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High School Elective:Peek at Principles and Precepts of Economics

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

High School Elective. A Peek at Principles and Precepts of Economics Homeschool High School Curriculum @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
I was given this product for free and I was paid for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off. All opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. Not every product will get a positive review. Too, because I carefully sort through numerous offers for reviews,  it usually means that I’m giddy about the product when I do accept it. Read my full disclosure here.

After just graduating high school, one of my most memorable adventures was staying with friends who lived in Belize. They had just purchased a house and planted trees, which produced the most delicious avocados and mangoes. When night came though, they would have to guard their new orchard as some of the Belizeans would jump the fence and raid their fruit. One local man justified the actions of his fellow countrymen by saying, “The fruit was for the whole of we.” Knowing the history of British influence on the dialect, we all understood the meaning of his reply. Whatever work you did in that country was to benefit the whole country. My friends and I got schooled that night about economics from one local view which was very different than what I learned about high school economics. Economics is about learning the history of what shaped people to think about their system of trading. So I was thrilled when I had the chance to teach my high school teen about economics using Principles and Precepts of Economics from Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum. 

When I learned that Principles and Precepts of Economics course is taught through history, I was hooked. Isn’t that what really affects how people from different countries view the economy? The past history and the present and future goals of a country shape today’s modern world. Look here at the scope and sequence of what each book covers so you can get an overview.

Understanding economics then at the high school level needs to begin with the ideas of the founding fathers and Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum (PAC) has done a solid job in presenting a foundation for a country’s trading system while presenting both good and bad ideas.

The course has three components: three soft-cover texts (chapters), three student activity books and a teacher resource book, which we put in a binder for ease of use.

The ease of use for PAC is one of its strongest features for a homeschooled home school teen | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Look at the 15 topics that come in each chapter (soft-cover text) so you can see the key teaching points and how Principles and Precepts of Economics unfolds.

 15 TOPICS STUDIED IN EACH SOFT BOUND (Chapter) TEXT BOOK.
Chapter 1

►Introduction to Economics
1. Defining Economics
2. An Economy Based on Biblical Principles
3. A Bad Experiment
4. Economics and the American Colonies
5. Tyranny of the Crown
►From Revolution to Prosperity
1. Liberty or Death!
2. War!
3. The Constitution and Bill of Rights
4. Land of Opportunity
5. Prosperity vs New Ideologies
►Modern Economic Issues in America
1. The Progressives
2. Change Comes
3. New Economies Part I
4. New Economies Part II
5. Return to Greatness

Chapter 2

►The Early Years – Seeds of Economic Liberty
1. Fleeing Tyranny in England
2. An Economy Based on Biblical Principles
3. A Bad Experiment
4. Economics and the American Colonies
5. Tyranny of the Crown
►From Revolution to Prosperity
1. Liberty or Death!
2. War!
3. The Constitution and Bill of Rights
4. Land of Opportunity
5. Prosperity vs. New Ideologies
►Modern Economic Issues in America
1. The Progressives
2. Change Comes
3. New Economics Part I
4. New Economics Part II
5. Return to Greatness

Chapter 3

►Family Economics
1. Budgets
2. Banking
3. Insurance
4. Investing
5. Government Considerations
►Starting a Small Business
1. Freedom vs. Punching a Clock
2. Personal Interest + Demand = Profit
3. Resources (Help Is Available)
4. Profit and Loss
5. Use It Wisely
►Education and Economic
1. Considerations
2. College
3. Trade Schools
4. Military Service
5. Other Options

As you can see the Chapter 2 book builds on the history of Chapter 1. The Chapter 3 book we really liked too because it gave practical value to learning economics. For example, Mr. Awesome and I had to make some decisions about a 401K in his upcoming job. After covering Chapter 3, Tiny knew what we were talking about because he really liked the sections about family economics and business ownership.

Let me back up first though because Chapter 1 is a fast and surprisingly comprehensive overview of world history including some religious views and some about the background of the Bible.

This was unexpected by us at first because I’ve used curriculum from PAC before and prefer to add in our own worldview. It is easily done by this curriculum.

