Assigning Grades for Homeschool High School Transcripts: Special Replay

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March 14, 2023 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Assigning Grades for Homeschool High School Transcripts.

Assigning Grades for High School Transcripts

Assigning Grades for Homeschool High School Transcripts

Homeschooling gets serious when our teens hit high school! No more simply learning for the love of learning. Rather, our high schoolers can still love learning but there must definitely be grades because there must also be a transcript!

Many of us homeschooling moms never assigned grades in elementary or middle school. We wanted our kids to learn to love education and not be pressured by grades. However, in homeschool high school, we need to doing some special training:

  • For perfectionistic teens on what a stopping point is. What is GOOD ENOUGH…and learn to stop there!
  • Also, for teens who do not care at all about grades: learning to discipline themselves. What is GOOD ENOUGH for them? (Then work on school assignments until reaching good enough.)
  • Us moms who are too soft or too hard on their teens how to stick to guidelines. Assigning grades helps both our teens and ourselves develop self-discipline!
    • Self-discipline is the key for successful grading.
    • AND self-discipline is a necessary life skill.

SO, grading is serious but it is also helpful! How can we homeschool moms manage grading homeschool high schoolers? In this episode, we share some thoughts about assigning grades for homeschool high schoolers.

Follow Sabrina’s Guideline: Good grading comes from goals

Good planning for your homeschool high schoolers helps you clarify goals (for high school overall and for each course). Clear goals make grading easier!

Make a formula that takes in the goals for each course for each student, including:

  • Effort
  • Mastery
  • Cooperation with peers (in a group class or co-op class)

Remember: You set the goals for your teens. There’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school- or to set goals for a course! If you would like suggestions: check out this episode of Homeschool Highschool Podcast where we discuss goals and grading of writing in high school.

BTW- One way to help set goals for each homeschool high school course is to create a course description. Course descriptions are brief but detailed descriptions of your homeschool high schoolers’ courses. There are lots of details on how to create course descriptions in this post.

Create a rubric for grading.

Rubrics can be enormously helpful when grading. Rubrics help homeschool parents know WHAT to grade. Not only that, but rubrics also help students know what is expected of them. Rubrics are adaptable to any different course or assignment. Start with your goals, then decide what and how to grade.

Explain the rubric to the homeschool high schoolers so that they know what is expected and what will be graded.

Use rubrics, especially in courses that include writing, projects or labs. (Also, avail your teen of the peer review process if you have a co-op class.)

  • In concrete courses like math, you simply need to explain the grading process.
    • % of grade that comes from tests
    • % of grade that comes from daily assignments
    • % of grade that comes from attitude
    • Explain to teens that they will experience *subjective points* occasionally in co-op classes and in college
  • Homeschool moms have the right to adapt rubrics in textbooks for their goals.

For more on rubrics, check out these posts:

For more on assigning grades for homeschool high schoolers, check out these posts:

Join Sabrina, Vicki and Kym for an informative chat about grading homeschool high schoolers.

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Holiday Social Skills for Teens: Special Replay

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December 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Holiday Social Skills for Teens: Special Replay.

Holiday Social Skills for Teens: Special Replay

Holiday Social Skills for Teens

Holidays bring church and homeschool parties, family get-togethers. Teens often feel awkward at these events. They are too young to be regarded as the “little kids” and not quite old enough to be considered “adults”. How does a teen handle being a teen at holiday events?

Sabrina, Vicki and Kym are sharing social skills tips for building for confidence and poise during the holidays (and afterwards)! Not only that, as teens learn and practice holiday social skills, they can count some hours as a life skills or life preparation elective! That is because all of life is education!

How to build social skills for teens during the holidays

Why are social skills during the holidays important? The skills teens can practice during holiday events are skills they will use in adulting, such as:

  • Social skills are needed at work events when they are starting their careers
  • They are useful in events where they will be meeting the families of a future “significant other”
  • Social events at churches, parties and other get togethers call for good social skills
  • For us introverts, social events happen, so social skills help us feel better

Skill #1: Help others feel welcome

Even if you are shy, find someone who is not being talked to. Smile, say “hi” and ask a question.

  • This means that planning ahead to memorize three or four questions you can ask people at the event.
  • If you can, try to circulate and talk to as many people in the room.
  • Even if you are not hosting the event, it is polite to at least greet each person (at least those who are not being talked to).

Vicki always told her kids that their role at an event is to be “facilitator”- that is, the one who facilitates folks feeling welcome at the event.

