Many people feel overwhelmed with the thought of homeschooling through high school. Even those who felt confident homeschooling in the earlier years may now reevaluate the idea. Yet, this stage of learning requires the same from an educator as the earlier years - planning, commitment, and support.
Homeschooling through high school actually better prepares your student for college. How? By emphasizing the routine of self learning and self motivation. Resources abound to help a student during this time, despite a home educator's lack of certification in any area. Teacher guides, CDs, videos, syllabi, curriculum, quizzes, tests, and much more offer assistance in such areas. Homeschooling through high school CAN BE and HAS BEEN done! Therefore, let us evaluate the "How Tos". 1. First, develop a plan! Discuss with your student about their interests, goals, and abilities. Weigh options such as college, vocational schools, apprenticeships, careers, volunteerism, etc. Map out a plan that will move the child toward those goals. Do they need dual enrollment in a local college, an apprenticeship with a local business owner, or another method of accomplishing their goals? PLANNING - OUTLINE 1. To start your plan, first research your state laws for homeschooling during High School. Look here on HSLDA for that information. 2. Download a FREE Basic Planner Template @ The Homeschool Shop.com to use as an broad based outline. 3. Gather information for general requirements and content for high school: The HSLDA has information to help with this topic: HSLDA Main Page on High School HSLDA FAQs on High School HSLDA 4 Year Plan HSLDA Timeline and Developing a Plan for High School HSLDA Evaluating High School Credits HSLDA Preparing for College Now determine the necessary requirements and start developing them. If your child plans on college, what are the admission requirements for homeschoolers? Does he/she need to take the SAT or ACT tests? For example, here is the admissions page from Duke University. Perhaps the student can begin college before graduation with dual enrollment at a college such as Collin County Community College. Also, here are some articles about homeschooling and colleges: Home School Your Child into Harvard (or Any Other College) College Admissions for Homeschoolers Colleges That Admit Homeschoolers When should you beginning this planning? Jr. High School will give your student time to lay out a firm plan for their high school career. PLANNING - DEVELOPING Once you have outlined your plan, you need to decide on the route needed to accomplish the student's goals. Many options abound, but I will discuss just a few here. Regardless of the method used, keeping diligent records, transcripts, and portfolios will help to ensure the student meets requirements needed to graduate. For record keeping methods, please see my previous post "Time Management and Planning". 1. Setting your own curriculum plan This method tailors your educational plan to your child and goals. Pick and choose from different curriculum sequences, find the resources and self teach. To know the "what and when", please see my previous post..."The Next Question...How" Then, develop a transcript for method keeping purposes. Click here for a free transcript template. Once your child completes the requirements needed for graduation, set by you the educator, you are now ready to print a diploma. Here is the legality from the HSLDA for diploma information. Here is information from the American Homeschool Association. 2. Credit By Examination (CBE) Many colleges offer undergraduate programs to homeschoolers and credit by examination. Either the course and the exam or just the exam may be purchased. Upon passing an examination, school credits are issued and an accredited diploma may be obtained after the appropriate amount of credits have been accumulated. If the student does not take the course, the syllabus and list of materials may be obtained from the school in order to prepare for the test. Texas Tech offers such a program, click here to see their offerings. 3. Another option is to use a correspondence, distance learning, or online learning private school. This option usually requires payment for tuition and books. Also, although work will be completed by the student at home, assignments will be sent to the school (through snail mail or online) for grading and most include support of a teacher. These private schools also issue an accredited diploma for the student. HSLDA maintains a list of a few here. In addition, I have known some to enroll in Pearblossom and American School. I am sure I will update a continually growing list on my "Resources" page as I learn of more. 4. This last option may seem like a nice option to many families as the economy continues to decline. Free public schools offer a tuition free option with all books and materials included. Many do not yet offer complete high school courses and continue to expand the grade levels offered, so check their sites frequently for updates. Not only are classes, books, materials and teacher support monetarily free, many reimburse for internet and supply computers. Keep in mind though, that although work is completed via distance learning, they are still PUBLIC SCHOOLS. They structure the curriculum with little to no choice for the student. Curriculum may not be tailored where a child may excel significantly beyond their peers or slow down when needed. The child must still stay "on target". Also, there are time limitations, mandatory state testing, and many more restrictions. So, if you child completes their work in two hours, your child must continue to work for another four to six hours. Online classes with peers are required. Also, they usually do not offer year round school and follow the local school calendars. Not following their school calendar attendance rules can lead to truancy. Still, they are an option if they fit with your family's needs and goals. Just weigh the positives and negatives before beginning enrollment. Some in Texas are: Texas Virtual Academy Currently serving up to 11th grade Connections Academy Currently serving up to 10th grade PLANNING - IMPLEMENT Now, you have developed a plan, decided on a course of action, and put in the details. You are prepared to homeschool your child through high school and implement the plan. Just as children may be fickle in college and change majors, so their interests change in high school. Be ready to change your plan to meet their needs. Remember, a plan not "set in stone" allows room for tailoring the education of your child. Also, although law requires core education, our goal as parents is for our children to become mature, responsible and contributing adults that will continue to help our society. "Time is Money"
