High School Transcript Help and Giveaway

If you homeschool a child, get ready- you are going to have to prepare a high school transcript.  It may not be today or even this year, but trust me it is coming.  And unfortunately it weighs on the hearts of many homeschooling parents.  Sometimes years in advance.  Trust me, I know! It creates questions like:

• What information do I include?
• How do I make it look professional?
• Will a college take one look at it and laugh?
• How do you even make a chart on the computer?

All valid and real thoughts!

The first time I made a transcript was ugly.  As a matter of fact, after several pitiful attempts, I relegated the task to our then state homeschooling group for a pretty hefty fee.  The problem was that it look a long time to enter the information, an even longer time to get it in the mail, and I had to fight with them every step of the way.  They knew how they wanted it to look and I knew how I wanted it to look, and unfortunately those were not the same things.  I finally got mostly what I asked for, but it was a long, painful process.

Fast forward to four years later and I was determined I was not going to go that route again.  Praise the Lord for His perfect timing and a friend who told me that the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has a transcript maker, Fast Transcripts, on their website that seemed user friendly.  I hopped on, played around a little, and was convinced that this was definitely a better option!

Lucky for you and for me, they take the work out of transcript making and offer it an affordable cost.  Plus, once you are done, all you have to do is hit print!  I am one happy homeschooling mamma!

And what about the colleges?  Well, one just accepted my second daughter using the transcript we made two weeks ago!  And I heard no laughter- except for our giddy celebration dance!

So how does it work?
Fast Transcripts allows homeschooling parents to generate a transcript that is GPA error free.  The cost is $16.00 or $12.00 for HSLDA members.  You can print it immediately on your own or for $20.00 have it sent to you printed on high quality, secure watermarked paper.

The first section you will fill out is a general student identification area with information such as student name, contact information, and graduation date.

The second section is academic information.  There are four years to fill out so it is recommended that if your student has taken classes prior to their freshman year that count towards their high school credits, you add them in the freshman year area with an asterisk that can then explain in the miscellaneous section below.  The greatest part about this section is that as you begin to type there is a quick drop down menu that will pop up with subjects beginning with the letter you first typed.  LOVE IT!  I cannot tell you all how much time this saves you.  Again, trust me!  You will also put the grade and credit hours here.

The next part is the cumulative summary that shows the hours completed and the GPA, which is automatically generated for you.  A life saver.

A grading scale is listed next which can be adjusted to your liking or hidden completely if you wish to not have it on your transcript.

The final section is a miscellaneous section in which you can add any additional notes, include college hours earned, list awards and clubs, or add any explanation you feel may need to be added to the class information you previously listed.  Fast Transcripts does recommended that you provide an additional page of awards and activities.

There is then a place for you to add an electronic signature.

Save it, preview it, and print!  It is that easy!

The other feature that I would draw your attention to is on the far right hand side of the page.  For your reference are three tabs- one for general high school recommended course work, general college prep, and rigorous college prep.  Not only can these remind you of areas your child might have completed, but they are great reference points for those of you just beginning this journey.

In addition, there is a FAQ page that addresses many questions you might have.

Fast Transcripts provides a 30 day trial for you to enter your courses, begin to organize in a way that makes you happy, and generate a GPA for your child.  You will not be able to print the transcript with the trial, but this is a great way to get familiar with the software and see what you think.

If you are looking for a pain-free transcript service, I highly recommend Fast Transcripts.  This easy, low cost service makes generating a professional-looking transcript fast and easy.

Fast Transcripts has graciously offered to giveaway a 1 Year License for a Single Student.  By leaving a comment here for us, you will be entered into a random drawing to be held next Wednesday!

Blessings,

What Does Your Day Look Like?

I love how every homeschooler's day looks different.  There is not a right or wrong way to do it, just a better fit or not.  It is up to you to decide what works best for your family and then charge forward with confidence.  Today I want to share a few examples of what the days of some homeschooling friends of mine look like- each from a different homeschooling perspective!

