New School Year - New Attitude 2018-19 Curriculum

NO MORE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

This school year will be just as challenging, but with more planned breaks and more outside help.

SPEED RACER is now a BLENDED HIGH SCHOOLER

Although, he finished all of his classes I'd planned for  him last school year. I still feel he needs a deeper Math review and Writing review.

These are subjects I will not let him go soft on as he needs to be comfortable with these for  Dual Enrollment.

~GOAL~ 

To figure out which learning path works for Speed Racer towards earning college credit. His college of choice will be (1) BS at UMUC.edu ~ major Info Tech or Web Design (2) AA degree in Airplane Repair (has to be 18yr for this program) so we will focus on the BS credits first.

~WHAT WE HIRED OUT~

Math Tutor

Writing Teacher and Curriculum that checks his papers

Programming Classes

~MATH~

Well, he finished Algebra 1 and Geometry with a B- in both. So I am having him take it over but with a different Curriculum. Then he will transition to Algebra 2 and Trig the beginning of next year.

Algebra 1 Review > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
LifePac (with Mom and Independent)

College Math > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
CLEP COLLEGE MATH-Prep For Success (with Tutor and book )
Accellus (and/or) ModernStates.org for 6 weeks
Straighterline (After Modern States)

Algebra 2 and Trig > Nov 16th - July 15th
Abeka DVD based Curriculum

~ENGLISH~

Speed Racer will be tuning the skills needed to pass College Composition CLEP or Straighterline Course.

English 1> Aug 1st-Nov 15th
Life Pac 9th Grade with Tutor)

Writing > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
Time4Writing

Vocabulary> Nov 16th - July 15th
Membean

Literature >  Nov 16th - July 15th
TeachWithMovies
Live Plays
 

~History~

Speed Racer will be preparing to take either the US History 1 and 2 CLEP or Straighterline course.

US History 1  (3 college credits) > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
Acellus (Do 1st)
Modern States (Do 2nd)
Straighterline (Do 3rd or take CLEP)
Instantcert or SpeedyPrep (whichever works best for him)

US History 2  (3 college credits) > Jan 7th-Mar 15th
Acellus (Do 1st)
Modern States (Do 2nd)
Straighterline (Do 3rd or take CLEP)
Instantcert or SpeedyPrep (whichever works best for him)

~Computer Science~

Speed Racer finished the Accellus Computer Science 1 course and did exceptionally well. Therefore, he has chosen the Computing and Info Tech DSST for his first DUAL credit course.


Computing and Info Tech for DSST  (3 college credits) > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
Speedy Prep
InstantCert
Practice Test

Javascript  > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
Computational Learners In Person Class

Build a Drone > Aug 1st-Nov 15thComputational Learners In Person Class

~Social Science~

Speed Racer completed these courses with Accellus and Study.com last year.

Psychology (3 college credits) > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
Modern States
Straighterline (or) CLEP

Sociology (3 college credits) > Jan 15-March 15th
Modern States
Straighterline (or) CLEP


Ethics In America (3 college credits) > Mar 15 - May 15
Modern States
Straighterline (or) CLEP

~Religion~

Intro To Religion (3 college credits) > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
Straighterline

~Science~

Speed Racer is required to take Physics in college. He took it with Study.com but I wanted to expose him to it more at a slower high level pace so we are working through this hands on curriculum that's light, but using some videos.

Physics > Aug 1st-Nov 15th
LifePac
Youtube Videos
With Dad

~DUAL CREDIT ATTEMPTS~

In the Winter and Spring of this school year, will do mostly CLEP test study or STRAIGHTERLINE with MODERNSTATES (since they give voucher for FREE CLEP test)

Research Child's Path 1st.
Note: UMUC (college of choice) accepts ACE credits and direct transfers from STRAIGHTERLINE and up to 90 transfer credits form other sources including (CLEP and DSST). His chosen COMMUNITY COLLEGE degree is more hands on and will accept CLEPs/DSST for Pre-reqs so he will have to take CLEPs for his Math and English for the Community College degree if he doesn't have his BS before starting.

