Highhill Homeschool

Studying for the Western Civilizations CLEP Exam

My 15 year old daughter just took her second CLEP exam - Western Civilizations I: Ancient Near East to 1648.

Returning to the United States in 2015 after living in Germany for six years she took her first CLEP exam German. Although she was homeschooled in Germany she attended dance classes with German kids and spent lots of time immersed in German culture. Therefore, this exam was relatively easy for her. The Western Civilizations exam was very different.

The exam covers western civilization from the Greeks and Persians, through the middle ages and Renaissance. Coincidentally, this lines up very well with the history topics we studied while she was in elementary school.

As part of our homeschool curriculum, we studied one topic in history for between 6-15 weeks with a weekly project. Details of the lessons and projects can be found on our History Page.

Therefore, in studying for the Western Civilization CLEP exam step one was to review the spine books we read in the past.

Mesopotamia Books
Ancient Greece Books
Ancient Rome Books

Viking Books

Middle Ages Books

Renaissance Books

Next, she took a practice exam to find weak areas. Because we felt church history and the Middle Ages were the weakest areas, she spent approximately six weeks studying primarily those topics. We found the following resources helpful.

Ryan Reeves Church History Videos on Youtube
Librivox/Baldwin Project –
Saints and Heroes to the End of the Middle Ages
Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages

SHE PASSED!

Now she just needs to decide what to take next.

Check out these great blog hops for more educational activity ideas.

Early American History Books for Kids

Books, Books, Books...... There are so many books on American History. Our favorites are the type that teach through story. LIVING BOOKS! Here's a list of books and videos we used to study Early American History.

Preparing to Take CLEP Exams

My 10th grade daughter is concentrating on The Three C’s: Calculus, Chemistry and CLEP tests.

One huge advantage of homeschooling is the ability to challenge students at their level. Because my 15 year old daughter has progressed at her own speed since 1st grade, she is far ahead of public school students of the same age.

Throughout her elementary school years we studied various topics in history and science and made sure to read, write and do math every day. Fortunately, new math concepts were relatively easy for her to master. This gift enabled her to move through math at a rapid pace. Like wise, reading was a hobby for her. She voraciously read every child’s chapter book within her grasp. Coupled with our history and science unit studies, this approach gave her a vast knowledge of many topics.

Therefore, when lesson planning this year we began talking about her future goals. At this stage she thinks she wants to be an orthodontist. Perhaps this goal will change in the future, but it is a great place to start our future planning. With the goal of dentistry and college in mind we began researching what to study this year and in the near future.

After learning about some near term options the plan for how to proceed this year became glaringly obviously. As an 11th and/or 12th grader she could gain experience, knowledge and college credit taking technical courses, which include dentistry through the local district. In the half-day, one year long program, kids get hands-on experience in a dentist office, and study anatomy and other topics relative to dentistry. This however, isn’t the only option. By taking 1 course at the high school she is eligible to take courses at a local community college. So we looked at the course list.

Based on the descriptions of many of the first and second year community college courses much of the material seems to have already been covered. The only way at this stage to begin taking credit for current knowledge is to take exams. CLEP is the best option.

Most colleges and universities award some amount of credit from CLEP exams, but very few award credit for all exams taken. Because we aren’t sure which institution(s) will be in her future path, we are planning to take exams for which she has learned the majority of the material.

That being said, my 15 year old’s curriculum plan for the year is to complete chapters 21-24 of Life of Fred Calculus, complete her chemistry labs and book and take approximately 1 CLEP exam every six weeks. In addition, she will take ceramics and drawing at the local high school.

As a 13 year old she passed the German CLEP test with flying colors. The results of her testing this year will shape the path for next year and future lesson plans. Although her CLEP list has not been fully determined, she will likely take Western Civilization I and II, History of the United States Early Colonization to 1877, History of the United States 1865 to Present, Humanities, Calculus, Chemistry, and Natural Sciences.

Colonial Food - Johnny Cakes: American History for Kids

My daughter made johnny cakes and put together a cookbook.

America was made up of people from many different nations. When people immigrated to America they frequently brought along favorite family recipes. Often recipes would be altered depending on ingredients available in the New World. Perhaps that's how johnny cakes were invented. They are basically corn pancakes.

While studying American Colonial History, we read the book USKids American Colonies which contained many stories of early colonists as well as suggested activities.

Johnny Cakes

Most of the American Colonists ate simple, natural, whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat and corn. Johnny cakes were a staple food throughout early America. Although there are many variations, the main ingredient is corn. Made with cornflour, milk, egg, salt, oil, wheat flour and water mixed together, they are fried on the stove top or over an open fire on a griddle. Like bread, they could be stored for several days and made convenient traveling food.

My daughter made johnny cakes several times adding bananas and blueberries to later batches to sweeten them up a bit.

Cookbook
Since colonists brought along recipes and my daughter was doing a variety of activities which involved cooking, she put together her own cookbook. This is a great project in connection with a history study, but also works well on its own as it can incorporate many subjects. From the science of baking, to the cultural study of foods, to writing, and back to science through creation of personal recipes, creating a cookbook is perfect for kids. In addition, they can use their personal cookbook to prepare a future family meal giving them a sense of great achievement.

To create her cookbook my daughter photo copied and cut out recipes she had prepared at least once.

