I’m back today to finish my annual (give or take 😉 ) homeschool update. In my last post I shared an update on what my elementary and middle school boys are doing, and now I’m here to talk high school.
**At the end of this post I am also going to cover the details of how we keep records, and what we plan to do for graduation. (I’m trying to keep it brief, but I get a lot of questions on this stuff…)
And once again — If you’re not into the homeschool thing, there are surely more interesting places to spend your next ten minutes. No hurt feelings if you flee this post while us homeschoolers nerd out. (Come back soon though, k?)
So here we go…HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM UPDATES:
Jonah, 10th Grade: Jonah continues to use A Beka Academy Streaming online courses this year. He watches about five videos lectures a day, and does the corresponding book work, assignments, quizzes and tests. It is definitely a college-prep style curriculum, requiring a lot of reading, studying, and memorization.
Pro’s of A Beka, 10th grade: Jonah has some incredible teachers, lecturing in their field of specialty. He learns a lot from them, then takes time to read, and take notes from his books. He really enjoys most of his subjects, and often digs in to learn more outside of his class. (Thank you internet.) I feel really good about the education Jonah is getting through A Beka for high school.
Cons of A Beka, 10th grade: There is not much we do not like about A Beka. The only thing I would warn is that it is a long day, so if your student is short on time, A Beka may not be a good fit.
I will also mention that A Beka is a conservative Christian school, and in the high school years the teachers can come across a bit rigid or opinionated. We’ve taught our kids to think for themselves, comparing what they’re taught to the Bible, and to come to us if they have questions, so this hasn’t been a problem. For the most part I think the teaching is Biblically sound and balanced. And I always figure that if a curriculum is going to error on any side I’d rather it be the conservative side.
Institute for Excellence in Writing: Jonah is also doing a writing course using videos from The Institute for Excellence in Writing. (IEW) This includes a video lecture every week or two, and then writing assignments in between. (Josiah and Jonah both used the IEW writing curriculum when they were in elementary school and we loved it! I highly recommend IEW for writing!)
JOSIAH, 12th grade:
This year, Josiah is only using A Beka for Economics and Government. (and he’s enjoying those.) As for the rest…
DIVE MATH AND SCIENCE CURRICULUM: Thankfully we found DIVE Interactive math and science curriculum to be a perfect fit for Josiah. He is currently taking AP Calculus and AP Physics through DIVE.
Here’s a short description of the DIVE Interactive Math and Science curriculum:
DIVE publishes expert, video-based instruction that applies time-tested, proven teaching methods, enhanced with 21st Century content delivery. With degrees in science and engineering, Dr. Shormann’s lectures reveal God’s truth, goodness and beauty to students as they explore math and science. Courses are available for 4th grade through AP Calculus and AP Physics.
Website link: http://www.diveintomath.com
The extra cool thing for Josiah is that the creator of the DIVE courses, Dr. Shormann, actually lives here on our North Shore (transplanted from Texas!) and he even goes to our church. Josiah has gotten to know Dr. Shormann, and is now beginning to do a research internship with him this year. (He is so excited, and of course I am thrilled.) Now that I have discovered the DIVE courses, I am excited to get my younger boys started using it for their future math and science classes as well.
The Calculus and Physics classes both use Saxon textbooks, which are supported by online lectures by Dr. Shormann. Josiah says that Dr. Shormann explains things really well, and makes both classes interesting and fun. The work is time-consuming and very challenging, but he really enjoys it. Josiah has been able to ask Dr. Shormann questions when needed, but rarely needs to because things are explained so well.
(It is also Josiah’s first time using Saxon textbooks, and he really likes them too!)
Institute for Excellence in Writing: Josiah is also taking an IEW class called, “Advanced Communication Series.” He is doing it both for college prep purposes and also because he loves to write. For this he also watches a video every week or two and does assignments in between. I check his work, and when I can I also watch his lectures because I think Mr. Pudewa is just hilarious and a great teacher!
LEGAL STUFF, TRANSCRIPTS, AND GRADUATION:
{Adding this note, post-publish: I almost forgot to mention–} Most homeschool curriculums offer an Accredited Program, in which your student turns in work (either online or paper) and the curriculum provider creates an official transcript for your student. This is a great option, and maybe down the road I will use it. So far I have chosen not to go that route because I like correcting my boys’ work and being involved in the process, and also because it costs quite a bit more to use an accredited program.
As for my boys: Every state has its own requirements when it comes to homeschooling, but here in Hawaii it is actually quite simple; the only thing we are required to do each year is send a letter to our local public school sharing the boys’ standardized test results with a brief update on our progress and our intent to continue homeschooling. (I give the boys standardized tests at home, but you can choose to take them at the local school if you prefer.) The Principal then signs a form and sends it back to us for our records. Simple.
Things get a little more tricky/serious in high school. In order for the boys to graduate high school we have to keep records and create a transcript. I wouldn’t have a clue how to do this on my own, so it has been incredible to work with Hawaii’s Christian Education Institute. CEI offers academic support for Hawaii’s Christian Homeschool Community. Each year (sometimes a few times a year) I meet with a State credentialed teacher at CEI who was also a homeschool parent herself. She helps me plan and organize each boy’s homeschool curriculum, and updates me on Department of Education requirements. She helps us figure out how to document my boys’ extracurricular credits (like photography, surfing for PE, and music), make college plans, and offers a ton of encouragement. (And she is a volunteer!! Amazing, right?) My job is to give CEI all of my documentation (basically records for all that the boys do…they tell me exactly what I need to give them,) and they create an official transcript for each student. So at the end of high school my boys will literally have a high school transcript from “Christian Education Institute.” This will be very similar to a transcript from a private school. I’m so thankful.