Skill #2: Have questions to ask different kinds of people

For grandparents, aunts and uncles, you can ask nostalgia-type questions, such as:

  • What was your favorite Christmas as a child
  • Do you remember any big Christmas disasters?
  • Ask, even if you have heard the stories before!
  • Also, ask questions that might tie-in to something they learned in their history course, such as:
    • Hey, Grandpa, we were learning about the Vietnam War in history. Could you tell me what being in the military at that time was like?

Your teens can collect these stories and pick one for a cool writing assignment: Holiday Family Narrative.

Skill #3: Sometimes you do not need questions you need a silly repartee

Some people communicate friendliness by teasing or silly “insults”. This kind of connecting can be uncomfortable for shy teens or for teens who are not used to this kind of silliness. If your teen will be exposed to this kind of humor, teach them to smile and shrug or practice a lighthearted insult back.

However, if your teen enjoys the silly insults but will be in a new group of people or relatives they do not see often, remind them that repartee is for close friends in most situations. Hold off until you can measure the personalities in the room.

Skill #4: Talk to the little ones

One of the best ways to make friends in new or infrequent social situations, is to get know the little kids in the room. If you get down on their level (sit on the floor or on a low chair so you are close to eye level). Then chat with them. Pretty soon you will have made friends with them (which makes them SO happy) AND it will often draw other big people over to join the conversation.

Skill #5: Bring a game

Have a simple card game or activity that several people can do together. When you are sharing an experience with someone (even if it is cheesy), the conversations come naturally. Then you have an automatic new friendship.

Skill #6: Help the host and hostess

Go to the folks in charge and ask:

  • What do you need carried or set up?
  • Is there something I can do to help?
  • What can I do to help out?

Being helpful is good for you AND gives you a break from the socializing. However, the shared experience of working together makes a good, friendly connection. (This is a powerful networking experience for adulting.)

Skill #7: For extraverts, how do you keep the conversations balanced

Some extraverts LOVE to talk (some are less talkative). For the talkers remember Kym’s rule of thumb:

Be an attentive talker AND an attentive listener.

Be an attentive talker AND an attentive listener.

Skill #8: Watch the non-verbals

Teach teens to watch non-verbals in others. They can learn by observing:

  • Does the fidgeting mean that Aunt Sally is irritated with Grandma’s embarrassing stories of her childhood?
  • How about staring off into space or rolling eyes when Grandpa launches into the same story he always tells?

This is good practice. When they watch others’ non-verbals during conversations, they can be more aware of non-verbals in their own conversations.

Skill #9: Practice active listening

Help teens learn active listening skills for when the relatives are telling them stories. Here are a few:

  • Show you are listening by nodding your head, saying “hmm” or repeating back part of the last thing they said
  • Make eye contact with the speaker on a regular basis

Skill #10: That’s really hard

When someone is complaining about how hard their life is. Try some non-committal things to say:

  • That’s really hard
  • I’ll say…
  • Man, that was something!

Skill #11: When dinner is called

When Grandma calls to say dinner is ready, empower teens to:

  • Stand up but wait
  • Let the older folks go to the dinner table next
  • Then let the little ones go next
  • If there is a buffet set up, ask if anyone needs help with the little one’s food
  • Do not hog any particular dish (make sure you only take a reasonable amount, even if you LOVE Grandma’s turnips)
  • Absolutely do not say, “Ewwww”…ever at dinner at someone else’s house

Skill #12: Use digital etiquette

Help teens to practice good manners. Although it might be irritating, older generations often do not understand that teens are not trying to be rude if they are on their phones. Practice, then, mercy towards the old folks.

  • Keep your digital devices in your pocket for most of the event. You can check it here or there, but do not spend extended time on it.
  • Be careful what you share on social media about the event.

If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.- Thumper 

When you talk to your teens ahead of time, you give your teens the self-confidence boosts they need. They will also be growing good adulting skills!

Join Sabrina, Vicki and Kym for real-life tips for social holiday skills for teens. (This post was originally aired at this link.)

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Transition Planning for Teens with Special Needs, Interview with Peggy Ployhar

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October 11, 2022 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Transition Planning for Teens with Special Needs, Interview with Peggy Ployhar.

Transition Planning for Teens with Special Needs, Interview with Peggy Ployhar.

Transition Planning for Teens with Special Needs, Interview with Peggy Ployhar

Our high schoolers are going to graduate one of these days, so let’s help them (and ourselves!) with being prepared for what happens next. Let’s talk about transition planning for our high schoolers!

Peggy Ployhar, with Sped Homeschool, is going to fill us in on what transition planning is and how to get started.

About Peggy Phar

Peggy Ployhar is the founder and CEO of Sped Homeschool, which stands for Special Education Homeschool. Her oldest was diagnosed on the autism spectrum when he was five and that opened the door for other educational opportunities the Ployhars had never even considered.

