Junior high is your training ground.  For parents, junior high has two purposes.  First, it’s a time to learn how to high school, taking classes and reading books that will prepare you for the task ahead.  Like reading “What to Expect When you are Expecting” the learning process should be both fun and educational for you.  The second purpose is to practice high school record-keeping skills.  That way nothing will come as a surprise, and you won’t have moments of panic or terror because you don’t know what you’re doing.

For the children, junior high also serves two purposes.  These two years are set aside for remedial work, so if your child needs extra help  in math, or writing, that’s what this time is for.  You can’t be behind, because the purpose of 7th and 8th grade is to spend time getting those skills up to grade level.  The other purpose of junior high is to allow children to take high school level classes in any areas where they are ready.  If they are ready for Algebra 1 or French 1, then they can take those high school level classes (and you can put it on the transcript) even if they are doing remedial work in other subject areas.

So you see, it’s not possible to be “behind”  or “ahead” in junior high, because the purpose is to serve both needs.

I’ve recently been connecting with friends on LinkedIn.  I invite you to send me an invitation if you want to connect with my business.

What exactly does one need in order for a home school child to enter college? I have heard many different things..like a home school diploma will not be sufficient or you have to have transcripts or a portfolio…it is very intimidating to say the least. Any advice???

~Amanda

Amanda, check out my free minicourse here.

I have lots of video classes about how to homeschool high school on the Gold Care Club.

It’s not intimidating, it’s just one more stage of life that you can successfully navigate!

You can sign up for our free monthly newsletter here

“How do I determine if a curriculum is high school material?  My son is interested in learning Biblical Greek. I found a few great workbooks at Half-Price books, but they don’t have any grade recommendations on them.” ~ Charlotte on Facebook

Look up the book online, through Amazon or a homeschool catalog, and see what it says. You can also look at the author and reviewer, to see if they are high school or college reviewers. you can also ask your pastor – if he took Biblical Greek, then he might know.

Let’s be friends on Facebook!

Summer break is important.  Homeschoolers don’t usually  follow a regular school schedule, however.  How do you know  when to stop?  When does  being hardworking and persistent  become harmful?  At what point are you just hitting your head  against on the wall?

I know that public schools do not finish textbooks so I am trying to decide what to do. I see that my son is burnt out. I think he is in summer mode now plus a lot is going on in May. Should I have him just stop for a while? I know he must get through the Algebra 1 before he moves on to Geometry. Should I have him complete the whole text? I know he is not going to want to work on this during summer. Since this is his first year being homeschooled summer for him is the time off he is used to. Do you know what I mean? I have a headache.
~Karen in Florida

I would certainly take a summer break.  Although a couple of math problems for review might be helpful, it is vital to remember that a BREAK can be the most important part of summer.

About math,  how far along in the book are you?  I guess I would call the Teaching Textbooks support line, and ask them this question.  Perhaps they will tell you exactly which chapters are “optional.” That would mean you don’t have as far to go as you think.

Have you tried putting math first?  First in the day?  First in priority, so that nothing else happens until it’s done?  Have you tried cutting down the number of problems required each day?   Have you tried doing a physically exhausting activity before AND after math?  Boys do better that way.  Bike rides – running – ANYTHING physical can help them buckle down and concentrate.

Most schools finish in June.  You might want to find out what day the public school ends, and put that on the calendar.  Until then, he might do a full lesson each day (first thing in the morning – no complaints allowed.) After school ends, then he might do just 5 problems per day “to keep your skills sharp over summer, honey, because we know how hard you worked to get those skills, and I don’t want you to lose it.”

You don’t have to complete the whole text.  Set a goal of 80%.  Try to eliminate the parts of the book that are less valuable (using feedback from the company and author.)

Some homeschoolers will just STOP in June, and pick up the book in the same place in September.  That’s hard though, to pick up math midstream like that, but it’s an option to consider.

For right now, this moment, I suggest dropping the books and playing. You know, take a Tylenol, have a cup of coffee, go outside, do something physical, or take him for an ice cream.

Karen wrote back:

I like your advise in talking to the company and seeing what chapters are optional. I didn’t know any chapters in a text were optional. I just want to make sure he is ready for geometry in the Fall.  I am going to go and get that coffee now or in my case a cup of tea.

We just looked on the teaching textbook website and he said “Hey let me just take the Algebra 2 placement test because that looks easy and then we will see what I know”.  Calgon take me away. You got it kid.

Oh my goodness! He passed the algebra 2 placement with a 90%. Note to self: when your kids look frustrated it may be because they are just done and not because they don’t understand the information.

By the way the younger one said, “If he is testing out I only have two more tests left can I test out too”. Guess what? 95%. We are done with the books. Just reviewing in the summer.

~Karen

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

It’s time to finish up the school year, and it can be difficult to feel “done.”  For parents that aren’t completely done with a textbook or unit of study, then you may want to think outside the box in order to finish up your classes quickly – and still have time to enjoy summer.

