Darcy asked me some followup questions after my homeschool high school seminar in Vancouver. Here are the answers I provided.
Can sign language count as a foreign language?
Yes! Most colleges will accept sign language as a foreign language. It’s always a good idea to ask the colleges you are looking at, to find out their specific policy, because it can vary. However, most colleges that I have seen will accept American Sign Language and Latin (those are the two most asked about languages!)
If a child does dance, can that count for PE as well as Fine Arts?
Yes, but not with double-dipping. One credit of dance can be PE or it can be Fine Art, but it can’t be BOTH. The 150 hours of a credit can only be counted once. Usually people who like dancing do a LOT of dancing. They will often have different kinds of dance, so that one can be the PE credit and another can be the Fine Art credit. (Remember you don’t need to have both of those every year!) You can’t use the same hours for two purposes. But you might have enough hours to do both.
Would 4-H things like “Horse Group” or sewing be counted as electives?
4-H and Boy Scouting are very similar in one way: almost all of it is completely educational in nature. I haven’t met a 4-H that didn’t belong on a transcript! I would include your “horse group” as an elective, but if you are doing much riding, it might be a good fit for PE. Sewing can be a wonderful elective for textile science, fashion design, or home economics.
Can “Horse” be science?
The study of horses can certainly be a science, as long as you are studying the SCIENCE of a horse. Equine studies, veterinary studies, biology of the horse, and that sort of thing are great. In my opinion, using a horse for science would probably involve some lab work or veterinary skills. A good rule of thumb for determining if something can be a science is to just look at a college course catalog. Is there anything in a college catalog like that? Since we know that veterinarians exist, and that some kids work as a vet assistant, then the science of a horse would be workable.
If you have decided on science for this year, and it’s just not working out, what should you do?
It’s always hard to decide when to stick with a subject and when to stop and try something else. Jay Wile of Apologia says that since biology, chemistry, and physics are such different sciences, it’s possible for a kid to like one and hate the other two. Dr. Wile said that it’s our job as parents to make sure they hate all three. (smile!) Biology has a lot of memorization, but little math, and it’s very hands on. Chemistry has a lot of math in it, and it’s a very mathematical, logical science. Physics is even more mathematical. Unless your student has enough math, it could really be frustrating. Because they are so different, it is common for children to like one and hate the other two.
If you are mid year, have already decided on switching to another science, the look for alternatives that appeal to your child. I encourage you to ask your child what would be fun to study for science. Give your child the Apologia Catalog, www.highschoolscience.com or the HomeScienceTools catalog, www.hometrainingtools.com, and have them look over the options and decide on a science. If nothing looks exciting, you can look at the Lego curriculum products or a Teaching Company course, www.teach12.com .
Teaching Company lectures are available at the library. You can often identify and science interest, and then do the actual research of the topic at the library as well. But in our home, for things like this, we ended up giving the desired subject to our kids for Christmas. For example, if he wants to do Lego science, give him a kit for Christmas. If your child wants to do astronomy, give a telescope for Christmas – that sort of thing. That’s actually the subject of my December newsletter!
When you know a child can’t complete a curriculum, it’s a good idea to drop something that isn’t working. Our job is to make sure our children succeed in learning, and sometimes that can mean waiting. When you get stuck like this, look for clues in your child, to see what they want to do. I know some teens who have done some wonderfully unusual sciences: ornithology, mycology, geology.
Colleges like to see three years of science, and one year at least as a lab science. You’ve already got a year of lab science with your previous Apologia Biology. It’s a good time to branch out a bit, until he is comfortable with chemistry.
I hope that helps!
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“I am so glad I found your website. I am planning to homeschool my 15 year old son, while working and going to school partime, and I am a bit nervous. He needs supervision to get his stuff done. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can motivate him to be more of a self learning when I am not here? I have The Robinson Curriculum, as well as a ton of good books, we are planning the year together. I am making him a part of the planning process so that he knows what is expected and where he is going. He is bright at math and science. I have a teen daughter going to the public school, she is doing great there. I have two older daughters who are out of the house now. I used to homeschool everyone from the beginning, but they went to public schools. I pulled him out a couple years ago, but I just want to make sure we do High School “right”. Thank you.” –Alisha
Hi Alisha,
Do you get my newsletter? This last issue was on choosing curriculum, and I think you may find some clues within that newsletter. I think motivation has a LOT to do with matching the curriculum to the student. Good job including him in the planning! For a 15 year old, I usually recommend that the parent give the child a choice between a few different curriculum choices. Here is my blog post with links to different math curricula, so you can compare side by side
Decide on two or three options for your child, and then have THEM choose which one they like.
That said, Robinson Curriculum can be difficult for kids that don’t love to read on the internet. If that’s his learning style, that’s great! But if it doesn’t fit, then try to find a curriculum that meets his learning style better. If he loves to read, but prefers to curl up with real books, then look at Sonlight Curriculum.
Some children can be motivated by talking to colleges. Go to a college fair, and see if he can “catch the fire” about studying. If he sees that his love for math and science could lead to great scholarships (even possibly free tuition!) in engineering schools, then he may be motivated to work harder, since he can see a benefit.
I hope that helps! With teens, there is no ONE ANSWER that will solve the motivations problem <smile!>
Blessings,
Lee
Check out my page on recommended homeschool resources. I’ve got links from each selection directly to Amazon, for your convenience.