Too, we understood the context in which those ideas were being introduced. For example, to understand capitalism is to view it through the eyes of the founding fathers. It was based on individual liberty and belief in inalienable rights bestowed by a Creator.

Through the course it was clear that principles, precepts and different theories were going to be introduced. At this age, I’m wanting to be sure Tiny is introduced to other worldviews.

Chapter 1 covers from Ancient history, including Rome to the Awakening to the Middle Ages. As each world power is introduced, vocabulary words and ideologies are explained.

The layout of the book is what makes the books so easy for a middle or high school student to do independently.

Look below at one 2 page layout.

Self-teaching is promoted because everything the student needs to learn is right on the page without researching a lot of external resources.Vocabulary words are clearly defined through simple, but not busy illustrations which makes the teaching points or message memorable.

Another feature Tiny really enjoyed was the use of video throughout the book.

If you don’t know what QR codes are, I know your teen probably does. That was another unexpected very useful interactive tool we liked.

How to Easily Teach High School Economics

You can download the free QR reader scanner here at iTunes. Note this one is for an iPhone. You can also get one for an iPad which we already had downloaded.

Look at these easy directions below.

High School Elective. A Peek at Principles and Precepts of Economics Homeschool High using QR codes | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Find the QR code links in the books, use your device to scan the code (tell your teen to clean his screen for the fifteenth time, okay, okay) and then wait for the video to load on your device.This video was one learning about different types of business structures and it was my business-minded teen’s very favorite.

10 Things You Should Know About Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum

Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum (PAC) may be a good fit for your family:

►If your high school student prefers to work independently.
►If your middle school student is ready for high school level work.
►If, like me, you need to keep up with high school credit then this is one-half credit (.5) or semester long program.
►If you have a middle school or high school teen that loves history, then he’ll appreciate covering economics from a history slant.
►If you want to use this as an elective or a required course in social studies.
►If you don’t want to use an online high school. Simply choose which subjects you want your child to do and form your syllabus. Grade and track your child’s grades.
►If your teen gets easily overwhelmed with all the clutter in digital only formats, then the clean and simple black and white illustrations keeps the points being taught straightforward and challenging but clear.
►If you want something affordable and prefer to use consumable products.
►If your teen prefers activities like fill in the blank, matching concepts, marking answers true and false and circling the correct answer.
►If you want to still feed your teen’s mind with character building concepts, he’ll savor the tiny nuggets of motivational sayings or Life Principles at the end of each section.

I do have to let you know about a part I didn’t agree with. Understand too that I realize at the high school senior level parents vary about how much control they want over their young adult’s content.

I still very much feel it’s my job to shape my child’s thinking and I’ve always preferred secular resources so that I can instill my own Biblical content.

One the other hand, I’ve never objected to my teens being exposed to conflicting thoughts and views because my job is to prepare my teens for other views. But I want views to stay as that, just opinions or perspectives.

The authors write on the left side column of the page:

Evolution, as it is taught today, has itself evolved since Darwin published his tome; but the book inspired collectivists to promote their theories. While the intention of this course is not to delve deeply into scientific matters, we need to examine the evolution perspective so you can see its impact on public policy, including economics and politics. (Chapter 1, page 43. Bold emphasis mine.)

Then on the right side column of the same page the authors write:

Evolution’s counterpart, creationism, or intelligent design, was (and is today) ridiculed by collectivists as unscientific, and thus unworthy of inclusion in modern science text and classrooms. However the success of capitalism is a strong argument in support of economics based on individual liberty and belief in inalienable rights bestowed by a Creator.

In reality, both evolution and creationism are unprovable, from a purely scientific standpoint. Science observation and experimentation are necessary parts of the scientific method, neither evolution or creationism can be proved scientifically. If creationism is true, nobody alive today was around to watch it happen, and if evolution is true, no one can live millions of years to observe it happening. Likewise if God created everything in the distant past, we cannot recreate that in the lab. Neither can one recreate evolution in science labs. (Chapter 1, page 43. Bold emphasis mine.)

Whether I agree or not if evolution or creationism cannot be proved scientifically, I would have preferred that the second paragraph on the second column above not be included.

