You have reached the RESOURCES PAGE by Betsy Sproger, for buyers of my book - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd edition.
Thank you for your support!
I hope my book is a help to you, while you are busy with the important work of raising and educating your precious teen. This RESOURCE PAGE is for you, the book buyer, with lots of links to the resources and curriculum that I speak about in my book.
PLEASE RESPECT MY COPYRIGHT AND DO NOT SHARE THE PAGE ANYWHERE.
Thank you!
------- HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM FAVORITES --------
-Curriculum Directory at Let's Homeschool High School
- The Curriculum Choice
This site is full of curriculum reviews, written by a team of authors (I am happy to be one) who have actually used the curriculum.
Each year they offer core courses in all of the high school subject areas, well crafted, complete, and filled with fun, interesting activities. That makes them fun.
Funda Funda Full Semester Core Courses are here, and include:
Click here to learn more of their excellent High School Homeschool Elective Courses, too.
Funda Funda Academy offers both core high school courses and electives for your teen. This company is owned by a homeschooling mom, who has graduated all three of her teens.
Funda Funda Academy offers lots of choices for online, fun elective courses, as well as many semester long or year long courses in core studies areas, too. Their motto is that "Learning is FUN!" and they add in motivating activities to each course of study that they offer.
Each year they offer core courses in all of the high school subject areas, well crafted, complete, and filled with fun, interesting activities. That makes them fun.
Funda Funda Full Semester Core Courses are here, and include:
-Spanish, and more.
Click here to learn more of their excellent High School Homeschool Elective Courses, too.
Our Favorites for Homeschool High School Curriculum:
SCIENCE -
We chose Switched-On-Schoolhouse (SOS), as we wanted a computer based program, and my daughter wanted to work independently. Plus it was all graded for me! We used them for:
Amazon offers some used SOS curriculum here.
MATH -
We found that SOS met our daughter's needs for math. It had the structured and depth to help my daughter retain what she had learned. We used it for:
Prealgebra - 8th grade
Algebra 1- 9th grade
Geometry - 10th grade
Algebra 2 - 11th grade
We check out The Curriculum Choice for a review of ALEKS, and No-Nonsense Algebra, Saxon, VideoText for Prealgebra, and more, all very strong.
ENGLISH -
7 Sisters also offers American Literature and many more year long courses to choose from.
ENGLISH -
7 Sisters also offers American Literature and many more year long courses to choose from.
We used the 7 Sister's writing programs instead. (Click this link then go to English and Writing)
WRITING COURSES - They offer a variety of levels of writing instruction, including:
WRITING COURSES - They offer a variety of levels of writing instruction, including:
- Advanced
Plus Literature and Composition courses, at 3 different levels.
We also looked at such programs as Hewitt Homeschooling: Lightning Literature & Composition , Lifepacs, and SOS and found them all to be very strong.
SOCIAL STUDIES -
We decided to use Oak Meadow's history courses, as they had many choices, including:
American History
World History
Rainbow Resource catalog has lots of resources for high school history and social studies. Some colleges allow for students to take Psych or Sociology for social studies.
American History
World History
Rainbow Resource catalog has lots of resources for high school history and social studies. Some colleges allow for students to take Psych or Sociology for social studies.
-Perception
-Genetics and Learning
-History of Psychology (Ancient to Modern Times
-Communication
-Personality & Theory
-Sleep/Dreams
-Abnormal psychology
FOREIGN LANGUAGE -
For Spanish 2, we went with the homeschool version of Rosetta Stone (RS) @ http://www.rosettastone.com.
We also looked at SOS and Monarch from Alpha Omega, and, but wanted something that Cathy Duffy has a number of reviews of foreign language curricula.
OUR FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL ELECTIVES
 |
| Career Exploration. |
Acting and Directing
Career Exploration
Fine Arts
Speech
Human Development
Financial Literacy and many more options.
Youth and Government.
Philosophy in 4 Questions.
For more ideas on electives check out this page at 7 Sisters Homeschool.
Is your teen interested in Art? Here's a video based course in chalk art and it can be done independently by your teen.
It's called A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels Video Art Course
Taught by a master artist, and offered by Tricia Hodges, mom of 5 who are all homeschooled.
This is a full one semester course in art using chalk pastels.
It's called A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels Video Art Course
Taught by a master artist, and offered by Tricia Hodges, mom of 5 who are all homeschooled.
This is a full one semester course in art using chalk pastels.
