Showing posts with label Homeschool Help. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Homeschool Help. Show all posts

College Credit Through CLEP Exams

Homeschooled kids often get a head start by earning college credits while still in high school. Since my oldest is 14 and very advanced in math I've spent several months researching this topic. Today many options are available for earning college credit thereby greatly reducing the cost of a college degree.

Here are three main ways to earn credit.

1.Testing
AP, CLEP and DSST are three different types of tests which can be taken and are accepted by universities. AP, or advanced placement exams are commonly offered by high schools which teach advanced classes such as calculus, English and history. CLEP exams cover many subjects typically taught during the first year of college such as American Literature, Foreign Language, Economics, Chemistry, Humanities, and Calculus. DSST exams tend to cover topics more typically gained through on the job experience such as business and computing.

Most undergraduate programs accept around one years worth of credits, or 32 credits total. They pick and choose which credits from exams they will accept. Sometimes they change their policies, and not all universities accept the same exams. That being said, passing a foreign language exam can earn potential undergraduates a whopping 12 credits. Passing most other exams result in 3 to 6 credits depending on the exam and score. Many universities like to limit the amount of credits accepted by testing to ensure students are capable of learning through more traditional classroom methods. So the bottom line is, testing can be an efficient way to skip ahead, but if the end university is known, it's best to double check with them in advance to see what credits they will accept.

2. Community College
Many undergraduate university programs will accept up to 64 transfer credits, or credits earned at another accredited institution. That means students could either take two years worth of classes at a community college, or one year of classes combined with 32 testing credits to begin an undergraduate program as a junior. Since community colleges tend to be cheaper than universities and testing cheaper than community college, this combination is an excellent way to save money on education.

Accreditation is key. There are many colleges offering classes, but not all are accredited. Again, if the university or final degree program is known, then it's best to check with that institution as to whether or not the credits earned at the community college will be accepted. If the final degree program is still being decided, checking the regional accreditation is a good idea. Here's a web link to help verify accreditation.



3. On-line College
Now that the internet has grown by leaps and bounds, many students are obtaining on-line degrees. Thomas Edison State College, Excelsior College and Charter Oaks State College are three big on-line degree institutions. What's really neat about several of the on-line programs is that students can earn a degree almost entirely through testing. They tend to accept most testing credits and even offer tests similar to course final exams which if passed, are another route for earning credit.

Students can learn at home, take AP, CLEP and DSST exams, then select an on-line school and degree program. From there, the students can study the material required by the degree program, enroll, take several tests  and wind up with a degree, or enroll and take the courses on-line to complete the program.

Accredited degrees are normally accepted by universities. Therefore, if the student were to earn an on-line degree and then begin a second degree at a university, depending on the similarity of the degrees, as much as three years worth of classes could be eliminated.


Just like the numerous options for educating elementary, junior high and high school level children there are many options for college level as well. The ideal scenario would be to know the final destination university and degree program and then select a testing/community college/on-line option to feed into it. Without knowing the final goal, much progress can still be made. Just remember, each university sets its own rules. The important thing is to look for accreditation.

Check out these blog hops for more educational activity ideas.
No comments:
Labels:

How to Homeschool for Free

Homeschooling doesn't have to be expensive to be effective. Often those new to homeschooling believe they need to purchase a full accredited curriculum for their children to get a quality education. Fortunately, this is not the case. It is however, necessary for the parents to have a vested interest and invest time into their child. Parents need to support and encourage the education process by helping their child locate resources to facilitate learning whether expensive, low cost or free. As children become more independent, parents will need to invest fewer hours into education. Children who have learned how to locate information on their own can be extremely independent and educated learners.

The internet and the library are the two best free homeschooling resources. These are followed by the outdoor classroom of nature, and time friends and family are willing to spend when sharing their knowledge, skills and hobbies with children. The internet is loaded with free resources to support education. Libraries are full of physical books, but also offer audio books, on-line books, documentaries and educational seminars. Nature centers routinely offer free programs and have small museums that welcome visitors. Just being outside facilitates learning. Kids can observe nature, but can also learn math outdoors for free. Do they really need counting objects when learning to add and subtract, or would acorns, berries and leaves work the same way?

