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Four Year Plan +1 for High School @ Home

April 26, 2011 By debrabell 2 Comments

In the Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Teens, Chapter 12,  I write about the necessity of laying out a tentative schedule of coursework and tasks for high school at the beginning of  8th grade.  That’s for those of you with foresight.  ( I didn’t gain that until my third child.)   

The benefit of the plan is to make sure everything important gets done and that you distribute the tasks in a way that minimizes overloading the teen’s schedule.  ( The senior year, for instance, needs to have time for filling out college applications and making the college decision.)

I’ve uploaded the Four Year Planning Grid and an example with pre-labeled tiles you can move around in your quest for the best workable schedule: Four+Year+Plan+Movable_Tiles.  These are Word documents.

 I include the extra year ( +1) because when you work backwards from the most competitive next step your teen will possibly take following high school graduation, you’ll find some things need to be done by the end of 8th grade, too.

I’ve also created a High School Checklist that includes desirable coursework and activities you might want to consider.

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College Credit for High School Work

April 6, 2011 By debrabell Leave a Comment

The easiest and least expensive way to earn college credit for your high school work is through scoring well on college equivalency exams.  The most widely accepted equivalency exams are the College Level Examination Program (CLEP®) and Advanced Placement (AP® ) tests. (More than 90% of colleges in the U.S. award course exemptions or credit for many of these exams.)  Both  the CLEP®  and AP®  programs  are developed by the College Board, the same organization that publishes the SAT  college entrance exam and the SAT subject tests.  You can read more about the CLEP® program here.  You can read more about the AP® program here.

The individual colleges and universities that participate in the CLEP® and AP®  programs determine  which exams they will accept,  how much credit will be applied and what score students must achieve in order to earn credit, course exemptions or advanced placement. You will find an institution’s equivalency exam policy on their website. Search by “credit by exam,” “AP policy” or “CLEP policy.”

Which equivalency exam you take will be determined by your purposes:

  • CLEP® exams are shorter, easier, less expensive and less prestigious.  These are a great choice if the main goal is college credit for required coursework. 
  • AP® exams are far more rigorous, and therefore, more respected.  High scores on AP® exams will be weighted heavily for merit scholarship consideration and college admittance at competitive schools and programs.

Read the rest of this article here.

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Handouts from “Mom’s Day Out” MACHE

February 13, 2011 By debrabell 5 Comments

I had a wonderful time yesterday sharing with women at an event sponsored by Maryland Association of Christian Homeschoolers (MACHE).  It was a day focused on what it means practically to look Godward during our mothering and homeschooling years.  We know we are losing our way when we look horizontally at what others are doing as the measure of our success.  Rather our source of joy and direction must come vertically everyday from God himself and His particular purposes for our lives.  Part of His direction is seen in understanding how wonderfully and fearfully made each child is - supporting the development path and timing He has ordained for each of them is one way we are Godward in our homeschooling.  I would like to thank the ladies in attendance for encouraging me as well.  It was a refreshing morning.

I’ve attached here the handouts from the sessions: God-Centered Homeschooling, Cultivating A Love For Learning, and Standing Strong With High Schoolers.

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Best (and free) Test Prep for SAT/ACT

February 2, 2011 By debrabell Leave a Comment

So you have a teen staring down the deadline to her first SAT experience. Or your son shows little dedication to his vocabulary program. What’s an innocuous (SAT word of medium challenge –adjective 1. not harmful or injurious; harmless. 2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive. ) strategy to help them both prepare in less than 15 minutes a day?

And because our mantra around here is always free, if you please; low-cost, no-cost solutions are to die for, can this solution come with no strings attached?

Got just the site for you: number2.com

Your teens can register for a free prep program for the SAT and ACT – and all sections are included ( math, verbal, writing, subject areas, etc.).  The site tracks the student’s progress and will send reports to a “coach,” which can be you.   Your student can also register for the vocabulary builder program which starts with the least challenging words and works up to the most.  The student receives immediate feedback; as well as, helpful hints before giving up the correct answer.

Finally, the icing on the cake: The site keeps track of your teen’s strengths and weaknesses and personalizes the program to gently move the student toward mastery.  This site has everything built into it that we know from the research promotes student learning: immediate feedback, explanations and hints that trigger prior knowledge, and an individualized approach that always begins at the level of a student’s success and moves upward incrementally.

And it’s free!  So what’s the catch?  Not any that I can see. Unlike other sites where your teen will be subjected to a constant barrage of advertisement and user information is sold to third-party vendors, number2.com keeps the information you share private.  The student’s personal information is used to customize the program and to send reports to the student and coach.  Because the site is funded through sponsorships and licensing, the tool is available for free to users.

Consumer Reports did a study a few years back comparing online test prep programs.  All the big names were included, and you know some of these companies are charging hundreds of dollars for their online program; plus populating their sites with a lot of advertisements.  Well, number2.com was in the study and they scored in the top quadrant in almost all areas.  You can read the full report here.

So there you have it: Our best (and free) site for the week of Jan 31, 2011.

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