Need HomeSchool Resource Help

5/3/02 | antares

[antaresequity]

HELP

I need some resources folks. I have finally won the approval of my ex-spouse to remove my son from Government school. He is enrolled in a private school for next fall.

My son is 15 years old and he cannot continue to go to the public school he is enrolled in right now. He has gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd, which he is now part of. I am pulling him immediatley from the public school for the rest of this year. Once he knew that he was going to a new school, he basically gave up trying.

We have been doing algerbra together for two months with a book that I selected and he is enjoying that tremendously. But I need an American History book and a suggested list of reading for him. Six or so decent books to start....

I am going to homeshool him through the rest of this year and every day during the summer so as to prepare him as best I can for next year.

Please help with any suggestions or websites...

SW

[Dog]

Homeschooling 101

[Stat-boy]

Since you are going to enroll him in a private school next year, I recommend that you call the school and ask for their curriculum and guidance. Get a set of books (and reading lists) that are being used by the class prior to the one in which he will start.

[xinga]

A good luck bump.

[lizma]

I use ABEKA.

[11th Earl of Mar]

Try vegsource.com

[RAT Patrol]

You may think this advice is weird but here goes: Math and English curriculum can differ quite a bit and the differences can matter a lot. Saxon Math is best, imo. I use Abeka language but the differences in that may not be as huge at your son's age so go with what interests him. On reading and history, SERIOUSLY, go with what interests him too. All that speed testing and stuff is mostly bunk. It gets in the way and your child will learn to hate reading. My 15 year old son is an avid reader. I've never been that picky and I don't torment him with book reports and "content" questions unless we are talking about composition. He loves it so much he absorbs it. His comprehension is better than mine actually. He remembers everything down to the smallest detail. Keep in mind I NEVER ask him to tell me. He just does because it's fun. This is SO key.

With science I've been experiementing. I am trying out some lab videos from abeka. When you have someone who loves to read, every subject is so much easier, so that is priority number one.

[EverOnward]

I used Alpha Omega out of Arizona which had/has very good workbooks. I used ABEKA for literature (wonderful!) and history. ABEKA's history has a definite slant and is somewhat bigoted, but overall good. I liked Alpha Omega's math workbooks MUCH better than ABEKA's.

[valkyrieanne]

Stat-boy's advice is good (post #3.) Call the private school and see if you can borrow or purchase some books and workbooks for him.

Also, get ahold of your state's homeschool law. Go to this website and find the page that has your state's law, and make sure that you follow it to the letter.

[dawn53]

If you want to combine American History and reading, check out the curriculum by Beautiful Feet. We use their courses, in fact did this one this year. If your kid loves to read it's a breeze because they don't complain about studying history.

Here's a synopsis of their course:

Beautiful Feet U.S.and World History Through Literature from the Civil War to Vietnam by Rea Berg. This one to two year course is designed for senior high school students. They will read classics such as Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Red Badge of Courage, Around the World in 80 Days, The Hiding Place, House of Sixty Fathers, The Silver Sword, The Jungle, and many more. The course also includes complete biographies of Robert E Lee, Stalin, Teddy Roosevelt, and other key figures of the period. $14.95*

You can purchase the guide and get the books needed from the library, or you can purchase the complete package from them and they provide the books (a little pricier this way, but you don't have to chase the books down.)

You can find them by doing a search engine search for Beautiful Feet Curriculum.

[KineticKitty]

BUMP

[backhoe]

I *think* I recall some sort of education links in the bump list... try:

Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register

[Slyfox]

The private school you are sending him to probably has a summer reading list. You might check with the history teacher at the new school. He probably won't need a textbook to read. You may be able to hand him some good biographies that will whet his appetite for the fall.

[lizma]

We're doing Geometry this summer. Never heard of Alpha Omega. I'll check them out. Thanks.

[cowgirlcutie]

My homeschooled daughter used Saxon math all through high school and we both found it easy to use and understand. She got through high school math alot easier than I did using the books that I had in public school.

[firewalk]

BTTT

[Diva Betsy Ross]

I would reccomend Paul Revere's ride by David Hacket Fischer for early American history . I reccomend this book for everything. It reads like a novel and is very informative. Good luck.

[Jakarta ex-pat]

For English, "Understanding and Using English Grammar." Betty Azar.

If he can conquer this book, The world is his!

[kcat]

hello! If your son likes to read, go to sonlight.com. They have literature based history as well as suggested reading for different levels. I also used Saxon math and found it was easy to teach from their books. There is science that looked interesting to me that I never used before I sent my son to school - apologia. I think I found them through a web site.

I agree with those who say that reading is so important. I would concentrate on reading and math. Good luck, don't be pushy and remember, he can study listening to music, laying out in the son, eating etc...no more school rules!!!!!!

[phd2b]

Good starting points for resources:

Homeschool Legal Defense Association
http://hslda.org/

and

Home Education Magazine
http://home-ed-magazine.com/