I feel this would have been more in line with the authors’ intention of not delving deeply into scientific matters because I want to be the one helping my teen determine our scientific standpoint.

Overall it was an excellent course for the number of lessons covered and that part didn’t hold us back from covering the rest of the very useful and practical information.

Too, I think you’ll love how all of their courses are useful and practical to use. We’ve had an overall positive experience using them. Look at my post where we used Paradigm Accelerated World History Curriculum.

Then don’t forget to use the coupon code below for such a well-laid out course.

Follow Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum.
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How to purchase it.

►Product Name: Principles and Precepts of Economics. Full course kit which includes texts, activities and teacher’s resource kit.
►Website: Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum – Principles and Precepts of Economics.
►Suitable for grades: 7th to High School.
►Formats: Print version, audio enhanced and digital download.
►Worldview: Secular friendly and easy to implement your own worldview.
►Cost: $59.55 print version.

Also, check out 14 Fun and (maybe Frugal) Homeschool High School Electives, Successful Entrepreneur-3 Best Homeschooled Teen Resources and Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

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Teach Your Homeschooled Teen the Art of Studying (without nagging)

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

How to Teach Your Homeschooled Teen the Art of Studying (without nagging) @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Teaching your homeschooled teen the art of studying is a bit like not having a parent’s manual that comes with your kids when they enter the world. Well – almost.

Resources exist overwhelmingly for teaching teens study skills in public schools, but teaching our kids at home can give us a slight edge.

However, it only becomes an advantage if we tap into teaching them how to study along the way. Teaching a teen study skills can be frustrating if you don’t begin when they are young.

How to Spoon-Feed a Homeschooled Teen

Learning should be active and not passive. Spoon-feeding and hovering over our teens won’t propel them to learn the art of studying.

Look at 3 things I learned when teaching a teen to study.

One/ Self-instruction is a must.

Many kids do not do well in public school because they feel trapped with confinements on what they should learn. Avoiding the popular notion that teens need a lot of supervision gives teens a chance to experience independence.

Raising independent and self-taught learners means bucking the current system period.

I learned as I have homeschooled longer to give up the control while supervising them. It begins with self-instruction in what your child is interested in.

Starting out, this doesn’t mean a child guides himself completely because not all children are inclined to even attempt learning the boring things.

Many days teaching my three teens has been more difficult and mentally taxing then when they were toddlers because you have to talk with them not at them as they learn self-governing independence.

And yes there should be sanctions when a teen is not self-studying and is wasting time. But there is a reason a teen is wasting time and it’s called unmotivated.

Two/ Motivation is a GREAT incentive.

Motivation for studying what interests a teen comes first, then self-instruction, not the other way around.

In other words, you can’t expect a teen to be self-taught and independent without him having a compelling reason to be. You can’t just heap subjects onto him, like when he was in elementary grades and then expect him to do them. That was your job then, but it’s not when he is a teen.

Micromanaging in the teen years breeds rebellion and you may end up having an adult child that won’t speak to you. Don’t let that happen.

And don’t make the mistake of swinging to the other end of the pendulum and give him total self-governing.

Teen Study Skills

Don’t stress over it, but look at these sanity-saving tips to gradually dole out independence, which then teaches your teen the art of studying.

  • Choose a topic in a subject. As soon as your child demonstrates a bit of independence, recognize it by allowing him to choose a topic in a subject that you require. Don’t ask him to cover science, but require it. But give him the choice, for example, of studying about rocks, magnets or a bird. For us this happened close to second grade for one child, close to sixth grade for another and closer to middle school for another son.
  • Then, choose subjects. After you have exposed your child to well-rounded out subjects, then give him the choices of which subjects to cover. This normally happens around middle and high school.
  • Give him checklists, organize drawers and student planners to gauge progress. Give him a checklist or some way of knowing what he is doing for the day and when he is finished. The art of how to study can be diminished when your expectations are not clear. Not only are you giving your child clear expectations, but you are doing something VERY important lasting him on into adulthood, which is teaching him how to create expectations, goals and standards for himself. How to study includes setting incremental goals and meeting them. He needs accountability to you first, then next to himself. Early on I set up drawers for each child and in the order I chose for him to cover the subject. That model morphed into choices they made later on as to which subjects they wanted to cover first. I also created student planners and my oldest son enjoyed that the most. My youngest son enjoys taking notes on his iPad. And another son likes picture doodling and part words as he note takes. Each child is different.

