My oldest is in 4th grade 😂 but I love watching your high-school homeschool videos as I create a vision long term. Thank you so much, I love watching and learning about these things from you veteran homeschool mamas! You are few but so needed!
I just have to say this video you made is phenomenal! It has hit every box that I have been searching for all in one video. I’m especially happy you included how you would record each subject in the transcript. My oldest is a rising 7th grader and would like to prepare myself mentally ahead of time on what to expect for high school. Many thanks for taking the time to make this video, it was well thought out and detailed. Also, I hope you consider making a video on the process of making a high school transcript 😊
So glad I found you, there is not a lot of homeschool high school information out there. Thank you for including how you’re doing subjects with the credit value. This was very helpful ! Love the curriculum choices, we’re doing Shorman Math too ❤
We are just starting our homeschool journey, in grades 6 and 8! Really appreciating your curriculum reviews and comments about your kids different learning styles and levels. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing- there are a few things that are new to me that I will check out. One of my kids is also using the Whirlwind History next year. Using sticker paper is a great idea!
From a homeschool mom of two high-schoolers (and one more that graduated!) I deeply appreciated the detailed information and all of the curriculum ideas! Thank you so much for all the time that went into this!
I would love an update in the future to hear how combining traditional chem with the guest hollow chem in the kitchen works out. That is what I hope to do in a few years for my kids so would love ideas, tips etc once you have worked thru it
Please do a flip through and 'do a lesson with us' for the Chemistry in the Kitchen! Theres very few (almost no!) videos on what exactly the course is Even better if you can also share which of the Guest hollow units match up well with the Wiley textbook!
I will for sure have a flip through on Chem in the Kitchen soon. I’m doing a whole series on the different Guest Hollow courses. But I love the idea of showing the match up with the more traditional chem course too. I will have to mark that down for a future video
Lightning Lit and composition for high school is an excellent Literature program. We are doing Brit lit and Shakespeare this year and planning for American lit next school year.
I showed some of it in one of my winter DITL videos and in a recent video all about the Guest Hollow Botany program. It was a great way to track what she was learning
I had considered making the jump to Berean for biology but at the time we had been really consistent in using Apologia. A new edition had just been released by Apologia that year, and I did get a chance to look through it before buying. It seemed thorough and worked pretty similarly to what we had been doing. I saw the Berean version at this year's convention, and it's a great option as well. Chemistry though I definitely wanted to switch to Berean due to some reported errors in the newer edition of the Apologia version after they switched authors.
I don’t think it’s necessarily more advanced than any other algebra course. Dr Shormann recommends student pace themselves and limit daily math work to no more than an hour a day, then stopping and picking up where they left off the next day. You get 2 years of access to each course when you purchase. I do think the video tutorials are really well done and if your student utilizes the hints and lesson links on problems they get stuck on, it really can help with working through them
I've heard so many good things about shormann, but also some say that if your student isn't going to be a science or math major in college that it's unnecessary or if your student isn't strong it math it would be hard. My son is doing his Earth Science in 8th grade, but I'm not sure I would do it again. It seems very thorough though. Other moms have said that it really could snuff out your love for math ;)
I don’t think either of my teens are looking for science or math degrees. One has always disliked math but does excellent in it. She also is my detailed note taker who does every single practice problem etc. My son, on the flip side, can do so much of math in his head. He doesn’t hate math, but no great love for it either. In both cases, they’ve done well with Saxon with the Dive tutorials during middle school. And my son much preferred the online Shormann course this year.
Both my sons are doing Shoremann math and science. They did well with Saxon math too. They're not interested in being math or science majors either, but they really enjoy Shormann math and science. I have a 7th and 10th grader.
We used Apologia Biology with both my teens. I did get a chance to see the BB biology textbooks at the homeschool convention last year though and got to chat with the author Dr Wile. He is great at writing textbooks about the sciences and it looked like a solid curriculum. I had just already purchased our biology course by that time. And I was pleased with the Apologia program as well
It is written in a straightforward, conversational tone which makes it easy to read and understand for the most part. There are chemistry concepts introduced that may take going over a couple of times to fully understand but that’s true of most upper level science courses. My daughter tends to speed read. If she didn’t understand something the first time through, I had her to go back over those parts and read them more carefully
Do you think the student workbook is necessary? Or, can we use a science notebook? Maybe print the notebook from the website? This video is packed with information! Do you miss having the physical book for math?
