HOMESCHOOLING HIGHSCHOOL CHILDREN

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Many of you are preparing your children to transition from middle school to high school. The decision to homeschool through high school can cause a lot of stress and angst. You may wonder, how you will teach the more difficult subjects. Teaching elementary math is one thing. Teaching algebra and trigonometry is an entirely different thing.

You are right to pause and consider your ways when deciding to move forward into the high school years. But not because it will prove to be a challenge that you cannot handle. Pause because it is important, and it matters how you move forward. If you want to homeschool your children through the high school years, you can do it. There are a few things that I recommend you do before and during your high school homeschool journey.

In some respects, it is the high school years that are the most important when homeschooling. Here is where your child will begin to decide for themselves what manner of person they will be. Yes, you have seen signs before, but now they are becoming a young adult, and will begin to decide for themselves what they believe to be true, and what beliefs they will consider carrying into adulthood. If you have managed to build trust during the bonding years and a strong rapport with your children during the wonder years, the equipping years will be a challenging joyful experience; one that you will not want to miss.  If you have not had that time during the bonding and wonder years, that’s ok. Just look at it as four more years to develop your relationship with your children and orient them in the direction of good character and integrity. The time that you have with your children is precious. It’s hard to think of anything more valuable. That time is also fleeting, and to homeschool through high school, is a precious gift of time and responsibility to your children.

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Below are ten things that we did to prepare our girls for high school, and for life beyond high school.

1. Try to get an understanding of what your children will want to do post high school. Talk to them about the future. Listen to them as they dream. Help them see what steps could be required for them to reach their dreams. Point out to them the things that you are noticing that they are doing well.
   • These are the equipping years, so it is during the high school years that they begin to take responsibility for their education. I am not saying that they educate themselves. No.  You are still the teacher. They take responsibility by owing up to what they put into their assignments. They take responsibility for the effort that they put forth. Their education becomes a partnership with you, and as much as you can, you will help steer the educational boat toward the goal of graduation. Their job is to paddle, and if they do not, once they reach that goal, they will be weak. If they paddle, they will be strong. Helping them to understand the consequences of their efforts is also part of your job.
     
2. If your children are unsure about whether they want to continue on to higher education after high school, that is ok. I suggest you present a four-year course of study that will prepare them for college so that they will be prepared if they choose to go. It’s easier to begin this at the onset of high school, rather than later, toward their senior year. Our girls were not sure if they wanted to go to college, so we organized their high school courses as if they were going to continue with university studies. This is how we did it:
   • I checked out my local public school’s requirements for high school graduation. You can find this information on the school’s website. It should have details on the number of credits needed to graduate, as well as the subject requirements. You will also find that there are quite a few credits devoted to electives. This is a yay for you, because this is where you can have your children explore their interests, thereby increasing their level of enjoyment during the high school years.
   • Check out the graduation requirements of other the high-ranking college prep schools in your area. (Perhaps they require more foreign language, or math classes.)
   • With the above information in hand, plan out the next four years for your high school student. There will be some things that are non-negotiable, like algebra and geometry. Other required classes are more flexible, for instance your child could take two years of foreign language or four. Plan their classes, stating which classes they will have for each grade level. Count up all of the credits for the four years, to ensure that your child would have met the credit requirement for graduation by their senior year. This is your roadmap for their educational requirements.

3. Determine the life skills that you want your children to have by the time they reach graduation. Education is not just about the academics, it’s about teaching your child how to live, learn and love in this life. Really spend some time, thinking about the things you would like to impart on them before they embark off on their own, get married, leave town, etc… Do you want them to know how to cook a good meal from scratch? Do you want to pass down a few family recipes? Do you want them to know how to do their own laundry? Are there a few good life books that you want them to read? Do you want them to know how to take care of their health needs beyond the basics? Do you want them to know how investments work? Do you want them to learn to serve and care for others? Really take some time and think about these things. These are not necessarily the things that your child wants, but what you want to impart onto them while you have time. Once you determine what these things are, write them down and plan how and when you will teach these things. This plan is fluid, and you may find yourself adjusting throughout the four years. The main thing is to write it down and make room for these things within your homeschool. If you have books that you want them to read, assign them throughout the four years. If its cooking, laundry, etc… write it out. Make room for teaching these things. For example, you might say: ” 9th grade child will do his own or the family’s laundry. 10^th grade child will do a thorough study of the Book of Proverbs. Etc…”
   
