Katherine Said:

Christian Light Education Homeschool Curriculum?

We Answered:

I absolutely love Christian Light!
It is books you order and study yourself. NONE of it is on the computer. By high school, the students can usually work it all out by themselves, but the parent may want to keep the quiz and test answers separate from the daily work answer keys, and do the checking on the quizzes and tests. If you sign up for Homeschool Plus, they will help you keep track of your courses and transcript, and can advise you about electives, and such as that.

Tina Said:

How do you create a structured literature/English homeschool curriculum for the high school grades?

We Answered:

Take a look at The Glencoe Literature Library. For each book you choose there is a study guide. The study guide might include such things as: Meet the Author, Introduction of the Novel, Focus Activity, Vocabulary Preview and Analyzing Literature. I've posted the link to their Great Expectation study guide as an example.

If you want some really serious studying try Open Culture. They provide links to free university level literature, and other, courses. Many universities, like MIT, now offer free open course ware (OCW). Do a Google search for "free university literature open course ware". You'll be surprised at how much is out there.

Good Luck!

Ernest Said:

where can I find free high school curriculum for homeschool?

We Answered:

Not sure about free. Some states have online charter schools and those are free. Otherwise, homeschool generally costs. You can find more reasonable prices for curriculum on ebay though.

Elizabeth Said:

If you leave high school mid-semester to homeschool even though you dont have your curriculum planned out yet.?

We Answered:

Dropping out is where you leave high school for the express purpose of being done with your education forever. Leaving high school (OMG! The unforgivable sin!) doesn't really constitute "dropping out."

Have you heard of the term "deschooling?" It's like recovering from a marathon. You've been running for a lot of years. Proponents of deschooling recommend taking a month off for every year you've been in school. Not everyone agrees with that, of course. Easy to say when you're yanking a first-grader...to take two months off. Not so easy (for parents especially!) to watch a Junior do no school for a year! :-) The point, though, is that a break is not only a fun thing, but a beneficial thing, too.
http://justenough.wordpress.com/2006/10/…

If you're truly homeschooling, and not relying on an outside authority to hold your hand, you call the shots. You decide when you're going to start. You decide when to leave the public school.

Do you know the homeschooling laws in your state? Each state gets to decide their education laws, so what works for you in Ohio is gonna change once you move to Georgia or for your buddy in Michigan. Local homeschool support groups are pretty good for this; they know the state laws well, and have insight as to how the local law enforcement views them; you may live in a place where homeschooling is well-accepted and pretty lenient, or your local superintendent may be on a power trip to see how much authority s/he thinks s/he has. These groups also keep up to date with changes in the laws, which is helpful. Try Googling your nearest metro city with the words “homeschool support” to find a few near you.

The next thing to realize is that there's a whole spectrum of what's called "homeschool." Some people sign up with an online version of public school; that’s really technically not “homeschool,” since you're counted as public school student and you’re assigned a teacher, a strict schedule, and predetermined workload as determined by the school district, etc. The dirty little secret here is that the district gets to keep the federal funds for you, as you’re a public school student this way. (Quite obviously, your school district will like this option best. Often when one queries the school as to the options available for “homeschool,” the school administrators will smile sweetly and mention just such an arrangement, conveniently omitting the rest of your options. This “lie by omission” quietly implies that this is the one and only way “homeschooling is done.” There’s a quite a debate in the homeschooling community about whether or not this constitutes an effort by the educational bureaucracy to redefine the meaning of homeschool, and what effect that would have on legislation and regulation of more traditional homeschool. But I digress.)

Other people may choose to buy materials from companies and enroll with online schools, but they're "independent" of the school districts, and they don't owe anyone a darned thing...their test scores (if any; few homeschoolers in the traditional sense are obligated to take state standardized tests) are their own business, as is the pace, order or depth at which they choose to go through the material.

Other people make up their own curriculum, based on their own personal criteria. Some states want you to keep a portfolio of material to prove you're doing something there at home, other states want you to submit your curriculum for the year for approval, others may require testing that could send you back to public or private school if you fall below a particular percentile...just in case. Again, depends on the state.

Still other people endorse what they call "unschooling," and they throw out all books and tests altogether and simply follow what interests them. (See the writings of John Holt, or Google "unschooling" for more on that theory of education.) A good book for anyone over 12 years old is “The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education,” by Grace Llewellyn. Here’s an excerpt:

"Did your guidance counselor ever tell you to consider quitting school? That you have other choices, quite beyond lifelong hamburger flipping or inner-city crack dealing? That legally you can find a way out of school, that once you're out you'll learn and grow better, faster, and more naturally than you ever did in school, that there are zillions of alternatives, that you can quit school and still go to A Good College and even have a Real Life in the Suburbs if you so desire? Just in case your counselor never told you these things, I'm going to. That's what this book is for."

Even if you don’t hold with what the author has to say, the point of view she has is dramatically different and can be a great springboard to help you get in touch with what you believe school and learning should be like. The book also outlines a very nice reference for curriculum, as well as chapters about dealing with your school, convincing your parents, and getting a social life. It's meant to be a very usable book.

As with many things, there’s a wide spectrum of “unschoolers,” as well. Many of them have a certain set of concepts they want their kids to get and don’t care HOW they get the information, while others take a much more laid-back approach and allow the student to set the list of concepts themselves...or not set one at all. All of these people will still consider themselves “unschoolers.”

Beverly Said:

A good homeschool curriculum for HIGH SCHOOL grade 10 that has HISTORY/READING/ENGLISH?

We Answered:

I have a friend who used http://www.americanschoolofcorr.com/

It's a correspondence school, so they send everything and then grade it. It has a very traditional curriculum.

Good luck :D

Debra Said:

What is a good homeschool curriculum for high school?

We Answered:

Tons of homeschool information can be found at this website:
http://onlinehomeschoolingportal.blogspo…