Dear Lee,
“Did you schedule the art studies or simply allow them do it as they wanted? I debate a lot about whether its worth setting aside the time for art study.”
Art is really, TRULY my weak area, for that reason I basically reserved time for art study, or else we would most likely never do it! We never had a challenge getting math or science finished, only art, LOL! I planned it for 2-3 times a week, 1-1/2 or 2 hours at a time, depending on the year. Never the less, it was one thing that we from time to time simply didn’t do. (Art is so messy, you understand.)
We did the book “Art Fun” the first year, the Feed My Sheep for two years, then Draw Today. We even did a few pottery classes, and that was enjoyable. I own a few art games that they played, not to mention there were a number of books on artists that I had them read over the years. When your kids just “do” art, then it’s possible that you don’t really have to have art study. We NEEDED art study, as my kids didn’t ever Get it done otherwise.
In high school I taught them art primarily from an art history point of view, and also art appreciation. I believe in high school, it’s good to have some art appreciation course, yet might be other kids just naturally find themselves learning art free of any kind of help whatsoever. Hey, Alex studied economics without having any help! Kevin studied Russian History, of all things, without having any encouragement! Simply not art…
I have created a series of videos on creating great homeschool records for college. You can find them here.
I used Latin Road for 3 years. My boys were RATHER successful with it, not to mention my son still remembers all of his Latin even after three years without cracking a book! He was required to take a college placement test at the college he’s attending, so they could find out which course would be applicable for him. He passed all 3 levels of Latin, and began the university in Junior level! Yippee! He liked Latin Road so much that he has continued his Latin studies in college.
Latin Road applies quite a lot of memorization, rote learning, flash cards, and practice, practice, practice. It needed just as much time as a math program, not to mention we were required to undertake some Latin translating every single day, just as you complete math problems every single day. It seemed to be highly mom demanding, as you say. I used to dedicate approximately two hours on weekends getting my own lessons finished, ın order that I could understand the best way to teach it the next week. Her lessons are clearly arranged, as well as I in no way had any sort of difficulties knowing what to undertake on a daily basis. It ended up being QUITE obvious, as well as each lesson was around the equal amount of time of time to accomplish, and each lesson was very clearly marked.
Again, almost like a math book, I think! It was developed for homeschoolers, so that’s part of why it was so straightforward to use. Each day we would do some flash cards, recite some memorized lesson or maybe read aloud, and also do some copy work or translating. It was a LARGE AMOUNT of work, and challenging, however my boys truly seemed to like it, and it certainly paid off in the end.
Hope that helps!
Read to what others are saying about The HomeScholar Gold Care Club!
As homeschool parents, our plan is NOT to teach something. Our goal is for the kids to LEARN. I could have taught my kids “at grade level” and they might have not learned a thing. Instead, I offered them curriculum at their ability level, and then they had to learn something that they didn’t already know.
I believe that older teens MUST learn how to teach themselves. If they go to college, they will be expected to learn all the textbook material by themselves. College lectures are most often supplemental to the textbook – not the same. If perhaps they don’t go to college, they will certainly still need to teach themselves some computer skills, or perhaps online banking, or how to buy a car – whatever.
My kids taught themselves Advanced Math (pre-Calculus) and Calculus. They taught themselves physics. I know they understood the material due to the fact I gave them the tests. I didn’t know what the calculus symbols meant, however I knew that my kids answers matched the answers on the key! I could have taught them Biology and Chemistry (because I’m an RN and I understand that stuff) but they actually taught themselves in that also. It just worked out better for us when they were teaching themselves, while I simply checked up on them now and again. Alex taught himself economics, and is now performing graduate level work in economic thought (we’ve been told by his professor. ) He even taught himself psychology and business law, since he got fabulous grades on the college level CLEP exams in those subjects.
Here’s my point: kids will teach themselves something when they are interested in it. It’s fine for kids to do that, plus it works out great with regard to kids that are working on an intensely academic, college-prep curriculum as well as for kids that are in a laid back homeschool environment.
I have viewed SO many notes regarding “getting it all done” that I just desire to put in a plug for mom having prayer and quiet time. I discovered that when I was consistent with those things I could “get it all done” and when I wasn’t consistent with those things I got discouraged. Either I was expecting too much, or was frustrated too easily. When I spent time with God, then things went much more effortlessly in our homeschooling.
