Homeschool High School Speech and Debate - 4 Frugal Resources

Summary:  Homeschool Speech and Debate Curriculum and high school activities can add a lot to high school at home. Here are 4 of our favorite frugal resources for that.  Colleges love to see #homeschoolspeechanddebate on their applicants college applications #leadership #homeschoolhighschoolelectives #homeschooltocollege #homeschoolhighschool Note - This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our  own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy.

Are you looking for a fun and easy to do homeschool high school elective for your teen next year?  How about something that would help build up your teen's confidence?  And ability to speak up for what they believe in? 

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

You are also invited to join my 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. Join us here.

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, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?


 
   Subscribe, Facebook 

No spam ever.  
Just encouragement for your homeschool in your inbox.

Copyright, 2020
All Rights Reserved

A Week in My Teen's Homeschool High School Life

Summary:  A day in our homeschool high school life as eclectic homeschoolers. Just a peek into what homeschooling high school might look like.  There are so many ways to do it!  #homeschoolinghighschool #homeschooling #adayinthelife #homeschooltocollege

Are you new to homeschooling high school?  Do you wonder how it might look at your house?

A Rooster and a Homeschool Prom Dress

Summary:  Homeschooling high school can include the special events that other high schoolers enjoy, like prom.  Resources and links for homeschool proms are below. This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our  own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy. #homeschoolhighschool #homeschool prom

Homeschooling high school is a lot more than just academics and core studies.  Absolutely.

Homeschooling to College and Making the College Choice

Summary:  Helping your teen make their college choice, considering the social environment, tutoring options, scholarships, and more.  Homeschooling to college is really not that hard and my teen ended up with multiple college acceptance letters.  That can be your homeschooled teen, too.  Choosing between a smaller vs. larger college. Socialization issues for 2e teens.  Helping your 2e teen find their tribe at college.

Do you have a teen who has applied to college?  One who has to make a choice as to which college is the best fit for them?

Our 2e daughter got into each college in her list.  We were all pleasantly surprised.  And it was wonderful that she had a choice as to which college to go to.

Sharing today the process we went through to help our teen make this important college decision.

It all started at the library, where we did some more research on each of my daughter's college options....

The main decision to be made was between a larger college, and a smaller one, both within commuting distance of our home.  Both had a large choice of majors.  (Note - Commuting was one way that we were affording her to go to college.)

on our first college visit

My teen was enticed by the excitement of the larger college, which had an especially good reputation, and a student size of more than 60,000.  She knew that some of her friends would be going there, and she liked the architecture and the plaza on the gorgeous large campus. 

My main concern was choosing a college that best fit my teen's social needs. 

My daughter was used to working in small groups, and did well with those, finding her way, as she has in Youth and Government. How could that work out at the larger state college?

So, together, we researched the two colleges again, first at the library, then at home, with the help of our cat.

First, we looked at what each college offered for incoming freshmen...

Freshman social environment

The smaller option offered freshmen seminars, where the students would work together in small groups. This would give my daughter plenty of opportunity to get to know her classmates.  And she has

thrived in this kind of environment!  

Small groups, that's just like her Youth and Government!  The seminars would last all year, giving them time to build friendships, and learn together.

The larger college did not have freshmen seminars, but did have a first quarter freshman into class, and nice raft trip for incoming freshmen, as a way to get to know each other.  But after that, they could be in some large lecture halls with over 700 students!

Then we compared the two on the basis of support offered to the students.

 Academic support

This is what we found.....The larger one did have tutoring on campus, but was known to have a very competitive academic environment.  The smaller one had way more tutoring options available, with easy access to the professors.  

The larger one had many more students per professor, and the teens would usually be dealing with TA's instead of their professors.  Yet, the class size was ideal at the smaller college, about 30 students in each class, compared to 100-600 per class.  Both colleges had solid reputations.

We talked about these two issues together, and with my husband at dinner all week.  My teen soon realized that having a smaller, more supportive environment was more important to her than the status of going to the larger college.  Soon a decision was reached.  And I am so happy that she chose the more supportive environment at the smaller college.

So Thursday, we got out the formal papers, and my teen prepared them for mailing.  She accepted the scholarship offer at the smaller college, and sent in her college acceptance papers! 

And she was thrilled!

I am so happy for her, excited, relieved to have the decision made, and a little sad at the same time!  We decided that, if my daughter was really going to college, my family needed a road trip.  

So, on Saturday, and we all headed out, of course with our cameras!  Nice, family time was just the ticket, especially for my husband and I.

 Country roads......  And the mountain was out...

 ......plus we saw a field of daffodils, still blooming this late in their season!  Then we saw this sign....it was funny, as it was no where near the daffodils!

Then we found a small town, near the mountain, and a nice park in the middle of town, where my college student-to-be, decided to pose for a picture in front of the merry-go-round... 

Big decisions call for big playground equipment, don't you think?

We enjoyed the road trip so much, and we plan to go back there next year, to see the daffodils in April, with our favorite college freshman, ...and have fried chicken again, at this little cafe...

This was not an ordinary week in our house.  What out of the ordinary thing has happened lately in your home?

