Respecting your Young Men

A while ago, a portion of one of my newsletters was plagiarized. I consulted my in-house "lawyer in training" - my son Alex. Every time I think of our interaction that day, it really warms my heart. On Sunday, during our "Love and Respect" Sunday School class, I think I finally realized why Alex's help was so important to me that day. He was protecting me - which was demonstrating that he loved me. In the book, it talks a lot about cycles, and how love LEADS TO respect, and respect LEADS TO love. So I started thinking about what I did to show my son respect that day. I think that the moment when I asked his opinion of the situation, adult to adult, was the moment that he knew I respected him.

We won't even think about all the times I completely *fail* at the love and respect cycle, but I did think it was interesting to see on situation in which it worked. I hope it will encourage you.



Blessings,

Lee

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Does General Science Count?

If your child is in 9th grade, and they take General Science, then in my opinion it's a high school credit - simply because your child is high school age. I figure that if a kid takes remedial anything in a public high school, they still put it on the transcript, right? Just label it "general science" so you're all above-board about it. If Physical Science was taken in 10th grade, then again it's a high school credit, and label it physical science. Biology and Chemistry are more obviously high school level.

One other detail. Most colleges need to see only three years of science, so if your child ends up with four years of science, you'll have a bonus year! (Yeah!) So if you want to, you can leave off 9th grade science, and say General Science 10, Bio 11, Chem 12. That's fine too. Whatever you choose isn't that significant. Colleges will often pick and choose which classes will fulfill their requirements. If you have more than enough science, they may not include it anyway. I view it like Driver's Education - just put it on the transcript and if the college wants to use it then they will, and if they don't, they won't.

By the way, the books don't really agree about credits like this - they all have a unique opinion on what is a credit and what isn't. I think you have the freedom to decide for yourself whether you want to call it a credit or not.

Blessings,

Lee

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Money Saving Timeline Idea

For a home-made timeline, I bought a roll of paper at an office supply store. It was a lot cheaper, and because the paper was in a roll I didn't have to tape regular printer paper sheets together. The rolled paper came in handy for some other homeschooling things as well. We used it for math games, and for creative writing story outlines. Sometimes I had the kids write the name of the book we were reading and put it on the timeline. They were really not much into drawing pictures (big surprise there,) so I would also often just print small images from the books we were reading, or off the internet and put those on the timeline.

Blessings,

Lee

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A Credit or Not A Credit? That is the Question.

Deciding how much theater makes up a high school credit can be tricky. The general concept for all courses is 5 hours a week for a full year of school, so you can calculate whether that's enough for a credit or for a half credit. There is no real "absolute" right and wrong answer. I really like right-and-wrong math questions, so I never felt really comfortable guessing on credit value. I always did the "5 hours per week" rule. If it's easier, you could add it up all the hours together to decide the credit value.

Most books say that 120-180 hours is a credit. Because sometimes performance week in theater can add an easy 40 hours, you may have an easier time just waiting until you have the total before you decide how many high school credits it's worth. Remember that colleges are only looking for 1 credit of fine arts; and fine arts are a combination of music, art, theater and dance. If you think it's enough, that's great. If not, consider other supplements to make up the difference.

Blessings,

Lee

Here''s more info on grades and credits.

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Left brain vs. Right brain: It's a no-brainer

It's kind of twisted, really. I just love science! I am a nurse, so I have a big science and math background. But I just love it! When we did microscope work, I would find myself going in to look at the microscope by myself! I'm just curious... you folks who don't like science, do you like art? Because I hate it! It is so messy, it would get my house so many crazy colors. My kids just didn't "get it" with art. And art takes so many materials! You have to buy so much stuff just to paint one thing!

We all have our weaknesses. I figure the things I don't like are the things I really have to force myself to teach. The things I do like I will easily remember to teach, probably more than is necessary! (You should see the extra stuff we would do with the microscope!)

Blessings,

Lee
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Fun with Maps!

My kids used to have so much fun making maps that I wanted to share an idea with you. We found this in the book "Make it Work Maps."



We used a topographical map - the kind with a line around every 1000 feet of elevation. We enlarged a section of the map. Then we traced the line patterns, one at a time, onto cardboard and cut it out. We glued the cardboard pieces we'd cut out onto a cardboard base as we cut them out. We stacked up the layers of cardboard until it made the mountains and valleys shown on the original map. Then we covered the whole thing with paper mache (newspaper and flour-water) and painted it with green hills, white snowcapped peaks, and blue rivers and lakes. It was tons of fun for the kids, and they got a real feel for topographical maps.

Blessings,

Lee
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Thinking about Community College?

This post focuses on dual-enrollment in Washington State (called "Running Start".) I think you will find some useful information here regardless of where you live.

Running Start is relatively easy to access as a homeschooler, even at a young age. 1) take the COMPASS test at the community college 2) take your transcript and COMPASS test results to the local high school and talk to the Running Start counselor there 3) they will sign a paper allowing you to access Running Start 4) take the paper into the community college admission department. It's pretty easy (more time consuming when kids are under 16, but still do-able.)

Advantages: Dual enrollment can provide college credit, which can save many thousands of dollars on a college degree. It can provide external documentation of a student's academic achievement, especially in difficult subjects like lab science and foreign language.

Drawbacks: Community colleges will often have lower academic standards than regular universities. Classes will be a mix of academically capable and academically struggling teens and adults. Teens are usually in the minority. "Public school" environment with former drop-outs and students of questionable character. "Adult learning environment" that is sometimes akin to watching an R-rated movie. Community colleges have told me to warn homeschoolers that their student population may include "adjudicated individuals" who have been through the court and prison systems.

If you are thinking about Running Start, I recommend using the "buddy system." One friend had great success by using just evening programs, rather than daytime classes and using the buddy system.

Blessings,

Lee
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Time to Panic?

I don't want you to feel like you "should" panic, but I want you to know that this is the time of year when most of my phone calls are panic - related. Parents are starting to think about grades and about what they will teach next year, and sometimes it get so overwhelming that they panic.

Panic is a normal, natural part of being a homeschool parent! Panic is good feedback - it says that you care enough to do a really good job. Panic can help you remember to evaluate your homeschool, and make changes if needed.

I had moments of panic. I sometimes cried at night. I sometimes worried about the most insignificant details! You're not alone, and one day you'll be done homeschooling and will finally realize how successful you were.

Relax. Evaluate your homeschool. Remind yourself that you are a "love-giver" and not just a "care-giver" and that can make all the difference!

Blessings,

Lee

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