Sunday, July 22, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Local Homeschool Programs
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Chalk Dust Math
Since I'm also seriously considering Video Text, I got pretty excited when I found the following information on the Chalk Dust website. (Chalk Dust FAQ).
"Is your program best for my child?
Perhaps; the "best" program for your child is the one that matches the learning style of your child with the teaching style (and learning support) provided by whatever program you use.
Please compare Video Text with Chalk Dust Prealgebra.
"Video Text has B/W module booklets that are not detailed enough, no application word problems, and usually less than 30 problems per lesson."
S. Ackerman (former Video Text Prealgebra customer and current Chalk Dust customer)
Also, in our opinion, Video Text Algebra 2 is not nearly as comprehensive as Chalk Dust Algebra 2.
Chalk Dust Company has accredited Houghton Mifflin (now Cengage Learning) derived color textbooks, step-by-step solutions guides (Basic Math, Prealgebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Precalculus, and Calculus I), numerous application problems, and more than 100 problems per section (ie lesson) on average from which to choose. Chalk Dust uses one professional on-camera math instructor (Dana Mosely) who provides high-quality technical support directly to your student. The comprehensive DVDs correlate to each textbook and focus upon teaching concepts with numerous sample problems.
How do your math programs compare to Saxon, or ABeka, or Math-U-See?
Chalk Dust textbooks are in color and are derived from Houghton Mifflin (now Cengage Learning) textbooks which meet math standards in all states, and are used in colleges. The chapters are divided into sections that include numerous problems (often 75-150) many of which are "real-life applications" that are scarce in other programs. Tests are built into every text (Basic Math through Calculus I).
Solution Guides are very detailed whereby a textbook problem is repeated and a step-by-step solution is given. In general, we feel that a student should work about 25 problems at the end of each section, but the exact number of problems that are worked is per the discretion of the parent. It's not about memorizing problems but it is about understanding concepts.
Chalk Dust makes no attempt to train the parent to become a teacher. Our goal is to connect the learning style of your child with the teaching style of Dana Mosely and to support that directly."
When your child gets "stuck", or experiences learning difficulty, technical support directly from Dana Mosely is available.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Video Text Math Courses
What is VideoText Interactive?
VideoText Interactive is an innovative company that is blazing new trails in math education. Our programs, "Algebra: A Complete Course," and "Geometry: A Complete Course"
use new, interactive, video-based strategies to teach Algebra and
Geometry from start to finish. Students love the brief lessons, and the
clear explanations of the concepts.
The main components are the “videotext” (the video lessons), and a WorkText. However, unlike textbooks that may use a video supplement, in this case, the video lessons ARE the textbook! With computer-generated graphics, animation, and color-sequencing, the student will actually enjoy watching the mathematics concepts develop right on the screen.
And that's not all! With each Module of the course, you receive much more than just the video lessons! Also included are Course Notes, WorkText, Solutions Manual, Progress Tests, & an Instructor's Guide with Detailed Solutions to all Quiz and Test Problems.
The main components are the “videotext” (the video lessons), and a WorkText. However, unlike textbooks that may use a video supplement, in this case, the video lessons ARE the textbook! With computer-generated graphics, animation, and color-sequencing, the student will actually enjoy watching the mathematics concepts develop right on the screen.
And that's not all! With each Module of the course, you receive much more than just the video lessons! Also included are Course Notes, WorkText, Solutions Manual, Progress Tests, & an Instructor's Guide with Detailed Solutions to all Quiz and Test Problems.
ALGEBRA Review by Dr. Jay Wile,
Author of Apologia Science Curriculum
"The quality of mathematics is extremely important to me, as math and science go hand-in-hand. There are many students who cannot handle my chemistry course, for example, because they have not had a good algebra course. That is why I strongly encourage you to look at Videotext Interactive's algebra course. It is, truly, the best that I have seen.
The course teaches real mathematics. It does not use tricks or shortcuts. Instead, it teaches the student to think mathematically. That's what is missing from many algebra courses! The use of animation and graphics is excellent. They do not detract from the learning, as is the case with some video courses I have seen. Instead, they enhance the student's ability to understand what is happening in each and every step along the way.
Author of Apologia Science Curriculum
"The quality of mathematics is extremely important to me, as math and science go hand-in-hand. There are many students who cannot handle my chemistry course, for example, because they have not had a good algebra course. That is why I strongly encourage you to look at Videotext Interactive's algebra course. It is, truly, the best that I have seen.
The course teaches real mathematics. It does not use tricks or shortcuts. Instead, it teaches the student to think mathematically. That's what is missing from many algebra courses! The use of animation and graphics is excellent. They do not detract from the learning, as is the case with some video courses I have seen. Instead, they enhance the student's ability to understand what is happening in each and every step along the way.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Teaching Textbooks and Mixed Reviews
First, let me say that I've been assured by a trusted friend, and fellow Christian homeschooler, that TT 3rd - 7th grade math are strong courses and provide a good foundation of math skills. I was also told that TT7 is not to be missed/skipped because it's an excellent review of basic arithmetic, and it prepares children very well for Pre-Algebra. So, essentially, the 7th grade course is a good bridge between basic arithmetic and Pre-Algebra.
However, I continue to read and hear mixed reviews for Pre-Algebra and above, so I thought I'd share what I learned directly from Teaching Textbooks in case this information will be helpful to you.
Teaching Textbooks is one of Cathy Duffy's 101 Top Picks! Here is a link to her review that was updated in September 2011.
Cathy Duffy: Teaching Textbooks Review
Here is a copy of my exchange with Teaching Textbooks:
We get the question a lot: "Is your program college prep?"
TT answer:
The TT series covers all of the same topics as the other publishers. If you go through Pre-Calculus, your student will have covered everything and will be ready for Calculus 1. I think some of the talk about TT and rigor comes from when certain topics are covered, not whether they are covered. For instance, some people have asked why TT doesn't cover logs in Algebra 2 (we cover it in Pre-Calculus). We sequenced the topics in a way that we felt would maximize student learning. Traditionally, logs was always covered in Pre-calculus. That's where it fits conceptually. We felt that it would be difficult to cover the topic in sufficient depth if we crammed it into Algebra 2.
There's been a big push in recent years among school publishers (because of the standards movement) to push topics lower and lower down the curriculum. They still cover the topics in the higher grades but they cover them in the lower grades too. That's why logs are now in Algebra 2 (and some books are even putting some logs material in Algebra 1). We think this is a mistake. If you're not ready to understand a topic conceptually then exercise degenerates into rote learning. Also, putting too many topics into a book doesn't give us enough room to adequately explain the topics that should be covered at that level. That's a huge problem for us because our books are designed for independent learners. We have more explanation than anybody.
The TT series is very much oriented to the college bound student. If your student finishes with us and works hard, they will definitely be ready for college level math. Keep in mind that over 50% of public school students who go on to college are now required to take remedial math courses before they can enroll in true college math. Many of them are having to go back before algebra and do basic math coursework. Yet those students used the topic heavy public school textbooks and many of them went through Pre-Calculus and even Calculus while still in high school. In our view, the key to math education is learning the important concepts extremely well, not rushing through a laundry list of topics too quickly.
