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Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation

How to Transition a Child From Reading to Literature

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

When I was in 8th grade I had an English teacher who loved words and literary analysis. I picked up her love of words and reading, but not so much her affection for literary analysis. Later in life, my fondness for literary analysis and literature was ignited but my earlier aversion affected how I started teaching reading.

When I was in 8th grade I had an English teacher who loved words and literary analysis. I picked up her love of words and reading, but not so much her affection for literary analysis. Later in life, my fondness for literary analysis and literature was ignited but my earlier aversion affected how I started teaching reading. Click here to get tips on understanding the difference between teaching reading and literature.

Determined that my boys would not be aliterate, I did some things right and some not so right when I first began to teach reading.

What I should’ve done with my first son was to introduce elements of literature earlier than I did. I’m grateful I didn’t totally mess up my kid because his love for excellent literature is apparent today.

From Reading to Literature

Let me back up first because understanding what is literature and what is reading can be confusing to the non-professional. It was to me.

And because there are so many facets about comprehending what is literature, it can seem almost over the top to grasp.

I’m going to speak in broad terms here because it’s important to see the big picture before you know how to transition a child from reading to literature. Teaching a child to read has these elements:

  • from the time he can sat on your lap, you begin reading aloud;
  • you teach him to associate symbols, which he later understands are letters with sounds;
  • you teach him that grouping together more than one letter helps him to blend sounds;
  • you begin to engage in formal and direction instruction which is phonics;
  • you continue with assisting him in learning phonics to about the fourth grade if necessary;
  • while you’re teaching him letter sounds, he cements those sounds by reading them in books, which gives him a purpose for reading;
  • you progress from early readers to chapter books; and
  • all throughout the years, you should be very picky about the quality of literature so that you hook an emerging reader on to lifelong reading.

Not focusing just on how to read but fostering a love of it in the early years is the key. That’s a tough enough job.

Here is one of my favorite programs to teach reading!
All About Reading

Switching gears to teaching literature is a gradual process as I’ve learned. It’s my opinion that whether or not you take a literature course in college, you’re not really prepared to know when to introduce all the features of literature to a young child. Of course, if you’re an English teacher that is different.

Before I go further, it’s important to also look at the elements of teaching literature which gives you a starting point in how to teach it. Here are some easy to understand features:

  • it’s about using good books that inspire readers;
  • it can effect the lives of people;
  • it may be praised for its literary value;
  • it may be famous for its historical value;
  • it’s about learning genres along with the elements of fiction;
  • it’s about exposure to a higher level vocabulary;
  • it’s learning how to extract meaning beyond what the author is stating;
  • it’s appreciating why literature can move us;
  • it’s about choosing a method, whether it’s an oral discussion only or part worksheet or part oral discussion to find one that suits your child’s learning style; and
  • it’s about moving from soft or fun literature to sophisticated literature which may not always be so fun.

As you can see, literature is an immense area to study. Knowing when to transition to teaching literature and not teaching reading is not an exact science.

Taming it doesn’t have to be a struggle if you know what to focus on at which ages or levels.

Now that you have an overview of the difference, here are a few strategies that won’t overwhelm you.

One/ Introduce genre in a natural way and not like I did with a workbook.

Even though I messed up with one child, I still had time to for a do over.

Instead of pulling out a worksheet to match genre types for books which your kids may not have read, simply explain the type of book it is.

As we read together from about third grade on, I saw the need to start explaining the genre and setting.

Now that two of my sons are young adults, I get different opinions from them.

One son critiqued me and wished I was more formal at the time when explaining the type of literature we were going to discuss and to include more worksheets. The second son critiqued me and said he wished there were no worksheets at all.

Teaching literature should take your child’s learning style into consideration but I also remember that I’m doing the teaching. And just because something is forced, it doesn’t mean it’s not good for my sons.

A balance between discussion and workbooks I feel gives a well-rounded approach and I ended up adapting to both learning styles

Two/ Book reports are not always required but you’ll want to determine a standard in how to analyze a reading.

What you would expect from a middle school student is not the same that you would expect from a high school teen.

Instead of doing book reports, take time to discuss the book with them. This means they read and come back to tell what they learned. I know it takes time, but literature is about taking time to let it move you.

