Wrestling with IEW

Based on that title, you might think that I am having a hard time with IEW, and you would be right.  I think I have been going through this for the last fifteen years, or longer.  My struggle these days is different.  I struggle because of the many great choices and wishing I could just do all the different available courses.  This year, I would like to do the Theme based writing courses: Middle Ages, Early U.S. History, Narnia...  I would also like to do The Elegant Essay, Poetry, Fix it!, and American Literature...  If only we didn't have all the other subjects to deal with, especially with Michelle's high school load, which is quite daunting as it is.

So, what to choose?

Since Michelle is doing American History and Literature this year, it would make sense to do the American History writing curriculum with her.  However, because of the distribution of high school credit requirements in Florida, I need to have her take an English class each year.  So, I will just have to stick with doing IEW's American Literature, which has a good bit of writing in it, and save the American History writing courses for next year.

With Emily, on the other hand, I will do Following Narnia 1: The Lion's Song, because I just can't wait.  We will be listening and reading along with Kenneth Branagh's great voice in these Chronicle's of Narnia audiobooks.

I would like to continue with our Middle Ages writing program with Emily because she needs extra work with English.  She is my late bloomer, the baby of the family, who likes to take things slowly and go about life in a relaxed manner. I think that's called being laid back?...  It's a bit of an alien concept for me.

We will also carry on with the Fix It! series, books 3 and 4.  I have developed my own system with Fix It! which has been working well for us. I print out the student e-book on one side of the paper only.  I go through the lesson with each one individually on Monday, then assign the day's part for them to fix.  I then use different colored high lighters - I love these - and mark their lesson, using a different color for each thing they didn't get right.  I then use the opposite blank page to write a note on what they missed and a further assignment will be given on that particular item.  Depending on what it is and whether this is a repeat problem, they will need to explain why they got it wrong, copy the grammar rule missed found in the grammar section of their book, write examples of how that part of speech may be used, do an etymology on a word that is misspelled or used incorrectly, etc.

What do I do with Fix it!?

Apologia Biology

Michelle is finishing up with biology for the year.  She did very well and enjoyed even the disection labs.  It was revealing for me to watch her and see that she's a natural at the anatomy labs.  We may have found her gift!  This is so not my area... I had to steel myself several times when she couldn't find one of the organs, pick up the tool, and start moving parts... to show her the lungs which were buried in the back behind the liver, or some other such thing...  I am glad there are people who have this area of interest!

Dual Enrollement - How To

Both of our older children dual enrolled before being admitted to university here in Florida.  We had a good experience each time and plan to do this again with our younger daughters as well.  

To dual enroll at our county's community college (HCC), a student must have a 3.0 GPA and have taken the SAT/ACT.  The requirements on test scores vary depending on the classes they want to take.  So, for MAC 1105 the SAT math score must be equal or greater than 510.  In Florida, you are allowed to take nine credit hours per semester, which may be up to three classes.  They started out taking one class in the summer, and by the Spring semester in their senior year, they were taking the full nine credits.

Current test score requirements in Hillsborough County (HCC)










Some of the benefits of dual enrollment for our children as homeschoolers:

• Double credit for classes - high school and college
• Free college classes, although not free textbooks for homeschoolers
• Experience in a classroom environment with hard deadlines and multiple teachers
• Coming into college with these credits creates flexibility when deciding which classes to take
• May allow for early graduation from college
• May help with deciding on a career, less time wasted doing so after high school
• Opportunity to start accumulating college credit and building a solid GPA
• Dual enrollment experience adds value to high school transcript 

You should submit your application and paperwork at least thirty days in advance of the beginning of registration for the upcoming term.

Contact - Nancy - Very nice on the phone, (813) 253-7121 or (813) 253-7062

Email -  dualenrollment@hccfl.edu

Important Links

For Florida high school transcripts: Statewide Course Numbering System
To search the latest Florida statutes
Steps to apply in Hillsborough County
Course equivalency list
Find links to forms here: Dual Enrollement - HCC
Steps to apply (HCC)

Success!

What a year this has been.  In retrospect, I am thankful for many things.  We had a full year with ups and downs, as always.  Of my curriculum choices, I am very happy with a switch to BJU in math.  I had never used their math curriculum before for middle school.  I had stuck with Saxon Math for years.  It wasn't working so well with Michelle, and BJU was just right.  I've decided to break with Saxon, after so many years.  Their system of random review problems at the end of the lesson, with just a few practice exercises on what was taught that day really was confusing.  The traditional, incremental approach taught in the BJU program is excellent.  There are review problems at the end of each chapter, and this is still very important!  So, I am very happy to have taken the plunge.

I updated my SAT post with the latest news from a couple of months ago.  Michael won the National Merit Scholarship, and we are so happy!  He will be going to the University of South Florida, our local college, part of the Florida university system.  Because he plans on going to graduate school, this was the best choice for him financially.  Living at home, we will be saving a substantial amount of the scholarship money he will receive each semester and will be in good shape to pursue graduate work when he gets his bachelor's degree.

Looking ahead at 2016-17, because of work related issues, we may be having to spend some time in Maryland this summer.  There is a threat of strike at Don's company (Verizon), which means we will have to go up there at a moment's notice for him to fill in for an unknown length of time.  What this means is that I will have very little time to pack and run.  I plan on starting school on the first week of July this year in order to make up for this potential disruption...  not knowing when and for how long is the hardest part.

Back to School

Emily is enjoying her science curriculum and learning about birds.

How air pressure might lift the water up like the wings of a bird.

Schedules, Structure, Accountability...

I have been working on a more structured schedule for school next year.  Both Emily and Michelle needed this, and so do I.  Even though Michelle is in 7th grade this year, she still must have a good bit of one-on-one attention - direction, teaching, etc.

I will be using these two schedules for them.  It was useful to get a side-by-side view on Word to make sure there was no overlap.  The underlined subjects are those that I will be teaching and working on with them.  I will be printing one copy for each day, which they will use to write in their assignments and what they need to work on on their own (OYO).

Science Project - Birds!

Emily has been recording her bird sightings in the backyard in her journal this summer, building a nice collection of drawings and observations, and having lots of fun with it. 

This week, we installed our new bird feeders, and we've all been enjoying watching the birds which congregate around it, especially early in the morning and late in the evening. 

Our science curriculum for 2014-2015 will be Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.  So, out bird studies will extend through next year.
 
Living in Florida makes this project especially fun, as we have so many species to study year round.  Nevertheless,   I signed up for the Cornell University Birdfeeder Project starting this Fall.  We are also recording our logs on ebird, their amazing website where thousands of people from around the world contribute their sightings. 

Cornell has a number of projects and resources on their website:

All About Birds is an online guide to birds and bird watching. It provides information about birding basics, live video feed from bird cams, informational videos, and more.

• Check out these amazing animated maps, created with eBird data.
• The Homeschooler’s Guide to Project FeederWatch is a free eight-page teaching resource that contains ideas for families participating in Project FeederWatch. 
• BirdSleuth: Science Investigator’s Kit for Homeschoolers is a ready-to-go kit of resources and student activities designed to foster scientific and creative thinking. 

There are also three free modules to download for teaching the scientific method and graphing data called Investigating Evidence.

For field trips this year, I have planned several outings to county parks, and one longer trip to the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge  on Sanibel Island.  We are blessed to live very close to one of the county's best bird habitats - Edward Medard Park.  There are birding groups organized each Fall which I hope to join with to learn more about bird watching, etc.