First ours- (eclectic in style)
7:30- Wake, personal devotions and get dressed.
8-9- Chores and breakfast.  This year we have a breakfast chart on our fridge with choices for the boys.  I will spend Saturday preparing anything we need and freezing it or putting it in the fridge.  It will then be their own responsibility to get it out and reheat it.  Once they have eaten and checked off a choice they have to choose something different the next day.  The exception is that they can choose cereal twice, but this eliminates the possibility of them choosing cereal every day.  Trust me, this would happen!  Since we have a Morning Meeting time together as well as the time we eat lunch together, I am trying to let go of the guilt of not eating breakfast together.  This will be the time that I exercise and blog.
9-12- School time, beginning with the Morning Meeting with my 3rd grader.  Each boy has their assignment book to follow.  The 13 year old does most of his work by himself with an occasional touch and go from mom so he has the freedom to decide what order he will do the subjects in.
12-1- Lunch break and free time
1-3- School
3-4- Reading time.  Everyone finds a quiet place to read for pleasure.  Everyone!
4-6- Free time/play time
6- Dinner
7- Family Devotions

Of course, our evenings do get adjusted to fit different schedules.  Our oldest son has Scouts one day and our youngest swims twice a week.  Our girls are older, one of whom has graduated, is working, and is currently living at home, while our senior in high school is busy dual-crediting her last year before leaving for school.

Another eclectic homeschooling friend who blogs at Eclectic Homeschooling says this-
"We tend to have longer school days with a good portion of the school day spent in informal learning rather than just seat work.  On this day my son spent 4 hours and 25 minutes in more formal activities including math, treadmill, language arts, and Greek.  He spent a total of 3 hours in informal activities including active play (exercise), computer logic games, meditation time, and watching science and foreign language videos." Read more!

But what about a family who does most of their work from one publisher (out of the box)? Kemi writes this-

Our Out of the Box Homeschool Day

Sometimes when I sit around and talk with other homeschoolers I feel a bit out of my league. These women are amazing. Pulling together tailor made curriculum for each of their children and following through until the end.

I’m amazed and impressed.

I’m also lazy. We use the Out of the Box DVD urriculum in our home. We use BJU Press for a couple of reasons. First they use the KJV version of the Bible in their curriculum. That’s important to us. Also their
visually appealing courses keep my audial and visual learner engaged. She’s paying attention and all her learning receptors are on go! Oh, and even though I only said two, number three is that the curriculum is
good. She’s learned a ton, stayed at her grade level and gone beyond in a few courses. Them, me or her? Who knows but it works for our family.

Here’s how our Day looks.

We start school at 9am. Before that my husband gets up at the crack of dawn and gets himself out the door. I get up shortly thereafter, do my devotions, sometimes exercise, get a little blogging in, and then go to wake the Sweet Peanut.

After she wakes up and sees to her morning ablutions (I love that word) we have breakfast together and then do devotions before school.

Our courses are on DVD so I check the Lesson plan for each course and pull out the appropriate paper work etc. I check the lessons about a week before to make sure I have any craft or science supplies on hand but on the day of school I check what I need to print and prepare before the class.

Each class on DVD has about a 2 or 3 minute mom’s minute section to watch before the class so you know what to expect. Sometimes I watch these. Sometimes I don’t. I also read through the Teacher’s Manual and various other papers that BJU sends me.

This is our schedule.

English
Handwriting
Math
BREAK (30 minutes)
Reading
Heritage Studies
Science
Spelling

We finish up school about 2:30 or 3. If there is a big science project or craft thing going on it may take longer or we’ll do it with dad when he gets home.

We have piano lessons on Saturday and we’re eyeballing some gymnastics which would take place on our off day mid week. By the way did I mention that we homeschool 4 days a week? This is to accommodate hubby’s schedule so we can spend more time with him.

Well that’s how we get it done here at RavenHill homeschool (my little name for our place on the hill).

Kemi Quinn is a wife, mother, homeschooling mom of 1, church musician, and amateur cook. She loves to read about how women kept home in time’s past (aka Vintage Homemaking). She blogs over at Homemaking Organized.