As far as the difficulty level goes, the TT high school courses are about as difficult as the SAT and ACT exams. Pre-calculus is on par with the SAT II math test. This is appropriate for college bound high schoolers. If a book is too difficult it can break the student's confidence and even cause him/her to give up on the subject.
My Reply:
Along these lines, I've been told that TT Pre-Algebra does not adequately prepare a child for Algebra, that TT Algebra I is more like Pre-Algebra and TT Algebra II is more like Alegbra I. This information has caused me to reconsider TT for Pre-Algebra and above. Do you have anything to add to what you've just shared that would change my mind or is this answer basically what your reply would be? My children absolutely love TT, and we do definitively plan to use it until they finish 7th grade. I'd love to atleast be able to share with others your response as I do recommend TT 3 - 7 to everyone. Thank you in advance for your reply.
A question was also raised about the math terminology: I have home school families who tell me TT is not good for high school because the terminology is not the same as it will be in college courses and it confuses the kids. What is your thought on that?
TT Answer:
While we have had a lot of criticism to our Pre-Algebra program in the past, our new 2.0 version of the Pre-Algebra is a lot more robust. We have always had a lot of concentration on the basics. The basics are what prepare you for all of the elements the upper levels. The authors have found that if a student struggles later on in Algebra 1 and higher, it is usually because they have missed something earlier on. We also use all of the terminology that is needed as well. We just don't dwell on it as much as others. We will teach all of the correct terminology, and then turn around and say, "This is what we mean by that". By doing this, the students come away with a better understanding of how and why the concepts work the way they do, instead of memorizing terminology.
My Reply:
Thank you for your reply. I
recall that one of the terms used by TT is "undoing." Is that a correct
or common math term? Do you still use this term? Also, is the Algebra I a
lot more robust as well? Thanks again.
TT Answer:
TT Answer:
"Undoing" is still a term
that we and a lot of other curriculum use as well. "Undoing" refers to
taking a number or unknown out from an expression in reverse order. Our
Algebra 1 2.0 does have more lessons and new concepts, and could be considered
more robust, but these new lessons are added to the end of the old
program, and a lot of students may not even get to them. All of these
will be covered again in Algebra 2, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus.
My Reply:
Thank you so much!! You've been very helpful! I appreciate it!
My Reply:
Thank you so much!! You've been very helpful! I appreciate it!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Homeschool Compliance
I have had several friends share that Scott Meadows with Homeschool Compliance is doing an exceptional job managing their records and answering their questions regarding the new homeschool laws in Georgia. I don't currently utilize his services, but maybe one day I will.
The following is a little information one of my friends shared.
Scott Meadows is a father of 5 from Athens, GA that created HomeschoolCompliance.com.
See why 5,075+ moms prefer our website to file their Declaration of Intent and attendance records online:
https://www.homeschoolcompliance.com/testimonials-homeschool-compliance.php
https://www.homeschoolcompliance.com
http://www.facebook.com/homeschoolcompliance
(706)-353-3548
The following is a little information one of my friends shared.
Scott Meadows is a father of 5 from Athens, GA that created HomeschoolCompliance.com.
See why 5,075+ moms prefer our website to file their Declaration of Intent and attendance records online:
https://www.homeschoolcompliance.com/testimonials-homeschool-compliance.php
https://www.homeschoolcompliance.com
http://www.facebook.com/homeschoolcompliance
(706)-353-3548
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Mothers of Influence by Pam Tebow (My Notes!)
In March I attended the Apologia Live Retreat.
This retreat was an extraordinary experience. I walked away with a renewed
vision for my family. I've been meaning to type up my notes, but I
haven't had time yet, so I thought I'd begin by chipping away at it a
little at a time.
Pam Tebow
was Apologia's guest speaker in Atlanta, and I had the honor and
privilege to sit and listen to wisdom pour out of her! She is a sweet,
dear and precious woman of God. She homeschooled her five children, three boys and two girls, from kindergarten through high school graduation! She spoke about being "Mothers of
Influence."
What an inspiration she was to me! If you ever have the opportunity to
hear her speak, do everything you can to make it happen. She's the real
deal! I'll share a few highlights from Mrs. Tebow's talk. Although my
notes don't even compare to hearing her speak in person, I hope they
will encourage you. Personally, I needed to reread them this morning so
it did me good to type them up!
Being a mother is the most important thing you have to do in your life!
1. Master
God is our Master. He is the Master of our life and the Master of our every day! Getting to know God is a lifelong journey. Get
to know Him. Trust Him. Grow faith muscles. How do we do this? By
giving our lives to God every single morning when we wake up! Before we
even get out of bed we should pray and devote our day to God. We need
not carry burdens but should give them to the Lord, day by day. He is
faithful. The closer we are to Him, the more He transforms us.
2. Manual
The Bible is God's word and it's a manual for us. As mothers we
need to be adequately equipped. We need to engraft the principles of the
Bible into our children's lives and hearts. Scripture teaches them long after we are teaching them.
Sing Scripture! "What's learned in song is remembered long!"
Psalm 62: 5 -8 is a security verse. Security verses will give you hope.
"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah"
Let a verse settle inside you. Live it. Claim it. Make it your verse!
We need to calm our fears
with Scripture. Fear paralyzes us, but God doesn't want us to fear. God
wants us to trust in Him. Memorize Scripture verses!
Pray for direction in our life. We need to be courageous and lead the way so our children can also be courageous.
What are our anxieties?
- struggling learners?
- testing?
- what courses to take?
Give them to God and let Him give you peace. This will not only benefit you, but it will also benefit your family.
3. Prayer
Prayer is a running conversation with God. We can pray all the
time and ANY time. He's waiting there. He's approachable. He influences
us as we pray for others and ourselves. We should first pray before we do anything at all. The prayers of a mother are so powerful.
4. Mindset
Words hurt. They're powerful and can't be taken back. When we
open our mouth we need to open it with wisdom. Think before you speak.
It takes 10 encouraging words to counteract 1 negative word. Sweetness of speech increases persuasion. With words parents pass on values to their children. With words you can alter the course of life.
We need to clearly articulate our love for our family. Always say
"I love you" so they will always remember mom loves them. When they are
disappointed, hurt, they will remember that you love them. Moms are
specially equipped to give loving words.
Matthew 23: 11-12 "The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever
exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be
exalted." In the context of serving our children, we serve God. When
serving we get rewards now and later. These are eternal rewards, not for
salvation.
5. Mission
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them."
Our mission as moms is our children.
Psalm 127
Unless the Lord builds the house...
A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
"Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."
We should love our children
like God loves us! He is the model of love. Forgive yourself. Ask your
children to forgive you. God will give you grace. Move on. Love
yourself.
Love is choosing the best interest of others.
These three do not let slide:
- Dishonesty
- Disrespect
- Disobedience
Hug your children. Be affectionate. Touch them 10- 12 times per day to stimulate them. It promotes learning and growth!