organized-drawers-promotes-self-teaching-and-independence-tinas-dynamic-homeschool-plus

  • Listen. More importantly, teens want to be heard. Listen and back him up by letting him try his idea. The best place and time to fail from an idea he had is while he is living with you so he can learn.
  • Take him with you to choose curriculum. My boys made a trip with me to the convention fair each year. If they didn’t have a preference in curriculum, they got a chance to look it over anyway.
  • Teach him his learning style and then help him learn that way. Don’t push your way of learning. I know, I’m probably one of the caring pushiest moms ever, but not all of my boys learn the way I do. Use color coding markers, use a written planner, use an online planner, use an iPad, music in the background works for one son (not me), quiet space for another son, flashcards, index cards and writing in a book (yes allowed). Be willing to move from your comfort zone to the learning zone your child works best in.

Teach Consequences But Evaluate Consequence Too

Three/ Consequences is a must.

Learning how to learn means that your child needs consequences, both bad and good for his habits. Shielding our child or always telling them everything not matter how well-intended can turn to nagging.

When I was a teen, I did learn by example. Not all teens learn that way and some have to experience pain.

Teaching my boys that learning by example is more preferable than learning always by experience was important to me, but my boys have to be willing to accept that mindset.

Teaching teens is not always a two-way street, so be prepared for times when they have to suffer bad consequences.

A bad grade worked for one son, but it didn’t for another one.

Telling my son to think about what others will think about him and the example he set worked for another son. He didn’t want to hear my opinion, but teaching him to evaluate what he was going to do or not do when applying himself to how he studied made him think how he would appear to others.

I’ve found that clear consequences, even writing them down has been a useful guide in prodding my teens in the right direction.

After all, college, life and career are full of on the job rules, regulations and earning respect. Don’t forget to teach them at home.

This is the tip of the iceberg of things I’ve learned as two of my sons have now entered the adulthood.

And when your adult sons tell you often how much they deeply value what you taught them about how to study, you won’t be able to hold back tears.

When you take time to teach your teens how to study, you teach them for a lifetime.

Grab my Free Student Planner, 3 Unique Things a Homeschooled Teen Learns From a Teacher’s Manual and I found this book, The Art of Self-Directed Learning: 23 Tips For Giving Yourself an Unconventional Education very inspirational.

Hugs and love ya,

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Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

14 Fun and (maybe Frugal) Homeschool High School Electives

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

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Choosing homeschool high school electives are a fun part of your teen’s journey or at least it should be. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School for more tips!

Beyond the core homeschool subjects, electives allow a teen to pursue his passion.

When this time came for my oldest two, I tried to stay out of the process, but I didn’t realize that my boys actually welcomed my input.

Maybe some of this comes from my homeschooling them from the beginning.

They don’t really mind discussing things with me, but I want them to have the final say in what they chose to study.

14 Fun (and maybe Frugal) Homeschool High School Electives @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Keep in mind this part of high school is about discovery, exploring and maybe creating.

Each teen will view this time in high school differently depending on their goals.

14 Homeschool Electives

Some teens are more sports-minded, some academic-minded and yet others may be music and art-minded.

I’ve learned a lot about what I consider to be an elective and I’ve learned that you don’t have to spend a whole lot if you don’t want to.

Keep in mind though, this is high school and that means books do cost more.

So when I think about the cost of something, I think in terms of what value we get in return.

For example, if we pay and only get high school credit that is not necessarily a good deal to me.

However, if we pay for something and get some sort of certificate in addition to high school credit, then I’m all in.

The whole realm of what could be studied and discovered can be anything from art and automobile repair to woodworking and pre-med study.

Look at some of these options.

1 and 2. Home Repair and Maintenance & Woodworking.

My first son started off with Home Repair and Maintenance but switched to Beginning Woodworking.

High School Electives

Though I felt Home Repair and Maintenance was of much more value, this is again about my son choosing things that he thought interested him at the time.

