BJ's Homeschool Help -

Summary:  Offering frugal homeschool help for families with kids of all ages.  #homeschoolhelp #homeschoolconsulting

Would you like to discuss a question or two with a veteran homeschooler?

Or just bounce a few ideas off of someone supportive, who has been there in the day to day of homeschooling?

Or are you looking at homeschooling high school and wondering about college?

As a homeschool blogger, I have often been approached by homeschoolers with a question or two. 
I began offering homeschool help five years ago, helping local families and missionary families abroad.  

My Background:

I am an eclectic homeschooler who loves unit studies and hands-on learning.  We use a variety of curriculum, with a little Charlotte Mason thrown in for good measure. 

I have worked as an OT and have taught preschool, but everything important that I have learned and value most, has been from homeschooling our daughter since preK.

Myself and my daughter.  (My hubby took the picture.)

If you have a homeschooling a question or two, feel free to contact me.  

I can help with: 

1.  How do I getting started homeschooling?

2.  Preschool and the Early Years
3.  Homeschooling Elementary thru High school
4.  Choosing Curriculum...and how to find a good fit

5.  Applying to College - Applications, Essay, etc.

6.  Special Needs - 2e, ADD, ADHD, SPD

7.  What if my kids don't cooperate?  Behavioral issues
8.  Adoption - Adjustment, attachment, special concerns

To Reach Betsy:  

Like my facebook page, BJ's Homeschool and send me an IM there, with your request for a consult. 

For messaging beyond one exchange, I ask for $10.00 for multiple message exchanges, up to 10 IM's back and forth, to give us plenty of time to deal with your questions. 

For the phone consultation, I ask for $25.00 for two calls and followup through facebook messaging.

My Family and Our Story:

I am a writer who loves family time, quilting, hiking, growing veggies and leading a women's group at my church.

My husband and I built our family through adoption, flying to China to meet our 2e daughter, at the tender age of 1.  We have always homeschooled her, from preschool all the way thru high school.  It was the best way to meet the needs of our 2e daughter and inspire her learning, one day at a time. 

She graduated from BJ's Homeschool in 2014!  I helped her to apply to college and she was accepted by each one she applied to, with scholarship offers. She was successful in this by just following my simple tips for getting into college.

We are pleased that she is had this opportunity and we are so glad that we homeschooled.  My 2e daughter is already set to graduate college this spring!  And homeschooling prepared her well.  Sometimes it's nice to have a little support while exploring the vast and sometimes overwhelming world of homeschooling. 

 The Curriculum Choice

Recommendations from Families:

  
"Betsy has been an immense help to me. When we were first starting to homeschool, she offered to assist. Her direction in everything from curricula choice to emotional adjustment was priceless.  To this day, we remain connected as she gives me more information throughout our homeschool growth process. My only regret is that I don't live closer to her! Much gratitude and many thanks!!"  ....Theresa Harmon, Elem. Homeschooler, Pasco, WA

"As a first time homeschooling parent - I could not say enough thanks to Betsy.  I first contacted her just to check out the basics for a new homeschooler, but her information and advice have been invaluable.  She is so knowledgeable about a wide range of issues, in many areas around the state.  That, coupled with her great attitude was fantastic!  This note of recommendation for your outstanding assistance doesn't touch on all that I would to like to thank you for - but thank you!  You've made a great difference in our homeschool."......Janice Smith, Homeschooler, Renton, WA

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her college senior, whom she homeschooled from preK through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind.   She offers free homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?

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Copyright, 2018, All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer:

My blog and my homeschool help services are based on my experience as a homeschool mom.  I do not give legal, medical, OT advice, or do any educational assessments.  The decisions regarding the homeschool, it's curriculum, etc, is the province of the homeschooling family, in accordance with their state's homeschool law. 

This post was shared on my favorite linkups here.