6. Targets
Know your children. Study them. Love them. Believe in them when nobody else does. We want them to always remember our profound love for them.
Live
a significant life. Aim them to have a big goal! Whittle away to know
what the target is. Choose a target. What's the target for your
children?
Read a Proverbs every day of the month!
Targets:
- word of God in life (live it)
- develop humility (train over and over)
- have influence in life (Encourage them to have a mission.)
We need to be passionate about our children. Flaunt our love for them. Be conspicuous. Our children should be convinced that we love them and know that we are passionate about being their mother!
Most importantly, love your children. Tell them they're the
greatest kids in the world. Tell them about Jesus! Lead them to Christ
when they're young and moldable. It changes everything.
Love your children like God loves them.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Pathway Readers
The
Pathway Readers are treasured books in our home! We love them so much
that each of our children have their very own set. Once they finish a
book, they take it to their room and add it to their personal library.
We've been reading and enjoying Pathway Readers for years! So far, we've read all of the books from pre-primer to grade 5! (January 2013 Update: We have read the grade 6 book now and will start the grade 7 book next month!) One of my children enjoyed coloring so much that I let him color the black and white pictures in his pre-primer book, First Steps.
The stories are delightful and wholesome, and they nurture godly character. This doesn't mean that the children in the stories are always doing the right thing; often times they make poor choices, but they always learn a valuable lesson in the end!
We use these books for our "Read Aloud" time, also known as "Instructional Reading." Although we have never used the companion workbooks, I would recommend using them if you have not used or are not using a comprehensive phonics program. While primer through grade 3 teach phonics, grades 4 - 8 develop reading comprehension skills.
Overview:
We've been reading and enjoying Pathway Readers for years! So far, we've read all of the books from pre-primer to grade 5! (January 2013 Update: We have read the grade 6 book now and will start the grade 7 book next month!) One of my children enjoyed coloring so much that I let him color the black and white pictures in his pre-primer book, First Steps.
The stories are delightful and wholesome, and they nurture godly character. This doesn't mean that the children in the stories are always doing the right thing; often times they make poor choices, but they always learn a valuable lesson in the end!
We use these books for our "Read Aloud" time, also known as "Instructional Reading." Although we have never used the companion workbooks, I would recommend using them if you have not used or are not using a comprehensive phonics program. While primer through grade 3 teach phonics, grades 4 - 8 develop reading comprehension skills.
Overview:
• available for preschool through eighth grade
• a standard in Christian education for many years for home educators and Christian schools
• all stories, poems and reading selections encourage Godly character and moral values
• utilize a strong phonics approach in early grades
• vocabulary building lessons in all grades
• build good reading comprehension skills
• some grammar in all grades except pre-school
• a standard in Christian education for many years for home educators and Christian schools
• all stories, poems and reading selections encourage Godly character and moral values
• utilize a strong phonics approach in early grades
• vocabulary building lessons in all grades
• build good reading comprehension skills
• some grammar in all grades except pre-school
• can be used on their own with their companion workbooks as a comprehensive phonics/literature program or to supplement your chosen curriculum
• The teacher guides/keys are particularly handy in the early grades for checking on phonetic markings. For older grades, allow the students to mark their own work using the keys. The guides save the parent/teacher much time in marking assignments and contain teaching ideas and tips.
• hardcover readers, paperback answer keys and student workbooks
• Pathway readers make a great addition to any library
• These readers do not promote Amish doctrine and are suitable for anyone looking for solid, moral-based literature.
• The teacher guides/keys are particularly handy in the early grades for checking on phonetic markings. For older grades, allow the students to mark their own work using the keys. The guides save the parent/teacher much time in marking assignments and contain teaching ideas and tips.
• hardcover readers, paperback answer keys and student workbooks
• Pathway readers make a great addition to any library
• These readers do not promote Amish doctrine and are suitable for anyone looking for solid, moral-based literature.
Grade 1:
Grade 2:
Grade 3:
Grade 4:
Grade 5:
Grade 6:
Grade 7:
Grade 8:
Sunday, March 11, 2012
"Now I'm Reading!" Beginner Reading Series
"Now I'm Reading!" books are similar to BOB Books. One major difference is that the "Now I'm Reading!" books are illustrated in full color. Also, these books come with fun, little reward stickers. Since multiple children in our family used these books, we wrote their names and the date (on the inside of the front cover) after each reading and placed a sticker next to their name. Each child got to pick which sticker they wanted to place next to their name. The set of 10 books come in a single hardback book which is great for keeping them organized and stored nicely.
We really enjoyed reading through these books! We only used the Beginner Reading Series and not any of the other products that are currently part of this program. We used these books years ago, so I don't believe the company had all the other products available at that time.
Check out the website for more information: Now I'm Reading!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
BOB Books
After using Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons, we used and thoroughly enjoyed BOB Books!
Bob Books were developed as a step-by-step program to guide your child gently through the early stages of reading. Each level addresses a stage in a child's reading development.
Bob Books were developed as a step-by-step program to guide your child gently through the early stages of reading. Each level addresses a stage in a child's reading development.
This carefully
crafted, simple, and progressive approach to learning
assures children success and confidence from their very earliest
reading experience.
These boxed sets are the bestselling, Bob Books first introduced 35 years ago.
The BOB Books website has some free, printable coloring pages on their Fun Stuff for Kids page.
BOB Books are highly recommended by reading specialists.
The BOB Books website has some free, printable coloring pages on their Fun Stuff for Kids page.
BOB Books are highly recommended by reading specialists.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons
From the "Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons" website:
"Children easily move step–by–step with phonics (sounds for letters) and learn the essential skills (left out of other phonics programs) to blend the sounds into words. Built on this unique phonics foundation, children quickly start to read those words in fully illustrated stories. This book was designed to be user–friendly for parents, grandparents, tutors or others who want to teach young (3– to 6–year old) non–readers. The book contains 100 twenty–minute lessons that are clearly color–coded and scripted (including how to motivate, teach, and correct) so that both you and the child you are teaching can be successful. How successful? After kids complete the 100 lessons they read on a solid second grade level. Although the book alone can be used, Dr. Phyllis Haddox, co–author, has also developed supplemental materials—training video tape, training audio tape, flashcards, and full–sized sounds sheets. See Training Materials for a complete description."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dr. Kerry Hempenstall, Division of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Australia, wrote the following explanation of how "phonemic awareness" is taught in Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons:
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Engelmann, Haddox, & Bruner, 1983) was developed as a program for parents to use with preschool or struggling readers. It is developed from a school-based reading program Reading Mastery Fast Cycle I/II Reading Program (Engelmann & Bruner, 1988; a former version of which was known as Distar).
The program follows the Direct Instruction principles of design, and the content emphasises the explicit teaching of *phonemic awareness (rhyming, blending, segmenting) along with 44 letter sound correspondences. These selected correspondences allow for the decoding of 95% of the sounds in the students' typically available reading texts, and close approximations for 98% (Burmeister, 1975, cited in Grossen, 1995).