Get your fine arts requirement done with this fun option if you like.
Eva Varga has a great course in botany here - Botany - Plenty O'Plants - EvaVarga. She is an accredited science educator and a homeschooler.
American Landmarks Chalk Art
This chalk art book is more advanced, ideal for high schoolers, and it can pair very well with your American History studies.
Simple Start in Chalk Pastels Video Art Course
Taught by a master artist and offered by Tricia Hodges, mom of 5 kids who are all homeschooled. .
This gave her outside feedback on her projects, which was priceless. Find a local 4H club here - http://www.4-h.org/get-involved/find-4-h-clubs-camps-programs/.
Math Electives
Financial Literacy is a course that can be done as an elective. It introduces the world of personal finance through textbook learning, videos and articles, plus interactive exercises.
Nature Study - We loved doing nature study, too. How about one of Cindy's nature study courses, such as Incredible Creeks from Shining Dawn Books?
Philosophy in 4 Questions by 7 Sisters Homeschool - 1 credit of philosophy by 7 Sisters Homeschool, with no busy work, written by an MA in Philosophy, who is the homeschooled son of Vicki Tillman from 7 Sisters. This course is done from a Christian perspective.
Psychology - Introduction to Psychology - A Christian Perspective - from 7 Sisters Homeschool
Speech 1 - Public Speaking and Practical Life Skills A course by 7 Sisters Homeschool, which teaches the valuable skill of public speaking, which is often a part of lots of jobs and careers.
YMCA – www.ymca.com They have a link there that will list all of the YMCAs in the US and will give you a guest pass to one to visit nearby.
------ HIGH SCHOOL ELECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES -----
Animal Science for High School
- Earn a homeschool high school credit in animal science. It can make a great homeschool elective. Details on that are here.
- Earn a homeschool high school credit in animal science. It can make a great homeschool elective. Details on that are here.
Art -- We did classes at our Parks Dept. The YMCA offers them as well. My friend’s teen enjoyed Artistic Pursuits from www.christianbook.com. There is also an Ultimate List of Favorite High School Art Resources by the Tricia Hodges and it includes a year long high school course in Art Journaling.
Bible Quiz – link - http://bq.ag.org - This program- offer competitions at the district, regional and national levels in bible memorization skills.
 |
| Botany |
Eva Varga has a great course in botany here - Botany - Plenty O'Plants - EvaVarga. She is an accredited science educator and a homeschooler.
Earning badges, and progressing in boy scouts, such as eagle scouts, is a great activity for leadership development www.scouting.org
 |
| Video Art Course |
This chalk art book is more advanced, ideal for high schoolers, and it can pair very well with your American History studies.
Simple Start in Chalk Pastels Video Art Course
Taught by a master artist and offered by Tricia Hodges, mom of 5 kids who are all homeschooled. .
Another creative writing resource is the course called the - One Year Novel -www.oneyearnovel.com, or pick another resource such as Learn to Write the Novel Way from www.christianbook.com.
Early Childhood Education
Vicki Tillman, MA, homeschool blogger, teacher and counselor wrote a course in Early Childhood Education.
Vicki Tillman, MA, homeschool blogger, teacher and counselor wrote a course in Early Childhood Education.
Fine Arts - Harmony Fine Arts
4H - www.4-h.org/ - They offer a variety of activities to develop kids and teens’s citizenship, leadership, responsibility and life skills.
4H - www.4-h.org/ - They offer a variety of activities to develop kids and teens’s citizenship, leadership, responsibility and life skills.
This gave her outside feedback on her projects, which was priceless. Find a local 4H club here - http://www.4-h.org/get-involved/find-4-h-clubs-camps-programs/.
Homeschool Scouts – www.homeschoolscouting.com To find a listing of homeschool troops, click here – www.homeschoolscouting.com/homeschool-troops.
Homeschool Sports Network – http://www.hspn.net/homeschool-sports.asp. To find a homeschool sports program in your area, check out this website, which has a list of states that offer sports around the country.
HSLDA also has an extensive list of possible high school electives here http://www.hslda.org/highschool/Elective_Possibilities.pdf
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES:
1 Youth and Government is a hands on way of learning about state government, gaining speech and debate skills at the same time. They meet in small groups, as delegations, then compete in district events, while learning about state government and how a bill becomes a law. This program is available in 33 states across the country, and is sponsored by the YMCA. They even elect their own youth governor each year!
