Ohhhh!! SUCH good info! Thank you! I'm a veteran homeschool mom to a senior and two freshmen (freshmans?) lol, but I am SO glad I came across your video (I googled "best homeschool curriculum for visual learners" and this video came up!). I was up the creek without a paddle 1/2 and hour ago. I went to buy the curriculum I had long ago decided upon and realized its not a good fit after all. God must've guided the algorithms because I needed to see your video! I've either done, or heard of, most of these curricula, but I needed to hear your words on the rigor of Apologia Biology and see all the books laid out and flipped through while hearing your daily/weekly approach. And be reminded that IEW is the bomb! Even though I'm a veteran, my twins are so different than my senior, I might as well be a newbie. I'm SO excited to discover Seven Sisters and Guest Hollows! I'll be checking those out right now!
So thankful for your channel. Not enough high school info for homeschoolers out there. And you and I seem to think similarly in terms of quality, credits, preparing them well for college etc. Great content. Watching all the way through...
We have been enjoying Guest Hollow’s geography too. I’m using it with 4 kids, none are in high school :) But I’m adapting it and cutting out a lot. Still enjoying it.
My oldest is a few years away from high school so this is so helpful. We are in Indiana too! We are using Guest Hollow too! We are doing Beowulf Grammar, geography junior and actions and reactions.
Welcome fellow Hoosier! 😄 I still can’t believe it took me this long to discover Guest Hollow. It has been the surprise new favorite curriculum for the kids. Can’t wait until their new Government/Econ class goes live. Got my eye on that for my oldest to do next year!
I start by looking through each course and then break down the daily assignments to keep it manageable. And some subjects (like psychology) aren’t done every day. Others subjects such as grammar, vocab and writing each only take my son about 15 minutes a day. His biology varies day to day. On days it’s just a reading assignment, it’s fairly quick. Math, literature and cultural geography are each about 45 min to an hour a day. Counting the time we spend doing group subjects, my high schoolers spend between 4.5-5 hours a day on schoolwork. My oldest prefers to start early in the morning, so she’s done by early afternoon. My son is my late riser but he still is wrapped up by mid-late afternoon.
BJU is a full year literature course. It has writing assignments scattered throughout but is not what I would consider a full writing course. BJU offers a writing/grammar course separately but we have been longtime users of the IEW writing program
We had purchased a compound microscope from Home Science Tools. The same model is no longer available, but I have seen some decent prices on Amazon for similar ones. For biology, I would choose one that has at least 40x, 100x and 400x magnification. If you are doing a curriculum (like Apologia) that has labs with prepared slides, Home Science Tools is where I would go for those
Breaking down the daily assignments- subjects like literature and math take them the longest but others only take 15-20 min a day. On average they spend 4-5 hours a day on schoolwork.
We do 5 day weeks, but the time needed for each subject varies. Math ALWAYS takes the longest for them. Our literature based courses (such as the Guest Hollow ones) average an hour a day. Most other subjects take 30 minutes or less on average. It just varies and we flex things if there is a longer assignment, test or project in a course on a given day
We wanted to stick with textbooks written by Dr Wile if possible. He wrote many of the original science textbook editions for Apologia but then left and started writing for BB. We liked his style of writing (conversational) and the explanations he gave. The latest version of chemistry at Apologia was from a different author
You mentioned some curriculum choices being 2 credits but for instance, for Apologia science they say the course equals 1 credit in Biology so how can you get 2 credits? Just wanted to clarify as we are just starting high school
In Indiana, most public schools track courses as 1 credit per semester or 2 credits for a full year course. It’s just how they denote it on transcripts. So when I first started our transcripts and HS planning, I used the same system since I had been looking at our states honor diploma requirements to get an idea of what courses we wanted to include over HS. I believe it varies state to state how they typically assign credits. However, when I started doing deep dive research into transcript requirements for kids looking to be NCAA sport eligible (both my kids want to play college golf), I found that they want transcripts to use the more common 0.5 credit per semester/1 credit for full year tracking method. So I went through and updated our transcripts and have been noting them that way now
Yes we have been. Both read the Narnia books when they were younger, but I had them reread them with the IEW program. Many of the writing assignments pull right from what is happening in the books. And they are great stories to reread at any age!
Thank you. Could you please help me understand? Do we need to go through an accredited homeschool program? I heard if we don't, my son will have to take his GED exam to get into college or anything else that requires a high school degree. I know the diploma I award him may not matter because I'm not an accredited program. I prefer to not do an accredited program because my son has special needs and his work has to be special tailored. If you have any info that would be great. I appreciate it. Thank you!
I would start by checking out your states dept of education website for any specific requirements your state has. Some states have requirements for homeschoolers to be a part of homeschool groups or do state testing. Others do not, but it’s very state specific. Here in Indiana we have no requirements to do testing or use any specific type of curriculum. Most homeschool curriculum programs are not considered “accredited” but they are perfectly fine to use. We plan to use the transcript I create for my kids’ college applications and the few colleges we’ve spoken to about dual enrollment said that our transcripts will work without a problem. In fact, two admission reps told me that they love seeing homeschool applicants because they seem much more prepared for higher level classes. Most colleges and universities will have info on their websites for homeschooled applicants.