 Credits to Attempt this year (Aug 1st to July 15th)

  ~ Modern States, then Straighterline [and/or] CLEP or DSST test ~

Religion (3 credits) 1st
Computing and Info Sys (3 credits) 2nd
US History 1 (3 credits) 3rd
US History 2 (3 credits) 4th
Ethics In America (3 credits) 5th
Psychology (3 credits) 6th
Sociology (3 credits) 7th
College Math (3 credits) 8th
Algebra (3 credits) 9th

TIGER LILY a BLENDED HIGH SCHOOLER

She is officially a Junior in College and a Home School High Schooler. Here's her breakdown.

~GOAL~ 

This year is focusing on honing her ART, Japanese speaking skills, her BUSINESS BUILDING, her NOVEL creation, WEB COMIC creation and MOBILE GAME development skills. Also, to finish her BS degree in Information Systems and Computer Science (minor). By the end of her school year she should have completed the following (1) Build her Micro Business Website (2) Drafted her first Novella (3) Drafted her first Web Comic (4) Build her ART Portfolio and placed her works for sale (5) Drafted her first mobile game to be sold

~ College Classes ~

Tiger Lilly has only 3-8week semesters to finish before she is done her required courses for her degree.

Here's her class list.
Fall (Aug-Oct)
-MultiMedia
-Info Sys Project Mgmt
-Software and Hardward Infrastructure

Fall (Oct-Dec) 
-Motion Graphics
-Systems Analysis and Design
-Digital Marketing

Spring (Jan-Mar) 
-Info Sys Practicum
-Business and Continuity Planning

~ Homeschool Business Classes ~

Tiger Lilly finished the first part of this course by Carol Topp. It was wonderful for her. She has her Micro Business plan already thought out and written. Now we are finishing the set up and figuring the rest.

Running a Micro-Business
by Carol Topp

Money and Taxes In a Micro-Business
by Carol Topp

~ Homeschool Japanese ~

Tiger Lilly completed the first three Japanese courses at a local Japanese language school and will be completing the last two before I enroll her in the in - person Community College course.

School Of Japanese
Part 4 (2 days a week)
Part 5 (2 days a week)

~ Homeschool Art Classes ~

Tiger Lilly is taking ART at the local museum, but we are seeking out a more courses that allow her to work with young people on the type of Art she likes.

Art and Drawing
Community College
Art Museum Art School

Experiment of Doing Nothing

Big Brother and Little Brother

Lacrosse

The best gift a mom has is when her oldest son matures enough to be a mentor to her youngest son. This moment for me happened at the Lacrosse team end of season party. My oldest son was able to coach and mentor his brother along with some other great young boys.

THE EXPERIMENT OF DOING NOTHING

Well it's been three weeks and I didn't really allow Speed Racer to do an extra-curricular activities. Since he was burned out, and I was burned out I told him to just relax. However, NO VIDEO GAMES and NO LAPTOP unless he has a valid reason to use it.

WHAT DID HE DO?

Opted to going outside to play basketball, ping pong, ride his skateboard, washed the car, picked coconuts from our tree, took out the trash.

Then he said, "I'm bored, can I have the computer to look up some science experiments on I can do?"

Then while watching these videos on:
- Science Experiments
- Crazy things people do
- Conspiracy Theories
- Breakdancing
- Video Game Play

And this...

AFTER BORING DAYS of THAT

He said, "What do I have to do for my work?"

My answer, "Nothing. Figure it out. Your choice. If you want to go to camp in July, the work for the year should be finished." *wink*

His actions, he finished all his Study.com subjects (Psychology, Sociology, Philosophy)

Then his CTCMath Algebra 1 and Geometry.

SO...UNSCHOOLING with MOTIVATION for MY KID actually WORKS.

In 3 weeks.

Had to Halt the School Year For One

I have called a full HALT to Speed Racer's school year. 

Speed Racer and I are tired of working together on school.

We need chill and fun time.

A fresh start.

A break.

Some help.

A new dog-on curriculum.

Summer vacation.

Anger management.

DECISION MADE!

I ended the school year for Speed Racer. He is doing nothing. Factors involved in this decision were (1) Mom started a new job that is higher visibility than the last (2) Dad started a new job and starting a new business. (3) Mom's part-time business is taking off. (4) Speed Racer just isn't in the mood to work anymore. It's been a struggle, frustrating, changing of curriculum, and grumbling.

I took a step back.

Realized that we just weren't excited about learning and were burnt out.

Also, I had to address his bad behavior. So there was a bit of redirected learning. I told him he could study or deep dive, unschool, do whatever he wanted until I sent him to camp in July.

We will see what happens.