TeenPack Leadership Schools – www.teenpact.com This is another well established leadership program which provides groups and workshops that equip teens to become leaders in politics, society and citizenship. To register for a state class click here - https://teenpact.com/events/
6 PoliceExplorers – Many police departments offer this program for high schoolers. It includes lots of volunteer opportunities and leadership training as well.
7 Speech and Debate - NCFCA – National Christian Forensics Communication Association – This is the longest standing nonprofit organization that offers speech and debate activities for homeschooled high schoolers.
 |
| Financial Literacy |
Financial Literacy is a course that can be done as an elective. It introduces the world of personal finance through textbook learning, videos and articles, plus interactive exercises.
Music Appreciation - My friend, Tricia Hodges, from Hodgepodge used this course and recommends it - 20th Century Music Appreciation Course.
Nature Study - We loved doing nature study, too. How about one of Cindy's nature study courses, such as Incredible Creeks from Shining Dawn Books?
Funda Funda Academy offers lots of choices for online, fun elective courses, as well as many semester long or year long courses in core studies areas, too.
Click here to reach their high school homeschool elective courses.
Click here to reach their high school homeschool elective courses.
 |
| Psychology |
Sea Scouts - My daughter's friend did this, learned so much about boating, sailing and leadership too. It is a program offered by Boy Scouts,.
NCFCA - National Christian Forensics Communication Association link - The longest standing nonprofit organization that offers speech and debate activities for homeschooled high schoolers.
 |
| Speech 1 |
Stoa – Christian Homeschool Speech and Debate – This national organization offers Speech Events, Debate Events, and Tournaments here http://www.stoausa.org/ State Organizations are here - http://www.stoausa.org/about/stoa-state-links
Theater and Drama – Take a class, usher at a drama production, join a local community theater group. My nephew participated in a homeschool drama program offered by his co-op. 7 Sisters Homeschool offers a course in Acting and Directing.
YMCA – www.ymca.com They have a link there that will list all of the YMCAs in the US and will give you a guest pass to one to visit nearby.
--------------------- MAKING HOMEMADE COURSES ----------
- U.S. History Resources -
Short Lessons in US HistoryClick here to read the rest of my review of this frugal book.American Literature by 7 Sisters
Click below for more information on this well put together course over at the Curriculum Choice.U.S. History Map ActivitiesThe Patriot's History Reader Click here to read my review.Teaching American History through Art American LandmarksIt is available at a frugal price here.
- Video Making Resources -
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.
3. The Filmmaker's Handbook
Homemade Videos:
Video 1 - The Golden Year
Video 2 -The Girl on the Carousel
Video 3 - My Homeschooling Adventure
- Speech and Debate Resources -
Youth and Government is a YMCA sponsored activity that teaches teens about state government, hands on.
YMCA Youth and Government - Wikipedia
Check out their list of State program
Speech 1 - Public Speaking and Practical Life Skills
Check out their list of State program
Speech 1 - Public Speaking and Practical Life Skills
They are generously offering middle and high school competitions & tournaments and much more! They are also on Facebook
- SAT and ACT Prep Resources -
 |
| On Campus, doing a Photo for College Admissions |
Here's our favorites for SAT Prep, and some new resources that have popped up since my teen took her test.
1. Daily Practice for the New SAT - One question a day, from College Board
2. SAT Practice Tests - Take the test on paper, then use your phone to score it.
3. Khan Academy SAT Prep - They have come together, Khan Academy and the College Board, to provide expert college test practice, working together. They will give your student personalized practice on the things that they need the most. Wow! Wish we had this option when my teen was preparing for her test.
Here is how to link your PSAT scores with Khan Academy, right here. It sounds complicated, but it is really easy to set up.
Here is how to link your PSAT scores with Khan Academy, right here. It sounds complicated, but it is really easy to set up.
4. Official SAT Practice Tests also available.
5. Hack the SAT I liked Hack the SAT because it is so approachable. This author shares tips and how tos for dealing with the types of questions that can stump even well educated students. And he does this is a very easy to understand manner! Read more of my review here.
6. SAT Book Camp - This is by Mr. D at mrd.com. I have not used this resource, but they offer both SAT and ACT prep.
7. SAT Preparation A site called For Such a Time as This offers curriculum for SAT prep and also for ACT prep, too, specifically for homeschoolers and private schools. This was recommended to me by a homeschooling mom who also is a college professor.
