Transcripts

That dreaded word! I know many people hear that word and start to tremble, I know, because I was one of them. A year ago last December, my then 17 year old son, decided he wanted to graduate in the Spring. He had plenty of credits, he was already taking classes at the local community college for dual enrollment, all he needed was a transcript so he could apply for scholarships. I was in a bit of a panic since I thought I had a year to supply this when in reality I only had about a month! So, to hopefully spare some of you this panic, I thought I would share a few things that helped me get his transcript together.

I had all his grades, so that was not a problem, but getting it all on paper was the challenge for me. I did some poking around, and soon discovered that most Christian colleges have transcript templates for homeschoolers. I soon found one that I liked, and easily downloaded it to my computer. Next came the challenge of assigning credits and naming his coursework.

After digging through posts on the Sonlight Forums, I came up with all the information I needed: how to assign titles for his High School cores, how to assign credits, and which other pertinent information should be included on a transcript. If you are a member of the Forums, I strongly recommend that you visit the Parents of High Schoolers forum for some terrific help. If you are not a member of the Forums I would suggest that you check out a few of these sites that also offer great tips and information: Transcripts A to Z, Create Professional Homeschool Transcripts, Homeschool Legal Defense. There are many resources out there, some are free, and some you can purchase. I have listed a few just to get you started.

Hopefully I have helped you get going, but if you need any other help, please drop me a comment and I'll be happy to share anything else I might know!

Lessons Learned from three Homeschool Guys

My son and two of his best friends did this video for a Christian Filmmakers contest over the weekend. Josh was one of the actors, Nate wrote it, and Ethan filmed and edited it. I thought it was very thoughtful and wanted to share what they did. Please give it a watch.




This video is one that Ethan made as a testimony to God during his struggle with leukemia. He was first diagnosed in February 2008. He has until Feb. 2011 to be done with all of his treatments.

To Test or Not to Test . . . .

My 13 year old daughter just finished taking the Stanford test this week, and that got me thinking about the value of testing. Some folks wonder if there is a benefit in having their kids tested. We personally don't do a lot of testing, but we do have them tested on a semi-regular basis, and here some of the reasons why.

One of the things that I believe testing does, is to help me as the teacher know which subjects I am adequately teaching my children and where they may need help. If they are falling behind in a subject, or need assistance in a subject, the test results can be helpful in finding out where their weakness may lie and thus enabling me to address that weakness.

I think another good reason to test your child would be to help them get used to the idea of taking tests - to take out the fear factor. If they have plans to go to college, trade school, Bible school, or most any further education after high school, they will need to get used to the idea of taking tests. I don't think it is a bad thing to prepare them for that event. Something as simple as filling in an oval, which we may take for granted, is something that a homeschooled child may have never have done before.

Also, we have found that testing before they enter high school has enabled them to be a part of the homeschool honor society Theta Zeta. Not only does being a member of Theta Zeta look good on a resume, but it provides great leadership opportunities and a chance to serve others in the community as well.

Lastly, testing in high school is often required for students to get the good student discount if they will be getting their driver's license at 16. Usually a student needs to be in the top 20% to receive the discounted price. If you have a young driver, (we will soon have two) you will appreciate that discount as it is substantial!

So as you ponder whether or not you should test your child, I hope the above information has helped you make that decision.

The Cost of Home Education

Over the years I have had several folks tell me that Sonlight is too expensive and that they could never afford it, so they trudge on using workbooks or going to the library. It is true that homeschooling isn't free, but I do think it is important to think about where you want to invest your money.

I was fortunate that I found Sonlight at the beginning of our homeschooling experience. Since I graduated one last year, I have every core that Sonlight offers and my expenses for my other children are very minimal since there are so few consumables with Sonlight. Yes, I made the initial investment of the cores, but once they are purchased there is little needed after that.

My husband is a pastor of a small church, so we have never had a lot of "extra income," but Sonlight was one thing I didn't want to cut back on. Some of the things I did to help pay for our Sonlight was to take on extra jobs (did you know election judges in our county make $150 a day?), cash in aluminum cans, sell things online, and cut back wherever possible. Yes, that meant we didn't eat out a lot, or have a lot of new things, but I was able to give my kids the education that I wanted them to have, using a curriculum that I truly believed in. Other folks have used their income tax check, or budgeted for it monthly. Sonlight also offers an option to make your payments over several months for a small fee.

However you pay for your homeschooling materials, the time to start planning for it is now!

SONLIGHT IS GIVING AWAY TWO FREE NEWCOMER PACAKGES

That's right! If you you requested a new catalog at the APACHE convention for the first time you are already entered! If you haven't already requested a catalog, you can easily request one at the Sonlight website. And while you are there check out my landing page.

Sponsor:
Sonlight Curriculum Ltd.
8042 S. Grant Way, Littleton, CO. 81022
main@sonlight.com
303.730.6292

Official Rules:

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER.
Must be 18 or older to enter.
Limit of 1 entry per household.
Contest for US residents only (AK and HI are included)

Only new catalog requesters will be entered in the contest. Customers with any order history or individuals whom our records indicate have requested a catalog in the past are not eligible for the contest and will not be entered upon ordering a catalog during the applicable timeframe.

Two random drawings will take place and a total of 2 winners will be selected.
The first drawing will occur on June 20, 2009 for entries made from April 1, 2009 through May 31, 2009.

The second drawing will occur on September 30, 2009 for entries made from June 1, 2009 through August 31, 2009. You will be contacted within 15 days if you are selected as a winner.
The estimated odds of winning are one in ten-thousand (1:10,000).

Each winner will receive a Sonlight Newcomer Package or equivalent (for upper levels 6 and above) for 1 child with a retail value between $261.90 and $1028.94.

Each winner will also receive all Club Benefits for one year so that they can truly experience being a Sonlighter. The Club Benefits include, but are not limited to, Free Membership on the Sonlighter Club Forums, Free Subscription to the "Beam of Sonlight" Newsletter, 10% Discount on all future orders for a year, and an Ancient Roman "Widow's Mite" Coin Pendant.

Sonlight will not share a participant's personal information, including address and phone number, with any third party.

Employees and outside contractors, along with their immediate families (parents, brothers, sisters and children), of the Sponsor, Sonlight Curriculum Ltd. are not eligible to win.