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time4tea
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| Posted: Feb 26 2009 at 11:37am | IP Logged
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I am wondering if anyone has used this book this year, or if anyone has been using it for even more than one school year, and can tell me what they think of it.....if you are even considering it for next year, give a shout too, and let me know what you think of this resource. I am considering purchasing it, but can't make up my mind.
Thanks in advance!
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~Tea
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: Feb 26 2009 at 3:52pm | IP Logged
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I bought this a few years back and ended up selling it. For me, it was too open-ended. What would be a dream to someone else made my head spin! It is full of great ideas. I think if you have a motivated kid that would take it on, or if you really like planning, you could pull it all together for something great. I had neither a motivated child or the desire/ability to pull something together.
I actually think my next one coming up (7th grade this year) may have been able to make it work. I will not spend the money again to find out. 
I wish I could be more helpful but I don't have the book to look at anymore. I just read your other high school post and don't have any good advice there (my first foray into high school has been a disaster from start to finish!), just prayers and hugs!!
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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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folklaur
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| Posted: Feb 26 2009 at 9:29pm | IP Logged
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I bought it, I had been so looking forward to it, and then almost immediately sold it (couldn't return it due to their 'shrink wrap policy'  ).
Open ended is right. It seemed to be just a collection of ideas, and very, very open-ended.
I was highly disappointed. I felt it was an utter and absolute waste of our money. And I think it is really lousy that it is SO pricey, is part of the non-returnable if you open it shrink wrapped group, plus they put up NO samples to really show what it is like.
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Feb 26 2009 at 9:58pm | IP Logged
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I bought it and still have it. It really helped me plan ds's high school curriculum (I planned all 4 years at one time, and we've only tweaked it a little). I will use it for dd, too.
Yes, it is open-ended. For obsessive planners like me (who don't trust others to make the plans), it's a good resource. For people who don't want to plan this way, it is not a good investment.
Basically, for each possible subject you're given a list of possible textbooks, resources, websites, project ideas and topics related to Catholicism. For me, that works.
There are some good charts/planning tools in the book that I've used to log Carnegie units for ds (umbrella requirement), so I can definitely say I've used those tools.
One thing you don't get is a chart or list of how many units/years/credits you need for each subject over the four years of high school. I figured out my plan by looking at state requirements (homeschoolers have to take those into account where I live), college entrance requirements (I picked "likely" schools in our state and schools that matched my son's academic interests, then wrote down their suggested requirements) and your personal requirements (e.g. religious studies, not covered in HSOYD).
Hope this helps!
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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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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Feb 26 2009 at 9:59pm | IP Logged
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I have lent ours briefly to various families so they could get a feel for it and see if they liked the idea of it. Just about exactly half loved it and the other half hated it. Of those who liked it, some purchased it as one resource to use for ideas and others are using as the primary resource.
My son is only not quite 5, so my personal opinion is less relevant. I did use it with my youngest sister in helping her pull together some independent study credits to graduate from high school after giving birth to her daughter. She really enjoyed it, but she was going into it with a specific plan in mind, knowing which credits she needed to fulfill and what her desired electives would be.
The first part lays out some different scenarios: college prep, vocational, general ed, etc. with the recommended number of credits in particular areas, as well as defining a credit hour and comparing a homeschooler's credit hour to a public schooled credit hour. The second (largest) part has the different subjects organized (I think the list is available on CHC's website). Within each subject, there are lists of textbooks to use, projects that could be completed, websites to consult, related Church documents if any, etc.
My only recommendation for anyone who does use it, is to know what you want out of the high school education, choose the path to get there, then look at the specifics to fill in. If nothing else, the book gives a great starting point for other projects that could be completed.
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Bookswithtea
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I have it, but I never use it. I never even pull it off the shelf to reference it, to be honest with you. I don't find it workable at all. I had high hopes when CHC released it that it would be a bit more like their middle school lesson plans with some information on designing your own as well. Its too open ended for me, and I am one of those obsessive planners who loves to design her own.  I don't think its an easy place to start and I never recommend it. I hope CHC eventually offers something else. I was so excited when they first put something out and I thought I could make it work for us, but it just never gelled.
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mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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time4tea
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| Posted: Feb 27 2009 at 9:08am | IP Logged
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The open-ended nature of HSOYD is what I had been fearing all along. I like things that have some level of parameters to them, at least, to keep me focused
Thanks, everyone, for replying - I think I'll cross that one off my list!
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~Tea
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: May 07 2009 at 1:29pm | IP Logged
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I am marking the thread in my favorites!
I am sitting here contemplating high school for a child who is strong minded and an unschooler at heart, and found myself wondering if I should buy this book again.
Whew! So glad I found this thread again.
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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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vmalott
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OK, I thought I saw in the print CHC catalog that this book was available as as e-book, but I don't see anything on the website. Was I just imagining it, or is it something that is still in the works?
I think I've since dumped my catalog, so I can't check. Can anyone confirm this? An e-book would definitely be a better option for saving money on this resource.
Valerie
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Valerie
Mom to Julia ('94), John ('96), Lizzy ('98), Connor ('01), Drew ('02), Cate ('04), Aidan ('08) and three saints in heaven
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mrsgranola
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| Posted: May 07 2009 at 3:13pm | IP Logged
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Yes, I just read through the new CHC catalog and I KNOW it was listed as an e-book, fwiw.
JoAnna
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joyfulmamaof3
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| Posted: May 07 2009 at 3:28pm | IP Logged
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mrsgranola wrote:
Yes, I just read through the new CHC catalog and I KNOW it was listed as an e-book, fwiw.
JoAnna |
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It's there...page 18, for 39.95 as an e-book.
While the book really wasn't what I was looking for, I did learn about Clonlara School and we just enrolled our oldest for 10th grade this fall. Given that, it was worth the 41.95 I paid for it during CHC's March sale!
Blessings!
Joy
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: High School of Your Dreams, anyone?
