Help How Do I Teach High School at Home?

 One of the most frequent questions I used to be asked as my children got older was:  "Are you going to homeschool through high school?"  Yes, definately.  Followed with "How are you going to teach...?" 

Homeschooling through the highschool years is often seen as something to dread or fear.  Today I would like to encourage you to overcome the fear of homeschooling in the Highschool Years and know that you can teach anything. The most important thing as your child's tutor to remember is that you can learn a new subject or skill alongside your student.

 Looking Back is there anything I would do differently ?

DON'T CHANGE A THING - if it is not broken don't try fix it! Learning does not change, once our children know how to learn it does not change.  However IF they are not ready for independence and we push them into it then it derails their journey.

What I now realise is that the high school years are no different to the primary years.  Take a deep breath and just keep doing what's working.  You know and they know what is working.  The method needs to remain the same but the content changes and becomes deeper.  Your student will discover in themselves the best environment for them to learn in and as home educators we can cater to their growing need.  Independent learning is not isolation.  Sending them to their rooms to learn is isolation and does not foster independence. For more thoughts on this read: Nurturing Independence in High School  

 

Resources to help you teach

• Join your local Homeschool Co-op.  Remember Together Everyone Achieves More.  Some co-ops are formed specifically to teach things that can not be learned on your own and others are more informal to provide a platform of support.
  
• Build a network of homeschool mom's from all walks of life.  Ask them for advice on how they teach a certain subject.  You will be surprised with the wealth of information available to you in these circles.
• Find magazine articals written by veteran homeschoolers.  Three that I have often read are: Otherways is produced by the Home Education Network,  The Old Schoolhouse Magazine the trade magazine for homeschooling families and Keystone Magazine from the Home Education Foundation.
• Invest in good video courses.  One of our favourite companies is The 101 Series.  So far we have enjoyed their Physics 101, Biology 101 and Chemistry 101. 
• Look at investing in online teaching for the particular subject your student wants to take but you don't know how to teach.  For example: Visual Latin and Veritas Press.
• Join some homeschooling forums or Facebook groups and ask questions there.  Remember though to take any advice as ideas. Pick and choose wisely what you take on board for your family.
  

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. … Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9,10,12

 

"Can I teach high school science?

 NO

As your student gets older, 

your role changes from 

teacher to fellow learner."

Dr. Jay L. Wile

  Some posts to encourage you on teaching in high school

• Language Arts in High School
• Homeschool Record Keeping
• Science in High School
• Nurturing Independence in High School
• Writing and Composition in High School
• Help! Math is a problem. Now What? 
• How do you teach poetry?  
• Electives in the High School Years {Homeschool High School} 
  

---oOo---

 Don't forget to read some of these great posts from Day three of the blog hop where our team talked about Curriculum ...

Kristen @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach shares Top Five Homeschooling Curriculum Choices.

Annette @ A Net in Time shares Grade 10 Curriculum Choices.

Yvie @ Homeschool on the Range shares Curriculum Reveal.

Vickie B @ Tumbleweed News shares Our Favorite Curriculum {Blog Hop}.

Jessica H @ My Homeschool with a View shares Tips for Curriculum Shopping.

Yvonne @ The Life We Build shares Our Kindergarten and 4th Grade Curriculum Choices.

Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag shares Morning Time.

Teresa B @ Teresa Brouillette shares Homeschool Curriculum .

Lori @ At Home: where life happens shares 5 Tips on How To Pick a Curriculum.

Find some more inspiration on How to Teach today with the Crew below. 

Exploring the Building Blocks of Science Book 7 {Review}

"How will you teach Science?" is one of the most common questions I get asked when people find out I am home educating.  One of my greatest delights after being on this journey for 19 years is finding products which have been designed by professionals in the field of study and home educators for home educators.  Combine the two things and you have a marvelous product! Real Science 4 Kids recently blessed Nathaniel and I with Book 7 in the Exploring The Building Blocks of Science. I had been hearing some fabulous reports about this product and was super excited when they asked us to look over their book.

About the Author

I set up the program from a reversed viewpoint. I asked, “What would a high school student need to know to master college science? What would a middle school student need to know to master high school science? What would an elementary school student need to know to master middle school science?”
The basic concepts of science are broken down to a fundamental level so that a first grader can master a few key aspects of science. I don’t overload students with material at this stage. It isn’t necessary or beneficial. The program offers just enough to get them interested without making it complicated. Those initial concepts will be built upon in second grade, and so on. As learning capacity increases, so does the material. Dr. Keller

Rebecca W. Keller is a homeschool Mom with a difference.  She has a PhD and her professional specialty is science. When Rebecca began home educating her children she came to realise that there was a lack of real science for home educated children.  She realised that most scientific texts had been dumbed down to the point where there was no real content and therefore no connection with real scientific terms and concepts.  She couldn't find any texts containing chemistry or physics which are the foundations of all science.  Born out of many years this labor of love to give children real chemistry, physics, biology etc to inspire children to learn and love science which in turn has grown into Real Science 4 Kids. You can read a more in depth interview on why Real Science 4 Kids Works with Rebecca W.Keller PhD in her interview: Real Science Chat.

