Home Education Docs

Devoted to my mom for devoting her love and time to homeschooling my three siblings and me. Your endurance and love is with out bounds.

Homeschooling with Final Freedom

Homeschoolers have freedom with out parallel. To imitate a public or non-public college curriculum is a waste of this freedom. This information takes benefit of our freedom and descriptions the precise educational curriculum for a homeschool pupil to get accepted into medical college. It tells the important thing to studying at age three, reaching close to excellent SAT scores, taking school lessons at age fourteen and buying acceptance letters to Ivy League faculties. Consider it or not, this isn’t that tough. It doesn’t require learning eight hours a day. It requires much less. I had way more free time than my public college associates. My three youthful siblings additionally had extra free time. I’m now a medical pupil at Columbia College, School of Physicians and Surgeons. My siblings and I all learn at age three, scored within the high percentiles on the SAT and obtained close to excellent grades in school. We have been all college students of the identical homeschool curriculum and technique. This information comprises the important thing methods, curricula and timelines for any homeschool pupil to realize educational superiority.

Under is probably the most fundamental timeline of your pupil’s main educational achievements. Though I start at age three, a pupil can hop on board at any age. The identical general technique applies-just the timeline will most likely be completely different.

Age (yrs) Milestone
3 Studying
9 Algebra
14 Enroll in school lessons
15 Rating above 98th percentile on SAT I; Rating above 700 on SAT IIs; Calculus
16 – 17 Acceptance to “Most Aggressive” School
22 Acceptance to Ivy League medical college (if you would like)

Perception #1: “Give Your Little one a Superior Thoughts”

That is the title of a e book by the creator Siegfried Engelmann. Get it. The e book is now not in print, however used copies may be discovered on Amazon.com. It’s a real gem with timeless teachings. Use this e book as a information to start educating your youngster at age three.

To show your youngster find out how to learn, use the e book Educate Your Little one to Learn in 100 Simple Classes. Your youngster shall be studying earlier than his or her fourth birthday.

Backside Line: Starting at age three, train the next books to your younger prodigy.

Title: Give Your Little one a Superior Thoughts
Authors: Siegfried and Therese Engelmann
Pub Date: 1981

Title: Educate your Little one to Learn in 100 Simple Classes
Authors: Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox, Elaine Bruner
Pub Date: 1986

Perception #2: Studying and Arithmetic (that is it)

Studying and arithmetic ought to devour 80% of your pupil’s schooling from age three to 13. Wait! However what about historical past, political science, biology, chemistry and the opposite topics? Absolutely these topics MUST be necessary as a result of they make up most of a public or non-public college curriculum. Fallacious! To not say that these topics are unimportant, however, moderately, a pupil with a robust studying comprehension and math background can study them in a short time. In different phrases, it is rather simple to “catch up” in these topics.

Sturdy studying comprehension = 3.91 school GPA in historical past, philosophy and literature

I enrolled at Windfall School with virtually no historical past background. I knew some particulars concerning the Revolutionary Conflict, Civil Conflict and World Wars, however that was about it. One of many cornerstone programs at Windfall School is the Development of Western Civilization (“Civ”). It’s a five-credit course that’s taken each semester throughout freshman and sophomore yr. The course covers historical past, philosophy, literature and faith from the Historic Greeks to the autumn of the Berlin Wall. With just about no background in Civ, I completed the Honors course collection with all A’s. I’m not bragging and am not gifted. It simply seems that learning these “fluff” topics all all through childhood is a waste of time. In fact, in case your pupil finds these topics attention-grabbing, then encourage additional examine! Particularly, because it nonetheless entails studying. My youngest brother loves studying historical past and would spend hours studying the encyclopedia. Nevertheless, it was essential that this ardour didn’t detract from his math research. It did not and he scored within the 99th percentile on the SAT I.

Sturdy math background = 4.00 school GPA in physics, chemistry and calculus

Simply as studying is vital for fulfillment within the fluff topics, math is crucial for fulfillment in chemistry, physics and, properly, extra math. I’ve seen tons of of pre-med college students get poor grades in chemistry, physics and calculus due to dangerous math backgrounds. Math is the spine of those problem-solving topics.

Whereas a robust reader can stroll into her first school historical past class with virtually no background information and ace the course, she most likely might NOT do the identical within the pre-medical programs. Stick with me although, as a result of she’s going to catch up and be a famous person within the sciences by age sixteen (this shall be addressed in Half II, Perception #8). With this technique, I graduated from Windfall School with a 4.0 GPA within the pre-medical sciences. Equally, all of my siblings have gained awards for constantly stellar performances within the sciences.

Backside Line: From age three to 13, 80% of your pupil’s schooling ought to be targeted on studying and math. The remaining 20% may be spent learning different topics with a bias towards the sciences.

