Well, as I was reading blogs that I have in my Google reader this morning I came across this post that was posted on a photography blog I found recently and have enjoyed reading.  I was excited to share with her that we have been homeschooling for ten years and we absolutely love it!  A couple of the things that she asked for were advice and book suggestions and after looking through some of the comments I got to thinking… I never posted anything about what we were using this year!  Not that everyone has just been on the edge of their seat waiting, quite the contrary since I’ve hardly posted much this school year – I’ve lost most of my regular readers I think!  That’s okay though.  I don’t do this to get a huge readership – just to have a creative outlet for me and to meet whoever happens to stop by and comment. 

Anyway, back to what I originally was talking about – since I never shared with you what we were using I figured better late than never!  Our school year is quickly coming to a close but I guess that will almost make it easier to share my thoughts on each book.  So, here goes!

I am homeschooling a freshman and a junior this year – here is what we are using:
(I’m sorry for the books/pictures being misaligned – I cannot get them to stay in the right spot for some reason! ugh!)

Algebra 1 – Teaching Textbooks

My son, who is a freshman, is taking this class this year.  I used this same program with my daughter so we are getting year #2 out of this set.  I absolutely love this program.  It is laid out so well – it has enough work that it teaches well, but not too much that it’s full of busy work. The CDs that you can purchase as part of the set are amazing – they show each and every problem being worked out so if you ever have trouble understanding one or figuring out how to explain it, all you have to do is pop the CD in the computer and the explanation is there.  I just can’t say enough good things about this program.

Geometry – Teaching Textbooks

We followed Algebra 1 with Algebra 2 for my daughter, who is a junior, so this year we are doing Geometry.  The same things that I said above for Algebra 1 apply here as well.  This curriculum has been wonderful for our family.  We have now used Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry from this program and I would highly recommend all of them.

US History – Bob Jones University (BJU Press)

Both of my kids are taking US history this year.  We have not used any BJU materials since my oldest was in 2nd or 3rd grade but I have been pleased with this curriculum.  It is very thorough and covers quite a bit of information.  There is also an activity book that goes with the text and we are using that as well.  It has done a good job of reinforcing the material that they are reading in the text.   I would definitely recommend this as well.

Biology – Apologia

My son is taking Biology this year and we are using Apologia’s material.  I absolutely love their curriculum.  It is written extremely well – it’s written conversationally rather than the traditional way a textbook is written.  That makes it so much easier to read because it’s as if someone is talking to you and explaining things rather than just straight facts being presented.  I also really like it because, while it still teaches what the theory of evolution is, it teaches creationism as well.  Apologia has science curriculum from elementary all the way up through high school and I’ve loved every book we’ve ever used.   (The ones we have used are: Botany, Astronomy, General Science, Physical Science, Biology, and Anatomy. )

World Geography – Prentice Hall

I have actually written a book review on this book.  You can click here to read that.  This has been a great book and I’ve been very pleased with it as well.  I have to say that my son wasn’t as crazy about this book but overall it does a great job of presenting quite a bit of information, it has great maps in it, and it even has quite a bit of great pictures from places all around the world.

Shakespeare Literature – No Fear Shakespeare books

Both of my kids used these this year.  We have read through eight of these plays this year plus gone through the material presented in the No Fear Shakespeare A Companion book.  These have been a fabulous choice for studying Shakespeare and literature.  We have really enjoyed reading the plays as well as learning about Shakespeare himself.  The No Fear Shakespeare books are a great way to dive into Shakespeare because not only does it have the traditional Shakespeare language on one side but it has a modern day translation on the opposite page.  I think every high school student should spend some time with these books at some point – it will open up a whole new world of literature to them!

Well, those are the main books we are using this year.  I would love to hear from you if you have any experience with any of these!  Let me know what you thought of them!  

