The situation in which I find myself is not unlike others who have traveled this path and are still on the journey. I use the umbrella school option offered by my state because it's what has always made the most sense for my family. Every umbrella school is different. The one we use has undergone some revamping the last couple of years. One change is that I must provide them with a list of every course my soon-to-be high schooler will study throughout all four years of high school and during which year. Planning out all four years is a daunting task! I'll be honest ... at first I was taken aback and even quite irritated that I must do such a thing. Now I view it as a good thing. It's no less stressful, but I've concluded the required structure of the situation is what I/we need. (I know more relaxed homeschoolers will disagree, and that's fine. That's one of the wonderful things in life - we're all unique and have our own thoughts, opinions, and beliefs.)
I find it somewhat amusing that just before Christmas last year I cleared out over 200 books from our home library. Many were children's books my kids have outgrown, but every member of the family chipped in and did his/her own weeding out. I truly had a plan to bring no more "clutter" into my home. But I'm a homeschooler. I should have known that plan was doomed from the start.
Recently while my oldest was attending his weekly youth group meeting, I found myself wandering through Barnes & Noble. I felt a nudge in my heart that's where I should go to spend my wee bit of quiet time that evening. The above photo shows what happened. I didn't mean to do it, but am glad I did! I believe that nudge on my heart was God directing me to some wonderful bargains we will use during our high school journey.
I had been looking at The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens for my oldest because he is very much in that wonky young teenager phase where I feel as though the sweet, driven boy I used to know is no longer inhabiting his body. I've been told it's a phase he'll (hopefully) outgrow soon. I thought this would be helpful for him and even put it on my Goodreads list recently. I was thrilled to find it way cheaper than other places I had been looking, plus I received an additional 25% off using my B&N educator card. I don't know if my teen will dive into The Bare Bones Bible Handbook For Teens or save it for our "Introduction To The Bible 1" class I tentatively have on his list of high school courses, but it looks fantastic. The Daily Dose of Knowledge Bible is absolutely magnificent. I'm currently reading my way through (at a pace of more than a dose a day because I'm enjoying it so much), and it would make an additional great "textbook" for the aforementioned high school class. Both of those books were also a great price and qualified for my 25% educator discount. The remainder of the books are classics we did not already own. They were on sale 50% off, so that was motivation enough for me. They were cheaper than the paperback versions, much more pleasing to hold in the hands, and the font size is better for someone of my mature years (LOL). The Darwin book is honestly something I never thought I would allow through my front door, however, in my recent online searching of how to turn Apologia Biology an honors course I discovered and determined it really is a necessary evil. My oldest's current career plans will mean he will have to major in biology or something very similar in college. Going ahead and including Darwin in his high school studies will help prepare him for what he will find himself faced with during college courses.
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