As homeschool parents, our goal is NOT to teach something. Our goal is for the kids to LEARN. I could have taught my kids “at grade level” and they would have not learned a thing. Instead, I gave them curriculum at their ability level, and then they had to learn something that they didn’t already know.
I believe that older teens MUST learn how to teach themselves. If they go to college, they will be expected to learn all the textbook material on their own. College lectures are most often supplemental to the textbook – not the same. If they don’t go to college, they will still have to teach themselves some computer skills, or online banking, or how to buy a car – whatever.
My kids taught themselves Advanced Math (pre-Calculus) and Calculus. They taught themselves physics. I know they knew the material because I gave them the tests. I didn’t know what the calculus symbols meant, but I knew that my kids answers matched the answers on the key! I could have taught them Biology and Chemistry (because I’m an RN and I know that stuff) but they actually taught themselves that as well. It just worked out better for us when they were teaching themselves, while I just checked up on them from time to time. Alex taught himself economics, and is now doing graduate level work in economic thought (we’ve been told by his professor.) He even taught himself psychology and business law, because he got fabulous grades on the college level CLEP exams in those subject.
Here’s my point: kids will teach themselves something when they are interested in it. It’s fine for kids to do that, and it works out great for kids that are working on an intensely academic, college-prep curriculum as well as for kids that are in a relaxed homeschool environment.
I have seen SO many notes about “getting it all done” that I just want to put in a plug for mom having prayer and quiet time. I found that when I was consistent with those things I could “get it all done” and when I wasn’t consistent with those things I got frustrated. Either I was expecting too much, or was frustrated too easily. When I spent time with God, then things went much more smoothly in our homeschooling.
How are you teaching your kids to learn?
I am now the Seattle Homeschool Examiner. You can read my homeschool articles here.
I’ll admit it. Sometimes parents ask BIG questions on Facebook, and it’s hard to answer in a short paragraph. If you only had a few sentences, how would you answer this new homeschool mom?
Posted on The HomeScholar Fan Page: My daughter has been in a Classical Christian school since Kindergarten. She is now going into 7th grade and we want to home school her. She is so sick and tired of filling in work sheets, and Saxon math. But I am so new to all of this, I don’t know where to go from here for curriculum. Can you recommend a good math program for a kid coming out of 6 years of Saxon? How do I figure out what type of a learner she is? Yikes!
~Deb on Facebook
Lisa Baughn wrote a review of myTotal Transcript Solution. She wrote, “With Lee’s help, any home educating family can create a marvelous, intriguing, scholarship-inspiring transcript.” Read Lisa’s Review.
Technology in today’s world allows us to connect in ways that we couldn’t imagine when we were growing up! Now we have cell phones, video conferencing, webinars, and social media! One way that I use the wonderful technology available to us is through my Video Tip of the Week. Each Wednesday a new tip is posted exclusively for fans of The HomeScholar Facebook page. They are quick, bite-size answers to your questions and concerns. So, grab a cup of your favorite beverage and settle in for a video tip next Wednesday. I’ll bring the Starbucks!
Here’s just a sample of some of the tips and hints that I share each week:
If you ask 10 homeschoolers, you may get 10 different answers about favorite writing programs.
Do you have any favorites for teaching composition beginning in 9th grade? Funny thing, I am a writer and editor by trade but haven’t a clue how to teach it. My kids have learned the most basic of skills in writing an essay but that’s about the extent of it.Also, do you have a preference for choosing curriculum that incorporates all facets – lit, grammar, vocab and composition, or separate pieces?
Thanks!
~ Barb
Personally, I loved Sonlight Curriculum, and that is what we used. I also hear particularly good things about www.WriteShop.com (see their blog at www.writeshop.com/blog, Institute for Excellence in Writing (writing only, not literature, so just add some good books) and BraveWriter (one of my Gold Care Club members is a HUGE fan.)
I would love to hear about writing programs that other homeschoolers have already USED and LOVED. No fair mentioning things you haven’t used yet – or things your child barely tolerated! I’m only looking for positive recommendations, please.
