric Book) by Richard J. Maybury, Jane A. Williams and Kathryn Ann Daniels (Apr 1, 2004)
• Whatever Happened to Justice? (An Uncle Eric Book)

Science: General Physical Science Hippocampus.org
Spanish: Mango Languages (library subscription)
HEALTH: Glencoe Online



The plan is to still try to be finished with the bulk of this by Christmas so she can focus on her Sr. project at her Arts program.

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Accrediting daughter's portfolio

I am such a hypocrite.


As much as I complain against and say that accreditation is not necessary, I have decided to go ahead and accredit my daughters homeschool portfolio.

Sure, she could get into any private college with her portfolio as-is.  Her tests scores are good, especially, her verbal score. She is loaded down with theater and music extra-curriculars, demonstrating the depth of her talent.

So why have I decided to turn her homeschool portfolio into an accredited diploma?



Competitiveness.

One of the colleges she is applying to will take homeschool portfolios with tons of digging and probing, and may still require a GED.  We are not really worried about that, because it is clear she is well educated, but they won't take my word for her grades....and her GPA is vital to scholarship offers.

Sigh.  Yes, I did it for money.  In my defense, this is a tough economy and this will be my second child in college.  

So have I changed my mind?  Do I think homeschool accreditation is necessary.  NO, I don't. My (and many veteran homeschoolers' fear) is that if more and more homeschoolers cave to accreditation, that more and more colleges will feel justified in asking for it.  That is sad, because it takes away some of the freedoms of being able to teach to the child.  Even with my daughters length and breadth of educational experiences, we have to add another science class and a half credit of economics to meet state accreditation requirements, even though none of her colleges require that she study these subjects.  With accreditation, we as homeschoolers spend so much time and effort on studies that either don't fit the child's needs or that keep the child from doing what is more tailored to them. So you can see why so many of us resist accreditation requirements for homeschoolers. 


 However, I cannot negate the original reason that I chose to homeschool, which is to use the tools in my arsenal to do what is best for each child?  Hence, this child will be getting an accredited diploma. However, I might be annoyed if she ends up going to one of the other colleges on her list that do not require it.


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Don't toss those homeschool papers just yet.

One of the coolest things about homeschool blogs and email groups and homeschool groups is that you get to learn from the mistakes of others.  So here's what I learned this week.

When you homeschool, you need to hold on to your homeschoolers paperwork i.e. homeschool portfolio with samples of your children's work.  Test results and every piece of paper that was required from every school for admission.  If you have space, just hold onto all four years of homeschool documentation until they have their college diploma in hand.  In addition, hold on to all correspondence from the colleges they are admitted to, especially  any

Is fear preventing homeschooling and will certification help?

 I've been getting calls from a person who I suspect wants me to homeschool their kid. Since we are of close relation, that wouldn't be a problem except that since they live far away, so homeschooling their kid would involve moving their kid into my home. Don't get me wrong, I want to help, but I don't want to raise any more kids. I am looking forward to my last year as an active homeschooling parent and don't really want to tack on a few more years as mommy to a teenager.  


I get the sense that they feel homeschooling would be impossible for them without proper training, special permission and guidance from the school district, but that is not going to happen... and it doesn't have to.  If homeschoolers can teach their own ADHD, developmentally delayed, and Autistic children successfully without a special education degree, you can certainly homeschool a child - your perfectly normal child

Middle Schoolers Gone Wild

Bullying has gone too far when middle schoolers attach a school bus monitor

 It is difficult to find someone who hasn't been bullied or has done bullying themselves. Back in my day, the response was "kids will be kids", or "it's a part of growing up", and it was just dismissed. When kids were especially brutish, parents tended to deny that their child had ever done such a thing. Currently, there is no denying the current bullying culture when kids record their bad deeds and post them online for all to see.

 read full article here

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Whoopie Goldberg Homeschooled?

 Have you ever noticed just how long the lists of famous homeschoolers is getting?  After coming across one such list, I had to call foul on a common entry.  More and more people are reporting that Whoopie Goldberg was homeschooled.  This is not true.  Whoopie Goldberg dropped out of high school.

Whoopi Goldgerg didn't even make it through the first month of high school before dropping out.  Two weeks in, she quit.  She didn't know that she had dyslexia, which was why she

When one door closes.....

Last month, my son was finishing high school, graduating, and enjoying a series of lasts.  

Today, I made his first college tuition payment, and had his final transcript notarized  to give to the college.  


I guess that saying, "when one door closes, another opens" is very true.



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