Copyright, 2018, All Rights Reserved

Our Take on Positive Discipline -

Note - Does positive discipline work?  We found ways that it did in our house. #homeschool #positivediscipline  This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our  own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy.


I have often heard that sticker charts do not work with gifted kids.  But for us, they were a success.  And they became a big help in our efforts to use positive discipline with our young 2e daughter.

Star Charts

Early on, we started using star charts for our daughter's homeschooling.  She would earn stars or stickers for completing her homeschool activities and work.  

She loved earning stars, so much so that we often took trips to the Teacher's Book Store so she could choose her favorite stickers for her charts.  Earning stars or stickers for completing her work, became a positive part of our routine.  And actually helped us set up her daily routine.  Structure was needed for our daughter, who did best when she knew what was next.

Soon we added a few more things to her chart; other things such as bedtime routines, picking up her toys, doing chores, saying thank you's etc.  It depended upon the week.

As problem behaviors arose, I would task myself...."What behavior would be the opposite of the problem one?"  And then add that on and reinforce that opposing behavior.  And since she liked the star chart, it often worked.

For example, if my daughter's work got lost regularly, as it did, or got scattered around so we couldn't find it, I put the opposite of that on the star chart, ie keeping things somewhat organized.  That motivated our daughter to want to learn simple organizational methods.

She would win by organizing her homeschool stuff.  And she loved winning!  This helped the focus to be on the positive, organizing things, instead of the negative - "Did you loose that notebook again?"  (Disclosure - Was that ever said in our house...?  Well...yes.)

My psychology minor was actually helping me in some way!  We continuing with the star chart for some things for a number of years.  But of course it was not always a fit.  When there was something occurring that we needed to limit right away, we used time outs.

Time Outs and Feelings

We used time outs on many occasions.  Short time outs.  Sometimes it was just the thing to defuse the situation.

It gave me a time out too!

While it gave her time to calm, it also gave me a break from her intensities and my own reaction to her behavior, too.  I could rethink what happened and what I really wanted to say to her after the time out.

That discussion afterwards was the most important component for us.

I could support her and the feelings that were behind the behavior, then discuss the issue and alternatives that she could consider using the next time.

And since I focusing on discussing and supporting her feelings, that introduced the idea that we care about other people's feelings, too.  Because first, we cared about hers.

Dealing with Social Situations

We used community activities through the years, and feelings and such would come up after her classes or events, of course.

Making time after the class or activity, to talk about whatever happened was something we tried to build into her day.

That became a special time for us, hanging out on the couch... as she processed what had gone on.  We talk about her struggles re friendships, dealing with the group dynamics, etc.

Being a homeschooler made it easier for her to navigate social situations for two reasons.

First,there was much more time for her to think about what had happened, before and afterwards.  Secondly, there were less social situations to deal with, even though she had a lot of outside activities.  Still, it was a lot less pressure than she would have had in the daily social environment of a big classroom of kids.

And it also helped with her anxiety.

 During the teen years, she loved doing Youth and Government, where teens make up their own Mock Bills, debate them, and meet regularly throughout the year.

Then they all meet up in their state's capitals to do a Mock Youth Legislature for a week.  Having task oriented activities like these took the pressure off of the social interactions.

By the time she got to college, my teen was a leader on campus, starting a dance/hip hop club, and figuring out the social dynamics herself.

It was wonderful to watch her take on college and become quite a confident young adult, not that there are not still challenges that she brings home to talk about at times.

But she is ready to graduate this spring, knows what kind of job she wants to look for, and will soon be finding her way, out there in the "real world".

And I can't wait to see what happens next.

This is a post in the Gifted Homeschooler's Blog Hop on Discipline and the Gifted Child.  Please click here to read all the other great posts on this topic.

Thanks for stopping by,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college senior, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the earlyyears, highschool, college, gifted/2e 
and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, Facebook 

Copyright, 2018 

All Rights Reserved

Choosing Homeschool Curriculum with College in Mind -

Summary:  Choosing your homeschool high school curriculum for your college bound homeschooled teen, college entrance requirements, homeschool high school English curriculum, science, math, social studies, foreign language, frugal homeschool high school English curriculum.  