Perception #3: Math… Math… and extra Math

I can not stress sufficient the significance of a robust math background. The next books are what I used for my math schooling and are extremely beneficial. The Saxon math books are very difficult and repetitive. It is a bear to many college students, but it surely engrains a math basis surpassed by few. Under is a timeline of what math books to make use of at completely different ages:

Age (yrs) Math Degree Guide Collection, Creator
4-8 Math Workbooks 1 – 16 Developmental Math Workbooks, George Saad, PhD
8 Math 76 Saxon Publishers, John Saxon
9 Algebra ½
10 – 11 Algebra 1
12 Algebra 2
13 – 14 Superior Arithmetic
15 – 16 Calculus

Developmental Math Workbooks: Completion of those books would require energetic participation of the homeschooling guardian. They’re merely workbooks, so you need to train the coed find out how to carry out the fundamental math features (i.e. including, division, fractions, decimals).

Saxon Math books: Every lesson within the Saxon Math books teaches the mathematics perform that’s utilized within the respective downside set. Apart from Math 76 (which ought to be studied at an accelerated tempo), the coed ought to full no less than one lesson a day. As the coed progresses by way of Algebra ½, she ought to require much less and fewer of the homeschooling guardian’s time. By the point the coed completes Algebra ½, she ought to be studying many of the classes herself with solely occasional assist.

Backside Line: Math might be an important topic within the pupil’s schooling and ought to be the first focus each college day.

Perception #4: Studying (plenty of it)

A powerful studying background is simply as necessary as a robust math background. The books that I beforehand talked about in Perception #1 by the creator Siegfried Engelmann are extremely beneficial by my mother and father. Nevertheless, my mother and father imagine that the studying program that we used subsequently was not excellent. This system we used from ages 5 to eight years old was Whole Studying. Though this program labored okay for us, I’m not going to totally endorse it as I do the opposite books/applications. I like to recommend doing a little online analysis and discovering a studying program that’s higher.

When the coed is about ten years old, I like to recommend beginning the e book collection Vocabulary from Classical Roots, by Nancy and Norma Fifer. This program teaches vocabulary by specializing in the Latin and Greek roots widespread to many phrases. It’s key to know these roots for the SAT I verbal part. The SAT I verbal part contains an unlimited number of obscure and tough phrases. To memorize the dictionary as a way to do properly on this part of the SAT I is pointless (and never value your time). Once I took the SAT, vocabulary was examined in sentence completions and analogies. Out of about forty vocabulary questions on the SAT, I solely bought one incorrect. The SAT doesn’t require the coed to know the precise definition of every phrase; moderately, he solely must have a fundamental understanding of every phrase’s which means. Vocabulary from Classical Roots gave me the power to infer the meanings of phrases that I had by no means seen earlier than and, in flip, do properly on the SAT verbal part.

Along with the above studying curricula, the coed ought to frequently learn, learn, learn. Studying tough materials shall be immensely useful for bettering his studying comprehension. All through my youth, I learn many classical books (i.e. Odyssey, Conflict and Peace, Treasure Island).

Backside Line: Your pupil ought to learn as a lot as attainable (each leisurely and as a part of a program). Whole Studying is the studying program that my family used from ages 5 to eight; nevertheless, I like to recommend researching one other studying program that may give even higher outcomes. At round age ten, the coed ought to start studying vocabulary from Vocabulary from Classical Roots. Under is the information on the aforementioned books.

Title: Whole Studying
Creator: Whole Studying, Inc.
Pub. Date: New editions accessible

Title: Vocabulary from Classical Roots
Creator: Nancy Fifer and Norma Fifer
Pub. Date: 1998

Perception #5: A powerful reader can shortly turn into an ideal author

Till I took a school writing class at age sixteen, I had by no means written a paper longer than two double spaced pages. My first writing composition class was a freshman writing seminar at Kalamazoo School. I obtained an A- within the class, but it surely was most likely probably the most difficult school class I ever took. Along with my studying program, one of many solely different elements of my homeschool curriculum that I’d suggest altering is the writing part. There isn’t any want in your pupil to put in writing papers on daily basis, however he most likely ought to have written no less than a dozen analysis papers earlier than school. So, he ought to begin writing papers periodically at age fourteen and can then simply receive A’s in school writing lessons. By the point I used to be a sophomore at Windfall School, my analysis, artistic writing and philosophy papers have been used as examples within the class. My siblings all obtained A’s of their school writing lessons as properly.

Whereas writing turns into a big a part of the coed’s curriculum at age fourteen, the mechanics of writing (i.e. grammar) ought to be discovered earlier than then. Beginning at age eleven, I used the Simple Grammar 56 Workbook to study superior grammar. At age twelve, I started learning the subsequent e book within the collection, Simple Grammar Plus Workbook.

