Ok so after that question (which totally does not make any sense to me, at this point in my life), the other question I get as an  homeschool parent  is “Do you plan to continue homeschooling in high school?“…with a grin on my face…I answer with the info below.

I remember my friends and family as well as strangers asking me this when my kids were still in kindergarten and 2nd grade. I always wanted to answer “well… no. I think I want to try 2nd through 8th grades first.” People seem to be obsessed with the idea that high school is some how too difficult for parents to teach, especially algebra and science

my 2 highschoolers and I  are just finishing up 10th grade year and it is really going well and less stressful than most people think( remember am still homeschooling my 7th and 1st grader too). We  are learning, planning for their future, and enjoying it all ( and also keep in mind I never went to college and am from Ghana West Africa). The transition to high school has been pretty smooth for us thanks to lots of info on college board page and also our current homeschool program Abeka academy….would not have it any other way right now. And also signed them up for IXL programs and also RAZkids. we are well on our way to success.

Lately, I have seen lots of  questions on social media from nervous parents about homeschooling high school kids. Some of their questions are, How do I know what curriculum to choose? How much math and science do students need? What if I can’t teach math?

I am glad to give any suggestions and the program we are currently using now, I am in the 2nd year  of homeschooling high school kids myself and can only share what has worked to prepare us for high school.

START PREPARING WELL BEFORE HIGH SCHOOL BEGINS

The end goal of high school is not a piece of paper. The goal of high school is to prepare your student for life after high school. For some students, that will mean college. For others, that will mean work or internships. Whatever their path. They need to be prepared.

We started teaching our kids to homeschool  independently in elementary and middle school. It started with me being there while they are homeschooling then I slowly started giving them the mantle to sit and listen and do their assignments. We also had them write book reports for every single book they read and also any trip to a museum was to be turned into a book report. that alone is teaching them writing skills and also reading and being able to express themselves.

By the time we reached high school, my daughters were both  self-learners. they are responsible for their studies and getting assignments done. My duty has gone from teacher to facilitator and grader thanks to ABeka academy. they  now have the ability to find information out on their own.

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

As we just talked about, the goal of high school is to prepare students for life after high school. To reach that goal, you are going to need to know what you need to reach it. Here are 4 things to keep in mind:

• your state graduation requirements
• college entrance requirements
• career goals
• necessary life skills

You can look up your state’s graduation requirements by just Googling them. These are the minimums you need and are usually quite easy to attain. Keep in mind that if your student is planning on attending college, the minimum will usually not meet most college entrance requirements.

When we started planning for high school, my daughters was unsure of what they wanted to do when they graduated high-school.

 

CREATE A ROAD MAP

Once you determine the amount of credits and other criteria necessary (volunteer hours, internships, etc.), you need to create a road map. You have a goal. You just need to figure out how to get there.

Your road map will include each year of high school, each subject area, and the required number of credits. For instance, if you know your student will need 4 years or credits of English, then list English under each year of school. We use Abeka academy and they actually made it easy to create this road map.

Do the same for each subject. If you know you need several electives or just 2 years of a foreign language, add them in where you think it would work for your schedule. Remember, this is not set in stone. The idea is to help you visualize the steps that you need to take to get to your goal.

Many people create an excel spreadsheet, use a printable, or just use a notebook to make their road map. Do what ever works for you and your student. Yes, don’t forget to get your student involved in this entire process. After all, they are the ones who have to do the actual work.

CHOOSE CURRICULUM

Once you have your road map created, start planning the 9th grade year. We started this process in middle school. We used middle school as prep years for high school, so that when  9th grade rolled around our daughters were ready for high school level studies.

It looked like this: with our girls we had time so we decided to do 2 electives since in 8th grade they did algebra 1.

• English – 1 credit
• Math – 1 credit
• Social Studies – 1 credit
• Foreign Language – 1 credit
• Electives  ?

with our girls we stick with one accredited curriculum which is Abeka academy and they still love it. they said the chemistry teacher is boring but hey he is getting the lesson done and they actually enjoy what he is teaching, they just want him to tell more stories like their math teacher.

We also had the opportunity to use Rosseta stone Spanish and also traveled to a Spanish speaking  country and stayed for a total of 6 months while studying.

 

with the above listed you should be able to enjoy the homeschooling process and also make sure your kids are getting all they need to move on in their life either in college or a work place….

 

with love