Her original series Focus On was set up to meet the unit study approach and focus on single subjects.  Dr. Keller realised that many families prefer to cover multiple areas of science each year so she repackaged the Focus On course materials into grade level books and created the new Building Blocks series.  Each year, students study all five areas of science as they would eventually do if they worked through the Focus On courses. Both text and illustrations in the student books have been borrowed from the Focus On series with minor changes and additions.

We received the following to review and share with you today: Real Science 4 Kids sent us their Building Blocks Book 7 Bundle consisting of: 

• Building Blocks Book 7 (Grade 7) Student Textbook - 422 pp
• Building Blocks Book 7 (Grade 7) Laboratory Workbook - 264 pp
• Building Blocks Book 7 (Grade 7) Teacher's Manual - 116 pp

About the Books

Building Blocks Book 7 (Grade 7) Student Textbook this is a beautifully illustrated full color text divided into 22 chapters subdivided into:

• Introduction using Science
• Chemistry - Pure Substances, Organic Chemistry (Carbon), Polymers and Biological Polymers.
• Biology - Plants, Photosynthesis, Plant Structure and Growth as well as Plant Reproduction
• Physics - Chemical Energy, Electrostatics, Electrodynamics and Electromagnetics.
• Geology - The Hyrdosphere,The Biosphere, The Magnetosphere, and Earth as a System
• Astronomy - Galaxies, Our Galaxy The Milky Way, Other Galaxies, Exploding Stars and Other Stuff
• Conclusion Putting It All Together.
• Appendix (Chemistry)
• Glossary/Index

The whole text book is beautifully written and every page contains beautiful crisp full colour photographs or drawings illustrating the point being taught.  It's a visual feast for the eyes and a banquet of knowledge for you and your student.  This books will introduce your student to foundation scientific concepts and terminology giving them a solid foundation on which to build their study of science.

There is no need to go looking for a suitable laboratory notebook for your students.  Real Science 4 Kids has a beautifully presented ready to use Building Blocks Book 7 (Grade 7) Laboratory Workbook which corrolotates beautifully with the student text. This 258 pages is printed in black and white and contains:

• Introduction
• Chemistry - Four Experiments
• Biology - Four Experiments
• Physics - Four Experiments
• Geology - Four Experiments
• Astronomy - Four Experiments
• Conclusion
• Appendix

Experiment 8 - Colorful Flowers

 Each section follows the same outline:

1. Introduction and Think About It with questions to answer before you commence the experiment.  This helps the students clarify what they are looking for.
2. Experiment - Here you will find a space to clarify the objective, your hypotheses, Materials you will need and then the Experiment with directions and Results recording page 
3. Conclusions
4. Why? This contains a discussion on what and why with deeper insights on the practical implications of what you are doing.
5. Just for Fun.  Sometimes students are encouraged to dream big and jot down ideas for the future and other times they are challenged to answer an extension question with an experiment.

Experiment 8 - Colorful Flowers Results

This book contains everything you will need to fulfill the hands on section of the course. Every question is clearly asked followed by double spaced lines for the student to write in their answers/thoughts. All the directions are clear and easy to follow and reinforce the subject matter being studied.

Building Blocks Book 7 (Grade 7) Teacher's Manual contains 103 black and white pages containing:

• A full list of the Materials at a Glance listed by experiment.
• A list of the Materials quantities needed for all the experiments.
• Introduction
• Chemistry
• Biology
• Physics
• Geology
• Astronomy
• Conclussion

 The purpose of the teachers guide is to assist you to guide your students through the experiments in order to help them solidify their scientific understanding in the five scientific disciplines through the 44 experiments presented. It also provides you with an answer key of what should happen in each experiment and the possible answers your children (and you) could come up with.

You can download and view Samples of each of the books here.

Connect with
Real Science 4 Kids @realscience4kids
Real Science 4 Kids Blog
Real Science 4 Kids @rs4k
Real Science 4 Kids @RS4K_gravitas
RealScience4Kids
@realscience4kids


Over All I thought ...
These books are beautifully presented and well put together.  They are twaddle free, logical  and provide you with challenging science instruction.  This curriculum will make it easy for any parent who has no scientific background or understanding to give their children and themselves a quality scientific education, preparing them for a life long love and understanding.  The books are available to purchase individually or as bundle sets.

Blessings
Chareen

Physics 101 {The 101 Series Review}

Science is one of those subjects that instill fear and trepidation in homeschooling families and it's one of the most researched aspects of home educating. If you fall into this category I would like to encourage you that the science's is one of the most enjoyable subjects to teach in your home educating journey.  I have a confession to make ... I love science.  In high school I loved physics and hated chemistry (I did not like learning the periodic table ...) IF I could have I would have taken physics as one of my elective subjects.  I was very excited when  The 101 Series offered me the opportunity to review their Physics 101 DVD course.