3. Fine arts includes Ballroom Dancing. At the time it came to choose, my older two sons wanted to do some kind of sports, but we didn’t really have any homeschool sports group that were close.

I couldn’t do another hour of driving at the time.

What we did have close was an Arthur Murray studios for ballroom dancing. This is one of those things that I viewed as a two-pher.

The boys wanted to be with other teens and I wanted them to explore more fine arts.

At first, my boys said absolutely NO to ballroom dancing, but the Mr. got involved and told them to try it out.

After two lessons with hip young instructors and with other cool homeschool teens their ages, all of my boys took ballroom dancing for a few years.

I think they toned their bodies and learned a beautiful art more than they would have if they played sports and they also now agree.

4. Local programs assigning a certificate.

When my niece lived with us and was thinking about going into the medical field, I learned a lot about certificate programs.

For example, there are different levels of CPR training and it normally is offered to anybody as long as they can perform the duties.

This is one of those things I feel is not only practical to learn, but it gave her a glimpse of what it’s like if she decided to pursue something in the medical field.

Electives for Homeshooled Teens

Do you know how many certificate programs there are in every field?

Dozens as I began my search. It just takes some digging because it may or may not have a minimum age requirement. 

Also, it gives a teen has a completed certificate of completion in maybe a vocational field and a teen gets a taste of what a particular field is like. At this age, it is about exploring career options too.

5. Apprenticeship for photography.

My other niece was interested in photography and was offered to work with a local professional while learning photography.

Again, because she was going to get paid while learning a craft, this is an excellent choice for a teen. They are always looking for ways to make put some money in their pocket. This is a super two-fer and frugal.

6. Check out the local pool.

Though I wasn’t interested in my boys working at the local city pool, they are good swimmers and love the water.

Today some schools gives PE credit for working as a lifeguard, but this is certainly a doable option for a teen if he or she loved the water.

7. Weightlifting.

Yes, I know, but I have all boys and I really do love the fact that studying health, about the muscles and the body can be included in this and I did.

I didn’t really follow a course for my first son, but we did convert the garage to a weight room.

8. Create and collaborate with others for a group yearbook.

When I was with one group, they determined to do a yearbook to showcase our group’s activities for the year.

The high school teens would be the ones heading it up. If a student was interested in journalism, creative writing or art it gave them a way to use their talents.

Not only did the teens get credit for the year, but we got a unique yearbook.

I liked the fact that the teens had to follow up with homeschool moms to get information and work together to incorporate their ideas.

Electives for Teens

9. Choir.

One group that lived near us had a homeschool choir group. I had one son interested in taking choir, but it had a few too many girls for his taste. I wished it had a few other boys his age, but it was a great option.

10, 11. Foreign Language & Sign Language too.

Though foreign language courses can be costly, my boys got to use some of their Spanish when we went South America.

This is another example of how I don’t mind paying a bit more for this elective because it’s a great return in not only learning the syntax of a language, but it’s so practical as they travel.

12. Geography and history Unit study.

One of my sons also did a half of a semester learning about the country of Turkey.

Like his mom, he loves history and geography and not only did he read about it, but he learned about the culture, background, people, art and food. It was fun for him to share with our homeschool group what he learned.

13. Travel.

Yes, we intentionally moved to South America for a year and half so that my second son could receive credit for traveling and exploring other cultures.

Exploring the Amazon and trekking through mountains is the way my second son rolls.

Build Your Own Unique Homeschool High School Electives

So maybe this idea isn’t so frugal, but it sure was fantastic and he won’t easily forget what he and his brothers learned through their guided science tours in the Amazon.

Don’t forget that . .
(14.) Driver’s Education can be counted as an elective and it’s another two-pher when your kid takes this.

Most teens are ready to drive and I am here to testify that having a couple of chauffeurs in the family rocks.

My grocery shopping time has never been the  same because I rarely have to do it.

More Homeschool High School Teen Elective Resources

These are a few of the homeschool high school electives we have chosen so far. There really is no limit on the topics that your teen can choose.

