High School Homeschooling

[John81]

Is anyone or has anyone here homeschooled their high school age children?

Our oldest will be ready for high school this year and I've been looking at many different ideas and options. I've not yet decided which route we will take but it's nearing the time I'll be narrowing things down and going through the process of elimination as I work to make the final decision.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, links, websites, pointers or whatever would be greatly appreciated.

He's not college bound and he may decide to join the military, so he doesn't need or want college prep.

[Pastorj]

We have not yet got there, but our plan is to continue to use the Abeka DVD program through High School.

[282Mikado]

We are currently using the Abeka DVD program for our high schooler and it is very good. The DVD instruction is real good for those subjects you may not have stayed up on (say physics or algebra) and the phone support is fantastic. It is pretty demanding and your child will definately feel pushed at times as the DVDs have to back at a certain time or you accrue late fees.

We did Alpha-Omega some time ago and my daughter liked that, but I wasn't too comfortable with it. We've looked at it again for next year and find that their phone support is very expensive so will probably not go there.

A.C.E. is another that we are looking at. It has the modular design of AO (which my daughter likes) but seems to me to be better written, with better helps, at a better price. Neither AO or ACE have the electives that are available with Abeka, but if your not worried about accredidation than you can mix and match for that.

FYI, our oldest did Abeka DVD and just joined the Navy. He scored a 91 of 99 on the ASVAB (military entrance exam). Only 1 in 20 score that well.

[Colin Stolzer]

Our oldest started high school this year, we are using A.C.E. and then supplementing the lack of electives with other activities like I have a fully equipped machine/welding shop so my oldest is building a single shot pistol from scratch this year, and my youngest is restoring an old lawn mower. They are also involved in groups like 4-H and F.F.A. They are also both involved in A.W.A.N.A.'s as line leaders and very active with the youth group at church.

I think if you are creative you can have a good choice in electives with any of the better home schooling programs even if they don't offer them. My oldest has shown an interest in learning a second language, so next year we will probably buy one of the language programs like rosetta stone and add that to his school work on top of the standard material.

C

[John81]

I've been looking over a lot of different options; everything from mix 'n match, to simple packages, to whole curriculums to the versions that provide record keeping and a diploma upon graduation.

One of the hardest parts in looking so far is that most are geared towards the student who is academicaly inclined and preparing for college. Our oldest son doesn't fit into that category so I'm still looking to see what might be out there for those who only want/need a basic high school education; perhaps with an emphasis on practical/life skills.

[Trish]

Bju's videos(dvd's homesat) are very good also. We get the feed in to our house so I've seen the classes. Hearsay is that Abeka is very boring and difficult. I can't tell how difficult BJ is, but they are interesting enough to hold my little ones attention. We really like to see french and chemistry. If he works well by himself though, just go with ACE imho. We hope to have ours in school by then.

[John81]

He works very well on his own. We have been using Alpha Omega Lifepacs and they are geared for the student to be able to read the directions, study the examples and do the necessary work on their own.

I've viewed a few things which use ACE and the ACE program seems similar in design to the Lifepacs although I've never seen the ACE material first hand.

We very briefly considered the idea of sending him to public high school (actually, it was more like, "we could always send him to school...uh, no, not really), but with the constant foul and blasphomous language of the students, the rampant abuse of alcohol, the promiscuity of most of the students, the immodest dress of the girls, not to mention the ungodly philosophy and worldview that makes up the curriculum, there is no way we could send him there in good conscious.

The closest Christian school is over 30 miles away. Most of the Christian schools are little different than the public schools and the few good Christian schools are expensive and we couldn't afford the travel expenses anyway.

So, that has left me searching the various options for homeschooling him through high school. He tends to do very well in the Bible and the History lessons. He does okay to good in the other main areas but has no great liking for most of it.

At the moment his only expressed interest for after high school is perhaps joining the military.

Thank you for your input Trish! :thumb

[bzmomo7]

Our highschoolers use ABEKA DVD as well. Challenging, yes. Boring, well, as with any school, there are some subjects they like better than others.....I tell them it is just a part of life. We don't always like everything we have to do. I have liked what I've seen thus far on their Bible Doctrines class this year as well. :thumb

[John81]

What I have looked into regareding ABEKA looks very good. If our oldest son were college bound or more accademically inclined there is a strong chance ABEKA could be our choice.

Our youngest son seems to learn well with video teaching so we may consider some of this for him.

[nucreature]

I've homeschooled 4 children thru high school (and still schooling... Their interests and ambitions varied, so I really tried to accomodate the interests as much as I could. I recommend you check out http://www.free-ed.net. You may have to add library books, videos, etc. to supplement these courses, but there are plenty of electives there and it's all free. With the right planning, the courses are definitely high school or post-high school level. Does he like mechanics, electronics, or some such? There are bound to be some online things to check out. And again, the library is great.

[John81]

Thank you very much!

I've been visiting a lot of different websites, reading a lot, trying to get an idea where he might be headed, etc.

I'm still looking things over but I'm beginning to narrow my focus with the hopes of making a decision sometime before he's 21 :Green

[hspeer]

I don't have any children (yet) so I can't speak from that point of view, but I can say that I was homeschooled K-5 through 12th and my parents used A Beka curriculm through 5th grade and then we used the A Beka videos (they didn't have DVDs at that time) from 6th-12th along with the correspondence program to keep track of our grades and get our diplomas. Because of the electives, I didn't have to take very advanced math, just Algebra 1 and Geometry (wouldn't suggest Geometry unless a tutor is available ). I believe they have more choices with electives now than they did then. I didn't go to college and didn't feel like I had been forced to take courses that were only preparing me in that direction, though I did score well on my ACT. My sister did go to college and has done very well. That being said, I think you can design it to fit what your child's particular goals are. I definitely feel that I got a very sound education. Someone commented earlier on the Bible Doctrines class-it was GREAT! In fact, I really thoroughly enjoyed all the Bible classes throughout high school. Some days, I would be so into the lesson, that I would "sneak" and watch the lesson for the next day. :-)

[John81]

I don't have any children (yet) so I can't speak from that point of view' date=' but I can say that I was homeschooled K-5 through 12th and my parents used A Beka curriculm through 5th grade and then we used the A Beka videos (they didn't have DVDs at that time) from 6th-12th along with the correspondence program to keep track of our grades and get our diplomas. Because of the electives, I didn't have to take very advanced math, just Algebra 1 and Geometry (wouldn't suggest Geometry unless a tutor is available ). I believe they have more choices with electives now than they did then. I didn't go to college and didn't feel like I had been forced to take courses that were only preparing me in that direction, though I did score well on my ACT. My sister did go to college and has done very well. That being said, I think you can design it to fit what your child's particular goals are. I definitely feel that I got a very sound education. Someone commented earlier on the Bible Doctrines class-it was GREAT! In fact, I really thoroughly enjoyed all the Bible classes throughout high school. Some days, I would be so into the lesson, that I would "sneak" and watch the lesson for the next day. :-)[/quote']

Thank you very much! That was very helpful. I've thought about maybe looking A Beka over again, maybe a little closer, and after reading your post I KNOW I'm going to look at A Beka closer.

[John81]

A Beka Question:

For those who do or have used A Beka, did you watch the DVDs on TV or computer? Is one option better than another?

[hspeer]

I have two brothers who are now using A Beka DVDs. One watches them on TV and one on the computer. They both seem to work just as well. The only small problem is that my parents' computer is not the best, so he has missed some days of school until they could get the computer fixed.