Unlock the secrets to finding the perfect high school curriculum without the unnecessary frills! Join us as we sit down with CJ from Homeschooling Through High School, who shares her journey of discovering the 7 Sisters curriculum. Are you tired of literature guides that are too juvenile or overloaded with busy work? CJ unveils how 7 Sisters’ no-fuss, to-the-point literature guides became a game-changer for her homeschooling experience, offering clarity and focus that truly engage students.
But that's not all! CJ also gives us an inside look at the 7 Sisters Career Exploration course, a dynamic program designed to broaden your child's career horizons. From learning about forensic science to the exciting world of professional mountain climbing, this course offers interactive activities that spark curiosity and expand career possibilities. Tune in for an insightful discussion that could revolutionize how you approach your child's education and career planning.
Unlock the secrets to finding the perfect high school curriculum without the unnecessary frills! Join us as we sit down with CJ from Homeschooling Through High School, who shares her journey of discovering the 7 Sisters curriculum. Are you tired of literature guides that are too juvenile or overloaded with busy work? CJ unveils how 7 Sisters’ no-fuss, to-the-point literature guides became a game-changer for her homeschooling experience, offering clarity and focus that truly engage students.
But that's not all! CJ also gives us an inside look at the 7 Sisters Career Exploration course, a dynamic program designed to broaden your child's career horizons. From learning about forensic science to the exciting world of professional mountain climbing, this course offers interactive activities that spark curiosity and expand career possibilities. Tune in for an insightful discussion that could revolutionize how you approach your child's education and career planning.
Welcome to the Homeschool How-To Find my Curriculum, a series where we talk all about curriculum. I've been interviewing homeschooling families for over a year now on my main podcast, the Homeschool How-To, but I really wanted to zero in on curriculum. There's so much out there. How do I know what would work best for me and my child? How do I know what works for one child would work for the other? I might like the curriculum I'm using now, but how do I know there's not a better one out there, especially if I don't know all the curriculums? And what about supplemental curriculum? Should I be using that too? This series is to help you decide just that. I'm going to interview parents who are using all the curriculums so that you can decide the absolute best way to unfold your homeschooling journey. The absolute best way to unfold your homeschooling journey.
Speaker 1:
Welcome and with us today on our curriculum series. I have CJ with Homeschooling Through High School. Hi, cj, thank you for joining us. Hello, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. You are going to talk to us today about seven sisters which I have not heard of, so I'm very excited to hear about this one. What subjects does this cover?
Speaker 2:
So Seven Sisters, I feel, is pretty unique, because I found them when I was trying to find a high school literature guide for my son. That wasn't, let's say, kiddish, and Maybe I could use a better word, but that's what comes to mind. I wanted something that was elevated, that was no fuss, it was straight to the point, there was no fluff, and I found it because they actually are known and they've been known. They've been around for a while, the company. They are actually known for their literature guides and having nothing fluffy. It's just straight to the point about three pages, three to four or five pages maybe in their literature guides, and they're done. And so it was as if I had written this particular literature guide, because it was what I was looking for and they were using some of my words like no fluff, no busy work, and I stumbled upon them and I've been happy with them ever since, and I cannot I cannot recommend them enough. And so not only are they known for their literature guides, but they also have some other online presence where they teach additional classes as well, and I haven't dabbled into that. But I have dabbled into not only their literature guides but also a course called Career Exploration, and it reminds me of when I was in high school and I had to go meet with my guidance counselor and figure out what was I going to do next, right, and I didn't have an idea of what the next steps were. I knew I had to go to college, right, because that was the path that you know you kind of took during that time and it just made sense and my family was happy that that's where I was headed. But I, you know, I wanted to do this and do that Kind of like. Nowadays kids want to be YouTubers and all these other things. But you know how do you get there and do it successfully?
Speaker 2:
Or I said I want to be a lawyer, but I'm not so sure. I just said that because the neighbor down the street is and it looks cool. And so this course walks you through so many different fun, interactive activities to kind of stretch your mind a bit and make you think, hmm, I don't know what a lawyer really does. Or I don't know what a computer programmer does, or I don't know what a NICU nurse does, or a tax collector, or whatever it is. It could be, you name the occupation. It's just kind of mind blowing to see my son's uh brain get stretched when he thought he wanted to do one thing and as he's going through this course, he's like huh, wait a minute, there are so many other jobs out there that I did not even think of. There's forensic science, there's, um, a professional mountain climber, like you know. There are all of these different things out there that you can get paid for, and so we are doing that course now I've even dived in. It's so much fun. It really really is. But I think what is more fun is just seeing that my son is now just stretching his mind a bit more and noticing that I don't just have to stay in this little box of what I thought I can do. But I can be a film editor, and how do I get there? And so I wanted to speak on the career exploration course that Seven Sister also has alongside their literature guides, as well as their online presence.
