9th Grade Homeschool Portfolio for Caitlin

This post will be viewed by our evaluator.  I will be working  on this, and updating it for the next month.  I keep some physical samples to take with us, and she also follows what we are up to on my Facebook page.  You may see affiliate links in this post.

Because it is the easiest, I will start with Math

Caitlin first did the Pre Algebra, on Edx.com, which is free by the way.  She whizzed through it, and did quite well.  However, when I moved her into Saxon Algebra 1 textbook, she just didn't seem to retain any of the info she had learned.  So, I went to Aleks.com, and that is where we will be for the remainder of her 3 years of High School.  It is not free, 20 dollars per month.   However, it is worth every penny.  I don't have to do anything.  They send me weekly reports, and she is regularly tested on new, and old information.  So, she actually retains it.  I am all in with Aleks.

Today, I am adding the Science section of this portfolio.  When we started grade 9, we started with Apologia Physical Science.  I got it on the Kindle, with Kindle Unlimited for free, so I could not resist.  Unfortunately, Caitlin did not care for it all that much, and we did half a year, for 1/2 credit.  I then rediscovered Easy Peasy High School, and she offers a great Oceanography with Lab.  The lab part is important because it is required in Florida.  We did half of it, marked where we left off, and will finish the second half for grade 10, and the labs.  She only needs 3 Science credits, so there is plenty of time, and no need to rush.  You can purchase the Apologia textbook, on Kindle, below, it isn't free though, and the link for Oceanography is highlighted.  Science is definitely not this child's favorite topic, though she really is talking a lot about the Environment.  So, I might be able to squeeze that in, but she has to do Biology first.

Now it is time to add Language Arts.  I am so glad I keep a written log book, as well as this blog, because I had forgotten about some of the things we covered.  This is actually a requirement in Florida, so it isn't like I thought of it myself.  We started the year off using Virtual Homeschool Group website.  I actually very much like this website.  You can do live lessons, they fill up fast, so get in quick if you like that.  They start enrolling August 1st.  We opted for the at your own pace options.  We did 3 books, with the lessons on this website:  Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  We then watched a very old series based on the book.  It was quite interesting.  The Time Machine, which I did not finish reading.  My son was tasked to read this book with Caitlin.  She can read quite fine, but likes to be read to, so they would alternate, and of course discuss as they went.  Animal Farm was the third book, and there was some quite animated discussions with this book.  That took us half way through the school year.  The second half of the year we concentrated on Grammar, using dailygrammar.com  There were some writing topics thrown in for good measure, but still an area that needs much work.

She did a beginner French course, that she will receive a 1/2 credit for.  She did not retain much, and didn't show as much interest as she thought she would.  So, for grade 10 she has opted to switch to Sign Language, on Virtual Homeschool Group.  She will need to do 2 years, and she is aware of that.   Of note, I think I will do 4 classes at a time instead of 5, and make up over Summers if we need to.  It is just too long of a day with 5 classes, to do a great job, imo.

History:  We covered American History from the beginning, to World War 2.  I used no official curriculum.  Rather I found a timeline online, and found videos, books, unit studies, and various other resources to make it a little more interesting than just textbooks.  We watched the Hatfields and McCoys on Netflix, which produced a lot of conversation, from both of my children, even the one that is in college.  For Grade 10 we will be covering the elections in a Civics and Government Class.  If you prefer a more traditional type of History, see a few examples below.

Caitlin chose to not do Drama this past year, because she did not like the play choice.  She continued with her 4H group, but sadly that group had it's last year, this year.  She does not feel she will join another group.  In April we started Horseback riding, at Cavalli Farms in Jonesville.  At the end of July, she requested to stop until October, because it is just too hot.  So, she will pick it back up in October, unless she decides to do drama.  Then we will have to discuss if she thinks she can handle both.

For my part I have encouraged much more focus on Writing, Socialization, Attitude, Communication Skills, Home Skills, and Following Directions.  These are the same skills we will work on in the next school year.  In January 2020 I will sign her up to take the online Driver's Ed course, for FLVS, so after she turns 16 she can get her drivers permit.  By grade 11, I fully expect she will be able to take at least one FLVS writing class. 

My Feelings About Aleks for High School Math

DJ used Aleks last year for Math for College Readiness, through FLVS.  He loved it, and said for the first time in his life he kind of liked Math.  That was a huge success for him, and he did quite well.  He is now in college, so this isn't really about him.