Peggy has been homeschooling for almost twenty years. Before forming Sped Homeschool, she worked for two different state organizations as their special needs consultants. She didn’t come into this by accident, though. She started her own homeschooling journey in similar situations and she’s now helping other families. So you can say it’s helping families and homeschool children who struggle that is really where her heart is!

What Is Transition Planning?

Transition planning is the process of making sure your child with special needs will have the necessary support when they “age out” of the school system.

There are just so many kids that struggle on so many different levels. And, having the experience of homeschooling her own children who all have had struggles in certain areas, and then her parents who have adopted ten children who have homeschooled on and off, Peggy understands the importance of transition planning.

It’s important to ask questions, such as Where are they going? and How do we bridge that gap?

And that’s what transition skills really are. Whether you have a student who struggles or not, that’s something we should all have in the back of our mind, along with having the answers to questions like, “Do they know how to do the laundry?” and “Do they know how to cook?”

In other words, transition skills are life skills.

How To Begin Transition Planning With Your Kids

If we are going to really face the facts that our kids are going to have to live life and do it well, how can we plan for transitioning not only our special needs kids but also all of our kids?

1. Evaluate where the gaps are they need to fill

The first thing you have to do is take a step back and really evaluate what you can fit in the next four years, or the remainder of the high school years, by looking ahead.

If you know your child is lacking in communication skills, for example, you know to introduce more learning opportunities that help strengthen these transition skills. If your kids aren’t great housekeepers, then start a game plan to make them better ones. See where their personal gaps are and then make a plan to fill those gaps.

2. Set goals for those gaps

Once you’ve identified what those learning gaps are, set goals to strengthen these gaps. Consider where you want your child to be and talk to your kids about what their goals are for themselves. Many kids will not really know exactly what they want to do, but it is good to think about it and consider the options. Even trying their hand at a few different subject areas is good for them to discover their likes and dislikes in order to plan properly for the future.

3. Introduce transition skills in their experiences – not only academics

Be sure to do this also for life skills, not only academics. These other transition skills can be cognitive skills, emotional skills, communication skills, life skills, social skills, physical skills, and so on. Find an activity or something helpful that your child can do on a regular basis where they will continue to work on those skills.

They can take co-op classes, join a club, and explore different extracurricular activities. Encourage your child to just try something different that will fill these gaps. You never know where these different activities or classes will take your child!

For example, Peggy’s son originally wanted to go into the military. Because of this, they directed a lot of their studies around the beginning of his first year of high school.

But then the next year, he decided he wanted to be an underwater welder. And even though that took a whole different spin on their classes, they aimed to study more about that.

And then for the following year, he decided he just wanted to go to welding school first before he did underwater welding. And he did that, for three years, until one day he woke up and decided he didn’t want to do it anymore.

And now? At the end of the semester, he is graduating with a degree in biomedical engineering. How’s that for a change?

What If Plans Change?

If your child, like Peggy’s son, decides to go a different route, that’s totally okay. You tweak, and you change as the kids figure out what they want to do. When you’re looking at transition planning and looking at the high school years, learn how to embrace the bigger picture.

Get the bigger picture in your head and review it on a constant basis. Finish half of the school year or a semester, and then take an evaluation. Is my child still wanting to do this? The great thing about high school students are the opportunities to have wonderful life conversations with them.

When the plans do change, be flexible enough with your homeschooling to let them know the direction they’re homeschooling is going. Help them understand if something isn’t moving them toward their new goals. You can still count the work you’ve done as half a credit, but it’s better to head in the right direction now versus getting to the end of the year knowing it wasn’t helping serve the overall goals.

And if you do change plans mid-year, you will still have notable work to put down on your child’s transcript. So, it’s never a waste of time.

Final Tips For Transition Planning

One thing we often do not think about is communication skills because they kind of go off our radar. But yet employers say that communication skills are the biggest thing they are looking for in employees.

We do not have to have a formal education plan to develop communication skills. We need to put our children in various situations that require them to communicate. And communication is verbal, nonverbal, body language, and written. (Check out these HSHSP episodes on job hunting and interview skills. Also, this post on first-day-on-the-job skills.)

Communication is probably one of the most important things we should be focusing on and just having normal, everyday conversations. There are several things we can absorb and do in our homeschool life to help build those communication skills, and it doesn’t have to look like a classroom or a course to do.

Other ways to help build communication skills:

  • Listening to audiobooks
  • Learning correct grammar through hearing
  • Making videos and podcasts
  • Making videos or podcasts

The more you do these things, the more you learn to control what you say and to think about it before you say it.

Peggy also shares tips for homeschooling high school in this Homeschool Highschool Podcast episode.