What I received

• Physics 101 - The Mechanics of God's Physical World DVD set containing four DVD's.  Physics 101 is a Christian DVD High School Level course from Westfield Studios.
• A Companion Guide to the Physics 101 DVD set in PDF format (98 pages) on the fourth DVD.

 Subjects Covered

• Disk A
  1. Introduction to Physics (30 min)
  2. Light and Colour (40 min)
  3. Mirrors and Lenses (35 min)
  4. Invisibility and Speed of Light (35 min)
• Disk B
  5. Introduction to Sound (43 min)
  6. Acoustics: the sound of Music (35 min)
  7. What is fire? (30 min)
  8. The Three Laws of Thermodynamics (35 min)
  9. Refrigeration: Hot and Cold (40 min)
• Disk C
  10. What is Electricity? (30 min)
  11. Outlets and Circuits (40 min)
  12. Batteries and the Electromagnetic Spectrum (40 min)
  13. The Life of Sir Isaac Newton (30 min)
  14. The Universal law of Gravity (30 min)
  15. The 1st law of Motion (35 min)
  16. The 2nd and 3rd Laws of Motion (25 min)
• Disk D
  17. The Life of Albert Einstein (35 min)
  18. Relativity (30 min)
  19. Quantum Mechanics (30 min)
  20. The Future of Physics (20 min)

How we used Physics 101
Physics 101 is a high school level course produced by Westfield Studios.  The host is Wes Olson who guides you through each area of physics covered.  He helps to untangle the complex terms and ideas and presents each topic in an easy to understand conversation accompanied by visually rich graphics which help to clarify his presentation.  The purpose of the course is to provide you and your student with a thorough overview of the intriguing world of Physics.

When you load the disk you will find a comprehensive list of contents to make easier navigation.

The course is split into seven areas and colour coded:

1. Light (Red)
2. Sound (Orange)
3. Heat (Yellow)
4. Electricity & Magnetism (Green)
5. Motion (Blue)
6. Physics of the Weird (Indigo)
7. Future of Physics (Violet)

At the beginning of each section Wes presents a couple of questions that will be answered in the lesson.  For example in Section 1 we learned the answer to the age old question: Why is the sky blue? and Why is my reflection upside down in a spoon?

We also studied some famous scientists know for their contributions to Physics.  Nathaniel was particularly intrigued to learn that Cavendish, Newton, Curie, Einstein and Galileo are all thought to have had Aspergers Syndrome.

It was interesting knowing that Sir Isaac Newton studied the bible daily and fundamentally believed that the Bible is the Word of God.  He was also born prematurely and could fit in a quart jar!  His mother was advised to let him die. We learned that he was frustrated with the math of the day because it could not help with his science so he developed Calculus (The mathematical study of change) in order to help him with his science.

Sir Isaac Newton tomb

He died in 1727 at the age of 84 and was famous for his discoveries in optics, motion and mathematics.  His most acclaimed published work is: Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy).

Guidebook and Quizzes
The guidebook came as a 98 page pdf document found on disk D.  I printed this to work through along with the DVD's.  Each segment follows the same layout.

• Video information:  This area contains text with information directly from the film session.
• Side Bar:  Contains interesting trivia, facts and physics-related matter.
• Text box: Containing biographical information, observations and interesting points relating to the session, or questions for discussion.
• Footnotes: Contains references and quotes in relation to points of interest pertaining to the subject matter.

This is then followed by a Quiz with multiple answer section.    The answer key to the Quiz section is found at the back of the booklet.

About The 101 Series 
Westfield Studios was established in 2004 in order to produce Biology 101 for Wes wife Tammy who could not find a biology curriculum to assist her in home educating her two high school age sons.  Wes has many years of experience in producing films for companies such as Boeing and Portland GE.   The whole family are involved in the business and work closely alongside leaders in the scientific fields pertaining to each section of the DVD's produced.  Wes is passionate about the sciences and is an avid biblical student.  All the scripts are vetted for scientific accuracy by numerous Professors to make sure that all the information is current and correctly presented.

Connect with The 101 Series

• Blog
• Facebook
• Twitter:  @the101series
• Pinterest: @the101series

Available Titles in The 101 Series

• Physics 101
• Chemistry 101
• Biology 101

I am very impressed with the quality and presentation of Physics 101 and will definitely be investing in the other two courses which are available.  We have both enjoyed the visually complementing materials in the presentation which help to clarify the materials being covered.  If you are looking for an excellent introduction to the complex world of Physics then this is definitely the DVD set for you.

