The school year is over.  Perhaps it wasn’t as successful as you had hoped. The best solution is to not give up.  It’s not too late, and you haven’t ruined your child forever.   You do realize that all children will sometimes have a “bad year” right?

For encouragement, listen to this encouraging song by TobyMac Lyrics
Music: “Get Back Up” Lyrics by TobyMac

You turned away when I looked you in the eye
And hesitated when I asked if you were alright
Seems like you’re fightin’ for your life
But why, oh, why

Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare
You saw it comin’ but it hit you out of nowhere
And there’s always scars when you fall that far

We lose our way, we get back up again
It’s never too late to get back up again
And one day you gonna’ shine again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever

We lose our way, we get back up again
So get up, get up, you gonna’ shine again
It’s never too late to get back up again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever

You rolled out of the dawning of the day
Heart racin’ as you made your little get away
It feels like you been runnin’ all your life
But why, oh, why

So you pull away from the love that would’ve been there
And start believin’ that your situation’s unfair
But there’s always scars when you fall that far

This is love callin,’ love callin,’
Out to the broken this is love callin’
This is love callin,’ love callin,’
I am so broken
This is love callin,’ love callin’

If you don’t like contemporary Christian music, then think about the song “Tomorrow” from Annie.  You know, the little red-haired girl who sings, “The sun will come out tomorrow!”  It will get better!

It’s never too late to get back up again.  You may be knocked down, but it’s not forever.  You can start again!  Next year will be better.  Take a summer break, then hit reset in the fall.

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It’s time to finish up the school year, and it can be difficult to feel “done.”  For parents that aren’t completely done with a textbook or unit of study, then you may want to think outside the box in order to finish up your classes quickly – and still have time to enjoy summer.

If you need to finish up quickly then consider the “Popcorn Party Plan.” Instead of working through a textbook, or completing every assignment, go the “quick and easy” route instead. Not every class in high school has to be hard.  I remember that I had some high school classes that were significantly easier than others!  So for a break, and a way to quickly finish a unit study or course, consider educational videos as a way to catch up.

For example, I have a child that LOVES economics.  He studied economics all the time, and we talked about it constantly as a family.  But suddenly my oldest son was a junior in high school, and I realized that he was the one that DIDN’T love economics – and I had forgotten to teach it!  I needed a way to  quickly teach that class in a painless way, because my oldest was already bogged down with heavy academics in math and science, and he really didn’t have the energy needed for a big beefy economics course.  Just living in our home meant that he had been exposed to more than his fair share of economics.  I needed to find a way to be sure it was enough, there were no gaps, and I could call it a 1/2 credit class. That’s when I stumbled on the “Popcorn Party Plan.”  I chose a challenging series of educational videos, and we watched a movie about it.

For economics, I used the Teaching Company Basic Economics course. With my clients, I have sometimes suggested The Standard Deviants – American
Government 2-pack.

For American History, consider Joy Hakim’s History of US on PBS.

You can also just scour the video section of your library, to see what supplemental videos they might have to help you finish up the details.  For example, one client was working on American History.  The problem was she was doing it TOO thoroughly.  It took her a lot longer to cover the American Revolution, because they were enjoying it so much. They had covered a lot of current events as well.  She didn’t want to skip the post-civil war era, but she didn’t have time to work it too thoroughly.  We decided that she could compromise and cover the middle period of American History lightly, by  using the Popcorn Party Plan.  Watching videos on the missing topics in American History, and just enjoying it together with a bowl of popcorn.  It  was better than a gap, and more realistic that a summer tests-and-worksheets class.  It was a great way to finish up the year!

When you think your children know something, or you need to create a quick and painless class to fill in a perceived gap, consider trying the Popcorn Party Plan yourself!

You can get the Total Transcript Solution here. Then all you have to do is implement!

During the summer months we did a little homeschool every day, usually for about 1 hour total. I always made sure to include some math each summer; just tiny math workbooks, and a handful of problems each day. Once the kids were in high school, I found that SAT preparation books were the perfect summer review workbooks. Like the “Comprehensive Curriculum” workbooks for elementary school, but at a high school level!