 

TIGER LILY RUNS THE RACE ALONE

 

Tiger Lilly is going forward. Taking FIVE college classes this next 8 weeks before starting camp in July. Her load will be busy with DRAWING, MARKETING, BIOLOGY with BIO LAB, and WEB DESIGN.

She wants to do it so she can have a light year her last year of college this Fall. If she keeps this up, she'll graduate with her BS at age 17 yrs old. A record for the family. 

MOM CAN BE FOUND on OTHER DISTRACTIONS and DAD forging HIS TOO!

Meanwhile as for MOM....I am hanging in there. Although, I still review Tiger Lilly's work 2 times a week, I am free all the other days from homeschool support. 

I am taking lots of naps after work since I don't have to do one on ones with Speed Racer. Gearing up for a job certification test, writing a lot for my part-time business and just putting thoughts of planning next school year aside.

Don't think I'm not itching to get back to it. I just am making myself re-direct so I can re-charge for that passion.

SCHOOL WILL RESUME FOR Speed Racer in August. 

How do I feel about that? 

I love the freedom of homeschool. I control our breaks. Next school year, I may invest in a Math tutor 2 times a week just so I can take a step back from that toxic subject with my young guy. Stay tuned.

Is the School Year Over Yet? Another Math Issue

WE HAD TO TAKE A MINI-VACATION for SANITY CHECK

And what did I figure out? That even though I thought I wanted to do Year Around School, I NEEDED THE DARNED BREAK or I was going to explode.

Things I had time to ponder on while on Vacation.

1) My kids would rather be PLAYING VIDEO GAMES than going on tours. That had to change.

2) I need more sleep in days.

3) I DON'T know how to fully relax and do nothing for long periods of time.

4) I don't like staying in the house, even though my kids do.

5) The Math curriculums weren't giving my son ENOUGH MATH PRACTICE.

THINGS I CHANGED AFTER MY REVELATIONS

1) Math - MY SON needed a MASTERY BASED program where HE WROTE OUT his math problems to slow down his MENTAL MATH capabilities.

He will be working with a tutor on Math this summer. I changed his MATH program to LIFEPAC for Algebra 1.

WHY did I SELECT LifePack ALG 1?

 - It's NOT online
 - Read and Do problems
 - Can be done Semi-independently
 - Hard to cheat
 - I can purchase tutor help if I need it
 - It's only $59 for complete program
 - It is different than is online CTCMath
 - It focused on practicing what you are taught until you REALLY know it before moving on. Mastery based learning.

SAXON wasn't working because their wasn't the MASTERY and Saxon is more of a SPIRAL that is just too wide for my son.

CTCMath is still a GOOD SUPPLEMENT but he needs to WRITE OUT HIS WORK.

2) NO YEAR AROUND SCHOOL, we will have 1 month and 1 week off. I NEED it, the KIDS NEED it. My Husband NEEDS it.

3) In PERSON CLASSES for TIGER LILLY. She is too much of an INTROVERT. I found an IN PERSON Japanese class, Art class, and Unity 3D coding class for High School Students after school.

4) Summer Camp for 1 month and 1 week for BOTH kids, even though I initially didn't want Speed Racer to attend since he had some challenges at camp due to his own behavior last year. His siblings pointed out, how will he learn what is acceptable behavior if he doesn't have opportunities to figure it out? Good points. So I am giving it another chance.

5) Our school year will end July 1st. Woot!

Other Good Happenings

I still love homeschooling. I wouldn't be able to give my kids chances to shine, redirect, focus, and revisit work they weren't 100% comfortable with if I didn't homeschool them.

Roses and Opportunities!

A DOUBLE BLESSING WAS AROUND THE CORNER

Well with all the moving, changing of curriculum, changing, and mayhem in this working parent's household. Things are about to get even more exciting!

JOB CHANGES FOR MOM and DAD and ROSE

My husband got a new job. He was recently laid off, well it took him about three weeks to find another awesome position. My daughter Rose was also supposed to transition to a new job with my husband's old company. That didn't work out with the recent contract cut backs. However, Rose, found another job using a head hunting service that contacted her in the past. It took them 2 weeks to find her a position with a great raise and wonderful company. As for me, I'd stopped seeking new employment and was just waiting until later this year when this contract ends to find something, BUT, a great opportunity with longevity fell in my lap. Now, WE ALL HAVE NEW JOBS!

