Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Honest. Quirky. Real. Practical tips, candid reviews, and stereotype-smashing humor for homeschooling families.

Honest. Quirky. Real. Practical tips, candid reviews, and stereotype-smashing humor for homeschooling families.

10 Days of Homeschool High School: Conclusion

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I hope you’ve enjoyed the 10 Days of Homeschooling High School series. In case you missed something, I’ve linked below to all the topics that have been covered.

I believe that it is completely possible to give a child a solid education, at home, through high school. There are a multitude of ways to accomplish this. We have used a wide variety of resources, including:

We’re currently using Switched on Schoolhouse, which Brianna really enjoys. It gives us a good mix of independence and accountability. The key is finding the best fit for your individual child. What works for my child may not work for yours. What works for Brianna may not work for her younger siblings.

What are some of your favorite homeschool high school resources? Do you have any questions that I didn’t cover? Leave them in the comments and maybe I’ll do a follow-up post sometime in the next few weeks.

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Be sure to visit these brilliant women during our 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th!

Homeschooling High School: A College Prep Diploma

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When we began homeschooling high school, I designed my daughter’s courses based on the college prep track in my state’s graduation requirements. While she’s not the most studious kid in the world, she does plan to attend college. However, even if she had no plans for college, I would still base her high school education after a college prep model.

Why? I love what Lee Binz says about college prep and homeschooling high school.

“Rigorous academics could benefit children even though they are not planning for higher education. Without college, a homeschool education could very well be the only formal education a student will be given.”

If your child isn’t planning on attending college, his homeschool education will be the highest level of formal learning he will complete. Therefore, making the education you provide be the best it can be, you’ll be giving your child the tools he needs to succeed in the workforce.

Then, there is also the fact that kids change their minds. The student who may think that college is not in her future may decide, upon graduation, that she wants to pursue a higher level of education. It’s best to be prepared for any eventuality.
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image created by jscreationzs on Free Digital Photos

My husband, who has rarely expresses any strong feelings about how I homeschool has made it clear that he expects each of our kids to graduate from our homeschool with a diploma, rather than taking the GED.

This came up in one of those fun family discussions that ensued after it became clear that a certain someone was slacking on her schoolwork. I told her that if she didn’t do the work that I required of her with an acceptable level of comprehension, I would not issue her a diploma and she would have to take the GED.

My husband quickly nixed that idea.

Because of his experience in the workforce, he is adamant that our children complete the level of work required to graduate from our homeschool – even if that means they work longer than they would have had to if they’d applied themselves. He feels that a GED often holds people back from potential jobs or job advancements because the implication is that the person didn’t apply himself and complete school.

I realize that can be a controversial statement and, if you know me well, you know I try to avoid controversy here on WUHS (and in life). You don’t have to agree with my husband’s opinion – honestly, I don’t have to agree with his opinion, but I do have to respect his wishes for our children’s education – but, I have seen, over and over, the fact that a college degree trumps work and life experience nine times out of ten. It stands to reason, then, that a high school diploma may trump a GED.

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image created by David Castillo Dominici on Free Digital Photos

I think another great option for kids, in addition to a good, solid homeschool high school education, is apprenticeship. Although I will do my best to prepare each of my kids for college, I am okay with the fact that that college may not be in the future of each.

A while back, I posted some thoughts shared by Mike Rowe, of Dirty Jobs fame, about the current skills gap in the United States that has been created by the fact that we have over-emphasized the necessity of a college education while looking down on those in the trade industry.

Rowe accurately points out that skilled blue-collar workers are a sorely-needed, declining breed. I think we, as a nation, lost something when an apprenticeship became a quaint, nostalgic piece of history, rather than a means of passing down a skilled trade from a master craftsman to his successor.

While it is difficult in today’s world to secure an apprenticeship position, the potential is a little more within the realm of possibility for homeschooled students. I would encourage you, as the parent of a homeschooled child, to be aware of his natural bents, giftings, and talents and look for opportunities to encourage them.

One of the smartest things my in-laws ever did was find an apprenticeship-type position for my husband when he was an older teenager. He went to work for a self-employed appliance repairman. As an adult, there isn’t much that my husband can’t fix.

We’ve had the same dryer for over 20 years. It would have been replaced ten years ago, if not for my husband. Instead, he’s repaired it numerous times for less than $20 each time – we’re nowhere near close to approaching what a new dryer would have cost.

