High School
Dual Credit
I highly recommend getting your child into dual credit college classes as soon as possible if they are capable. Because our school district was accepted at Santa Fe Community College (online) for free classes, we also qualified. We just had to pay for books and contact the college ourselves. These classes were for Sophomores and up. I had my middle son get his feet wet and do some fun classes--Adobe Photoshop, photography, etc. All of it was distance learning, asynchronous. And it was challenging for him. I didn't start early enough with my oldest son, so he didn't start dual credit until his Junior year. If nothing else, they get used to Canvas or online platforms which are all over now.
We also have Trinidad State College just over the border in Colorado. They offered F2F summer internships in construction technology. One month, 8 credit hours. So my oldest, engineering-minded kid tried it out, and he got paid by the school as they rehabed a home in the afternoons after classes, helping him pay for over half the class himself. After summer he didn't want to drive over to the campus every day--long drive--and we found online classes much cheaper through one of our church schools.
Online credit hour prices vary if you have to pay for them. We found incredibly affordable classes at BYU-Idaho which were more challenging for the Junior/Senior years with the bonus that it is a university versus a community college. There was a rigorous application process, but it worked for us. Those classes transfered well.
The huge benefit of dual credit is not only college credit, but having these accredited classes on their homeschool "transcript" when applying for college if you have mostly homeschooled up to this point. It helped my oldest get accepted to a major university with scholarships.
I highly recommend getting your child into dual credit college classes as soon as possible if they are capable. Because our school district was accepted at Santa Fe Community College (online) for free classes, we also qualified. We just had to pay for books and contact the college ourselves. These classes were for Sophomores and up. I had my middle son get his feet wet and do some fun classes--Adobe Photoshop, photography, etc. All of it was distance learning, asynchronous. And it was challenging for him. I didn't start early enough with my oldest son, so he didn't start dual credit until his Junior year. If nothing else, they get used to Canvas or online platforms which are all over now.
We also have Trinidad State College just over the border in Colorado. They offered F2F summer internships in construction technology. One month, 8 credit hours. So my oldest, engineering-minded kid tried it out, and he got paid by the school as they rehabed a home in the afternoons after classes, helping him pay for over half the class himself. After summer he didn't want to drive over to the campus every day--long drive--and we found online classes much cheaper through one of our church schools.
Online credit hour prices vary if you have to pay for them. We found incredibly affordable classes at BYU-Idaho which were more challenging for the Junior/Senior years with the bonus that it is a university versus a community college. There was a rigorous application process, but it worked for us. Those classes transfered well.
The huge benefit of dual credit is not only college credit, but having these accredited classes on their homeschool "transcript" when applying for college if you have mostly homeschooled up to this point. It helped my oldest get accepted to a major university with scholarships.
Math
We love Mr. D Math online. We do the live classes, and all the kids love it too. They love Mr. D himself and also Mr. H. The money is well worth it, and there are discounts for returning students and siblings.
We did everything from Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, & Algebra II. Then they did dual credit for any other math they wanted--Pre-Calc/Trig & Calculus.
Other Mr. D Favorites:
The ACT/SAT
With Covid, we only had 1 ACT experience, but it was enough for scholarships, etc. Just get on their website and make an account. Take it multiple times to raise scores as desired. I personally took it 4 times, trying for a state scholarship score. It seems to matter less right now, but you never know.
We love Mr. D Math online. We do the live classes, and all the kids love it too. They love Mr. D himself and also Mr. H. The money is well worth it, and there are discounts for returning students and siblings.
We did everything from Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, & Algebra II. Then they did dual credit for any other math they wanted--Pre-Calc/Trig & Calculus.
Other Mr. D Favorites:
- Career & College Readiness
- ACT Math Prep/Bootcamp
- Mr. D is adding classes every year, expanding offerings into writing, guitar, etc.. So much more on his website.
The ACT/SAT
With Covid, we only had 1 ACT experience, but it was enough for scholarships, etc. Just get on their website and make an account. Take it multiple times to raise scores as desired. I personally took it 4 times, trying for a state scholarship score. It seems to matter less right now, but you never know.
English
As a high school English teacher, this was easy for me to set up myself. I just made a weekly schedule for the first kid and adjusted it as we went along for the others. It was rich in novels, writing, grammar, speeches, etc. We also had our homeschool group writing class that I led. Then in Junior year, remaining credits came from dual credit classes. State standards on any state education department website will give you some direction on what should be covered.
Foreign Language
Rosetta Stone along with some projects I designed did the trick for us. We have some Spanish speakers in the extended family, so I pulled them in for projects too. I designed 7-8 projects for Freshman and Sophomore years from online resources and my own ideas. Each week I'd have them watch shows in Spanish with English subtitles or vice versa. Online games too. There are apps and all kinds of things to help. And the goal for me was just exposure and basic knowledge. I tried to make it fun. We just did 2 years of Spanish credits.
Science
Coming soon.
As a high school English teacher, this was easy for me to set up myself. I just made a weekly schedule for the first kid and adjusted it as we went along for the others. It was rich in novels, writing, grammar, speeches, etc. We also had our homeschool group writing class that I led. Then in Junior year, remaining credits came from dual credit classes. State standards on any state education department website will give you some direction on what should be covered.
Foreign Language
Rosetta Stone along with some projects I designed did the trick for us. We have some Spanish speakers in the extended family, so I pulled them in for projects too. I designed 7-8 projects for Freshman and Sophomore years from online resources and my own ideas. Each week I'd have them watch shows in Spanish with English subtitles or vice versa. Online games too. There are apps and all kinds of things to help. And the goal for me was just exposure and basic knowledge. I tried to make it fun. We just did 2 years of Spanish credits.
Science
Coming soon.
