Successful Homeschooling

So, my oldest completed her junior year. This fall she will be taking classes at the local community college, I will graduate her in December, and in January 2018 she will start as a freshman at a local university.

What We Did in Elementary School

We have used My Father's World since she was in 3rd grade. And, we used all their recommendations except for Spelling and Writing in the elementary years. (For spelling she used All About Spelling. For Writing, we started with Writing Strands and then used Essentials in Writing for 7th and 8th - this was before My Father's World started recommending Writing with Skill 1 for 7th and 8th). Singapore math was very good for her. 

What We Did in 9th Grade

For 9th grade, we used My Father's World Ancient History and Literature, as written. I did have a friend who was willing to help me with improving and grading her writing. That was very helpful. For Math, we used Saxon Algebra 1. Science was Apologia's Biology, doing labs at a co-op. For Foreign Language we used My Father's World lesson plans for Rosetta Stone. This included writing  a report about a Spanish speaking country, watching videos with Spanish language and subtitles turned on, and reading children's books in Spanish. We also did the Logic books and she had dance classes approximately 7 hours a week. Since our local high schools have "Performing Arts" classes with credit, I gave her credit for that. She also volunteered every week at our Awana program and helped set up and tear down at church on a 2 week on, 4 week off rotation. She also did the Awana Journey program, which I used for her memorization, rather than any memorization in My Father's World Bible component.

What We Did in 10th Grade

For 10th grade, we used My Father's World World History and Literature. For Math we used Math-U-See's Geometry. Since she did Apologia's Chemistry this year, I needed to make sure the math program was not too hard. For Chemistry, we were able to take labs at our co-op, and those took her 3 to 5 hours a week to do, much of the time due to her struggles with math (related to her dyslexia). Our co-op began offering Spanish 1 classes this year, so she did that, while doing Rosetta Stone level 2. The combination really helped. She also did the Health program sold by My Father's World. I did have her read Boundaries in Dating, as I disagree with the premise behind the I Kissed Dating Goodbye book. Add in her dancing, Awana, volunteering, and church volunteering and you have a full year.

What We Did in 11th Grade

Again, we used My Father's World US History to 1877 program. She did like the BJU textbook over the Notgrass from previous years. The section quizzes and tests take it up a notch. We switched to using VideoText Interactive for Math. She has worked hard to complete all the videos. And, we did Apologia's Advanced Biology for science, as I didn't feel she could handle the math for Physics. We have a microscope, so she just did the microscope labs (no dissections, but she did those in Biology). I let her take pictures through the microscope with her phone rather than hand drawing what she saw. At co-op, she took an ACT/SAT prep class that uses John Baylor Test Prep to prepare for taking her ACT and SAT, and Spanish 2 (which was really Spanish 3 on her transcript). We dropped the Personal Finance class, as it was too much with the ACT/SAT prep, and I felt it was more important. This year she did a one week missions trip to Honduras, as well as her usual Awana, volunteering, and dance. We did have occasional tears and had to adjust schedules and expectations.

At the end of the school year, she took her ACT and SAT. She had above average scores, but not super high scores, which I expected based on her dyslexia and math challenges. I had her take the Accuplacer test at the local community college, and she placed into Freshman Composition 1 and College Algebra. Those are the only two classes she actually needs to meet the minimum admissions requirements to get into the university. So, she will be taking those, and a Music Theory 1 class with lab. 

She is actually studying to take the College Composition CLEP, and if she passes, she will take Freshman Composition 2 instead, since the target university accepts the CLEP and we have guaranteed transfer on the Composition and Math classes. She is also studying for the US History 1 CLEP, which makes sense after studying that time period. Other CLEPs are on the horizon.

What We Might Do Differently

So, now that I've done this once, I have twin boys to follow (they will be 8th graders this fall). Here are some things I might do differently the next time through.

Since the boys do Awana, and worldview is in the program, I'm seriously considering *not* doing the Bible part of the 11th grade year. We might do something like watch The Truth Project once a week just to cover it, but not have it be part of our homeschool classes. I have one boy who is more of a STEM kid, and would like to open up a slot for programming or extra science. He also is dyslexic, so I don't want to overload him. Also, the other boy likes music and acting and sports, so I want to have room in his daily schedule for him to do those things.

We've already started and completed VideoText Interactive Module A, which is pre-algebra. We will do it for our school the next 2 years. I have their Geometry program, too.

I want to do more PSAT/SAT/ACT prep earlier. Maybe just a little each week using a book or something. So again, I need to make sure we don't overload. Mostly this is because the schools my boys are thinking of attending will cost more than the one my oldest is attending and will need scholarships. Good test scores help with scholarships.

I'm also thinking of doing the Accuplacer at the end of 10th grade. If they place into Freshman Composition 1, then we will direct more of our English time onto CLEP preparation. I am also considering how to use Writing with Skill 2 (and maybe 3) in conjunction with the My Father's World writing. I really like the way Writing with Skill breaks things down.

I'm sure there are other ideas tumbling around in my head, but these will get me started.