Hello there! If you are new here, we invite you to subscribe by RSS feed or by email. On Facebook? We would love for you to join us.

Do you feel like you want to “throw in the towel” with your homeschooling? Is it winter doldrums or your curriculum?

Learn more about steps you can take right now to meet all of your homeschool high school goals.

How can you give homeschool grades without tests? There are other options. Today’s video post will share some grading options for your high school homeschool.

What do you do if your student needs to take a class that is way out of your comfort zone. We all have that subject, don’t we? This video shares how I “taught” physics.

Different colleges ask for different information from homeschoolers.  It can be difficult to determine what extra information they may require from you.

Teri on facebook asked this question: How to compete with the 5 pt grading scale in public school…. they take a college credit type class and it’s weighted at 5 pts vs 4pts for an A then their GPA can be higher than 4.0 overall. A friend told me that some exclusive/ivy league colleges aren’t even looking at kids unless their GPA is near 5 or at least over 4.

I received a question from Bethany about how to provide everything  needed to be successful in homeschool and life. I answered with a video clip.  I hope it helps remind all of us whose responsibility it is to learn.

My husband and I went on an Alaska cruise with my parents.  It was wonderful, and we had SUCH a good time!  It was fun to see a client and her family on the ship, too!   Midway through the cruise, I had the chance to speak to our cruise director, Jason Venner on the Holland America MS Westerdam.  Jason was raised in the Pacific Northwest.    He lived in a remote location of the Columbia River Gorge, without running water, electricity or telephones.

Jason was an only child, homeschooled by his mother.  That was where he developed his great passion: the outdoors and adventure sports.  He went to Linfield College on academic scholarships and studied business management, leadership, and communication.  On our cruise, Jason was the BEST cruise director – humorous and outgoing beyond measure!  When I was talking to him, I joked, “Can’t you just try to come out of your shell a little bit?”  We had some good laughs about socialization.  Jason said, “I loved homeschooling, and I wouldn’t change a thing about my childhood!”

Obviously, Jason is a perfect fit for the socially demanding job of guiding thousands of adults in fun activities.  I wonder if his mother had any idea the profession Jason would choose.  Did she think he might grow up to be socially awkward?  Did she worry about the opportunities he missed?  Was she concerned that she might be holding him back?  I suppose she knew he was gregarious – did she worry about socialization?  I looked at him, and thought about my clients homeschooling in remote locations, and military and missionary families struggling to fit in.  I had a whole new appreciation for the Grand Plan.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

~ Jeremiah 29:11

Don’t worry.  You can’t  mess up too bad.  Your children are going to be who they are meant to be, and they are going to do what they are meant to do.  Even if you are homeschooling in the middle of nowhere, without running water, electricity, or telephones.

Do you enjoy these daily doses of high school homeschool wisdom?  Sign up to get them delivered via email or reader!

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.

As homeschool parents, our goal is NOT to teach something. Our goal is for the kids to LEARN. I could have taught my kids “at grade level” and they would have not learned a thing. Instead, I gave them curriculum at their ability level, and then they had to learn something that they didn’t already know.

I believe that older teens MUST learn how to teach themselves. If they go to college, they will be expected to learn all the textbook material on their own. College lectures are most often supplemental to the textbook – not the same. If they don’t go to college, they will still have to teach themselves some computer skills, or online banking, or how to buy a car – whatever.

My kids taught themselves Advanced Math (pre-Calculus) and Calculus. They taught themselves physics. I know they knew the material because I  gave them the tests. I didn’t know what the calculus symbols meant, but I knew that my kids answers matched the answers on the key! I could have taught them Biology and Chemistry (because I’m an RN and I know that stuff) but they actually taught themselves that as well. It just worked out better for us when they were teaching themselves, while I just checked up on them from time to time. Alex taught himself economics, and is now doing graduate level work in economic thought (we’ve been told by his professor.) He even taught himself psychology and business law, because he got fabulous grades on the college level CLEP exams in those subject.

Here’s my point: kids will teach themselves something when they are interested in it. It’s fine for kids to do that, and it works out great for kids that are working on an intensely academic, college-prep curriculum as well as for kids that are in a relaxed homeschool environment.

I have seen SO many notes about “getting it all done” that I just want to put in a plug for mom having prayer and quiet time. I found that when I was consistent with those things I could “get it all done” and when I wasn’t consistent with those things I got frustrated. Either I was expecting too much, or was frustrated too easily. When I spent time with God, then things went much more smoothly in our homeschooling.

How are you teaching your kids to learn?

I am now the Seattle Homeschool Examiner.  You can read my homeschool articles here.