Or a family with a special needs child-
Beth, from As He Leads is Joy shares "In my perfect world we would start on time in the morning and quickly, diligently work through our learning. Pause mid-morning for hot drinks -- coffee, tea, or hot chocolate depending on what you prefer. Then finish and move on to quiet play, some chores, and just enjoy our day. Well, that perfect world does not exist but the world that does exist is the one I am trying to live in...I have learned that working with her special needs, I need to be flexible, adaptable, give her lots of breaks, and have lots of variety. It does sometimes make it difficult for me and a long day but I love seeing her learn."we  T
o would start on time in the morning and quickly, diligently work through  
To continue reading go here!


And so as you begin your school year, I pray you will find your perfect schedule and be blessed beyond your wildest dreams!  I also pray that the Lord bless you with confidence and patience- you will need both! ;)

Remember, the first day is the hardest!  You can do this!

And speaking of first days- here is a first day idea that I love!  If you are not familiar with Teri Maxwell from Titus 2 Ministires, I encourage you to get ahold of some of her resources! As a fellow homeschooling mom who just successfully graduated her 8th child, she understands the ins and outs of homeschooling.  Homeschooling With A Meek and Quiet Spirit can change the way you school your children, and Just Around the Corner is a great way to start your school day with a little encouragement!


Linking up with friends!

Blessings,

Two Weeks of Love

There was so much I wanted to write about our two weeks with our hero, but tonight I am just too tired and emotional to put any thoughts into even one sentence that would make sense.  Maybe by this weekend I can process and share a few things I want to with you- until then, you will just have to read between the smiles on the faces.

The girls were not able to go to the airport so this was their first hello!

 Time zone changes are HARD!

The big boys got some range practice in.

Dad got to see Riley and Colby participate in the Missoula Children's Theater production of Rapunzel.

We fit in a trip to the zoo.

Snuck in a baseball game and acted goofy!

More silly time during family movie night!

Catching up!

He is convinced he could travel this way!

We pray this is our last goodbye for a very long time!

 

Thank you, friends, for your prayers for our family!

Blessings,

Roman Town educational app- TOS Crew Review

 

Dig-It! Games has a new game out called Roman Town (iOS app) that we are thrilled to have been able to review.  We were able to review Mayan Mysteries for them a few years ago and enjoyed it thoroughly, so we had high hopes for this game as well.  They did not disappoint!  Dig-It Games is a mission based company that prides themselves on producing game-based learning.

Roman Town is about - you guessed it, a Roman town.  Well, that and a little more. In this newest release, your child can take an adventure with twins Fiona and Charlie, two kids who get bored while visiting their uncle and decide to do a little exploring on their on their own.  By visiting with tourists, gathering clues, and solving puzzles, they hope to hunt down Ladrone, a master thief. Though targeted for ages 9- 11, our 8 year old was able to play this game successfully and it still provided a challenge here and there for our 13 year old.  By using math skills, logic, memory and more, your child will learn history as well as have fun playing!

How it Works-

Your child can choose to be Fiona or Charlie at first, though eventually they will have to be both.  The character then moves through the streets of a Roman Town, visiting various tourists and locations.  When they click on a tourist one of  two things will happen.  They will either be presented with information or they will be asked to play a game.

Information includes things like how and where Romans lived, what they ate, and the games they played.  We learned about the buried town of Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius, and the Temple of Jupiter. We also learned what aquaducts are for and how they were made, about Roman gods like Jupiter and Venus, and what an artifact is.  There are neat facts, for example, a Strigil was a metal or wood tool used to scrape off sweat and oil after a Roman bath to get clean. Or did you know that the Romans had minimal furniture but used murals to decorate?  Think of it as a mini history lesson.


Some of the tourists you click on will challenge you to play a game. Games include identifying artifacts, identifying roman numerals (the most challenging for us!), memory games, ball mazes,  underground pipe mazes, and putting together scrambled puzzles.

Once you complete three to five activities for each twin in five different areas, (The Temple of Juniper, The House of Vettii, the Baths, the Street, and the Basilica), you are then allowed to complete the clues to solve the puzzle.  The final clues are solved by moving around puzzle pieces with words on them until they fit correctly to show you a written letter.

