I signed up as a homeschooler* for Big History Project and I've been working my way through the teaching lessons and planning. For those not familiar with it, Big History Project is a big picture online curriculum that integrates science, history, reading, writing and critical thinking. It can count as a high school English, Science or World History credit depending on how you set up. There are multiple lesson plans already available for different age ranges and abilities. Best yet, it is FREE! Bill Gates was excited to support this open source curriculum.after watching David Christian's Ted Talk The History of the World in 18 Minutes. *click on sign up as a teacher and in the school name drop-down menu "homeschool" is at the bottom of the list. 

I plan to use it for the full year as a spine and integrate as much as possible into it. I will have an 11 year old (6th grade) and a 12 year old (7th grade). I combine quite a bit, but for some things I need to separate them. I'll be working with them on writing essays, time management and study skills. I plan to enroll them in a charter school next year so I want them to be prepared for testing and timed lessons. 




Here's what all I'll be using in addition to Big History Project. I will be posting my tentative schedule once I've nailed it down a little more. 

Sample Unit 1 Lesson Plan (Google Doc)
It's really a list of the pre-made BHP lesson plan so I can check off as we go along with the schedule, subject breakdown and timeline, along with a list of resources. We tend to go off on rabbit trails and supplement a lot, so I like to have a lot of resources on hand. 

If you want to make it easy on yourself or skip signing up online, there is the DK Big History book that covers every Threshold, every topic that the online component uses in one book. It is written for middle school students. You can use it as a spine for history and science or as is. Of course DK means all of the pages are full of colorful images. It is a huge, heavy book that is available in hardcover only. I would prefer it on the Kindle only because I have two kids and buying two (three if you count me) copies gets bulky and expensive.

For Elementary Students I recommend A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson  

Science 

• Everything You Need to Ace Science in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide - My kids really like this book. I like it because it covers all of the key science principles they will need to know to move onto high school science. 
• Labs from various resources
• MEL Chemistry: I've been saving these up for fun demos.  
• Reading
• Omnivore's Dilemma Young Readers Edition 
• The Way We Work
• StarTalk Young Readers Edition by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Daily Reading Discussions

• What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Munroe, Randall
• The Kids' Book of Questions by Stock Ph.D., Gregory

Philosophy

• The Ultimate Star Trek and Philosophy: The Search for Socrates
• Great Courses Plus: Science Fiction as Philosophy - selected lectures

• The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott - I happen to love this series specifically for Big History because it brings together characters from mythology and history while working in multiple time periods. It is also a long series that could last the whole year. It's fun to read on the Kindle because we can look up all of the references as we go along. 

Penmanship: Master Writer: Science and Philosopher topics
Math: Lials Basic College Math (11yo) and Lials PreAlgebra (12yo)
Logic: BHP Claims testing, Media Literacy, YouTube playlist
Spelling: MegaWords
Vocabulary: Big History Project has built-in vocabulary. 
Media List: My Media List on Google Docs includes all of the related books, movies, documentaries, lectures, and podcasts I found. The list is too long to list here.

After working out many, many different plans, I signed my oldest up with Connections Academy. He will be entering 9th and I think we both need to give this a try. I had planned to homeschool him through high school and I had even bought some of the curriculum while it was on sale, but after quite a few discussions with my moody, indecisive, and somewhat mute son, (life decisions at 14 is just not fair) we decided we needed to go with an accredited school. Some of the colleges that have the major he is interested in require an accredited diploma or a GED. GED is not an option, so accredited it is. And so began my search.

He stated he did not want to go to a brick and mortar high school. He likes keeping his own schedule. Being  a night owl, he likes to work at night. He's always been easy. A self-starter, disciplined, box-checker, independent learner, I've never had to work hard at keeping him on track. I looked into all of the available charter schools in the area. We've had a few open, but none that jumped out at me. I looked into American School and considered that for a long time. It's a good program, but I didn't like the College Prep Track, there was too much I would have wanted to change. It is affordable and is known as a solid checks the boxes to pursue other interests type of school. Then I looked at all of the university high schools.
There's :

• BYU Independent Study
• Stanford Online High School (please excuse the drool)
• Texas Tech University (TTUISD) - Excellent program
• University of Texas High School
• Indiana University 
• University of Nebraska High School
• University of Missouri High School

So all of this searching, lead us back to the online charter we used when he was in 5th. Our plan is 2 years with the online charter, then 2 years at an early college charter.There are a number of reasons we ended up here. First off, we've used them before and know what to expect. Second, at this stage, I would like to make sure he's prepared for the early college program. I'm afraid that if I went with something that is more flexible like BYU or American School he would be losing a valuable lesson in juggling schedules, other teachers, different standards and requirements. He's always completed work on time or near that, but having tests all on the same day or papers due all at once, I'd rather he get used to that now, than when he's in college. Finally, it came down to cost. We could afford American School with the payment plan and possibly BYU Independent Study with the scholarship program (every 6th class is free if you get grades above B), but was it that worth it to me? I figure if he really hates the online charter, we could drop it and use BYU Independent Study. Despite the affiliation with BYU, it is a secular high school program, it's also accredited, affordable and highly respected.

Obviously, this wasn't an easy decision. I'm not looking forward to the stricter 9-month schedule. The monthly calls and other various hoops I will be forced to jump through. I'm also excited to see how he does with these new demands. Admittedly, it will be a little bit of a relief to place myself in the supportive role, rather than purely the teaching role. Don't get me wrong, I'll be by his side a lot the first few weeks to make sure he's adjusting and to guide him through this transition. I'll also happily help set up Biology labs and explain Geometry, but to have someone else do the grading of papers will provide a small bit of satisfaction.

The early college charter I plan to transfer him to his Junior year pays for all of his courses at the community college. They have a fantastic support system for the students. They require a preparation course for attending college and meet once a month about various subjects relating to studying and college choices. They offer tutoring and other means of support. They require volunteer work.

His 9th grade courses are:

• Honors English
• Honors Biology
• Geometry
• Honors World History
• German
• PE/Physical Fitness

He'll be working towards an Advanced Honors diploma. The only thing I'm worried about is that it requires 2 Honors math units. While he's finally clicking with Algebra I, I'm afraid that is pushing it. So I put off Honors math for now to see how he does. If he doesn't get the math honors courses, then he'll receive an Advanced diploma, which is still college prep. From what I'm told, the Honors courses are a lot like the Gifted courses he took there in 5th. They require some extra work and reading, but it was manageable for him.

I do need to ask to see if he can receive credit for his high school level geography and health courses I gave him. My state gives 3 options to attain credit.

1. Assessment - proctored mid-term or final exam
2. Portfolio - student work reviewed by a teacher in the subject
3. Competency - applicable to sequential subjects like math or foreign language