With that in mind, even if the apprenticeship position you secure for your child never results in a career, it can be a wonderful opportunity to gain invaluable knowledge that will benefit their family later or nurture a beloved hobby.

For our family, a college prep high school track while keeping our eyes open for apprenticeship opportunities top our list of the best ways to prepare our children for life after homeschool.

kris300

Be sure to visit these brilliant women during our 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th!

Homeschooling High School: Sports

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I hope you enjoyed Samantha’s post on Monday. She’s back today talking about one of the biggest reasons that many homeschooled kids return to or go for the first time to high school: sports.

My own niece went to public school for the first time ever as a freshman because it was her only option, in her area, for continuing to play softball competitively. She is now attending college on a softball scholarship.

Samantha has a lot of experience when it comes to homeschooling and high-school-level sports opportunities because her kids swim competitively. I hope you enjoy this informative post.

My oldest daughter is a talented competitive swimmer…and she’s homeschooled. The fact that my daughter is a competitive swimmer and is homeschooled was never an issue for her or for others until she entered her freshman year of high school at home.

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Around here, high school sports are a big deal…a really big deal. As our daughter edged closer and closer to high school age, the questions began. “Where will your daughter swim for high school?” When we explained that our daughter would continue to be homeschooled through high school and that she would not be swimming on a high school swim team, more questions and concerns were raised.

In my area, homeschooling for grades K-8 is fairly common but homeschooling all the way through high school is not. Many teens are sent to high school specifically so that they can have the opportunity to play sports. While I completely understand the importance that a sport can play in a young person’s life, the decision is a difficult one for parents who were planning to homeschool through the high school years.

So, regardless of whether your homeschooled child is in 2nd grade or 8th grade, there are a number of issues that homeschooling parents may want to consider in relation to homeschooling and high school sports.

Seriously Consider If You Want Your Family Involved in Organized Sports

While this may sound quite odd coming from a mother who has all of her children involved in competitive swimming, I do believe that families should seriously consider decisions regarding involvement with organized sports.

For my children, there have been many extremely positive benefits to their involvement in USA Swimming.

  • Through swimming, they have learned discipline, commitment, and goal-setting abilities.
  • They are in excellent physical condition.
  • They have made many friends and experienced excellent coach-swimmer relationships.
  • They have gained confidence through their successes and learned to deal with setbacks and disappointments when their goals were not met.
  • They have learned what it means to be part of a team and work as a team to achieve team goals.

On the flip side, though, our family’s heavy involvement in USA Swimming has also come with costs.

Time, time, time – We juggle three different swim team practice schedules year-round, have swim meets two to three times a month, and travel for meets. Swimming takes a tremendous amount of our time.

Money – Swim team fees, swim meet fees, equipment, and travel costs all add up quickly.

Negative influences – While the vast majority of our children’s interactions with other swimmers have been very positive…not all of them have been.

While I would never discourage involvement in organized sports, it is definitely a decision that requires serious consideration.

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Choose Sports That Can Be Easily Continued Through High School

Depending on where you live, some sports are more difficult than others to continue through high school without attending a traditional school. While it is very easy to have children involved in organized sports outside of a school setting when they are in grades K-8, it can become more difficult to find these opportunities during the high school years.

While this list is certainly not exhaustive, many sports offered outside of high school settings to teenagers include:

  • USA Swimming
  • Horseback Riding
  • Archery
  • Fencing
  • Karate/Martial Arts
  • Skiing
  • Gymnastics
  • Bowling
  • Golf
  • Tennis
  • Running/Marathons

Club teams and travel teams may exist in your area for many other sports including soccer, basketball, volleyball, and football.

Investigate Options for Playing Sports in High School Without Attending a Traditional High School

Rules and regulations regarding participation in high school sports vary tremendously from state to state and school district to school district. My best advice is to fully investigate options in your area if you have a child who wants to compete in a sport at the high school level and remain homeschooled.

Partial enrollment – Some school districts will allow homeschoolers within their district to participate on high school sports teams if a limited number of classes are taken at the high school.

Christian Schools – Some private Christian schools will allow homeschoolers to participate on sports teams.

Open Participation – Some states allow open participation on sports teams for homeschoolers within the school districts.

Club teams – In some areas, there are excellent club teams for soccer, basketball, volleyball and other sports which are completely independent of public or private schools.

