Graduate a Homeschooler Archives - Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

How To Homeschool Middle School – Why Eclectic Of Course!

November 26, 2017 | 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Whether you’re utterly excited or fear that you’re woefully inadequate to homeschool middle school, one thing is for sure. Homeschooling middle school can be some of the best years to homeschool.

From homeschooling a 6th grader who is still so full of eagerness to a 8th grader who is ready to debate on a moment’s notice, there are no dull moments in the middle school years.

Besides watching the unfolding of a young child into a teen, it’s also the time your child is still flexible. It’s the perfect time to try an out of the box approach.

First, let me back up a minute. When I approached the middle school years I had thought it was my time to have it easy as the teacher.

Knowing that kids are more independent at this age, I wanted relief in the way of a boxed curriculum.

3 VALUABLE TIPS WHEN TEACHING HOMESCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL

However, as each son entered the middle school years, I learned several valuable lessons,

one was that the eclectic homeschool style approach was needed now more than ever before;
that I shouldn’t have listened to naysayers who said we needed to give up hands-on learning or lapbooks;
and I should have dabbled more into life skills and high school credits.

From teaching Mr. Senior 2013, I learned that subjects like the three Rs are the mainstay of these grades too.

Subjects don’t change significantly in middle school, but the approach to how you choose curriculum does.

For example, just because you used one math program with your child up to this point doesn’t mean it is the right one for middle school.

You need to take more time choosing curriculum and subjects.

Here is a very valuable piece of seasoned advice.

Up until middle school, you should choose curriculum based on your teaching style because you are wearing the teacher hat exclusively. Now, you need to choose curriculum based on your child’s learning style.

Beginning in about sixth grade you want to gently turn over the teaching reins to your child.

I can’t recall an exact moment with each of my sons where I could unequivocally pinpoint a time and say, “This is the exact moment my sons were independent.”

Middle school independence is a gradual process.

This is the time to explore alternative options.

Don’t wait until high school for out of the box elective where you don’t have as much flexibility to change courses in midstream.

HOMESCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL SUBJECTS GUIDE

Look at these subjects and options for curriculum that worked for us or that we currently like.

Homeschool Middle School Reading

Kids in the middle school are at varying maturing abilities.

Unlike the early grades where you focused on phonics, at about the fourth grade a child should be ready to move away from direct phonic instruction.

Don’t worry if your child is not, I just want you to have a rule of thumb. I had two that were ready to move away and one not so ready.

Look here at How to Transition a Child From Reading to Literature.

I focused on about 3 or 4 books with direct reading instruction. This means we delved deeply into them.

On their own, my sons read way more from my list, but about 4 books was all I could do each year where I questioned them significantly.

Remember there is a difference between a child narrating back a story and learning the elements of fiction and figures of speech.

Understanding where I was headed in the middle school grades helped me to see what teach in reading.

For example, in high school your child will be focusing on certain authors and literature in specific time periods.

In middle school, focus on learning genres and the basics of elements of fiction. This tool he will use as lens to pull up close and examine literature in high school.

Look at what you want to zero in on and use this free page which explains a bit about each one.

Plot
Setting
Character
Theme
Style
Point of View

The point I’m making is although it’s important for them to read at this age, it’s equally important to delve deeply into a book and expose kids to a variety of genres.

Homeschool Middle School Writing

If you chose to teach cursive writing like I did, then you’ll want your child to practice daily.

Writing journals, hands-down has been the best tool I’ve used to encourage writing. The focus is on writing creatively and free from a judgmental eye.

Most of the time my sons chose to share their daily sentences or paragraphs with me, but I didn’t ask or didn’t grade them, only praise them.

Composition is quite a different thing. For example, although we may brainstorm one day and not do much handwriting on our current topic, writing in their journal each day ensured continued practice.

Again, the best way is to mix and match curriculum to suit your child’s strengths and weaknesses.

Resources prepared and used by other homeschool teacher moms is another secret at this age.

If I’m going to start handing over the teaching reins to my child, I needed resources by homeschool families who understood my need.

We loved using WriteShop because it’s written specifically with homeschoolers in mind.

Not only did it have lots of teaching background notes for me, but it was the first top notch writing curriculum my first middle school son used on his own.

Homeschool Middle School Arithmetic

Don’t get discouraged if your middle school kid is behind in math. I had one like this and two ahead at their grade level.

For the one son behind, I added in straightforward practice.

Although math apps can be helpful for drills, my struggling math guy needed to write and see the work.

The Key to . . . Math Series have been some of the best no fluff straight forward practice books I’ve ever used. They’re such timeless helps.

The books are a set of consumable non-overwhelming books on one math topic, like fractions, which progress from the easiest concept in Book 1 to the hardest concept in the last book.

Some packets have 10 books others are smaller.

Middle school was the year I switched from Teaching Textbooks, which I thought was ahead of Math U See, and back again to Math U See. Teaching textbooks was not ahead in my experience from K to 12th grade math.

Although Teaching Textbooks explained step by step, mastery is my goal and Math U See taught mastery. I guess the main difference is that Math U See does not go by grade level but by concept. That is my preferred way of teaching.

Choose what is best for your child at each grade. I didn’t use MUS or Teaching Textbooks at the lower grades.

Also, remember to add in fun hands-on math to teaching. Kids this age can still be cuddly and cute. (ha, ok.)

Look at Making Math Count for Middleschool When You’re Not the Math Mom and 25 Creative and Tasty Edible Math Activities that Keeps Learning Fun.

