Where in the world is Turkmenistan....

After checking my blog stats the other day, I have discovered there are a lot of people all over the world with a lot of free time on their hands (thanks Coronavirus).  It is nice to see that I have quite a few international readers so I decided to give a few shout outs and learn a few new things myself.

Turkmenistan made it pretty close to the top viewers last week so thanks for that and look at all these amazing facts about Turkmenistan (a sovereign country) I found out.  This would be a great place to visit but apparently, it is very difficult to obtain a Visa to be allowed in.  I guess that is why Turkmenistan is one of the least visited places in the world.

Factoids:
~The capital and largest city is Ashgabat which translates to city of love/devotion.

~Turkmenistan comes from the Persian (Farsi) language and means land of the Turkmen.

~Turkmen is the language of the majority with Russian and Uzbek spoken as well.

~It is bordered on the northwest by Kazakhstan, to the north and east by Uzbekistan, to the southeast by Afghanistan, to the south and southwest by Iran, and the Caspian Sea to the west.

~More than 70% of Turkmenistan is covered by the Karakum Desert (black sand).

~Turkmenistan gained independence from the Soviet Union in October 1991.

~Until 2006, Turkmenistan was ruled by president/dictator, Saparmurat Niyazov (first president).

~Nivazov passed a few questionable laws during his time as president including no spandex, no gold teeth, no opera, no lip syncing at concerts, young men were banned from having long hair or beards, no dogs in the capital, and banning smoking in public places.  He also changed the names of the days of the week to match the names of his family members.

~The next president was Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow (formally a dentist) changed back some of those wacky laws and made a few of his own such as no black cars allowed, favoring white cars instead because white brings good luck.

~Speaking of white, Turkmenistan holds the Guinness World Record for most buildings made of white marble (543).

~Turkmenistan also holds the Guinness World Record for the largest indoor Ferris Wheel and most public pools in one place.

~Turkmenistan is home to Akhal-Teke breed which is one of the purest breeds in the world with a price tag of up to $3,000,000!  The Akhal-Teke horses are a national emblem of  Turkmenistan.

~The final factoid is the Gates to Hell as the locals call the Darvaza Gas Craters.  This is a deep crater fill with huge deposits of natural gas and oil.  In 1971, Soviet engineers lit the crater to burn off the excess gas.  They believed the process would take a few weeks to burn off; however, it is still burning today.

Thanks again to the readers in Turkmenistan!

A bewitching fact or two just in time for Halloween...

Did you know the word witch cannot be traced back to a definitive origin?  So turns out that it is assumed to be most closely related to the Old English word wicce (today wiccan) meaning "wise woman."  Another thought is the word comes from the Old English word wigle which is divination and wih which means idol and together they form Proto-Germanic word wikkjaz which means necromancer.  Language is so interesting.  No matter where the word came from or what the exact definition is, back in the day, these wiccan-wonders were very respected people.  If you want to try to meet a witch, tradition says if you wear your clothes inside out and stroll down the road backwards at midnight on Halloween, you may have the chance to do just that.

Curriculum for our final year of homeschooling...

Finally had a minute to get this 12th curriculum post out.  I am more than just a little busy even with grown kids.

A17 is in 12th grade ((GASP))!

Its awesomely fantastic and fantastically awesome!

Apologia Physics 
Hewitt Lightening Lit 
Hewitt Speech
Spanish II-Mango and Duolingo
Writer's Inc.
Teaching Textbooks PreCalculus 3.0
Economics
Magruder's American Government
Khan Academy
ACT Prep various resources
There will also be a mix of acting jobs, volunteering, book clubs, a little traveling, babysitting, pet sitting, and whatever else she decides to do along the way.

Happy homeschooling......

Colluding with the Russians, well, not exactly......

It is so much fun helping out new homeschoolers.  Our neighbors, who have only been in the US for a few years are about to start their first year of homeschooling with their 5-year-old daughter, who only speaks Russian, by the way.

She is such a sweet kid.  Most of the time, she has no idea what we are talking about but she LOVES being around the girls no matter what language they are speaking or what they are saying.  She laughs nonstop.