Overcoming the fear of homeschooling in the Highschool Years

I've been pondering the High School years quite a bit of late.  It feels like the other day I was embarking on these years with my first two and all of a sudden I have two homeschool graduates, one of them is in Great Britain and the other is doing a trainee ship. Looking back I'm surprised at just how quickly those years passed by.

I'm often surprised at  the FEAR of the high school years that is expressed among home educating families and concerned members of the public.  Today I would like to share some thoughts on 5 Hurdles to Overcome in teaching the High School Years.

5 Hurdles to Overcome

1 - Negative Mindset

• Your attitude sets the tone for your student towards any given subject matter.  Be careful of passing on a negative mindset to your children which is born out of your own experience with a certain subject matter. 
• It's your job to facilitate learning. If the subject matter at hand is outside of our own personal expertise, it is our job to help find someone who can help our student better understand the subject matter at hand.
• A great answer for any question you can not answer is to say: "That's a good question, I don't know the answer let's find out together." The high school years are an excellent time to model how to keep learning.  The point is go on a journey of discovery together.  You may be surprised to learn that you actually enjoy (dare I say it out loud ?) Algebra or Chemistry or Quantum physics ...

2 - FEAR

• For each and every one of us there is a subject out there that makes us quake in our shoes and rightly so. There are not very many people who are able to be perfect in every subject matter.
• The balance is remembering that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real.
• Confronting this fear with a fellow homeschool parent and finding the truth is better than passing on your own fears to your children.  
• It is impossible to teach/know everything there is to know about any particular subject matter due to the information age we live in.You do not need to FEAR that you may miss something.
• This is where co-ops and support groups come into play. Do not be afraid to ask for help ...

3 - Please Help ?

• It saddens me that many homeschool families quit because they think to say HELP we are stuck in this or that subject area is somehow a confession of failure. 
• Remember: To say I don't know how to do something takes courage. We encourage our young children to ask for help and yet as adults we don't ask for help.  This is foolish and serves no good purpose.
• No two families are the same and each one has it's own set of needs to be met.  What works for one family may not necessarily work for yours.
• The secret is to keep asking until you find the key that unlocks the mystery of a particular subject for your family. While this can be time consuming it is worth the effort it takes.

 4 - Google

• Home education and the internet have met up with each other to form a rather profitable marriage.  While this is good for home educational businesses it's really bad for the home educator who has no hands on experience and does not know what works for which particular situation. 
• On one hand this is great as we have an unlimited supply of advice at our finger tips, the counter balance is we don't have anyone who knows us and our children who can support us.
• I would encourage you to find real people to sit and have cups of tea with. Go from home to home within the group and see first hand how systems work then you will be better equipped to make decisions on what will or will not work for your family.  
• Only tackle Google and ask once you are armed with specific questions that need to be answered.
• Do NOT let Google dictate what you should or should not be doing. 

5- Pinterest.

• For some of us Pinterest can be a source of anxiety and discontent and for others it's a paradise found
• There are some amazing free resources and ideas to be found here.  The problem is that the ideas are limitless and can end up paralyzing you to action.
• If you choose to look for answers here don't get too hung up on the perfection displayed by others.  Remember it's a cyber world where we can portray anything we want to, in any way we want to.  Nothing is as perfect as it seems.  Many online companies / homeschoolers purchase picture perfect scenes to 'sell' their information on Pinterest.
• Use with caution and enjoy.

"Can I teach 

high school science?

 NO

As your student gets older, 

your role changes from 

teacher to fellow learner."

Dr. Jay L. Wile

Things to consider

• Research your options while your students are in the primary school years so that you have a clear pathway before you.  
• Be clear on your expectations.
• Have an understanding of the level of education required to tackle different areas in the high school years.
• Research and save for more expensive items such as a microscope.  Do you have to have a microscope ?  No but it is a great hands on learning tool that makes the sciences come alive in your home.
• Find out where to purchase the items you need to do practical labs.
• Consider the scope and sequence before changing curriculum or you might end up repeating what you have already done.
• Get to know your student and what their long term study goals are and work towards those. Make it a priority to achieve what they need to accomplish their tertiary goals in the science arena.  

I would like to encourage you not to fear but embrace the high school years.  See it as an opportunity to learn and discover more thoroughly what you have always wanted to know.

Secondly remember you can not teach it all.  There is no A-Z list for you to tick off and say right now I have taught this and that  and we are finished.  These days information in any subject area is exploding with at an exponential rate and it would be physically impossible for you to teach all there is to know in any given subject matter due to this..

I would love to read your thoughts on Learning in high school please leave a link to your post in the comments.

Blessings
Chareen
You can read more on these five hurdles in my post: HELP! How am I going to teach ... ? 

