A while ago, a segment of one of my newsletters was plagiarized. I consulted my in-house “lawyer in training” – my son Alex.

Whenever I think of our discussion that day, it really warms my heart. On one Sunday, in our “Love and Respect” Sunday School class, I think I finally recognized why Alex’s assistance had been so important to me that day. He was defending me – which was showing that he loved me.

In the book, it tells a good deal about cycles, and ways love LEADS TO respect, and respect LEADS TO love. Therefore I started contemplating what I did to show my son respect that day. I think that the moment when I wanted to know his view of the issue, adult to adult, was the moment that he knew I respected him. We won’t even look at all the times I completely *fail* at the love and respect cycle, but I did think it was interesting to look at a situation in which it worked. I hope it will encourage you.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel.  You’ll  get notified when I create new videos on homeschool high school topics! 1

Some questions are easy to answer.

But other questions are very big, and very complicated.  Sandi asked a big and complicated question on my blog the other day.

Hi Lee. I have 5 kids, 3 remain to be homeschooled. All high school age. My 17 yo has had some issues with seizures since Spring. As a result he has fallen behind somewhat in his work. He will be 18 in Oct and should graduate in June of 2012. How do I catch him up this year? He has fallen behind in math and Eng comp. He has so many credits in all the other subjects. Should I just focus on these 2 subjects this coming year? Also, he wants to go to art school. He has been taking art lessons at a studio who will also help him with a portfolio. He just loves it. Any suggestions you have i would appreciate. ~ Sandi

I would LOVE to help, but each issue is not a simple yes/no question or quick fact.  Instead, each of these issues is complicated.  Here is what I was able to give Sandi.

Dear Sandi,

I have quite a few Gold Care Club members that just need support for handling homeschool while facing unusual issues just like this.   These are complicated issues that can’t be answered by a quick email, I’m afraid.  Briefly, here are some options to consider:

Evaluate to see if he is truly behind in those areas, or if you just *think* he is behind;
Find an art school by going to a college fair as a first contact;
Learn about junior year and senior year tasks.

Joyce's Sons: Devin & Michael

Wow!  I can’t believe they are graduated!

We put our twins, Devin and Michael in the public school system from kindergarten thru 2^ndgrade and when they were not learning to read, I found myself spending a lot of time after school with them each day trying to help them.   They would get home from school around 3:30 in the afternoon and I would sit down with each one of them and get through their homework and work with them on their reading.  We got used to having dinner around 6:30 since I couldn’t really start working on it until about 5:30 after I got done studying with my twins.  (I also had a two year old running around interrupting us as well – so it took a little longer then it probably should have.)

We decided that since we were putting so much time into educating our children after they came home from school that we might as well take them out of the school and do it ourselves.  That way I could teach them at a time that was a little more convenient for our family.

Since I used to say that I would never be able to homeschool my children, the plan was to just get them “caught up” and put them back in school when they were “ready.” Well the rest is history.  We never did put them back in traditional school, and the two babies that followed after our twins have never stepped foot in a public school.  We have just found that we love having our family home with us and learning together.  We saw all the benefits of having our children at home with us, not to mention that the socialization at home was far superior to the “socialization” that happens in the public schooling environment.

As we schooled through the years, I always wondered if I was doing enough.  I was bothered by the fact that we weren’t memorizing all the facts that I had to memorize in public school as a kid and constantly wondered if we were doing the right curriculum.  I worried that we didn’t have a biology lab where we could do the official experiments that all kids should have access to.  I worried about our children having a “well-rounded education” that so many education experts talk about.  But learned that no one is really “well rounded.”  Everyone is gifted by God and given certain “bents” that are God given. Why focus so much on being well-rounded when the God of the Universe has a specific (or a few specific) things for you to accomplish.  He doesn’t expect you to be great at everything! All of my children’s’ specific “bents” were towards music.  They all loved playing music and since my husband and I love music too, it was perfect for our family.  Don’t get me wrong.  We didn’t completely “blow off” all the other stuff and just do music all day long, but it was a good leverage to use to get them to do their reading, writing and arithmetic before we brought out the guitars and drums.

Like I said above,  I was always worried that we weren’t doing enough for our boys, but I guess we did okay, because one of our boys qualified for our local Running Start program and will be getting his AA degree earlier than usual and my other twin was just accepted into a college where he will be getting his degree in fitness.  So far the one that is in the Running Start program has a 3.4 GPA and would like to get a degree in Business so he can own his own business someday.   Both boys love the Lord and are frustrated with the college environment but we are talking a lot about it and I am glad they have such a strong foundation from their homeschooling days that will hopefully help them navigate those challenges that they will and are coming across in the secular college environment.