Our experience and thoughts-
Colby, age 8, was quite excited about this review as he is currently studying Rome in History, so he did not wait for us to get started.  As soon as I downloaded the app, he was off with the iPad to his room.  Because we limit his iPad use to only educational games these days, it is always a thrill for him to get to try something new out.  I knew we had a winner when he was gone for over his 30 minute time allocation without a peep.  When I asked him about his experience he used words like, "awesome" and "cool," and asked if he could try it again the next day.  That pattern continued for several days until he told me the game was stuck and he could not go any further.

What I found, in reality, was that the game was not stuck, but that HE was stuck! ;)  He was able to complete most of the games on his own but I discovered was he was struggling with the Roman Numerals game, shown above.  Once we helped him with that, he was able to get further along in the game.  He also seemed to miss that he had to play the part of both of the twins and finish the required number of games, but again, once we cleared that up he did fine.  His favorite game by far was the matching.  This kid has a heck of a memory and loves to beat me at memory games any chance he gets.

Once he finished the game, I was able to reset it and try the game with my oldest son, age 13.  I have to admit, it was a challenge for us as well! (that reset function is a gem!) Let's just say that my son is better at roman numerals that I am!  I am also amazed at how kids these days can figure out games so quickly.  While it took me a while to get the hang of a few games and navigating the various screens, they picked up on it all quickly. I like that the games in this app are logic based and take some thought and problem solving skills to solve.  This is not mindless game with pushing buttons and moving characters around with no purpose.

One of the things I have learned through 17 years of homeschooling is that all kids learn differently. When we tailor our teaching to our kids particular learning styles we are not only doing them a favor, but ourselves as well.  Learning can be fun and we should be careful not to underestimate the learning that can take place in educational games.  Dig-It! Games' Roman Town is one of those games I would recommend you add to your repertoire!

While the initial app is free, you must pay to access all areas of the game.

2015-2016 School Year - Plan of Attack

Continuing with the school theme for another Monday, today I want to share with you the curriculum we have chosen to use this year.  Because I have been doing this homeschooling thing for over 17 years now and because I review homeschooling products on the side, we have come in contact with a lot of great, and a few no so great materials.  We have even come to realize that some things we have used have been great for one child, but not the best fit for another.  After all, I have four very different children with different strengths and weaknesses, not to mention different learning styles.

What does that mean for us?

It means that planning for every new school year takes some work on my part.  I pull out the specific grades' storage bins, remind myself of what I have and then decide what will or will not work for that particular child.  I make a list of the things I need to change and then get busy ordering if the need arises. Luckily for me, I often review new products that I set aside once our review period is over to use in a new school year cycle.

This year is a year of several changes for us but I am excited to officially get started in another week!  I will have to let you know what the boys think! ;)

3rd grade-

READING- Sonlight Literature
  Colby likes to read, so this "just" read a book and answer questions orally method works for us.

GRAMMAR- BJU English 3 and Evan-Moor Daily Language Review, Grade 3
     The reason we chose BJU this year was that I like how the chapters alternate between writing and grammar.  For my active child, it helps cut down on the monotony he is prone to experience.  We are using the daily review as part of his independent time.  Though it only takes him a few minutes to do, I am hoping it will help give him some confidence to begin doing some school independently.

SPELLING- All About Spelling, Level 4
  Admittedly, Colby is a good speller, but this program just calls his name!  It is active and hands on enough to keep him engaged.

MATH- Teaching Textbooks, Math 3
  In the past we have used Saxon until about 5th grade, but I do not think this child could stand another year of it- he just wasn't challenged enough!  I did get the hard copy of the text, but I am betting he will use and love the CD on the computer the most.

HISTORY- Veritas Press Self Paced History- New Testament Greece and Rome
  This we actually started at the beginning of the summer, taking a few weeks off here and there.  I NEVER thought when we reviewed this program last year that this would become one of our all time favorite curriculums.  We walked away from a history curriculum we had happily used for years because Colby just cannot get enough of it.  He has learned so much from Veritas and continues to be as excited about it today, a year later, as he was when we first tried it.  If you are not familiar with Veritas Self Paced History, I encourage you to read our review!

