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Homeschooling high school and applying to college isn’t hard when you focus on small tasks one at a time. Here are some reminders for you for the month of October:
Seniors
If you have not already taken the SAT, register today:www.collegeboard.com. Start your college applications. Admission and scholarships may be first-come, first-served, so be one of the first!
12th = Senior = 17-18 years old in the fall 11th = Junior = 16-17 years old in the fall 10th = Sophomore = 15-16 years old in the fall 9th = Freshman = 14-15 years old in the fall 7-8th = Middle School or Junior High, also known as “Training Time” for mom and dad
Are these calendar reminders helpful for you? I share them each month in my newsletter, The HomeScholar Record. Sign up to receive it today!
Some parents are born homeschooling their children. Other parents begin educating their children in the common way until they realize they need to make a change. It’s interesting to watch families taking their first tentative steps into the homeschool arena. Some begin the journey resistant, even angry at the world for being forced into the lifestyle. First tentative, gradually they become more confident. Eventually they begin to feel fulfilled as a parent and as a family.
If you are beginning the journey of homeschooling (whether joyfully or against your will) it may encourage you to know that God is with you.
Isaiah 43:5-7 (New Living Translation)
5 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west.
6 I will say to the north and south,
‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
from the distant corners of the earth.
7 Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’”
One of my clients has chosen Isaiah 43:5 as her verse for this year. In moments of certainty and doubt she will repeat it to herself.* “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west.”
Don’t be afraid to be gathered together with your children. It’s wonderful! Even if you aren’t looking forward to it, you can learn to love it AND be successful!
Check out my new profile on The Old Schoolhouse’s Speakers Bureau, and then ask you conference coordinator to invite me to come speak to your conference in 2011-2012!
Do you feel like you know what you are doing? Here are my calendar reminders for February:
Calendar Reminders Seniors
Complete the FAFSA and finish college applications.
Juniors
Register for the SAT or ACT this spring. Visit Colleges so you’ll know where you want to apply next fall.
Sophomores
If things are going well, can you add SAT prep or foreign language? If things aren’t going well, where can you cut back?
Freshmen
Learn about high school so you know what you are doing. Take a class, or get a video course.
Middle School
Too embarrassed to ask? This is the approximate age students BEGIN each grade in the fall for public school
9th = Freshman = 14-15 years old
10th = Sophomore = 15-16 years old
11th = Junior = 16-17 years old
12th = Senior = 17-18 years old
And 7-8th grade is Middle School or Junior High, also known as “Training Time” for Mom and Dad
The “Convention at Home Kit” is a great way to beat the winter doldrums – and it will save you $30 Instantly!
The kit includes one book, one audio course, two regular length DVDs, and the extended “Preparing to Homeschool High School DVD” which is almost four hours long. Take the time to learn about your chosen vocation. These are fabulous mid-winter continuing education courses!
That free month on the Silver Training Club that you get with the purchase of myTotal Transcript Solution cancan be your time to get some great homeschool high school parent training! You even get 20 minutes of free phone consultation each week for the first month. It is a great deal for parents who want to homeschool high school with excellence!
Homeschool calendar reminders are always available in my monthly newsletter. Make sure you receive my free monthly email newsletter, and make sure you read the calendar reminders section. That will help you remember all the important tasks of high school, from the visionary goals of freshman year, to the concrete tasks of junior and senior year.
Here are the calendar reminders for January, in case you missed them!
Seniors
Parents need to fill out the FAFSA now, even if it is just an estimate. You can correct the FAFSA when you finish your taxes in April, but they need an estimate as soon as possible – every day later means missed financial aid.
Juniors
Register for the SAT or ACT, and take it in March. Plan your college visits; what colleges will you visit? What week will you go? It’s important to do these things now, so senior year goes well.
Sophomores
Look online at two colleges, a private and a public school. What do they want from homeschool students? What courses do you need? Do you need to take a subject examination this year?
Freshmen
Be sure to cover the core classes: reading, writing, math, science, and history. Those are classes you need to cover every year.
Middle School
Avoid panic! Spend some time this month learning how to homeschool high school. That way next year you’ll begin high school feeling confident in your decision to homeschool.
Should we count extensive European travel during middle school as early high school credit?
Traveling Europe, learning foreign languages, and experiencing the art and culture of other countries is awesome! If these were done during high high school year, then you can give high school credit for the whole experience. If these experiences are completed prior to high school, does it count? In my opinion only the academic subjects taught at high school level can be counted toward high school credit. In other words, if a child has learned Spanish in middle school and still knows Spanish, then I would give him credit for that. If you use a foreign language curriculum as well as immersion in the culture, then it may provide an indication how many high school levels you have achieved. You can include each of those levels of foreign language on your high school transcript. I did that myself. My children did high school level Latin and French in middle school, and I listed it as “Early High School Credits” on the transcript. You can see how it looked here: http://www.thehomescholar.com/images/stories/pdfs/sample_transcript_by_year.pdf
While an elementary or middle school experience was a wonderful and enriching time that will last forever, high school credits do not necessarily follow. I don’t think suggest high school credits for experiences earlier unless it’s an academic subject and high school level. You may decide differently, though, depending on how long ago this all happened.
On the other hand, you can certainly give him high school credits for the things he does from now on with that information. If your child comes home from this fabulous experience, and continues to study the language, you might want to give high school credits for “Conversational Spanish” in high school. If, because of his experiences, the child passes a CLEP exam in European history or something, then you can give credit for that. If your child catches the European bug, and begins studying about that country as a passion and delight-directed learning this coming year, then you might give high school level credit when the child is high school age.
