Good homeschool program for grade 7+?

Question

I'm looking for a good program that will offer a diploma and isn't too expensive, maybe 500 a year or so?

My little brother isn't doing too well in regular school and my mom has taken him out in order to home school him instead. He's a real slacker and my mom isn't the smartest, and she lacks discipline, so I told her I would teach him myself(she was extremely happy). I want him to be prepared for real life as much as possible and I think it would be better for me to teach him. I myself am 23 and currently going to college, he is 12 and was in the 7th or 8th grade? He was attending a private school when she took him out and has been there his entire acadimic. I'm the complete opposite of my mom and will make sure he gets his work done and learns the stuff.

So.. that being said I am looking for a good program that will give him a legit diploma that isn't super expensive. Maybe something that mails packets/books and such?

We are in Dallas, Texas if that helps any,

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

There are several different ways that you could go; you really don't need something that offers a diploma, as homeschoolers can issue their own transcript and diploma.  Stanford and Harvard even accept homeschool transcripts and diplomas.

If you really want something online, K12 offers a virtual school in Texas.  Here's the link: http://www.txva.org/  I've heard they have a pretty good curriculum, but a lot of it is online.  If he doesn't work well at a computer all day, this is something to consider.

That said, I would honestly pick his curriculum based on how he learns.  Does he like to read?  There are some wonderful literature based curriculums (TRISMS, Sonlight, Beautiful Feet).  Does he learn well by hearing or being read to?  A curriculum that comes with MP3 supplements and/or CDRom (Switched on Schoolhouse, Apologia).  Does he learn best by building, touching, and experiencing?  A hands-on program would be great for him (Konos, Legos Technik).

Here's what I use for my son; he's 10, but he's well ahead of grade level in most subjects.

Reading - the library.  I made good friends with the librarians, they are a wealth of information...they know all of the books that will encourage kids to want to read.

Math - I'm using Math U See for everything under Pre-Algebra.  It's taught by DVD, uses manipulatives, and is *extremely* user friendly.  It's also based on learning concepts for mastery, rather than problems that are all over the board.  I highly recommend it.  For everything from pre-algebra on up, I'll be using VideoText Interactive.  It's a little pricey, but you can get it one module at a time (and you can get good prices on ebay).  It's also taught by DVD and is very concept/mastery based.  Quite frankly, I completely sucked in algebra when I was in school...and I understand every word they're saying.  (Teaching Textbooks is also a good program, based on the same sort of stuff but different presentation and scope/sequence.)

Science - our main science program is Apologia - partly because my son loves it, and partly because they come with both MP3 and CDRom supplements.  My son is very auditory - he has almost a perfect memory for what he hears - so this program fits him well.  The tone and language used in the books is very interesting and engaging as well, so it's not just a boring textbook.

History/Geography - starting in July, we'll be using TRISMS, which will last us through high school.  This is another program I highly recommend.  It covers pretty much every credit he could need except for math and lab science, and can be taken at whatever pace he's up to.  It's a research and literature based curriculum that allows the student to build their own coursebook - it tells you what to research each week, gives reference, biography, and historical fiction ideas, and even incorporates both writing and language arts (grammar through literary analysis).  I would suggest starting him out in the History Makers curriculum.  For $150 or so, you can get several classes taken care of.  You can also teach him how to research, take notes, write reports and essays, map various cultures, and more.  It's not based on any specific worldview, but allows him to research according to what's interesting to him.

Writing - IEW.  This is the best program that I've ever seen, and goes from 2/3rd grade through high school.  It's also included in TRISMS :-)

My son also studies Spanish (The Easy Spanish) and Greek (Elementary Greek), and is very active in Scouts to round things out curriculum-wise, but the above is his base curriculum.  By the time he graduates high school, the way things are going now, he will have taken Honors/AP courses in geography, history (world and US), math, and science, as well as at least one language.  He's a bright kid, but he likes to goof off as much as the next kid...the difference is, he's on a curriculum that really makes him want to learn.

I know this is a long post, but the point of it is to show you what a customized curriculum could do for your brother.  If you build his curriculum according to his needs and his learning style, and leave it open to include his interests, you could very well see his attitude and grades go through the roof.

You'll need to hold his hand, so to speak, at first...chances are he either doesn't learn well in a classroom situation and has decided he can't learn, or he missed something foundational (reading comprehension, etc.) somewhere down the line and nothing's made much sense since then.  (If he missed something foundational, I really recommend a guide like Critical Conditioning from Design-A-Study.  It shows you exactly how to teach to his needs, and what he's ready to learn according to his age/grade.)

Homeschooling him will take you a bit of time, at first; he's been in a situation that he really didn't like, for whatever reason, so it's going to take him some time to adjust.  During this time, please give him a bit of grace; it really is a tough transition for some students, and regaining a love for learning can be a little scary.  You'll likely need to take him step-by-step through some things that don't make sense to him, and show him how that process works.  Once he's past the transition time, however, and he figures out that he can really can learn, he'll probably completely take off.  Once he's at that point, you won't be able to stop him - just keep his studies somewhat structured and let him go.

Overall, please remember to encourage him.  It's likely that he hasn't had a whole lot of that at school, as he isn't one of the top students.  A little encouragement goes a long way :-)

Here are links to the curriculum companies that I mentioned:

http://mathusee.com/

http://videotext.com/homeschool.htm

http://www.teachingtextbooks.com/Default...

http://apologia.com/store/?PHPSESSID=d52...

http://trisms.com/

http://writing-edu.com/

This is a discount curriculum company...their free catalog is the size of a phone book.  They have a great range of curriculum to choose from.  The site is http://rainbowresource.com/index.php .  Hope that helps!

Answer 2

We used the program offered by Brigham Young Univ. for 7th grade, and we were VERY satisfied with the curriculum, and results.

Answer 3

You can look into Christian Liberty Press Academy, they are less than that, and give you a full calendar year instead of the customary 9 months.

You have several options with them from doing it on your own to having them do partial, or all the paperwork.

You can get as much support as needed, and the part of receiving a "legit diploma"; just as an FYI a home school diploma issued by a parent is just as valid as any traditional diploma from a conventional school private, or public, so that will never be an issue.

http://www.homeschools.org/

http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/