I’m assuming you mean the workbook for chemistry? The comprehension questions are scattered throughout the chapters in the textbook, so you could very easily just do them in a notebook. Same thing for lab reports. I just like having it all already together, and when they study for a test they can see the original question/problem right above where they work it out in the workbook. So far not missing math textbooks! Both kids take pretty decent notes during the video lectures and use that to study more than anything
I’m so intrigued…or maybe confused or shocked😳🤷♀️ it’s really challenging sometimes to do a literature based curriculum for 1-2 subjects (like history w/ bible and lot) plus all the other subjects and not overwhelm a child or have them working 7-8 hours a day! And it sounds like your son is doing 3 literature based courses in 1 year! I’ve seen and done guest hollow American History and it was a LOT and my highschooler couldn’t keep up or finish all the reading. So all of his other classes were not literature based and he just read 4 novels for LA. But yours is doing 2 guest hollow courses simultaneously AND an online LIT course + the 3 novel studies your assigning?!? Plus his other courses. Wow😮 I just can’t imagine!! How does he do all the reading?! Does school take 7-8 hours per day? From what I know with guest hollow I’m literally estimating that all 3 of these lit based courses plus the novels etc is going to be like 75 books…😱 How? Just…I’m so curious how one can do it all!😅
It’s all in how the reading assignments are broken down. I don’t assign all the reading suggestions in the Guest Hollow courses or I will arrange them differently during the week. His BJU reading assignments are often no more than a few pages a day. Novel studies we do a chapter a day. It keeps it all pretty manageable for him. On average, my high schoolers spend 5 hours on school most days, 6 hours if it’s a heavy day.
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife thanks for the details! Great to know. We had to transition back to homeschool for highschool bc of where we live overseas. When my son did guest hollow history in 9th grade, I feel he got behind or had difficulty staying consistent to get assignments done. It seemed like a lot. I also didn’t go through the schedule and make a weekly plan or “assign” things directly- do you tell him what to do each day? Do u find you have to help your teens stay on track a lot? It was the first year back to homeschool for us so it was just all new and we felt kind of scattered and disorganized.
I have the Berean Builders Chemistry set aside for my daughter's high school years. Did you use their biology also? I am wondering what is different between Berean Builders and Apologia's biology, the pros and cons of each.
We used Apologia biology for both my teens and I thought it was a really thorough course. (Of course I’m picky on bio and chem since those were my two college majors). There was a new author for the Apologia edition we used, so I did notice a difference in the writing - Dr Wile just has a gift for making his textbooks read more like a conversation and less like a textbook. I haven’t had a chance to do more than a flip through of the Berean Builders biology at a convention though. You might be able to find some examples on their website of the textbook
I would start with their Year 1 Structure and Style Course Level C. It is designed for high schooler students who are just starting with IEW. Streaming video lessons are included each week where they'll be introduced to the IEW methodology.
Apologia had a new author do their latest edition of chemistry, but I wanted to continue using textbooks written by Dr Wile. I much prefer his method of instruction and how he approaches the subjects. He now writing for Berean Builders, hence the switch for chemistry. Now for physics which my oldest will do next year, the current Apologia edition is still the written by Dr Wile so we picked that for her
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife got it! Thank you so much for replying. I really want to get science right for our eldest son because he is showing very high interest and aptitude in that subject.
With Berean Science do they watch videos or do you teach it? Also, if you teach it, is it difficult for a child to go through it on their own with minimal help from a parent? Thank you!!
Berean Builders offers the option of live online classes for a few of their courses. We don’t use that option. My oldest is finishing up the chemistry program this year. One of her friends was needing chemistry too, so I offered to help teach her. The two of them get together 2 days a week to do the labs and on those days I go over chapter concepts with them and assist with any practice problems they needed help with. The other 3 days a week they worked independently, going through the readings and practice problems. I find it’s set up well for a student to be able to work through on their own for the most part. I would make sure to have the solution manual though. It’s fabulous at working out all the problems in detail and with good explanations. That way if your student gets stuck, you can refer to it to guide them
My oldest is in 4th grade 😂 but I love watching your high-school homeschool videos as I create a vision long term. Thank you so much, I love watching and learning about these things from you veteran homeschool mamas! You are few but so needed!
I just have to say this video you made is phenomenal! It has hit every box that I have been searching for all in one video. I’m especially happy you included how you would record each subject in the transcript. My oldest is a rising 7th grader and would like to prepare myself mentally ahead of time on what to expect for high school. Many thanks for taking the time to make this video, it was well thought out and detailed. Also, I hope you consider making a video on the process of making a high school transcript 😊
Transcript video should be up next week!
So glad I found you, there is not a lot of homeschool high school information out there. Thank you for including how you’re doing subjects with the credit value. This was very helpful ! Love the curriculum choices, we’re doing Shorman Math too ❤
We are just starting our homeschool journey, in grades 6 and 8! Really appreciating your curriculum reviews and comments about your kids different learning styles and levels. Thank you!