It is about my other child.  She is not a fan of Math either.  She did awesome on Pre-Algebra on Edx, and the setup is similar to Aleks, but it was free.  I then moved her on to Algebra 1 with Saxon, because I like Saxon, I understand Saxon.  It is the same textbook I used in high school.  Anyway it was not working for her.  She seemed to not even remember the most basic of Math rules that she had already learned.  Needless to say it was frustrating for both of us.  Since she is not registered with FLVS, and I did not want to take the time to wait until she was, I turned to Aleks the paid version. While it is 20 dollars a month, kind of expensive, right away she was able to master more than half of the required assignments for the first module.  That is huge considering using the textbook she just had brain fart after brain fart.  I don't understand completely why she couldn't do it in a textbook, and at this point I don't care.  I need her to know Math.  She doesn't need to be a Math major but she needs to know Math.  So for now we are sticking with Aleks.  If it continues to work for her, I will use it right until she graduates.  I am hopeful this will be the case.  They have tons of options too, probably more than I needed to think about, but for some people they like that. 

This is not a paid post, I don't really do those too much anymore.  This is my opinion on a product I like.  

Time to Plan A Graduation and New Years Resolutions

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. We were busy right up to Christmas Eve. Christmas Day I relaxed and binge watched shows I haven' t watched in weeks, or even more than a month. Now it is time to get serious again. Yard work, and decluttering is on the list of things to be done while we are on Christmas break. Today, we started and got a lot done. I also need to get back to a proper diet, and exercise routine.

Our first writing assignment for the new year will be making resolutions. I will ask them, and myself, to write 3 resolutions and how they plan on sticking to them. I already know mine, but that will be for another post. I can't believe next year I will only have one child to homeschool. It just seems so surreal. With that in mind, I have learned a lot from my first child, who is graduating in 2018. I know the programs we have hated, the ones we have loved, and the ones I would like to try. One program I would like to try, for History, is Big History Project. The more I look at it the more I like it. So, for 9th grade, next year, my daughter will be using it for History class. Plus, I have already decided to use Aleks, for Algebra 1 for her. I love it when I can plan this far ahead. It takes a lot of pressure off.

We will be having DJ's graduation ceremony and party towards the end of April. He got the lead role in Shrek, and that happens in early May. So, we needed to work around that for planning his graduation. I have so much planning to do, but we have already decided on some things. He has chose his colors, theme, and taken his own pictures for graduation. Him and his girlfriend decided to do the pics themselves. They may not be professional, but they had a ball doing it, and saved a lot of money. I will be sharing all the things we are doing. I have never even been to a homeschool graduation let alone planned one, so this will be an experience for all of us. We also chose the venue for the ceremony, and party. It should be fun!

A Math System We Love, Finally!

I have so much I have not updated on this blog, for this school year.  But, this item is something I want to be sure and share.  My son has struggled with Math, since Pre Algebra.  It isn't that he can't do it,or was failing, but he just could not retain the Common Core stuff.  Now, as a homeschooler I don't have to teach Common Core.  However, due to the fact that he wants to go to college, I felt it was very important.  So, to make a long story short, we have literally tried almost every Math program out there, from textbooks, to online, and even some tutoring.  Even though he can achieve a low level B, and didn't do totally awful on the Math part of the SAT, he still just was not retaining, or feeling confident about Math.  This is his Senior year, and while discussing options for a 4th year of Math, it was suggested to us to have him take a Math for College Readiness class.  So, I looked at those options.  The only problem was that almost all of them were only 1/2 credits, not a full credit course.  That would leave me with trying to figure out how to get another 1/2 credit in Math.  Since he already was using FLVS, I decided to look at their Math for College Readiness course.  It was a full credit course, so we signed up for it.  This is the nice part.  I really can't give FLVS credit for this course, because it is actually done on a completely different website called ALEKS.   I had never actually heard of this website, and I thought I knew them all.  Right away my son said he loved it.  The layout was good, the way it was taught was helpful, and most important he was retaining the info.  Whatever ALEKS does different than other curriculums, it works!  He still is loving it, and even is getting A's.  I can not tell you how pleased I am with this website.  I definitely will pay the 20 dollars a month for my daughter to do Math on the ALEKS website starting next year.  I could start it this year, but she is currently working through the Easy Peasy Middle School Math, and I don't see any reason to stop.  She is pleased with it, and doing well.  If you have a child that struggles with Math, check out ALEKS.  I did not receive anything for posting this.  Anyone who reads this blog know I love to share awesome resources when I find them.  My daughter and I are on Christmas break, so I hope to catch up quite a bit of info here on this blog, including surviving the holidays with CKD.