GRADUATION: Besides the support and transcripts that CEI offers, they also organize and host an incredible graduation ceremony each year. Josiah and I recently went to a meeting about his graduation, and it looks like there will be close to 30 homeschool students in his graduating class. CEI rents out a high school auditorium and do a really nice ceremony each year. I’m sure I’ll share more about that as we get closer to that time.
I don’t know if all states have a similar support system for homeschoolers, but I feel extremely blessed to have CEI here in Hawaii.
Well, that was as brief as I could be and this is still so so long. (sorry!) I hope a few of you were interested in this process, and I’d be happy to answer any questions you have! Feel free to leave a comment, and I also invite you to share what YOU DO for your high school kids’ homeschooling as well. I’d be especially curious to hear how you handle documentation and graduation!
See you soon with something other than homeschool talk, I promise!
Much aloha,
Monica
I realize this is your high school post but I am just catching up on this and your previous one.
You mentioned that you used IEW in elementary school? Was that in addition to Abeka? How young did you use it? I am looking at starting to homeschool in September (I was homeschooled and also helped with my siblings-we used Abeka) and will have a 2nd and 1st grader. I liked abeka and for ease of transitioning into homeschooling will most likely use that. I hadn’t realized that you could do video school for elementary as well. How easy is it to skip parts of the day is taking too long and teach it yourself with the teacher manuels? You also mentioned how much you liked the Sonlight readers. Again, did you get those in addition to using the abeka program or did you substitute those in?
Thank you (as always) for your amazingly helpful and encouraging blog posts! Don’t stop writing!!
Thank you Christina–Great questions! Wow, you have some experience in the homeschool world, I think you should be helping ME!! haha. Let’s see; I have only used IEW in later elementary and middle school (and up.) Yes, that was one of the only things I’ve done in addition to Abeka. I just love writing (obviously) and am a huge fan of IEW so I use it and then let them either skip a few writing assignments in Abeka or combine the two (use the IEW format to write a paper for Abeka…) I am pretty sure you can start IEW very young, I just haven’t done it. (the web site has so much to offer and great customer service by phone too.)
As for Abeka videos in the early years: Because of my busy days, I try to make Levi (1st grade) watch his Abeka videos most days, but some days I do just glance in the teacher manual, and have him do seat work and read his readers with me. Of course then he misses any “teaching” the teacher does (they do not outline that in the manual when you use videos like they do if you do traditional book homeschool with Abeka) but I figure there is so much repetition in the video lectures that it is probably ok to miss a day or two a week of lectures. The seat work reviews everything and that is plenty. The only pain then is you have to fast-forward through the video before going on to the next lesson, but that is minor in the big picture. 🙂
Sonlight readers– I use in addition to the school reading. It is more like nighttime reading and so on. They don’t get through tons of books but we use them when Abeka assigns book reports and especially or summertime and school breaks. My boys enjoy reading but have so many distractions (too many outdoor activities! :)) so they don’t read as much as many kids do.
Hope that helps a little and feel free to ask more! Thank you for your kind words. SO happy to help and love to think I offer a bit of encouragement! Aloha!
Thank you! It is very helpful! I am actually less concerned about homeschooling in high school and more nervous about doing it in elementary (probably a little backwards). ?
This was very helpful! We are praying throughhomeschool decisions now and trying to plan for the upper grades. We use IEW but I teach them, instead of the DVDs. Are the videos easy to follow and are they different for each grade? do they become bored with DVDs? I have 4 kids, 5,7,9 &,11. I’m trying to move the older ones to be more independent because the younger need my attention and I don’t want to be teaching ALL day long.
Thanks,
Ellen
OH I hear you Ellen! Yes, IEW videos are really fun and interesting. I think Mr. Pudewa is super funny and explains things well. My boys really enjoy the videos. Plus, you only usually watch one and then do a week or two of work, so it’s not like watching heaps of video. I honestly get a little confused with IEW as far as grades and which level to be on. I just try to combine a few of my students together as it seems to work well that way. And I do watch those videos with them so I understand the assignments well, but then the boys do most of their work independently. Much aloha and keep up the great work!
For us, doing high school transcripts has been a breeze. I have 2 college graduates and 1 high school graduate that is finishing up her degree while being Dual Enrolled (taking college classes online that count for her high school classes). I had to research the colleges we planned on sending them to. We also opted for CLEP and DSST testing for college and high school credit and Dual Enrollment. With Dual Enrollment at the local Community no transcript is usually required, no SAT is required. The only requirement is the Accuplacer for English and Math (covers up to Alg 2 & Trig). When my kids got their AA degrees and transferred to 4 year degree universities they didn’t need to provide the transcript from high school as long as they had 30 college credits. However, I still have the transcript I created using a subject based free transcript template.
Thank you so much for sharing! Sounds like you’ve got this stuff down! Wow. 🙂 I had forgotten to mention in my post (but just went back and added now!) that we could do our homeschool curriculum as an “Accredited” program, which would also simplify my record keeping, etc…But I do love what you do. That definitely makes for a smooth process.
Josiah plans to do the CLEP testing at the end of this year, and though I don’t understand it yet, it sounds like a great option. I love that you use online and community college classes to get your kids started. That is so smart. Josiah wants to start at a four-year University but I absolutely see the wisdom in starting elsewhere and transferring later. Well done!!