And then living math is one of the best ways to incorporate it into every day learning.

Kids want a reason for why they have to learn math. Don’t make it boring and humdrum.

Grab an idea from this living math book below from another talented homeschool mom which makes teaching middle school a cinch.

Homeschool Middle School Life Skills and Electives.

And one of the BEST parts of homeschooling middle school is the time to explore and even get credit in middle school. Yes electives are something fun and doable at this age, so explore them.

Middle school is also the time to narrow down what your middle school kids may want to jump into deeper in high school. The only way to do that is to do a wide range of fun and practical skills.

Give them time to explore while making it practical. For example, teach your child how to write out a check.

Yes, my young adult kids still need to use a check once and a while and remembering how to do it can be a struggle.

It’s easier to use a debit card, but that’s not always great for record keeping. How to change a tire and check a vehicle’s oil are important skills to teach them as they approach driving age.

We also love to explore different types of art. We love doing chalk art.

We’ve used another resource by a homeschool mom which is Chalk Pastel because of the variety of books and teaching helps she has on her site.

Even cooking has been added as part of our science and history and a new one we’ve been trying out is SkillTrek.

It gives us a set of life skills from A to Z. Now is the time to learn this stuff before your kids tell you they know everything.

Wait, I mean now when they still do what you say!

I wanted to give you this quick glance at the middle school years. Soon, I’ll be adding more specific posts to help you.

What are you wrestling with right now in middle school?

Also, look at these super helpful tidbits:

Hugs and love ya,

Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses

November 12, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

By the time you reach the high school years, you have some general ideas of how to plan them. Today, in sharing homeschooling high school, I’m giving you a few detailed pointers for curriculum, credits, and courses to steer you in the right direction.

3 POINTERS: HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND COURSES

First, look at 3 things I wished I would’ve known before I started.

One/ In the beginning, it’s not necessary to plan all four years.

It’s just not necessary because a lot will change. Your teen will mature and may change the direction of his education or career as he approaches adulthood. Give him some wiggle room.

Have a plan so you can give your teen goals, but analyze each year. Having a framework of courses is much better.

I appreciated reading How to Homeschool 9th and 10th Grades: Simple Steps for Starting Strong to help me stay focused on the start of high school.

Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School was a book I read early on.

After reading it, I designed a framework and understood that the three Rs are the foundation of any well-laid out high school course.

Look where I share the nitty gritty of that here in my post Homeschool High School The Must Cover Subjects Part 1 and Homeschool High School The Must Cover Subjects Part 2.

Two/ Also, I wished I would have used middle school to help my first high school teen explore more subjects he wanted to.

With my second high school son, I was prepared to let him explore more elective type courses in middle school and getting some of the basic math out of the way.

Middle school gives a budding teen time to explore subjects he is interested in. Take advantage of this time to have some fun.

Three/ Something else I didn’t learn until later was to explore more career options and not just focus on academics. After all, your kid is not attending college for life. It’s preparation for life and a career. (well hopefully).

Careers matter and high school is the time to explore careers.

Reading Career Exploration: for homeschool high school students and What Color Is Your Parachute? for Teens, Third Edition: Discover Yourself, Design Your Future, and Plan for Your Dream Job are two books that are real helpful for your teen to go through.

EXPLORING HIGH SCHOOL COURSES

Something else I didn’t appreciate with my first high school teen is the power to be flexible with courses and course descriptions.

I couldn’t think past simply putting English, Math or Science on my first transcript.

Looking back, I know when preparing transcripts that you want to follow some traditional guidelines and keep general course names on the transcript. So those general descriptions were correct.

However, I need to describe the courses specifically.

Just to illustrate, I put Performing Arts on my first two boys’ transcript.

My older two boys took ballroom dancing, but Performing Arts is the general description to put on the transcript.

I had to come up with a description of ballroom dancing.

I started by looking first at the website where my boys took lessons to give me an idea of how to word what they learned.

I put this:

This beginner course is an introduction to the fundamentals of basic dance. In each dance class, students will be expected to participate in warm-ups and learn the techniques of the Waltz and other traditional dances like the Mambo, Salsa and Swing. Along with learning choreography and dance history, this course culminates in a Spring concert performance.

It wasn’t bad for my first description, but like anything that is a first, it wasn’t exactly comprehensive or correct in a sense.

Since then, I learned that I needed to add my grading scale, what books we used, and how I was going to assign credit.

It’s harder to go back and add these things later, but not impossible.

The bottom line is to keep the course name on the transcript general and make your course descriptive detailed on a separate page to produce it if needed.

EASILY WRITING COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Arranging wording to describe your teen course takes practice, but look at these places to help you.

An obvious place to is the website where you purchased the curriculum. I find the descriptions super helpful in my course descriptions.
I also look at high school course names and descriptions on public school websites. I look for course descriptions similar to the courses that my sons will be doing. This usually gives me some wording
Another place I’ve found descriptions in a nutshell is on Amazon. Amazon is great for giving book descriptions and with a few tweaks of adding how I assign credits and grades, a book description can easily turn course description.
Too, when I didn’t feel like I got a good overview of a course because some descriptions lacked, I would glance at the table of contents to help me word the description of the course.

HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT CONUNDRUM

It can be overwhelming for even the most organized teen and parent when understanding credits, but I like to keep things simple.

It’s been my experience that some families assign a 30 minute class the equal of a 45 minute class because of the intensity of homeschooling and give the student one credit for a rigorous course like literature or math.

You decide how to gauge your credits and the work ethic of your student.