The Comprehensive Record Solution provides the training and templates and real life examples of successful high school records.
Kids love amazing things. Unreal, incredible things. Especially in movies, they LOVE superheros. Spiderman. The Incredibles. Batman. And now Thor.
The big news: Kids love these things.
The bad news: Hollywood.
The good news: It can encourage reading.
If your child is old enough to see Thor, or if they aren’t allowed but are interested, I have a suggestion. Read books about mythology!
My children enjoyed reading about mythology. Of course, it’s important to compare mythology to the truth! But you know, it’s not just Hollywood that references mythology of the past. When kids are reading Shakespeare and other classical literature from Reading Lists for the College Bound, many of those works will reference mythological characters. By knowing these fanciful stories, it can increase their enjoyment of literature. (And movies too!)
Here are some books that we enjoyed while we were homeschooling.
Favorite Norse Myths by Mary Pope Osborne or D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d’Aulaire. These are where you will find the mythology behind the popular movie Thor. Another fun resource is D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d’Aulaire.
Here is a review of Thor, which may help you decide if it’s appropriate for your family.
Today is the last day for 40% off of our Parent Training A la Carte courses. Tomorrow will be 30% off. Check it out now! At checkout, use Coupon Code – enable40.
Did you know that not all homeschoolers score in the 80th percentile or above? It’s true! There are many homeschoolers who struggle with some subjects – or ALL subjects. The most important thing is that you take what God has given your child and work with the reality of the situation. Teach them at their level in each subject, and they will receive the best possible education. In this note from Angela, you can see how difficult the struggle can be for parents. Read her note and learn more about special needs that may help you with your own children. Please leave a comment and share your stories, so we can be supportive of one another!
Hello Lee:) I was wondering if you have any suggestions for a Mom with a girl who is going to be 15 in August and is still in the 5th grade doing 4th grade Math? She is in a private school right now, but the school only goes to 8th grade and she is getting to an age where I might have to start home schooling her. She seems to have a right brain left brain issue. I always thought that she was left handed, but her teacher realized that she is actually right handed,but uses her left hand quite a bit too. Her Dad is left handed, but uses his right hand for many things. I just thought she was like him. She has a hard time getting concepts and when you think she has it, it is gone again. I am considering homeschooling next school year, but I am not sure. She might be able to work with this teacher for one more year, but she would like to come home? I just want to be ready. We home schooled before and I felt like such a complete failure. I also had a very bad influence that put me down and my kids a lot, thankfully that is gone, but I am still dealing with things that were said by that person and am afraid of failing my daughter. Any curriculum or online programs you could suggest would be great. I am thinking about trying Alpha & Omega online with teacher assistance. Thanks for you help!
~ Angela on Facebook
I can also support you through the process of homeschooling middle school and high school with the Gold Care Club .
If she wants to homeschool, and she is 15 years old, then you will most likely be successful. It is the kids that resist that are hard. Here is a blog post I wrote for beginners, actually written for a mom who had a daughter with a physical ailment: New Homeschoolers Starting High School
AO is a very school-like curriculum, and you may be better off with a big change. Please look at Sonlight Curriculum and see if that may fit. I used it myself, and if your daughter enjoys reading, she may be very successful with it.
Try to keep her at grade level for the other subjects, even if she is below grade level in math.
I hope that helps!
Get a free 20 minute weekly phone consultation with me as part of your Gold Care Club membership.
A simple comment from a well-meaning friend can make you question your own judgment. With science curriculum, as with all curriculum, it’s more about what fits your child that what others are using or recommend.
Mary wrote on Facebook:
“I am struggling with choosing a high school science curriculum. My problem is that I hear things from just a few people that make me doubt my choices. Is there some source that homeschoolers can check out that compares science curriculum and how well the kids do in college science? What did you choose for your boys?”
Mary, I chose the books by Jay Wile. I’m a huge fan, my son did great through electrical engineering school and graduated cum laude with his electrical engineering degree. Directly out of high school he got straight A’s in physics in college, and frequently referred to his high school physics and chemistry books during his first year. I’m a HUGE fan of those books, even for my non-Christian clients (they can skip one chapter and be just fine.)
Filed under: 
Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