Read more on overcoming the hurdles to home educating in the high school years:

• Gena over at I Choose Joy! shares her thoughts on How Will I Teach. . . Homeschool High School Biology?
• Michele at Family, Faith and Fridays shares on How Then Should I Teach?
• Lisa at Golden Grasses shares Making it Happen: Homeschooling Your High School Super Hero
• Kym at Homeschool Coffee Break on How Do I Even Teach That?
• Wendy at Life at Rossmont shares insights on Help! How Do I Teach High School Math?!
• Erica at Be The One on Homeschooling High School: Tackling The Challenge
• Leah from As we Walk Along the Road shares Help! I Can't Homeschool High School: Facing Your Homeschooling High School Fears 

Home School High School Topics

Over the next few months we will be sharing some insights into the following aspects of home educating through the high school years

• Planning for High School {How and When,ways to/how we're planning to earn college credit while still in high school, Meeting High School Requirements, how to assign credit when there aren't tests, What records do you keep? How do you present them? What influences your method, your emphasis in certain areas?}
• Electives in the High School Years {Following Passions, following interests, fitting a job in with school, and Being intentional in Preparing for what comes after high school, Life skills.}
• Math, Science, Biology, History {What do you use ? Why do you use ... ? What influences your choices/selection? }
• 30 September - Language Arts {Poetry, Literature, Composition, writing, What influenced your choices/selection?}
• "How am I going to teach High School ...?" {Addressing the fear factor of teaching subjects we struggle with or know nothing about, How to achieve credit in subjects your student *hates*}
• 25 November - How do you fit it all in ? {homeschooling high school alongside homeschooling the others, Fostering Independence, Do you generalise or specialise? Schedules,}
• 30 December - Graduation { Fostering Independence, How do you know when they are done ?}

Until next month.  Happy blog hopping
Blessings
Chareen

Math, Science, Biology and History in the High School Years

Welcome to the third edition of this years Homeschool High School Blog Hop. This months topic covers a wide variety of subjects.

We will be looking at Math, Science, Biology and History. I have shared in depth on these topics here over the years so I will be sharing a short introduction to each subject area and linking to my other posts where you will be able to read more about my in depth thoughts on the particular topic at hand.

I will also share some links to FREE curriculum you can access from around the web and links to my posts introducing curriculum from around the web to get you started on your research.

One of the things I realise now in retrospect is that you do not need to change the way you teach when you reach the high school years.  I was under the impression that I needed to change a whole heap of things because my students were now home schoolers and this in turn caused my children stress as well as myself.  Enjoy the journey and allow your students to set the pace for the change.  As they grow and change so will your methods and requirements slowly change along with your relationship.  It is far easier on you and your student to allow this change to naturally occur.

Things to consider before the high school years

• Research your options while they are in the primary school years so that you have a clear pathway before you.  The high school years arrive far quicker than you realise.  Use the first four to five years of homeschool to research your options and plan ahead.  Without a plan you will end up floundering.
• Be clear on your expectations. This is imperative for both you and your student. It's important to know what you want completed in order to graduate from high school at home.
• Have an understanding of the level of maths required to tackle different areas in the high school sciences.
• Research and save for more expensive items such as a microscope.  Do you have to have a microscope ?  No but it is a great hands on learning tool that makes the sciences come alive in your home.
• Find out where to purchase the items you need to do the practical labs.
• Consider the scope and sequence before changing curriculum or you might end up repeating what you have already done.
• Get to know your student and what their long term study goals are and work towards those. Make it a priority to achieve what they need to accomplish their tertiary goals in the science arena. 
• Research your State/Country requirement for graduating High School.

 

Math in High School

One of the things I insisted on my children completing was math up to the level of Algebra 1 and Geometry. Needless to say this was one of their biggest complaints!  Why do we have to do that Mom? was a question often heard in our home during the high school years. Math is a subject that is imperative in helping our students develop higher order thinking. 

Math seems to be one of those topics within the homeschool environment that often comes up in conversation. As homeschooling parents we need to be-careful that we do not transmit our personal negative experience of math at school onto our children.  During our high school years I came to realize this with my first two children that as long as we moved at their pace they were able to easily learn what I found to be difficult at school.

In our home I chose to use  Teaching Textbooks during the high school years. It's like having a personal tutor on call 24/7! We would work through the lesson in the book. Answer the questions. Pop in the disk and watch the tutor teach the specific sums we got wrong. I like the fact that they don't assume you know the steps. The tutor breaks down the sum into step by step and explains each step as they go through the complete sum.  

Before we transitioned to TT we used to call on a friend who was a high school math teacher to help us with any sums we became stuck with.

Here on the blog I've shared

• Math ... All About Math
• Math is a problem - What now ?
• Math Curriculum
• Math and Logic Resource {Virtual Curriculum Fair}

For me one of the defining moments of understanding teaching math came after I read the article History and Research on the Teaching of Math I highly recommend you read this article before you make a decision on your math curriculum.

Scope and Sequence
When looking at changing math programs remember to take  scope and sequence into account.