SCIENCE- Nancy Larson Science 2 and 3
  Yes, you read that correctly.  We are planning to use two levels this year.  Colby really enjoyed level one last year but tends to ask to do several lessons in one sitting, so I know we can cover two levels this year.  While this does not come from a Creationist point of view, I am comfortable with the information Nancy provides because we do it together.  I LOVE that it is an all-in-one boxed kit.  It makes planning ahead NOT necessary and the lessons fun!

BIBLE- Grapevine Studies
  This will be our first year using Grapevine, but so far I like what I see!  Another program we highly recommend is Bible Study Guide for All Ages, especially if you are schooling multiple ages at one time.

GEOGRAPHY-Evan-Moor Daily Geography Practice 3
  I know, I know, a third grader doesn't necessarily need geography, but this simple little workbook is again a chance for Colby to gain confidence in doing school independently. Plus, who doesn't like playing with maps?

SPANISH- Flip Flop Spanish
  Yes, we have done this before, but because of the timing of our review we never finished the complete program.  It is fun and active and a great fit for my hands-on kid, so we are excited about doing it again.  We have a ton of Spanish resources we will use to supplement if needed.


8th Grade-

READING- Lightning Literature-
  We reviewed this and loved it, so we put it aside to continue this year.

WRITING- Institute of Excellence in Writing (IEW) Student Writing Intensive
  There is just no better writing program out there than IEW!  I do like to save it for upper middle school and lower high school grades.

SPELLING- IEW's Phoentic Zoo, Level B
  We are getting ready to begin and review this product.  It is my prayer that because it has a large auditory based style it will be the answer to our poor spelling problems.  Stay tuned.

VOCABULARY- Wordly Wise
  Great, simple program.  Salem did the online version last year but chose to use the workbook this year.

GRAMMAR- Easy Grammar Plus, East Grammar Ultimate Series 8th grade and IEW's Fix It
  Yes, I know this may seem like overkill (please do not tell my son) but since this may be his last formal year of basic grammar, I want to make sure he has got it down to a science!  I was going to stop using Fix It for a while, but since we have seen some good progress with the program I decided it was just too good not to finish.

MATH- UnLock Math Pre Algebra
  We have used Teaching Textbooks at this level with much success, but after doing this review recently, Salem chose to stick with it.  Alecia is a great teacher and Salem really likes her teaching style.  When a child asks you to do a specific math, just go with it!

HISTORY- Sonlight
  After many years of using Sonlight for History, two years ago we changed to Notgrass after reviewing their America the Beautiful program.  We are returning to Sonlight just for the year because I love the books used in their American History- Core 100 program.  We are going to use this year as a "bonus" in History, and return to Notgrass for Salem's high school years. Yes, sometimes there are so many good programs out there that it is hard to decide which to use.  Unless you are me, and you choose to use them all! ;)

HEALTH- Total Health
  All kids needs some basic health lessons in my opinion.  Boys especially! ;)

BIBLE- Apologia's Who is My Neighbor?
We used this series as a review item twice now, and are going back to finish this book!  We love it!

GEOGRAPHY- Memoria Press Geography II
  We reviewed this geography several years ago and I just happened upon the new level again this year.  Salem liked that it was fairly simple and straight to the point, but also used maps and taught some neat facts about the different countries.  It is a nice solid program that doesn't take up too much time, but teaches good material.

SCIENCE- Apologia's Physical Science
  Why try to fix what is not broken, right?  Plus, we are blessed that a friend does labs with several kiddos twice a month.  She is my hero!

SPANISH- Classical Academic Press- Spanish for Children, Primer A
  There are a lot of good programs out there for Spanish, but we really like that this one has video teaching, listening CDs, and very strong grammar-based lessons.  You can begin it at a younger age, but we decided to use it for 8th and 9th grade then move on to three more years at a higher level.


Wow, are you tired?  I am!  But I am also very excited too.  Mark your calendars- September 7th starts our week one of Sabbath Week Schooling for 2015-1016!

Join us on September 7th as some friends join us to show you what different homeschoolers' days REALLY look like!  You just might be surprised!

Linking up with friends-

Blessings,