Instead of focusing on the fear of how to count the hours and credit, focus on what your teen wants to learn because any topic or theme is readily available for your teen to explore.

Grab some other tips here:

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


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How to Grade a Homeschool Unit Study for an Older Child (& high school assessment)

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I’m showing you how to grade a homeschool unit study for an older child. Also, look at my free Homeschool Planner page for more forms.

I didn’t choose to do homeschool unit studies because I felt I was creative or liked flying by the seat of pants.

What I do like about homeschool unit studies is the unbridled time for learning topics that interests my kids. Later on I would learn that is called mastery learning.

How to Grade a Homeschool Unit Study for an Older Child (& high school assessment)

Choosing to move away from laid out curriculum to mastery learning can bring a unique set of challenges for an older child.

And doing homeschool unit studies, with an older child looks very different than the themed learning I did with my boys in prek and Kindergarten. That is another topic to tell you about.

Today, I am sharing with you what I have been working on for several months; it is a unit study assessment for an older child and it works for high school too.

Grade a Homeschool Unit Study

I wished I have done it sooner, but you know I’m always slow about my homeschool forms because I need them to work.

It took me a while to wrap my mind around how to do an assessment as I was writing my notes for my older two sons.

The bottom line is that I won’t give up our passion for mastery learning so that I can put grades on a transcript.

However, knowing in high school, that you do need more conformity, I created my own unique assessment.

Now with son number three, I have been able to put on one page what I’m looking for when doing a unit study with an older child, even a high school teen.

Let’s just face it, too. There is a lot out there for younger kids, but not a lot of specifics for older kids.

And because I deal in specifics and know generalities won’t help you or me either one, I prepared a detailed unit study assessment.

3 Smart Tips for Assessing Work for an Older Student

I will share the specifics about the assessment in a minute, but look at these other ways to record keep, grade and assess.

  • Keep in mind this is mastery learning or project-oriented type of learning. Think about assessing each part of the unit study using general marks like Distinguished, Satisfactory and Fair. Don’t get hung up on grades during the year because you can still assess one at the end of the year or unit study.
  • When it comes to language arts use a simple column method. I listed books and other sources my kids read, topics they wrote about and things they learned in grammar. Those things fall easily under the category of English in high school. I gave an assessment on those areas like Distinguished, Satisfactory and Fair when I graded them, but on the transcript I made them an A or B. We followed different writing programs through the years and I used the concepts they were teaching, but took the topics from the current unit study. Having a few teacher’s notes from the writing program gave me guidance on grading their writing, but I didn’t let it consume me.
  • Also,I wrote down the subtopics we studied. Even though we don’t have to record keep in Texas, I wanted to keep them for high school. However, if you’re in a an area that requires record keeping, then writing down what you have done is a perfectly acceptable way to show progress.

Another reason to record keep is that normally an older child needs feedback. I wanted my sons to know what I thought of their work.

It’s not only important to self-evaluate for an older child, but they need to learn how to handle feedback from me. This is part of adult life when others evaluate you.

unit-study-general-assessment-high-school-tinas-dynamic-homeschool-plus

About this DETAILED Unit Study Assessment

Look at how I created this unit study assessment, which can be used for an older child or high school.

  • It is a general evaluation of mastery.
  • Because there is no way I could cover every objective I have on my unit study unless I prepared an assessment for each one, I wanted one assessment that was unique. It is not about all grades and no benchmarks and vice versa. It has both a grade and assessments like I mentioned earlier.
  • I took each subject and highlighted two general benchmarks that I’m looking for at the high school level.
  • Also, unlike high school assessments, I created part of this assessment like a vocation adult mastery class because unit studies are about mastery. It’s important to treat my older children like they will be in the adult world of college and career. Each part of the assessment does not fit perfectly into a canned grading system. I’m not looking to fit each benchmark in my unit studies, but to have a general rule of thumb when grading.
  • The first section is the most important part to me because it deals with motivation and attitude, which are of more value to me.
  • The rest of the sections are about aptitude because there has to be some way to grade or assess older kids in each subject.
  • The last section is also of value to me because it is the very heart of mastery learning, which are projects. Projects are really self-evaluations for students because they demonstrate what they know and students will pick projects that fit their learning style.
  • Lastly, I can assign a grade at the very bottom if I need to. By not putting a grading scale, you can use your own.
How to Grade a Homeschool Unit Study for an Older Child (& high school assessment)

DETAILED Unit Study Assessment

Creating something unique that is both a mastery learning assessment and a grading system, I am excited to put this to good use.