Reading, writing and math are foundational educational skills. Everything else requires a knowledge of the three R's and can be learned in a flexible order based on skills, interests and opportunities. It takes time to locate the resources that will work for your family, but here are a few to help get you started.

Youtube - History and Science Documentaries, Skills of Every Kind

Of course everybody has heard of Youtube. There are tons of historical and scientific documentaries on Youtube. Plus, it can be used to look up information on musicians, artists and how-to crafting instructions.

Courses and Curriculum

Khan Academy - Free online video courses - upper level

Computer Programming

Scratch is a tool for teaching children how to write computer programs.

Foreign Language

Salsa Spanish is a website with many videos designed to teach Spanish to children in a fun way. The videos are completely in Spanish and are entertaining. One episode is a play on Red Riding Hood. They are excellent for elementary aged children.

Duolingo is a free language learning website available on the internet.

Audio Books and Written Books

Librivox and The Baldwin Project are two websites which contain books who's copyright has run out. Librivox contains audio files which can be downloaded and The Baldwin Project contains written files.

Starfall is a website for children learning to read. It uses a combination of phonics and fun games to motivate children.

Storynory is for listening to children’s stories. There are both classic and delightful new stories which can be downloaded.

Geography

Seterra is a free geography quiz tool. After downloading the game kids (and adults) can practice worldwide geography including, rivers, countries and capital cities.


Typing

Writing

My Book About Me. Please feel free to print it out for personal or classroom use. Kids ages K-3rd.

Postcrossing is a web group for exchanging postcards. After signing up members request an address for sending a postcard. A code is written on the card and after the card is received and the code recorded the sending member becomes eligible to receive cards. This is a great activity for kids to learn geography and improve writing skills. Young children can help by putting periods at the end of sentences and signing their name. Older children can write the cards and even manage the web site interaction. This is free except for the cards and postage.

 
 

History - Free Blank Timelines

Timelines are an essential tool for helping children understand the order in which past events have happened.

Blank Timeline 1000 AD - 2000 AD
Blank Timeline 0 - 1000 AD
Blank Timeline 1000 BC - 0
Blank Timeline 2000 BC - 2000 AD

Learning Through Stamps

The Postal History Foundation offers stamp packets for educators - (home school, private school, public school and other educators). On the website there are spaces to indicate how the stamps will be used and how many students are involved. The stamps are free, but they accept donations and appreciate money for shipping expenses.



"Mr. Johan Sebastian Bach came from a very musical family. Over 70 of his relatives made their livings as musicians. He was a German composer and during his life he made extra money by repairing organs. One time he worked for a prince until he felt the prince was getting too bossy and decided to leave. When the prince found his plans out, he had Bach thrown into jail until he finally ....."  
No comments:
Labels:

How many hours per week does it take to homeschool?

This is an interesting question because it is extremely important to those considering homeschooling, but the answer is not straight forward. You could spend anywhere between 0 and 30 hours per week depending on many factors including:

  • Number of children 
  • Age of children
  • Ability of children
  • Independence of children
  • How involved the parent wants to be in the education process
  • Curriculum 
  • Education philosophy
  • Established routine and expectations
  • Education history of the child

In general the younger the child the more one-on-one time they need during the educational process, and the older the child the less time they need. As children get older, they become independent and are able to learn readily on their own.

The philosophy of most people educating young children tends to include lots of time allotted for free exploration and less time spent with structured learning. This is reversed in older students. In other words, high school children may spend 4-7 hours involved in book learning activities where as younger children may spend 1-3 hours in intense book learning. Because of the need for one-on-one time, it is typically the younger child who requires more time from the parent.

If you choose to read to your child you will spend more hours homeschooling than if you assign or allow your child to choose books to read. If you choose a math program that requires you to give lessons or play games with your child you will spend more hours homeschooling than if you select a program where the student watches a video and then does a lesson. The same goes for science, history, art and music. Bringing your child to a park to do a nature study will take more time than sending the child outside.

