I usually try to encourage parents to do their best, but today I’m going to pause our regularly scheduled encouragement, and tell you what NOT to do.
What NOT to do:
1. Don’t try to do 4 years of high school before Freshman year
2. Don’t try to write course descriptions for classes you haven’t begun yet
3. Don’t think you have to change everything to homeschool high school
4. Don’t make your children take tests for high school when they are in junior high
5. Don’t expect your children to demonstrate “senior” behavior the first day of freshman year
6. Don’t expect your children to work longer hours than the working spouse in your home
7. Don’t expect perfection, or perfect attentiveness, especially not all day long
This is a good start, but can you add to this list? What No-No items can YOU add to this?
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Laura says:
Yep. If you have overachieving kids, don’t let them over-commit.
November 30th, 2012 at 9:29 am
Stephanie says:
Actually could you clarify #3? What do you mean by that?
November 30th, 2012 at 9:46 am
Lee says:
Stephanie,
Some people think they need to change their homeschool just because their kids are entering 9th grade. They may think they MUST use tests, MUST use classical education, or MUST use textbooks. My advice is do what works. Even in high school, LOL!
Blessings,
Lee
November 30th, 2012 at 9:54 am
Christy says:
Don’t ever say, “I’ll homeschool until they get to high school, then I’ll send them to school.” Why undo all that you’ve accomplished in their lives, when what you are doing is what is best for them and has worked all their lives?
November 30th, 2012 at 10:01 am
Bonnie says:
Don’t be afraid to include their non-book activities on transcripts. Example – working part-time at vet’s office = credit in “Intro to Veterinary Science”. or spending countless hours writing code for online gaming = “Computer Programming”
November 30th, 2012 at 10:25 am
Stephanie says:
Thanks Lee! I thought that’s what you had in mind but wanted to clarify.
November 30th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Assistant to The HomeScholar says:
Good point, Bonnie!
Lee has written about that quite a bit. She calls it “Occupational Education”. Following are a couple of her posts on that very subject:
Occupational Education for the Confused Homeschool Parent
Occupational Education in 5 Easy Steps
Blessings!
Robin
November 30th, 2012 at 11:06 am
Suzanne says:
Regarding #4; do you mean SAT type tests or course specific tests? My son took Algebra I in 7th and I had him take the CBE while it was fresh. He’ll take the Geometry CBE this coming summer. Do you think I should have waited until later to test him?
November 30th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
CommonSenseMom says:
Number 6 is very thought-provoking!
November 30th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Dixie says:
Don’t be terrified of subjects your children want to study that you can’t teach. The necessary resources are out there! Find them, help your children access them, and provide accountability as well as encouragement (kudos!) while they take some responsibility for their OWN dreams and future. You don’t have to teach everything–facilitate and manage instead!
November 30th, 2012 at 2:10 pm
Lee says:
Suzanne, I mean the daily curriculum you use does not need to include tons of tests:
http://www.thehomescholar.com/how-to-assign-grades-without-grading.php. Yearly tests are helpful, but constant testing isn’t really a learning activity
http://www.thehomescholar.com/homeschool-standardized-tests.php
Blessings,
Lee
November 30th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
J W says:
Don’t be afraid to learn something new alongside your child, and don’t be afraid to “fail” that class yourself while your child easily gets an “A!” Case in point – Latin. We both love it. I’d flunk it if I were in a conventional school, my student would definitely get an “A.” But as long as I have my cheat sheets, I can at least follow along, and my student is learning a lot because we consult with each other about new concepts and my student learns a lot from correcting my papers. Seriously.
November 30th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Dawn@OneFaithfulMom says:
Never, Never sacrifice your relationship with your child over schoolwork.
December 1st, 2012 at 6:38 am