We just had a wonderful graduation with our boys. We didn’t have any other kids in their class (from the homeschool co-op we are involved in)  that were graduating so we had a ceremony just for them at our church.   Our church let us use their facility and it was beautiful!  We had about 100 of our friends and family join us in our celebration.  We were able to share a great video of their growing up years and present our boys with their diplomas and words of encouragement.  They each had some words of encouragement for us and it was very heart warming.

Someone asked me if I had to do it all over again, would I do anything differently and I think that I would probably have looked for more ways to get college scholarships for my boys so they could attend a private Christian college, but I am proud of the way they are handling themselves so far.  We have a good relationship with them and it makes for good/honest conversations.

We prayed all the way through their homeschooling years for them daily.  I believe that is why we don’t have many regrets on what we did. I believe that God guided us in curriculum choices and what to really spend our time and money on for them.  God was very clear with us on what we should focus on and I am very thankful for His leading in our homeschooling.

We also joined a homeschool cooperative that made a huge difference in our continuing this journey.  Whenever we were frustrated and ready to quit, the community of other homeschoolers were there to help us and support us. I think that was a pretty important thing for us.  There are so many resources and support networks out there now. You don’t have to do this alone.

Obviously, we are not a perfect family and we have had our challenges and warts, but I am truly amazed at how well homeschooling works. It’s not nearly as scary as I thought it would be!

Thank you, Joyce, for sharing your story! I’m sure many will be inspired by your experience!

Learn how to save money homeschooling with my free Special Report: “7 Secrets to Homeschooling Through a Financial Storm.”

I have had the privilege of speaking to some parents of magnificently gifted teens. Geography Bee winners, Spelling Bee winners, nationally recognized students with outstanding accomplishments. Each parent told me the same thing. There are people “out there” who think they can force their child into excellence. I suppose it’s possible to force a child into excellence. I actually think it’s far more common for parents to ALLOW their child to excel, and then get accused of forcing them.

My friend the National Geography Bee Champion studied geography for fun all the time. She would rather do that than almost anything else,  although she is a very well-rounded kid. She could play a musical instrument, did great in art and science and writing. I have to say that her overwhelming characteristic had nothing to do with academics – she was one of the most charming and well-liked kids I’ve met. Perhaps some people presumed that Mom and Dad were force-feeding her facts, and that led to the unsavory feedback. The people who expressed their objections did not know the child, the family, or the situation.

Not everyone has a child with a burning interest in something. But please understand, some children DO have a deeply rooted longing for….  something nutty. For me, I suffered through a child who studied chess all day. I had another child who studied economics all day. Not every child is like that, I’m sure. But when a child IS like that, then it’s the parent’s job to fan the flames, and encourage them and support them in their interests.

Encouraging the unique pursuits of a child is one of the best parts about homeschooling. It can help them to learn academics, but more importantly it can help them learn about themselves. Do they want to study that in college? Can they make a career out of it? Do they feel “done” with that endeavor, and don’t want to continue? These are great things that kids are learning. It’s one reason why homeschooling can provide the best college and career preparation. As students get these unique and passionate interests, even in things like nutty spelling words, they can better learn about what they  want to do with their life.

And to those of you who DO have a child with a strange or alien interest, take heart! I suffered through it, and I have talked to others who have trudged through it as well. You can do it!

Read to what others are saying about The HomeScholar Gold Care Club!

In one schedule, I clearly explain exactly what I hoped to accomplish during my tutoring time with each child.

Tutor Time with Mom ~

Update High School Records & Reading List & Congressional Award

Bible:  Read Aloud Memory Verse Daily

Chemistry:   Vocabulary, On your own questions and Narration

French:  Check French dictation & copywork, Record books read

History:   Narration and Essay questions from the Teacher’s Edition

Narration in 1) Music History 2) Fine Arts 3) Literature 4) Bible

Literature Writing:  Review quick essay, Review writing & research progress & outlines, Spelling & vocabulary if necessary
SAT preparation: Narration

Not everything happened as planning.  I honestly can’t remember doing a lot of narration of history, art, literature, or Bible.  Hopefully I did it just often enough so my children were actually paying attention to what they were reading.   I remember trying to get each thing done at least once each week. It was often a function of how tired I was.  I lightened up a lot during times of burnout, and during December, particularly.

Each week, I tried to remember to update my high school records the reading list for each child.  To be honest, that did not happen.  I would usually get to that each month or two, but certainly not each week.

