I’m sharing this because a lot of people wonder what homeschooling is like during these transition years into further study and/or work. For every homeschooled teen, their days are different.
Even within this year, Brit’s schedule will change quite a bit. It’s this flexibility which makes homeschooling very suitable for the teen years, I think. Brittany is quite academic, loves to read and write, does well with a textbook approach and has broad general knowledge from earlier studies. For early 2009, we’re hoping that some revision and covering a lot of basics will fill in any gaps in her previous studies and prepare her for further education.
Brit (14.5-15.5 years)
Examples of Resources:
Mathematics for Living - Community Mathematics (finishing from last year), followed by Mathematics - A Human Endeavour.
Foundations (finishing off from last year) followed by Australia, The Wide Brown Land for Me (group work)
Here and Beyond (geography revision)
Biological Science: the web of life (classic senior high textbook) and Environmental Issues.
Self-Esteem (Upper)
Monday: Maths, Wordsmith, Italian Audio (group), art (any), writing/Italian/music/movement or reading.
Tuesday: Maths, Wordsmith, sewing, yoga (PM)
Wednesday: Maths, Wordsmith, Environment, Self-Esteem, writing/Italian/music/movement or reading, library.
Thursday: Maths, Wordsmith, Australian History (group), writing/Italian/music/movement or reading.
Friday: Maths, Wordsmith, biology, writing/Italian/music/movement or reading.
For Italian, Brittany uses a variety of resources - books, phrase books, dictionary, computer programs, etc.
She is a voracious reader, keen participant in local theatre, loves to socialise and always ready to learn new things.
Brit will also do some activities this year - martial arts, music and dancing perhaps - yet to be decided. She will also look for some part-time work.
For Semester two, we are looking at local TAFE courses, OTEN and Open Universities.
Goodness me. Do you plan so meticulously (weekly timetable) for all of the children? I wish I could do this Bel. I was thinking about it again just last week but with enrolment in a state school I know how challenging it would be to ‘disappear’ from the Qld system now!
Comment by Deborah — 17 January, 2009 @ 9:33 am
No, the younger they are, the more ‘loose’ their weekly plans are. Brit aims to finish off several books she’s doing so she can move on to other things. She’s always worked well with books, structure, and goals, so this is her thing.
If you wanted to take M out of school you could, but yes, you’d need to register her. The process is quite simple. More annoying than anything else. But less annoying than regular school (and the dreaded daily homework!), I’ve heard…
Comment by Bel — 17 January, 2009 @ 11:41 am