Time, to our families, is a much more valuable resource than money. Precious time can be used wisely or squandered. Many feel that they can "fly by the seat of their pants" and many others feel that every moment needs scheduling and the family must "stick" to the schedule. Really, balance is needed. Planning and scheduling encourages us plan goals and strive toward those goals. Failing to plan can come at a cost. A dogmatic approach though can discourage a learning environment. How then can balance be attained? Many also feel overwhelmed when even THINKING about organization. Organized educators, they reason, must be "super", "strong", or "one in a million". Truth be told, organized educators do not have a secret, they have just learned how to use their valuable time wisely. YOU CAN TOO!! Extra trips to the grocery store...use meal planning. Unable to find a book, pencil or form...organize your space. Wondering what tomorrow will bring....use a planner. Planning allows us to have MORE time in the long run. Children are happier with structure. Do I always "stick to the schedule"? Not necessarily. I have also found that "spontaneous" learning time can prove to be more valuable than scheduled. So, if you are a planner and scheduler, be sure to schedule "unscheduled" time ;). But, the point is, though we may not feel planning is necessary, plan anyway. Although you may have to chuck them, "fly by" for awhile, or completely redo them. NOT planning is dangerous. Although many can seemingly "fly by", truth is, they too may find themselves drowning if they do not. Did I always, do this? No. Have I had to readjust? All of the time. Do I appreciate this method? Most definitely. My planner is like a bike. If I fall off, I just get back on again rather than being discouraged. This took time to learn. It also took time for me to understand that the goals I set are just that....MY goals. Perhaps my expectations are too high in some areas or too low in others. I can adjust them as needed. Most importantly, I have not lost the valuable time with my children and their valuable learning time. One year, I felt as if I had kept falling off the organization "bandwagon". Then, they astounded me with knowledge they had gained. How many third graders know the life cycle of a Brachnoid Wasp and identify the cocoons on their own in a caterpillar on the sidewalk? Another discovered his love off drawing and aspires to be an artist. I realized that they still progressed and enjoyed learning despite my lack of organization. But, I also realized that I did not enjoy feeling like we never had time and were always "catching up". So, if you want to learn how to plan your home school, start with baby steps and learn balance. You can also be that "super, one in a million, special" educator too without the headache it may seem. Here are some tips: 1. Learn time management The student and the educator, even from an early age, need to learn time management. How long does a task ACTUALLY take versus how long you would prefer it to take? Setting unrealistic time expectations can lead to discouragement and hinder progress. On the other hand, does a task take too long? How can such a task be done more efficiently? For example, rather than long boring Spanish worksheets, utilize Spanish CD lessons when in the car. Errands, doctor visits, and even grocery shopping can be utilized as valuable learning time. 2. Start with goals Starting with goals helps to focus the direction of homeschooling rather than on the details. Symbolically, put the large stones in the glass jar and the sand will fall into place. List your goals, followed by courses, books and lessons. Plan the year, then months and weeks. Working backwards in this manner avoids the educator focusing too much on time allotments which can lead to a dogmatic approach. 3. Involve the student Involving the student in planning instills a sense of "ownership" of their time. Encouraging cooperation as well as responsibility for their actions, children enjoy their involvement. Yet, the educator needs to make the final decisions. 4. Use tools Wall calendars, planners, and software trackers can all assist an educator in planning. Personally, I still prefer the old fashioned way of paper planners and recording with a pen. The nice thing about homeschooling? Not only student tailored education, but teacher tailored methods. Here are some free tools: Software: http://www.homeschoolskedtrack.com/HomeSchool/displayLogin.do http://homeschooltracker.com/tracker_basic.aspx http://www.home-school-inc.com/ Homeschool Planners: http://donnayoung.org/forms/index.htm http://dynamic2moms.webs.com/curriculumplanner.htm http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/gettingorganized/planner.php#readinglog I make a teacher home school planner and student planners. This makes it easy for them to know their plan for the day. Household Planners: http://organizedhome.com/household-notebook/printable-pages http://flylady.net/ Separately, having a household planner keeps the household streamlined. 5. Unschedule or Schedule....Keep a Balance Also, planning is different than scheduling. Planning focuses on goals and scheduling focuses on time increments. Always keep in mind that, although planning AND scheduling are both needed, schedule time where learning is unscheduled. This allows time for exploration, research and creativity. Although we school year round, I use our school "vacations" for this purpose. Overused though, you may begin to feel "behind". "Everything in moderation and moderation in everything" is key to homeschooling success. Take these tips with a grain of salt and use any (or none) to your family's advantage. After all, it is YOUR home school to create and enjoy. |