The phonemic awareness skills of blending and segmenting are taught orally initially, because there are fewer elements in the oral than the written task, and hence less likelihood of error. Blending is taught as a simultaneous rather than discrete-sound format - "mmmaaat" rather than "mmm-aaa-t" because the stimulus sequence of sounds is really a stretched form of the word "mat", rather than a broken form in which the elements are completely separated. The authors argue that the mastery of continuous blending is a worthwhile objective because it provides more salient clues to the pronunciation of words. The oral blending activities proceed from large intra-word clusters to single phoneme blends.
"Let's play say-it-fast. My turn: motor (pause) boat. (Pause) Say it fast. "Motorboat". From: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Engelmann, Haddox, & Bruner, 1983, p.31).
To assist the mastery of simple two phoneme blends an additional step is included in the model-test sequence. The sequence becomes model-lead-test, thus providing an additional prompt. "First I'll say am slowly. Listen: aaammm. Now it's your turn to say the word slowly with me. Take a deep breath and we'll say aaammm. Get ready. aaammm Your turn to say the word slowly by yourself. Say aaammm. Get ready. "Aaammm." From: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Engelmann, Haddox & Bruner, 1983, p.31).
Blending activities begin in the first lesson, and segmenting written words into constituent phonemes in Lesson 9. This latter process is assisted by the use of marks under the word that prompt the sounds one by one at the required pace. See Table 39 for an example of a blending sequence.
Table 39 Script for Blending Activity Task 9 WORD READING 1. (Point to sat.) You're going to touch under the sounds as you sound out this word and say it fast. (Touch under s.) What's the first sound you're going to say? "sss." (Touch under a.) What's the next sound you're going to say? "aaa." (Touch under t.) What's the next sound you're going to say? "t." 2. Touch the first ball of the arrow. Take a deep breath and say the sounds as you touch under them. Get ready. Go. (Child touches under s, a, and t and says "sssaaat." (Repeat until firm.) 3. Say it fast. "sat." Yes, what word? "sat." You read the word sat. Good reading. From: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Engelmann, Haddox & Bruner, 1983, p. 53).
Other activities include: rhyming to promote a sensitivity to word families based on common endings (or rimes); sounds-writing because it prompts attention to the letter shape, and helps forge the association between shape and sound; story reading (from Lesson 13) involving successive segmenting and blending; and, picture comprehension (from Lesson 13). Pictures are provided after the story is finished to assist comprehension, but to avoid the picture cues being used in place of print cues in the decoding task. Sight words (from Lesson 13). Words that have been practised sufficiently often (using the segment-blend procedure) for them to begin to become familiar are "read the fast way", that is, the child slides his finger under the letters to prompt a thorough viewing, but does not sound out the word, rather he reads it orthographically.
Supporting this cumulative skill acquisition and skill synthesis model are clear scripted correction procedures. There are two basic principles - the first is that correction be applied immediately following the error, rather than delayed until the end of a sentence, or waiting for self-correction. The purpose of the program is to teach accurate decoding of words based on information provided by the print, rather than relying on contextual cues to prompt a word's pronunciation. Hence, the correction redirects the child's attention to the source of the information - the word. The second principle specifies the basic correction structure - the child is notified of the error, given the correct response, allowed to practise this response, and finally tested on the original task before moving on. Additionally, a delayed test presented later in the lesson is often recommended.
The change from Distar orthography to normal print occurs over a three lesson period (Lessons 74-76), and after that time all print is conventional. By this stage the child is reading stories of about 200 words orthographically, and answering comprehension questions. According to the program designers the child should be reading at around a Year Two level at the completion of the program. The shift from letter by letter decoding to orthographic whole word recognition occurs in students who are able to analyse fully word structure (Stanovich, 1991), and have had many opportunities for practice of such words in isolation, and in connected text - particularly with words containing high frequency spelling patterns (Ehri, 1994). "According to Ehri's (1992) work, the most effective way for beginning readers to store sight words in memory is to analyse fully the sounds in the spoken word and to match those sounds to the letters in the printed form of words. To do this, readers must know how to segment pronunciations of words into their smallest sounds, and they must know which letters typically symbolise those sounds." (Gaskins, Ehri, Cress, O'Hara, & Donnelly, 1996, p. 315).
Given that the content of the 100 Lessons program focuses on the skill areas currently accepted as critical, that the style of teaching employs empirically supported effective-teaching principles, and that the instructional design principles ensure ample massed and spaced practice - it is reasonable to acknowledge that the authors' claims that decoding instruction leads to eventual skilled whole-word recognition are defendable. Additionally the strong empirical evidence of the program effectiveness, described by Grossen (1995), and recognised in the Reading Excellence Act and by The American Federation of Teachers adds credence to the claims.
TOPA In a sub-study within my thesis, I measured changes in 26 students' phonemic awareness over about 7 months during which 13 took the 100 Lessons program while the others acted as a waitlist control. I used the Test of Phonological Awareness (TOPA) (Torgesen & Bryant, 1994) which measures the capacity to use phoneme segmentation (or at least phoneme isolation). It provides analytic tasks that require children to be aware of, and be able to identify individual phonemes presented to them orally in a word. In the Early Elementary version, they are required to isolate the last sounds in 20 words, and compare them to those of other words. The authors describe the test as one of phonological sensitivity (or shallow phonemic awareness) rather than explicit (or deep) phonemic awareness because the test does not require the manipulation or pronunciation of the phonemes in the presented words (although one presumes such a capacity would be helpful). In Yopp's (1988) factor analytic study, two factors were noted within the phonemic awareness construct, each relating to the level of demand on working memory. This test provides line drawings of the words in order to reduce the working memory requirements of the test. The test is designed to be used for early identification or screening (it can be used as a group test). In this study, it was used as a measure of change in phonemic awareness over the period of the intervention. The maximum possible score is 20 (indicating mastery), and raw scores were used in all analyses.
Results for TOPA were analysed using a single-factor between-subject analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), with transformed pretest scores serving as the covariate and transformed posttest scores as the dependent variable. An initial test revealed no violation of the assumption of homogeneity of slopes, F(1, 22) = 1.27, p = .273. With the pretest results partialled out there was a significant overall difference between the experimental and control groups, F(1, 23) = 53.90, p < .001. Results for log transformed scores for TOPA were also analysed using a two-way mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA). The within-subjects factor was time (pre vs. post); the between-subjects factor was group (experimental vs. control). No significant main effect was found for group, F(1, 24) = 0.03, p = .865, power = .04, but a significant main effect was found for time, F(1, 24) = 42.80, p < .001, power = 1.00, and the group-by-time interaction, F(1, 24) = 40.41, p < .001, power = 1.00. Follow-up testing of the interaction using simple main effects found no significant difference between the experimental and control groups at pretest, F(1, 24) = 2.18, p = .153, power = .29, and at posttest, F(1, 24) = 2.52, p = .125, power = .33. Further, no significant pre- to posttest difference was found for the control, F(1, 24) = 0.02, p = .897, power = .04, d = -0.06, but a significant pre- to posttest difference was found for the experimental groups, F(1, 24) = 83.20, p < .001, power = 1.00, d = 1.30, and the magnitude of effect was large for the experimental group. Under the Cohen (1988) convention, d= 0.2 constitutes a small effect size, d= 0.5 a medium effect size, and d= 0.8 a large effect size. Slavin (1990) argued that an effect size above 0.25 should be considered educationally significant. The d=1.30 for the change in phonemic awareness was impressive.
