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 Oldest Applied for His First Real Job Today

This is a huge milestone for him, and if he gets it, it will go along way in getting scholarships.  He has done here and there jobs to earn money for camp, and that went very well.  But, this is a real job, with taxes and paychecks and such.  I think he was real nervous, but my husband went with him, and he filled out the papers and was fine.  He had to ask my husband if he had ever been convicted of a felony.  LOL, apparently we need to cover some Criminal Justice topics.  I am so proud of the young man he is becoming.  Oh, and hallelujah he finished the first half of Chemistry, on FLVS with a B, yay!!  Chemistry, according to people we have talked to, is one if not the hardest course FLVS offers.  He worked his butt off to get that B.  He will take the second half in the Fall, and take a break from it over the Summer.  He will be finishing Geometry over the Summer, but now that Chemistry is over, he can do 2 lessons a day, unless it is something really demanding for Geometry.

My daughter is doing very well on Easy Peasy Homeschool Middle School  Math.  She was just not progressing with the textbooks, or work books and I had to make a change.  She picked Easy Peasy, not me, and it seems to be working.  We also switched to PBS media learning for Science, and History and that has replaced the workbooks.  She is at least happy now, and learning.  She still has Language Arts and Bible workbooks, with at least two writing assignments a week.  I need to find a more structured, but fun Writing curriculum for her next year.

We have started our 4th quarter, and the end is in sight for this school year.

Free or Frugal Friday

First off let me just say something quick about Time 4 Learning.  For the month of April, your first month is only 10 dollars.  That is 50% off, and April is almost over, so you might just as well try it.  No, this is not my review, I am just aware of the offer and sharing it.

There are so many wonderful free, or almost free websites to use for homeschool, after school, or just to supplement your kids over Summer.  I won't share the ones I don't like, lol.  None of these I have affiliation with, except Currclick.

First one is Easy Peasy Homeschool. This woman has dedicated so much time to making a free curriculum for anyone to use.  It is amazing.  My kids didn't care for it a ton, but if you have no money, or money is really tight, it is awesome.  There is even high school now too. 

Second is, Currclick.  Currclick offers free and paid options for the items offered.  Most are made by homeschoolers.  They have live classes that are just amazing.  Check out Currclick for sure.

Last, but not least, for this week, is Forensics Illustrated.  This is a free, and complete Forensics class for High School.  I will definitely have my son take this one during his high school years.  Check it out!

The Blue Footed Booby Homeschool Art: Birds

I will get to the art work in a minute. We have finished 3 quarters of school, and DJ got an A in Math. This is a huge deal for him, and something he has been working very hard at obtaining. He continues with all his regular studies, as all of them are working well for him this year.

In previous years, up to 8th grade, I have always done Science and History lessons once a week. That way I could focus on Reading, Writing and Math. This year, with DJ in 8th grade, he started to do every subject every day, or most days, so I started to do the same with Caitlin. I now regret doing that. So, she will be going back to just once a week, for History and Science, and concentrate on the others. I have an Abeka 4th grade Math book, so I started her on that today. That way, even though this is hard for her, by 5th grade she will have a good grasp. Abeka is said to be a year to year and a half of other Math books. I can tell you, I agree with that. We also did flashcards, and played the Math dice game, I shared to other day. Of note, if you try it, I had her identify the coin, say the value of the coin, then on paper write the coin's amount as a decimal and a fraction. Then she added them as decimals. I didn't attempt adding the fractions yet. I only did six problems with her, and that seemed perfect. She also started Easy Peasy Homeschool, banner on this blog if you are interested, day 101. Even though she is reading well, their writing lessons are good and extensive with each chapter read. So, I have opted to use that the rest of this year, and then re-evaluate. I found a website called Bedtime Math, and we have started doing that as well. Both kids do it, but not at bedtime. I am tired at bedtime, so we do it right after Dinner.

So, to continue with our bird art lessons, today we painted the Blue Footed Booby. One of my favorite birds. I just find the blue feet so amazingly beautiful, and no I do not have a foot fetish, lol. DJ does not paint, so his is drawn with colored pencils. I also painted two napkins to go with the bunny plates I painted last week. That post is not up yet, but will be soon, on craft blog. Check it out if you want.

Easy Peasy Homeschool

Well so far this week, which was supposed to be somewhat quiet and relaxing, has turned quite stressful.  DJ started FLVS Math last week, and to say he is stressed is an understatement.  It is very hard, harder than when I went to school.  However, this week, after speaking to the teacher on the phone, and doing a lot of studying and practice, I think he is getting it.  And I am remembering everything I forgot from Math class.  Tomorrow he has the end of the first module test, so we will see how it goes.  He is allowed to use his notes that he took, but that is it, no other assistance.  I am praying it goes well.  If you are on the edge of wondering if you should try FLVS, the teachers really are awesome, and it frees me up a lot of time to extra and harder work with my third grader.  He only does two classes with them at any time, with a third elective of his choice.  I add all his other lessons into his day and so far this is working well for him. 

Caitlin has been using, the Head of the Class for three years.  Last week I noticed it was not loading.  She was 85% complete with the third grade curriculum.  Monday there was a message from them stating they have no more funding and the website will be shut down for good.  Thanks, now I have to figure out what to do with her the remainder of the year.  Granted it was not a complete curriculum, but for her age it was pretty close.  So, I had saved a website called Easy Peasy Homeschool, with intentions of trying it next year.  It is a complete curriculum, but for now Caitlin is only doing 3rd grade English and Reading, because that is what I need.  So far we both love it, and it is a wonderful site, and free.  Check it out if you need a curriculum, and it goes all the way to high school, you can always switch if you don't like it.  I am so glad I am always looking and saving websites just for this reason.