It is not only book learning time that is required by the homeschooling parent to give the child a quality education. So much of the time it takes to homeschool depends on your involvement and circumstances. In general most homeschooled kids require 3-5 hours per day to complete their work and parents are involved in half of those hours. When parents aren't involved in book learning work, they may spend time researching resources or preparing lesson plans depending on the curriculum selected. Parents also spend time making sure kids have social contacts with others. Will you spend three hours one afternoon per week at a park with other homeschoolers? This social time for the kids serves as both social and planning time for the parent.


Obviously the number of children you have has a great effect on the time it takes to homeschool. Can the kids work together? Are they close enough in age for history, science, art, foreign language and music lessons to be combined? Can they read to each other? Can they help each other with math lessons? 

Homeschooling takes time, and the most effective way to reduce the time it takes is to teach the child to be independent. The first step in the independence journey is teaching the child to read. Once a child can read, they can begin to find information on their own. Therefore the next logical step is teaching kids to find resources and learning opportunities. They can learn to request books from the library, be introduced to quality websites, shown resources such as the History Vault where they can learn by watching documentaries. The possibilities are endless. The key starts with reading.

The second most effective way to reduce the time it takes to teach is to establish routine and expectations. Once the child understands what is required there is much the child can complete on his own even at a young age. For example, once you teach your child to bathe and get dressed, you no longer need to help. Homeschooling works that way as well. Routine and expectations is really an extension of parenting. Good parenting skills transfer into good homeschooling skills.

Because homeschooling is flexible and individual, it is difficult to say how many hours it takes to homeschool. To estimate the time it takes you, begin with an estimate of around 12 hours per week and then add or subtract hours based on the number of children, their ages and how involved you plan to be in the process.
No comments:
Labels:

Highhill Education Flexible Curriculum

I highly recommend putting together your own curriculum. Each child is unique and customizing the curriculum to the child will result in maximum educational success. Below I have described a flexible loosely structured curriculum which is highly customizable. It is easy to add or eliminate material  based on interests or learning and development needs. The reading, writing and math curriculum are very sequential as they build upon themselves especially in the early years. It is not necessary to wait until the next school year to level-up. Likewise, if extra time is needed due to learning challenges or family circumstances the time should be taken. The curriculum are flexible because you can work through the material at the child's pace by moving rapidly or slowly. Depending on the number of children you are teaching, subjects such as science and history can easily span multiple grade levels, and in reading, writing and math lessons children can work together. For example, older children can read to younger children. Children can write stories together or brainstorm ideas together and then each write at their own level. Kids can play math games together and work on similar math art projects.

I have suggested resources listed by subject and grade level. I have not laid out a detailed schedule that says read chapter 10 on week 3 day 3. You can substitute books, read extra books, or read biographies instead of historical fiction if you want. You can watch documentaries and visit museums instead of reading non-fiction books or in addition to reading the books I have suggested. You have chosen to homeschool and you get to determine your child's curriculum with as much or as little input from your child as you deem appropriate. This is meant to be a starting point for you to create a customized curriculum for each child.

Math

K - Math
  • Uno - Number and color recognition
  • Plastic and Numbers and Animal Counters - The goal this year is to learn to recognize the numbers. Number manipulatives and something to count are essential. If you don't want to purchase animal counters you could count buttons, bottle caps, milk caps, etc. You should spend time playing with your child with these numbers and counting items. Sort the items into color groups and count them. Sort them into animal type and count them. Count the number of shoes in your closet or the number of apples in a bag. Count and play with the numbers every day until your child can recognize the numbers. Then move onto two digit numbers and continue counting.
  • Copy Paper, Crayons and a Stapler - Make a Calendar - Teaches number recognition, months, writing - Print out 12 blank calendar pages. Write a month on the top of each page, and the days of the week on top of each column. Determine which day the month starts on and how many days in that month. Write the number 1 in the appropriate box and have your child write the remaining numbers in the rest of the boxes. Have your child illustrate the month with an appropriate seasonal picture. Add birthdays, holidays and special events as desired.
  • Card Game War - Teaches greater than, less than - You will need a standard deck of playing cards for this activity. Aces are ones. Remove the jacks, queens and kings from the deck. Divide the deck in half. Each player flips up a card and the player with the greater number takes both cards. In case of a tie flip up another card. Repeat until one player has all of the cards and declare that player the winner.
  • Jelly Beans for Sale - Count and add jelly beans as you read this book.