If you need to finish up quickly then consider the “Popcorn Party Plan.” Instead of working through a textbook, or completing every assignment, go the “quick and easy” route instead. Not every class in high school has to be hard.  I remember that I had some high school classes that were significantly easier than others!  So for a break, and a way to quickly finish a unit study or course, consider educational videos as a way to catch up.

For example, I have a child that LOVES economics.  He studied economics all the time, and we talked about it constantly as a family.  But suddenly my oldest son was a junior in high school, and I realized that he was the one that DIDN’T love economics – and I had forgotten to teach it!  I needed a way to  quickly teach that class in a painless way, because my oldest was already bogged down with heavy academics in math and science, and he really didn’t have the energy needed for a big beefy economics course.  Just living in our home meant that he had been exposed to more than his fair share of economics.  I needed to find a way to be sure it was enough, there were no gaps, and I could call it a 1/2 credit class. That’s when I stumbled on the “Popcorn Party Plan.”  I chose a challenging series of educational videos, and we watched a movie about it.

For economics, I used the Teaching Company Basic Economics course. With my clients, I have sometimes suggested The Standard Deviants – American
Government 2-pack.

For American History, consider Joy Hakim’s History of US on PBS.

You can also just scour the video section of your library, to see what supplemental videos they might have to help you finish up the details.  For example, one client was working on American History.  The problem was she was doing it TOO thoroughly.  It took her a lot longer to cover the American Revolution, because they were enjoying it so much. They had covered a lot of current events as well.  She didn’t want to skip the post-civil war era, but she didn’t have time to work it too thoroughly.  We decided that she could compromise and cover the middle period of American History lightly, by  using the Popcorn Party Plan.  Watching videos on the missing topics in American History, and just enjoying it together with a bowl of popcorn.  It  was better than a gap, and more realistic that a summer tests-and-worksheets class.  It was a great way to finish up the year!

When you think your children know something, or you need to create a quick and painless class to fill in a perceived gap, consider trying the Popcorn Party Plan yourself!

You can get the Total Transcript Solution here. Then all you have to do is implement!

Sometime a student will request to be withdrawn from public high school and begin homeschooling. If that is the case for you and you can support them, I would encourage you to do it and not look back. You CAN pull your students out anytime you want to. If you want to get their high school grades first you could wait until the grades are released and then pull them. If they aren’t getting good grades, then you can pull them out BEFORE they get their grades, and then they won’t ever be on their transcript. Just a little high school tip

If possible, I really recommend my beginning “Preparing to Homeschool High School” crash course. I find that starting at the beginning, and learning about homeschooling high school all at once is easier, to get you quickly up to speed. Some people watch the video, and then call me for a one-hour appointment or join the Gold Care Club so they can get additional consulting.

The biggest concern for parents puling their kids out at a high school level is often the transcript.  You will need to have the current public school transcript, if possible, so that your homeschool transcript includes BOTH schools – homeschool and public school. It doesn’t have to be an accredited transcript, but you do need a transcript so you know the exact course title, credit value, and precise grade in each class. As a homeschool parent, you become the academic clearing house for every educational experience.  I  have an entire chapter about that in my book, “Setting the Records Straight: How to Craft Homeschool Transcripts and Course Descriptions for College Admission and Scholarships.”

You can do it!  Homeschooling is really fun!  I have transcript help available with the Total Transcript Solution.

If you are curious about providing a great homeschool education for your gifted child, check out my audio training, “Gifted Education at Home.“

Early high school credit in middle school?  Are you kidding?  How does that happen?

You mentioned (The Best Time to Start Your Homeschool Transcript) about middle school students taking high school courses and not realizing it. How is that done?  Wouldn’t a  person know what grade level book they are using, typically. My twins are going into 8th grade next year.  Are there any courses that we could do to help us get a step ahead in high school? Thank you for your help.
~ Sharon

Dear Sharon,
This is a topic I talk about often in my book:  Setting the Records Straight

Not all homeschoolers use graded textbooks, so it can be difficult to tell when your homeschool student is doing high school work.  The most common early high school credits are algebra and foreign language.   However, math textbooks rarely say “High School Algebra” it usually says “Algebra.”  And a foreign language curriculum may say “French” and a parent using it in middle school may not realize they mean high school level French.

If you are using a graded curriculum that is clearly labeled “WARNING: HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL” then it’s pretty easy, but it’s usually not that clear.  As long as parents know that it can happen, that some junior high classes really are high school level, then they can keep their eyes open.

The best classes to prepare for high school are reading, writing, and math. Reading and writing are fundamental skills that everything else will hinge upon.  Math is a skill that builds incrementally, so you have to be consistent in order to become successful.

Middle school is a time to focus on fundamental skills in some things, and work ahead at a high school level for other things.  That’s the great thing about middle school – you really can’t be behind.  Since the purpose is EITHER remedial OR advanced, and each subject can be taught separately, you can provide exactly what your child needs and still be at just the right level in everything.

The HomeScholar Gold Care Club will give you the comprehensive help you need to homeschool high school.

What are you fussing about today?  I remember having conflict specifically about “showing your work” in math.   Exactly how do you know when it is important?  And when is it not important at all?