The findings of this small study are consistent with other research indicating that phonemic awareness activities embedded within a systematic, explicit phonics program may be sufficient to induce the alphabetic principle in all but the most phonemically-resistant students. This latter aspect has the potential for educational cost savings - in that specialised phonemic awareness programs may be applied more sparingly (and thus more efficiently over a wider population) if one can identify those students unlikely to progress with a less intensive approach. For the others, exposure to a well constructed phonics program (with some phonemic awareness activities embedded) may be sufficient to stimulate adequate phonemic awareness, and assist students to progress towards reading independence.
*[The relationship between phonics and phonemic awareness is often misunderstood. Phonemic awareness is an aural/oral skill that (at least in part) can exist without contact with print. At an advanced level, it involves the capacity to dissect the spoken word, and manipulate the resultant sound segments. Until contact with writing however, there is no communicative value in developing such a skill, and many children do not routinely pay attention to these meaningless segments of speech, and hence do not develop this capacity.
It is now apparent that one can enhance phonemic awareness skills through the implementation of a dedicated phonemic awareness program. However, it is not clear whether this represents the only means of achieving the objective. There is some evidence that a reading program that draws attention to the relationship between written word parts (including graphemes) and oral word parts (including phonemes) may promote the growth of phonemic awareness without the application of a dedicated phonemic awareness program. Standing against this suggestion is the argument that unless a student has an understanding of the structure of spoken words first, then focussing on such structural issues in the written form may be ineffective (Juel, 1993; Lindamood, 1994; Simner, 1995; Torgesen, Morgan, & Davis, 1992). Yet it may be possible that both the alphabetic principle and phonemic awareness can be evoked through a phonics-emphasis reading program, carefully taught (at least for those students with some threshold level of phonemic awareness). The question is probably best addressed as an empirical one, as there are still a number of unresolved theoretical issues relating to phonemic awareness. In particular, the question of how separate (in time) phonemic awareness and phonics instruction needs to be is unresolved. It may be that for some students dedicated phonemic awareness programs will increase their chances of doing well, but for others the introduction of letters in conjunction with phonemic awareness activities (Hatcher, Hulme, & Ellis, 1994) is sufficient for the fomentation of phonemic awareness in parallel with decoding skill. ]
References Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (2nd ed.), Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum. Ehri, L. C. (1994). Development of the ability to read words: Update. In R. Ruddell, M. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.). Theoretical models and processes of reading (4th ed. pp. 323-358). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Engelmann, S., & Bruner, E. C. (1988). Reading Mastery. Chicago: Science Research Associates. Engelmann, S., Haddox, P., & Bruner, E. (1983). Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. New York: Simon & Schuster. Gaskins, I. W., Ehri, L. C., Cress, C., O'Hara, C., Donnelly, K. (1996). Procedures for word learning: Making discoveries about words. The Reading Teacher, 50 (4), 312-327. Grossen, B. (1995). The research base for Reading Mastery, SRA. [On-line]. Available: http:/darkwing.Uoregon.Edu/~adrep/rdgtxt.htm. Hatcher, P., Hulme, C., & Ellis, A. (1994). Ameliorating reading failure by integrating the teaching of reading and phonological skills: The phonological linkage hypothesis. Child Development, 65, 41-57. Juel, C. (1993). The spelling-sound code in reading. In S. Yussen, & M. Smith (Eds.), Reading across the life span (pp. 95-109). New York: Springer-Verlag Lindamood, P. C. (1994). Issues in researching the link between phonological awareness, learning disabilities, and spelling. In G. R. Lyon, (Ed.), Frames of reference for the assessment of learning disabilities: New views on measurement issues (pp. 351-374). Baltimore, PH: Brookes Publishing Co. Simner, M. L. (1995). Reply to the Ministries' reactions to the Canadian Psychological Association's position paper on beginning reading instruction. Canadian Psychology, 36, 333-342. Slavin, R. E. (1990). Cooperative learning: Theory, research, and practice. Englewood Ciffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Torgesen, J. K., & Bryant, B. (1994a). Test of Phonological Awareness. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed. Torgesen, J. K., Morgan, S. T., & Davis, C. (1992). Effects of two types of phonological awareness training on word learning in kindergarten children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 364-370. Yopp, H. K. (1988). The validity and reliability of phonemic awareness tests. Reading Research Quarterly, 23, 159-177.
Dr. Kerry Hempenstall, Division of Psychology, School of Health Sciences, RMIT University, PO Box 71, Bundoora, VIC 3083 Australia.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Should I Homeschool? by Jeannie Fulbright
Should I take this path?
I wasn’t even sure what questions to ask, but I needed answers. It took months and months to learn the basics that many homeschoolers take for granted as common knowledge. It took years to understand what curricula and philosophy worked for us and what didn’t. It took even more years to understand why.
It is my hope that I can save you the years of research I undertook and provide you with information that will jump start your journey, if you are just beginning, and smooth out the rocky path, if you have been on the homeschooling road for a while.
The first question you must answer is, “Should I homeschool?” In this article, I will attempt to give you the low down, the truth…the real deal, so to speak.
A Journey Worth Taking
I’ve had the privilege to meet so many new homeschoolers that have just begun their homeschool journey. Most of them find homeschooling a delight. As they spend each day with their children, they begin to catch a glimpse into the little windows of their hearts and see things they didn’t know were there – good things and not so good things.
What is so precious about this is that we really do come to know our children the way God intended for us to know them. God did not set up schools where children would depart for hours from the very people to whom He gave them to be reared. Education was intended to be done at home from the very beginning, as was the training of our children’s hearts. God’s perfect order has been disrupted by the institution that came in to replace God’s intention and design for homes and families. That order was disrupted so long ago that now we have to read books and take classes on parenting and discipling our children because we weren’t parented or discipled properly; and we weren’t parented properly because our parents weren’t parented properly, and on and on it goes, all the way back to the preindustrial age – when families actually spent time together and usually educated their children at home. After industrialization, the home became second to the institution of school. Long ago, most every child was either home educated or only went to school during certain seasons. Most of a child’s waking hours were spent at home with the family, where generations passed on what the generations before had been passing on for as long as anyone could remember.
If we don’t have lengthy amounts of time with our children, we will likely miss the nuances that portray what is really happening in their hearts, what they really believe. If I only had a few hours every night with them, when we were both worn out from the day, I may not know what their wrong beliefs were or what their right beliefs were. If I did know, would I even have the time and energy to thoroughly correct them?