Thank you so much. This is such great news! I'm in a state that requires you to be under a homeschool association. I completely forgot the homeschool association will print the transcripts and a diploma. I think we will be good to go. Thanks so much to help. :)
We used Saxon Math exclusively. My kids thrived with the way it taught math concepts and had the “spiral review”, where each assignment had review problems from previous lessons plus a few problems on the new concept being taught that day.
I’ve always felt that it is. If you really utilize the including literature analysis questions within the lessons, your student will get a lot of out the curriculum. I do always watch for sales though- I’ve gotten it as much as 30% off new or purchased it used from other homeschool parents online
My son will be continuing to use BJU literature for next year as well. The setup of the curriculum has continued to work well for him, so I didn't see a need to change him to something different.
Do you mean the IEW writing assignments? It starts out assigning 1-2 paragraphs a week as they review different writing concepts. Gradually more is introduced and required in each assignment. The longest assignments over the year are usually 5-6 paragraphs
It can be used either as a Christian or as a secular curriculum. In the curriculum schedule that’s included with each program, they provide detailed notes that alert you to topics in books or videos that you may wish to review first depending on your students age/maturity. They also will note if a book or resource makes references to evolution in case it is something you wish to have your student skip or use.
Ohhhh!! SUCH good info! Thank you! I'm a veteran homeschool mom to a senior and two freshmen (freshmans?) lol, but I am SO glad I came across your video (I googled "best homeschool curriculum for visual learners" and this video came up!). I was up the creek without a paddle 1/2 and hour ago. I went to buy the curriculum I had long ago decided upon and realized its not a good fit after all. God must've guided the algorithms because I needed to see your video! I've either done, or heard of, most of these curricula, but I needed to hear your words on the rigor of Apologia Biology and see all the books laid out and flipped through while hearing your daily/weekly approach. And be reminded that IEW is the bomb! Even though I'm a veteran, my twins are so different than my senior, I might as well be a newbie. I'm SO excited to discover Seven Sisters and Guest Hollows! I'll be checking those out right now!
So thankful for your channel. Not enough high school info for homeschoolers out there. And you and I seem to think similarly in terms of quality, credits, preparing them well for college etc. Great content. Watching all the way through...
Thanks so much for watching!
I'm so glad you are sharing your 9th grade journey. We all can learn from each other. 🌻
So excited to have found you! My oldest hits high school next fall, and I'm starting the search and prep now!
Great video. We are homeschooling a 5th, 6th, and 9th grader this year.
We have been enjoying Guest Hollow’s geography too. I’m using it with 4 kids, none are in high school :) But I’m adapting it and cutting out a lot. Still enjoying it.
so so happy they're redoing geography for elementary to go along with the hs!
My daughter (7th grade) loves the Fix It Grammar. She just started level 2 this year. I also use it for handwriting for her as well.
9th Grade!! Yahoo!!!! We too are using Guest Hollow Geography for my 6th, 7th and 9th grader.
Guest Hollow has been our surprise blessing this year! Never thought my son would be excited to do history, but he is now!
My oldest is a few years away from high school so this is so helpful.
We are in Indiana too!
We are using Guest Hollow too! We are doing Beowulf Grammar, geography junior and actions and reactions.
Welcome fellow Hoosier! 😄 I still can’t believe it took me this long to discover Guest Hollow. It has been the surprise new favorite curriculum for the kids. Can’t wait until their new Government/Econ class goes live. Got my eye on that for my oldest to do next year!
Thanks for the useful video!
WE LOVE GUEST HOLLOW
great selection. Thanks for sharing
Just curious how you fit all of this in. I love all of your picks but I wonder how you do it all?
I start by looking through each course and then break down the daily assignments to keep it manageable. And some subjects (like psychology) aren’t done every day. Others subjects such as grammar, vocab and writing each only take my son about 15 minutes a day. His biology varies day to day. On days it’s just a reading assignment, it’s fairly quick. Math, literature and cultural geography are each about 45 min to an hour a day.
Counting the time we spend doing group subjects, my high schoolers spend between 4.5-5 hours a day on schoolwork. My oldest prefers to start early in the morning, so she’s done by early afternoon. My son is my late riser but he still is wrapped up by mid-late afternoon.
We use Fix-It, Robin Hood, lots of l literature books and Worldy Wise.
How have you liked Worldy Wise? We still have about 10 weeks or so until we will start it and I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews from others
I love your videos. i would like more clarification how you use the BJU literature course. Is it a full year and includes writing?
