HIGH SCHOOL EDITION #15
By Heather Idoni
Added Monday, November 30, 2009
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The Homeschooler's Notebook
***SPECIAL SERIES - High School Homeschooling***
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Vol. 10 No 86 November 30, 2009
ISSN: 1536-2035
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Copyright (c) 2009 - Heather Idoni, FamilyClassroom.net
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Welcome to The Homeschooler's Notebook!
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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Notes from Heather
-- Lee and Barbara
Feature Article
-- When Less is Really More
Helpful Tip for High School
-- Make Time for Interests
Answers to Reader Question
-- Update on Exchange Students
Additional Notes
-- Newsletter Archives
-- Sponsorship Information
-- Reprint Information
-- Subscriber Information
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Notes from Heather
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Our feature article is more lengthy than usual, so I'll keep my
"notes" short and sweet. ;-)
I LOVE this article by Lee Binz, though -- so I have to comment
on it! So many of the parents who come to me for high school
transcripts have done way more than they have to do. The article
below says it all. If you read it and think "this is me!", then
seriously consider taking all the advice within. You'll be glad
you did sooner than later!
Also -- don't miss the great advice in our "Helpful Tip" section.
Barbara Frank wrote in with some words of wisdom that really
complement Lee's article.
Now is a great time to reduce academic stress and focus on relaxing
and enjoying the holidays, too -- so go make that cup of tea and
come back and enjoy the newsletter!
Blessings,
Heather
---
Do you have comments to share? Please do!
Send your emails to: mailto:heather@familyclassroom.net
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The Easy Truth about Homeschool Transcripts by Lee Binz
"The Easy Truth about Homeschool Transcripts is so easy, I'm actually
excited to sit down and create my son's transcripts! If you're
thinking about homeschooling through high school, this book will
remove all your fears around credits, course descriptions and grades,
and will help you translate your student's homeschool work into the
language of college admissions officers!
An awesome tool for all homeschooling parents!" -- Jill in Washington
http://familyclassroom.net/truth.html
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Feature Article
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Homeschool High School - When Less is More
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It's all about balance.
I've noticed an odd pattern among homeschoolers stressed about high
school. In the freshman year they tend to do too much because they
aren't sure what high school looks like, or how much they need to
accomplish. In the sophomore and junior year, they will pile on
more work as they start to panic about college. In the senior
year, they hit the accelerator again to compensate for perceived
weaknesses from the prior years. Are you trying to do twice as
much homeschooling this year?
If this describes you, take a step back and look at what you are
expecting. Are you doing too much? It is said that if your only
tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Are you beating
your children over the head with more work? Is that how you are
addressing every homeschool concern?
Highschool is a time when kids should become increasingly self-taught.
It's also a time when they start to specialize; that is, start to
follow their passionate interests. Because of this, consider doing
fewer subjects but going deeper in some of them.
Overwork causes turmoil and strife.
Parents who panic about high school will sometimes try to allay
their fears by piling on the work. That won't help. Trying to do
too much causes turmoil and strife. Don't chase after the wind –
make sure you only require a reasonable amount from your student.
Add up how many hours you expect them to work each day, and make
sure it's reasonable.
Math may take a couple of hours, but EVERY subject shouldn't take
more than an hour. It's important to allow some down-time, so that
your home has peace and tranquility. It's hard to learn in a
tumultuous home.
Strive for a peaceful homeschool, so the kids have the ability to
learn MORE because they aren't stressed. High school isn't a time
to panic and pile on the school work. Add it up, and make sure it's
not too much.
My Confession
I know what it's like to pile it on. I really do – I'm not just
saying that. I consider it a character flaw in myself, actually.
Here is what I initially planned to do for a freshman year of high
school. I defy you to try to speak this list out loud without taking
a breath:
Jacob's Geometry, Patty Paper Geometry supplement, Latin Road to
English Grammar 3, Power-Glide French 1, Apologia Chemistry, Sonlight
American History, Teaching Company history supplement, Current events,
Spelling Power, Dictation, Analogies, Learn to Write the Novel Way,
Sonlight Language Arts Writing assignments, Journal Writing, Piano,
composer and poet and artist each month with reports, Timeline,
Mapping, Read-Aloud, Sonlight literature with literary analysis,
scripture Memorization, Christian Manhood workbook and personal
devotions.
Nope, I still can't read that without my heart racing. It took
about a month until we did what homeschoolers call a 'crash and burn'.
No matter how fast and how hard we worked, we couldn't seem to get
it all done! When you look at this list, notice how all those ideas
are just wonderful. My plan was simply filled to the brim with
great educational opportunities! It was just too much good stuff
to actually be achievable.
