Plan for High School in Our Home

My question: how do we school at home, freely and unobstructed, and still come away with legitimate "credits" that are acceptable at any college? My Kid wants to go to film school as soon as he can, so we need good solid proof of learning and credit that will get him in.

I read somewhere that if one "unschools" then giving your child credits is "opening a whole can of worms" that needs to stay closed. Thing is, I want to do what I can -- tracking his progress and learning and skills -- in the best manner for him. So he can go to film school or do whatever he wants to accomplish in life.

Plans to take in "high school" years (plans, but may not necessarily take them all):

Math:
-brush-up on essentials
-consumer/everyday
-geometry
-pre-algebra
-algebra 1

Science:
-Animal Husbandry
-Earth Science
-Space/Astronomy
-Physical (chemistry, etc)
-Biology
-Ecology
-Botany with Therapeutic Herbalism

Social Studies:
-Geography
-World History
-U.S./American History
-U.S. Government / Constitution / Civics

Language:
-create his own language (HELP!)
-Spanish
-Sign Language
-French
-Greek and Latin

Language Arts:
-basics
-usage
-writing (to include a fiction series, movie script, etc)
-analysis of literature

Art:
-drawing
-photography
-music
-write a movie script
-movie making/file producing

Life Skills/Electives:
-home ec (cooking, nutrition, sewing, etc.)
-managing money
-handling criticism, problem solving, etc
-leadership
-auto repair
-computer building
-computer programming

So...

(1) how do I track his learning and progress and skills so that it translates into a transcript and credits for him?

(2) how do I make his high school years full of learning but make it a whole lot more fun than the last few years have been?

Thank you!

Advice Needed on Textbooks

I'm planning the Kid's high school curriculum because he starts 9th grade in August. Looking for textbooks (or good "for dummies" books) for the 9th grade courses below. I want only one or two or maximum three books per course. If you have suggestions, please comment asap!

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Successful Living: Description: Training in relating to authority, making right choices, handling criticism, self-control, self-reliance, good health/hygiene and appearance, reproduction, sex, STDs, smoking, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol, manners, etiquette, special emphasis on experiences that bond the family together such as developing traditions, fostering family time with conversation, balancing work/family, and celebration of holidays. Final grade: written test including planning a month of Friday Night Family Fun Times.

Consumer/Everyday Math: Description: How to effectively use math in daily life: manage bank accounts, fill out state/federal tax returns, personal finance, purchasing (small items AND big items like house and car), comparing prices, insurance, gas mileage, inesting, budgeting, money management, frugal living, planning for retirement, financial freedom, and how to complete a loan application. Day to day personal finances. Final grade: written test AND setting up a bank account AND working out a personal budget.

Earth Science: Description: Earth's structure, rocks and minerals and Earth's resources, forces that change the earth including lessons on plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes and erosion, and earth's history of change through the fossil record. Oceanography (sources of water, currents and climage, and structure of ocean environment) and atmospheric science (weather/climate). Final grade: written test AND 10 page report OR 3D demonstration of a volcano erupting!

Home Economics: Description: Cooking, food preparation, menu planning, food purchasing, intro to nutrition, yogurt-making, cheese-making, canning/preserving, laundry, cleaning, sewing. Will plan and prepare/cook one dish each week during the course. Final grade: 1 meal, 1 sewn item, and a written test.

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We have lots of cookbooks, and some basic math/science books. For the home ec... did I miss anything?

If I can't find what I want, I guess I could write them but would like to at least SEE what's available! So... any suggestions?

7th Grade Started

We decided to change up some things so our kid started "7th grade" the first of July, and will continue through the end of December. From then, our school year will be a calendar year, taking several weeks off when appropriate for family vacations and so forth.

So... we're 5 weeks into the 7th Grade. Already read Diary of Anne Frank and are working on Journey to the Center of the Earth. Working on getting better at division, and did great with the intro to geometry. Studying American History... so far, the First World War, the time right after with the Jazz Age and Prohibition, and beginning Second World War and Depression next week. Science includes studying cells and atoms - loves it!

We don't have the time right now to do the regular speaking videos and posting them on YouTube. Maybe when 8th grade starts in January.

That's just a quick note about what we're doing!

High School Language Arts - Curriculum Planning

I'm working on planning my Teen's high school curriculum (I like to do this a year or two or three in advance in case something comes up).

