The new school year will bring a new season of homeschooling for us, as Holly will begin high school. I have an oh-so loose idea of what I expect it will look like: a continuation of what we've been doing, just with a continued increase in difficulty, with work that is age appropriate. Yep, it's no different than the expectation I have for every year. But in the back of my mind looms words such as "credits," "transcripts," and "college."
I've been compiling information that seems relevant to me, including curriculum possibilities, items from
Lee, and posts from my SHS list. I've also been reading through a few books that I thought may be encouraging or helpful.
Form+U+la is one of those books that I've been planning to read; in fact, based primarily on
Cindy's suggestion, it's been on my reading list for several years. (Honestly, others may have recommended it, but her recommendation stood out. And that's made her a bit nervous, lol. :)
It's a big book, a really big book, with topics ranging from determining credit hours, grading guidelines, and transcripts. It's packed with encouragements and suggestions. These alone would make this a helpful book.
But what makes Form+U+la stand out in a class by itself is the way it shows how to design your own high school classes. Barb shows here that the possibilities are endless, everything from creating a class from scratch, to using bits and pieces of existing curriculum, to compiling a variety of what your student is doing, and making it credit-worthy. She gives dozens of samples and suggestions, including what works for her (and why another option may work better for you). Barb's homeschooling style and goals for her kids are different than mine, but book allows for that. There are sample checklists, dozens of sample forms, both completed and blank for your own use. It's helped me to see the bigger picture, to think outside the box.
Oh, there's a downside. The book is huge. No telling how many pages there are--regular, consistently numbered pages don't exist. Topics are broken down into sections, with page numbers such as JP-5, VI-A-7, VI-D-11, and V11-3. (Good luck with that.) The
Table of Contents is inadequate when searching, and there is no index.
The entire book text is loaded with additional cutesy notes and asides by the author. Hugely irritating, they are set off by different sized fonts and smiley faces, and divert your attention away from the subject. Throughout the book, the author defends her "folksy," chatty way of writing. I didn't care for her writing style, but neither did I want constant apologies reminding me just how obnoxious it was.
Additionally, the book is dated (my edition is 1999), and there is a section at the end where the author heavily promotes her own curriculum, with the usual defenses and apologies.
But jump in! Read what's good, and skip over the fluff. I finished the book with the confidence that we CAN do this, and we can do it easily. I'm convinced this comprehensive how-to-homeschool high school book, combined with
a book on college prep, is all I need to be prepared. It has my highest recommendation, and you'll recommend it to your friends too.
We tried this Boboli substitute, but the Boboli is far superior.
Steak'Ums are found in the freezer section.