Backside Line: A powerful reader has the potential to be an ideal author. The coed ought to begin writing papers frequently at age fourteen. To study the mechanics of writing, he ought to examine the next workbooks beginning at age eleven and ending by age fourteen.

Title: Simple Grammar Workbook 56
Creator: Wanda Phillips
Pub. Date: 1994

Title: Simple Grammar Plus Workbook
Creator: Wanda Phillips
Pub. Date: 2007

Perception #6: Age fourteen: Main curricula change

In case you paid consideration to the ages within the earlier insights, it might appear that there’s a ton of “catching up” to do starting at age fourteen. It could appear to be your pupil does not have sufficient hours in a day to do all of it. This isn’t true. Between ages 13 and fourteen, the coed’s homeschool curriculum adjustments drastically. For instance, now not is math the first focus. Really, solely about 10% of the coed’s time ought to be spent on Saxon math. By age 13, the coed ought to have already got a math background that may assure a close to excellent math SAT rating and straightforward A’s in school calculus. So, the vast majority of time that was beforehand spent on math will now be used for SAT preparation. Equally, the time beforehand spent studying will now be transformed to the examine of chemistry. Lastly, the quantity of writing will greater than double at this age. Under is an approximate schedule exhibiting this curricula re-focus.

Age (yrs) Topic Examine Time Allotment (%)
3-13 Math 40
Studying 40
Bodily and pure sciences 10
Writing 5
Historical past, geography, and so forth. 5
14 Math (Saxon) 10
Studying Comprehension 10
Chemistry 35
Writing 15
SAT Prep 30

Backside Line: The depth of your pupil’s examine will improve a bit bit at age fourteen. Nevertheless, your pupil’s new research (i.e. SAT prep, school chemistry, writing) ought to all come simple along with his superior math and studying abilities.

Perception #7: SAT, 99th percentile at age fifteen

So your homeschool pupil is now fourteen years old and shall be making use of to school in a few years. Private and non-private college college students will go to their counselor’s workplace and request a duplicate of their official highschool transcripts mailed to Harvard, MIT, and so forth. They’ll have the college seal on the envelope and counselor’s signature on the transcript. On the opposite hand, you’ll go to your phrase processor program on the family laptop, write what you suppose resembles a highschool transcript after which signal it as the coed’s counselor. Little question, Harvard would possibly weigh your pupil’s 4.0 GPA transcript a bit in a different way than his non-public or public college friends. So, acing the SAT might be the most important step towards validating your pupil’s home schooling. I problem any admissions committee member to take a look at your pupil’s 2200 (~99th percentile) rating on the SAT I and say that his home schooling was inferior. On the opposite hand, in case you submit his 4.0 GPA transcripts alongside a 1700 SAT rating, admission committees are most likely not going to be impressed.

So, the SAT is a very large deal. How and when does the coed begin getting ready for it? He ought to take a few SAT I apply checks at age twelve. Then, tailor the research a bit based mostly on the outcomes. If his studying comprehension rating is under 550, begin shopping for studying comprehension books. If his math rating is low, properly I am really undecided what to do. It is extremely exhausting to catch up in math. That is why this can be very necessary to primarily give attention to math as much as this age. I assure in case you observe this information, you may be impressed together with your pupil’s math SAT rating. All three of my siblings and myself scored above 700 on this part (really, we now have a mixed common rating of 760, which is about two incorrect on the entire math part).

The coed ought to plan on taking the SAT I at age fifteen. This implies begin getting ready at age fourteen. It could take as much as a yr of SAT preparation earlier than the coed is able to ace the check. Don’t fret although. This learning isn’t ineffective as soon as the check is over. Reasonably, it is going to simply additional hone his math, studying and writing abilities.

Concerning the mechanics of learning for the SAT, make WRITTEN targets. Write out a timeline main as much as your check date and set targets alongside the way in which. Under is an instance purpose chart began six months earlier than the check date. Take word how it’s front-loaded (larger rating will increase early on) as a result of it’s more durable to achieve additional factors as your rating climbs.

Date Math Part Verbal Part Writing Part
01/01/2011 660 620 640
02/01/2011 700 660 680
03/01/2011 730 690 710
04/01/2011 750 710 730
05/01/2011 770 720 740
06/01/2011 790 730 750
06/03/2011 *Take a look at Date

SAT Prep Books: Kaplan and Princeton’s SAT preparation books are strong. Additionally, CollegeBoard’s SAT information is essential. This e book comprises precise SAT I exams from previous check dates and are excellent for measuring your progress. Nevertheless, do not take too many of those useful checks too quickly. In any other case, the coed will run out of official apply checks months earlier than the check date.

