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teachingmyown
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My 13 yr old dd wants to start high school in the fall, basically "skipping" 8th grade. Her reasoning is that she will be doing Algebra I, Physical Science and is already working on Warriner's 3rd Course grammar book.
I am certainly not in a rush to have her finish early. As far as 8th grade goes, since we are so relaxed and haven't really followed a set course of study, I don't see that she would be "missing" anything.
The problem is coming in as we try to plan what she needs to take and how to go about it. She is adamant about not doing any program. She wants to pick and choose and basically just spend a lot of time reading the classics and great books.
I would like her to follow a plan already in place, such as Kolbe or MODG, at least for the literature and history, to help her get the most out of what she is reading and for her to learn how to analyze and write. I worry that (as usually happens in this family) she will lose interest and I will lose track and things won't get done.
Can you help think this through? I have a number of other pressing things and my brain is frazzled. I want to give her a path that we can both be satisfied with. Part of me wants to just order her some "8th grade" curriculum and tell her to work on that for now.
Thanks!
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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mooreboyz
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Did you ever hear of "Blessed is the Man"? Check it out here
Although it is for boys, I think it may give you some ideas on how to approach high school, which is why I bought the cd. I wanted to figure out a way to give my son some choices in his learning from books to real life internships and such and be able to count up credits. This gives you some guidelines to work with while still offering a lot of flexibility and independence. The site offers a lot of sample pgs for you to look through.
Just thought this might help give you some ideas.
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Jackie
7 boys - 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 15, 17 years
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Bookswithtea
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Molly, we are signed up with NARS, and they have a course they call Classics and Composition. Its basically 12 classic novels (of your choice) and then 12 written responses. This is a complete literature course. If your dd is determined to not use a program, maybe you could use some guidelines like this to get the framework you need? Maybe require her to keep them in a notebook format so that you have a folder at the end with all the work she completed?
Also, for history, have you looked at CHC's middle school lesson plans? I tweaked their jr. high US history plans slightly and used it for 9th grade with my ds. The basic gist is that you choose 36 topics, one a week. The student uses the books you have on hand (or internet, I suppose, but we didn't use that) to research the topic and then respond with a written summary/narration/opinion by the end of the week, which go in a notebook. If you want my syllabus, pm me and I'll send it to you. Mostly I tweaked the topic choices a little bit, but I think the idea CHC has is a good one.
I just read your new thread on literature. Your dd sounds a lot like mine. We are planning for 9th grade level work in the 8th grade as well! 
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~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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Kristie 4
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Books, is it possible to see the specifics on this Classics and Composition course. I would love to use a framework like this for my son's ninth grade year next year...
Thank you,
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Kristie in Canada
Mom to 3 boys and one spunky princess!!
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Erin
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Molly and Books, your girls sound like mine too.
As I mentioned in your other thread Molly we (dd and I) have designed dd15s course always. Are you wanting to know specifics of what others have done? I can answer that if you want.
Considering you have been relaxed there will be a transition period, and considering she is a young lady with a definite mind of her own well...  you better consult her on all of this.
What topics have you choosen that you need to find sources for? Is dd interested in using textbooks for any of these subjects?
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stellamaris
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Why does she want to skip? Is she planning to leave a year early for college, or does she just want more academic challenge? Do you know what her motives are for "skipping" a grade (which hasn't really got much meaning for a homeschool situation, kwim?)
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Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
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teachingmyown
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Thank you ladies!
Jackie, lots of interesting ideas from that link. Thanks!
Books, I sold my Middle School Lesson Plans (I have a love/hate relationship with CHC!) That idea does sound interesting, though, and I would love to see your plans! By the way, I just borrowed HSOYD from a friend today, another love/hate item from CHC!
Erin, I guess I am just trying to picture what a non-traditional approach to high school should look like. There is something comforting in buying a set curriculum. I think we are fine as far as picking the math and the science, staying close to traditional textbooks and maybe some dvd courses or even community college in a couple of years. For religion, I plan to use Didache as well as lots of supplemental reading. Where I tend to panic is Literature and even history to some extent. It is the writing and evaluating for which I was wanting a set plan. I would love to see your plans that you have used.
Caroline- you are right, the whole "skipping" thing doesn't mean much. I am thinking that she just wants a more definite path and to have her work "count" now. I wouldn't want her leaving early although we have friends for whom that has worked. That brings me to another question. Can she take longer than four year to finish high school and have all the work count toward a "diploma"? I recall reading in another thread that someone had stated that Kolbe wouldn't let her count her child's work that was done during the 8th grade year. I think this is what my dd is worried about. If she does Algebra, physical science and Warriner's Grammer in her 8th grade year, will she need to take an extra math, science and English course?
