Audrey asked
What category is “Logic”, math or English?  I want to know where to give my son credit. It will probably be a 1/4 credit course.  Our math course (Geometry: Videotext) has logic in it. But I always thought this was an “English” subject.    While Logic is part of Videotext Geometry, I also have Introductory Logic by  Wilson and Nance.  I want to know where to give my son credit. It will probably be a 1/4 credit course.

Audrey,
If you use a separate course for logic, I usually put it as an elective.  If the logic is just a part of your math book, then I just consider it part of the math credit.

Logic is critical thinking, and it can be applied to math OR English (or other subjects as well!)  I don’t think you could say that Logic IS math or English, though.

I used Introductory Logic by Nance, and we LOVED it!  In fact, my son liked it so much he has continued his Logic studies in college!  Did you get the video?  It’s wonderful!

Here is the video link:
Introductory Logic Video

When I did Logic, I considered it a 1/2 credit course.  Like you, we also had some logic in the math textbook we used (Jacobs Geometry) but I didn’t really consider that as part of his logic course.

Most credits are 1 or 1/2 credit, and it’s pretty rare to have 1/4 credit.  If you feel the course is just 1/4 credit, consider finding “something else” that you can combine with that 1/4 credit, to make it 1/2 credit.

Check out more of my recommended homeschool resources here!

Eva asked: “Out of curiosity, I tried to find a location for the PSAT near us up here at Lake Tapps, Washington.  I left the last two digits of the zip code field blank, and no matter which city name I entered, no locations were found.  If it exists, would there be an advantage to finding a private Christian school which is a PSAT test site?

Eva Gallagher, Alpacas of FairMeadowsFarm.com & SpinAlpaca.com

Hi Eva,
Try searching at this site using “Washington” and scroll down until you see a high school that is nearby.  It may be a few towns over

Some say that there is an advantage in having a private Christian school, because the environment is a little bit nicer.  That may be true, but I would also look for a school that tests BOTH the SAT and the PSAT.  That way your children are testing in the same setting both times, making sure that the PSAT environment is as close as possible to the SAT environment.

If you need more information about the typical high school tests (PSAT, ACT, SAT, SAT II, etc.), check out my High School Testing audio CD.

Linda was experiencing Senior Year Panic.  Her niece is a senior in high school and has never homeschooled.  Unfortunately, her niece hadn’t done a thing about starting college applications.  Linda wanted to help her get into college, but as the mother of elementary age students, she really didn’t even know where to begin!

I found out that the niece had already taken the SAT, and was taking some AP classes, so the girl wasn’t too far behind at all, actually.

Since she was a already a senior, the “Getting Big Scholarships” might not be the most helpful, since you really have to plan ahead for large merit scholarships.  The DVD “Finding a College” was perfect, because it’s a one hour over view of the entire college admission process - including application essays.  I suggested they watch the video “Finding a College” together, and go to the college board website and discuss it together.

I reminded Linda that I’m also available to consult in person, and I would be glad to meet with her and her niece!

Here is Linda’s response:
The DVD was amazing!  We went to dinner, took my portable DVD player and watched it at the restuarant. I sent her to do some homework on the college board website. She liked the DVD so we are on our way.
THANK YOU!
Linda

–
Linda Cope
Tupperware Mom
www.mytupperware.com/lindacope

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No mulligans.  No take-backs.  No do-overs.  When you are dealing with an accrediting program, once you have something on their official transcript, it’s…. well…. official.  Even if your child does really poorly, it’s still part of their “permanent record.”  (You have to say that so it’s all scary-sounding, like rolling thunder or something.  “…Permanent Record.” )  Colleges will ask you to submit all transcripts for all schools, and even a rotten transcript is a “real” transcript that has to be submitted.

That’s one reason why I prefer homeschool transcripts.  We can re-take a class, or a test, or a semester without reporting how many tries it took.  In homeschooling, only the results matter, not the process.

If you do have some truly rotten grades on an official transcript, consider having your child re-take the class.  Teach it again at home, until your child has mastery.  It may take a long time for them to learn, or they may catch on pretty quickly the second time.  Once they have an understanding of the concepts, then you can provide grades again.  If you do that, it would be a wonderful thing to explain in an application essay.  Talk about stick-to-it-iveness, perserverence, and the love of learning that homeschooling provides.

We are taking some time this week to write our first homeschooling high school e-book!  I look forward to introducing it soon!

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
~ Proverbs 3:13-14 (NIV)

It’s a hard time of year when school is quickly approaching and money is receding like the tide. I love this verse, because it equates spending money on wisdom to investing, much like investing in gold and silver. The yield of investing in wisdom is greater than the return from investing the usual way.