In addition, you decide to give credit if a curriculum is 70% or 80% complete. Some homeschoolers give credit if it’s 80% complete, others less.

Look at my detailed post here for Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School. It gives a detailed explanation for credits.

Also, I have free forms and show you how to expand the use of a transcript here at my detailed post Homeschool High School Transcripts – Anything But Typical.

You and I know that there is no one right to plan high school. But breaking high school down into manageable chunks keeps the process from being overwhelming.

Begin with a framework of the three Rs in high school, fold in accurate course descriptions as you can, be flexible, keep reading about how to grade and assign credit.

Before you know it, you’ll be a pro for your child – which is what really matters.

You will also love my other tips I have for homeschooling high school below:

Hugs and love ya. You got this!

Homeschooling Stubborn Teens: Not for the Faint of Heart

November 8, 2017 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

While homeschooling through the years we confront with dogged determination many scenarios which makes us weak at the knees or makes our heart skip a beat. But, nothing comes even close to the enemy in our own midst – our sweet child turned stubborn, unmotivated, and seemingly lazy teen. Homeschooling stubborn teens is not for the faint of heart.

I’ve learned that although it’s easier to blame my teens for everything that went wrong, I too had to learn how to parent differently. As each of my sons reached the teen years, I’ve had to become more resourceful and creative in how I homeschool them.

Avoiding drama in your house is not all together impossible, but you can curb it and cope with it by learning from my mistakes.

3 PARENTING TECHNIQUES FOR HOMESCHOOLING STUBBORN TEENS

Whether your teen has been homeschooled from the beginning, came willing to homeschool after many years in public school or had no choice, he wants choices now.

One/ Focus on the teen, not the school.

However, before you can get to choices, the number one mistake made by many homeschooling families is to focus on homeschool. Yep, wrong focus right now.

The teacher in us is ready to go, but the mom in us should lead right now. Problems, whether academic or developmental, signal something is wrong.

Although a teen can now vocalize that he hates math or writing and is seen as unmotivated, that’s only the result of what is going on inside.

Before assuming it’s a lack of motivation, step back, and deschool. You can’t move forward until you and your teen are both ready.

Coming into adulthood takes a toll daily on your teen and he needs you now more than ever.

Two/ Deschool now before it’s too late.

Look at ways you can step back, deschool, and focus. Move forward by stepping back instead of butting heads:

If he hates math, ask him which subjects he does like. Use that knowledge to plan a routine. For example, get the worst subjects out of the way at his peak time and in a place he chooses. Explain to him that he can make those choices, however, if he is not doing his math because he decided to lie down on his bed, then it’ll have to change. I had one son that just because he could sit on his bed, he was in the right mindset to do math which was a subject he hated. He did well and eventually later in high school, he moved to the table. Give him some choice. BUT, first take time to not do school while you question him (few questions in the beginning) about subjects he likes and doesn’t like. Help him to make a routine for the day he loves while satisfying your requirements.
Next, do something he wants to do. For us, it was skateboarding, bicycling and watching movies. I told my teens to not do school for a few days while they played. My teens praised me as the best homeschooling mom ever (ha, but I had a motive). Like all smart moms who want their sons to do well in academics, I knew that they had to see first that I was reasonable. After they played for a few days and I could see it winding down, I discussed with each one how to work in what they liked doing while balancing their academic load. It worked. They knew I was reasonable, but had expectations. Including them in the discussion gave them the control they wanted.
Focus on when the rebellion occurs. For example, I knew our problem was an over scheduling problem with one of my teens. The rest of the day he was pretty compliant barring a few bad moods. Over all, the sulking and back talking happened only during school. Stepping back and allowing my teen to rest gave me time to understand how many credits I wanted for middle or high school teen. I reworked his schedule. However, if your teen is complaining pretty much the whole day, then it’s a parenting or rebellious issue and homeschooling is getting a bum rap.

Three/ Over ambitious homeschooling can backfire.

It’s easy to say when your child is five or six years old what he will and will not do as a teen, but it’s quite a different thing scheduling for him at 15 or 16 years old.

While it may be true that a teen doesn’t have to love learning because work places or colleges don’t care if he does, it never worked when I told them that.

I’ve never made progress with my sons when I vented and I normally had nothing helpful to say when I lost it.

Pushing my sons to do college courses early while in high school, having them take jobs too early, and do heavier maths because they were hardworking could’ve backfired.

Stepping back to reaffirm that heart schooling was just as important as academics helped me to solidify the fact that homeschooling is a lifestyle. I want my sons to homeschool their sons because I believe it’s the best way to teach a child.

HOMESCHOOLING TEENS WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND

Homeschooling with a future generation in mind helped me realize that I wholeheartedly believe learning is a privilege.

Curbing my desire to sock it to my boys with their academic load while being teens helped us to not only lap up the precious teen years, but love every minute of it.

Sometimes the solution to a problem was to just stop. And remembering each teen is different helped me to see problems from each kid’s perspective. Can you relate?

What kind of problems are you trying to overcome with your teen?

When your teens are grown and look back at how you didn’t give up on them, all of the hard times will be memories. You’ll only see the beautiful man or woman thanking you. Your knees will then be weak for another reason – overwhelming happy emotion.

Also, you’ll find these other articles super helpful. Don’t give up now. You’re almost there.

Hugs and love ya,

7 Unique Ways to Supplement U.S. History for High School

September 30, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When I was taken paralegal courses after high school, I had an assignment to read Wills and Deeds from the 1800s at the local courthouse.