We're going to be diving into nutrition this year, too!
Thanks for sharing- there are a few things that are new to me that I will check out. One of my kids is also using the Whirlwind History next year. Using sticker paper is a great idea!
From a homeschool mom of two high-schoolers (and one more that graduated!) I deeply appreciated the detailed information and all of the curriculum ideas! Thank you so much for all the time that went into this!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much for your video this morning! Can’t wait to implement some of your curriculum choices for my kiddos next year.
I would love an update in the future to hear how combining traditional chem with the guest hollow chem in the kitchen works out. That is what I hope to do in a few years for my kids so would love ideas, tips etc once you have worked thru it
Great suggestion!
My math assistant is another similar program that you can use Saxon with. New editions and old. It’s fantastic.
Please do a flip through and 'do a lesson with us' for the Chemistry in the Kitchen! Theres very few (almost no!) videos on what exactly the course is
Even better if you can also share which of the Guest hollow units match up well with the Wiley textbook!
I will for sure have a flip through on Chem in the Kitchen soon. I’m doing a whole series on the different Guest Hollow courses. But I love the idea of showing the match up with the more traditional chem course too. I will have to mark that down for a future video
Lightning Lit and composition for high school is an excellent Literature program. We are doing Brit lit and Shakespeare this year and planning for American lit next school year.
I’m intrigued by the glimpse of your daughter’s narration notebook. I’ll go hunt for a video about that … if you haven’t made one yet, you should!
I showed some of it in one of my winter DITL videos and in a recent video all about the Guest Hollow Botany program. It was a great way to track what she was learning
Yes, the botany video is what I was thinking of! Does she put all of her subjects in one notebook? What does she do for history?
I also have my high school son,write the sentences in cursive in fix it grammar
Awesome! I’ll have to tell my son I’m not the only mom out there requiring cursive. (He insists I’m the only mom who does 😆)
Did you consider Wile's Biology as well? What made you go with Apologia for that subject over Berean Builders?
I had considered making the jump to Berean for biology but at the time we had been really consistent in using Apologia. A new edition had just been released by Apologia that year, and I did get a chance to look through it before buying. It seemed thorough and worked pretty similarly to what we had been doing. I saw the Berean version at this year's convention, and it's a great option as well.
Chemistry though I definitely wanted to switch to Berean due to some reported errors in the newer edition of the Apologia version after they switched authors.
Is shormann math advanced? Or with my math despiser 😅 would that help with strugglers
I don’t think it’s necessarily more advanced than any other algebra course. Dr Shormann recommends student pace themselves and limit daily math work to no more than an hour a day, then stopping and picking up where they left off the next day. You get 2 years of access to each course when you purchase. I do think the video tutorials are really well done and if your student utilizes the hints and lesson links on problems they get stuck on, it really can help with working through them
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife thank you for your insight!!!
I've heard so many good things about shormann, but also some say that if your student isn't going to be a science or math major in college that it's unnecessary or if your student isn't strong it math it would be hard. My son is doing his Earth Science in 8th grade, but I'm not sure I would do it again. It seems very thorough though. Other moms have said that it really could snuff out your love for math ;)
I don’t think either of my teens are looking for science or math degrees. One has always disliked math but does excellent in it. She also is my detailed note taker who does every single practice problem etc. My son, on the flip side, can do so much of math in his head. He doesn’t hate math, but no great love for it either. In both cases, they’ve done well with Saxon with the Dive tutorials during middle school. And my son much preferred the online Shormann course this year.
Both my sons are doing Shoremann math and science. They did well with Saxon math too. They're not interested in being math or science majors either, but they really enjoy Shormann math and science. I have a 7th and 10th grader.
Have you used the BB Discovering Design with Biology?
We used Apologia Biology with both my teens. I did get a chance to see the BB biology textbooks at the homeschool convention last year though and got to chat with the author Dr Wile. He is great at writing textbooks about the sciences and it looked like a solid curriculum. I had just already purchased our biology course by that time. And I was pleased with the Apologia program as well
I don’t have a science background like you, do you think most people could do the Berean builders without the videos? Is the text easy to understand?
It is written in a straightforward, conversational tone which makes it easy to read and understand for the most part. There are chemistry concepts introduced that may take going over a couple of times to fully understand but that’s true of most upper level science courses. My daughter tends to speed read. If she didn’t understand something the first time through, I had her to go back over those parts and read them more carefully
Do you think the student workbook is necessary? Or, can we use a science notebook? Maybe print the notebook from the website? This video is packed with information! Do you miss having the physical book for math?