In the beginning, they will just want to tell you what the book is about. Believe me after hearing the retelling of To Kill a Mockingbird numerous times, I thought I would lose patience. But seeing expressions on each of my son’s faced as they read it, made each time feel new. Each kid will identify with the protagonist, Scout, whether they agree with her or not. And understanding a six-year-old with a great wit is what drew my sons into learning about the story.

Three/ Analyzing  and teaching literature is a gradual unfolding.

I did this part wrong too. When Mr. Senior 2013 started middle school, I thought that instantly he was going to understand things like a figure of speech, the elements of fiction, author’s point of view, and etc.

I needed to slow down and realize that from about middle to high school, analyzing literature is a gradual process. Just like higher level math requires a more mature thinking, so does literature.

Don’t be locked into grades, but evaluate each child’s reading level and comprehension.

If a child can’t read well yet or is still struggling to comprehend, it’s hard to delve into a deeper meaning of a novel.

Let him lounge in the learning to read stage a while longer.

If You Can Read, You Can Teach Literature

Although I didn’t completely turn my son off to excellent literature, I almost made the mistake by several educators which is to make learning about it too mechanical.

With my next sons, I added in hands-on learning in the elementary grades and middle school.

For example, while discussing the setting of a book, my sons drew what they thought a time period looked like.

When we read Winnie-the-Pooh they drew a forest for the Hundred Acre Wood. A simple map brings the setting of the book to life.

More Language Arts Resources

I didn’t know using puppets would be such a great hit with understanding If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Those are just a few tips in such a broad topic but I wanted to dive into sharing with you what worked and what didn’t work for me.

I’m going to continue on this topic by sharing some upcoming posts with tips about teaching your kids to high school.

Would you like to get some more tips? Tell me what kind of help you need the most.

Hugs and love ya,

3 Ways to Homeschool the BIGS (a.k.a. Older Kids)

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

3 Ways to Homeschool the BIGS (a.k.a. Older Kids). Don't give up some of the ways you taught your kids when they were young. Just add some new ways. Click here for the sanity-saving tips!

If a totally perfect guide on how to homeschool older kids existed, it could instantly become obsolete because of the changing body and mind of an older kid. Unlike the younger years where kids are more compliant, older kids are ready to flex their decision making muscles.

Whether tweens or teens, homeschooling older kids can be like navigating new homeschool waters each year.

There are some tried and true tips I’ve learned that will help you to keep older kids passionate about learning all the way through to and including high school. It’s not easy, but grab these 3 tips for your arsenal.

One/Plan monthly field trips targeted especially for older kids. This one time don’t think about your younger kids. (Okay, maybe just a little.)

Reject the thinking that field trips are just for younger learners. Until Mr. Senior 2013 did part of his Kindergarten in public school, I didn’t know that field trips are almost non-existent in any grade past Kindergarten.

From playmate to lifelong friend

Although field trips are important when kids are younger, they are vital as kids get older.

Don't just plan homeschoo field trips for younger kids. Plan them for older kids too!

(Federal Reserve Bank field trip for older kids)

Look at these reasons why field trips are essential as your child grows.

  • Kids need to learn how to make friends and have them outside of the family. I’ve always believed that as parents we are our kids foremost and best friend. However, kids can’t learn how to make lifelong friends unless they experience other personalities. A field trip with like-minded individuals sharpened my boys sense of self-worth and it also showed them how they didn’t want to be.
  • Field trips with other families which have our same family values sharpened my sons’ values.
  • Although as a parent I was glad we went to the field trip at the end of it, some moms felt like we really didn’t need it. Older kids are not like us. They need and want friends. Loneliness can run rampant among young people. Don’t forget that just because you have made your friends and are comfortable with your circle, that may not be the case for older kids.
  • Nurturing a love for a new hobby, course or career happens at a field trip. If a kid spends his summer outside at the beach learning about science which he may love then that can feed his desire for a career or college track in biology.

Two/ Move away from the books!

To say as kids get older that they can be moody is an understatement. In the same day they can be relaxed and restless. With their bodies changing, it means that their brain is not always in gear for learning. When we had days like that we just put away the books.

Don’t worry about the stress of high school. There are many more days that your kids will have good than bad. So ease up on them and savor the days of homeschooling them while they’re older.