About Sped Homeschool

Sped Homeschool was formed in 2017 after taking a look around and deciding that there are a lot of organizations that have little help available for special needs kids. Their website is full of resources, partner organizations, and interviews, with an interview showing every Tuesday night live. Also, they are now broadcasting on Facebook and YouTube all at the same time with the primary goal of the interviews to empower parents to be able to make this journey successful.

BTW- Thanks to Richie Soares for transcription work. She is awesome and so is her website: Homeschool and Humor. Check it out!

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Unlocking Math Success for Homeschool High Schoolers, Interview with the Blackwoods

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May 17, 2022 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Unlocking Math Success for Homeschool High Schoolers, Interview with the Blackwoods.

Unlocking Math Success for Homeschool High Schoolers, Interview with the Blackwoods

Unlocking Math Success for Homeschool High Schoolers, Interview with the Blackwoods

Many teens do not know that they can like math. In fact, they think they are supposed to hate math. This makes learning high school level math difficult. That is why we were so excited when we met the Blackwoods of Unlock Math! They have found ways to help teens unlock math success…and even like math!

Vicki met the Blackwoods online in the It’s Not That Hard to Homeschool High School Facebook group. (You should join that group, as well as 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group because there are so many folks there who are there to support homeschooling parents…and besides, it’s fun!) Unlock Math was sponsoring the group that month and Vicki was impressed with their neighborliness and their user-friendly curriculum. (As you know, we 7Sisters are all about user-friendly curriculum!)

Matthew and Alesia Blackwood teach teens how to like math at UnlockMath.com.

As you know, each state has different requirements for high school graduation. However, many states require at least three credits of Math. They usually include:

  • Algebra
  • Algebra II
  • Geometry

However, you also know that there’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school, so teens may need to count other courses as part of their math credits. For instance, if a high schooler has special needs they might need:

  • Math Foundations
  • Practical Math
  • Pre-Algebra

On the other hand, if teens are college bound, they might need to add extra math courses like:

  • Pre-calculus
  • Calculus
  • Statistics

The Blackwoods are here to help!

Alesia and Matthew are both second generation homeschoolers, so they started talking about homeschooling before they were married.

Thus, they have been homeschooling their kids since they were born. One of the most important gifts they gave their kids, was to make math part of life and fun.

Alesia’s love of math started in her childhood. Also, she always wanted to be a teacher. As a high schooler she volunteered helping teach kids with special needs. Even when she thought briefly in college about being an engineer, her engineering professor suggested that she become a teacher- that her gifting for teaching was evident!

Alesia became a high school math teacher: from special needs through gifted. She helping teens enjoy getting from where they were to where they needed to be in their math skills.

After starting to homeschool their own children, Matthew and Alesia started Unlock Math to teach math in the ways that actually help teens learn and like math. They believe in a step-by-step, understandable way. They concentrate on helping teens truly know that they CAN do math.

Unlock Math really got started when Matthew and Alesia were a young married couple. Matthew would sometimes drop by her classes and was astonished at how engaged and excited her students were in Alesia’s math classes. He said, “I wish we could bottle your teaching and share with others.” And then came the opportunity to start a website!

What is special about Unlock Math?

Now, homeschool high schoolers can learn math in Unlock Math’s multi-sensory platform with virtual manipulatives and lots with of confidence-building practice and support. They learn in bite-sized chunks in a not-overwhelming process that helps them feel empowered to keep working and learning. They also make sure that they provide detailed solutions to questions so that teens can truly learn from their math lessons.

Not only that, but Matthew and Alesia make themselves available for personal online chat, emails or phone calls if a student gets stuck with a concept!

Unlock Math covers:

  • Math Foundations
  • Pre-Algebra
  • Algebra
  • Algebra II
  • Geometry
  • Pre-Calculus

They have found that as teens feel more confidence in their high-school level maths, they are less stressed (and more positive) in other areas.

Would your teens like to try Unlock Math? Click here for a free fourteen-day trial!

BTW- We have also interviewed Mr D Math and David Irving with College Ready Math. And don’t forget that one important math for all homeschool high schoolers is Financial Literacy- and, shameless plug, teens love learning true life-preparation, financial math skills in our interactive course.

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Taking Gap Year after Graduation, Interview with Jonathan Brush

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May 18, 2021 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Taking Gap Year after Graduation, Interview with Jonathan Brush.

Taking Gap Year after Graduation, Interview with Jonathan Brush

Taking Gap Year after Graduation, Interview with Jonathan Brush

Gap years are becoming a more and more popular idea. Our new friend, Jonathan Brush, offered to talk about this concept with us.