Finally, what about electives? Do you pick these for your kids, pick them together, or let your students pick them? I think there are some I will insist upon, like economics.
Thank you all so much! Your help and input are invaluable to me!
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Kristie 4
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Thanks for starting this thread...lit and history and the evaluations of writing are where I flounder as well ....
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Kristie in Canada
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Erin
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Writing is where I have floundered for so long myself. I don't understand why as I have no trouble writing myself but for some reason I haven't managed to start teaching it. Anyhow we have finally purchased IEWand are very happy so far. I think having someone else teach and not me has been the key. Dd is quick to pick up on my lack of confidence and that is not helpful.
Like you are planning we have used set programs for science(finally) and maths. Faith we are using Fr Laux for the first time. I'd love Diadche but they are so expensive here.
History we follow what dd is interested in and provide lots of living books, and require some written work. I'll be really honest as we are talking strong willed girls and admit I don't often get the written work. However perhaps a large part of that is she doesn't really know how, which we're hoping to address with the IEW program. She is definitely not interested in a textbook here.
Geography I'm still searching for a program I am happy with, I'm looking for more a mapping pregram and most have a large focus on earth science. So currently dd has written her own program there and is doing project work on each American state, one a week.
Literature, well she reads endlessly and mostly great fiction. As of yet no formal study there. I'm only slowly talking her into the need of using some study guides. But I'm not too worried.
So our non-traditional approach looks all over the place.
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Bookswithtea
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Kristie 4 wrote:
Books, is it possible to see the specifics on this Classics and Composition course. I would love to use a framework like this for my son's ninth grade year next year...
Thank you,
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There are no specifics. You just choose 12 classic novels and have the child write 12 responses to them. Nars requires them to each be a minimum of 2 pgs. I would probably require a bit more length on some of them and maybe have the responses be a bit more varied than the usual response method, but thats it. NARS is accredited with Maine and this is acceptable to them.
The thing I like about this method is the ability to choose all twelve individually...
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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Bookswithtea
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teachingmyown wrote:
Books, I sold my Middle School Lesson Plans (I have a love/hate relationship with CHC!) That idea does sound interesting, though, and I would love to see your plans! By the way, I just borrowed HSOYD from a friend today, another love/hate item from CHC!
... I wouldn't want her leaving early although we have friends for whom that has worked. That brings me to another question. Can she take longer than four year to finish high school and have all the work count toward a "diploma"? I recall reading in another thread that someone had stated that Kolbe wouldn't let her count her child's work that was done during the 8th grade year. I think this is what my dd is worried about. If she does Algebra, physical science and Warriner's Grammer in her 8th grade year, will she need to take an extra math, science and English course?
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PM me your email addy and I'll send you the plans. This was my first time writing high school level plans. I think the amount of writing was probably too much, in hindsight. I'd cut them back a bit for the next child.
Kolbe does not count anything for 8th grade, so yes, she would have to take more math and science if she was signed up with Kolbe. But that's just their program. Every program is different. The program I am currently using allows high school level work to be done in the 8th grade. Standards cannot be lowered to accomodate their age, but if they do true high school level work, it goes on the high school transcript and counts toward the credits for graduation.
My dd is not going to graduate early. We are just starting high school level work early because I think it will make those last two years a bit less stressful on the parent/student relationship. Another hindsight issue   ...I learned the hard way that after a certain point, some teens want to be more independent than homeschooling with mom can provide. My thought is that there might be benefit in starting early when they are still very inclined to work with mom (lit. discussions et al) and then when they are the least inclined to want to be sitting at the table with me, maybe they only have a few courses left and take them outside the home when they are old enough to drive themselves to a coop or community college???
I dunno if it'll work, but that's what I am thinking, anyway...
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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stellamaris
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Bookswithtea wrote:
Another hindsight issue ...I learned the hard way that after a certain point, some teens want to be more independent than homeschooling with mom can provide. My thought is that there might be benefit in starting early when they are still very inclined to work with mom (lit. discussions et al) and then when they are the least inclined to want to be sitting at the table with me, maybe they only have a few courses left and take them outside the home when they are old enough to drive themselves to a coop or community college???
I dunno if it'll work, but that's what I am thinking, anyway... |
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Well, I didn't want to mention this, because I thought maybe it was just my own kids and bad parenting on my part , but for what it's worth, all of my four post-high school students really wanted to be totally independent those last two years of high school. It was very difficult to monitor their work, have discussions with them, etc. They did the work on their own and handed it in, but other than that I wasn't really schooling them (sort of more like harassing them  ). So I think you are right to put as much content into those first few years of high school as possible; then, you can back off and relax knowing they are ready for college. This is also why we used dual-enrollment classes at the local community college; plus, it got them used to a college environment. If your thinking you might do college at home (as in the other thread), maybe you could start with online college level courses the last two years, just a couple per semester to give them the feel of it.