It has been my pleasure helping her mom get a plan in place so they can experience school in a positive and fun manner.  It is hard to believe this is my last year of being a homeschooling mom but I have loved every minute of it.  I think that children thrive and do better when at least one parent, especially their mother, takes a real interest and genuine care for their children.  They are only kids once and for such a short amount of time so being their for the kids takes priority over everything else in my opinion.  It just makes sense.  I cannot understand how anyone could think otherwise.

I love being a veteran homeschooling mom and mentoring the newbies.  Looking forward to helping out my fellow homeschoolers and graduating my last homeschooling brainiac and so very proud of my straight A student for her first full year of college.  Life is great!

Skeleton plan for 10th and 12th grades coming up in about 3 weeks........

Cannot even believe it but here we go again!  A new school year already.

The saddest part is by this time next year, I will have a graduate (sniff, sniff).  It has truly been an amazing adventure with C17 from the beginning to the end.

A15 will be in 10th grade, and I still have a hard time believing that too!  Luckily, I have great kids and luckily they both know how good they have it!  As with most homeschooling moms, anything can change in curriculum choices even on day one.  At the moment, this is what my brain is telling me looks good so hopefully all of this curriculum will get us where we need to be by the end of the year.


12th grade (EXTRA LARGE GASP)- Amazingly C17 has taken more electives than she ever needed to and that is why none are listed here.
Teaching textbooks PreCalculus 2.0

Apologia Physics

Advanced Biology
Hewitt Lightening Lit British Lit
Hewitt Speech
Spanish II-mango, duolingo, along with various other resources.
Economics-undecided at the moment.

10th grade
Teaching textbooks Geometry 2.0
Apologia Chemistry
Hewitt Lightening Lit Part 1 and Part 2
Spanish I-mango, duolingo, along with various other resources.
Driver's Ed.
Health II
I am going to add something else to this load, just not sure what she wants yet.


Both
Magruder's American Government This is a good year to do this with both since the election is coming up soon.
Writer's Inc
Co-op classes
Music
A whole lot of volunteering, babysitting, and pet sitting.

We will also be using many of the resources from Schoolhouse Teachers.com.  Click here to buy or in my sidebar under affiliates and thank you!

We will also be using curriculum from CurrClick.  Click here to buy or in my sidebar under affiliates and thanks again!

Check out Bright Ideas Press for so many goodies like the Mystery of History.  Click here and thanks!

Don't forget to check out Molly Green Magazine here.  So many helpful tips and goodies here!

Khan Academy is a site we cannot get enough of, please check them out here.

I will be posting updates here and there, and there is a good chance in a month from now, this will all look different but you have to do what works and keep the kiddos happy to be learning otherwise, it could be a catastrophe!

Happy homeschooling..............

Tips on surviving college prep.

We are at the point in our homeschooling adventure that one of my girls is ready to think about and talk about going to college.  This is a little early by some definitions but it never hurts to do a little research in advance.  Also with all of the dual enrollment programs there are, starting to accumulate college courses in high school is a great opportunity.  This can be a little chaotic and confusing
especially if you do not speak the college prep lingo.  In fact, it can be overwhelming for many different reasons.

When you decide to homeschool, you are taking on a huge responsibility, DO NOT TAKE IT LIGHTLY!  This is a job and a huge commitment.  It takes a very special and selfless person to commit to such a big task and put your child first but that is what a good parent does naturally so no big deal.  I am sharing my thoughts and many great resources on how to transition from high school at home to college so please take full advantage.  I am adding a lot of links and resources so don't get overwhelmed.  Deep breath and relax!

A lot of time researching must go into options for college, not because it is a difficult task getting your homeschooler into a college because it is no secret that colleges are actively seeking out homeschooled kids, now more than ever.  College prep begins in high school ensuring that your high school students takes the appropriate courses is the first step.

Some parents begin this process at 13, some parents take a gap year so that their child can formulate a plan on their own, travel, do missionary work, take a break, work, or any other number of reasons. You can read about the gap year here in this article from Time written in 2014.  This really allows your child to take time to figure out who they are or what they want to do with their life.  Colleges are now more open to the idea of a gap year.