How to go from homeschool to college with the right curriculum for your teen. This post may include affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our own homeschool.  Please see my disclosure policy.

Choosing curriculum for your high schooler who is aiming towards college…Well, that really can’t be hard for us.  As families who are already homeschooling, we are experts at choosing curricula…..it’s almost a no brainer.

Handwriting Helps - Fine Motor Games -

Summary:  Tips for developing fine motor skills through games and other creative Occupational Therapy techniques.  This article outlines specific activities for hand strength, finger coordination, and for developing a mature grasp pattern.   Handwriting is an important skill for homeschooling elementary kids.  Easy ways to help children with handwriting problems.

Are your little ones struggling with writing their letters? Or do they have trouble holding their pencil comfortably, or grasp it very tightly? 

BJ's Guide to the Common Application -

Summary:  My Guide to the College Application is now a chapter in my book.  See the link below to purchase the book, if you like.Note - This post may included affiliate links to my ebook and book, in an effort to keep the prices of my books down. Please see my disclosure policy.

Do you have a high schooler who wants to go from homeschool to college?  Or do you have a senior who is already working on the Common Application this fall?

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind
 2nd Edition 

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind - 2nd edition, 

Paperback is at Amazon $11.99

and 
Kindle at $6.16

It lays out 10 easy steps for homeschool to college, and covers everything you need to help your teen get into the college of their choice, with 7 NEW chapters. Recommended by Lessa Scherrer, a certified college counselor and a homeschooling mama of 3.

Create your own unique and nurturing high school program for your teen and showcase their accomplishments to the colleges. 

The 17 Chapters include:

>Chapter 1 - How to Start Homeschooling if you are a Newbie
>Chapter 2 - 101 Reasons to Homeschool High School
>Chapter 3 - Researching and Getting Started
  Chapter 4 - Planning High School and Making a 4 Year Plan
>Chapter 5 - Choosing Your High School Curriculum
>Chapter 6 - Three Ways to High School Credit
>Chapter 7 - Making Your Teen's Transcripts
>Chapter 8 - 100 High School Electives
>Chapter 9 - Making Homemade Courses
>Chapter 10 - Writing a Winning College Essay
>Chapter 11 - Course Descriptions and Reference Letters
>Chapter 12 - The Common Application - Your GUIDE
>Chapter 13 - Preparing Your Teen for College Writing
>Chapter 14 - Dealing with College Testing SAT/ACT
>Chapter 15 - Top Sources for College Scholarships
>Chapter 16 - Dealing with “Those Questions” from Others
>Chapter 17 - Don’t Forget the FUN!

>There are 12 downloadable high school homeschool planning printables plus a transcript form for you to just fill in.

The kind of transcript form that the colleges are used to seeing.

For more info: Homeschooling High School with 

College in Mind - 2nd Edition

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, Facebook 

No spam ever.  
Just encouragement for your homeschool in your inbox.

Copyright, 2018 
All Rights Reserved

Choosing Your Homeschool High School Curriculum -

Summary:  How to choose your homeschool high school curriculum.  How your teen's interests can guide you.  What colleges look for as far as high school core courses from homeschoolers.  Choosing your high school homeschool curriculum and how the college entrance requirements inpacts that.  Our favorite choices for homeschool high school English, math, science, social studies, language and more.  Note - This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our  own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy.

Do you have a teen whom you want to homeschool next year?  Or are you already doing high school at home?

Frugal SAT/ACT/CLT PREP Resources and Test Taking Strategies

Summary:  Here are our favorite frugal or free interactive prep resources for SAT and ACT testing.  Test taking strategies, too, plus why do the PSAT?  How to help teens who are not good at testing is discussed below. This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our  own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy. #satprep #actprep #homeschoolhighschool

Does the thought of having your teen take the SAT or the ACT give you pause? 

