high school Archives - Page 3 of 26 - Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau

Jul 28 2017

What are “Social Sciences”?

When homeschooling high school, the phrase “Social Science” often comes up. You might see it in on a high school check-list, on a college web site, or in a list of course requirements.

It would be easy to say that social science is just another name for history (or what some call, “social studies”), but that’s only partially correct. While social science does include history, there’s a lot more to that academic category, as well.

Common Questions

How do I count “psychology” on my child’s transcript?

Where do I list “anthropology” on my student’s list of requirements?

What’s the difference between a science and a social science?

How many social sciences do colleges require for admission, and what classes can they be?

These are practical questions that many parents ask at one time or another. Understanding the social sciences will help families prepare their high schoolers for graduation, college, and beyond.

Social Sciences Courses

In general, high school studies in the following areas are considered social sciences:

Anthropology
Archaeology
Criminology
Economics
History
Law and Legal Studies
Linguistics
Political Science
Psychology
Sociology

Need to know what the “social sciences” are? Here’s a list.

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In college, other studies may also included within the social sciences, like business studies, media and communication, education studies, library science, and many others.

Note, while homeschool parents can essentially do whatever they want, not all social science courses should be awarded a full year of credit on the transcript, especially if the student is college-bound. For more information about that aspect, it can be helpful to refer to information from your state’s department of education, a local college, a local high school, a high school guidance counselor; or, consult a homeschool guidance counselor like me.

Want to know how many of each kind of course is required for college? Read this.

To your success,

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschool pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed for illustrating how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A writer, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, The Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and many other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT,Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.

Jul 20 2017

SAT, ACT and what is the new CLT?

Homeschooled teens looking to apply to college have a new test option to consider. Introduced in 2015, the Classic Learning Test (CLT) is gaining popularity as another way for colleges and universities to assess the student’s academic ability and potential.

A Third Choice in Testing

With the addition of the CLT, high schoolers now have three college exams to think about. These tests aren’t only for college admission, but used to determine merit-based financial aid, too:

The SAT examination, redesigned in 2016, and given by the College Board (here)
The ACT examination, available thru ACT Student (here)
The CLT, now available thru Classic Learning Initiatives (here)

Which Colleges Accept Which?

While ALL colleges accept either the SAT or the ACT (essentially interchangeable), there are currently just a few colleges that take the CLT. While the list of CLT colleges is growing, students are encouraged to check with individual colleges to find out if the CLT is accepted.

Differences Between Tests

The major difference between the SAT and ACT is the science portion. While both SAT and ACT include English, math and reading sections (plus an optional writing section), the ACT has a science section, too. Beyond the science, though there are slight differences in the number of questions and average amount of time given to respond, the 2 tests (SAT and ACT) are remarkably similar. (More similar than ever before even, as the new SAT was designed by the folks who wrote the ACT.)

The CLT, on the other hand, is quite different. A striking difference is that the CLT is given entirely online and results are available the same day (the others require a lengthy waiting period).

The mission of CLT is different, too, found on their web site:

CLI is structured and supported by principles and values which come from the rich heritage of the Western academic and theological tradition, what Mortimer Adler called the Great Conversation. To succeed at the Classic Learning Test does not require any specific religious affiliation; the CLT is open to students of all faiths who are serious about their academic work, the pursuit of virtue, and the beauty, truth, and goodness found in our Western heritage.

Aren’t Some Colleges SAT/ACT Optional Anyway?

While it is true that many colleges and universities have gone test-optional, as of this writing, the majority still require an entrance examination of some sort. Students applying to college within the next several years are encouraged to visit the web sites of the colleges of their choice, to learn the specific requirements so they can be ready.

(This list of test-optional colleges is one of my favorites.)

Jun 30 2017

High School Literature: When you want to use whole books

May contain affiliate links

When high schooling our students, it’s important to cram in as much literature as is reasonably possible. Without getting into the rationale, I cannot overstate the value of reading good books.

If you’re searching for products to use, please know that high school lit can be read/taught in pieces or using whole books. Those in the market for a whole book approach will appreciate this list.

Resources for High School Literature

Using whole books

(Each opens a new window)

For purchase:

Carol Kinsey’s Creative Writing Through Literature: Adventures in Non-Fiction

Sharon Watson’s Illuminating Literature: When Worlds Collide

Hewitt Homeschooling’s Literature Courses

Progeny Press Literature Guides

Notgrass History / Literature

Brave Writer’s Literature

Learning Language Arts Through Literature

Essentials in Writing’s Course entitled, “Essentials in Literature”

7 Sisters Literature Guides

Total Language Plus

Memoria Press

Sonlight

The Reader’s Odyssey by Dena M. Luchsinger

Classic Academic Press’s Literature Guides

For Free:

Cummings Study Guides

Spark Notes

Novel Guide

Glencoe’s Literature Guides

Nancy Polette’s Literature Guides

Class Zone

Grade Saver

The Best Notes

Georgia Department of Virtual Learning

Literature Learning Ladders

Shmoop

Cliff Notes

Litcharts

Not responsible for broken or inactive links. Please preview content before assigning to your student.