Unit studies are my way of giving my sons control over their learning.

When they could control very little in their day, it gave them a sense of empowerment to study something they chose. Not only did it break up the day, but it kept the joy for learning while they hit the lows and highs of hormones.

Look at just two of these hands-on middle school unit studies which a highschooler who needs a break would enjoy soaking up.

Zoology: Amazing Animals and Estuary Ecology are both great for hands-on learning and for getting older kids out of the house to learn.

Three/ They need to get physical. (And no, it doesn’t have to be an over the top class or activity.)

Getting past the younger ages, I just knew my boys energy level would settle down. In one way it did and in another way, they needed more physical exercise.

Although I don’t consider myself an exercise enthusiast, we do love to walk and stay active. We’ve always had some kind of exercise in our daily routine. But it was nowhere near what my boys needed.

One year my boys had asked to be around other young homeschooled teens more,  I also knew they needed more movement, and we needed another one-half semester credit.  I combined all three needs into one and chose ball room dance lessons as my teacher mandated elective (ha).

Moans could be heard far and wide because ball room dancing was not for macho men – right? Or at least that was their preconceived notion.

The Mr. backed me up on my new brainstorm and we gave our teens no choice. We were reasonable and told them that if they didn’t like it after the first month, we could do something different.

It took only one lesson and they were hooked. Did I mention to this day, they all love to dance?

They are not the shy boys at the party, but the ones soaking up fun times and dancing the whole time they are there.

Prior to that, I had to clear out the garage for a couple set of weights and benches. Sharing my garage with exercise equipment is a small price to pay for the boys to have a place to stay physically and mentally fit.

These are just three easy things that have worked with my boys through the years. I have a few more things to share in my arsenal.

What works for you?

You also may want to look at my tips at how Teach Your Homeschooled Teen the Art of Studying (without nagging), When Homeschooling is Not an Overnight Success (Is it Worth the Risk?) and When Homeschooled Kids Are Not Excited About Ordinary Days.

Hugs and love ya,

 

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

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)

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

It’s a scary feeling choosing a writing curriculum when you don’t have a professional background in education. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.

Knowing that thousands of parents embark on teaching their children each year, I too made the leap to choosing the perfect writing curriculum.

But you and I both know that perfect writing curriculum doesn’t exist, or does it?

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)

Looking back now that two of my sons are graduated, there were some things I did right although I didn’t feel that way at the time.

WRITING CURRICULUM

Hoping to spare you the same agony I went through because of my aversion to teaching writing, I learned 3 ways to choose the best writing curriculum for a growing homeschool family.

1. There is a right way to teach writing. No smoke and mirrors are involved.

A writing program needs to give you and your children structure and sentence variety.

Short and compound sentences are only two sentence types, but a beginner writer needs plenty of practice developing them.

Moving from basic sentence writing to a paragraph is foundational to strong writing skills.

As your child matures, he widens out in his ability to write creatively, but the foundation is first.

Does your writing curriculum give numerous subject topics, practice with sentence variety and instructions to the non-professional educator?

2. As the moods of your children change, your writing environment can’t.

When it comes to scheduling, I could easily be known as a Nazi mama.

I’ve been hard on myself through the years so that I don’t push too hard.

But years later, I’ve learned my structured environment was key to my boys learning how to write well.

I fully appreciate now that relaxed homeschooling is not lazy homeschooling. Finding balance is key to being a good writing teacher.

A well-rounded writing curriculum should give you guidance through each step of the writing process and tips to accommodate your kids changing needs and moods.

For several years, my sons needed to write about boy topics.

Easy Writing Curriculum Tips

Getting them in touch with their warm and fuzzy feelings didn’t work for them. An excellent writing curriculum really needs to serve the needs of both girls and boys.

In my inexperience, I learned a valuable nugget which is that a structured writing environment nurtures creativity. It worked opposite of how I thought it would be in the beginning.

Instead of focusing on the grade level, a writing curriculum needs to give you a clear picture of the process.

For example, does it move from planning, prewriting, drafting, revising to editing/publish? Does it help you to teach each step clearly?

If the writing curriculum is written for multiple ages, then you can teach to the writing ability for each child.

It’s a costly mistake to buy a writing curriculum that does not give you abundant teaching tips at each stage of the writing process.