Then she put them into a three ring binder and added some fancy paper. I was happy to see her refer back to her cookbook several times to prepare dishes.

Check out these great blog hops for more educational activity ideas.

Can homeschoolers take public school classes?

My daughter took art and drama classes at our local high school.

After moving back to the United States I wanted to continue to homeschool my children, but taking a few classes at the local public school seemed like a good idea. In our district homeschoolers can take any non-core classes. In other words, they can take classes not required for graduation including PE, art, music, computer and drama classes, but not math, history and science courses. Each district has its own policies on homeschoolers taking classes, but most do offer some options.

Last year my daughter signed up for drama, art and design, and painting. This year she will be taking ceramics and drawing. The art program in the district is phenomenal and she is taking full advantage of it.

Here is a small sample of her creations at the public school.

In addition to taking non-core classes, homeschoolers are eligible to participate in any clubs the school offers such as yearbook, debate, photography, etc... Since my daughter took the drama class, she began participating in the school plays and the drama club.

Unfortunately participation in sports is not nearly as easy. The district told us that homeschoolers are eligible to participate in sports. They only need to take five classes at the high school. (Full time students take six.) Our local school added a one course requirement above the requirement of the Michigan High School Athletic Association which requires four classes. Then they said another option would be for her to practice with the team and just not compete. Personally I think that would be a huge blow to a child. Although my daughter is athletic and would enjoy the comradery of public school sports, it seems the system is designed to discourage homeschoolers from participation.

Perhaps one day policies on the sports issue will change to be more in line with the policies on classes and clubs. In the mean time, my daughter is greatly enjoying her art classes and the school plays. They have excellent programs.

Check out these great blog hops for more educational activity ideas.

The Thirteen Colonies: American History for Kids

We made a list detailing when/who/where and why some of the early American colonies were started and made a brochure to entice 17th century Europeans to settle in the new world.

Money and religion were the main reasons most of the American colonies were founded. However, most of the colonies founded for religious reasons were not formed on the basis of freedom of religion as we know it today. Contrarily, they were formed with the idea that the founders religion would be the law of the land. Anyone living in the territory would be forced to follow a particular religion and all of that religion's laws.

1. 1607 - The London company from England established colonies in Virginia as a place to send the homeless and criminals.
2. 1620-30 - The Pilgrims established a settlement at Plymouth and the Puritans established a settlement in Boston (The Massachusetts Bay Colony). Both sought religious freedom for themselves ensuring anyone living in their colonies would follow their religious rules.
3. 1623 - The Dutch West India Company established a settlement on Manhattan in hopes of profits from farming and fur trade.
4. 1636 - Roger Williams established a settlement at Rhode Island allowing freedom of religion. It was a haven for Quakers and Jews who had been persecuted.
5. 1681 - William Penn was a Quaker who established Pennsylvania. It was the first true colony to honor freedom of religion as we know it today. He even provided equal treatment for Indians.

The book USKids - The American Colonies is a great book to introduce children to the settlement of America. We used this as our spine book reading a few pages each day while studying the history of Early America. In addition to being introduced to historical people, there were several historical fiction stories and activity ideas included within the book.

Brochure - Come to America

After learning about some of the early colonies, my daughter created a brochure to entice Europeans to settle in the New World.

Her brochure shows an illustration of tobacco farming which was a profitable crop raised by early American settlers in the Virginia area.

Story of William Penn by Aliki - William Penn was a Quaker - A peaceful man who was given land in America by the King of England as payment for a debt. His land turned into the State of Pennsylvania and this simple story tells how he promoted peace between the Natives and European settlers.

Dutch Cookies

Many of the settlers who came to America brought along their favorite recipes. While learning about the Dutch founding of New York my daughter made Dutch sugar cookies.

Check out these great blog hops for more educational activity ideas.

Rembrandt Art Activity for Kids

My daughter drew a self-portrait like Rembrandt.

Everywhere I go I see people taking selfies. Whether in the mall, on a beach, or eating dinner at a restaurant, iPhones are out and the camera is clicking. The photos are then posted onto social media for the world to see. Before iPhones, and way before cameras artists were required to have a portrait created.

Rembrandt was a Dutch artist who lived during the 1600's and painted in the Baroque style. Throughout his lifetime he continuously created self-portraits. Although most artists created self-portraits, very few seemed to create them as consistently as Rembrandt. It is believed that one reason he created self-portraits was to practice new techniques.

In studying Rembrandt we used several sources.

Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists: Rembrandt - Short biography of Rembrandt written for kids.

Raiders of the Lost Art - Rembrandt Episode - Available on Netflix

Ambleside Online Rembrandt images

Discovering Great Artists - Activity book for kids

In following the activity from Discovering Great Artists, my daughter had to create a self-portrait showing emotion on her face. When faces show emotion, the eyes, mouth, eyebrows and other features change shape. The people in Rembrandt's paintings usually contained expressions of emotion and he used self-portraits to perfect his techniques.

She stood before the mirror with an angry face to create this drawing.

Check out these great blog hops for more educational activity ideas.

Pages

Studying for the Western Civilizations CLEP Exam

Early American History Books for Kids

Native Americans

Explorers

Colonization

Early Settlers

Salem Witch Trials (1692-3)

French Indian War (1754-1763)