Friday, August 10, 2012

One Day of High School, Already Making Changes


One day of our new homeschool year in the books, time for some changes.  Monday when I came home from work, we had a family  briefing of how things went.  As it turns out, it became apparent quickly that a couple of items weren't meeting our highschooler's expectations and needs.  Here's what happened to us:
Ryan reports that Alpha Omega's 9th grade History and Geography Lifepac is not challenging enough.  The workbook and fill in the blank approach did not work for him.  Don't think of this as a bad review for Alpha Omega's Lifepacs.  Instead, we're going to hold onto our copy of 9th grade History and Geography for Grace's 8th grade work next year.

The other problem is shame on us for not doing due diligence and finding out that the course covers only United States history and geography.  We already plan on studying American History in depth next year with Sonlight's "Core 100" in 10th grade, with Ryan's 8th grade sister and 6th grade brother following along.

That being said, Ryan wants and needs moree.  Fortunately, we already have a copy of Streams of Civilization, Volume II from Christian Liberty Press available.  So U.S. History came out of the lesson plan and World History went in.  From day two through today, all appears to be going well.

Language Arts is also off to a rough start.  Language Arts has always been a challenge, not only for us but for the homeschool community in general:  How to do basic grammar work like plurals and prepositions without getting bored with drills?  Any ideas?  Anybody who figures out an interesting, engaging Language Arts plan will corner the homeschool market, I tell ya! We tried letting Ryan work at his own pace, even testing out, but that didn't work.  So we're following through with our plan there and that's the best we can do so far.

At least the rest of the courses are off to a good start, especially Apologia's Biology.  We're supplementing that with the book Microbe Hunters by Paul di Kruif, which we downloaded to our nook.

Don't think of this as a bad review for Alpha Omega's Lifepacs.  Instead, we're going to hold onto our copy of 9th grade History and Geography for Grace's 8th grade work next year.

As homeschooling families already know, flexibility and customization are perks we enjoy.  We can make changes and customize lessons to our childrens' strengths.  Even if you are only through day one, if you find your best laid plan astray, don't hesitate.

How soon have you had to change your plans?  Are you already making adjustments?  Should you?

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