Homeschooling affords us time and energy to properly parent and educate our children. Because I spend my entire life with my kids, I know them so well. I know the exact areas where I can trust them to always make the right choice, and I know the exact areas where they need more training. I know their hearts. When I see misconceptions, we can work through them during the morning devotions, pray through them, and explore what the Bible says about them. No big hurry. We’ve got time.
One mom describes her experience when she brought her children home to school them. She was astonished when she realized that, because they had been in school for several years, she didn’t even know – really know – her kids. Could not really knowing your children be God’s plan for the family? No. Sadly, it’s really no wonder children are in the mess they are in today.
I believe homeschooling is so right. It is the model God set in place. It’s a return to the ways of old. Isaiah 58:12 says, “…you will restore the foundations laid long ago; you will be called the repairer of broken walls, the restorer of streets where people live."
I pray you will find joy in your homeschooling journey.
Doing Enough
As you take this path, seek always what God’s perfect plan is for your family. Oftentimes, we can begin to feel weighted down by the sheer burden of being our children’s source for an education. This should not be. The same God who called you will equip you and show you the perfect way your children should go. Benjamin Franklin and John Adams were both homeschooled differently because they had different purposes and paths to pursue. Seek to know what your children’s purposes and paths are; don’t just follow the crowds, burdening yourself with elective courses that weigh you down and rob you of your joy. When you follow God’s ideal plan for your school, it won’t feel heavy or burdensome. It will feel light.
I have a question: Have you ever asked yourself, “Am I doing enough?” Why does every homeschool mom ask this question? I believe the problem is that when you are doing enough it feels too easy. So you think, I’m surely not doing enough. It can’t be this easy. Certainly my child is not learning enough or getting enough knowledge. I need to fill their brain with more, more, more until we are so challenged, so overloaded with information that we simply can’t fill another minute of our supposed school day with any more. When we’re really doing quite enough – homeschooling is as it should be: wonderful, joyful, pleasant, and peaceful – with children learning exactly what they need to learn – with time on their hands to pursue other things, other subjects of interest – with time to contemplate what they have learned, what they want to learn, to contemplate their relationship with the Lord – with time to draw nearer to mom, siblings, a good book, the Bible – with time to learn to cook, time to learn a new skill, to build something unplanned, unscheduled, something NOT in their books – something creative, expressing who they are. That’s what life is like when you’re doing enough. But you see, the question we should ask – the real question we should ask is, “Am I doing too much?” Am I homeschooling out of fear? Have I fallen prey to the counterfeit for God’s best and followed someone else’s plan? What can I cut out? What can I put away?”
If homeschooling feels hard to you – you’re doing too much. And just like with medicine, too much is not better. Too much will have repercussions. Too much will bring consequences you don’t really want. Too much brings burn out. Too much robs your family of the joy and relationships that were meant to develop and flourish at home.
God’s call on you to homeschool does not forestall His promise of peace. His promise to give us rest is not void. If we are not experiencing rest as we homeschool, we need to sit down and reevaluate. We need to come to Him again, and seek His ways and wisdom.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” -- Matthew 11:28
*For more uplifting and encouraging articles by Jeannie Fulbright click HERE!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
High School by Jeannie Fulbright
High School
Ah! So you've decided to do it! You're going to continue through, protecting the investment you've already made in your child. You'll guard their hearts from the wayward ideals and peer-centered, hedonistic values prevalent in youth culture. You'll shelter them from broken hearts, broken dreams, from the wide road that leads to compromised standards, and from the ruin and devastation of what should have been.
The most beautiful part of homeschooling through high school is watching your child bypass the immaturity and juvenile childishness that dominates today's youth (but was unheard of 200 years ago when our founding fathers graduated from law school at the age of 17) and seeing them blossom into wise and winsome adults in their teen years. As a side note, we can't judge the kids of today for their undeveloped and infantile ways. If I spent as much time in an artificial, unrealistic environment with my peers, being given little to no responsibility, I'm certain that I would lose my focus and sense of judgement as well. Imagine spending four years on the beach alone with your friends. You might become slightly irresponsible too.
But, I Don't Know Algebra!
Thankfully, by the time our children enter high school, they can read. Since they can read, they can teach themselves most everything they need to know. Homeschool curricula are not like "school" curricula. They do not depend on a teacher to teach the subject matter. The books are the professor, teaching your child. Everything they need to know and understand on a subject is written in the lesson. A traditionally schooled teen has only half the information in their textbook. If they don't understand, no one can help them but "the expert" teacher or a tutor. Not so with homeschool curriculum. You don't need to know the subject matter because your child will learn by reading. This is superior to being dependent on a teacher or lecturer. Homeschool courses benefit a teen, teaching them to be independent learners, just as they will need to be in college.
Frankly, I think it would be helpful for a student in public school to purchase a homeschool course to help them when they can't understand the teacher's explanation (or they were day dreaming when she was explaining it to them).
However, there are many curriculum providers that also offer video based lecturers for their courses, especially in the arena of math. I will list optional courses below, indicating which are video-based.
What Do I Teach?
I think every child, whether you plan for them to attend college or not, should seek to develop a college-bound transcript. You, the parent, will issue your child's transcript, creating it to reflect the courses, grades and credits your child will receive. If you've never given grades before, it's time now. Click here to see a good example of a high school transcript.
Each year-long course is given one credit. Half year courses are given 0.5 credits.
You will need four years of English that includes Composition and Literature. You can mix and match different courses to create one English credit. You may want to include a brush up course on Grammar before your child takes the SAT. You will need three years of Science with at least two labs. Apologia courses are college preparatory and the labs are easy to do at home. You will need two years of History and one year of Government. Some universities only require three years of Math, others require a Math course above Algebra 2 and Geometry. Electives are up to you. I recommend a few Public Speaking courses to help your child have successful college interviews. Physical Education classes are generally counted as half a credit, even if you think they're worth more. A Computer course is recommended along with a Fine Arts course. The number of credits your child needs to graduate is up to you. The colleges are looking to see that the core requirements are fulfilled before they even notice the electives. If your child has an abundance of electives, that's fine as long as they've completed the core requirements. You can list extra-curricular information on a separate sheet of paper, or on the backside of your transcript if you use card stock.
You can calculate your child's cumulative GPA using this site's calculator. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Portfolios
Many universities now require a portfolio. This is simply a large three ring binder with information about all your child has done, both in and outside of the typical academic load. This will include course descriptions, sample tests, awards, special classes, reading lists, special internships, extra curricular, volunteer activities and certificates. Start compiling this early, either by keeping it all in a box, or by adding it to your three ring binder. I recommend using page protectors into which you slip all the data. If you've been notebooking, the portfolio will be an easy thing for you.
