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Christopherus
Homeschool Resources

PO Box 231
Viroqua, WI 54665, USA

Tel: (608) 637-8031

e-Mail: enquiries@
christopherushomeschool.org

As part of our ongoing commitment to providing service to Waldorf homeschoolers, we at Christopherus are pleased to be able to offer more and more resources for parents with older children and teens. We know that there are far fewer resources out there for these students and our hope is to help fill some of the gap.

Waldorf High School at Home Blog

As of February 2008 Donna Simmons of Christopherus Homeschool Resources is again homeschooling her youngest son, Gabriel. She has created a blog to write all about her experiences: Waldorf High School at Home.

High School Notes

Donna has been teaching at a Waldorf-inspired high school and is eager to create a whole series of  High School Notes. These Notes will be fairly rough outlines, drawn from the classes that Donna teaches.  Likely topics include Zoology, Comedy and Tragedy (now published), American Government and Poetry.

In the meantime, we have a  list of high school literature texts, grade by grade.

Writing

One of Donna's real passions is for good writing (part of what underlies the Living Language book). She has taught writing classes for homeschoolers, is currently teaching English at the Youth Initiative High School in Viroqua, WI and has, in the past, worked with homeschoolers via a Christopherus correspondence class called YoungWriters. Donna disbanded YoungWriters because she felt that much of her power as a teacher lies in the relationship with students in flesh and blood, in the playful banter, warmth and interest that can only really be cultivated when everyone's sitting in the same room together.

However, Donna is also aware that many parents, especially those with older children, feel a need for a yardstick by which to assess their teen's progress. Likewise, teens can need an outside authority both to inspire them and to give them feedback on their work.

Writing Assessment Program

And so Christopherus now presents our Writing Assessment Program for teenagers (8th grade and up). Here's how it works:

• Your student sends Donna a 1 - 2 page letter describing herself and her interests as well as any thoughts, questions or concerns she has about writing.
   

• She also includes 2 or 3 examples of uncorrected writing. This could be a descriptive paragraph, a report, a story, a journal entry. Donna needs at least 4 or 5 pages in total to work with.
   

• Put all this in an envelope and send it - snail mail - together with a check for $75 to:
  
  Donna Simmons,
  Christopherus Homeschool Resources
  PO Box 231,
  Viroqua, WI 54665
   

• Donna will then acknowledge receipt of her packet by e-mail. She will then go through the work, correcting what the student has written and adding any comments. Donna will then return this via snail mail together with another assignment or two. (This could be tailored to fit in with other work she is currently doing.)
   

• The student then returns the assignment. Donna will correct and comment upon this work and, probably, request a rewrite.
   

• The student works on and mails the corrected assignment. Finally, Donna returns it together with a longish assessment of what she sees as the student's strengths and weaknesses, making concrete suggestions for further work.
   

• And that's it! Upon mutual agreement, this process can be repeated again and again (each instance costing $75).

Please contact donna@christopherushomeschool.org if you would like to join this program or have any further questions. You might also like to have a look at our Assessment Consultations for a slightly different approach to getting feedback on your high school work.