1st Grade - Math
  • Adding War - Teaches addition and greater than, less than - You will need a standard deck of playing cards for this activity. Aces are ones. Remove the jacks, queens and kings from the deck. Divide the deck in half. Each player flips up two cards and the player with the greater sum takes all four cards. In case of a tie flip up two more cards. Repeat until one player has all of the cards and declare that player the winner.
  • Black Jack 21 - Teaches addition - You will need a standard deck of playing cards for this game. 
  • Cash Register - Play going to the store and buy, sell, and make change to learn how to count with money. Sell cookies or M&M's. Sell things you make, or gather all of the winter gear and sell hats and mittens before going outside to play. Begin with all items costing 1 cent. The next week have all items cost $1. Play every day changing prices until your child understands how to count money and make change.
  • School Zone Addition and Subtraction - Work through a workbook with addition and subtraction problems so your child can see math in its abstract written form.
  • School Zone Time, Money and Fractions  or equivalent workbook

2nd Grade - Math
  • Speed! - Teaches skip-counting - Begin with the 2's. Play for at least 15 minutes every day until your child can play rapidly. Then play with the 5's until your child can play rapidly. Progress through each deck spending between 1 week and 1 month per deck. 
  • Cribbage - Teaches addition and strategy- You will need a standard deck of playing cards for this game. Play at least two times per week to develop mental math and thinking skills.
  • Involve your kids in activities that require math such as cooking, quilting, measuring, laundry (money)
  • School Zone Math Basics 2nd Grade - Work through a workbook with double digit addition and subtraction problems so your child can see math in its abstract written form. 
  • Read

3rd Grade - Math

4th Grade - Math

5th Grade - Math

6th Grade - Math - Pre-Algebra

Life of Fred does an excellent job of teaching the application of math. Math-U-See does an excellent job of teaching the mechanics of math. I recommend working through both. The order is not important. You can work through one program and then the other or work on them simultaneously.

7th Grade - Math - Algebra

Life of Fred does an excellent job of teaching the application of math. Math-U-See does an excellent job of teaching the mechanics of math. I recommend working through both. The order is not important. You can work through one program and then the other or work on them simultaneously.


8th Grade - Math - Geometry


9th Grade - Math - Algebra II

Life of Fred does an excellent job of teaching the application of math. Math-U-See does an excellent job of teaching the mechanics of math. I recommend working through both. The order is not important. You can work through one program and then the other or work on them simultaneously.

10th Grade - Math - Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus

Life of Fred does an excellent job of teaching the application of math. Math-U-See does an excellent job of teaching the mechanics of math. I recommend working through both. The order is not important. You can work through one program and then the other or work on them simultaneously.


11th Grade - Math - Calculus

Life of Fred does an excellent job of teaching the application of math. Math-U-See does an excellent job of teaching the mechanics of math. I recommend working through both. The order is not important. You can work through one program and then the other or work on them simultaneously.

12th Grade - Math - Statistics


Writing

K - Writing
  • Copy Paper, Crayons and a Stapler - Make an ABC book putting one letter on each page. On your letter of the day fill in the page with magazine cutouts, drawings or stickers of items that begin with the letter.
  • Color and draw pictures often.
  • Build fine motor skills with activities: Legos, puzzles, Play-Dough, and crafting and cutting with scissors