Recommended Curriculum Publishers
English Composition:
Put That in Writing
Writeshop
Writeathome.net
Institute for Excellence in Writing College Composition
Writeguide.com
Potter's School
ScholarsOnline.com
English Literature:
Lightening Literature
Sonlight World, American or English Literature
Scholarsonline.com
Potter's School
James Stobaugh
Math:
Video Text Algebra (Video-based teacher)
Math U See (Video-based teacher)
Teaching Textbooks (CD ROM-based teacher)
APLUS www.aplusses.com (Textbook-based)
Chalkdust (Video-based teacher)
Bob Jones (Textbook-based)
Saxon (Textbook-based)
Science:
Apologia
History:
Tapestry of Grace
Sonlight
Veritas Press
Notgrass Company
Trisms
Dual Enrollment
At first blush, Dual Enrollment (taking a college course to earn both high school and college credit while still a high school student) may seem like a great way to jump start your child's education and increase their odds of entering a good university. However, there are a couple of things you should know and consider.
First, Dual Enrollment can actually harm your child's college success in certain fields of study, like Science. This is because the professors are looking at the top freshman students in their classes and making plans for them to be involved in projects and research. If your child CLEP'ed or Dual Enrolled those freshman courses, they miss out on the opportunity to be the top student in those courses, winning the hearts of the professors in that school of study and nullifying their chances of being picked for special privileges. If your 19 year old placed out of freshman Biology, Chemistry or the like, and entered sophomore or junior level classes as a young inexperienced student, they will be "keeping up," not shining. However, there are some fields of study where this is not a problem.
A second problem with Dual Enrollment is that your high school student is no longer homeschooling. They have left home to get an education, sitting in a class with other students and professors that you don't know. This scenario may influence your young impressionable high schooler in ways that you are not aware, and can't even discuss because you aren't seeing the subtle innuendos that are popping up.
CLEP
A better option for a child looking to get college credit in high school is CLEP. It's faster and less expensive than Dual Enrollment (even if Dual Enrollment is free, you have to pay for gas). Again, if your child is going to go to college and major in Science, Engineering, Communication, Business or some other field of study where being noticed and being a star student will benefit them greatly, enabling them to be the "chosen" one for certain jobs or careers, it's important that they do not CLEP the courses in their area of expertise, the area in which they will major if they plan to attend a university in person. If they plan to get their degree online while they pursue their interests (ballet, riding, running a business), or they plan to go to graduate school and get their baccalaureate degree out of the way, CLEP is the best way to earn hundreds of credits without having to step foot on a college campus.
Use the Rea's study guides as your spine to study for each CLEP. You can even build your high school courses around the Rea's guides. However, the best way to handle most of your CLEP exams is by studying for the test after you have finished the high school course. For example, after you finish Apologia Biology, study for and take the Biology CLEP. Make certain that the CLEP courses you take are accepted by the university your child plans to attend.
Once your child has CLEP'ed enough courses to be a college junior, they will no longer need to submit a transcript (or SAT in some cases) to the college in which they want to attend. They enter as a college transfer student.
There are some accredited universities that accept a huge number of credit by exams so that your child never has to step foot on campus and can CLEP their entire baccalaureate degree.
The most beautiful part of homeschooling through high school is watching your child bypass the immaturity and juvenile childishness that dominates today's youth (but was unheard of 200 years ago when our founding fathers graduated from law school at the age of 17) and seeing them blossom into wise and winsome adults in their teen years. As a side note, we can't judge the kids of today for their undeveloped and infantile ways. If I spent as much time in an artificial, unrealistic environment with my peers, being given little to no responsibility, I'm certain that I would lose my focus and sense of judgement as well. Imagine spending four years on the beach alone with your friends. You might become slightly irresponsible too.
But, I Don't Know Algebra!
Thankfully, by the time our children enter high school, they can read. Since they can read, they can teach themselves most everything they need to know. Homeschool curricula are not like "school" curricula. They do not depend on a teacher to teach the subject matter. The books are the professor, teaching your child. Everything they need to know and understand on a subject is written in the lesson. A traditionally schooled teen has only half the information in their textbook. If they don't understand, no one can help them but "the expert" teacher or a tutor. Not so with homeschool curriculum. You don't need to know the subject matter because your child will learn by reading. This is superior to being dependent on a teacher or lecturer. Homeschool courses benefit a teen, teaching them to be independent learners, just as they will need to be in college.
Frankly, I think it would be helpful for a student in public school to purchase a homeschool course to help them when they can't understand the teacher's explanation (or they were day dreaming when she was explaining it to them).
However, there are many curriculum providers that also offer video based lecturers for their courses, especially in the arena of math. I will list optional courses below, indicating which are video-based.
What Do I Teach?
I think every child, whether you plan for them to attend college or not, should seek to develop a college-bound transcript. You, the parent, will issue your child's transcript, creating it to reflect the courses, grades and credits your child will receive. If you've never given grades before, it's time now. Click here to see a good example of a high school transcript.
Each year-long course is given one credit. Half year courses are given 0.5 credits.
You will need four years of English that includes Composition and Literature. You can mix and match different courses to create one English credit. You may want to include a brush up course on Grammar before your child takes the SAT. You will need three years of Science with at least two labs. Apologia courses are college preparatory and the labs are easy to do at home. You will need two years of History and one year of Government. Some universities only require three years of Math, others require a Math course above Algebra 2 and Geometry. Electives are up to you. I recommend a few Public Speaking courses to help your child have successful college interviews. Physical Education classes are generally counted as half a credit, even if you think they're worth more. A Computer course is recommended along with a Fine Arts course. The number of credits your child needs to graduate is up to you. The colleges are looking to see that the core requirements are fulfilled before they even notice the electives. If your child has an abundance of electives, that's fine as long as they've completed the core requirements. You can list extra-curricular information on a separate sheet of paper, or on the backside of your transcript if you use card stock.
You can calculate your child's cumulative GPA using this site's calculator. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Portfolios
Many universities now require a portfolio. This is simply a large three ring binder with information about all your child has done, both in and outside of the typical academic load. This will include course descriptions, sample tests, awards, special classes, reading lists, special internships, extra curricular, volunteer activities and certificates. Start compiling this early, either by keeping it all in a box, or by adding it to your three ring binder. I recommend using page protectors into which you slip all the data. If you've been notebooking, the portfolio will be an easy thing for you.
Recommended Curriculum Publishers
English Composition:
Put That in Writing
Writeshop
Writeathome.net
Institute for Excellence in Writing College Composition
Writeguide.com
Potter's School
ScholarsOnline.com
English Literature:
Lightening Literature
Sonlight World, American or English Literature
Scholarsonline.com
Potter's School
James Stobaugh
Math:
Video Text Algebra (Video-based teacher)
Math U See (Video-based teacher)
Teaching Textbooks (CD ROM-based teacher)
APLUS www.aplusses.com (Textbook-based)
Chalkdust (Video-based teacher)
Bob Jones (Textbook-based)
Saxon (Textbook-based)
Science:
Apologia
History:
Tapestry of Grace
Sonlight
Veritas Press
Notgrass Company
Trisms
Dual Enrollment
At first blush, Dual Enrollment (taking a college course to earn both high school and college credit while still a high school student) may seem like a great way to jump start your child's education and increase their odds of entering a good university. However, there are a couple of things you should know and consider.