Looking for more curriculum choices? You might like my BIG LISTS.

May 24 2017

Financial aid tips for college-bound homeschoolers

With tuition increases every year, paying for college can be a real concern. For one-income families with more than one child (i.e., the majority of homeschool families), the fear of not being able to afford a college education can be quite real.

After helping my children into college and working with many other students, I’m convinced there still exists a college experience for any student who wants it, within any budget, and under most common circumstances. More importantly, however, I’ve found there is plenty of college money available to those who want it. Bigger still, a lot of that money is free.

The trick to making the money appear is: a) knowing where to look for it, and b) knowing specifically how to qualify for it.

As someone who has graduated teens who’ve gone on to college debt-free, I’d like to share some of the tips that saved us tons of money. Of course there’s so much more to going college debt-free, but these concepts should get you into the debt-free mindset for when the time comes.

Tips for finding college money and saving a ton!

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Start Early

My first and most valuable tip for finding college money is to start the work early. By early, I mean in 9th or 10th grade, if not sooner. Many organizations and programs start doling out money early, and there are grants and scholarships of all kinds available throughout the high school years. Plus, by starting early, you’ll have the benefit of a huge file of all that information you collect over the years, so you’ll never be caught missing deadlines, lacking requirements, or having trouble finding information again later. Consider it a part-time job that you and your student work on periodically. That’s how we did it, and it worked!

Tell Everyone You know

I always recommend telling everyone you know that you’re looking for college assistance. By putting this on the radar of friends, family members, employers and other acquaintances, you start building a team of support around you and your child. During the time your student is in high school, this team can be keeping their eyes and ears open for opportunities like scholarships and grants, interning programs and awards, and pass on to you a lot of information you’d never get anywhere else. Supporters are usually glad to help you in this way, and often become especially invested in your child as you share periodic updates on what your child is doing in high school, and what his or her goals are after graduation. Don’t dismiss the idea of chatting up the local high schools, either. Guidance counselors and other personnel are sometimes enormously helpful to homeschool families at scholarship time.

It’s Sometimes Okay to Be Broke

This next tip falls into the “for what it’s worth” category. Oftentimes, families try to boost their income during the high school years, with parents taking part-time jobs, and students finding ways to earn money themselves. While this is commendable and can sometimes help the situation, it can also backfire, too. Remember that certain programs target lower income families or those with an inability to pay. Given this formula, students may actually become ineligible for programs if they’ve built a nest egg during high school. While I never discourage anyone from saving for college, it can be useful to consider the cost-benefit of doing such a thing. Putting a student’s grades at risk from working too many hours, for instance, to be later disappointed by an inadequate aid package is highly discouraging. Stressing parents out unnecessarily while causing the family to become ineligible for certain programs is also clearly counter productive.

Overcome Your Desire for Privacy

When it comes time to apply for aid and scholarships, you might as well kiss any desire for privacy good bye. The sheer number of applications you’ll be completing is nothing short of mind boggling, and with those applications comes the complete stripping away of any desire to shield the world from knowing every intimate detail of your personal lives. The desire to find college money requires disclosing anything and everything these organizations want to know. I still highly recommend teaching your teen about identity theft and protecting his or her privacy in every other situation, but on this one, you’ll need to explain (and yourself must learn to accept) this is one exception for which there is no other choice.

Be Sure the Student Transcript Reflects Everything They Want to See

Minimum requirements for college entrance and college money, financial aid programs and scholarship programs, and other sources of college assistance will vary from student to student, from state to state (if you plan on applying for state aid), and from college to college. By knowing specific requirements for these programs early on (go back to my first tip), you can guarantee your student is eligible by making sure any course requirements are met, any GPA requirements are met, any community service or leadership requirements are met, and any other eligibility requirements are met, before your student turns that tassel. It pains me to see students who could’ve qualified for something great, but were ineligible because they forgot take a simple class in an earlier grade. It double-pains me when parents end up costing their students money because they were unwilling to put the time in earlier on to make sure the student remained on track for later assistance. I cannot stress enough the importance of developing a 4-year high school plan to cover all these bases.

If you’ve found these tips helpful, follow me for more information like this in the future (SUBSCRIBE on the home page if you’d like to be notified).

I work with many families to develop college-ready high school plans that gain them access to colleges, and often tens of thousands of dollars of money later on. If this is a service you’d like to explore, contact me for a private consultation.

To your success,

Here’s more you might like:

Finding college scholarships

College Prep High Schooling (Series)

How do homeschoolers get into college?

Apr 06 2017

Is homeschooling high school any different?