Right off the bat I was a little irritated, I didn’t like how the question was worded – it sounds biased against homeschoolers from the get-go.  Homeschoolers aren’t the only ones using Christian/creation based textbooks – many private schools do as well.  And that wasn’t the point of the question anyway.  In my opinion, a better question, and less biased, might have been, “Do you believe it is okay for a textbook to teach the theory of evolution as a theory only and not as fact.”  Because that’s what they want to know right?  But the way they worded the question not only brings out all the creation haters but the homeschool haters as well.  There are people that would answer the question against homeschoolers no matter what the question was.  So, in my mind, the results are already skewed.  (And I haven’t even touched on the fact that the books they are referring to (Apologia) do NOT dismiss the theory of evolution but teach it as just that – a theory.)

Here are some direct quotes, copied and pasted from the poll, of some of the ridiculous comments just to prove my point:

• It’s one thing to keep yourself stupid, but please stop dumbing down the future of the country.

• Sure. It’s home school do what you want. When it comes time for my kid to compete with ignorant home schooled kids she will eat their lunch

• This is the sort of abuse that really calls into question the whole practice of unmonitored home schooling

• Home schooled kids do not need a reality based education if all they are going to do is grown up and work in the fast food industry.

• Most home-schooling exists to perpetuate bigotry, religion, & other stupidity.

• makes you wonder what else they are dismissing in their attempt to keep their kids from thinking on their own

Seriously???  I wish I could sit down and have a conversation with these people.  According to them, I am stupid, ignorant, a child abuser, and a bigot.  And my children are stupid, abused, incapable of thinking on their own, and unable to get a decent job.  And this is just a small sampling of the comments!  I wonder if they’ve ever even met a homeschooler in person.  I will never understand how people can make such hateful statements to an entire group of people (THAT THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW!) simply because they don’t do things the same way.  While I do find fault with the public school system and the poor job it seems to be doing as a whole, I would never make a blanket statement that ‘all kids who go to public schools are ignorant’ or any of the other things people say about homeschoolers.  It constantly amazes me how much stupidity, ignorance, and hate there is regarding homeschooling.  All we are doing is educating our own children!  Why are people so threatened by that???

The thing that is the most galling is that statistics show that homeschoolers far outscore their public school counterparts.  Here is some information from the National Home Education Research Institute:

The home-educated typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests. (The public school average is the 50^th percentile; scores range from 1 to 99.)

Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents’ level of formal education or their family’s household income.

Whether homeschool parents were ever certified teachers is not related to their children’s academic achievement.

Degree of state control and regulation of homeschooling is not related to academic achievement.

Home-educated students typically score above average on the SAT and ACT tests that colleges consider for admissions.

Homeschool students are increasingly being actively recruited by colleges.

- Dr. Brian D. Ray from NHERI

That sounds to me like the homeschoolers are the ones with the better education, the better chance at better jobs, and the ones that do know how to use their minds.  I can use my own kids as an example as well.  And I’m not doing this to brag but to prove a point.  Standardized testing is not required of homeschoolers in our state so we had never participated in it up until a couple of years ago.  I don’t like tests like that because I feel there are so many better ways to measure what a child has learned than sitting them down with a paper with a bunch of dots to fill in.  Not all kids test well and not all things taught are going to be covered on those tests.  Regardless of my opinion of them though, I decided to let my kids take one a couple of years ago.  My daughter was interested in seeing how she would do and I thought it probably wouldn’t hurt to see how she scored.  Well, both of my kids (who have been homeschooled almost all the way through school – my son went to public school Kindergarten and my daughter went to public school through 1st grade and they are now in 9th and 11th respectively) scored in the 99th percentile – and that’s including all of the standardized tests taken in the nation – public schools included.

I can even go one step further.  My daughter took the ACT at the beginning of this school year (her junior year) just as a practice so she could figure out what it would be like and be better prepared her senior year so that she could give it her best at that time.  Well, she went in and took it and came away with a 29.  In case you aren’t familiar with the ACT, a 36 is a perfect score and the average score is a 20.  Needless to say, we had a little celebration the day we got her results in the mail!  I’m anxious to see how well she does when she takes it again after completing all of this year’s school work – things that were on the test that we hadn’t even gotten to yet since she took it early!