Jonathan Brush is president and CEO of Unbound, an organization that develops young Christian leaders, and Ascend, a gap-year program. Jonathan himself is a homeschool graduate and homeschools his kids. Two of those have graduated, one is in high school, with more to follow. He’s “been there and has been there”!

Jonathan was a pioneer as a homeschooler: he was the first homeschool graduate to attend his college. Then he went on to work for the college as director of admissions for eleven years. Then he worked for several year for College Plus (some of us old timers remember those early days of online college opportunities). College Plus became Unbound and is thriving in the new format!

Jonathan Brush BeUnbound.com

Jonathan Brush Photo used with permission

Unbound’s Ascend gap-year program is timely. With the expense of college, it is wise to have future plans sorted out at least somewhat before they launch into that commitment. Jonathan points out that high schoolers are expected to have answers for questions about the future that they don’t even know how to ask yet: What’s your future career? What’s your major? (With the implication that if they don’t know the answers, they are sunk.)

This is not not the best way to handle career decision making. Teens often can’t know their future yet, because the job market is so ever-changing that there will be careers in a few years that don’t even exist now.

Gap year is a logical response to this. Gap year is a great way to stop and move from an “I have to have the answers paradigm” to an “I am asking questions” paradigm. Let me ask questions and move through a process of growth and discovery. Gap years give teens an opportunity for that.

Jonathan also points out that higher education has changed over the last few years. Traditionally, teens went immediately to college, lived in dorms, graduated in four years. These days, there are so many formats and timelines for college, that young people have choices that best fits their needs. Delaying one year will not negatively impact homeschool graduates.

Some questions homeschool high schoolers can ask about gap year:

If your homeschool graduate would like to take a gap year, use the time to move through this list of questions.

  • Do I need a college degree?
    • If I can’t immediately answer “yes”, then don’t start getting one yet. If you answer “no”, don’t get guilted or pressured into tackling a college degree. You can always get a degree later if you find it is necessary.
  • How can I begin an exercise of curiosity and answer these questions:
    • What would I like to learn about?
    • What kinds of things to I want to do?
    • What’s the best way to do that?
  • Gap years can be years of travel, study, work, missions, exploration (or programs like Ascend).

Gap year is an intentional process of discovery!- Jonathan Brush on Homeschool Highschool Podcast

The key for a successful gap year is to be deliberate!

Keep working on clarifying the questions you want to ask and follow up with plans for exploration.

Here’s a plan:

Use a “deciding forward” model.

This is a simple way to learn into exploration and decision making.

  • Step 1: Decide on a goal, not a fancy goal, just something simple that can be measured as success (it can be a small success goal or a larger success goal.)
  • Step 2: Decide on a first step and carry it out
  • Step 3: Lock in your learning: Reflect on what you learned in that first step
  • Step 4: Decide if you want to keep on pursuing this goal or change goals (this is the purpose of gap year- exploration! Deciding not to pursue something is as important as deciding to pursue something.)
  • Step 5: Decide on a new goal or a new next step. Keep moving!

Some things homeschool graduates have done for gap year:

  • Travel or take a trek
  • Earn some general education or exploring-interests college credits
  • Make some money and learn to manage money well
  • Explore careers of different kinds
  • Ministry, volunteer work or missions
  • Unbound program

Just remember to live deliberately! Think about what you want to do next. Follow the process and repeat as often as necessary. It is a way to intentionally live forward.

Gap year is an intentional process of discovery!

What is the role of parents in gap years?

Use a coaching model:

Keep asking the questions of the above model with your gap year homeschool graduates. (Don’t give answers, rather, help them think through their own answers. Keep asking questions.)

Unbound organization

Unbound is a projects-based education company. There’s a place for hard-core academics but not for all students. Jonathan has found that many young people need real skills more than they need the on-campus college degree. Students at Unbound work on real projects that really prepare them for the workforce. They also work on team projects to gain the team-member skills necessary for today’s job market. Teens work on leadership roles in various team capacities as well. Graduates of Unbound earn a certification as well as employable skills.

Unbound is a mostly online program. There are three live events (all expenses are paid to go to the events) as well. This is a variable-length program (one-three years).

There is also opportunity to work on transferrable college credit for those who want or need this.

There are networking and employment opportunities at “graduation” from the program.

This makes a phenomenal gap year program.

You can find Jonathan Brush on Facebook, Instagram, the Be Unbound podcast and his Unbound Youtube Channel.

Join Vicki and Jonathan for an enlightening discussion on gap years.

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  6. Thanks!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE VIA iPHONE

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Taking Gap Year after Graduation, Interview with Jonathan Brush

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HSHSP Ep 154: Astronomy for Homeschool High School, Interview with Luke Gilkerson

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
March 26, 2019 by Leave a Comment

This week on HSHSP Ep 154: Astronomy for Homeschool High School, Interview with Luke Gilkerson.