I have “Congressional Award” listed.  I never managed to get that done.  Although it isn’t difficult to do, it took more time than I had available.  I simply had to drop it from my schedule.  Looking at those words each week were a little depressing – I felt like a failure that I couldn’t get that Congressional Award handled.  Looking back, I see that it wasn’t all that important.  It’s not like academics, or character, or something very important.  Instead, it was something that might have been nice, but it certainly wasn’t required.  If you are in the same situation, I encourage you to just drop it off your radar.  There will certainly be some things that may be good to do, that you don’t have time to complete.  There are SO many good ideas and great curriculum choices, that some truly great things can’t fit into your schedule.  Don’t beat yourself up about it.

During the time of this schedule, my son Kevin was working as a chess coach. While coaching, his brother would be at Starbucks with me.  I was  reading about how to homeschool high school, while Alex was reading about things he was interested in: economics and politics.

Kevin felt very wise and mature during this particular year.  He wanted to create his own schedule.   He created a self-made schedule.  I tried to encourage that, hoping that making a schedule would give him “ownership” over the organization of his day.  He certainly did accomplish a lot!

Homeschooling is NOT the same as doing schoolwork at home.  There is LOTS of freedom!  My Gold Care Club will give you all the help you need to succeed!

As parents, our job is to take the child we are given, and shape and mold them into the adults they are meant to be. Carol has finished homeschooling her oldest child, and she provides a wonderful example for others. You can’t change who your child is, but you can make sure they are happy and successful!

My son, CJ is graduating from our homeschool high school this week! Wanting to be an encouragement to other younger homeschoolers and celebrating the graduation of my firstborn here is our story:

When it was time for my firstborn to go to kindergarten my homeschooling friends encouraged me to try homeschooling but I was too chicken. By the middle of fourth grade my son was asking to be homeschooled and after attending a homeschool conference and lots of reading I took the plunge and we began “fifth grade” at home.

Shy from birth, my son does not want the slightest bit of hoopla in celebrating this wonderful event so we have compromised: taken one picture on our porch and invited a handful of people to our house for a little reception. But I feel like shouting and dancing and throwing a giant party and inviting everyone I know!

A few years after the start of our homeschool journey my husband became disabled with a chronically painful condition that is still not cured. So…out of necessity our homeschool has been shall we say, in no waytraditional. And how much other people helped us along the way…. we could not have done it without others helping with transportation, materials, encouragement, meals, cleaning, and money gifts.

I so appreciate your materials on transcripts and course descriptions Lee, that have helped me pull it together after the fact. I am so proud of my son, as well, in that as he has become a man he has taken responsibility for his own learning and applying for college and scholarships. Besides getting a huge tuition break at the college of his choice we have just learned he has also qualified for two large local scholarships totaling seven and a half thousand dollars! We truly praise God for this provision.

As unbelievable as it sounds within several years we also experienced a flood that surrounded our house with water and washed out our driveway, got struck by lightning, experienced an ice storm that took out electricity in over half the state for days and in some places weeks, had record snowfalls and then finally had our house get hit by an unusual tornado!

He is there assisting us even in the midst of sickness, pain, loss of income, moving and disruption. I am thankful for His grace and power in completing this homeschool journey with one child…..now on to the next!

~ Carol

Like Carol, one day you will be dancing and shouting and throwing a party (if you child will let you…) Until then, I’ll admit it’s not always easy. But it’s VERY rewarding!

If you are concerned about facing family trauma in the midst of homeschooling, perhaps this article will help: What If? Homeschool High School without Fear.

Even through difficulties, homeschoolers can be successful!

When you are applying for colleges, you will need a great homeschool transcript.  The good news is you can “do-it-yourself” and save thousands.  Discover the Total Transcript Solution.

Hi Lee, I’m responding to your request for high school graduate postings.

When I began homeschooling Aaron in kindergarten, I wasn’t sure I could teach the basics, let alone all the way through high school.

I was nervous about teaching in general. He was a smart kid, and still is. One thing that gave me encouragement was the fact that I’d taught him to read when he was 4. I used phonics. When I heard that the local public school ‘taught’ reading in late kindergarten and 1st grade using whole language, I knew I had to homeschool. The irony is this school was very proud of its remedial reading program in 4th grade; however, if they’d taught the kids how to read using phonics, they wouldn’t need the remedial program!

This Saturday he graduates with a 3.9 from his Running Start classes plus homeschool classes. He was accepted into both UW and Rochester Institute of Technology. He will be majoring in Physics at the UW. On the side, he sings, plays guitar and acts.

I am very proud of Aaron and what he has accomplished. Not only is he excelling academically and in the arts, he is a morally strong young man with a love for Jesus Christ. I know that homeschooling him all these years has been vital to his development. Homeschooling has enabled him to pursue his passions as well as guarding his heart from the prevailing attitudes of the culture.