I say all of this to say one thing – homeschooling works.  There may be a lot of people who don’t understand it and a lot of people who wouldn’t do it themselves but that doesn’t mean that we are doing anything wrong.  It doesn’t mean that we are abusing our children.  It doesn’t mean that we aren’t teaching our kids to think for themselves and that they aren’t growing up to be very bright individuals and becoming great contributors to society.    And it doesn’t even mean that we aren’t teaching our kids what evolution is!

That started out being the whole point to this post but I got a little sidetracked.   I do want to share a few of the ridiculous comments in regards to the original question on the poll though:

• It’s just as o.k. for home-school textbooks to dismiss the holocaust or to state that the earth is the center of the universe.

Do people really think that because we aren’t willing to have evolution shoved down our throats as fact when there is NO evidence to support it that we are going to deny the holocaust or that our universe is heliocentric?  There is overwhelming evidence to support those!

• Teaching Evangelical Christian beliefs as science should constitute child abuse, as it deliberately deprives children of quality education.

WOW!  Again with the child abuse thing?  And I think I’ve already proven that my children have received a quality education – even by YOUR standards.

• Is it okay for home-school textbooks to teach 2+2=5 or that a verb is really a noun? Our children need to be educated, not indoctrinated.

Umm… isn’t that what virtually every public school in America does?  Indoctrinate kids to believe a certain way?  Do they teach both sides and let the child choose or do they shove evolution down their throat and say it’s the ONLY right answer?

• Actually, yes, but only if they also give equal time to the Tooth fairy, Leprechauns, and also explain how Noah got dinosaurs onto the Ark

When you can’t come up with a logical reason for something, throw out stupid, moronic comments.  geez!  And I’m pretty sure Noah didn’t take the largest available animal when he put each kind on the ark.  I’m thinking he probably took babies and animals that had not reached full maturity yet.

• Science isn’t about justifying or proving theology, it’s about discovering the truth.

Amen!  I agree.  But when the truth points you away from evolution you need to be willing to pay attention instead of sweeping that under the rug and firing anyone who dares say something different.

And what did I answer on the poll?  Even though I didn’t like the wording of the question, I knew what they were going for so I answered yes.  Homeschoolers, as well as anyone else in this country, have the right to purchase any book they want and teach what they believe to be true. Interestingly enough, as I believe I pointed out earlier, the Apologia books (which started this debate I think) do not dismiss the theory of evolution.  They present the evidence and facts that exist and leave the student to decide.  We’ve used these books all through middle and high school so I am familiar with them.

I believe in teaching what evolution is but I believe in teaching creationism as true.  The Bible makes much more sense to me than Darwin’s theory of evolution.  It’s okay if others don’t agree and want to teach something different.  I’m not going to try to force you to teach what I believe and you shouldn’t try to force me.

I stand firm on the word of God though and He says that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I believe that to be true and I would rather do that now by choice than wait until Judgment day and say it because it’s the only option left.  One day the Truth will be known.

I think I’ve said enough now.  If you’re still reading, thanks for “listening” to my rant. 

This year has also been a difficult school year for several different reasons.  The co-op where I teach has had some issues that have been difficult for me and my class that I teach has as well.  It’s just made for a very stressful year so far.

I’m hoping to get back on here soon and have something to say.  Thanks to anybody who is still out there paying attention to my blog.

Now obviously, I’m not including kids with learning disabilities.  I realize there are some things that can go on in our brains that really do prevent some of us from being able to learn and comprehend at the same level as others.  And I’m also not saying every student needs to make all As – I realize that all kids are different and some will excel in some things and maybe not in other things.  I guess what I’m curious about is whether, with the proper effort, it is possible for any kid (without a disability) to earn an A in any given class.  I know it’s not necessarily probable but is it possible?

I realize that these questions aren’t necessarily something that can be answered with just a simple answer.  And I realize that everyone probably has a different opinion on this.  The reason I’ve been thinking about it is because of some things I’ve discovered over the last couple of years as I’ve taught a couple of classes to kids other than my own.  Plus, as I mentioned a few days ago, I’m homeschooling another student other than my own kids and it’s been quite a bit different.