8. Free e-books from Prep Scholar They offer many free e-books on the SAT, including 200 vocabulary words to study, and much more.
ACT Prep Resources
1. Free ACT Test Prep from Union Test Prep - Including practice tests, flash cards and study guides
2. ACT Online Prep - FREE online ACT test practice using sample test questions from ACT tests from earlier years.
3. The Real ACT Test Book - On Amazon
4. Barron's ACT Math and Science Workbook - Exercises in M -ath and Science, plus sample tests and solutions
5. SAT and ACT Grammar Workbook - Detailed grammar review and more
- Articles on the Common Application -
Click here for reference articles on the Common Application
Note - Some umbrella schools offer help in both writing - the Counselor Recommendation Letter and in - compiling your teen's transcript. But some don't. It is a good question to ask.
If you want to use an umbrella school, or if your state requires one, I suggest you find out if yours will help with both of these things - the Counselor Recommendation Letter and the Homeschool Transcript.
The umbrella schools that take the time to get to know your teen can be a real help, as then they would know what to say for the recommendation letter. TN offers some umbrella schools that will help. Check to see if your state does, too, if you want to use an umbrella school.
1. Huff Post - How to Write a Counselor Recommendation Letter, as a Homeschool Parent.
2. Homeschool World - The Counselor Letter
3. Brain Bump Counseling - the Counselor Letter
4. University of Dallas has some great advice on this, as well as other homeschool documents. Here is their link:
5. University of Dallas Homeschool Requirements Scroll down to the "Non-Accredited and Self-Designed section.
6. Recommendation Insights from College Admissions Officers - VIDEO on writing college reference letters.
1. Click on My Colleges, then choose the school you'd like to send it to.
2. Click on Recommenders and FERPA
3. Then Click on Counselor Recommendation Tab to invite yourself to be the counselor.
4. You will then receive an email inviting you to write your Counselor Recommendation Letter.
Note - Some umbrella schools offer help in both writing - the Counselor Recommendation Letter and in - compiling your teen's transcript. But some don't. It is a good question to ask.
If you want to use an umbrella school, or if your state requires one, I suggest you find out if yours will help with both of these things - the Counselor Recommendation Letter and the Homeschool Transcript.
The umbrella schools that take the time to get to know your teen can be a real help, as then they would know what to say for the recommendation letter. TN offers some umbrella schools that will help. Check to see if your state does, too, if you want to use an umbrella school.
Articles on the Counselor Recommendation Letter:
(and college reference letters)
1. Huff Post - How to Write a Counselor Recommendation Letter, as a Homeschool Parent.
2. Homeschool World - The Counselor Letter
3. Brain Bump Counseling - the Counselor Letter
4. University of Dallas has some great advice on this, as well as other homeschool documents. Here is their link:
5. University of Dallas Homeschool Requirements Scroll down to the "Non-Accredited and Self-Designed section.
6. Recommendation Insights from College Admissions Officers - VIDEO on writing college reference letters.
Where does my Counselor Recommendation Letter go on the Common Application?
Just do this:1. Click on My Colleges, then choose the school you'd like to send it to.
2. Click on Recommenders and FERPA
3. Then Click on Counselor Recommendation Tab to invite yourself to be the counselor.
4. You will then receive an email inviting you to write your Counselor Recommendation Letter.
- MORE OF OUR FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL RESOURCES -
My best to you and your high schooler. Thanks for letting us be a small part of your journey with your teen.
I invite you to Subscribe to BJ's Homeschool, for encouragement for homeschooling high school and to keep current on college admissions.
I invite you to Subscribe to BJ's Homeschool, for encouragement for homeschooling high school and to keep current on college admissions.
I also invite you to follow me on Pinterest:
And join our Facebook Community!
and:
Feel free to Join us here.
Many homeschool moms meet there to talk about high school, college and lots more. I am Admin. of this group.
You would be most welcome to join us!
You are invited to join my very encouraging group for high school moms, called at Homeschooling through High School.
Lots of moms just like you there, sharing triumphs and challenges. Get your questions answered there, too.
Lots of moms just like you there, sharing triumphs and challenges. Get your questions answered there, too.
Feel free to Join us here.
Many homeschool moms meet there to talk about high school, college and lots more. I am Admin. of this group.
You would be most welcome to join us!
Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,
Betsy
Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school. She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school, college, gifted/2e and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind. She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting, and has had her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.
Want to stay in touch?
No comments:
Post a Comment