End of School Year Popcorn Party Plan

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!

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