>>>Angela asks: “We purchased Rosetta Stone Spanish 1 and didn’t do so well last year. We will ‘go at it’ with more gusto this year, but my question is, this course is supposed to be a 2 year course although it is only Spanish 1. Do you have any knowledge of the credit value?”<<<
Angela, I know that a two year course at high school level would be two full high school credits. I also know that the catalog may say “Spanish 1″ and really mean college level Spanish 1. If it is college level, it may be two full high school credits. But I haven’t actually researched the credit value of Rosetta Stone.
If Rosetta Stone isn’t working, it may not match your student’s learning style. Why not look at Tell Me More and Power-Glide, and see if either of those might match your student better? Here is my blog post that links them side by side. Have your kids help you, and click on each sample one at a time.
Rosetta stone is very methodical, and for computer-lovers, but there are many other ways to learn foreign languages besides looking at a split-screen computer all day. Whatever curriculum you choose, though, the key is to do foreign language for AT LEAST 15 minutes every day. That way you won’t have to keep re-learning day after day, but can build on your knowledge from the previous day. That 15 minute thing is really key!
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I’m reading a book called “Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Big?” Living in a household of men, we have shared a LOT of laughs about the title of that book! But today I was wondering…. if you collect curriculum, like I collect clutter, what would happen? I wonder if collecting curriculum might make people feel like failures? I do notice that my friends who are “curriculum junkies” are usually the same friends that feel like they never do enough, or never finish a book, or can’t seem to find the magic potion (ehem, I mean “perfect curriculum”) to magically make their children perfect. So maybe if you are feeling like a failure, you can de-clutter your curriculum shelf and feel better! Just an idea.
On the other hand, I’ve been trying to de-clutter my house, and my backside still doesn’t seem any smaller at all!
To all of my Heart of the Matter friends: I hope you loved the virtual conference. I really enjoyed talking to you about transcripts and preparing for college! If you have any additional questions, concerns or fears, please email me at Lee@thehomescholar.com. I really need to hear from you in order to best serve the homeschooling high school community. Thanks!
You want to cover current events, but you don’t have the money for yet another curriculum purchase. Have you considered talk radio?
When my kids were in Junior High, we started to listen to talk radio when we were having lunch, and discussing the events they brought up. It may depend on your local radio station, of course. When I was considering the radio host, I was much more concerned with them being POLITE rather than having them agree with me. I figured I was right there, having lunch with my children, so I could easily explain how my views were different. That way they could learn to defend their beliefs in a calm and reasonable manner. But if the radio host was rude, I was concerned that my children would pick up on that rude behavior, and think it was OK, or normal to talk that way.
Listening to the radio during lunch allowed us to talk about the big events in the world around us, and sometimes even the smaller issues of our local scene. Sometimes there were horrible things happening to children that age, and I wanted to talk about it but didn’t know where to start. Often the radio show would help me start the conversation. If you are thinking about a current events program, consider talk radio. Radio is free, too, which is my favorite price.
PS. So, who did we chose to listen to in the Seattle area? Dave Ross. You can listen to his podcasts here.
Learning about current events is just one way to prepare your homeschool student for college. Read about other ways on my Dig Deeper site. And if you enjoy what you read, please send me some love with a rating or a comment! Thanks!
Start by loving and understanding your child. Seriously, the first step is deciding what would be fun for your child. In high school, that means asking them. Ask them what they would like to study for science. Ask them which video tutorial they prefer for math. When possible, especially with older teens, provide them with two or three curriculum choices that you think are good, and then let them be the final “decider.” If they don’t care, that’s fine. But asking their opinion, and valuing it, can go a long way toward making them feel like the adults they are becoming.
Need more help choosing a video tutorial for math? Check them out side-by-side in this blog post.
Once we determined that they knew enough to pass a CLEP, then we started to study for the test so that they would get a good score. It seemed like the REA books were the best prep once we go to that stage.
We used CLEP exams only for the things they already “sorta knew.” So, typically, just reading through the REA book and taking the practice tests was enough, since they already were able to pass the test based on previous knowledge.
My son Alex did take one CLEP in a different way – psychology. He didn’t want to take Psych in college (he was only 15 at the time and knew he didn’t want to discuss Freud in mixed company!) He simply read through the REA book, and then he was able to take the test. I had bought him a psych textbook, but I don’t think he read it much. I think it was mostly the REA books.
Read more about how to homeschool college in my Dig Deeper page!
When we did CLEP, I preferred using the Official Study Guide by College board as a entry-level “can we pass this” assessment. Here is the link:
I chose that book because it had a sample test from EVERY CLEP, and we were just looking for an over view assessment at that time.
I usually preferred Princeton Review study materials for everything, but in this one instance it seemed like the Official Study Guide worked better for us. Princeton Review seems to speak more in the natural tone of teenagers.
*** A client was dealing with attitude problems with her 13 yo girl***
I know how difficult it can be to deal with “attitude” rather than academics. I can suggest one strategy that seems to help with older teens – and it may work with a mature 13yo girl. I suggest that you have HER choose curriculum. Not just “any” curriculum. But give her three choices for each subject: 3 math, 3 english, etc. Make sure YOU approve of each choice first. By having her choose the curriculum, sometimes (if you pray really, REALLY hard!) the teen will cooperate better. If you are having a debate about the amount of school work, then consider Sonlight. We LOVED Sonlight. , and used it for many years. Because it is “all in one” you can be assured that it is on grade level. Give her the catalog and let her choose a Sonlight level for next year, and it will include all the different subjects. She may *may* be wanting more adult control over what she is learning.
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Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