Our state requires 4 years of language arts / English. Year 1 is usage and practice, Year 2 is writing, Year 3 is poetry and Year 4 is analysis of literature. I found some great books for Years 1 and 2, but am having trouble for the poetry and literature analysis.

I'd love recommendations! Anyone?

Planning a School Curriculum

I thought people visiting this site would benefit from seeing how I plan our kid's schoolwork for the year:

• I mentioned in a previous posting, I use "Home Learning Year by Year" as my bible for planning the kid's curriculum. Working with that book, I start out by looking to see where we are, and where we need to be by the end of the school year.
• Looking at the calendar, I mark out all of the holidays as "no school" days, and also mark out where I think we'll take a vacation, or where it would be a good "semester" break. I figure out how many days of school we have left, and how many our state requires. This calendar becomes our assignment book. In the assignment book, I write:

1. Monday: History, Reading, Language Arts Basics (LAB), and Math.
2. Tuesday: Science, Reading, LAB, and Math.
3. Wednesday: History, Reading, LAB, and Math.
4. Thursday: Science, Reading, LAB, and Math
5. Friday: either "Test", or "Art, Music, Foreign Language", or "Write a Report/Poem/Story"

• Our state requires 172 minimum days at 4 hours of contact per day. Required basic education includes communication skills (reading, writing, speaking), mathematics, history, civics/government, literature, and science.
• Then I start gathering materials. My kid loves workbooks and reading, so I find a good school supply store and start browsing. Once home, I take all of the books (including literature and reference material, workbooks, etc.) and separate according to subject.
• I start with the easiest first: literature. I write the list of fiction he needs to read. This year was: Mystery of the Cupboard, James and the Giant Peach, Red Badge of Courage... all the way to Little House on the Prairie, Prince and the Pauper, Bridge to Terabithia, The Hobbit and Harry Potter's Sorceror's Stone. I start with the easiest, figuring a few chapters a day, and write the book and chapter numbers in the assignment book. Each day I note which chapters until it's done. The next day I write "test" and make sure I have one ready. I might give him a couple of days before he starts the next book. And so on.
• When he reads a book that's been made into a movie, I assign watching that movie a few days after he finishes reading the book, and require a report comparing the book to the movie, and asking him to note any differences.
• Workbooks for various topics: I assign a couple of pages a day, noting which workbook he needs to work in. When he finished one workbook, the next day might be a free day on the subject, then he'll start the next workbook.

Note:

• I write his assignments in pencil. You never know what might happen! However, he has, at one point, erased what I wrote because he didn't like the number of pages I assigned. Keep a close eye on your assignment book!
• When he's sick, he makes up all missed work on the next school day/days. We need that attendance in case we're ever audited.
• Math is usually several workbook pages. Every once in a while I'll print out a sheet (or 4!) of math equations from one of the many websites. My favorite is: http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/ - grades up thru fifth, from addition to division, fractions, telling time, Roman numerals, and much more.
• Language Arts Basics (LAB) is often several different kinds of workbooks: from spelling to writing, handwriting, grammar and more.
• When it comes to the reading requirement, he reads aloud his history and science assignments, as well as any biographical and reference information. But more importantly, I make a list of classic fiction books he needs to get through by the end of the school year. This takes care of both the "reading" requirement, and the "literature".
• When it comes to fulfilling the speaking requirement, once a month or so I have him give a report to write and present orally to me or Hubby.
• History often includes world and U.S. history, geography and civics/government. We especially use local (and national) elections to help discuss civics.
• There are days when I assign him to listen to his math cd's, or the cd for spanish or french. I might also assign him to paint a picture or draw an anniversary or birthday card for his art assignment.
• Music might be listening to a classical music station and hum some of a piece, or make up a song to sing to us before dinner.
• I keep a separate red binder for assignments like reports or poems he writes. I keep them in order by section (writing, math, history, etc.) and then chronological.
• There's still another binder with reference material broken down by subject: roman numerals, math calculations, etc.
• I take advantage of school supply sales in August, stocking up on lots of pencils, erasers, lined paper, rulers, glue sticks and more.
• His days of attendance are tracked in the assignment book/calendar. I note on each day how much time it took for him to complete his work (including his fidgeting time) and at the end of the week, I bring down his total from last week and add this week's. I also track the days. We are usually quite a bit more than required, because we don't do school for just 9 months.... we do it year round because his brain goes to sleep when he has more than a couple of weeks off at a time!

I hope this makes schooling-at-home more clear.