I am wondering how to determine if my 13 yr old is showing her work well enough in math.  She’s doing Saxon Algebra II and I’ve given up teaching it, but do correct it in that I look for the right final answer.  Is there any reason for her to be meticulous with showing steps?  Will it be to her advantage in any way to  improve?  How do I police this when there are many different paths to the answer and the key shows only one option?
Thank you for your help,
~ Rebecca in Washington

Ah yes…. showing your work.  I hated fighting with my kids about that.

Some will say “always show your work” and others will say “why show work, anyway?”  I think we should take a step back and think about it from a different perspective.  Your job is not to make her show her work or not. Your job is to make sure she LEARNS, right?  Some children will learn best by showing all their work, and others find the work too repetitive or boring, so giving an oral answer makes sense (like we did for elementary level math.)  So maybe our best strategy is to make her show as many answers as she needs to in order to learn.

That’s all very well and good, but here is what you might do in concrete terms.  If she shows all of her work and gets a 90% or above on her homework, then she is learning her math and has learned how to show her work.  Perhaps for the rest of the week she can show her work on just two or three problems.  The other problems she can simply right the answer.  If she scores less than 90% on that homework, then the following day she has to  show all her work again.  That will give her an incentive to get the answers correct.  It will help her learn to show her work, but also show her that the learning is more important.

If answers don’t match the answer key, don’t assume your child got it wrong.  I’ve been proven wrong that way MANY times!  Math book answer keys are notorious for getting the answers wrong – in EVERY math curriculum, not just Saxon.  Try to track down the Saxon website for updates on their answer key, or corrections.  They may have a published list.  Make use of their 800 number, and call them if you have a concern.

Again, that’s all very well and good, but how do you handle it in real life?  When my child’s answer didn’t match the answer in the answer key, I made *them* call the company and get the explanation (most of the time, anyway.)  I was so busy with everything else, I just didn’t have time, so I told me kids it was going to be marked as wrong unless they called the textbook company and got their approval that the answer key was wrong.  The only  exceptions was when they talked my husband into helping them

If her answer is right but she found a different path to get the answer, that’s fine.  It’s  important to know there are options to getting the answer.  I would only be concerned when the answer is wrong.

I hope that helps!

If you are curious about providing a great homeschool education for your gifted child, check out my audio training, “Gifted Education at Home.“

Patricia wanted my opinion about changing to an online school for senior year.

Hi Lee, I often read your posts and just want to say how blessed we are to have experts like you helping us throughout this bumpy road called Homeschooling High School. I have a junior who is college bound and I’m considering enrolling him with an Online school for his senior year. Some of the selections are  Penn High School, ABeka Academy or a local Online school here in South Florida. Do you recommend such move? I’m very  concerned about him not getting an “appropiate” High School diploma from an accredited school and thus damaging his chances of joining an Ivy League University. Please let me know your thoughts. I really appreciate it (I’m losing my sleep and my hair through this process)-Help!  Thanks so much. God bless!
~Patricia

Hi Patricia,

Thanks for the encouragement! So here is a general rule of thumb that may help you: if it is working, keep doing it. If your homeschool is going well, then don’t make a change to an online school. Keep doing what works. Don’t lose sleep, just take a deep breath. If you son has a specific college in mind, then  now is a PERFECT time to visit or call that college and ask them what they want from homeschoolers. It’s usually fairly easy to accommodate without changing the way you homeschool. Most often it is as simple as taking a couple of SAT subject tests, which you can do this spring.

Read my article about accreditation, to see how perhaps an online school is no better or different than any other unaccredited school. Homeschool Accreditation – “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Do you Twitter? Follow me here!

I received the sweetest note from Laura about my article on Accreditation, that I just had to share!

Dear Lee,

Thank you for writing the article “Homeschool Accreditation: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

I was homeschooling a foster daughter for 10th & 11th grade  when she announced she wanted to go back to the public high school for her senior year.  I didn’t like the idea, but wanted to honor her decision (she later told me she would have been better off not going back to public school, but that’s another story).  She registered for school and at 5:30 p.m. the night before school began, I got a phone call from the school secretary telling me the principal had decided not to accept my credits.  She would have to take 10th grade classes.  I didn’t think this sounded right, so I called the state senator who had written the legislation that favorably affected homeschoolers, Loren Leman.  He told me to have her go to the classes she had signed up for and for me to ask to see the school’s written policy.

The principal passed me off to the superintendent.  The  superintendent took out the written policy.  It said:  “Credits from other schools may be accepted from accredited schools or at the superintendent’s discretion.”  I smiled at him, handed him my course syllabus’, report cards and transcript. It took him 6 weeks to make his final decision, but he accepted  all of my homeschool credits.

Persistence counts.  My wonderful girl is now a married mother  of 3 with homeschool aspirations of her own.

Your article will help put the accreditation myth to rest for a lot of folks.

Sincerely,
Laura

Learn all about high school accreditation in the article;

* Unaccredited Public Schools
* Unaccredited Homeschool Transcripts
* Accredited Public Schools
* Homeschool Accreditation
* Official or Accredited Transcripts

These differences can save you a LOT of money!

Click here to read more about why teaching your high schooler is highly overrated.