Some of the best curriculum choices I made were: Bob Jones math (colorful pages when they’re younger and they really teach the concepts; all my kids have done well in BJUP math), Apologia science, Romalda Spaulding phonics cards for learning to read and spell, frequent trips to the library, Christian drama/theater (which I’m heavily involved in, but which I endorse because of how it helps improve speaking skills, memory skills, physical memory skills, confidence, and helps instruct youth through story . . . and enables kids to do ministry for others, including praying for the audiences).

Homeschooling our children is one of the best decisions my husband and I have made.

~ Shannon

I agree!  It was one of the best decisions our family made too!  It’s no always easy, but you can do it!  And you can be successful like Shannon!

We are having a 20% off sale on our Parent Training A la Carte courses today and tomorrow.  Just use the code “enjoy20″ at check out!

Read This!

Kids love amazing things.  Unreal, incredible things.  Especially in movies, they LOVE superheros.  Spiderman.  The Incredibles. Batman.  And now Thor.

The big news:  Kids love these things.
The bad news: Hollywood.
The good news:  It can encourage reading.

If your child is old enough to see Thor, or if they aren’t allowed but are interested, I have a suggestion.  Read books about mythology!

My children enjoyed reading about mythology.  Of course, it’s important to compare mythology to the truth!  But you know, it’s not just Hollywood that references mythology of the past.  When kids are reading Shakespeare and other classical literature from Reading Lists for the College Bound, many of those works will reference mythological characters.  By knowing these fanciful stories, it can increase their enjoyment of literature.  (And movies too!)

Here are some books that we enjoyed while we were homeschooling.

Favorite Norse Myths by Mary Pope Osborne or D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths by Ingri d’Aulaire. These are where you will find the mythology behind the popular movie Thor. Another fun resource is D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d’Aulaire.

Here is a review of Thor, which may help you decide if it’s appropriate for your family.

Today is the last day for 40% off of our Parent Training A la Carte courses.  Tomorrow will be 30% off.  Check it out now!  At checkout, use Coupon Code – enable40.

Most of my products are geared toward junior high and high school.  However, I have one class that is appropriate regardless of age:  Gifted Education at Home.  I often consult with parents of gifted children that need extra  encouragement and support.  This week I received a note from one of those parents.  Candy’s daughter is graduating this month, at the age of 13.

Greetings!
Hi Lee,
I’ve been meaning to email you for a while, but am just now getting around to it. I wanted to take a minute to email you and thank you. Because of  our
wisdom and support, Courtney is graduating this year! She’s 13, and a full time college student with College Plus.

You were the first to encourage us NOT to change the way we homeschooled when Courtney reached high school level (and her stint in the spotlight). You are the one that gave us the knowledge and support of our high school options. After being shut down by the school district this year for Running Start Dual Enrollment at Community College (due to Courtney’s age) it was again you that helped get us back on track and find College Plus.

Anytime I meet a new homeschooling mom, I tell them to go to your website first. THANK YOU for all your passion and dedication. You truly deserve all the success you have and much more.

Thanks to your support and knowledge, Courtney has been 100% homeschooled. We’re actually glad we didn’t take part in Running Start now . It has been a great source of pride that we have taken this journey 100% together, and on our own terms. So THANK YOU!!

Candy, Courtney’s Mom

Join my Squidoo Fanclub!

Hi, Lee. I am needing to share this with someone, and I think you will appreciate it most. We started home schooling our children last year when my oldest was in eighth grade. I had such high hopes to see the passion and creativity come out of him, but it seemed like the deadness of school would not wear off. He kind of liked homeschooling and understood some of the advantages, but would sulk about it at other times. No matter how much I tried to encourage delight directed learning, he still just thought of school as school, something necessary but boring. I really thought many days that I started this too late and all of those school years just ruined and dulled his senses beyond rescue. Until recently.

After a year and a half of homeschool, the lights are starting to come on. He is realizing what an opportunity he has and the desires are starting to show. Tonight, we signed him up for a tutorial on film making, and we had a great conversation as we stopped for dinner. He is “getting it.” He’s thinking creatively about high school courses. He is sounding independent. I guess I should have expected 8 years of school to take longer than a few months to wear off.

But it was this statement that knocked me over backwards: “You know, I don’t get why kids who homeschool their whole lives decide to go to high  school. That seems kind of pointless.”:)
~ Kelly on Facebook

It can take some kids longer than others to “wash that school right outta their hair.” If you are transitioning out of school, you may want to read my blog post Deschooling Gently: A Step by Step Guide to Fearless Homeschooling for encouragement and information.

Thanks for allowing me to share your story, Kelly!

Homeschooling is NOT the same as doing schoolwork at home.  There is LOTS of freedom!  My Gold Care Club will give you all the help you need to succeed!