Don't supplement your supplements.
Look at my plan and see if you can spot all the supplements. What
if you eliminate supplements? I could eliminate Patty Paper Geometry;
Teaching Company courses and current events were history supplements.
English was supplemented with spelling, dictation, analogies, and
journal writing. Bible study was supplemented with memorization and
a workbook. Composers and artists were supplementing the piano
lessons. Poet study was supplementing English.
I had a similar talk with a client this month and we discovered that
she actually had supplements to her supplements! That is how she
knew she'd gone completely over the top!
Look at my plan and see if anything is unnecessary. By freshman
year, many high school students are ready to stop a separate spelling
program. We could drop Spelling. My children were already scoring
in the 10th and 12th grade levels in spelling. Surely they didn't
have to memorize every word in the spelling book! It's possible to
correct spelling words during the process of writing, rather than
using a separate spelling book.
Avoid duplicating subjects.
My biggest "Ah Ha!" moment came when I recognized my duplicate
subjects. I was using two complete foreign language programs - Latin
and French. I knew in advance that I was doing that, actually. My
children WANTED to do both, and we talked about how difficult it
might be, but my children were motivated. What truly surprised me
was English. I was using two complete English programs - Learn to
Write the Novel Way, and Sonlight Language Arts writing. Not only
was I using two complete English programs, I was supplementing
English more than any other subject!
Once I identified all the duplicates, all the supplements, and all
the unnecessary stuff, I started to prioritize. I had to put the
most important stuff into our homeschool FIRST. Once the big stuff
was working, then I could supplement with the smaller things. My
pastor gave a sermon called "Put in the Big Rocks First". Suppose
you want to put some sand and rocks in a glass. If you have a glass
that is half full of sand, you can't add another glass full of rocks
– they just won't fit.
But if you put the rocks in the glass first, and then pour in the
sand on top, you will be able to fit them both. In the same way with
your homeschool, put the big subjects in first. Then sprinkle the
wonderful supplemental fluff on top, and eliminate any of the "sand"
that doesn't fit.
Cut out some good things.
In the beginning of the year I had been concerned about my children's
attitudes. I wondered if they were lazy or unmotivated. Why did
they work so slowly? My husband and I talked about all the problems
we were having. I told him about the duplication, the supplements,
and the fluff stuff. We took a marker and started cutting. We cut
some wonderful curriculum and great activities. It was heart-breaking,
but you know, there isn't enough time in a day to do ALL the good
stuff. Something just had to go.
The children wanted to do both writing programs (can you believe
that?) They wanted to do both foreign language programs (oh, just
kill me now!) We had to cut other things. Let me repeat: we cut
out some really good things! We eliminated analogies, dictation,
literary analysis, spelling, mapping, timeline, Patty Paper geometry,
and scripture memorization. Some things we just did 'for fun' during
lunch, without much discussion. We would listen to classical music
or hear talk radio discuss current events.
Revise your plan.
Here is our revised freshman year plan. Take a deep breath and try
it again. Notice how it rolls trippingly off the tongue without
causing hyperventilation!
Jacob's Geometry, Latin Road to English Grammar 3, Power Glide
French 1, Apologia Chemistry, Sonlight American History, Teaching
Company history supplement, Learn to Write the Novel Way, Sonlight
Language Arts Writing assignments, Journal Writing, Piano, Composer
and poet and artist each month with reports, Read-Aloud, Sonlight
literature, Christian Manhood workbook and personal devotions.
Review and revise your own homeschool plan. Look at your plan with
a fresh eye. Is it still too much? Add up the hours you are
expecting from your child now. Is it more reasonable? Are you
back in balance? I have to warn you, once things settle down there
is a tendency to slip into old habits, and start expecting more and
more again.
It's like when you are very hungry and you pile mashed potatoes on
your plate. After a while you realize that your eyes were bigger
than your stomach. We homeschool because we love to educate our
children – it's fun! But that can cause us to attempt too much.
Watch for the return of the "Do More Blues" later in the year,
because they can come back again.
A Homeschool Lesson from Hummingbirds
Whenever I see a hummingbird outside my kitchen window I scream
like a little girl. The excitement I feel when I see these beautiful
creatures is overwhelming. But have you noticed that hummingbirds
seem to flap the fastest when they are hovering?
Homeschoolers are like that too. Sometimes we'll try to work so
hard and so fast, that we actually get LESS work done instead of
more. Make sure you have enough time in your day to actually get
the homeschooling done. If you try to get too much done, you'll
end up going even slower through your year.
In other words, don't try to do too much; you'll just end up standing
still.