Are you homeschooling high school and wondering about transcripts, assigning high school credit, and all those other important details?

After helping my teen get into each of the colleges she applied to, I wrote this book - and it guides you through planning high school at home and helping with college application.

Below is the book and the table of contents.

On Amazon

For more information: Homeschooling High School with College in Mind. 

You are also invited to join my 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. 

Join us here.

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, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?


 
   Subscribe, Facebook 

No spam ever.  
Just encouragement for your homeschool in your inbox.

Copyright, 2020
All Rights Reserved

Finding the Play in our High School Days

Homeschool High School electives are so important and here are 100 of them for you and your homeschooled teen to look at.  

Homeschooling high school was just the best way for our teen to learn high school academics, while exploring her interests and her gifts.


Every week during the high school years, we put time in our schedule for fun.  

We did trips to the park or museums, made time for group field trips, and also did mini road trips and other group activities.  

And these were not just penciled in...

They were an important part of our weekly schedule.

Electives also were a big part of building in play and fun. 

This post has moved.

To reach this article, please click here for 100 High School Electives.

This extensive list includes links to many of the electives listed.

What do you do to fit in play...into your days?  What do you do when you need a break?  What helps you feel renewed? 

Thanks for stopping by,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college junior, whom she homeschooled from day one.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote the book - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?  

Subscribe, Pinterest,Twitter, Facebook 

Copyright, 2020, All Rights Reserved

Homeschool High School Electives and How They Help Your Teen Get into College

SUMMARY:  Homeschool high school electives and activities can really help your homeschooled teen get into college. How to share with the colleges is included, for homeschooling to college. This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our  own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy.

Did you know that homeschool high school electives and activities can help your high schooler get into college?  

Whatever your child is interested in, their high school electives are an important part of getting into college.  And that means following their interests, of course, which is what we all want to be able to do in our homeschooling.

Preparing (my heart) for Homeschool Graduation

This week was all about finishing up our weekly studies, and helping my teen get ready for her youth conference, coming up this weekend.  So far, it has been a regular kind of week. The studies went well...

Intro to Small Business - 

We are using SOS for this, and it focuses on financing, with an intro to accounting. SOS is all self contained, which means that the lessons are graded for me, through their software.  Yes!  (This was an elective for my teen, not required.)

  Film Production -

This is our homemade course. My teen has finished her main project, called
"The girl on the Carousel".  So she worked on editing her next project called "Democracy - The future is Ours".   She got some friends to help her film this video last week, as a "psa" to encourage participation in our democracy.  

BTW, we are using Pinnacle Studio 16, for this course, which comes with instructions, and is working out well so far.  It is an editing software.

English - 


Our goal was to finish with Julius Caesar this week, including related essay questions.  Goal completed!   My favorite quote from JC is:  "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."



Spring Homeschool Dance -

Tuesday night was my teen's spring dance. Many homeschool groups offer these events. I was so happy that my daughter would get to go to a prom this year.  (That comes in May.)  

 Prom - That means we are close to graduation.  It can't be!  

Then on Wednesday, something came in the mail.....

My teen's graduation cap and gown......Why did this come so early?  It is only the first of April...lol!  

It was a package from our homeschool association, WHO - Washington Homeschool Organization.
They put on a beautiful graduation ceremony for seniors each year.  I will write about this more, as the time approaches......but I have to admit, that time is approaching, for my daughter to graduate, and start commuting to college next year...

My husband and I are, well.....getting very nostalgic.  We are all about sharing favorite memories with each other, and with our teen...( she is even letting us do that now! )

So, please excuse me, lol -- for sharing a few of the highlights from my kid's very early years:

 

My very active preschooler! Who soon learned that she loved to write, among other things.

Graduation details have been easy......Set up a graduation event, invite friends, etc.  These details are all so special and important, and I'll write more about them later,.....

But today, I am focusing on preparing myself......and my heart....and that is not so easy.  So how do I prepare my heart for her graduation?  

I did find my answer, but not in a very likely place----I found my answer in a pizza.....and in a tradition that we started oh, so many years ago.

Special 1 on 1 Time 

My teen and I have always made some special time together, through the years.  Time away from homeschooling, and the regular details of life.  

 

We started with park days as a toddler,  just the two of us.  Later, we would go out the lunch, just the two of us, at the park or a restaurant.  Then we started taking afternoon photography trips together, which cameras in hand.  

Through this 1 on 1 time, I have gotten to know my daughter as an individual, who is different from me in many ways.  And she has gotten to know me, more than just mom, as a person with my own interests and likes.

I am so thrilled that she is discovering her talents, and building good relationships with her friends...and she is excited about college. 

And we are privileged to have a front row seat for this, to watch her learn and grow, and develop into the person she was always meant to be....

So, Thursday night, before the youth conference, I took my daughter out for a mom and me pizza. Then I sent her off to her youth conference the next morning.... 

More high school posts are on Pinterest here: Homeschooling High School Pinterest Board

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college junior, whom she homeschooled from day one.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote the book - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting. 

Want to stay in touch?  

Subscribe, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook 

This post was shared on my favorite linkups here.

Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2017 

All Rights Reserved