Loosing track of time was easy as I was absorbed in reading not only legal language but reading the household property that was bequeathed to family members. It was like stepping back in time as I read about the lives of past Americans.

Engaging US History

It was fascinating and stirred a love of not only the history of law but of American history.

Remembering that time in my life, I was determined to supplement U.S. history for high school in a creative way.

I’ve rounded up 7 unique ways to supplement U.S. history for high school because engaging ways to learn history for high school can easily be overlooked.

One/ Read old documents.

Planning a trip to the courthouse to have your teen read old documents which are public record is a fun field trip for a teen.

Also, we used primary resources from Jackdaws when we read about Lewis and Clark.

Scanning, studying, and analyzing old documents are a wonderful way to allow a teen not only a chance to step back in time, but to develop critical thinking skills.

Two/ Historical reenactment.

Many areas in the states put on historical reenactments whether it’s the American Civil War or visiting the Plimoth Plantation.

Remembering the past by visiting and participating in historical reenactments is another way of bringing meaning to past events.

Instead of focusing on the terrible woes of war, we tried to focus on people that lived during that time and how they were were affected by the decisions made.

Three/ Watching documentaries or movies.

Using documentaries as a unit study opener is a great way to engage your high school kid.

I’m always looking at ways to connect what we’re learning about to a movie so that it’s more memorable.

Look at this quick list that hopefully will stir you or your teen’s creative juices:

Gone With the Wind
Lincoln
Amistad
The Searchers
Drums Along the Mohawk
The Alamo
Davy Crockett
Wyatt Earp
Far and Away
History of Henry Ford

Four/ Visit historical homes or towns.

Visiting a section of town like the French Quarter in New Orleans which is full of history widens your teens’ love of how other cultures influenced America, immigration issues, and architect.

Also, tour famous historical homes like the White House or Monticello.

Some homes are more famous than others, but many towns have a historical home or two preserved.

What better way to learn about Amelia Earhart than to visit her birthplace in Kansas?

Five/ Use American artifacts.

Whether it’s blue jeans or Fiestaware, this is a great site with a free teaching guide and writing activities using artifacts from American culture to teach history.

Six/ Field trips. And not to the Zoo.

Let’s just face it. Field trips at the high school level may seem harder to find. They are, but there are also many opportunities to extend a teen’s learning past a textbook on a field trip.

It may take a bit more creative wit, but the opportunities are there. Unless your teen is planning to be a zookeeper (which is great too) he probably has been to the zoo many times.

Look at these ideas for field trips for a teen that bring history alive:

Plan to attend a trial in the local courthouse or a court docket call. Check with the bailiff because he is the person that deals with the public. He may recommend an upcoming trial that would be permissible for your teen to sit in. We did this one time and my boys never forgot it.
I planned a trip to the federal money reserve for our teens to learn about the federal government and how money is made.
Our local ferry was a great way to learn about the history of the port and about early life on the coast.
Living near a major college, we watched showtimes for plays about history and got invited one time by local students.

SEVEN/ Supplement American history through reading about the life of an American.

We love the series of books by Genevieve Foster like George Washington’s World and Abraham Lincoln’s World.

Instead of thinking about the events in American history as isolated from the rest of the world, these books tie in other world events happening simultaneously as key American history events.

Studying U.S. history can be challenging when trying to make it engaging for a teen. Add one or two of these ideas and your teen won’t easily forget some of the key events of U.S. history.

3 Beginner’s Tips: Homeschool High School Literature

September 16, 2017 | 3 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

As if entering the high school years wasn’t daunting enough, you’re expected to be instantly informed about how to teach high school literature.

As I began gathering teaching tips and resources for my first high school son, all I could think of was my own high school years, and that was a long time ago. Gradually, my basic plan for a starting point has changed as each son entered high school because my own high school experience was not much help.

Today, I want to clear away some of the mystery surrounding how to teach literature because I want to give you a beginning point.

Also, teaching high school literature is a very comprehensive topic. Instead of taking you to the glazed-over-eyes point I want to stick to a basic foundation, which I think is more helpful.

Try to remember as I share the three beginner’s tips that you can build on them each year.

Try not to sock it all to your teen like I did in the beginning. Look at my 9th Grade Homeschool High School – Avoid the Sock It to Them Attitude.

ONE/ Hone your definition of what is high school literature.

Literature is any written material. That doesn’t help much so you need to help your teen understand what is the importance of studying literature.

Battle for the Mind

Try this. Literature is any written material, but it normally means works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama which having artistic value and makes one think.

In addition, classic literature is written work that transcends time or has outlasted current thinking. Too, great literature or masterpieces are written works that gives shades of meaning to their topics. Opinions, feelings and emotions will vary.

Whether it’s a short story with limited characters or poetry that reflects the author’s world, they all share identifying marks which are to move you and make you hate or delight in the undertone meaning. And like one of my boys said, they just keep talking to you today.

Whether the material is about showing a stylistic technique or it’s an unusual genre, it’s a battle for the mind.

TWO/ Introduce literature through American, British, and World authors.

Something else I did wrong was to be all over the place when selecting curriculum. No matter how organized my first high school teen was, I frustrated him because I didn’t have a method to my planning.

Dividing up grades or semesters by reading and analyzing poems, novels, and short stories from different parts of the world and different time periods gives your teen a well-balanced view.

For example, a study of World literature would obviously include authors from all over the world, but it should coincide with the different time periods of history. This way you’re covering some of the greatest material from different ages.