HSHSP Ep 154: Astronomy for Homeschool High School. Luke Gilkerson of Experience Astronomy shares the benefits when studying Astronomy as homeschool science. #HomeschoolHighSchool #HomeschoolScience #AstronomyForHomeschoolHighSchool

HSHSP Ep 154: Astronomy for Homeschool High School, Interview with Luke Gilkerson

Homeschool high schoolers need lots of science on their transcripts. This includes Biology and Chemistry but they will also need 1 or 2 other sciences, according to their post-graduation goals. Many teens can really benefit from including Astronomy as one of those sciences.

Photo of Luke and wife, Trisha, used by permission.

Join us for an interview with Luke Gilkerson, of Experience Astronomy, as he explains the benefits of studying Astronomy:

  • Astronomy can be a whole-family project. It can be adapted for all ages.
  • Astronomy is real life! All you have to do is go outside and look at the sky (although, there is so much more teens can engage so that they get a meaningful Astronomy credit for the transcript).
  • Astronomy gives students a time to wonder at the glory of God. The feeling of awe that the night sky inspires is good for body and soul.
  • Astronomy is a lab science! It is available right out the door. (In fact, with Luke’s course, you don’t even need a telescope.)
  • Astronomy can be a science or an elective. Adapt it to either need on the transcript.
  • Astronomy could also be adapted as a history credit. Astronomy is historical. In the old days, the sky was people’s calendar and clock. Their lives were guided by it, so of course it became the source of some of their legends and myths.

Experience Astronomy (elementary or high school levels). High school level is 120-180 hours of work, taught by Luke recorded and online and live online, with integrated history and culture. The most important component is the *field portion* where students learn to read the sky like a map and record field notes and drawings. The course includes hands-on projects and some papers. It is a robust course for the homeschool transcript!

Study Astronomy with your family. Homeschool high schoolers can record a robust and meaningful credit. #HomeschoolHighSchoolPodcast

Join Vicki and Luke Gilkerson for our discussion of Astronomy. Check out Experience Astronomy’s courses (and their Biology class that is designed as a CLEP preparation course, too).

And you’ll also enjoy our Homeschool Highschool Podcast Episode on Science for Non-Science Majors.

You’ll also enjoy these posts.

Writing Papers for History or Science? Here’s a Simple Rubric for Grading

How to Homeschool High School Science: You Can Do It!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HSHSP VIA COMPUTER

  1. Follow this link to our iTunes page.
  2. IMPORTANT STEP: Under our Homeschool Highschool Podcast logo, click on View in iTunes
  3. This will take you to iTunes and our own podcast page.
  4. Click SUBSCRIBE.
  5. Click RATINGS AND REVIEW. (Please take a minute and do this. It helps others find us. Thanks!)
  6. Thanks!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE VIA iPHONE

  1. Tap the purple Podcast icon on your phone
  2. Tap the search icon on the bottom-right of your screen
  3. In the search bar type: Homeschool Highschool Podcast
  4. Tap the Homeschool Highschool Podcast icon
  5. Tap *Subscribe*
  6. Please tap *Ratings and Review* and give us some stars and a comment to help others find us more easily.
  7. Thanks!

HSHSP Ep 154: Astronomy for Homeschool High School, Interview with Luke Gilkerson

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HSHSP Ep 105: Digital Learning Options for Homeschool Highschool

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
April 10, 2018 by Leave a Comment

This week on HSHSP Ep 105: Digital Learning Options for Homeschool Highschool.

HSHSP Ep 105: Digital Learning Options for Homeschool Highschool

HSHSP Ep 105: Digital Learning Options for Homeschool Highschool

Why use digital learning with your homeschool highschoolers?

  • It’s cool!
  • It’s available!

We can use digital resources because these days, in homeschool high school, parents are not teachers as much as they are resource managers. We gather the best resources we can get and make them available to our teens, so that they can learn. We provide:

  • Safety net if they need help
  • Check ins
  • Accountability
  • Usually, grading and credit-assignment

Digital Textbooks (like 7SistersHomeschool.com’s curriculum)

7Sisters provides curriculum in:

All of 7Sisters’ curriculum:

  • Is editable (btw- if you have an old uneditable version of a 7Sisters textbook and would like to update to editable, contact us at info@7SistersHomeschool.com for a FREE update)
  • Is readable on tablets or laptops, desktops OR
  • Can be printed out
  • Can be saved on the various devices if you have several teens using it and mom can grade on her device

We also have our very popular, truly interactive courses like 7Sisters’ Financial Literacy from a Christian Perspective, that includes google research and online simulations, creating their own budgets and financial planning,

Online classes (we are not affiliates for any of these, btw). Live or recorded. Here are a few:

Need help grading? There are resources like:

  • Grammarly.com
  • or hire tutors if you don’t feel competent

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). These are awesome courses from universities like MIT, UC Berkeley and more.