1st Grade - Writing
  • Story Starters
  • Copy Paper, Crayons and a Stapler - Make a simple word book. Pick a CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word and write it on one page in a book with paper stapled together. Have your child write the word underneath you. Let your child draw a picture illustrating the word or find magazine cutouts, or stickers that illustrate the word. Make several books throughout the year.
  • Free write stories if capable. Don't correct spelling or grammar. Only encourage your child to write at this age.
  • Have your child dictate and illustrate stories. Do your best to write the words down as your child tells the story.
  • Color and draw pictures often.
  • Build fine motor skills with activities: Legos, puzzles, Play-Dough, and crafting and cutting with scissors
2nd Grade - Writing
3rd Grade - Writing
  • Follow The Writer's Jungle philosophy from Brave Writer which is a very free form way to teach
  • Have your child free write often and provide lots of encouragement.
  • Create a blog.
  • Make your own cook book.
  • Join a postcard exchange club and write letters to the other members.
or

4th Grade - Writing
5th Grade - Writing

6th Grade - Writing
7th Grade - Writing
  •  Royal Fireworks Press Level 4, Literature Level (RFP is quite advanced. If you haven't completed the other levels I would recommend beginning with Level 3, Voyage)
8th Grade - Writing
  •  Royal Fireworks Press Level 5, Magic Lens I  (RFP is quite advanced. If you haven't completed the other levels I would recommend beginning with Level 3, Voyage)
9th Grade - Writing
  •  Royal Fireworks Press Level 6, Magic Lens II  (RFP is quite advanced. If you haven't completed the other levels I would recommend beginning with Level 3, Voyage)
10th Grade - Writing
  •  Royal Fireworks Press Level 7, Magic Lens III  (RFP is quite advanced. If you haven't completed the other levels I would recommend beginning with Level 3, Voyage)
11th Grade - Writing

12th Grade - Writing

 

Reading

K - Reading (American History)

1st Grade - Reading (World History, Emergency Preparedness, Plants, Animals)
2nd Grade - Reading (Ancient Civilizations, Wegits, Magnatiles, Simple Machines, Bridge Study)

3rd Grade - Reading (Ancient Civilizations, Geology, Astronomy, Prehistoric Creatures)

4th Grade - Reading (Middle Ages and Renaissance, Bread Baking Chemistry, Candy Making Chemistry, Cells)
5th Grade - Reading (Age of Exploration, Human Body)

6th Grade - Reading (Civil War to Modern, Earth Science)

7th Grade - 8th Grade Reading (American and Native American, 3D Modeling and Computer Programming)

    9th Grade - 12th Grade - Reading (British History, Ancient Greeks and Romans, chemistry)

    History

    These books are grouped by topic and approximate grade level, but many of these books are well suited for a range of grades. Therefore you could study one year of curriculum with multiple age groups or at different grades than recommended below. 

    K - History - American History Stories

    Picture Books

    The Children's Book of America is the only book I consider essential. All others are optional but highly recommended.
    Chapter Books

    1st Grade - History - World History Overview


    2nd - 3rd Grade - History - Ancient Civilizations

    Story of the World is the only book I consider essential. All others are optional but highly recommended.
    4th Grade - History - The Middle Ages

    Story of the World is the only book I consider essential. All others are optional but highly recommended.
    5th Grade - History - Age of Exploration

    Story of the World is the only book I consider essential. All others are optional but highly recommended.
    6th Grade - History - Civil War to Modern Age

    7th Grade - History - Native American and American History

    The US Kids Series or The Landmark History of the American People  are essential. It is not necessary to read both, but they are different and you could cover both if you have time.
    8th Grade - History - American History II

    This Country of Ours is the only book I consider essential. All others are optional but highly recommended.
    9th Grade - History - British History, Ancient Greeks and Romans
    10th Grade-12th Grade - History
    • Study for a history CLEP exam and earn college credit. Be sure to use the study guide.
    • Get a subscription to The History Vault and watch history documentaries.
    • Read any of the following books based on history interests.