Backside Line: The coed’s robust math and studying background will allow her to realize a SAT I rating within the 98th to 99th Percentile at age fifteen (two years earlier than your friends will take the check). Set written targets and milestones for the SAT I relationship no less than 4 to 6 months earlier than the check date. Purchase the next SAT prep books:

• Most up-to-date editions of Kaplan SAT Math, Verbal and Writing workbooks
• Most up-to-date editions of Princeton Evaluate SAT Math, Verbal and Writing workbooks
• Most up-to-date version of CollegeBoard’s SAT examine information

Perception #8: SAT IIs (required for many of the Ivies)

The SAT IIs are required for admission into many of the high faculties, particularly for homeschool candidates. Once more, these checks validate your pupil’s homeschool schooling. Many of the high colleges require about three SAT IIs. There are near a dozen completely different SAT II topic checks starting from math and chemistry to international languages and historical past. In fact, decide the topic checks which can be your pupil’s strengths. In case you adopted this information, then her most favorable SAT II topic checks are most likely Math (IC or IIC), Chemistry and Literature. Studying and math are her strengths, so the mathematics and literature topic checks ought to be simple. Chemistry must also be simple. She could have taken two school chemistry lessons earlier than taking the chemistry topic check (to be mentioned in Perception #9). For the reason that literature and math SAT IIs are much like the verbal and math sections of the SAT I, she ought to most likely take the SAT IIs inside three months of taking the SAT I.

Backside Line: The coed ought to take the SAT IIs that may present her strengths. Except your pupil was a historical past buff, or studied a international language, she’s going to most likely do greatest on the Math, Literature and Chemistry topic checks. By age sixteen, she ought to be armed with SAT I and SAT II scores which can be properly above 700 in every respective part.

Perception #9: School lessons at age fourteen

Irrespective of the school, probably the most daunting pre-medical “screener” lessons is chemistry. I’ve seen tons of of bushytailed pre-medical college students have their medical skilled goals crushed in school chemistry. Most of the time, these college students take normal chemistry for the primary time whereas juggling different tough lessons corresponding to normal biology and calculus. Moreover, these college students are nonetheless making the psychological adjustment from highschool to school. Little question they wrestle typically chemistry! For homeschool college students, it’s extremely simple to keep away from this unforgiving scenario. Your pupil ought to merely take normal chemistry at an area school whereas nonetheless homeschooling (generally referred to as “twin enrollment”). Firstly, the coed could have a easy transition to the school ambiance. Secondly, the coed will solely have one school class to give attention to as a substitute of 4 to 5 lessons. Thirdly, he can re-take these lessons for straightforward A’s at his Ivy League college 초등독서.

Let me discuss for a pair minutes about this final strategic step-re-taking lessons. My family’s method was to take the tough pre-medical science lessons (Normal Chemistry, Natural Chemistry, Normal Biology and Normal Physics) at an area school that was solely ranked “aggressive” based on Barron’s Information to Faculties. We referred to as this school our “highschool school.” Then, we’d apply as freshman to higher-powered faculties, which we referred to as our “real school.” In different phrases, our highschool school served the identical function as AP lessons for public college college students. We’d then re-take these pre-medical science lessons at our real school to realize simple A’s. You will need to word that the grades at our highschool school nonetheless rely when making use of to medical college. Medical colleges issue each school class the applicant ever takes into his school GPA. Additionally, the grades out of your pupil’s highschool school shall be despatched to his real school when he applies. So, it is very important decide a highschool school that is not too difficult. You need him to get A’s in these lessons.

Along with normal chemistry, earlier than enrolling in your real school, you must also take school biology, physics, natural chemistry and a writing class. (To economize on these lessons, apply to your highschool school to turn into a full time pupil. By age fifteen, you’ll have already got stellar SAT scores and may get a scholarship.) By age sixteen to seventeen, your pupil shall be able to ace any pre-medical science class that Harvard or MIT has to supply.

Under is the next timeline of the lessons I took:

Age (yrs) Semester Courses
14 Fall Introductory Chemistry
15 Winter Normal Chemistry I
15 Fall Natural Chemistry I
16 Winter Normal Chemistry II
16 Fall Normal Biology I, Freshman Writing Seminar
17 Winter Normal Physics II, Normal Biology II

Backside Line: Beginning at age fourteen, start taking school lessons. For the primary yr, till the SATs are accomplished, take one class a semester, ideally the overall chemistries (so as to take natural chemistry the subsequent semester). Then, full no less than the primary semester of the opposite pre-medical sciences and a writing class by age seventeen.

Perception #10: Making use of to the Ivies

You’ll apply to the highest college of your selection one yr early and your utility ought to look one thing like this:

• 2200 on SAT I
• 790 on SAT II Chemistry
• 740 on SAT II Math
• 720 on SAT II Literature
• 4.0 GPA in Normal Chemistry I and II, Natural Chemistry I,
Normal Biology I and II, Normal Physics I
• Extracurriculars (following this information, you must have loads of time to play
sports activities, enter spelling bees, volunteer locally, and so forth.)

Good Luck!