For example, just because a child is in middle school doesn’t mean he is ready to write high school essays. After all essays are just a lot of practice in paragraph writing combined to make a lengthy paper.

Practice in paragraph writing can span many grades and it’s more about maturity than age.

When you’re given clear short-term goals and long-term goals of the writing process, your child can advance based on his maturity or simmer at one level for a while.

Again, teaching writing from the novice to the accomplished is about giving kids a structured environment which should be one of the important details in your program.

Writing, like math, is a skill that needs to be practiced each day. Skipping writing for numerous days and then asking your kids to write 5 paragraphs in one setting is pure torture.

Like other skill subjects, writing quickly becomes boring if a child is not writing about what interests him.

Does your writing curriculum give you writing prompts or ideas, encourages your child to write about topics that interest him and remind you to give praise for your child’s good communication skills? It should.

3. Lessons must be geared toward ensuring writing success.

Writing programs aim for writing success, but many miss the mark.

Not having a teaching background makes me require more of a writing program than just telling me about the writing process.

Look at these key bullet points to help you gauge a top-notch writing program.

Writing Structure Gives Kids a Strong Edge

  • Equipping teachers with scripted lessons is the start to creative writing. Like cooking, not everybody needs a recipe but sometimes you need exact measurements. However, in the beginning an inexperienced cook starts with a pattern or recipe and adjusts a recipe as she hones her skill. She adjusts a recipes to fit her family’s needs. Teaching writing is similar. Learn from seasoned writers by carefully following a script and then adjust it to meet your family’s needs.
  • Providing detailed instructions for budding writers is an essential component. New writers seem to have no fear when it comes to ideas. They need structure and guidance daily. The challenges are quite different for a more mature writer.
  • A program should ensure writing success for older writers who have more experience in life but may have experienced many writing failures. They may lack confidence. If a writing program fails to ensure that each writing adventure is a success, why would you choose it?
  • Ample ideas for editing, revising and giving feedback are necessary. My boys never responded to the red pen marks on their paper. It didn’t take many times for me to do that until I realized that writing is very personal. Tips in my curriculum like discussing topics beforehand, having my child explain his thoughts to me prior to writing and having my child listen and watch me as I thought outloud while writing were key teaching points I learned.

Teaching Kids to Write Clearly and Creatively Without Crushing Them

One year when one of my sons was in middle school, I thought he was a very creative writer. At least more so than I was at his age. What I was helped to appreciate from teaching writing was that my son needed to make a point with his writing while entertaining readers.

Having eight pages of words which sparked his imagination was beautiful and creative, but honing it for meaning is equally important.

As a mom of bright boys, I refused to believe that just because boys came later to the writing table that it meant they were delayed.

They were not, they just needed more entertaining than girls. A boy’s need to wiggle, move, and use up their energy had to be incorporated into the lesson plan.

I’m not telling you that teaching writing is easy, but it can be less intimidating when you choose the best writing curriculum. Take your time choosing one and ask a lot of questions.

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Writing Curriculum (for a Growing Homeschool Family)

What is working and not working for you right now?

More Writing Curriculum Tips

Also, look at how to teach writing with these other tips.

It’s a scary feeling to choose a writing curriculum when you don’t have a professional background in education. Knowing that thousands of parents embark on teaching their children each year, I too made the leap to choosing the perfect writing curriculum. But you and I both know that perfect writing curriculum doesn’t exist, or does it? Looking back now that two of my sons are graduated, there were some things I did right although I didn’t feel that way at the time. Click here to grab the 3 tips on how to choose the BEST writing curriculum.

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

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

10 More Spring Study Free Resources for Middle and High School Kids

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

A spring study is the perfect way to get your hands and bodies moving now that spring is here. I have rounded up 10 more spring free unit study resources for middle and high school kids. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school and how to homeschool high school page for more fun tips

Hands-on learning shouldn’t quit after a child finishes elementary school.

No matter the grade level, hands-on learning has a high retention value and making time for it even with older kids has always been worth my time.

10 More Spring Study Free Resources for Middle and High School Kids

Too, I know how hard it can be to find hands-on learning activities for middle and high school grades.

So be sure you grab these 10 free spring unit study resources and download the printables because websites shut down as fast as they seem to spring up (ha, corny pun intended).