    Science

    K - Science
    1st Grade - Science - Emergency Preparedness, Plants, Animals
    2nd Grade - Science - Wegits, Magnatiles, Simple Machines, Bridge Study
    3rd Grade - Science - Geology, Astronomy, Prehistoric Creatures
    4th Grade - Science - Bread Baking Chemistry, Candy Making Chemistry, Cells
    5th Grade - Science - Human Body

      6th Grade - Science- Earth Science

      7th Grade - Science - Computer Programming
      8th Grade - Science - Biology
      •  Khan Academy offers Biology, High School Biology and AP Biology
      9th Grade - Science - Chemistry
      10th Grade - Science - Physics
      •  Khan Academy offers Physics, AP Physics I and AP Physics II
      11th and 12th Grade - Science

      Depending on future goals and where the child is in current studies, you may want to look into biology, chemistry or physics. If the basic level was completed, Khan Academy offers AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics. You could look into revisiting astronomy, the human body, plants, animals or another interest area. You could also look into science classes at community college.


      Foreign Language


      K - 5th Grade - Foreign Language

      • Muzzy – Children’s cartoon for learning foreign languages. Many languages available.


      Look for music and cartoons in the target language made for children who speak that language. Here are resources for learning German and Spanish.

      German Kid Music Musicians
      German Language Cartoons
      Spanish Kid Music Musicians
      • Cri Cri - Children's Music in Spanish

      Spanish Language Cartoons
      • Pororo – Spanish Penguin on youtube
      • Pocoyo – Spanish cartoons. Also available in some form on youtube.
      Programs

      6th Grade - 12th Grade - Foreign Language

      Government and Economics


      K - Government and Economics

      1st Grade - Government and Economics
      2nd Grade - Government and Economics
      3rd Grade - Government and Economics
      4th Grade - Government and Economics
      5th Grade - Government and Economics
      6th Grade - Government and Economics
      7th Grade - Government and Economics
      8th Grade - Government and Economics
      9th Grade - Government and Economics
      10th Grade - Government and Economics

      11th Grade - Government and Economics

      12th Grade - Government and Economics

      Geography

      Becoming familiar with maps is a must for understanding geography. There are many puzzles available which introduce young children to geography. Beyond that geography is best studied in the context of other subjects. For example, when studying Earth Science be sure to locate different habitats, the Pacific Ring of Fire, and unique geological formations such as the Grand Canyon and the Great Rift Valley on the map. When studying history, be sure to find the geographical region you are studying. Here are a few geography resources that work well when studying related topics.



      K - 2nd Grade - Geography
      3rd Grade - 5th Grade - Geography

      Music

      K - 2nd Grade - Music

      3rd Grade - 5th Grade - Music

      Art

      K - 2nd Grade - Art

      3rd Grade - 5th Grade - Art
      • Come Look With Me - This is a series of books to study famous works of art. Go through the books very slowly covering one picture every two weeks. Just read about the painting and answer the questions in the book. Then set the picture as the desktop background on the computer. 
      • Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists by Mike Venezia - This is a series of books on famous artists.
      • Discovering Great Artists - This is a book of art projects. Use it in conjunction with Mike Venezia's series of Getting To Know The World's Greatest Artists. Try to read one book and do a project every two weeks.

      Electives

      Elective courses can develop into life long hobbies. This is a chance to inspire your kids to try something new and see if they like it. If you don't have these skills or hobbies, seek out a friend and see if they will introduce it to your child or take a class. Here are some elective ideas to introduce new topics.

      K - 12th Electives
      • Weaving on Cardboard by Alexander
      • Peg Loom Knitting
      • Knitting, sewing, spinning, and needle felting 
      • Pottery
      • Any Sport - soccer, skiing, dance, baseball, tennis, etc
      • Learn an Instrument - harmonica, piano, trumpet, violin, etc
      • Fishing, hunting
      • Woodworking
      • Community Theater
      • Metal Detecting
      • Learn to Make Candy
      • Learn to Bake Bread
      • Learn to program computers - Javascript for Kids 
      • Photography, Photo Editing
      • Grow a Garden
      • Raise a Farm Animal - Chickens, Pigs, Sheep 
      • Refinish a piece of furniture
      • Renovate a room in your house such as a bathroom
      No comments:
      Labels:
      Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
      Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...