It is so nice to see some that some colleges in our area are dropping the SAT/ACT requirements.  But most colleges are not doing that.  (Be sure to check with your teen's likely colleges.)

Homeschooled applicants are still often asked to do these college tests, even if they are not required for the public school applicants.  

Please catch this - Did you know that the ACT/SAT, along with your student's GPA are the two most important factors in getting merit scholarships?

Today I'd like to share how we went about dealing with the SAT, including preparing for it in the early years of high school, scheduling it, and doing the actual SAT prep.

Since this is sort of a dry topic,  I have included some pictures of my college junior's fun times at college, to help us keep our eyes...on the prize, so to speak, lol.

Back to the SAT.  Let's start with early preparations....

Preparing For the SAT - In 9th Grade

Since my daughter was uncomfortable with test taking, we started adding in tests and quizes, just for practice, during her 8th and 9th grades years.   It was easy to do, by choosing curricula that offered some testing along with it, such as Switched On Schoolhouse.

This practice helped to build up confidence for later SAT testing.  We made sure that she had practice with testing not only in math, but also in the softer subjects, like Social Studies and English.  If you haven't done this ahead of time, there is always time to build that in now.

Once she had built up her confidence in test taking skills, she was ready to try her hand at the PSAT.....

Taking the PSAT

We did the PSAT in 10th grade.  Why?  Again, it was for practice.  Most families do the PSAT in 11th grade, when it counts for the Merit Scholarship awards.  But we did it in both grades. And for us, the practice was worth it.  You know your student, and of course, we all know that each one is different and has unique needs.

The PSAT is usually given at the public schools, in October, only once a year.  We called our local ps and scheduled it.  We did that in early September to be sure that we could get it all arranged.

Our next step was to decide when to take the SAT itself.....

Scheduling the SAT

The SAT is offered 6 to 8 times a year.  It is helpful to have already had Geometry and Algebra 2 before taking the SAT.  So we decided to aim for taking the SAT during spring of 11th grade.  Some families do it earlier.  

Register for the SAT here.  The College Board is now offering Spring testing times for the SAT in March, May and June this year, 2021.

For more information on available testing sites, etc please click here - 

PSAT and SAT Coronavirus Updates

  

We began studying for the SAT, then, in winter quarter.  Why do SAT prep?  Even if your student is rockin' it in English and Math, they are sure to encounter different types of questions in the SAT test itself.  The questions vary a lot from what they would see in their high school courses.  

SAT prep is so valuable as it helps your teen learn how the test works, and to become familiar with what the questions will look like.  

After her first SAT test, we considered whether we wanted to go ahead and do the SAT again.....

Take the SAT again?

This is a question that often comes up re college testing.  Is it really necessary to take the test again, to try to raise up the scores?  

I see two considerations here, for retesting....or not.  First, looking at the scores, do they reflect your student's abilities?  If yes, then why retest?  If not, if you think that the scores are really lower than your student's ability, then it may make sense to test again.  For us, testing stress was a big factor.

The other factor in play is the specific college or colleges that your student is considering.  If you wonder what a specific college is looking for, regarding test scores, it is not hard to find out.  

So, for us went online, and checked with our colleges.  Each of our colleges had the average SAT scores of incoming freshmen on their websites.  We compared them to my teen's scores, and decided to take the opportunity to retest again in the fall. 

Just an aside - Re-testing just to get into a prestious college may not be a good idea.  If a student has prepared and the scores seem to reflect their abilities, then maybe it is not the best idea to re-test.

If a student gets into a college that they really are not ready for, based on high scores from multiple re-tests, then they may end up where they were not meant to be.  That it might, after all, not be a good fit.

For us, we did a second test, and we set up more formal SAT prep, even making it it's own course.  We called it College Planner, and assigned it one/half credit.  And this credit was accepted by our colleges!  I'll be blogging more about that homemade course at a later date.