I’m assuming you mean the workbook for chemistry? The comprehension questions are scattered throughout the chapters in the textbook, so you could very easily just do them in a notebook. Same thing for lab reports. I just like having it all already together, and when they study for a test they can see the original question/problem right above where they work it out in the workbook. So far not missing math textbooks! Both kids take pretty decent notes during the video lectures and use that to study more than anything
I’m so intrigued…or maybe confused or shocked😳🤷♀️ it’s really challenging sometimes to do a literature based curriculum for 1-2 subjects (like history w/ bible and lot) plus all the other subjects and not overwhelm a child or have them working 7-8 hours a day! And it sounds like your son is doing 3 literature based courses in 1 year!
I’ve seen and done guest hollow American History and it was a LOT and my highschooler couldn’t keep up or finish all the reading. So all of his other classes were not literature based and he just read 4 novels for LA.
But yours is doing 2 guest hollow courses simultaneously AND an online LIT course + the 3 novel studies your assigning?!? Plus his other courses. Wow😮
I just can’t imagine!!
How does he do all the reading?!
Does school take 7-8 hours per day?
From what I know with guest hollow I’m literally estimating that all 3 of these lit based courses plus the novels etc is going to be like 75 books…😱
How? Just…I’m so curious how one can do it all!😅
It’s all in how the reading assignments are broken down. I don’t assign all the reading suggestions in the Guest Hollow courses or I will arrange them differently during the week. His BJU reading assignments are often no more than a few pages a day. Novel studies we do a chapter a day. It keeps it all pretty manageable for him. On average, my high schoolers spend 5 hours on school most days, 6 hours if it’s a heavy day.
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife thanks for the details! Great to know. We had to transition back to homeschool for highschool bc of where we live overseas. When my son did guest hollow history in 9th grade, I feel he got behind or had difficulty staying consistent to get assignments done. It seemed like a lot. I also didn’t go through the schedule and make a weekly plan or “assign” things directly- do you tell him what to do each day? Do u find you have to help your teens stay on track a lot? It was the first year back to homeschool for us so it was just all new and we felt kind of scattered and disorganized.
I have the Berean Builders Chemistry set aside for my daughter's high school years. Did you use their biology also? I am wondering what is different between Berean Builders and Apologia's biology, the pros and cons of each.
We used Apologia biology for both my teens and I thought it was a really thorough course. (Of course I’m picky on bio and chem since those were my two college majors). There was a new author for the Apologia edition we used, so I did notice a difference in the writing - Dr Wile just has a gift for making his textbooks read more like a conversation and less like a textbook. I haven’t had a chance to do more than a flip through of the Berean Builders biology at a convention though. You might be able to find some examples on their website of the textbook
Have you tried BJU science or history?
We have never used IEW. Going into 9th & 10th what would you suggest?
I would start with their Year 1 Structure and Style Course Level C. It is designed for high schooler students who are just starting with IEW. Streaming video lessons are included each week where they'll be introduced to the IEW methodology.
I noticed you used Apologia for ninth grade and are now switching to Berean Builders. I'm curious as to why you switched. Thanks
Apologia had a new author do their latest edition of chemistry, but I wanted to continue using textbooks written by Dr Wile. I much prefer his method of instruction and how he approaches the subjects. He now writing for Berean Builders, hence the switch for chemistry. Now for physics which my oldest will do next year, the current Apologia edition is still the written by Dr Wile so we picked that for her
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife got it! Thank you so much for replying. I really want to get science right for our eldest son because he is showing very high interest and aptitude in that subject.
When you purchase the science, does the workbook come with it or is it a digital option? I don't see a workbook on the site at all.
Rainbow Resource (a curriculum site) has the workbook in stock. Just search Student Workbook for Discovering Design with Chemistry and it will pop up
With Berean Science do they watch videos or do you teach it? Also, if you teach it, is it difficult for a child to go through it on their own with minimal help from a parent? Thank you!!
Berean Builders offers the option of live online classes for a few of their courses. We don’t use that option. My oldest is finishing up the chemistry program this year. One of her friends was needing chemistry too, so I offered to help teach her. The two of them get together 2 days a week to do the labs and on those days I go over chapter concepts with them and assist with any practice problems they needed help with. The other 3 days a week they worked independently, going through the readings and practice problems. I find it’s set up well for a student to be able to work through on their own for the most part. I would make sure to have the solution manual though. It’s fabulous at working out all the problems in detail and with good explanations. That way if your student gets stuck, you can refer to it to guide them
With the Shormann math is there a way to print the textbook? Or is it strictly online?
There is a pdf on the course homepage that can be printed