BJU is a full year literature course. It has writing assignments scattered throughout but is not what I would consider a full writing course. BJU offers a writing/grammar course separately but we have been longtime users of the IEW writing program
Which microscope did you buy? My son will be doing biology this year 😊
We had purchased a compound microscope from Home Science Tools. The same model is no longer available, but I have seen some decent prices on Amazon for similar ones. For biology, I would choose one that has at least 40x, 100x and 400x magnification. If you are doing a curriculum (like Apologia) that has labs with prepared slides, Home Science Tools is where I would go for those
You are doing SOOOOO much. How do you get it all done??
Breaking down the daily assignments- subjects like literature and math take them the longest but others only take 15-20 min a day. On average they spend 4-5 hours a day on schoolwork.
Did you say that the guest hollow curriculum is a full year course?
Yes it is a full year.
How do you fit all this within a 4 day or 5 week?
We do 5 day weeks, but the time needed for each subject varies. Math ALWAYS takes the longest for them. Our literature based courses (such as the Guest Hollow ones) average an hour a day. Most other subjects take 30 minutes or less on average. It just varies and we flex things if there is a longer assignment, test or project in a course on a given day
Link for your binder? Thank yoy
The Cinch Binder a.co/d/dtuA4pS
I saw your video on BB for Chemistry. Is there a reason why you use apologia for biology and BB for Chemistry?
We wanted to stick with textbooks written by Dr Wile if possible. He wrote many of the original science textbook editions for Apologia but then left and started writing for BB. We liked his style of writing (conversational) and the explanations he gave. The latest version of chemistry at Apologia was from a different author
You mentioned some curriculum choices being 2 credits but for instance, for Apologia science they say the course equals 1 credit in Biology so how can you get 2 credits? Just wanted to clarify as we are just starting high school
In Indiana, most public schools track courses as 1 credit per semester or 2 credits for a full year course. It’s just how they denote it on transcripts. So when I first started our transcripts and HS planning, I used the same system since I had been looking at our states honor diploma requirements to get an idea of what courses we wanted to include over HS. I believe it varies state to state how they typically assign credits. However, when I started doing deep dive research into transcript requirements for kids looking to be NCAA sport eligible (both my kids want to play college golf), I found that they want transcripts to use the more common 0.5 credit per semester/1 credit for full year tracking method. So I went through and updated our transcripts and have been noting them that way now
Do you have your kids read all the books for IEW (that goes along with the papers they write) or just write the papers?
Yes we have been. Both read the Narnia books when they were younger, but I had them reread them with the IEW program. Many of the writing assignments pull right from what is happening in the books. And they are great stories to reread at any age!
Thank you. Could you please help me understand? Do we need to go through an accredited homeschool program? I heard if we don't, my son will have to take his GED exam to get into college or anything else that requires a high school degree. I know the diploma I award him may not matter because I'm not an accredited program. I prefer to not do an accredited program because my son has special needs and his work has to be special tailored. If you have any info that would be great. I appreciate it. Thank you!
I would start by checking out your states dept of education website for any specific requirements your state has. Some states have requirements for homeschoolers to be a part of homeschool groups or do state testing. Others do not, but it’s very state specific. Here in Indiana we have no requirements to do testing or use any specific type of curriculum. Most homeschool curriculum programs are not considered “accredited” but they are perfectly fine to use. We plan to use the transcript I create for my kids’ college applications and the few colleges we’ve spoken to about dual enrollment said that our transcripts will work without a problem. In fact, two admission reps told me that they love seeing homeschool applicants because they seem much more prepared for higher level classes. Most colleges and universities will have info on their websites for homeschooled applicants.
Thank you so much. This is such great news! I'm in a state that requires you to be under a homeschool association. I completely forgot the homeschool association will print the transcripts and a diploma. I think we will be good to go. Thanks so much to help. :)
Hi , what math did your don use before Shorman?
We used Saxon Math exclusively. My kids thrived with the way it taught math concepts and had the “spiral review”, where each assignment had review problems from previous lessons plus a few problems on the new concept being taught that day.
Is BJU worth the cost for literature?
I’ve always felt that it is. If you really utilize the including literature analysis questions within the lessons, your student will get a lot of out the curriculum. I do always watch for sales though- I’ve gotten it as much as 30% off new or purchased it used from other homeschool parents online
Hi, did you keep the BJU ?
My son will be continuing to use BJU literature for next year as well. The setup of the curriculum has continued to work well for him, so I didn't see a need to change him to something different.
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife thank you
What are the written assignments for 9th grade for first period
Do you mean the IEW writing assignments? It starts out assigning 1-2 paragraphs a week as they review different writing concepts. Gradually more is introduced and required in each assignment. The longest assignments over the year are usually 5-6 paragraphs
@@mypracticallyimperfectlife my student asked me and when I go to Abeka online I can't find it.
Is Guest Hollow a Christian curriculum?
It can be used either as a Christian or as a secular curriculum. In the curriculum schedule that’s included with each program, they provide detailed notes that alert you to topics in books or videos that you may wish to review first depending on your students age/maturity. They also will note if a book or resource makes references to evolution in case it is something you wish to have your student skip or use.