Homeschooling High School Archives

Ever wonder if you can learn languages on your own?

July 23, 2018 by Susan

I was compensated for my time reviewing this product/service, writing this review, and hosting the giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own.

What do you do when your child wants to learn a language that you don’t know, and there aren’t any convenient and affordable classes nearby?

We dipped our toes into a number of different languages in our homeschooling. Over the years the boys tried Spanish, Greek, Russian and French. I learned quickly that trying to learn a language, even at an introductory level, without a teacher who knows that language is not super productive.

I knew Spanish well and had studied Russian a bit. And not surprisingly, those two courses went so much better than the ones I didn’t know. We even used a computer program for one course and it was terribly confusing and not intuitive at all.

So when my youngest expressed an interest in learning Japanese, I was kind of at a loss. Japanese?

No prep. No busy work. No Kidding. Homeschoolers, this is the high school literature curriculum you’ve been looking for.

June 25, 2018 by Susan

I was compensated for my time in writing this review. As always, all opinions are genuinely my own.

One of the best parts of homeschooling is that you can do what works for your family. But what about when what works for you as a teacher doesn’t necessarily work for your kids as students?

As hard as it is, moms, this is when we need to defer to their learning style above our own.

I looooved English classes in high school. Exploring different kinds of literature, short stories, poetry, writing…swoon. My two boys gag at the sight of a poem. One enjoys reading, one endures it, but neither would pick many of the novels that they are assigned.

When it comes to literature studies, finding something that works for both them and me was challenging. But I did it!

6 reasons to do your CLEP test prep with Study.com

February 26, 2018 by Susan

I was compensated for my time in writing this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

Do you have things in your life that you just can’t shut up about? Yeah, CLEP testing is one of those things for me. I was sitting in the waiting room waiting for an oil change recently and found myself telling someone about earning college credit by exam.

Earning credits like this has made a gigantic difference in the way we homeschool high school and are doing college. So when I discovered Study.com’s CLEP test prep product, I was a little ga-ga.

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

April 10, 2017 by Susan

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

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

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.”