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Elena
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| Posted: Aug 21 2008 at 3:17pm | IP Logged
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I know lots of kids do college courses and other co-op things in high school. My son does take piano, sings in the choir at church and plays soccer. However, I simply can't afford for him to take outside courses. I'd love to but we just can't swing it.
We are getting ready for his first CLEP test, and hopefully he can CLEP through some other subjects. He also has a math tutor who comes to the home at $15 an hour. I would love for him to take a science course with the co-op but it's $400.
Have any of you guys just done it all yourself or mostly yourself? How did your kids turn out? Should I worry about this?
Elena - nail biting and penny pinching in Ohio!
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Elena
Wife to Peter, mom of many!
My Domestic Church
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Mackfam
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Elena -
I'm going to move your post to "The Highschool Years" where I think you will get some answers from parents who are in those same trenches right now...and some that have been there already.
Also, a thread I found very interesting and that might inspire you as you proceed through high school is 4Real Kids: Where have they gone?
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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guitarnan
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We haven't done much "outsourcing" even though I thought I would. My son did take one computer repair class through our community college, and he'll probably take photography there, but halfway through high school, that is pretty much it. Everything else is at home so far.
Bio lab was interesting because my ds was strongly opposed to dissecting animals. We dissected plants, did a lot of microbiology stuff, and did online (virtual) dissections.
I guess I'll have a better feel for how we've done when he takes the SAT this fall...but, so far, he seems to be doing OK.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Erin
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Well to the best of my knowledge we don't have co-op classes her in Australia (Leonie may say they do in the city; Leonie?) and I think of all the Australian homeschoolers who have 'graduated' and am pretty proud of them.
My own dd is only just 15 so she's 'not yet turned out'  but so far I'm pretty proud of her. We have done it all ourselves, designed her own curriculum and had no extra tuition. But then dd hasn't showed and interest in an area that I or dh can't meet.
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Erin
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Elena
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You two are encouraging!
Anyone else? Do I need the expensive co=op? Can I do this alone? Did you guys do it alone?
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Elena
Wife to Peter, mom of many!
My Domestic Church
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TracyQ
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We just graduated our first this past June, Elena. We didn't do co-op classes, or online classes either. I thought we would, as there is a *high school program* at one of the local colleges, and I thought we'd go there, but it just didn't work out for us.
He did fine with me designing all of his own courses. He did fine on his SAT (not really great, but fine), passed the GED with no trouble (he took it because his plan was to start at the community college, and they require it), and had no trouble graduating from MY high school (and getting a superintendent letter of completion of an equivalent high school education according to the NY State regulations).
He is planning to work this year to save money for college, a car, and insurance, do some career planning before applying for college, and to gain some maturity and experience. Then his plan is to go to the community college for 2 years to get his liberal education completed for less expense, then to transfer to a 4 year college. That's the plan right now.
He was just told about a full time job in the past two days doing online ebay work for a local company, which he is going to check out, and will give him some good experience. We're praying this works out well for him.  God works it all out when we put ALL our trust in Him, but it can be hard to do that! 
Zach, our middle son is beginning 11th grade. He is also doing all courses at home, because his courseload is a bit heavy using Trisms curriculum. Taking outside courses wouldn't allow him to use this fully, and he LOVES it! So we're sticking with this plan to do it all myself again! I trust God knows what He's doing.
For Sarah, I'm not yet sure what we're doing. She's in 8th grade. She is going to be in our homeschool co-op, and will take several things this year, but not anything too difficult. I think it'll be good for her to get other hs mom's thoughts and opinions, and also the social aspect for her is really important. So that's good for her, but not sure if we'll remain in for high school or not yet.
The boys did do things out of the home for phys ed (baseball league, flag football, etc.), and were in our adult choir with our family at church, and Zach in ensemble with the homeschool group, etc., so they did do things with other people for school, just not their specific traditional courses.
Hope this helps!
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Blessings and Peace,
Tracy Q.
wife of Marty for 20 years, mom of 3 wonderful children (1 homeschool graduate, 1 12th grader, and a 9th grader),
homeschooling in 15th year in Buffalo, NY
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Leonie
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We haven't done the courses/tutors thing - mostly just lots of fun activites with other homeschoolers, volunteer work, paid work....Seems to be fine for us, my four homechool grads are at university or finished university and have jobs and all seems okay.
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Leonie in Sydney
Living Without School
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Carole N.
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I am so glad that I *found* this thread!
My ds is 15 and we have created his curriculum since we have been homeschooling. He really prefers this and the only outside help is the Great Books Academy that we did last year (and will continue with this year). It is expensive, but well worth the cost (and so far we have been able to continue the classes over here despite the time difference).
But, that being said, I do have a concern. At home, my ds would take the SAT and go to college. In the United Kingdom, students take the GCSEs at 16 and then take A level courses for their last two years in school. It is my understanding that these transfer to college and depending on his interests, he can take the tests in many different areas (am I correct on this UK mums).
Here is the problem (and perhaps I need a separate thread for this ... not wanting to hijack here). They truly spend two years teaching for the test. Well, this time last year, I had no idea that we would be moving here. Since we have designed our own curriculum, I can readily say that my ds would not do well on certain parts of the exam (for example, no chemistry yet).
I did find out that the GCSEs are not compulsory. Many homeschoolers choose not to test their students, but they have their students enrolled at Seton or Thomas Aquinas. Therefore, they graduate with a diploma and can attend college this way. I have also not done this.
So I am torn. Do I purchase the books and try to prepare ds for the testing? Do I *enroll* him in Seton? Or can I have his grades tracked somewhere that will help me in giving him a diploma?
The idea of teaching to a test goes against our own personal beliefs about schooling. So I am inclined to ask where can I have his grades tracked? This approach seems to fit better with our family and our educational goals. But then again, I do need to think about his future.
Any and all advice would be appreciated!
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Carole ... in Wales
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guitarnan
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Carole,
Our umbrella school is The Learning Community International. Elizabeth recommended it - they hosted a soccer player from Northern Ireland and he was enrolled with TLCI - and it's been great for us. You work with them instead of the state of Maryland, but you end up with a diploma just as you would from a Maryland public high school. They're registered with the state as a private school (they have a code for the SAT exam, etc., too.) They don't ask you to tweak your program. In high school, you count Carnegie units (120 clock hours or finishing an appropriate textbook is one high school credit), so you do have to log your time each day.
They don't track letter grades, only credits - but you can track the grades yourself. You do end up with a transcript for each year.
PM me if you have questions!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Elena
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I'm just thinking aloud here:
LCI like NARHS is around $400 a year. That is just really prohibitive for my family of 8, with a self-employed husband, trying to provide other things for all the kids like music lessons etc. I work about 20 hours a week too and it's just hard for me to pay $400 to a place to just do my record keeping for a transcript.
Any of you do your own transcripts too?
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Elena
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guitarnan
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Elena,
I would have done it all myself except for two things - we move a lot and it is a real pain to switch recordkeeping methods every couple of years, esp. for high school, and my son is seriously considering a military career, for which a "traditional" high school diploma is helpful. I suggested TLCI for Carole because she's overseas (and I was really wondering how she'd deal with A-Levels, by the way!). I know it's expensive.
I know a lot of high school moms do keep their own transcripts. One thing you might try is checking the websites of any colleges (or military branches) your son might consider applying to in future, and see what their requirements are for applying. (I did this to plan my college prep program. It was helpful.) Many schools now have special info for homeschooled applicants, so they know what the college wants to see. That way, you can compile a portfolio as you go - CLEP scores, a reading list, whatever - and have less stress during senior year.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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Carole N.
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Nancy, thanks for this information. This seems to be more inline with how we school. I am still not clear about A-levels, but I do know that I have a ds who is interested in anything and everything and has absolutely no idea what he wants to be when he grows up (well, he may know for a week or two and then it changes)!
I just want to continue to school as we have been. No stress here!
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Carole ... in Wales
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: Do it yourself high school?