Since I am a homeschooler I have obviously only taught my kids and had experience with how my kids learn for the last ten years.  As I said though, I’ve been teaching others for the last couple of years, as well as the student I added at home, and I’ve found that there is a lot of information that I’m teaching that some kids just don’t seem to get and I’m trying to figure out why.  I have several ideas – all of which could be wrong – but I know that even if I was right with one it may not apply to all of the kids equally.  Actually, I’m sure it won’t!

One idea is that the kids are not receiving the same level of education from their own parents (or school) that I am used to using with my kids.  I hope this doesn’t come across the wrong way but I know that I teach at a very high standard and I expect a lot out of my kids.  Though I didn’t realize that until I became a part of this group and began teaching others.  I honestly thought that most kids, especially since they were homeschoolers, would be at the same level as my kids.  I have found that this is not the case at all.  It just doesn’t seem like a lot of people place the same importance on education that I do.  And I really don’t feel like I’m over-the-top!  I’ve known some people that were over-the-top and I am so not there!  haha!  But there are kids that have come to my class (high school mind you) that do not know simple grammar rules.  That is just unfathomable to me!  I have actually had quite a few moms tell me that they haven’t really done a true grammar curriculum so they are “kind of” behind.  WHAT!?   Maybe I’m just crazy but to me that’s the most important subject.  We, as a society, use that in everything that we do.  Just in the most basic thing we do each day in speaking to one another we use grammar!  (And if you’ve heard many people speak lately you know that this is definitely a subject that’s been skipped a lot!)

Another idea is that too many kids do not have a love for learning.  They just don’t care so they just don’t try.  I really wonder how many kids fall into this category and, if they really wanted to, if they could be making really good grades with a little more effort.  To go along with this idea I think some kids try to finish their work just as quickly as possible so that they can move on to something else and by doing that they’ve lessened the quality of their work quite a bit.  They need to realize it’s not a race.  I know that kids have many things they’d probably rather be doing than sitting with school books and studying, but if they truly enjoyed learning would it be a little different?  If it were presented in a better way would it be different?  I know for us, a change in curriculum when we were struggling with something has made huge differences.

Of course the other idea is that it just doesn’t click with some kids.  No matter how many times you explain something their brain just cannot wrap itself around the concept.  If this is truly the case and it’s none of the above then it is completely understandable that we have such a wide span of grades within any group of kids.

Here is an example of what I’m talking about:  I gave a test in my class this week and out of all the students, only a few got an A, there were a few Bs, a couple of Ds and one that completely failed it.  I worked hard to review the material with them, I suggested items for studying, and everything that was on the test was something we had gone over in class.  But there were still that many that did that poorly.  I just don’t get it!

Maybe I’m too used to my kids and I’m expecting too much???  Again, I hope this doesn’t come across the wrong way at all but my kids have proven themselves to be above average in the last two years.  We participated in the standardized testing program a couple of years ago for the first time and my son scored in the 96 percentile and my daughter scored in the 97 percentile for the national results.  My daughter took the ACT for the first time last month as a junior and got a 29 – and she didn’t even finish it because she ran out of time.  So I have learned that my kids are strong academic students but is that because of the effort that we have put into it or is because they just have the kind of brain that really absorbs information?

I would love to hear anyone else’s thoughts and opinions on this matter.  Let me know how your kids fare in school.  Is it a struggle or is it easy?  Do you see a big difference between your children and their peers?  Any other teachers struggle with the level of learning in their classes?

Part of the problem is that life is just too busy.  I miss the days, back when my kids were in elementary school, when we spent a few hours on school and then we had time to play together and do other things.  I miss the simpler form of homeschooling where I could sit down with my kids and really spend time teaching them new concepts and going over things with them and having fun learning.  It’s not that we aren’t doing any learning now but high school is just a little bit different and a little bit more intense than elementary school. 