Since situations vary so much depending on the area and the sport, it is best to investigate all of the options that are available to you in your area.

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Be Prepared for a LOT of Pressure from Other Teens and Parents

I was unprepared for the level of pressure my daughter, my husband and I received regarding our plans to continue homeschooling through high school…specifically because she would not be swimming on a high school swim team. It had been years since people had regularly questioned our decision to homeschool so all of the questions and concerns were disconcerting for me and for my daughter. Pressure from others can lead to doubts about your decisions.

Realize that Attending School IS a Choice

Depending on where you live and what sport your teenager is passionate about, the only good option may be to send your child to a traditional school in order to participate. Homeschooling is an excellent educational choice for many families but it may not be compatible with a teen’s dream of being on a high school football team or any other sports team.

Honestly, if our daughter wasn’t able to continue swimming through high school through USA Swimming, she would be going to school outside of our home now. She is incredibly committed to swimming, is very close to reaching her goal of attending a national-level meet, and will swim in college.

Given how important her swimming goals are to her, we simply would not take that away from her. We are very thankful that she is able to continue swimming through high school without attending a traditional school but if she were passionate about a different sport, we might not have that option.

Helpful Links

Samantha writes about homeschooling and family life at To Be Busy At Home. For the 2011-2012 school year, she is homeschooling her 9th-grade daughter, 7th-grade son, and 5th-grade son. When she’s not busy at home, she’s busy at a pool, as all three of her children swim competitively through USA swimming.

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Be sure to visit these brilliant women during our 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th!

Homeschooling High School: But How Do I Teach Algebra?

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One of the most common concerns I have heard from most parents when it comes to homeschooling high school is the fear of teaching higher level math and science courses.

And, why shouldn’t that be a concern? Many of us struggled through classes like algebra, trigonometry, chemistry or physics, so it only makes sense that the idea of teaching those subjects to our own children would cause us to doubt our abilities to homeschool through high school.

Thankfully, there are many options for teaching those subjects to my children that don’t involve me having a firm grasp on the material myself. As a matter of fact, Samantha mentioned several options in her post on high school science.

Tutors

Knowing how I struggled with algebra when I was in high school, I always had an idea in my back pocket for Brianna – a math-whiz friend who tutors on the side. So far, we haven’t had to call on her, but I will if it becomes necessary.

Tutors can be expensive, so another idea to keep in mind is local college students. Most cities have a community college nearby, even if there aren’t any larger schools. Call the school office to see if there are students willing to tutor area high school students. You get an inexpensive tutor and a college student earns some much-needed money. Win-win!

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photo by freedigitalphotos.net

Homeschool classes and co-ops

Our area offers both co-op settings and classes that amount to once- or twice-a-week school classes for homeschoolers. Both of these are great options for those sweat-inducing subjects like upper-level math and science, as well as classes that work more effectively with a group of students, such as drama.

Learning alongside your kids

When Brianna was in 5th grade or so, I discovered that I have a much better understanding of the metric system than I did when I was her age. That’s been true with other things, as well. So, don’t discount the fact that you may be able to learn the material alongside your student and help them understand it, too. It’s actually kind of exciting to realize that the subject that seemed so hard in high school really can make sense.

Video courses

We’ve used both Teaching Textbooks and Thinkwell for upper level math subjects and they’ve been wonderful. There are courses for other subjects, as well. (Samantha referenced some of the online courses for science in her post.)

One thing I liked about the video courses is that I’m not the one trying to explain the subject to Brianna. And there is no laziness or feelings of inadequacy in that statement – there is, however, a sense of relief that I was able to skip some of the teenage “mom-you-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about” drama for a couple of the hard-to-understand, frustration-inducing subjects.

Dual enrollment

Many colleges are now offering dual-enrollment for high school students. This can be a great option for tackling those difficult subjects while simultaneously earning college credit.

Trading skills

Don’t ever discount the skills of the homeschool community. What may be a difficult skill for you may have been one of your fellow homeschool moms’ favorite subjects…and, perhaps the subject that was your passion was one she loathed. Offer to trade skills.

Maybe a fellow homeschool mom or dad could help your high-schooler with his math while you help theirs with her grammar. This also comes in handy for skills outside traditional academics. Maybe you can teach a friend’s kids how to cook or can vegetables and her she can teach your kids how to change the oil in their car and check the spark plug wires. (Hey, I’d have no clue, but I have a cousin who knows more about cars than the average man.)