Teens don’t usually get course credit, so they should log hours. Some will grade and score if you pay a little. Here are a couple of them the providers:

  • EdX
  • Coursera

Through companies like Audible:

  • Great Courses (Teaching Company) (Be sure to log hours to earn the credit)

Dual Credit online from local college

Be sure your homeschool highschoolers are ready to do college-level work (at a college pace) because their grade stays with them through the rest of their college years.

  • Some courses transfer and some don’t. Ask the college that your teens will be transferring to. Remember: Ask questions!

Join Sabrina and Vicki for a fun chat about digital learning. In the meantime, check out these posts:

Interactive Financial Literacy Course: Why it is Awesome & How to Use it

Homeschool Highschool Podcast Ep 80: Highschool Math for Math-Impaired Moms

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HSHSP VIA COMPUTER

  1. Follow this link to our iTunes page.
  2. IMPORTANT STEP: Under our Homeschool Highschool Podcast logo, click on View in iTunes
  3. This will take you to iTunes and our own podcast page.
  4. Click SUBSCRIBE.
  5. Click RATINGS AND REVIEW. (Please take a minute and do this. It helps others find us. Thanks!)
  6. Thanks!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE VIA iPHONE

  1. Tap the purple Podcast icon on your phone
  2. Tap the search icon on the bottom-right of your screen
  3. In the search bar type: Homeschool Highschool Podcast
  4. Tap the Homeschool Highschool Podcast icon
  5. Tap *Subscribe*
  6. Please tap *Ratings and Review* and give us some stars and a comment to help others find us more easily.
  7. Thanks!

 

HSHSP Ep 105: Digital Learning Options for Homeschool Highschool

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We’d like to thank our Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network sponsor, Like Arrows!

FamilyLife’s first feature film LIKE ARROWS, explores the joys and heartaches of parenting with a story that spans over 50 years. Join us in theaters across America for a special 2 night showing of LIKE ARROWS followed by exclusive after-show content with the film-makers, including celebrated faith-based film-makers Alex and Stephen Kendrick as well as FamilyLife Today’s Dennis and Barbara Rainey and Bob Lepine. You’ll leave encouraged and equipped with powerful next steps to make Christ the center of YOUR parenting.

LIKE ARROWS will be in theaters for two nights only, MAY 1ST and 3RD. To view the trailer and find theater info, visit the link below. If you missed the movie in theatres be sure to check out the Digital, DVD and Blueray versions on the website, LikeArrowsMovie.com

Visit here to learn more.

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HSHSP Ep 98: Assigning Grades for Homeschool Highschool Transcripts

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
February 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment

This week on HSHSP Ep 98: Assigning Grades for Homeschool Highschool Transcripts.

HSHSP Ep 98: Assigning Grades for Homeschool Highschool Transcripts

HSHSP Ep 98: Assigning Grades for Homeschool Highschool Transcripts

Many of us homeschooling moms never assigned grades in elementary or middle school. We wanted our kids to learn to love education and not be pressured by grades.

But in homeschool highschool, we need to

  • Training perfectionistic teens on what a stopping point is. What is GOOD ENOUGH.
  • Training kids who don’t care at all about grades to discipline themselves. What is GOOD ENOUGH for them?
  • Training moms who are too soft or too hard on their teens how to stick to guidelines.

Self-discipline is the key for successful grading. AND self-discipline is a necessary life skill.

How can we homeschool moms manage grading homeschool highschoolers?

Follow Sabrina’s Guideline: Good grading comes from goals.

Set goals for each course. Make a formula that takes in the goals for each course for each student, including:

  • Effort
  • Mastery
  • Cooperation with peers (in a group class or co-op class)

Create a rubric for grading. Explain the rubric to the homeschool highschoolers so that they know what is expected and what will be graded.

  • Use rubrics, especially in courses that include writing, projects or labs. (Also, avail your teen of the peer review process if you have a co-op class.)
  • In concrete courses like math, you simply need to explain the grading process.
    • % of grade that comes from tests
    • % of grade that comes from daily assignments
    • % of grade that comes from attitude
    • Explain to teens that they will experience *subjective points* occasionally in co-op classes and in college
  • Homeschool moms have the right to adapt rubrics in textbooks for their goals.