We are also in a homeschool group that meets once a week for classes and we have loved it but this year it’s starting to wear on me.  I really never thought I’d say that either.  Last year if you’d asked me I would have told you I might just keep going even after my kids graduate!  Now, I know that will definitely not be happening.  I’m not even sure I want to do it next year!  One of the worst things about it is I’m on the board.  I’m wondering if I step down from that for next year if it will improve tremendously??   There is a lot of stress, a lot of pressure, and a lot more work that goes along with that job.  Maybe things will get better if I give that up?

I’ve also taken on homeschooling another child this year – another high school student.  I had great expectations and envisioned how it would go but it’s not really going like I thought it would.  It’s not bad, it’s just different.  But different enough that I’m having a hard time with it.  I’m used to my own kids and it’s a totally different thing to take in someone else’s.

I really think after the end of this month that things will get a lot better.  You see football season will be over and I won’t be running all over town or having my kids gone almost every night of the week anymore.   I guess we’ll see!

Thanks for “listening” to my venting session.  I believe I sound a little crazier than I even thought after putting this in writing!  haha!

Publisher: Prentice Hall

ISBN: 0134359909

Genre: Geography, Curriculum

Pages: 748

Age: middle school and high school

My kids are using this book for geography this year and I really like it.  The book is separated by regions and countries and has a wealth of information on land, weather, culture, people groups, etc.  One of the things I really love about this book is that it has great, colorful pictures throughout that show everything from famous landmarks, to cultural items, to just interesting tidbits.  It has great charts, graphs, and especially maps.  I would highly recommend this book for homeschooling geography!

Title: No Fear Shakespeare: A Companion

ISBN: 978-1411497467

Pages: 320

Publisher: Spark Publishing

Rating: 5 stars

This book has been a wealth of knowledge about Shakespeare.  It’s full of facts but it’s also easy to read and not dry at all.  If you want to learn about Shakespeare and his plays I would highly recommend this   book!

One thing that I’ve been working hard on recently is the class that I’m teaching at our co-op this year.  I’m getting really excited about it and looking forward to being with the new group of kids and seeing what they bring to the class.   I teach high school literature so we get to sit and talk about what we read each week.  It’s so fun!  The kids amaze me sometimes and it’s always fascinating to hear what they get out of it.

One thing I’m adding to my class this year is two big writing assignments.  Last year we just did smaller papers once a month but this year I’m having them write an essay first semester and a research paper second semester along with their other assignments.  I found the coolest books to help me teach them how to do this:

How to Write an Essay

by Sparknotes Editors

ISBN: 978-1-4114-9976-8

Publication: Spark Publishing 2006

and

How to Write a Research Paper

by Emma Chastain

ISBN: 978-1-4114-2341-1

Publisher: Spark Publishing 2008

I’m really excited to have found these!  They are going to be a great teaching tool for me this year. 

Last year I taught a British Literature class in our homeschool co-op and part of the reading was two of Shakespeare’s plays – Macbeth and As you Like It.  Not only did those go over well with my class but they practically begged to have a class this year that was JUST Shakespeare!  I really enjoyed those two plays (having never read Shakespeare before -  GASP – I know!)  so I was happy to oblige and this year we will have our Shakespeare class.

I’m working on the prep work and the syllabus this summer and rather enjoy doing it.  I’m looking forward to studying these with the kids because I think they will really enjoy it once they get into it.  The only downside is that some of his plays are kind of risque and some have some bad language so I’m pre-reading all of them to figure out which ones might be best suited for classroom study/discussion.  The interesting thing is that if you read it in the traditional Shakespearian language most of this would go right over their heads – and mine too if I’m being honest.   But we use a great set of books (which I will elaborate on in just a minute) and they tend to explain everything – sometimes in a little to great of detail if you know what I mean.    All in all I love these books though.  It has made studying Shakespeare, something many people seem to be afraid to do, an enjoyable undertaking.

Now, what are these books, you might be asking.  Well, here is some info on them:

• Published by Spark Publishing
• Shakespeare and plain English side-by-side
• Great online resources (for much more than Shakespeare as well!)
• Study guides in book form or online

So, if you’ve been afraif of Shakespeare in the past – fear no more!!  Just get No Fear Shakespeare!