Building Up Our Teens




This week was all about my teen's activities and end of the year events.  

Our Youth and Government group had their annual picnic, and our church had a youth service to honor our seniors.  It was a full week, and especially so, as we also adopted an 8 week old kitten! 

Amidst getting to know our new kitten, we prepared for my teen's end of the year events.

Tuesday, there was a youth group meeting, about the upcoming  youth service  church.  All of the seniors were asked to speak there.
My daughter was excited to be speaking on Sunday! 

Here are two of our  favorite homeschool high school leadership activities.


1,  Youth and Government was where my teen learned public speaking.  She started out as a quiet group member.  Yet soon she began joining in some in the speech and debate activities in her small group meetings. 

 She was encouraged to go at her own speed, and join in when she was ready.

Then later, that led to her acting out the role of mock state legislator at their statewide conference.  Then, the next year, she proposed a mock bill in front of tons of teens, at their large, statewide youth legislature  

This program teaches about our state government as well, and is sponsored by the YMCA, and is available in 34 states around the US.  It is not public school based.  Read more about this great YMCA program here

Later, my daughter ran for office, as one of the mock justices...and loved it, as she learned about leadership.







Another great option for public speaking is the NFSCA Speech and Debate Program.  The NFSCA Speech and Debate Progam offers a nationwide  program in public speaking, specifically for homeschoolers.  They offer training, qualifying tournaments, and a national championship.  Many of the families in our area have participated in this activity. 



What are your favorite activities to build up your teen?  I love getting your comments, and hearing about your teen's interests....





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 yearshighschool
collegegifted/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.


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Copyright, 2019 
All Rights Reserved

Assigning Homeschool High School Credit for Electives and a Video-Making Contest !




This week was all about milestones.....the big news is that my teen is now 18!  We have been celebrating all week....

First. I got her all to myself, with a birthday luncheon out...

Next was my teen's video contest awards and her birthday party!   First, they met for ice cream and presents....

Then they all headed to the Visfest Video Awards, where my daughter had entered three videos...This was just a local contest put on by the public schools.

In most states, homeschoolers can enter public school contests.


The girls had fun getting dressed up for the occasion....



To read more, plus 100 high school electives, how to make your own video making course and more, click 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 yearshighschool
collegegifted/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, Pinterest, Facebook 

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



Copyright, 2019 
All Rights Reserved



A Video Competition



Homeschool high school electives can be a real help in getting into college or into the world of work.  How to assign high school credit and find homeschool high school electives that your teen will love.  #homeschoolhighschool #highschoolelectives 


Is your homeschooled high schooler interested in video making?  Did you know that that interest became a great help to her in college?

In homeschooling high school, my daughter entered a VisFest videomaking competition, after having studied video-making for a semester.


Click here to view it.

Another one of her videos was called "The Golden Year".



The competition was tough, with lots of teens entering.   I am proud of all their hard work.


"Half of success is just showing up." 

Video Making was one of  our homemade courses that is covered in this link, and was very easy to assign high school credit for. this year.   It was not hard to do.

Read more about that in this Assigning high school credit article 




It was such a blessing to be at the park with our friends....





Happy Homeschooling,


Betsy



Betsy blogs at BJ's Homeschool, where she writes about high school, and all the fun of homeschooling the early years, too.  


 Don't miss a post:
  


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Elementary Homeschool Curriculum 1ST Grade - Oak Meadow Review




Summary - Elementary Oak Meadow Homeschool includes early academics with a focus on art and handwork, too.  


We found Oak Meadow Curriculum and I loved how it was hands-on yet still presented all the early academics, but in a fun and approachable way.  

Oak Meadow has only slightly revised this curriculum, and many families have the older version for sale on Facebook, as shown in the cover photo.

It is a very art oriented take on homeschooling the early years, and many families use it for kindergarten instead of first grade.

It is great for kids who have ADHD or are 2e, as it is very hands-on and sparks creativity.


This article has moved.  To learn about Oak Meadow 1st grade, please click below:





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 yearshighschool
collegegifted/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, Pinterest, Facebook 

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



Copyright, 2019 
All Rights Reserved




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 Meadowa 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





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 yearshighschool
collegegifted/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?