Course descriptions

Homeschoolers are often Christian families - and they often include Christian education in their homeschool. Let me show you how to include your study...

3 Writing Prompts for Course Descriptions Course descriptions are a 5th grade writing assignment. It's true! We taught our 5th graders to write a desc...

How to Avoid Writing Homeschool High School Course Descriptions I’m a huge advocate of parents creating homeschool course descriptions and transcripts , and I have all sorts of great resources on my website to help even the most intimidated and overwhelmed parent do this. But I also realize that some people won’t get around to. Although many, if not most, colleges like course descriptions to accompany a homeschool student’s transcript, there are several strategies for those...

Could You Survive a Course Description Emergency? I know we homeschool parents pride ourselves on our organizational skills ... we work hard to get Susie to choir, Johnny to track meet, Kelly to gymnastics, Jim to baseball, and dinner on the table when everybody gets home! Phew, it makes me tired just thinking about it. But sometimes, no matter how hard we plan, life hits us in the head with unexpected stuff and we realize we’re...

How to Write Course Descriptions - How do you learn best? I've explained in a earlier blog post the 3 Ingredients of a Great Course Description : a paragraph about what you did, a list of what you used, and a description of how you graded. Within those suggestions, you have a LOT of latitude! You can have a very SHORT description about your grades, and say only "1/3 tests, 1/3 lab, 1/3 daily work." Or...

Writing a Course Description for Chorus Cindy was working on her course descriptions (go, team, go!!!) and got stuck with music class.   I would like to count all the singing our youth group does as Choir but not sure how to write it on a course description or on the transcript. How can I best represent this in a transcript and Course description. Oh yeah, they do a drama in the performance too! It's so...

How to Remember Course Description Details Many moms feel anxious that they will not remember to include everything in the course descriptions and reading lists. Do you feel the same way? Making your comprehensive records every year is a HUGE step in the right direction. Every spring, sit yourself down and update your homeschool transcript for each child. Then, write course descriptions for each class on the transcript. You heard me. Each class. You don't have...

Sometimes we forget how many homeschool high school course options there are for our kids to choose from. Are you teaching an occupational education class in your homeschool? If your child loves to spend time painting nails or trying out all the hairstyles on Pinterest and just enjoys all things having to do with beauty, why not consider cosmetology for high school credit? Occupational Education: Cosmetology You can call an elective class “Occupational Education: Cosmetology.” Some public high...

Creating Course Descriptions for Classes Without a Curriculum Are you working on your homeschool high school course descriptions? Creating course descriptions can be fairly straight forward when you are using a standard curriculum or textbook. It's a little more challenging when you are flying free. What do you include for classes with no textbook or formal curriculum? Realistic Expectations Course descriptions simply communicate the content of each class. The first step is to have realistic expectations. When looking...

  If your homeschool family is struggling to make the time to write course descriptions, this might be a good blog post to share with your spouse. If you had the perfect job, working from home, loving your children, how much could you earn per hour, do you think? Traci found out that her job as a homeschool parent was actually earning her WELL over minimum wage. Can you believe it? $1600/hour for working on her...

When you don't finish a subject within the regular school year, you have options!  In a public, private, or alternative school, the only option is usually a big "W" on your transcript - for "Withdraw." But independent homeschoolers have many more options available! You can give 1/2 credit instead of 1 credit If it's a class that doesn't need a whole credit, then you can award 1/2 credit and just be done with it. For example,...

Use the "Binder Queen Method" of record keeping. My favorite method of record keeping is not a product you buy, it's reasonably price and easy to assemble.  I recommend a simple 3 ring binder, divider tabs, and lined notebook paper. Super-smart moms might want "college ruled" paper, but that is completely optional! I have seen far to many moms buy the latest and greatest record keeping, and then not use it. It doesn't matter what you...

When it comes to course descriptions, the more information you can provide about each class the better, as long as you don't go over 1 page of information. That's why I often suggest that each description includes 3 main ingredients.  1. Write a paragraph about what you did 2. Make a list of what you used 3. Describe how you graded. Within those main ingredients, there are a lot of different ways to give information about...

What kind of reception will your child receive at college? How will the admission representative view your homeschool? Amazing Reception of Our Transcript and Course Descriptions Dear Lee Binz, During November of last year, my daughter applied for early admission to her choice school. They have a very selective Creative Writing department, and she knew that was the perfect school for her. I had already done a transcript before for some dual enrollment programs she attended...

Kerrie posted the sweetest comment on Facebook , while in the midst of a challenging marathon of writing her course descriptions. This is what a house looks like at Christmastime when you wait until the last minute to write course descriptions and reading lists for college applications! Lee Binz of The HomeScholar - we should've listened to your advice and started much earlier! See well-worn copies of the two books on top of paper pile! (...