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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Bookswithtea
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stellamaris wrote:
Well, I didn't want to mention this, because I thought maybe it was just my own kids and bad parenting on my part , but for what it's worth, all of my four post-high school students really wanted to be totally independent those last two years of high school. It was very difficult to monitor their work, have discussions with them, etc. They did the work on their own and handed it in, but other than that I wasn't really schooling them (sort of more like harassing them ). |
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God bless you for mentioning this. I was worried that somehow I had messed up and that's why we have had some tough moments this year. I am so relieved to know that I'm not the only one. Incidentally, are those 4 post high school students a mix of boys and girls? This is sort of off topic, but I am wondering if this inclination is as strong in girls as it was in my boy???
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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stellamaris
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The three boys were definitely tougher, more resistant to my direction and also they started this trend around 16 or so. My daughter has been easier; we've only really had this trouble in the last year (senior year) and she's more willing to cooperate if I put the pressure on. I think it is certainly gender-related, and probably an important process for them to go through in order to break away some from their parents and take responsibility for their own lives. A family therapist once told my sister, when she was struggling with her 17-yr. old son, that her son's job at this stage in life was to make her want to have him move on! Letting go is a difficult process on both sides. God bless you as you go into this time in parenting! If you figure it out, let me know, I still have four more to go
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
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Erin
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Books and Caroline
Thank you so much for sharing this, I thought it was only dd and I who had this relationship, although my dd is only in Grade 10. I try to explain how to write an essay and she finally admits I irritate her  I try to discuss novels and the answer to 'what do you think of the book?' is 'good.' Independent is my dd alright. Thank you.
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time4tea
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Bookswithtea wrote:
Also, for history, have you looked at CHC's middle school lesson plans? I tweaked their jr. high US history plans slightly and used it for 9th grade with my ds. The basic gist is that you choose 36 topics, one a week. The student uses the books you have on hand (or internet, I suppose, but we didn't use that) to research the topic and then respond with a written summary/narration/opinion by the end of the week, which go in a notebook. If you want my syllabus, pm me and I'll send it to you. Mostly I tweaked the topic choices a little bit, but I think the idea CHC has is a good one.
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Books,
Do you think the CHC World History plans could work the same for a course in World History that is high school level? I'm thinking maybe yes 
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teachingmyown
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stellamaris wrote:
| A family therapist once told my sister, when she was struggling with her 17-yr. old son, that her son's job at this stage in life was to make her want to have him move on! |
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I have heard this too and nodding in agreement! I never imagined being ready for a child to move on to adulthood. Now I get it! (not at all saying I don't want him around, I just don't want to spend anymore time trying to get him to do what he needs to do!)
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Bookswithtea
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time4tea wrote:
Books,
Do you think the CHC World History plans could work the same for a course in World History that is high school level? I'm thinking maybe yes |
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Absolutely. The concept is definitely high school worthy. You just tweak their topics slightly if you don't care for one or two or want to stretch another concept, then have them use more than one book to research the topic. Along with Christ the King, something secular/liberal, something moderate, so that at the high school level they can see what some people are saying. Then let them process it all in a summary on paper.
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Blessings,
~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and due 9/10
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teachingmyown
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My mind has been busy elsewhere, and I am just now diving back into this planning.
I am wondering about building a high school program around IEW. They have the literature guides, two of which are self-directed as well as the spelling/vocabulary course and then the history-based and theme-based writing programs. Has anyone used their resources extensively?
What I have so far for next year is:
Apologia Physical Science
Jacob's Algebra
Didache (still need to buy)
Warriner's 3rd course (which I don't like but she does)
Teaching the Classics by IEW
Rosetta Stone Spanish
I am still up in the air for a history spine. I would be good with SL Core 100 which is a more in-depth American history. I may just buy SOTW Vol 4 on CD this weekend at the HEAV conference I am going to.
I was thinking I had recently seen a booklist for high school level history, but I can't remember where it was.
Books, I will pm you my email (somehow this slipped my mind before) for you to send me your plans.I am NOT a planner and tend to panic when I try to get things down on paper. I am looking into NARS and Clonlara.
Thanks, ladies! I really want to have an idea of what I am looking for before I go to this HUGE conference! More than once, I have come home from a conference with a random assortment of books, great lovely books, but with no rhyme or reason to my choices!
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: Planning high school