• Scope refers to the content.  In other words these are the topics covered (A to Z)
• Sequence is the order in which the scope is taught (IE the order in which things are covered within the program)

It is important to know this about your math product or you might end up redoing math your child is already familiar with or you might end up skipping a whole lot of important content that your child needs in order to succeed at math.


Resources
Please go to my Math Curriculum page for a full page of links to resources.
Here are a few links to get you started.

• Teaching Textbooks
• TouchMath
• Saxon Math
• Singapore Math
• Horizons Math
• Miquon Math
• Math*U*See
• Abeka - Full Math program from Pre K - 12
• A+ TutorSoft- On line math program
• Math Rider - Math Fact PC Game
• Math Squeebles - Math App
• CalcuLadder 1 and 2- Drill worksheets from Learning Vitamins

Pinterest

•  Math
• Mostly FREE Math Worksheets
• Math YouTube

Science & Biology in High School

"Can I teach high school science?  NO. As your student gets older, your role changes from teacher to fellow learner." Dr. Jay L. Wile

Define: Science

• The word science comes from the Latin "scientia," meaning knowledge especially knowledge based on reproducible data.
• Science is the systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation. 

From this definition we can see that science is not solely about science labs and microscopes, formulas and chemicals it's all about the world around us. The sciences need not fill you with fear the high school years can be a wonderful time of learning alongside your students and discovering amazing things together.

  Here on the blog I've shared

• Science in High School  
•  Science at Home
• Visual Periodic Table by RSC 
• The Elements 
• Science Curriculum 
• FREE Science Homeschool Resources 

Resources
Please go to my Science Curriculum page for a full page of links to resources.
Here are a few links to get you started.

• Visual Learning Systems 
• FREE Science Homeschool Resources 
• Science Curriculum 
• Noeo
• Sonlight
• Apologia
•  Harmony Art mom has put together an excellent post over at Squidoo called: High School Level Biology - Personalized for the Naturalist at Heart.

History in High School

The story of life is one of my passions.  I loved history in high school and I've grown to love it even more especially after studying it for two years chronologically with Timothy and Jane in junior high.  In fact I loved the experience so much I am doing it for a second time with Nathaniel now and am planning a third trip through with more of a Charlotte Mason focus when he is in High School.

his·to·ry noun \ˈhis-t(ə-)rē\

1. tale, story 
2. a : a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes
   b : a treatise presenting systematically related natural phenomena
   c : an account of a patient's medical background
   d : an established record  
3. a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events

Studying history in the high school years is an adventure in itself.  Students ask interesting questions and it's a time for deeper understanding.  It's a marvelous time for digging deeper and comparing notes and seeing the cause and effect more clearly of the different things that are happening concurrently in the world.

There is no need to change the method you use to teach history.  Keep using whatever is working well for you.  Once again watch for the scope and sequence if you want to change curriculum.  The source texts become a little more complex but generally speaking history is an adventure in discovery!


Here on the blog I've shared

• History Curriculum Over 50 links to get you started ...
• FREE History Resources for Homeschool
• My Passion: Chronological History
• Teaching History Revisited
• Time line Tutorial
• Veritas Press - Self Paced Hisory { 

Resources
Please go to my History Curriculum page for a full page of links to resources.
Here are a few links to get you started.

• Sonlight
• Konos
• Homeschool in the Woods

Home School High School Hosts Share this Month:

• Chareen at Every Bed of Roses -  Math, Science, Biology and History in the High School Years
  
• Jennifer from A Glimpse of Our Life - High School Language Arts
• Lisa from Golden Grasses - Math, Science, History- Homeschooling High School 
• Dawn from Double O Farms - Math, Science, and History During the High School Years
• Kym from Homeschool Coffee Break - Homeschooling High School - Math, Science, and History Round-Up
• Michele from Family, Faith and Fridays - Numbers and Atoms  
• Wendy from Life at Rossmont - Homeschooling High School: Maths, Sciences, and History
• Debbie from Debbie's Homeschool Corner - Afraid of High School Science?
• Carol from Home Sweet Life - Math and Science in High School ~ What's a Mom To Do?  
• Tess from Circling Through This Life - Teaching High School Math and Science: Resources
• Meg from Adventures with Jude - High School Math and Science
• Gena from I Choose Joy! - Why We Changed Our History Curriculum for Homeschool High School
• Cristi from Through the Calm and Through the Storm - Two Plus Two Equals Calculus
• Laura from Day by Day in Our World - History and Science for High School | Stress Free Teaching
• Leah from As We Walk Along the Road - Our Favorite High School Math and Science Resources (Homeschool High School Blog Hop)  
• Debra from Footprints in the Butter - But HOW will you teach Chemistry?
• April from ElCloud Homeschool -
• Erica from Be The One -

Home School High School Topics

Over the next seven months we will be sharing some insights into the following aspects of home educating through the high school years

