Tag: Homeschool

Senior Year School Subjects: A Collab

Senior Year School Subjects: A Collab

Hello there, everyone! How is your Tuesday going so far? I hope that you’re all having a fantastic week(: For today’s post, I will be talking all about the subjects I’m taking for my first semester as a high school senior!!

I’ve been wanting to share this post with y’all since the beginning of August (when I started back to school) because the nerd in me (it turns out that I may actually be 100% nerd guys, haha!) is thoroughly enjoying taking these courses. I’ve been learning so much, and they’re all so interesting!

Before I keep rambling on lol, I’d better tell you the awesome part about this post! I’m collaborating with my wonderful blogging friend, Jirah from Jirah Merizz, because we thought it’d be cool to both post about the subjects we’re taking for our senior year! Before (or after) you read my post, you should definitely go check out what she wrote today, guys!! 😀

Let’s jump right into this!

12th Grade High School Subjects,
First Semester

QUICK FAQ

Hey Maggie, so where do you go to school?

As a matter of fact, I don’t. I’m a #homeschoolerforever!

That’s cool! Do you like homeschooling?

YES!! I absolutely love it. I always have, and it actually makes me sad that I’ll be done with school in less than a year! Adulthood is a strange place!

So … what curriculum do you use?

We don’t. My mom gets books, DVDs, textbooks, etc., that go along with the required subjects for each grade in US schools. It’s all cool!

Interesting! Last question,
do you get to do school in your PJs?

Never in my life, mon ami.

Haha, that aside, I’ll go ahead and tell you all about what I’m taking this semester!

My Current School Subjects

  • PSYCHOLOGY. Prior to reading the textbook I was assigned (pictured below), I have very little history with studying or understanding psychological/physiological human processes! (Such a fancy way of saying it!) I have read three chapters so far and have already learned so much. Most recently, I have studied how our childhoods and heredity strongly influence the kind of people we’ll grow up to be.

  • AMERICAN GOVERNMENT. This was something I was never interested in until the beginning of this school year, so even though everything I’m reading is new to me, I’m totally fine with it! The chapters I’ve read so far have established the background of our government (everything the Founding Fathers did, wrote, signed, etc.), which hasn’t been too interesting, but still essential for me to know. I’m stoked about learning more about how our government works now!

  • PERSONAL FINANCE. You should have seen how excited I was when my mom told me this was going to be my math subject for this first semester! I’m not having to work any problems; I’m just learning about how to stay out of debt, make smart spending choices, maintain savings, and more. It’s awesome! With all of this new knowledge, I’m going to be the smartest one of the smartest spenders on the block! (Yes, the book [pictured below] does say that it’s for people in their twenties and thirties, but all the information is for anyone wanting to become a smart spender! I can’t really believe I’ll be in my twenties in just a couple years! WHAT)

  • TEACH WITH MOVIES. As this one doesn’t have an official name, and also seems a bit abstract, allow me to explain. For my first semester of literature, I was going to take a Books-to-Movies course, where I watched films that were based off of books, then analyze them by answering questions. That didn’t work out for me personally because my mom and I couldn’t find enough movies based off of books for me to watch! Instead of doing that, she found different movies for me to watch (I’ve seen The Sound of Music, The Sting, and Deep Impact so far) that I can answer questions on after seeing them. It’s basically Books-to-Movies, but not quite!
this movie cover is so cool
  • PHYSICS. I have been wanting to take this DVD course after I loved the biology and chemistry ones by the same guy! I actually wrote a review of Chemistry 101 earlier this year, which you can read by clicking here. So far in the Physics 101 course, I’ve learned about what physics is, as well as a basic introduction to colors, mirrors, and lenses. Not super interesting so far, but I’m positive that it will get better in the days to come!

Typical School Schedule

I get up most days at 7AM. By 8:30, I’ve usually woken up fully, eaten my breakfast, and started getting ready for the day. By 9:30, if I’m really on top of everything, I’ll work on as many subjects as I can before lunch. Most days, I finish before noon, but others, I’ll have to work on something in the early afternoon!

Thanks sooo much for reading, guys! Definitely go check out Jirah’s post; you’re going to love it! I hope you’re all having an awesome day. xx I’ll see you tomorrow!

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Chemistry 101 ~ A Student Review

Chemistry 101 ~ A Student Review

Homeschool product reviews are most commonly done by homeschooling teachers, so I’m breaking the mold a bit here, haha! As an 11th grade homeschooled student, I just recently finished a science course that was absolutely amazing, and I knew that I just had to give my review of it.

Today’s post is all about Chemistry 101: An Overview of God’s Chemical World.

my bear wanted to pose with the case because it turns out that he loved it just as much as I did. hehe!

Chemistry 101 is a Christian high school chemistry course. It’s nearly 11 hours long, consisting of 19 episodes (between 20-45 minutes each), and with each episode, there’s a section in the included booklet called the Guidebook. The Guidebook gives more information on all of the topics covered, as well as additional segment quizzes, relevant activities, easy science experiments, and field trip suggestions.

From the ancient study of alchemy to the future of chemistry, Wes Olson, the creator, and star of the series, did a great job of covering everything clearly, informatively, and enjoyably.

While this course is specifically designed for high schoolers, it can definitely be fun for all ages! Everything is family-friendly, which means that children, as well as parents, can join in on learning.

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Back in August of last year, my mom planned for me to watch Chemistry 101 for my 11th grade science. The previous year, I watched Biology 101 and absolutely loved it; not only was it done well, but I’ve always been interested in learning about animals, as well as how we work, so I’m not surprised that I enjoyed it. Learning about plant life turned out to be interesting, as well. 🙂

Anyway, even though I was really looking forward to watching Wes Olson teach science for the upcoming year of my schoolwork, I was still dreading the thought of studying chemistry. I’ve never liked science-y stuff, atom models look terrifying, many concepts look too hard to even begin to comprehend, etc … but after watching just the first few segments, I found myself looking forward to learning about the Periodic Table of the Elements and enjoying learning everything that he discussed!

This course isn’t the same as other school curriculums; it’s really designed to teach anyone interested in the fundamentals of chemistry, from the elements to all of the brilliant people whose revolutionary ideas brought us to the understanding of chemistry that we have today. Chemistry 101 was my favorite school subject, and in all of my years of schooling, out of all of the great courses my mom has found to teach me, that’s a high compliment. It’s worth every penny and so much more.

Even though I’ve already watched the DVDs twice through, as that was the course requirement (and, as I just realized, means that I’ve spent almost a whole day of my life watching it, hahah!!), I’m looking forward to watching it all over again at some point in the future. I was so sad to finish it, but I completely intend on continuing my study of chemistry, as well as other areas of science, on my own. Currently, I’m reading a book I found at the library on atoms, and it’s been quite intriguing so far!

If anyone reading this is interested in having a better understanding of God’s chemical world, then this is the course that you NEED to buy!

  • Click here to learn more about Chemistry 101,
  • Click here to visit the 101 Series online store,
  • Click here to watch the full, 38-min Chemistry 101 introduction!

To finish this review, I’ve written a note to the whole Olson family: Thank you so much for your curriculums!!! You have completely changed my view of science for the better, and the fact that you did it as a family makes it so special. I know how much of a group effort all three (soon to be four) were, and I can’t applaud you all enough. I also can’t express how excited I am to watch Physics 101 during my last year of school! 🙂 I’ll probably write a review on that after I’ve completed it.

— Maggie