Homeschool High School Elective in Video Production - FREE Resources and Guide

Summary:  Homeschool high school electives can include the fun of video production!  Here is how we made our own homemade course, including list of free #homeschoolelective curriculum and more.  And it is nice to have an easy to teach high school elective!  #homeschoolinghighschool is so much more than just core studies

Making things, doing arts and crafts, and photography were always big in our homeschool.  One year my daughter wanted to try her hand at video-making. 

This became a year long project, and offered many opportunities for creativity...writing scripts, story boarding, planning shots, and then making videos.

And it helped to balance out her core studies, which focus so much on the head.  It also gave us the time to encourage my teen to explore and develop her special interests, talents, and gifts.  

Our Video Making Course

This includes:

- Finding Equipment and software

-Three sample videos that my teen made

- Video Making Contests

- Assigning High School Credit

- A list of skills that my teen gained from this project

Our first step was to get the equipment and software that was needed. 

Equipment and Software


1. A camera, which was a Nikon Coolpix S9100

2.  Editing software - Pinnacle Studios 16, from ebay

3.  Tripod (or ask a friend to help with filming)

We went to the library and searched on the web and found these:


Resources for Video-making


1.  The Cutting Edge

A documentary about film editing, with examples, "clear explanations and clips from many ground breaking videos"


2. Behind the Scene Videos


There are 26,000 behind the scenes videos, on Vimeo, where she
learned about:

- filming technique

- sound production

- lighting

- set design


3.  The Filmmaker's Handbook 

This book is a guide to producing, directing, shooting, and 

editing videos.  She studied the steps of videomaking, including:

- writing a script 

- doing a storyboard

- then planning for each shot.  

My daughter made four videos, and below I will share three of them...

Video 1 - The Golden Year 

I got to help with the filming....Click the link above to watch the video.

"The Golden Year" was a short video, telling the story of a princess who gave up her crown.  My teen wrote this story last year, as a part of  her writing studies .then turned it into a video. 

When it was time to film, she asked a neighborhood friend to be the actress in it.  This gave her practice in asking for help, coordinating with a friend, setting up filming times, etc.  

Next, after spending more time working with her editing software, 
my teen started a second video, which she called...


Video 2 -The Girl on the Carousel

This is a story of the girl pictured above, and how she met a friend 

at the carousel.  She took a number of weeks to plan this video. 

Then she and her friends spent three hours filming, one morning, 

creating forty frames.  

After making her first two videos, my daughter spent some 

time watching shorts using the "Behind the Scenes" videos. 

Next, my daughter heard about a video contest 

offered by Oak Meadow, a homeschool curriculum publisher.


Video 3 - My Homeschooling Adventure

To get started, my teen just looked at her photos of her high school 

activities and began by making a slide show. Then with the stills 

chosen and complied, she worked them into a video and wrote up a 

script. We are honored that Oak Meadow Publications put her 

video on their site's high school page.

If your teens are interested in contests, here are a few below.

Video-making Contests

1. Student Cam

2.  STN Contests - Student Television Network

Assigning High School Credit


Assigning credit was easy using the Mastery method. Since she entered three videos and they were accepted in contests, that indicated a  beginning level of mastery. 

That is because she met the qualifications and rules for having her videos accepted into the contests.

Doing this project helped my teen with a number of important skills.

Skills Gained from Video-Making

1.  organizational skills  - important for college or any vocation 
2.  assertiveness - by approaching friends to act
3.  practice in asking for help 
4.  cooperation and work skills- working with friends
5.  practice in following specific requirements for the contests

I helped my daughter get accepted by each of the college on her list, including a tier one U, with scholarship offers.

Have you seen my new book yet?  

________________________________

Do you want a guide to high school and college, plus my exclusive guide to the Common Application for homeschoolers? 

I have gathered together all my best tips for high school and college and put it into my new book, Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition. 

It gives you everything that you need to plan your high school homeschool for your college bound teen.  Plus how to help them get into the college of their choice.

Amazon for only $11.99

Paperback is on Amazon for only $11.99

This book is an easy-to-read guide to college for homeschoolers, recently updated with 7 NEW chapters, including:

- My own homeschoolers guide to the Common Application

- How to write the Counselor Recommendation Letter

- Where to find college scholarships

- SAT/ACT Prep

- How to make your own homemade courses

-  Included are also 12 homeschool high school planning printables to make your record-keeping easier.

10 easy to do steps to homeschool high school with college in mind. And it really is NOT that hard!!  

This book does not tell you how to homeschool high school.  Instead it gives you guidance for doing it your way!  

Keep your nurturing homeschool style and showcase their accomplishments to the colleges!

Recommended by: Lessa Scherrer, Certified College Counselor

                               from College Inside Track

"Betsy has a wealth of understanding and knowledge to share with the parents of college bound homeschoolers.  She provides support, encouragement and step-by-step advice on all aspects of the homeschool high school and college application process. This book is a must-read for parents considering homeschooling high school and for parents in the thick of the application process."

And help for record keeping!  With my exclusive high school and college planning printables.

The high school and college planning forms include:

College Entrance Requirements Form

Overall High School Plan

Curriculum Planning Sheet

High School Credit Record Form

Transcript Form

Activities and Awards Form

Homemade Course Form

Writing the College Essay Form

Course Descriptions Record Keeping Form

Reference Letter Request Form

PE Record Form

For more information, click here - Frugal College Prep for Homeschoolers or to buy it here - my book on Amazon for only $11.99.  

And don't worry about forgetting things!

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

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Revised 2019

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