Not Another Homeschool Blog

In July. My daughters Drama Club is doing White Christmas.  The show will run the first week of December. Auditions are soon.  I'll be picking up a copy of White Christmas the movie and the Broadway recording so she can prepare for auditions. I think the role of Martha would be perfect for her... spunky and with a big voice.  I'll be crossing my fingers for her. FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

The new school year starts in a couple of weeks.  For my kids, their online classes (just a couple) start and their choir practice and drama club rehearsals also start the second week of august.  I will start their other studies once they get into the swing of things. I already have the kids doing a little work to get them ramped up.  They are both doing test prep stuff and my daughter is halfway through her geometry curriculum.  I am looking forward to this 2011-2012 school year with excitement.  Are you ready? FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

I just updated my curriculum page , and listed my favorite curriculum from over the years (scroll to end of page).  To my surprise, most of them ended with .com or .org. I have a thing for online curriculum. The downside to that is that we end up buying new computers... often.  My daughter seems to be able to trash a laptop in 18 months.  My son's last longer, but his choices are more expensive. Fortunately, I fill in the blanks with free home education resources such as those found on my   FREE HOME EDUCATION WEBSITE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE WalletPop Contributor Brighthub Contributor

It may seem odd that I have chosen to use a public school program to help homeschool my kids.  I have always been against public school at home, so I guess I should make a statement about this. First,. because we could not get dual enrollment for my son's senior year, I wanted something to show to colleges that he was at the same level as high school kids. Second, while Georgia Virtual School is sponsored by the state, it keeps the parent in control of what the child will take and even gives flexibility in scheduling. Third, it is not Georgia Cyber Academy, in which the school makes all educational choices for the child.  I strongly dislike Georgia Cyber Academy because kids who are struggling in school, would almost never be successful in it. Anyway, we chose to take a couple of online classes this year through Georgia Virtual School.  My son is taking Physics, Spanish, and a math class.  As I am not equipped to teach the spanish or physics, I had to find so...

I just updated my son's plans for the new school year .  It looks like Dual enrollment at the local college is out of the question.  I find it interesting that non homeschoolers have gotten in with ACT scores lower than his, but he does not qualify for dual enrollment. It is also interesting that his current scores WILL get him into the four year colleges that he really wants to go to.  On the other hand, if he is not fully ready for college math, as they say,  then we have another year to prepare him for it.  That is a good thing.  I remember losing my love for math in the 11th grade and struggling miserably my first year in college.  I don't want that for him. I want him to hit the ground running.  So... it looks like we are going to use Georgia Virtual School which are online classes provided by the state (Not to be confused with Georgia Cyber Academy which is public school at home).  Homeschoolers are still in charge when they use GV...

I don't know if my son will get accepted for dual enrollment for fall due to his late ACT Date and the later score release date.  For that reason, I have been exploring my other options for his senior year.  I have found two great possibilities.   The first is Georgia Virtual School: http://www.gavirtualschool.org/ Not to be confused with Georgia Virtual Academy, Georgia Virtual School provides a teacher led, virtual classroom environment.  Apparently homeschooled students have now been approved by the state to take 6-half credits each semester for free.  I don't know how I feel about it because it is public school at home, and I preferred a college course, but it will help my son get his last high school requirements out of the way in one semester.   The second is BYU independent study .  Kids can take college and high school level credits and the cost is cheaper than most virtual schools.  It is " a distance education prog...

Today is my daughters 15th birthday.  At exactly 8:10 this morning, she had her learners permit in hand.  She kind of lives that way... accomplish as much as possible as soon as possible.  This is why she'd already driven by noon. This is why she will be graduating before her 17th birthday. Her brother lives at a more deliberate speed.  He likes things slow, easy, and careful.  This is why he does not have a drivers licence yet when he will be 17 soon.  This is also why he opted to take another year of homeschooling instead of taking one more class last year to graduate at 16 like his sister. Now that she is driving, he demanded that we pay for lessons for him.  He says we make him nervous and he wants a real instructor... so be it.  He is finally ready to drive, partly because it is time, and partly because his sister is putting a little pressure on him. So what does this have to do with homeschooling?  Lots. There are so...