Parents often ask if homeschooling high school is different from homeschooling the earlier grades. They may ask the question directly, or express it through questions like these:

How do you teach everything if you don’t really remember it all?

Don’t you have to know all the subjects really well?

Aren’t you worried your child might not be prepared for college?

Don’t you have to be really smart?

Don’t most kids go back to school for high school?

What do you do if you can’t help with the really hard classes?

Do you worry about screwing everything up?

I’ve listed some articles at the bottom that contain in depth answers to every one of those questions. Today, I want to generally discuss the differences between homeschooling high school years versus homeschooling elementary and middle. (By the way, some refer to high school as “secondary” or “upper” school, in case this comes up in your research one day.)

Please know if you’re concerned about high school, you are not alone. Many parents feel anxious nearing the high school years. Many more parents express concern over “doing it right”. That’s why homeschool advisors like me spend so much time writing about the teen years. We remember feeling this way ourselves, and we want to help others do it successfully (and without worry) themselves.

So, is teaching high school any different?

Yes and no.

In many ways, homeschooling teens is a lot like what you’ve been doing all along. It’s basically the same amount of work, the same commitment and level of responsibility, and you follow the same legal requirements (if any) you did all the previous years. It’s similar in that you care just as much about your child as you did before, and you’re just as invested in your child’s success as you’ve always been.

In in terms of your personal involvement, homeschooling high school is still the full time job it was in the earlier grades.

Homeschooling high school is still the full time job it always was. What changes is the role you…

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What changes during high school is the roles you play. Your role changes into that of an administrator, and your student does by himself many of the things you used to do together.

Some of the differences are gradual, phasing in as your student matures, sometimes taking years before your student reaches a certain level of responsibility and independence.

Other changes start smack dab at the beginning of high school because they’re related to the procedures, classes or other expectations that begin on the first day of doing 9th grade work.

It depends on the people, of course, but at some point, parents begin to realize it isn’t elementary any more. They notice high school takes on a a different feel from middle school, too. In my observations, parents can assign a different level of importance to homeschooling the high school years. Perhaps because it’s the end of the journey, high schooling parents seem to view their efforts as being even more serious than in the past, if that’s possible.

If you’ve been down the high school road before, you might see yourself in this next section. You may find yourself nodding in agreement, as I think most parents of homeschooled teens share similar stories.

After high schooling all of my kids and meeting with hundreds of families of teens over the years, these are the things I have noticed we all have in common. I’ve created a list of some of the things you might find yourself feeling and doing when beginning to homeschool your teen.

A list of things you find yourself feeling and doing when homeschooling your teen.

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When homeschooling teens…

You no longer feel like a teacher, but the coordinator of the whole process.
You starting thinking more about goals instead of schooling day to day, week by week, and year to year.
You seldom teach subjects any more. Your student learns more on his own.
There is less 1:1 interaction than when your student was little. You both spend more time apart.
You’re not always present during lessons. Frequently, lessons happen entirely without you.
You do more “checking in” with your student than directly supervising as before.
You naturally begin encouraging your student to take on greater responsibility.
You praise her independence, still keeping a close watch from wherever you are.
You develop trust when your student completes assignments thoroughly and on schedule.
Your faith in the process increases as your student begins to succeed on his own.
You feel greater responsibility, because high school is a critical stage of your child’s life.
You may feel a lack of control, not always knowing exactly what your child is learning and doing.
You can’t always preview everything your child is doing any more. Prereading books and assignments is a thing of the past.
Your student’s knowledge might begin to surpass your own, and you’re happy about that.
You begin outsourcing some of the learning, instead of always purchasing products to be completed at home.
You encourage your student to take more responsibility over her education and her future.
You allow your student more participation and decision-making power over what to learn and do.
Sometimes you feel more like a chauffeur, financier, or social director than a Principal or coordinator.
Record-keeping and organization become more important than ever before.
The decisions you make feel more important, and seem to have much more weight than ever before.
Your record-keeping duties greatly increase in volume and complexity.
You’re excited for your student, yet you question yourself more than ever before.

Depending on where you started, these changes could seem dramatic or not a big deal at all. But, if you are feeling as though the duties of a high school coordinator and book-keeper seem daunting, remember they’re offset by all the other things you no longer have to do. So, since you’re no longer helping your child finish math problems, you can be working on a high school transcript instead. And, since you no longer have to correct homework assignment and assessments, you can be figuring out high school credits and GPA scores instead.

I love talking to parents who ask if homeschooling high school is different, or more difficult. It means they’re dead serious about doing a great job, and therefore probably going to be very successful doing it.

Don’t you have to know all the subjects really well?

Aren’t you worried your child might not be prepared for college?

Don’t you have to be really smart?

What do you do if you can’t help with the really hard classes?

Do you worry about screwing everything up?

To your success,

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschooling pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A writer, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, The Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and many other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT,Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.