Speaker 2:
With some of the classes that they teach, you can even get a high school elective, because a lot of their courses are elective based. But you can get a high school course in studying movies, like watching big box movies from the cinema, and you can get an elective credit in that which might spark some teenagers interest. If they don't want to read like, for example, just something that you are presenting to them, then why not turn that? And so let me give you an example. Moby Dick, for example, I believe, is one of the movie literature guides that they walk you through. Well, let's watch Moby Dick and then let's turn it into a credit for you of sorts, and so they have something on their website that pertains to that. That might be more interesting to a teenager than just. Okay, here's a book, and let me quiz you on it.
Speaker 1:
That is so cool. That really speaks to me. The career development course I didn't know that that existed and I've been saying for so long that that is what's missing in school that they don't tell you all the jobs that exist. So when they ask you, what do you want to do after high school, I mean you're it's and you know that can lead into lots of different reasons. Why the why the public education system was created and the push for colleges and all of that.
Speaker 1:
But it's been a pet peeve of mine, I guess you could say, is that we graduate and it's like what did you prepare us for? I don't know what to do next, and I didn't. I went into working for the government because it's what my parents did, and I took a test and that's where I sat for 16 years in a cubicle just looking at the clock, waiting for you know four o'clock. What a, what a waste of life. I know that what I want to do for my kids is expose them to all the different ideas, things that they could do, and if they don't find anything, they've got to create something, and that's just so important. So I love, love, love that idea. I'll be looking into that for sure. So they have a literature and they have this career development. Are there other collective areas?
Speaker 2:
Yes, they have a very lengthy list. There's an online psychology course I believe that one's a live class that you can take with one of the seven sisters and they have a plethora of others as well on their website.
Speaker 1:
Thinking of their names, though. You said you know my son took this course and like, does he want to take a class from something called Seven Sisters? They couldn't have made it like a little bit more neutral there, but they actually are, I hear you, Seven sisters.
Speaker 2:
So, funny enough, I found out that only five of them are sisters, and the very cute thing is that the other or is it six, I think it's six and the seventh sister is actually you, the customer, which I think is that's just clever. I don't know. I think it's kind of cute.
Speaker 1:
That is. It makes you feel like a community, like you belong. Yes, yes. So in what?
Speaker 2:
ages. Would you recommend someone using seven sisters for high school and up for sure, perfect, high school and up, I believe and I haven't looked into it because I've just been trying to cater to my son, who is now in the 11th grade and and or entering the 11th grade. I believe they have, excuse me, a handful of things for middle school, but I'm not certain all right, I'm sure it's to come, if it hasn't yet.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, this is awesome. Thank you so much for breaking that one down for us. Anything else that you'd like to mention about Seven Sisters?
Speaker 2:
Customer service with them is great as well, so I think that they should be recognized. They've been around for a while. They have a very strong Facebook presence and I'm happy to recommend them. I'm glad that I was able to share with them on your podcast today.
Speaker 1:
Yes, I'm very excited about the career development. I'm going to look into it now because it's never too early. I mean to expose your children to all sorts of things and they might find something that they really love. They can get started on it early. Well, thank you so much, CJ. Can you tell people where to find you?
Speaker 2:
Yes, thank you for that. You can find me at homeschooling through high school and that is my YouTube channel, as well as Instagram. I operate the YouTube channel a little bit more and on Instagram I plug in a few things here and there from my YouTube channel, which is primarily for the homeschooling family that is interested in middle school and high school. I have a little bit. A little bit of everything on there. I love to encourage, I love to answer questions, I love to share what we are doing as far as our curriculum is concerned and how the school year is going, and then I share just a little bit of this and that. You know, the other day I did an Amazon haul for a not Amazon haul for where you can find books, so online bookstores other than Amazon. So sometimes I do some fun things like that every now and then a vlog or two, but yeah, mostly for the homeschooling family who would like to have a little bit of encouragement, especially in the teen years.
Speaker 1:
Awesome. I'm going to put a link to your YouTube channel in the show's description and I do invite you to come back onto the main podcast just to walk us through kind of what got you into homeschooling and how it has gone, because I love hearing the perspective from the mom who started with the kindergartners and now has high schoolers, like it is possible.
Speaker 2:
It is possible and I never saw this coming, but I'm so happy to be in this season. I really am Awesome. I look forward to having that chat this season.
Speaker 1:
I really am Awesome. I look forward to having that chat with you. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much for listening. Please consider sharing this podcast, or my main podcast, the Homeschool how To with friends, family, on Instagram or in your favorite homeschool group Facebook page. The more this podcast is shared, the longer we can keep it going and the more hope we have for the future. Thank you for your love of the next generation.