Public school and private schools have the college requirements all mapped out, and all the students do the same exact thing to meet the requirements (cookie cutter philosophy).  Homeschoolers still have the same requirements guideline but that is the thing, it is just a guideline.  Homeschoolers can meet the requirements the way they see fit.  One of the many, many, many beauties of homeschooling.................

The basic requirements look like this:
English- usually three/four years.
Math- three years for most colleges but often four depending on the college/major.
Science- generally three years but sometimes four depending on the college/major.
History- three years but sometimes four depending on the college/major.
Foreign language- usually two years.  American sign language is considered a language credit.
Electives- usually two years-i.e. photography, drama, art, music, etc.

After you make sure your high school curriculum matches up with college requirements it is time to create a portfolio for your child.  At this age, they should be helping with this and have input.  The portfolio should at the very least have student writings, reading lists, extracurricular activities, volunteering information, summer programs, and awards/achievements earned.  Do not turn this into a scrap book.  You can add photographs if appropriate but nothing cutesy.  Keep in mind that a college admissions officer will give this portfolio about 10 minutes so you should keep this simple, concise, and clear.  Once you are done, have a few other people go over the portfolio to check for any mistakes that you might over look.

Did you ask what about a transcript?  You will also need to provide a transcript.  You really do not need to go crazy here either, simple is best!  Use the less is more kind of philosophy here.

Submit the transcript in a seal envelop with your name (the administrator) on the sealed part of the envelope.

Check out Lets Homeschool High School for transcript help and free downloadable templates.

Colleges also want the SAT/ACT scores.

HC USA is a fantastic resource.  A lot of info and courses.
My PSAT/SAT board. Pinterest

Help with foreign languages.
Duolingo-favorite of mine
Babbel-awesome resource

List of homeschooling friendly colleges which include Stanford, Columbia, Princeton. Duke, Tulane, Georgia Tech, Florida State University, and Auburn just to name a few.  Harvard and Yale also actively recruit homeschoolers.

Head to the library or pull up a chair at Starbucks inside of Barnes and Noble and read, read, read for free.

Must have books for college prep:

College Prep Homeschooling.

Homeschooling the Teen Years.

Article from US News
HSLDA
CLEP information

Dual enrollment programs.
What is dual enrollment? This is when your child is in their junior year of high school.  It is possible for you child to take college classes at a discounted cost from most local community colleges.  These classes will be added to the high school transcript and be credit towards an associate's degree (2 years) or a 4 year program.
By state
For Georgia-Accel program.
Dual enrollment info.
More dual enrollment info.

Free courses online.  These are a few of the best sites you will come across anywhere.
Khan Academy-My personal favorite.
Vlog  Brothers-John and Hank Green another one of my top picks.
MIT Open Course Ware
Easy Peasy all-in-one high school

Help me!
Help for the homeschool parent.
College requirements printable.-Print this now!
Jimmies Collage-Planning High School With an Eye on College Admission and Scholarships.
Sample transcript from HSLDA.
More detailed sample from HSLDA.
Blank copy HSLDA..
Family Education. 
Lets Homeschool High School.

Pinterest
My High School at Home board.
High School/homeschool/college on Pinterest
Homeschool High School Pinterest
College Prep Pinterest
More College Prep Pinterest

Happy homeschooling and college prep!

Why not?

Link for the book.

You can find Berlitz Quizlet flashcards here for free.

Link for the book.

Dulingo also has French.  You can find that here.

Duolingo free language learning website.

 Whenever I find an amazing website, I like to pass it along.  It is just the right thing to do.  I am so impressed with this free language learning website, I have to share it once again on a blog about high school resources.  You can see that here.

Anyway, we have all three been having a lot of fun with this site.  I signed up for Portuguese and both of the girls signed up for Italian, and they can both already understand, spell, and say several different terms and phrases.  We have been studying Latin for the last few years, nothing major but I guess that has helped them with this new language.  You have to try this out!!!


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