4. Obtain a transcript form from online and begin completing it at the onset of the 9th grade.
   
5. Keep good records. If you have not been keeping records of your child’s progress, now is the time. Credit hours are determined by the number of hours that a child is studying said subject. So begin keeping good records so that when you are completing the final senior year transcript, all of your records are in order. Keep good records and grades.
   • A word about grades. As a teacher, you will determine the grade that your child receives in a subject. Colleges (if your child decides to go) will see these grades and make judgements about your child. Some people might be tempted to give their child all a’s so that their transcript will look wonderful. This could be more harmful than good. If you know your child is not getting a subject or is having a hard time with the assignments, giving that child an a is not going to do them any justice. On that same note, if your child is working hard in a subject, understands the material, but is having a hard time testing well, it is my opinion that it is ok, to administer the test in a way that will help your child reflect what they truly have learned, and then grade accordingly. For example, if my child has a hard time writing essays, and the point of the subject is for understanding and not writing (there are other courses for that) then, I can have them type it, or I can give them the tools to dictate the essay, or even in some instances have them give an oral essay. Be kind and fair. It is your homeschool. You decide whether they pass or fail. At the end of the day, your child will take a sat or act test to enter into their chosen university. For many universities it is that score that will determine the classes that they will need to take at their university, not your transcript.
     
6. Choose a curriculum for your child. You might even include them in the process. Remember when deciding which curriculum to use, you are leading the decision, not letting go of the decision. Please don’t make the mistake of thinking that the equipping stage is a time for you to put your homeschool efforts on auto pilot. Your children still need you to be present. You are not just giving them a stack of books and saying, “teach yourself”. You are their guidance counselor, their homeroom teacher, their mental health counselor, friend and teacher. Your help is needed. During this stage of homeschooling, one main goal is to teach them how to do what you’ve been doing for them the past nine years, that is to teach them how to determine what needs to be done and design a game plan to do it. Help them with this task.
   • Side note: Many of my children’s freshman college professors remarked about how well prepared our girls were for college. The professors wanted to know where our girls went to high school because they felt that our girls were very well prepared academically for college. Our girls were very comfortable working independently. The equipping stage of homeschool, is the perfect time to TEACH this skill to your children.

7. Don’t hesitate to switch out curriculum if something isn’t working. Just be sure to keep track of your child’s hours in a subject for their transcripts, If you want to supplement a subject, do it. Do you want to elaborate in some areas and diminish others? You can. Even though you are teaching high school, it is still your homeschool, and you decide if a subject is touching on all the important aspects of said subject. Talk with your child. What do they think about the way the material is being presented? Are they having a hard time learning with the way the material is presented? Help them to understand how they learn.
   
8. At the end of each year, pull out your master copy of your transcript, give your children grades for the year, and take a look to see what you need to do next. Do you need to have them repeat a class? Did they complete all of the subjects needed for the year?  By evaluating this every year, you are making your final transcript that much easier.
   
9. Add hobbies and activities into your homeschool. If your children are planning to attend college, have they created within themselves hobbies or activities that they are proud to show others? Have they developed into a whole person, and not just a student? Are they passionate about baking, carpentry, web design, investments, whatever it is, cultivate it and help them to hone their skills. Give them the tools to comfortably talk about their hobbies to potential University Admissions Administrators.
   
10. Add service and volunteer opportunities into your homeschool high school. Have your children learned to provide service to others? Not only is volunteer work important for college admissions but learning how to be selfless is a crucial life skill that I’m sure everyone would love for their child to have. Provide opportunities over the next four years for your child to learn how to care and look after the welfare of others. Volunteering in a hospital, at a library, animal shelter, salon, elderly services etc… would provide a way for children to learn that serving others is a privilege. While homeschooling, we spend so much time with the children, and on the children, that it could become very easy for our children to think that life is all about them and what they want and need.  Some children may be naturally selfless, but as with everything in our homeschools, we should not forget to teach this important life skill as well. Volunteering is a wonderful way of helping them see that life isn’t just about them.

If you have the privilege of homeschooling your children through high school, you can do it. If the subject matter becomes too hard, which at times it did for me, they can still learn well. I always joke that my children got a better high school education than I did. I joke, but it is true. The books provide the instruction, you just need to guide them through it as they learn, and check that learning is indeed happening. Remember, they are children in need of instruction, even in high school. You have wisdom and knowledge to assist them in their learning quest. Sometimes they will need outside help. You can get that through a tutor in person, or online. You may have a friend or a friend of a friend who is an expert, or at least much more familiar with a subject than you are. Help is available. Don’t be afraid to ask. As homeschoolers, we do not have to have all of the answers. We do need to find them to complete our homeschool commitment.

Buddy up with another family that is homeschooling through high school and have science lab classes together. Help each other. Share resources and encourage each other. I had a dear friend who would tell me that she did not always know what the next step was, but that God always showed her in time. That encouraged me to know that I was not the only one who did not know it all. We don’t have to know it all. We do have to be fully engaged and present. Our children deserve that from us as we homeschool them through the high school years. It will not be perfect. (Read that part as: You will have bad days, let’s even say, more than a few tbh.) but if you continue with your commitment it will one day be complete, and so well worth the time and effort. Homeschooling through High School? You can do it!

Happy Homeschooling!