Join Sabrina, Vicki and Kym for an informative chat about grading homeschool highschoolers. In the meantime, have a look at these helpful posts:

 

3 Ways to Assign Grades in Homeschool High School

2 Practical Ways to Figure GPA on the Homeschool Transcript

Writing Papers for History or Science? Here’s a Simple Rubric for Grading

What’s a Rubric and Why Homeschool Moms Should Use One

HSHSP Ep 98: Assigning Grades for Homeschool Highschool Transcripts

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HSHSP Ep 94: Choosing College Degrees Interview with Dr. Renae Duncan

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
January 23, 2018 by Leave a Comment

This week on HSHSP Ep 94: Choosing College Degrees Interview with Dr. Renae Duncan.

HSHSP Ep 94: Choosing College Degrees Interview with Dr. Renae Duncan

HSHSP Ep 94: Choosing College Degrees Interview with Dr. Renae Duncan

How do you help your teen know what kind of college degree they need in order to achieve their goals? That’s an important question!

Join us for an interview with Dr. Renae Duncan, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education at Murray State University. Dr. Duncan has been helping young people along their college journey for many years and can give us some useful tips in understanding the many college degrees that are available.

Dr. Renae Duncan Associate Provost of Undergraduate Affairs Murray State University

Click image for more information about Dr. Duncan and MSU.

Vicki and Renae discuss topic such as:

What’s the difference between?

  • Associates of Arts (differ from 4 year degrees in the numbers of maths and sciences)
  • Bachelor of Arts Degree (often more foreign languages and general education in the degree than BS)
  • Bachelor of Science

Other specialized degrees will vary from college to college, such as:

  • Bachelor of Social Work
  • Bachelor in Nursing
  • Bachelor in Music
  • Bachelor in Fine Arts

What is a Liberal Arts degree? Why can that be better than a straight STEM degree, even if you’re a science major?

  • Why are degrees that promote thinking skills and soft skills valuable in today’s workforce?
  • Remember the college major provides skills for a career specialty but the General Education requirements provides the employability skills.

Here are tips for choosing which degree is best for your homeschool high schooler:

  • Do Career Exploration. No way around it! A comprehensive Career Exploration course will help a teen clarify values, needs, giftings, interests and callings. These are determining factors in choosing which major AND which degree is a best fit.
  • Take college tours: Ask questions like: Why is your BA program better than others? What makes your program BA or BS? There is no substitution for walking onto a campus and talking to the staff there- person to person.
  • Talk to some students or graduates from each college you visit. Ask their opinions on the degree offered.

To sum it all up: What is the best major? The one that fits your goals for life!

Join Dr. Renae Duncan, Associate Provost of Murray State University and Vicki for this enlightening conversation. In the meantime, enjoy these posts.

Why Waste High School Credits on Career Exploration?

 

Homeschool-Friendly College: Murray State University

How to Help Teens Choose a College Major

HSHSP Ep 94: Choosing College Degrees Interview with Dr. Renae Duncan

 

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HSHSP Ep 93: How to Start a Homeschool Organization Interview with Carol Topp CPA

A Production of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
January 16, 2018 by Leave a Comment

This week on HSHSP Ep 93: How to Start a Homeschool Organization, Interview with Carol Topp CPA.

HSHSP Ep 93: How to Start a Homeschool Organization Interview with Carol Topp CPA

 

HSHSP Ep 93: How to Start a Homeschool Organization,  Interview with Carol Topp CPA

Homeschool parents are movers and shakers! If they need something, or their kids need something, and it is not available, they make it happen! Homeschoolers often start organizations: co-ops, support groups and more.

BUT here’s her rub: When we take money for services, we’ve started a business, whether we like it or not.

How do we know when we have a business or a non-profit? We go to the experts! Our favorite expert is Carol Topp, the Homeschool CPA.

Carol joins Vicki for tips about starting organizations in a wise and responsible manner. She helps us understand important concepts such as:

  • What is an organization
  • Understanding its operation
  • Creating non-profit status, if you need it
  • Creating a for-profit status, if you need it
  • Forming a board
  • Creating bylaws
  • Communicating with the IRS

Carol gives us her Checklist for Starting a Non-profit Homeschool Organization:

  • Gather a board
  • Appoint officers
  • Create a binder to keep track of records
  • Create bylaws
  • Choose a structure (unincorporated or incorporated)
  • Obtain your EIN from IRS
  • Open a checking account
  • Get tax exempt status from IRS
  • Communicate with the state
  • Send in annual forms to IRS

Feel intimidated? You should probably get in touch with Carol. SHE’S intimidating. (She has great resources, too!) 

In the meantime, catch her podcast here on the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network.

HSHSP Ep 93: How to Start a Homeschool Organization,  Interview with Carol Topp CPA

 

 

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