Also, I love it because it makes a great add to my Ultimate Unit Study Planner.

Ultimate Unit Study Planner Store @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus 600x

I think it’s true when they say three times is a charm because with my third highschooler, I now have a super unique way to assess his efforts.

How to Grade a Homeschool Unit Study for an Older Child (& high school assessment) @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus Blog

How to Get the Free Printable

Now, how to grab the free printable. It is a subscriber freebie.

When you sign up to follow me, you get access to this freebie.

1) Sign up on my email list.
2) Grab the printable.
3) Last, look for my emails in your inbox as a follower. Glad to have you.

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4 Tips Texas Homeschool Moms Need for New Teen Drivers

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4 Tips Texas Homeschool Moms Need for New Teen Drivers. @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

(I know this is long, but I have too many details and too much experience to not share with you. Also, remember things can change through the years, but changes are slower when dealing with laws.)

When Mr. Senior 2013 started to drive, it wasn’t anything like I thought it would be. Oh, for sure the red tape that usually is associated with government offices was all I imagined it to be, but the way I thought my son would respond to driving was not what I thought it would be.

Now, that Mr. Awesome 2015 is learning to drive (although he held off a considerably longer time because we had moved to South America) I have learned a lot about driving.

Too, though you may not live in Texas, some of these things may apply to you and some of my tips may give you a heads up for asking the right questions in your area.

Besides, even from city to city in Texas, things are not the same. Also, not only do I want to share my personal experience, but I want to share some tips of teens who were in our homeschool group, some who are now on their own and even with families.

Look at my 4 tips Texas homeschool moms need for new teen drivers. Okay, I know many more are here than 4, but I don’t want to scare you, but arm you for this can do project.

Each teen is different.

You’re probably thinking, you’re not a kidding. But I promise, I am making a point here that I didn’t fully appreciate until later.

Looking at the teens in our group, a lot of them, like my kids, were homeschooled from the very beginning.

They had a different view of learning to drive and a good part of them just didn’t care if they learned to drive now or later.

Maybe it’s because they have been out in the world mingling for a good amount of time or maybe they viewed it as serious, but we had more teens who were pretty laid back than were waiting with bated breath to start driving.

Not all of the teens felt this way because some had a burning desire to get behind the wheel, but mostly our teens were pretty relaxed about when they got to driving.

The point I’m making is that unless you have a need, a teen can wait until he is even 17 and can still follow the teen track option.

Understand the difference between teen & adult driving options.

Another biggie to understand is that if you delay your teen driving, which is what happened in my case with Mr. Awesome 2015 is that he is now considered an adult. That doesn’t necessarily have negative advantages.

For example, with Mr. Senior 2013 I started off teaching him to drive and he did some work online. However, I was teaching the younger two boys and I had a driving school near me, so I took advantage of the convenience. (More on driving schools in a minute.)

With Mr. Awesome 2015, he is considered an adult and in a way it led to different options. I had more flexibility in some ways.

He didn’t have to take the mandatory classroom time that a teen has to take.

He was eligible to take the one day adult course training course and then apply for his license by doing the written test and driving test.

This doesn’t mean this is what we did because we are interested in him learning to be a safe driver and that comes only with behind the wheel time with another adult (me or his dad) in the car and/or a driving instructor too.

We had several other teens (especially girls) in our group do the same thing, which is to wait until they are considered adults in Texas. We all had the same thing to say about it, which is that it’s a great option too.

Understanding the differences too between a 15 year old and say a 19 year old, who now realizes the seriousness of getting behind the wheel makes teaching them easier.

Not quite as confident as they are when they are 15 years old and “know everything”, it’s actually a joy to teach an older child to drive.

I enjoyed teaching Mr. Senior 2013 driving at 16 years old too, but I am really loving it with Mr. Awesome 2015 who is older.