HOW WILL THESE CHANGES AFFECT MY HOMESCHOOLING and WORKING?

Well, it takes awhile for us to train up on our new positions and be able to use the flexibility that comes with being in the Info Tech field. So, I had to change my kid's homeschool schedule around a bit.

A EUREKA MOMENT

After 1.5 years of Algebra 1 I have finally figured out something about Speed Racer. He likes an audience for Math and Writing. He does best when I give him the problems to work out on the dry erase board, we check it, if it's wrong, he tries to fix it, then we watch the Saxon video if it is still wrong or he doesn't understand.

Wow! He wants 'interactive' math even though he could absorb it on his own.

So we've worked our schedule around supporting his Math and Writing learning opportunities.

SPEED RACER's NEW SCHEDULE
13 yrs old

10am to 2:30pm (Independent Work Online) - Finish all online Acellus Classes (College Math Review, English, Psychology, Geography, US History) * No books are included with these courses or homework

Geometry and Algebra 1 independent with CTCMath

Humanities, Philosophy and Sociology with Study.com 

 Note: Sometimes he doesn't finish all of the courses or lessons for that day, but I can check his status during my lunch break via the mobile app provided by Acellus.

3:30pm-5pm - Algebra 1 Workbook: No Nonsense Algebra Review WORKBOOK - we do it together and it reviews Algebra facts.

8:30pm-9pm - Algebra 1 Saxon Math (has Geometry Review and Algebra) with Dive & Mom work with Speed Racer


CURRICULUM MOVED til SUMMER
Since we are running behind, I am moving some curriculum to the summer.

Writing
CLEP study (we are still trying to assess what test Speed Racer is most ready for).
Grammar Practice
Basic Math Practice
Python Programming
Logic

TIGER LILLY
16 yrs old

10am to 2:30pm - (8 week courses Online College Classes with UMUC.edu ends May 7th)
Foundations of Information Sys
Enterprise Architecture
Telecommunications in Info Sys

10am to 2:30pm 
Micro Business Homeschool Curriculum
Blender design with Udemy
C# programming with YouthDigital
Building Wordpress Website for her Art Business

Algebra 1 with My Youngest Son Is Killing Me

My 13 yr old SPEED RACER is killing me with his nemesis ALGEBRA.

I mean it. I am literally in the mood to throw it out of our curriculum. I mean, he did get a C in the class last year.

Maybe, making him retake Algebra 1 this year was a torturous mistake for me.

We have TRIED EVERYTHING! 

Abeka Algebra 1, he did last year, got BARELY a C. So I figured, no problem, we'll just do it this year, but use SAXON. Well, he cheated the first part of the year by using a calculator, sneaking the answer key. So...we restarted the SAXON, and I changed his entire curriculum to ACELLUS because with my new job, I didn't have time to sit with him and go over every problem and subject.

THEN...the MATH breakdown. He was stuck at C and D level with ACELLUS and SAXON. What the heck!!

BUT I WON'T GIVE UP.

Now with SAXON, we practice with CTCMATH, which he is doing great with. Problem is, when he WRITES the MATH PROBLEMS, he misses key steps.

IN COMES this great book, No-Nonsense Algebra. Thank GOD!

The reason I haven't hired a TUTOR is because the boy simply hates PRACTICING his math. It's not that he can't grasp the concepts, he is just too insistent on not doing the work. Ugh!

For just $21 it comes with problems and videos. We are using this along with SAXON. 

It's going to be a long summer.

My 13yr old Makes his Own Money by doing Surveys?! And More

Yes, my 13 year old got his allowance taken from him and what did he do? Innovate! He started doing surveys, playing games, and earning money through gift cards to create an allowance he could do from home.



Mobile Performance Meter is his current favorite. I have him trying one app at a time with out supervision to see if it actually works.


Now he wants to do the following:

1) Do DROP SHIPPING business online using a business EBAY account to sell items he finds for cheaper at other websites.

2) YOUTUBE CHANNEL he is trying to figure out what would gain him more followers overtime.

3) BLOG in his journey to find a business where he, as a teenager, can make passive income.

4) APP referral business to continue what he is doing.

5) TWITCH and YOUTUBE gameplay business.

MY 16 YEAR OLD has her two business ideas

1) ART BIZ, selling her art online

2) T-SHIRT ART BIZ, selling her art designs on create on demand