Don’t forget the timeless tip of using one history book for analyzing literature while reading about history.

For example, when I read the novel by Dickens of A Tale of Two Cities with my boys, it gives a good view of the Victorian period and the French Revolution.

You’ll want to add to it by having your teen research a bit about the French Revolution unless he has already studied it. Understanding the world the author has created or is writing about places your teen right in the middle of the conflicts.

The conflict of two distinct classes, the rich and the poor, along with the way Dickens explains sad times gives your teen a preview of not only literary topics, but history.

THREE/ Literary devices or terms need to be your framework.

I never required my boys to do a book report when they were younger, but I did require critical thinking skills and a broad understanding of literary devices in high school.

I would hear moans of how boring it was and I tried not to make it boring. But, this is high school literature and the skills taught at these grades should equip your teen at the least to think like an adult.

Whether you’re preparing your teen for a college prep course or not, he still needs to learn how to think beyond black and white.

This is the time when your teen forms values, opinions, and beliefs and you need to look beyond the idea that you’re mutilating a good read.

How to Reflect on American, British, and World Literature

Making the connection to our belief system during our study time as we discussed it together was an unexpected benefit.

What I mean is that this is not just the time to read about boring literary devices, but the time to understand the message that the author is illustrating through literary devices.

Sometimes, it’s necessary to memorize definitions like rhyme, meter, or sonnet, but it’s more engaging when you and your teen understand why poetry was written in that style.

Digging into why ancient poets wrote how they did gives your student a richer understanding of the world around him.

You want your homeschooled teen to clearly state a verbal or written response to the topics of today’s world. It begins by analyzing a great book.

I hope this simple beginning and quick glance will give you a good foundation to begin your planning. In my upcoming posts, I will be sharing resources to help guide you and your teen.

Do you think you would like that?

Look at these too, you may like to grab the tips there.

Hugs and love ya,

How to Teach Science Through A Story – Middle & High School

August 7, 2017 | 118 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I stalked the mailman waiting for these books from Beautiful Feet Books. I was given this product free and I was compensated for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off or that a company will receive a glowing review. I don’t roll that way. ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun stuff!

Using storytelling as a powerful teacher is not a new concept to homeschoolers. Not only do we love reading stories but we understand their power to captivate and convince readers. However, until I started using Beautiful Feet Books I wasn’t so confident that teaching science through a story or through biographies would benefit my kids all the way through to high school.

First, I need to back up and explain what curriculum we’ve been poring over. For the past couple of months, it has been a delight to use the History of Science. I knew it was geared toward the 3rd to 7th grade level but we were over the top excited to ditch the science textbook and learn the history of science through living literature. Too, I know science biographies can also be used for older kids.

History of Science Living Literature

I already figured out that my worksheet approach, as academic and bookish as it sounds, didn’t work because my boys retained lessons better using a learn-by-doing approach.

Next, early on in my homeschooling journey, I had stumbled upon Early American History with my then first kindergartner. After using it with him, I learned that other equally important elements which stir a child’s thinking are living literature and absorbing history through a story. There has not been a more enriching way to teach him or my other sons to high school than a literature-based approach.

What I’m saying is that storytelling, learning-by-doing, and living literature are inextricably linked. Using those same elements while teaching science are the same ones used in teaching the History of Science and used for teaching an older child.

7 Creative Ways to Adapt Curriculum for Older Homeschooled Kids

Learning how to adapt a multiple age curriculum for upper grades can be challenging, but look at some ways I did this with the features of History of Science. They are the same tips I used with my sons all the way through middle school and into high school.

With a yearlong program geared toward 3rd to 7th grade, there is a lot of room to allow exploring topics in more depth. Using a yearlong program is key. Your time is valuable and by using a curriculum that is laid out for a year, you have more than enough ideas in place to use as a springboard for all the ages of kids you’re teaching.
Even though the biographies are geared toward a lower reading level, they are likable by an older child. Many essay points can be gleaned from each biography. For example, previous to studying this curriculum, we hadn’t researched much about George Washington Carver. Reading about this American Pioneer and his many uses of peanuts made for a fun rabbit trail or research project. Even though your younger kids can join in the project to list the many uses of peanuts, I had Tiny delve deeper into this since it piqued his interest. I required that he explain the history of the peanut. I had questions like what is the history of the peanut, why was Carver encouraging farmers during the American Civil War to break away from cultivating just cotton, and explain the growing process of the peanut. For example, he had to know that it wasn’t a peanut at all but a seed and understand that the boll weevil could devastate cotton crops.
Another fascinating point to glean from the History of Science is understanding and seeing science through the eyes of great scientists. We use this concept for history all the time. We want to learn history through the eyes of a character who lived in a particular time period. Learning science through biographies of Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, George Washington Carver, Wright Brothers and Albert Einstein keeps kids equally inspired to learn about the wonders of science instead of dry, boring facts.

In addition, with many notebook pages, vocabulary words, and hands-on ideas the study guide is just that. It’s a springboard for you to use and add your own ideas. I really love how the guide is laid out because if it was totally scripted it’s hard to use that for older kids or younger kids. A guide on the other hand gives me a nudge or jump to another teaching concept that my son is interested in.
After I abandoned my wrong and stereotypical view that hands-on learning means no learning at all, I’ve been touting for years how hands-on learning needs to be used through to high school. The best books have been culled through and selected for easy hands-on activity that can be used for a variety of ages. Not only did we start our science portfolio notebook, but we did many hands-on learning activities like this one Day 4. Ancient Greece (Hands-on Science) 3 EASY Activities, ice cutting, and writing the Greek alphabet.

One more fun way to engage older kids through a story is to let them learn through a timeline. A timeline is a visual and natural way to learn. Kids can race ahead and place figures on a timeline while they read about scientific discoveries, events, and biographies. This is another key benefit to this curriculum. The timeline can stand on its own. It can be used completely separate. Instead of quickly placing the key events or scientists in order, challenge your older kids to learn about them before seeing the dates. Which significant event happened first, next and so on? Your middle school kids can memorize the events in order. It’ll give your kids foundational pegs as they fill in with more information with each time period.
Another tip that makes this curriculum especially useful to me is that it has scientists from different time periods. It’s organized into 3 parts that coincide with history, which are Ancient Scientists, Medieval & Renaissance Scientists, and Modern Scientists. I can easily add one section in depth this year and come back to this resource another year to focus on a different time period.
One last tip I do is to completely turn the teaching guide and everything over to my older kid. When you’re finished with the younger kids, let your middle or high school kid work through the lessons at their pace or at their will. For example, Tiny skipped all over the place when it came to reading and what interested him. That is such a liberating feeling for any learner and it’s the way to encourage independent learning. A lot of Beautiful Feet Books curriculum can be used that way, which is why I’ve been a user for a long time and couldn’t be more pleased.

The last thing I know you want to know about is whether it’s Christian or secular. I guess that depends on your definition of those two concepts. It’s easier to tell you that it’s very friendly toward both type of views which I appreciate.

While it has some parts that ask your child to write a Bible verse, you can leave it, use it, or add your own. That part shows they support a Christian view. However, their goal with their curriculum is to leave it up to you as the parent to add your worldview. I can say it’s more easily done with this curriculum than many I use which saturate their curriculum with their Christian or secular worldview and makes it almost impossible to tweak.

If you’re wanting to use curriculum that teaches science through storytelling with a focus on hands-on learning by using a part unit study approach and part Charlotte Mason, you’ll love this curriculum like I do.

Read about the other curriculum I’ve used here at Early American and World History, the Medieval History Sr. High levels and Medieval History Adv. Int. & Jr. High Pack history curriculum.

Guess what? You read down to here and I told you there was a surprise!

Beautiful Feet Books is giving away $100.00 of living books! Oh, you want this and please don’t think you’ll not win! I have to give this sweet giveaway to somebody! Go ahead and enter below.

How to Purchase It.

►Product Name: History of Science
►Website: Beautiful Feet Books – BFBooks
► Don’t Miss: The Getting Started page. It’s been such a helpful guide for me through the years.
►Type of product: These is a physical product but the study guide is available as a digital download too. From their site: Our newly revised and updated History of Science is a popular and exciting read-aloud approach to the study of science! Rebecca’s course uses biographies to tell the life stories of famous scientists like Archimedes, Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, George Washington Carver, Einstein, and others as well as hands-on experiments to prove the scientists’ theories and test their discoveries. An enriching way to introduce biology, chemistry, and physics. For grades 3-7, this one-year study will cover basic scientific principles and the history of scientific study beginning in ancient Greece and continuing through the 1990s. Contains 85 lessons, dozens of experiments, lab reports, and much more.
►Price: Regular Price: $182.49 17% OFF! BFB Price: $150.95 but this is a yearlong curriculum.

Don’t forget, that you can find this savings code only here on my blog for a literature pack and yes, if you use this coupon, you can still win the $100.00 worth of books!

3 Ways to Homeschool the BIGS (a.k.a. Older Kids)

July 28, 2017 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

If a totally perfect guide on how to homeschool older kids existed, it could instantly become obsolete because of the changing body and mind of an older kid. Unlike the younger years where kids are more compliant, older kids are ready to flex their decision making muscles.

Whether tweens or teens, homeschooling older kids can be like navigating new homeschool waters each year.

There are some tried and true tips I’ve learned that will help you to keep older kids passionate about learning all the way through to and including high school. It’s not easy, but grab these 3 tips for your arsenal.

One/Plan monthly field trips targeted especially for older kids. This one time don’t think about your younger kids. (Okay, maybe just a little.)

Reject the thinking that field trips are just for younger learners. Until Mr. Senior 2013 did part of his Kindergarten in public school, I didn’t know that field trips are almost non-existent in any grade past Kindergarten.

From playmate to lifelong friend

Although field trips are important when kids are younger, they are vital as kids get older.

(Federal Reserve Bank field trip for older kids)

Look at these reasons why field trips are essential as your child grows.

Kids need to learn how to make friends and have them outside of the family. I’ve always believed that as parents we are our kids foremost and best friend. However, kids can’t learn how to make lifelong friends unless they experience other personalities. A field trip with like-minded individuals sharpened my boys sense of self-worth and it also showed them how they didn’t want to be.
Field trips with other families which have our same family values sharpened my sons’ values.
Although as a parent I was glad we went to the field trip at the end of it, some moms felt like we really didn’t need it. Older kids are not like us. They need and want friends. Loneliness can run rampant among young people. Don’t forget that just because you have made your friends and are comfortable with your circle, that may not be the case for older kids.
Nurturing a love for a new hobby, course or career happens at a field trip. If a kid spends his summer outside at the beach learning about science which he may love then that can feed his desire for a career or college track in biology.

Two/ Move away from the books!

To say as kids get older that they can be moody is an understatement. In the same day they can be relaxed and restless. With their bodies changing, it means that their brain is not always in gear for learning. When we had days like that we just put away the books.

Don’t worry about the stress of high school. There are many more days that your kids will have good than bad. So ease up on them and savor the days of homeschooling them while they’re older.

Unit studies are my way of giving my sons control over their learning.

When they could control very little in their day, it gave them a sense of empowerment to study something they chose. Not only did it break up the day, but it kept the joy for learning while they hit the lows and highs of hormones.

Look at just two of these hands-on middle school unit studies which a highschooler who needs a break would enjoy soaking up.

Zoology: Amazing Animals and Estuary Ecology are both great for hands-on learning and for getting older kids out of the house to learn.

Three/ They need to get physical. (And no, it doesn’t have to be an over the top class or activity.)

Getting past the younger ages, I just knew my boys energy level would settle down. In one way it did and in another way, they needed more physical exercise.

Although I don’t consider myself an exercise enthusiast, we do love to walk and stay active. We’ve always had some kind of exercise in our daily routine. But it was nowhere near what my boys needed.

One year my boys had asked to be around other young homeschooled teens more, I also knew they needed more movement, and we needed another one-half semester credit. I combined all three needs into one and chose ball room dance lessons as my teacher mandated elective (ha).

Moans could be heard far and wide because ball room dancing was not for macho men – right? Or at least that was their preconceived notion.

The Mr. backed me up on my new brainstorm and we gave our teens no choice. We were reasonable and told them that if they didn’t like it after the first month, we could do something different.

It took only one lesson and they were hooked. Did I mention to this day, they all love to dance?

They are not the shy boys at the party, but the ones soaking up fun times and dancing the whole time they are there.

Prior to that, I had to clear out the garage for a couple set of weights and benches. Sharing my garage with exercise equipment is a small price to pay for the boys to have a place to stay physically and mentally fit.

These are just three easy things that have worked with my boys through the years. I have a few more things to share in my arsenal.

What works for you?

You also may want to look at my tips at how Teach Your Homeschooled Teen the Art of Studying (without nagging), When Homeschooling is Not an Overnight Success (Is it Worth the Risk?) and When Homeschooled Kids Are Not Excited About Ordinary Days.

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

21 Amazing Homeschool Graduation Ideas (Making Memories)

June 19, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Planning two homeschool graduation parties has been one of the happiest times in my life and yet overly emotional at the same time. I’ve gathered 21 amazing homeschool graduation ideas that will help your family to celebrate old traditions and make new memories.

Before I share them though, I want to tell you real quick what I’ve learned – so far. Every day life affects how we feel when the time finally arrives to celebrate a special time as homeschoolers.

For example, in my life the Mr. had to recover from a life-threatening heart attack and Mr. Senior 2013’s graduation was a bit postponed. After the Mr. recovered, we celebrated. You can imagine how eternally grateful I was for not just the family gathering, but for life itself.

When Mr. Awesome 2015 graduated, we savored our time living overseas in Ecuador and celebrated that time differently and uniquely. Although we focused on the achievements of Mr. Awesome 2015, it was again a time to cherish our family being together.

Your journey up to this point will also define what this time will be for your family. Don’t try to separate life from one of the happiest times for your teen. Embrace it and make your time with family, loved ones and homeschooling friends a treasured time.

Like your homeschooling journey where you lived and learned together, don’t forget to do the things on that special day that mean the most to your family no matter how seemingly insignificant they are to others.

What I’m trying to say is that this is also a celebration of your family and the unique homeschool lifestyle you chose. Let your party reflect those values.

From mundane to memorable, from fun food ideas to family fun, I hope you can use one of these 21 amazing homeschool graduation ideas.

1._Have your teen show a talent he has studied. He could play a musical piece or have a collage to showcase his art talent.

We recently went to a graduation and the graduate had a beautiful voice as a jazz singer. We enjoyed a film presentation of her singing. It was nice that it was a prerecorded film so that the graduate could enjoy her family and friends.

2._Mr. Senior 2013 loves to public speak and prepared a short speech at his party. I found that about 5 minutes or so is enough time to talk to his audience.

Mr. Awesome 2015 didn’t want to be in front of the people to make a speech, so we didn’t make him.

However, he did know that he would have to make remarks to express his gratitude for the volunteers of his party. That is all we required of him. Each kid has a different personality for sure.

3._ Several picture collages placed around were perfect conversation pieces and especially for our family and friends that were not homeschoolers. It showed what an enriching introduction to a wide range of learning topics we had covered.

4._ Everyone differs on food. We love having a gathering where we can enjoy a meal. For Mr. Senior 2013, I felt like we had the best of both worlds, ie. catering and budget-friendly meals.

I ordered food at a local favorite restaurant and had it delivered, but not catered. I saved hundreds of dollars by having everybody go through the food line buffet style.

For Mr. Awesome 2015, we provided some of the main dishes like turkey and dressing, but had several volunteers bring side dishes.

Also, don’t forget finger foods like crescent roll sandwiches, ham and cheese and minisliders made ahead of time. Those are great and fun options.

On another note, a taco, nacho or even potato bar are great ideas that please a crowd.

I went to one party where all the toppings for tacos were lined up down the table and everybody built their own tacos or nachos.

This idea is great if you’re short on cooking help because the items can be made ahead of time.

Use crock pots to carry food to the party because they can travel easy and be turned on low to keep food heated.

Make Family Time Memorable

5._Have a ceremony where you and the Mr. present your teen with his diploma.

6._If your teen has studied a foreign language, use some of the words he has learned as part of the decorations. Todos Bienvenidos!

7._If you’re hosting your gathering at home, have an area set up in your home, garage or media area for the kids to play video games together. They’ve enjoyed being with each other during the years at field trips and will love this if you’re planning a less formal gathering.

8._We love to dance group dances at any party we have. So the boys told some of their friends ahead of time the songs that we would playing. This allowed their friends to practice their polished dance moves ahead of time. Then they all did group dances together. It made for a lot of fun and laughs.

Also though because my boys took ballroom dancing in high school, they were able to make that part of the party.

9._Decide the dress and communicate it clearly to your guests. Mr. Senior 2013 wanted something a bit more dressy casual and Mr. Awesome 2015 was all about shorts and comfort.

Sometimes this is a time, especially by girls, to dress formal and wear that long formal gown they’ve been wanting to wear.

Let each kid’s personality dictate the night of fun.

10._Have a photo booth. We gathered up items from the dollar store and made some other props. Browse thrift shops for costumes and fun things to use in a photo booth.

This was so much fun because it allowed for friends to take pictures together as well as a whole family to get in on it. Even the little kids had fun doing this.

11._While some of our friends were having fun taking pictures, we had a prepared music list so that others could enjoy dancing. I didn’t just let the boys pick the music. We’re pretty selective, but too I wanted grandparents and older ones to join in. So we got music from different time periods.

12._If you don’t have a sound system you can borrow, some places still have a jukebox, which you can rent from a party or music supply place.

13._Don’t forget creating keepsakes like a program for the night. I wished I had done that but you have to remember, I have all boys. So in the scheme of things it wasn’t a big deal for them.

I think if I had a girl, she would like a few more momentoes.

A prepared program along with taking pictures of their homeschool classmates was on tap for the evening too.

14._And whatever you do also don’t forget to get a picture of you and your family for the special occasion. I had a list of photo ideas for the photographer that we hired.

Some photo ideas were non-negotiable meaning the photographer had to be sure to capture certain moments. Other ideas we had on the list were for fun things to take pictures of while the party was going on.

15._Don’t forget to put the ending time on your invitations.

I know some people forget to put the ending time on invitations and that makes it hard to clean up or pack up when everybody has been having so much fun.

However, because you and your family are probably doing most of the work, be sure you have enough time to shut the party down and not be dead tired the next morning. Okay, you will be but at least you won’t ever forget the party.

16._Remember to appoint somebody to record at the party AND to email different ones to follow up and get their recordings as well. If you like DVDs you can ask somebody to record and have a keepsake DVD.

17._Another graduation we went to the girl had a father and daughter dance.

The graduate was adopted by her grandparents and you could see her deep moving gratitude. The obvious emotion in the dance was full of meaning to all present and tear jerking because we all knew the story.

Create New Memorable Homeschool Moments

I know I’ve said it before, but each event should be unique to your family.

18._ Have a book or big board for your family and friends to write on for advice. One party the family had a huge poster board where all the family and friends could give their tidbits of wisdom. One party we went to recently, the graduate passed around a small book decorated by her for her special night.

19._As far as more fun food, we did a candy buffet at both parties complete with what each son really loved.

For the non-sugar eating friends, we assigned out a few deserts made with splenda. This was a big hit as not everybody can eat sugar. A lot of our family is diabetic. We have it on both sides of the family. So this night was one time to splurge – just a bit.

20._Another practical idea I liked by one family was to have a jar at the party. They ask family and friends to bring their favorite recipe to put in the jar.

Later the girl’s parents made a collage book out of it. Such a memorable and practical gift – a first cookbook.

21._Not every homeschool graduate wants to celebrate with others.

Some families I’ve known planned a special cruise or hike to their favorite vacation spot.

You’ll also love reading my 10 Days of Planning a Homeschool High School Graduation where I go into more detail and you’ll love these absolutely stunning and creative ideas from this Purdy Purdy Pink – Homeschool Graduation.

Tell me! What homeschool graduation ideas have you come up with or want to do with your family?

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.

Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

3 VALUABLE TIPS WHEN TEACHING HOMESCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL

HOMESCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL SUBJECTS GUIDE

3 POINTERS: HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND COURSES

EXPLORING HIGH SCHOOL COURSES

EASILY WRITING COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT CONUNDRUM

3 PARENTING TECHNIQUES FOR HOMESCHOOLING STUBBORN TEENS

One/ Focus on the teen, not the school.

Two/ Deschool now before it’s too late.

Three/ Over ambitious homeschooling can backfire.

HOMESCHOOLING TEENS WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND

Engaging US History

One/ Read old documents.

Two/ Historical reenactment.

Three/ Watching documentaries or movies.

Four/ Visit historical homes or towns.

Five/ Use American artifacts.

Six/ Field trips. And not to the Zoo.

SEVEN/ Supplement American history through reading about the life of an American.

ONE/ Hone your definition of what is high school literature.

Battle for the Mind

TWO/ Introduce literature through American, British, and World authors.

THREE/ Literary devices or terms need to be your framework.

How to Reflect on American, British, and World Literature

History of Science Living Literature

7 Creative Ways to Adapt Curriculum for Older Homeschooled Kids

How to Purchase It.

From playmate to lifelong friend

Make Family Time Memorable

Create New Memorable Homeschool Moments

My Middle & High School Geography Curriculum Luv & Career or College Help! (Oh Yes)

My Middle & High School Language Arts Luv (Because it works!)

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