It’s important to understand the price package differences between a teen track and an adult track if you decide to delay driving.

Though it can be cheaper to teach an adult (in the eyes of the law) how to drive, it’s not necessarily so.

For example, if your teen has had plenty of driving experience around the farm, he may have a pretty good idea how to handle a vehicle.

Since we didn’t live on a farm, I am paying for Mr. Awesome 2015 to have behind the wheel instruction with an instructor. That is in addition to the adult class, which is classroom instruction only.

The beauty of this method is that I can pay as I go and then he can take the road test when he is ready and not wait the 6 months that an underage driver does when he gets a learning permit.

Ignorance Is Bliss! – I Only Wish

Comparing teen programs is a must do to get your moneys worth.

Look at these options to ask about or know about.

  1. What type of reviews does the driving school have? If we had looked at the reviews more carefully of one driving school I chose for Mr. Senior 2013, we would have known about the reputation of one of the instructors who owned a bar. (ugggg) Of course, I had to switch to a different driving school.
  2. How many driving instructors do they have? In other words, the classroom instruction is not hard to get, but when it comes time for your teen to get behind the wheel, is he or she fighting for the attention of 1 instructor or are there 3 or more? It makes a difference when it comes to scheduling drive times.
  3. Can the driving school give both the written part of the test and the driving test? I didn’t have this option with my first kid or should I say that the school was too far for us.
  4. In other cities, driving schools are approved by the DPS (department of public safety) to give the written test AND the road test when the time comes. That is a true help because having stood in line with Mr. Senior 2013 all day to do the written part of the test and then issue his permit, it was stressful. Driving schools where we live now can do the written test there and then you take your teen down to the DPS to stand in line for photo and finger prints only because he has already taken the written part of the test. So convenient! Did I mention taking the road test with a car your teen is use to driving at their driving school and with an instructor they know makes a huge difference. It keeps time dealing with the DPS down to very minimal, which is what you want.
  5. Does the school drop off your teen back at your house after driving practice? This made a huge difference to me when teaching Mr. Senior 2013 because we lived out a ways in the country. It was a nice convenience when I had the other kids to have the school drop him back off at the house. It may seem small, but it was a convenience that I appreciated that I don’t have now in the bigger are I am living in. The school here in the city won’t do that or so they say.

Those are just a few things to help you ask more about the school you may be thinking of.

A few more things to know.

  • There are two parts of the test basically, the written part and the road test.

The written part of the test can be taken by a teen about 3 days after getting classroom instruction.

They are ready to try for the learner’s permit. The written test comes in two parts. One part are road signs and the other questions are general questions like intersections, insurance and driving. They don’t have to do anything written after this. That is only time. After they complete time with you and the instruction, they are ready for the driving test (a.k.a road test) after 6 months.

This is one reason why I switched from online and went to the driving school because the online school we were doing didn’t help to slice between the information needed now to get the permit and the whole classroom instruction he needed to complete the driving school.

With the online driving school, it was like  Mr. Senior 2013 had to study everything before he could take the written test which is what is needed to get the permit. That is just our experience with our online school, they may not all be like that.

  • Read the paperwork.

Don’t go down to DPS asking them if they can take a copy of the birth certificate. When they say original, that is what it means.

But also, know the way around things.

For example, I didn’t use the birth certificate for either one of  my kids. I used the original  Social Security card  and a passport (current of course.)

  • Don’t sign the application until you get to DPS because the application says “don’t sign this part until you’re in front of the notary public or DPS”.

Don’t think DPS is going to highlight it in yellow for you the part where it says don’t sign until you are at the DPS office. You have to read with sharp eyes and ask questions about everything.

There is No Rush – Just Know Which Choice to Make

There are several more details to know, but this is a huge sweeping picture of how to get your teen on the road to driving.

Maybe when I get ready to do it the third time around, I may have it down.

Do you have any questions? Are you in the middle of this now? It’s an exciting time to have your kids driving.

That is all I get I all my grocery shopping done. (okay, okay)

Hugs and love ya,

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Also, check out my category How To Homeschool: A Teen to Graduation for more tips in teaching teens.

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