It’s a good idea to include academic, high school level subjects on the high school transcript. Remember that many middle school experiences are just FUN, though. They encourage the love of learning and encourage your child’s interests in different subjects, but it doesn’t need to go on the transcript.
For more information about marketing your child so they can compete for scholarships, you may want to look at my video “Getting the BIG Scholarships.” I will occasionally have a video presentation on myGold Care Clubwebsite called “College Scholarships for High School Credit” that describes how to apply for the smaller private scholarships.
I encourage parents with young children to sign up for my free monthly newsletter . Every month, when you see the phrase “homeschooling high school” it will strengthen and encourage you. By seeing that title, I hope to remove your fear of homeschooling the upper grades. Then, by the time your children are old enough for high school, it will seem like the next normal step to take! That way you can listen to your heart instead of listening to your fear – and you will make a decision without regrets.
One mother of young children has been on my list for years. She asked a question for my blog: where do I start and what do I start with?
Dear Lee,
We loved your Homeschooling Works Webinar. I’ve shared it on my facebook page and encouraged a mom who was feeling “outdone” by her daughter’s public school peers to listen to it as well. I’ve posted it on the Sonlight forums! Hope they enjoy it as much as I did. My son is only ten, but we are really grateful Lee, to have you out there for when we are ready for your service here in the next year or two.
I have a question for you. My son just began fifth grade. I first heard of you and signed up for your emails when he was in third grade, just so I wouldn’t forget about your service before I needed it. Well, just recently I have started reading your blog and I’m getting a feel for your methods and ideas, but I want to know at what age/grade is it wise to start using some of your products, and with what product should I start?
Thank you,
Anna in Texas
Dear Anna,
I encourage parents to spend 6th-8th grade learning about high school, so they feel confident and prepared BEFORE they start high school. That cuts down on the “panic-and-bail” problem. It also will give them the opportunity so spent 9th-12th learning about college admission and scholarships, so they can get into the best colleges with the best financial aid. When parents start early, it almost guarantees success.
If you have a specific question about transcripts, then my book Setting the Records Straight is a good starting place, but some parents get stressed thinking about grades and credits. That’s why I like starting gently, with the Preparing to Homeschool High School video instead.
Thank you! I think what you are doing here is important work, and I’m sure others are wondering the same thing that I was. I will be relying on you heavily in the years to come. Just don’t go anywhere in the next 7-8 years!!!
~ Anna in Texas
I talk a lot about preparing parents to homeschool high school. “Read books, attend conferences, watch instructional videos” I say, and “Invest in yourself and your chosen profession.”
What parents also want to know is the other side of the equation. How do you prepare CHILDREN to homeschool high school?
I have two high schoolers and had a very rocky high school “career” with them. We have 4 more coming along behind them and I want to make sure I’m on the right track with them.”
~Kela on Facebook
Do you have advice anywhere on your site, or previous articles, with tips for us homeschooling elementary/middle grades, and wanting to make sure we have our kids prepared to homeschool high school?
~ Marcy on Facebook
I have great news. The way you prepare children for high school is the same way you prepare them for success in life. Teach them to confidently read, write, and do math quickly. Do what it takes for them to develop good study habits and work ethic.
Teach them to be independent, so they can become self-teaching eventually. At the same time they will need to respect your leadership, so they will do the assignments you give them. Teach them honesty, so they don’t try to cheat or mislead you as they work independently. Keep their work in elementary school challenging, so they know what it is like to LEARN instead of KNOW new material. Make sure the work isn’t overwhelmingly difficult, so they don’t learn to hate school. In elementary and middle school, teach them how to pace themselves and their work, so they don’t suffer burnout. Having a schedule may help, but others achieve that goal by limiting the time allotted for each homeschool task. Have them help around the house, and make sure they know they are family members as well as students.
Spend time in elementary and middle school working through issues that arise. Parenting doesn’t get easier as children get older! So face problems head-on, working through them as they come up, so high school will go more smoothly.
How do you prepare young children to homeschool high school? Academically, by providing reading, writing, and arithmetic. Beyond that, values of hard work and honesty.
The HomeScholar Gold Care Club will give you the comprehensive help you need tohomeschool high school.
Homeschool Middle School, junior high, 7th and 8th grade. What to do, what to do?
My husband recently created a category on my blog JUST for parents of middle school students! You can read all the blog posts in my middle school category.
You’re reading my blog, so you obviously know how to find it online. But did you know you can search my blog for answers? There is a search box toward the top of my blog, so you can look up “grades” or “Senior year” and get the information you need. There are categories listed on the right hand side, far down the page. That way you can look at the series of blog posts that may be related to that category. It’s a great way to learn about foreign language ideas, for example.
If you would like more support, and you enjoy my blog, you may want it delivered to your email inbox every day. You can subscribe by email or by RSS Reader.
It’s hard for me to find the perfect amount of emails to send to stressed homeschool parents. Sometimes they want more, MORE, MORE homeschool information. Sometimes even my once-a-month newsletter is almost more than they can bear. If you need just a little bit of encouragement, grab my free monthly homeschool newsletter. If you want a bit more, subscribe to my homeschool mini-course and get weekly tips. If you really want some daily help, subscribe to my blog and become a Facebook friend, where I post my blog entries. And if you have a question, you can search the blog. If you are in need of some serious homeschool middle school and high school help, then definitely check out my Gold Care Club. It is like a 24×7 homeschool high school support group!
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.
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.
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
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 tohomeschool high school.
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Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