First, Dual Enrollment can actually harm your child's college success in certain fields of study, like Science. This is because the professors are looking at the top freshman students in their classes and making plans for them to be involved in projects and research. If your child CLEP'ed or Dual Enrolled those freshman courses, they miss out on the opportunity to be the top student in those courses, winning the hearts of the professors in that school of study and nullifying their chances of being picked for special privileges. If your 19 year old placed out of freshman Biology, Chemistry or the like, and entered sophomore or junior level classes as a young inexperienced student, they will be "keeping up," not shining. However, there are some fields of study where this is not a problem.
A second problem with Dual Enrollment is that your high school student is no longer homeschooling. They have left home to get an education, sitting in a class with other students and professors that you don't know. This scenario may influence your young impressionable high schooler in ways that you are not aware, and can't even discuss because you aren't seeing the subtle innuendos that are popping up.
CLEP
A better option for a child looking to get college credit in high school is CLEP. It's faster and less expensive than Dual Enrollment (even if Dual Enrollment is free, you have to pay for gas). Again, if your child is going to go to college and major in Science, Engineering, Communication, Business or some other field of study where being noticed and being a star student will benefit them greatly, enabling them to be the "chosen" one for certain jobs or careers, it's important that they do not CLEP the courses in their area of expertise, the area in which they will major if they plan to attend a university in person. If they plan to get their degree online while they pursue their interests (ballet, riding, running a business), or they plan to go to graduate school and get their baccalaureate degree out of the way, CLEP is the best way to earn hundreds of credits without having to step foot on a college campus.
Use the Rea's study guides as your spine to study for each CLEP. You can even build your high school courses around the Rea's guides. However, the best way to handle most of your CLEP exams is by studying for the test after you have finished the high school course. For example, after you finish Apologia Biology, study for and take the Biology CLEP. Make certain that the CLEP courses you take are accepted by the university your child plans to attend.
Once your child has CLEP'ed enough courses to be a college junior, they will no longer need to submit a transcript (or SAT in some cases) to the college in which they want to attend. They enter as a college transfer student.
There are some accredited universities that accept a huge number of credit by exams so that your child never has to step foot on campus and can CLEP their entire baccalaureate degree.
For more articles on How To Homeschool by Jeannie Fulbright click HERE!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Selecting Your Courses (for High School) from College Board
Selecting Your Courses
Recommended Classes for College Success
To create that foundation, take at least five solid academic classes every semester. Start with the basics and then move on to advanced courses. Challenging yourself is part of what makes school fun; but you need a firm grasp of the fundamentals before going on to more advanced work.
The following subjects and classes are standard fare for success in high school and beyond, whether you plan to attend a four-year or two-year college.
English (Language Arts)
Take English every year. Traditional courses, such as American and English literature, help you improve your writing skills, reading comprehension and vocabulary.Math
You need algebra and geometry to succeed on college entrance exams and in college math classes — and in many careers. Take them early on. That way, you'll be able to enroll in advanced science and math in high school, and show colleges you're ready for higher-level work.Most colleges look for students who have taken three years of math in high school. The more competitive ones require or recommend four years. Each school has its own program, but some of the courses typically offered are:
- Algebra I
- Algebra II
- Geometry
- Trigonometry
- Calculus
Science
Science teaches you to think analytically and apply theories to reality. Colleges want to see that you’ve taken at least three years of laboratory science classes. A good combination includes two semesters of each of the following sciences:- Biology
- Chemistry or physics
- Earth/space science
- Chemistry or physics (the science you didn’t already study)
- Advanced biology
- Advanced chemistry
- Advanced physics
Social Studies
You can better understand local and world events that are happening now by studying the culture and history that has shaped them. Here is a suggested course plan:- U.S. history (two semesters)
- U.S. government (one semester)
- World history or geography (one semester)
- One additional semester in the above or other areas
Foreign Languages
Solid foreign language study shows colleges you're willing to stretch beyond the basics. Many colleges require at least two years of study in the same foreign language, and some prefer more.The Arts
Research indicates that students who participate in the arts often do better in school and on standardized tests. The arts help you recognize patterns, discern differences and similarities, and exercise your mind in unique ways, often outside a traditional classroom setting.Many colleges require or recommend one or two semesters in the arts. Good choices include studio art, dance, music and drama.
Advanced Placement Program® (AP®)
To be sure you are ready to take on college-level work, enroll in the most challenging courses you can in high school, such as honors or AP courses. Research consistently shows that students who score a 3 or higher on an AP Exam typically experience greater academic success and college graduation rates than students who don’t take AP.Success in AP can also help you in other ways. AP helps you stand out in the admission process and offers the opportunity to learn from some of the most inspiring teachers in the world. Learn more about the AP Program.
For More Help in Choosing Courses
Use College Search to look up a specific college's academic requirements to be sure you are on track to attend the college of your choice.If you have concerns about your class schedule or progress in school, set up a meeting with your school counselor, teacher or adviser. There are many resources to help you with this process, and with achieving your personal, college and career goals.
This information is from the College Board website, and you can find it HERE!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Required High School Curriculum (RHSC)
The following PDF is one of the most beneficial documents I've read. It is up-to-date information that can help you tremendously in planning your high school curriculum.
Staying on Course PDF
(Formerly called College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC))
Students are expected to meet the USG’s RHSC requirements. In addition to these course requirements, students are encouraged to take additional academic units in high school to improve their probability for admission and success.
Students graduating from high school in 2012 must present 17 specified RHSC units of credit. Students graduating from high school prior to 2012 must present 16 CPC units.
*4 units of mathematics
*4 units of English
*3 units of science (Students who graduate in 2012 or later must have 4 units.)
*3 units of social science, including one course focusing on world studies.
*2 units in the same foreign language (2 units of American Sign Language may be used to satisfy this requirement.)
The Office of Student Affairs maintains a complete list of courses that can be used to satisfy the RHSC requirements.
This information was found HERE!
Staying on Course PDF
3.2.3 Required High School Curriculum (RHSC)
Last reviewed: January 2010(Formerly called College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC))
Students are expected to meet the USG’s RHSC requirements. In addition to these course requirements, students are encouraged to take additional academic units in high school to improve their probability for admission and success.
Students graduating from high school in 2012 must present 17 specified RHSC units of credit. Students graduating from high school prior to 2012 must present 16 CPC units.
*4 units of mathematics
*4 units of English
*3 units of science (Students who graduate in 2012 or later must have 4 units.)
*3 units of social science, including one course focusing on world studies.
*2 units in the same foreign language (2 units of American Sign Language may be used to satisfy this requirement.)
The Office of Student Affairs maintains a complete list of courses that can be used to satisfy the RHSC requirements.
This information was found HERE!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
SAT ESSAY: Write or Print?
EITHER!
The SAT essay measures your ability to:
- develop a point of view on an issue presented in an excerpt
- support your point of view using reasoning and examples from your reading, studies, experience, or observations
- follow the conventions of standard written English
The essay gives you an opportunity to show how effectively you can develop and express ideas. You should, therefore, take care to develop your point of view, present your ideas logically and clearly, and use language precisely.
College Board SAT Essay Directions
Friday, February 17, 2012
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