• Planning for High School {How and When,ways to/how we're planning to earn college credit while still in high school, Meeting High School Requirements, how to assign credit when there aren't tests, What records do you keep? How do you present them? What influences your method, your emphasis in certain areas?}
• Electives in the High School Years {Following Passions, following interests, fitting a job in with school, and Being intentional in Preparing for what comes after high school, Life skills.}
• Math, Science, Biology, History {What do you use ? Why do you use ... ? What influences your choices/selection? }
• 30 September - Language Arts {Poetry, Literature, Composition, writing, What influenced your choices/selection?}
• 28 October - "How am I going to teach High School ...?" {Addressing the fear factor of teaching subjects we struggle with or know nothing about, How to achieve credit in subjects your student *hates*}
• 25 November - How do you fit it all in ? {homeschooling high school alongside homeschooling the others, Fostering Independence, Do you generalise or specialise? Schedules,}
• 30 December - Graduation { Fostering Independence, How do you know when they are done ?}

Until next month.  Happy blog hopping
Blessings
Chareen

The Conversation, by Leigh A. Bortins {Review}

Homeschooling through the High School years has been the topic of conversation in our local homeschool group for the last couple of months.  Over the years I've heard a lot about Classical Conversations and have been researching this homeschooling method.  Classical Converstaions is built on the Trivium model of education with a Christian Focus.

With this years focus on long term planning for the High School years I was very excited to hear that Leigh A. Bortins had authored a new book covering this period of education titled The Conversation.

Leigh is a veteran home educating mom of 30 years and has written this marvelous book to equip, encourage and help you form a firm foundation for your children as they walk through the high school years together with you.

What we received

• Paperback book 
• 267 pages
• Author: Leigh A. Bortins
• ISBN: 978-0-9904720-2-5
• Published: 2015

About the book

The Conversation is the third book in the Classical Conversations Trivium Trilogy.  The first two books are: The Core and The Question.

The grammar stage (The Core) allows children to learn and memorize facts. During the dialectic stage (The Question), students are encouraged to start asking questions and evaluate what they are learning. The rhetoric stage (The Conversation) allows teens to apply that knowledge practically. “Rhetoric is the use of knowledge and understanding to perceive wisdom, pursue virtue, and proclaim truth” (The Conversation, p. 38-39)

The book is broken down into three main parts:
Part One – High School at Home

• Chapter 1 – Confidant Parents
• Chapter 2 – Rhetoric Defined

Part Two – The Rhetorical Arts

• Chapter 3 – Reading
• Chapter 4 – Speech and Debate
• Chapter 5 – Writing
• Chapter 6 – Science
• Chapter 7 – Math
• Chapter 8 – Government and Economics
• Chapter 9 – History
• Chapter 10 – Latin and Foreign Language
• Chapter 11 – Fine Arts
• Chapter 12 – A Graduation Conversation

Epilogue
Part Three – Appendices

• Appendix One – Conversation Games
• Appendix Two – Common Rhetorical Devices
• Appendix Three – Resources
• Appendix Four – Real Parents Respond

"As classical parents and educators, we sometimes forget that we really only need four things in order to educate someone. We need pencil, paper, good books and time for great conversations."

In part one Leigh does a wonderful job of equipping and encouraging parents to home educate through the high school years.  She presents a good case explaining why home educating through the high school years is possible.

In Chapter two she takes the time to define rhetoric and what that means for you as an educator. In this chapter she introduces the five canons of the this educational model. "The word comes from the Greek Kanon, which refers to a measuring line or standard of excellence."(The Conversation page 42)

1. Invention - coming up with and researching ideas
2. Arrangement - organizing these ideas in a manner that makes sense
3. Elocution - determining the style of presentation for the type of audience
4. Memory - Memorizing the information and adding key points of remembrance
5. Delivery - Presenting the ideas, in either a written or spoken format

Leigh takes the time to define each of these areas and why they are used in the classical model of education.

She uses these five canons to define how to teach each of the subjects outline in chapters 3 to 12 along with examples for each subject. She introduces the subject matter, breaks it down into each of the canons and finishes each chapter with a summary of the subject matter and canons. The examples are often presented in conversational format so you can clearly see how to have a conversation using this model of education with your high school student. These are all built around real life examples.
She provides great arguments for why all of this is important, how parents can integrate them, and what children gain from studying such subjects.

The final section of the book contains games, definitions, resources and further reading suggestions.
 
Cost of The Conversation

• $16.00
• Download a FREE Sample Chapter 2

The Conversation is specifically written for parents who are approaching the high school years, considering homeschooling through these years or who are currently homeschooling through the high school years. 

I have already graduated two high schooler's and found that this is one of those wonderful resource books to have on your shelf to reference as you teach your children through all levels at home.  It's a great book to read even if you are not following the Classical Conversation method of educating at home.  In fact I've enjoyed reading it so much I am looking forward to purchasing the first two books in the series.