Sometimes, even with the best planning, attending college will require some “investing in wisdom” with student loans. If you have a senior, and you’re looking at the cost of college, consider this verse. Now, I’m not a big fan of loans and debt in general, but it does seem like wisdom is worth it. It’s not “spending money” on college. It’s “investing money” on wisdom.

Tomorrow is the BIG day!  The September issue of The HomeScholar Record comes out shortly after midnight!  It will be waiting for you in your inbox first thing in the morning!  If you haven’t subscribed yet you can do so here.

One mom spoke to me about her concerns regarding college admission.  Her son had one college that he had his heart set on!  She wanted to know if an interview is important, because it was mentioned in the application form.

I recommend an interview, but an easy-casual-natural interview.  Unless you are trying for a very selective, elite school, an interview is a casual portion of the college visit, not something formal and scary.  It’s just “frosting on the cake” for an application.  All you need to do is visit the school - an official visit through the admissions office.  Part of an official visit is talking to the admission adviser.  THAT is the interview.  They are usually nice, NICE people in admissions.  Try to get the visit early - perhaps the last week of September or the first week of October.  That way, when they read your application, they will remember him, and it will positively impact their decisions.  Spend a LONG time on campus.  Try to have your son stay overnight for a senior overnight preview.  Here is the article we wrote about college visits.

Need more information?  Check out my DVD, “Finding a College.”  Dorette says: “I’m confident that Lee’s step-by-step method will be a great roadmap to success in finding the right match for my children.”

A mother wrote to ask me about suggestions for dyslexia.

Most of my work is focused on helping parents homeschool through high school and working toward college preparation, so I don’t have specific recommendations about dyslexia.  I can give you some GREAT news though!  I go to college fairs all the time with my business, and I can tell you that there are colleges who love and value dyslexic students.  Colleges that have great scholarships available to you.  Colleges that specialize in meeting the learning needs of dyslexics.  If your student is high school age, please consider going to a college fair, and ask each one about their programs for learning disabled students.  By going to a college fair, you can start the process of finding a college that is the perfect fit for your student.

Did you see the article in my last newsletter, about the dyslexic student who earned ELEVEN post graduate degrees?  I put that in there just to encourage parents like you.  Here is the link.

I hope this information is encouraging.

Subscribe to my blog via reader or e-mail.  Get the help you need to homeschool high school!

Ok….  Here goes….

The SAT covers reading, writing & math and has a mandatory essay.  There is a penalty for guessing.

The ACT covers reading, writing, math & SCIENCE, and the essay is optional.  No penalty for guessing.

So, how do you know which one to take?

About 1/3 of kids will do better on SAT, 1/3 will do better on ACT, and 1/3 will do about the same on both.  The only way to know which one your child will do best in is to take a sample test.  You can find books at the library, and take a sample test there or find sample tests  online.  Give them a sample, and see which one they do better at.   That’s the one you study.

Pretty simple, huh?

Do you have added my button to your blog yet?  It is a great way to get the word out about homeschooling high school.  The can grab the code in my right sidebar.  Thanks.  I really appreciate it!

This is an interesting article in the Washington Post.  Makes me wonder if they hate literary analysis as much as I do.

Here is what the author, Nancy Schnog, says:

I’ll never forget what one parent, bemoaning his daughter’s aversion to great books after she took AP English Literature, wrote to me: “What I’ve seen teachers do is take living, breathing works of art and transform them into dessicated lab specimens fit for dissection.”

As someone who teaches in private schools, I find this especially painful to acknowledge. I haven’t been constrained in my teaching methods by Standards of Learning or No Child Left Behind testing. But even where teachers are free to design their own “best practices,” I’ve been amazed at the chasm between their sense of purpose in their curricular choices and teens’ sense that what they choose for them is irrelevant. Ironically, kids’ turn-off to books can originate in teachers’ hopes of turning them on.

Hmmmmm.   I think I’ll stick with my guns, and just say again that it’s the LOVE of reading that matters.   The author’s conclusion is that we shouldn’t beat kids up with literary analysis, and we should encourage them to read books they will love.

If that means an end to business as usual — abolishing dry-bones literature tests, cutting back on fact-based quizzes, adding works of science fiction or popular nonfiction to the reading list — so be it. We can continue to alienate teen readers, or we can hear them, acknowledge their tastes, engage directly with their resistance to serious reading and move gradually, with sensitivity to what’s age-appropriate, toward the realm of great literature.

Read the rest of my series:

I Hate Literary Analysis - Part 1
I Hate Literary Analysis - Part 2
I Hate Literary Analysis - Part 3
I Hate Literary Analysis - Part 4

Just 4 days until our September e-newsletter comes out!  Look for my in-depth article about the PSAT!  Sign up to receive it for FREE!!