Spring Study Resources for Middle and High School

1.
12 Activities To Learn About Photosynthesis.

This first site is from the UK and the reason I’m giving you the heads up is because your kids may not recognize any of the products they use as examples in the student download if you live in the states.

It’s fun to learn though what kids in another part of the world have for sugary food. Otherwise, this is a nice free resource.

Look through all 12 activities, then download the student and teacher’s guide on the right sidebar.

After you get lost in all the wonderful free resources, downloads and hands-on ideas on that page, come back here to grab this next freebie.

2.
Reach for the Sun Unit Study.

This is about plant structure and I included it because it’s one of the resources which you can use for multiple ages of children.

It’s a little different from the rest of the resources I have listed because you have to navigate each section to read the activities and grab each download.

There are colorful graphics and even video.

The game is not free, but the rest of the unit study is so very well done and it makes it easy to implement and teach without much planning.

You navigate the free downloads and activities by clicking on the left sidebar.

3.
Competition Among Organisms Lesson Plan.

Do plants need to compete among themselves in any given environment? Download this free 8 page lesson plan.

From the site: This activity gives you an opportunity to observe the effect on plant growth when plants must compete for nutrients and space. Round up your used milk containers to use for planting.

4.
Geology.

You’ll love this very useful free 62 page download which has free printables like a game board and ideas for making fossils.

Grab some chicken bones, vinegar, dirt and clay to name a few items needed for hands-on activities.

The topics are fossils, plant fossils and vascular and non-vascular plants to name a few.

Also, I couldn’t resist showing you these beautiful hands-on living science books which are created by a homeschool mom.

5.
Biology Educator Guide: Producers Make their Own Food.

This next free download is from web archive but its still a great idea for a long term project.

The topic is about how producers make food and you’ll want to grab soil, 2 healthy plants, craft sticks and ziploc bags to name a few things. This is like a 12 day project of observing plants

6.
USDA Facts Sheets and Plant Guides.

I included this super helpful site because the pdf downloads on each plant makes for a great research topic for an essay.

After all, there are thousands of plant choices to choose from. Grab some art sketch pencils and a journal and your teen could make this a quick and fun science study.

From the site: Fact Sheets provide brief descriptions of a plant, its uses, and cultural recommendations. Plant Guides are similar but more extensive.

7.
University of Kentucky Department of Entomology.

This next site is chock full of ideas.

They have free craft ideas, downloads, stories and art about bugs. It’s an older site and some of the links are not working, but most of them are working. It just has so much that it’s worth your time.

Navigate by both the sidebar and the small print top navigator in order to get all of the ideas.

Be sure you click on the section For Teachers and Parents on the left sidebar.

There is a bug scavenger hunt too which teaches that bugs do have benefits. All of your kids can do that together.

Too, you just have to see the insect art made out of natural materials that I think your middle school kids won’t find baby-ish, but fun.

8.
Plant features.

This is an 11 page download which has illustrations for different types of leaves.

Then, you didn’t think I would include something about spring without finding a history bent did you?

I think you’ll love this lesson plan which is about classifying plants in ancient Greece. In this lesson, you will be taking a look at some features that have been used in the past to classify plants. It’s an 11 page download.

Spring Study Resources

9.
The Amazing Tomato.

Then any unit study worth its weight has to include salsa (okay, okay).

Seriously though, what a fun way to include some edible science in this lesson plan. This is a fun lesson plan which includes how to make salsa and comparing store bought salsa with home made salsa.

10 More Spring Study Free Resources for Middle and High School Kids

It also has ideas for older kids, but I loved it because everybody can join in on the fun. From roots to routes, this is a 4 page download.

10.
Garden Bingo.  

Lastly, this is a free garden bingo game. Just download all the pieces and enjoy the day learning about plants.

I hope some of these ideas can get your bigger kids moving and not dreading their daily work load, but still savoring the fun of hands-on and learning together. I think you’ll love these other round up of ideas and free printables for getting outdoors.

You’ll also love these other resources:

Hugs and love ya,

10 More Spring Study Free Resources for Middle and High School Kids. Grab these free awesome downloads and hands-on ideas to keep your older kids learning. I think your younger kid could join in too. Click here to grab the resources! @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

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,

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