Homeschooling High School Archives

Finally, Online Math that Works: A Review of Mr. D. Math

April 10, 2017 by Susan 2 Comments

Do you have a favorite teacher? What about a least favorite? A good teacher can make a difficult subject make sense and a bad teacher can make you hate even your favorite subject. Am I right??

My College Algebra teacher was t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e. He used to talk about how math was like a banana hanging from the ceiling, and we were all gorillas trying to reach it. He said he was going to push a chair under the banana for us. What?! Yeah, that was my reaction too. That story is the only thing I remember from his class.

We’ve been using a new math curriculum that I love, and my math-gifted-but-non-math-loving son “likes better than anything else” we’ve used. (It is still math, after all). And his reason why?

The teacher.

Paradigm Accelerated: Principles & Precepts of Economics Review

March 20, 2017 by Susan Leave a Comment

I have always said that one of the very best things about homeschooling is that you can do what works for you and your kids. One thing I’ve learned in teaching two boys who learn differently than I do: It’s my job to find what works for them.

That’s what we do as homeschool parents. We think about how our kids learn, try different things, and soon we start to see a pattern of what works and what doesn’t.

With that in mind, I’d like to tell you about an economics curriculum that I’ve had the pleasure to review and help you determine if it would be a good fit for your family.

Fact or Fraud: 4 Common Science Textbook Errors

September 19, 2016 by Susan 6 Comments

If your child’s textbook taught that bloodletting, heroin, and mercury were effective medical treatments, I imagine you’d take issue with that. After all, those practices were proven false long ago. Well, did you know that science textbooks from elementary school through college continue to print “facts” that were patently proven false (by mainstream science) decades ago.

Several years ago, my husband began studying evolution and the age of the earth with a critical eye. Since then he’s travelled to a number of states to present at camps, churches, and a Bible College. For Christians, he presents solid Biblical evidence. He also provides ample scientific evidence that is easy to understand that proves that evolution, besides being mathematically impossible, is wrought with lies and deception.

So let’s dig in to determine fact or fraud. I know some of these examples will look familiar to you…get ready for (as Paul Harvey used to say), “The rest of the story.”

7 Honest Homeschool Math Curriculum Reviews

July 11, 2016 by Susan 4 Comments

The ultimate review collection. Reviews of 7 math curriculum choices we’ve tried…and the one we wish we’d have discovered first!

$One of the best things about homeschooling is being able to find a curriculum that "fits" your student. We've used a variety of math curriculum over the years. Here are my reviews of all of them!$

When we started homeschooling, the one thing my kids asked was that we not use Saxon Math curriculum. The charter school they had attended used it and it was not their favorite.

Let me say clearly…I know lots of homeschool families that use and LOVE Saxon. It’s just not a good fit for us.

One of the very best things about homeschooling is that you can pick and choose what will work for your family. And if something doesn’t work…you can try something else!

Math Curriculum

With math, we have used a number of different curriculums (I know “curricula” is the correct plural, but it sounds funny, so I don’t say it).

When I was looking for things to try, I loved reading about other people’s experiences. So today, I thought I’d share ours. Each one of these had pros and cons, things we liked and things we didn’t. You can click on the images to read more about each curriculum.

Free Videos for Your Homeschool

May 19, 2016 by Susan 2 Comments

One of the best things about homeschooling is that you can use a wide variety of resources. It’s also the ideal in that you’re able to cater curriculum to the learning style of your student.

I am a self-declared curriculum junkie and find myself often talking about things we’ve used. I wrote recently about a resource we used for spelling/vocabulary that we really loved, as well as a human development course that I would recommend, and a number of resources that we’ve used to prepare for credit by exam (CLEP/DSST tests).

I really like telling people about what has worked for us. Because not everything has. And I especially like talking about free resources!

We’ve used these free videos in a variety of subjects.

Spelling Wisdom

May 11, 2016 by Susan 1 Comment

While we never really subscribed to any one philosophy of homeschooling, the closest we got would have to be the Charlotte Mason method. I was always drawn to her belief in educating the whole child through discipline and exposure to art, music, nature and great writing.

My boys had a heavy phonics background in their time at the local charter school they attended. My eldest finished fifth grade and my younger third when we decided to homeschool. They were both strong spellers.

So when we began homeschooling, I was looking for a spelling program that built on the foundation they had.

What we landed on was Spelling Wisdom by Simply Charlotte Mason. We used the downloadable version, and only printed what we needed.

As described on their website: