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It feels like a very long time since I've done this type of post, but since I was working on semester grades and a mid-term report card this week, it's obviously on my mind. Our first semester has been largely successful, but we've made a couple of changes to our original plan for the school year too.
Grammar and Composition
We are using Writing Fiction [in High School]: Bringing Your Stories to Life! from Writing with Sharon Watson in co-op. We're having fun with the class, and Kennady is doing really well with her writing. I'm enjoying the stories the students have been writing, and many of them are very funny and entertaining. So far we've learned about point of view, fairy tales, characters and characterization, conflict and tension, and dialogue. We just started working on description and settings, and I don't think I'll have to tweak the lesson plan in order to finish the book by the end of the school year. Provided we don't have any more snow days!
Math
Kennady needs one more math credit, and I require my kids to do a Consumer Math course during high school, so we'd planned to combine Money 101: Seminars in Personal Finances from SchoolhouseTeachers.com and a Consumer Math text. I'd already planned the course, and have it ready for Kennady in second semester, but I think we may tweak this a bit. The base will still be Money 101, which is a media based course worth a half credit. But I think I'll cut back the amount of work I'll want her to do in the textbook. She'll be taking a related course at co-op that may provide some of the business type math, and she may be participating in a small group at church that is doing a Dave Ramsey course.
(By the way, SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a ton of courses to choose from for all ages, and is always adding more to its already extensive list of resources. If you're needing to add to, change, or just tweak your curriculum plan, as many of us do around mid-term, SchoolhouseTeachers.com may be just what you need. Especially with the 2019 Fresh Start, New Year Special pricing right now.)
American History is another course she's doing at the co-op. We're studying Exploring America from Notgrass. We're doing a full History and full Bible credit, and a half credit in American Literature. This class has gone well, although probably not quite as fun as the Creative Writing course. Kennady is finding out that she has trouble writing tests, even when she knows the material. She has trouble remembering the details and coming up with them when under a bit of pressure. Study skills are something we'll need to work on in second semester, so that she can be prepared for college!
Electives - Co-ops and Classes
French II - Kennady is continuing this course at co-op and is doing very well.
Speech and Presentation II - Kennady loved the public speaking class in first semester, and I think she aced it! In fact, she enjoyed it so much, she decided to take the class offered by the same instructor in second semester, and that will be . . .
Introduction to Business and Entrepreneurship - This class started today and will focus on aspects of running a small business. They will be reading The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and the Gospel of Wealth (Signet Classics)
and drawing on that for some of the lessons. It's a half credit course, and I'm also hoping that it will give her a boost of motivation and confidence to make some career decisions.
Children's Chorus - This is Kennady's final year in this upper level chorus. It's an excellent program that provides outstanding music education in choral singing, so a full Fine Arts credit.
Guitar Lessons - Kennady has continued playing on worship teams and writing and performing some of her own material. We'd hoped that we could make time for her to go back to lessons with her instructor but her schedule is just so full! A couple of months ago, we reviewed the Semester 1 Bundle from Guitar 360 Method, which is a 13-week self-paced course. She hasn't done much with it recently, but this is now our alternative to guitar lessons. She's got enough experience to be able to work on her own, and the beauty of Guitar 360 is that it's internet video-based, so she can work at her own pace, and whenever it works out. She doesn't need a ride to a lesson and doesn't need to plan around a set half hour on a set day of the week.
You can read our full review here: Guitar 360 Method - A Homeschool Coffee Break Review
Piano Tuning and Technology - This is her technology credit and is essentially on the job training, or a sort of apprenticeship. Kennady works part time at the music shop where her guitar teacher is a piano technician, and they've started training her to work on pianos - repairs and rebuilds of the action and insides of pianos. How cool is that?!
Now I'm looking at the time and realizing that I'd better go get ready for the History class and later today I'll finish writing up her report card to submit!
How did your first semester go? According to plan, or are you making adjustments? Leave a comment and let me know!
(By the way, SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a ton of courses to choose from for all ages, and is always adding more to its already extensive list of resources. If you're needing to add to, change, or just tweak your curriculum plan, as many of us do around mid-term, SchoolhouseTeachers.com may be just what you need. Especially with the 2019 Fresh Start, New Year Special pricing right now.)
History, Bible, and Literature
American History is another course she's doing at the co-op. We're studying Exploring America from Notgrass. We're doing a full History and full Bible credit, and a half credit in American Literature. This class has gone well, although probably not quite as fun as the Creative Writing course. Kennady is finding out that she has trouble writing tests, even when she knows the material. She has trouble remembering the details and coming up with them when under a bit of pressure. Study skills are something we'll need to work on in second semester, so that she can be prepared for college!
Electives - Co-ops and Classes
French II - Kennady is continuing this course at co-op and is doing very well.
Speech and Presentation II - Kennady loved the public speaking class in first semester, and I think she aced it! In fact, she enjoyed it so much, she decided to take the class offered by the same instructor in second semester, and that will be . . .
Introduction to Business and Entrepreneurship - This class started today and will focus on aspects of running a small business. They will be reading The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and the Gospel of Wealth (Signet Classics)
and drawing on that for some of the lessons. It's a half credit course, and I'm also hoping that it will give her a boost of motivation and confidence to make some career decisions.
Children's Chorus - This is Kennady's final year in this upper level chorus. It's an excellent program that provides outstanding music education in choral singing, so a full Fine Arts credit.
Guitar Lessons - Kennady has continued playing on worship teams and writing and performing some of her own material. We'd hoped that we could make time for her to go back to lessons with her instructor but her schedule is just so full! A couple of months ago, we reviewed the Semester 1 Bundle from Guitar 360 Method, which is a 13-week self-paced course. She hasn't done much with it recently, but this is now our alternative to guitar lessons. She's got enough experience to be able to work on her own, and the beauty of Guitar 360 is that it's internet video-based, so she can work at her own pace, and whenever it works out. She doesn't need a ride to a lesson and doesn't need to plan around a set half hour on a set day of the week.
You can read our full review here: Guitar 360 Method - A Homeschool Coffee Break Review
Piano Tuning and Technology - This is her technology credit and is essentially on the job training, or a sort of apprenticeship. Kennady works part time at the music shop where her guitar teacher is a piano technician, and they've started training her to work on pianos - repairs and rebuilds of the action and insides of pianos. How cool is that?!
Now I'm looking at the time and realizing that I'd better go get ready for the History class and later today I'll finish writing up her report card to submit!
How did your first semester go? According to plan, or are you making adjustments? Leave a comment and let me know!
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2 comments:
Mostly according to plan with a few small adjustments here and there. So far high school is going really well but I already know we need to focus on study skills and note taking next year. He wants to try a few on-line college classes for no-credit and I know he'll struggle without those two skills.
Studying for tests is a challenge since different students process and retain information differently. Keep up the good work!
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