Another thing about hummingbirds you should know - although they
look sweet, according to the books they are actually pretty violent
and aggressive. Could that be because all that hard work flapping
is stressing them out? I'm not naming names or anything, but if
you feel like you're flapping your wings as fast as you can, and
not getting anywhere - and if that frustrates you - maybe you're
a hummingbird.
Are you angry, frustrated, burned out, and snapping at your kids?
Attempting too much can cause them to fail, you know. And their
failure will just make you angrier. But they can't do it all – no
one can. If you are feeling frustrated, check to see if you are
doing too much.
I was watching a bald eagle fly the other day. Unlike a hummingbird,
they really don't flap much at all. And yet, they really get a LOT
done. Maybe this coming school year, consider not flapping so much,
but soaring a little more. Relax and let the delights of your
children provide the lift you need for your homeschool.
---
Copyright Lee Binz, 2009
LeeBinz, The HomeScholar, specializes in helping parents homeschool
highschool. Read Lee's story of how she converted 4 years of
independent homeschooling into transcripts that earned both her
sons full tuition scholarships totaling $184,852 to their first
choice university! Go to this page to read more:
http://www.FamilyClassroom.net/truth.html
Lee can be found at www.TheHomeScholar.com
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Helpful Tip
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"It can be overwhelming to plan your teen's homeschool high school
experience. There are so many great books and curriculum available,
plus homeschool co-ops, acting groups, traveling debate and Bible
memorization competitions, etc.
The best piece of advice I can give is to tailor the experience to
your teen. Sit down together and list his/her interests, aptitudes
and future plans. (These may change over the course of four years.
That's good... try to be flexible.) Then make sure there's always
time for your teen to develop those interests while doing high
school at home.
For instance, when our son was a teen, he was part of the leadership
team for our church's youth group. He and I fit in his studies
around his youth group planning meetings and events. This was great
training for him before he went college, where he spent his senior
year as president of Campus Ministry, supervising forty student
groups and developing management skills that now benefit him in his
career.
Also, our daughter, a freshman in college, is an avid writer. During
the last few years of her homeschooling experience, we let her
schoolwork take a backseat to her writing each November so that she
could participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, where
you write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days). It positively impacted
the quality of her writing, and increased her already considerable
enthusiasm for it.
One of the greatest advantages of homeschooling teens is that it
gives them the time to develop their interests. Traditional high
school rarely allows this. Make sure your teens get to take advantage
of this freedom! It will have a positive impact on them for the rest
of their lives."
-- Barbara Frank
www.barbarafrankonline.com
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Do you have an idea, experience, or tip to share? Please write!
Send to: mailto:HN-ideas@familyclassroom.net
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High School Question
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A Homeschool-Friendly Foreign Exchange Program!
In our last High School issue, Mary Beth had asked about foreign
exchange student programs that would work with homeschooling
families. I'm delighted to report that one of our readers has
worked with one... and they cater to homeschooling families who
would like to host a student during the summer!
Here is a link to their main site:
http://www.nacel.net/
And here is a page specifically about homeschooling:
http://www.nacel.net/HomeSchooling.html
Thanks, Jane, for your answer!
-- Heather
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Reader Responses
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"A few years ago we hosted a French student with Nacel Open
Door's Summer Program for just one month during August, so
'going to school' wasn't an issue. It's also a good way to
try hosting (since it's a shorter time frame) before deciding
if it will work for your family for a whole year." -- Jane
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"Have you checked out Youth For Understanding? I don't think
homeschooling would keep them from placing a child with you.
I had some great experiences with them as a teen. I spent time
in France and then when I returned home spent time with numerous
exchange students from multiple countries as a helper for them.
I am not involved with them currently, but I keep them in the
back of my mind as a resource for when my kids are older. My
experiences with many exchange students from abroad, as well as
American students who went abroad, was that the majority of them
were very interested in interaction and had worked very hard to
be there and wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity.
They were respectful of the families that hosted them, knowing
that this was a very special privilege. Not that there weren't
some that had problems and took them out on their host families,
but most of those problems stemmed from culture shock that was
not well managed." -- Sheri
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New Reader Question for Next Regular Issue
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"Does anyone know of any programs that we can use to teach our
Junior and Senior High children Excel, Power Point and other
common computer programs? Thank you." -- Gayle in Alabama
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Can you help Gayle with her question?
Please send your answer to: mailto:HN-answers@familyclassroom.net
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Ask YOUR Question
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Do you have a question about homeschooling high school?
Send it to mailto:HN-questions@familyclassroom.net and we'll see
if we can help you out in a future issue!
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