Next, let's look at resources for studying for that SAT test.  What did we use for our SAT prep? .
My friend Jean, also has advice on Prepping for the SAT.

SAT Prep Resources


Here's our favorites for SAT Prep, and some new resources that have popped up since my teen took her test.

1.  TestRocker SAT, ACT, PSAT Resources offers tons of free or frugal resources for test prep and also encouragement for us mamas.

2.  Daily Practice for the New SAT - One question a day, from College Board

3.  A FREE/FRUGAL/ SAT TEST PREP - The site called 1600.io offers a comprehensive list of free and frugal low cost SAT Prep resources, from live virtual classes to on-demand viewing classes to use anytime. Plus a well known SAT Strategy Video Course. 

They offer a FREE BUNDLE of SAT Prep Resources.

Also, for the Math portion of the SAT, they have a very approachable, easy to use frugal book for that, called the 1600.io SAT Math Orange Book. On Amazon for less than $30.00.  Volume 2 is here.

4.  Khan Academy SAT Prep - They have come together, Khan Academy and the College Board, to provide expert college test practice, working together.  They will give your student personalized practice on the things that they need the most.  Wow!  Wish we had this option when my teen was preparing for her test.  Here is how to link your PSAT scores with Khan Academy, right here. It sounds complicated, but it is really easy to set up. 

5.  Official SAT Practice Tests  also available.

6.  Hack the SAT  I liked Hack the SAT because it is so approachable. This author shares tips and how tos for dealing with the types of questions that can stump even well educated students.  And he does this is a very easy to understand manner!  Read more of my review here.

7.  Free e-books from Prep Scholar They offer many free e-books on the SAT, including 200 vocabulary words to study, and much more.

8.  The folks at eTap Personal Assistance Program  offer personalized assessment and test prep for SAT, ACT as well as the GED for those students who decide to do that instead.  Please go to eTap Personal Assistance Program for more information via YouTube.

ACT Prep Resources

We didn't use the ACT, but many homeschoolers prefer it.  Most colleges give you a choice of either one, the SAT or the ACT.

Here are our recommendations for ACT prep:

1.  Free ACT Test Prep from Union Test Prep - Including practice tests, flash cards and study guides

2.  ACT Online Prep - FREE online ACT test practice using sample test questions from ACT tests from earlier years.

3.  The Real ACT Test Book - On Amazon

4.  Barron's ACT Math and Science Workbook -  Exercises in Math and Science, plus sample tests and solutions

5.  SAT and ACT Grammar Workbook - Detailed grammar review and more

6.  My friend, Meryl from Funda Funda Academy offer a FRUGAL ACT Introduction Self Paced Class to prepare your student for the ACT testing.

The CLT - Classic Learning Test

The CLT is a new test designed for college bound teens.  It is an alternative to the SAT/ACT and is accepted by 150 colleges across the country.  Many colleges that accept the CLT offer academic scholarships to high scoring studies.

We did not use that test, but it is becoming more widely accepted throughout the U.S. for college admissions testing as well.

For more information on the CLT, please click here - The CLT Test

For me, the most important thing to consider with the SAT or the ACT or the CLT, and really everything about homeschooling, is that each child/teen is different, and has unique needs.

Isn't that why we chose to homeschool?

Amazon 

on Amazon and FREE to read with PRIME

This book is an easy-to-read guide to high school for homeschoolers, recently updated with 7 NEW chapters, including:

- My homeschoolers guide to the Common Application

- How to write the Counselor Recommendation Letter

- Where to find college scholarships

-  How to make your own homemade courses

-  12 homeschool high school planning printables to make your record-keeping easier.

 For even more tips and great resources on Preparing For the SAT, click here, and read what 7 Sisters Homeschool advises.  It iis full of helpful and even fun ideas!

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, Facebook 

No spam ever. 
 Just encouragement for your homeschool
 in your inbox.

Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2022 Revised