Blessings
Chareen

Connect with Classical Conversations

Electives in the High School Years {Homeschool High School}

Welcome to the second edition of Homeschooling in the High School Years Blog Hop.

Last month we shared some thoughts on Homeschooling High School Planning.  This month we would like to talk about Electives in the High School Years.

High School years are a wonderful time to explore the greater world around you and discover the more complex subjects.


During these years most subjects are compulsory and needed in order to gain credits and a pass depending on the Country/State you are in.  Be sure to examine the laws/requirements of your particular area when planning the non- negotiable subjects.  Before you start considering the electives you will be pursuing in the high school years it is important to decide which subjects are non-negotiable.

The electives serve your home school well during this time as they keep your students inspired to keep on keeping on with their studies. They provide a platform to exercise choice and a vehicle to explore their own passions and educational motivations.

I've been speaking to my nephews and nieces and discovered that electives abound. These days there are subjects that I've never even heard of presented as electives...

Electives serve as a wonderful tool for the non-traditional track learners in your home and will equip them in their chosen field of study.

Electives to Consider

• Technology {Computing, Web Design, Virtual Assistant, Social Media Management}
• Business {Accounting, Business Math, IT}
• Foreign Language
• Bible {Old/New Testament Survey, Doctrine, Apologetic s}
• Fine Arts {Music, Drama, Dance, Theater, Art Appreciation}
• Humanities {Literature, Psychology, Journalism, Sociology, Communication, etc}
• Life Skills {Foundations for daily living, Consumer Math, Home Economics, Nutrition, Budgeting, Banking}
• Logic 
• Agriculture

This is in no way a definitive list but rather a list to get you thinking about the possibilities ...

Read more about Electives on the WWW 

• Planned Parenthood and an Organic Teaching Moment. If you are teaching High school Students then this is well worth a read. Sharon does an excellent job of helping you to untangle logic and thinking and encourages you on how to train your children to think well.
• Sonlight Electives
• 50 Fabulous electives for homeschooled high schoolers Great list of ideas.
• Homeschool High School Electives
• Homeschool Electives Curriculum - wonderful list to other sites addressing specific courses.
• ChristianBook.com - Homeschool Electives
• Possible Courses for Fulfilling High School Electives 
• Exploring Possible Elective Courses for High School This is an excellent article with a wonderful list of ideas.

On Pinterest

• Critical Thinking
• Current Events
• High School - Electives 
•  Hymn Study
• Homeschool - Latin 
• Life Skills 
• High School 

Life Skills

One of the areas most neglected in the high school years is in the area of life skills.  It is  important to make a list of life skills your student will need when they leave home to either attend tertiary studies, work full time or moving out to start living independently.

A life skill is defined as a skill that is necessary in order to fully participate in every day life. It is the ability to cope with the challenges of daily life. It covers the skill sets of communication, decision-making, occupational requirements, problem-solving, time management and planning.

Take some time to think of the things you encountered when you left home that were daunting and felt like curved balls.

• Talk about these things with your children.  
• Schedule time in for them to practice new skills such as meal planning, etc.  
• Take them with you to the bank so they become familiar with the banking system. 
• Change a tire on the car.  Check the oil/water on the car together.
• Get them looking for a bargain. Price compare for an item the family are needing to purchase.
• Teach them to iron their clothes. 
• Simple clothe mending (sewing on a button) etc.

Read More on Electives in the High School Years

• Chareen at Every Bed of Roses with thoughts on Electives in the High School Years
• Debbie at Debbie's Homeschool Corner shares Electives: The Fun Part of High School
• Carol over at Home Sweet Life on Homeschooling High School ~ Electives
• April from ElCloud Homeschool shares High School Homeschooling: Electives and Jobs
• Tess from Circling Through This Life shares on What about Electives? ~ Homeschool Highschool Blog Hop
• Leah from As We Walk Along the Road shares her thoughts on Choosing Electives for Homeschooling High School
•  Kym at Homeschool Coffee Break shares on Customized Education and Electives
•  Wendy at Life at Rossmont shares thoughts on High School Electives
•  Gena over at I Choose Joy! shares Homeschool High School Public Speaking: Drama, Speech, and Debate
• Cristi from Through the Calm and Through the Storm shares on Interests + Opportunities = Electives
• Dawn Oaks at Double O Farms shares Just What Do You Do with Elective Requirements?
• Jennifer from A Glimpse of Our Life on High School Electives
• Michele at Family, Faith and Fridays shares How About Some Fun?
• Lisa at Golden Grasses says Frosting on the Cake- High School Electives, Jobs and College Prepping
• Meg from Adventures with Jude on  High School Electives - Tasting the Real World
• Debra over at Footprints in the Butter asks Is your high schooler taking the "right" electives?
• Laura from Day by Day in Our World shares about Selecting the Best Electives in High School

We hope that you have found the information you are looking for on home educating in the high school years and look forward to chatting about Math, Science, Biology, History next month.

Blessings
Chareen