As Samantha mentioned in her post, one thing that helps many parents through the high school years is realizing that we become much more facilitator or adviser and less teacher during those years…and that’s a good thing.  The high school years are a time of transitioning responsibility for your child’s education from your shoulders to his. It’s a time of making sure that our goal of teaching them how to learn, rather than what to learn is being realized.

What resources have you found helpful in helping your students learn subjects that you find difficult?

kris300

Be sure to visit these brilliant women during our 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th!


Homeschooling High School: Science

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I have often wished that Samantha’s daughter was just a tad older than Brianna because I have picked up so many great ideas on homeschooling high school from Samantha. I especially love some of her wonderfully creative ideas for science, which is why I asked her to guest post on that topic. Enjoy!

For years, you’ve been taking nature walks with your child, raising butterflies, and making models of the solar system. Science has been hands-on, low-key, and enjoyable. Science has never scared you or your child.

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But now your child has reached HIGH SCHOOL! Now science, according to conventional wisdom, is really hard, intense, and definitely not fun. Most likely, you, or a well-meaning friend or relative, has serious doubts about your ability to offer a high school level science course at home.

One of the many fabulous things about the high school years is that children become wonderful independent learners. If you’re nervous about teaching a high school level science course, realize that, for the most part, you are more a facilitator and a co-learner most of the time rather than a teacher. (For more inspiration regarding being a co-learner and not a teacher, I highly suggest Jay Wile’s seminar, Teaching the Junior High and High School Sciences at Home.)

I worked right through Biology with my daughter – relearning or learning for the first time the same things she was learning. Now I’m taking the same journey with Marine Biology. While I was quite nervous at first, I am feeling confident now about leading my children through their high school level science courses at home. Hopefully, after reading my tips and suggestions, you will be well on your way to feeling more confident about science courses and the high school years!

Provide a Daily Schedule and Help Your Student Get Organized

Adjusting to high school level work can be difficult for some students and some of this difficulty can center on time management and organizational issues. I am very much in favor of helping students to get organized and stay organized.

We have used Apologia textbooks for our high school science courses so far and I was surprised to see that no schedule is included in the teacher’s materials. Many high school students would struggle setting up their own schedule to complete a science course within a typical school year. Thankfully, schedules are available and some are even free.

  • DonnaYoung.org – In addition to free schedules for many Apologia science courses, she offers many other helpful printables.
  • Sonlight – Sonlight sells schedules for several Apologia science courses.
  • Knowledge Box Central and Live & Learn Press both sell study guide kits for many Apologia courses. My daughter has found her lapbook study guide extremely helpful in getting and keeping her organized. She also loves the way her science notebooks look!

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Make a Plan for Labs

Labs are often messy, time-consuming, and require gathering up a number of different materials. Therefore, if you don’t make a plan for labs, they may not happen.

Schedule a specific time – You don’t have to do the lab exactly when your student comes to it in the book. If it works best for your schedule, do labs only on Fridays or have one all-lab week a month. Do what works for you and your student to make sure the labs actually are completed.

Be clear about expectations regarding lab reports – Many students new to high school science courses have no idea what to include or how to write a lab report. Be clear about exactly what you expect and how the lab reports will be graded.

Get a microscope – If your homeschooling budget will allow the purchase of a microscope, I highly recommend getting one. Many of the labs in Biology and Marine Biology rely on microscope work. It is an investment but it adds a great deal to high school science labs.

Get together for labs – If you have a homeschooling friend who has a student taking the same course, getting together for labs can be a great experience. My daughter completed all of her dissection labs with a fellow homeschooler and the process was enriched for both of them. If no high school student is available, a parent can be the lab partner.

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Gather all of the needed materials ahead of time – Take time over the weekend to gather everything you will need for all science labs for the week. Thankfully, science kits are readily available for many science courses which can greatly reduce the individual items you need to gather up and find.

Make Time for “Out of the Book” Enrichment Experiences

With the rigors of high school coursework, it is easy to forget to close the books for a while and do something to connect the books to the world. Making time for “out of the book” experiences can enrich high school science courses tremendously. When my daughter was taking Biology, she spent a day at a local zoo attending a program for high school students about careers in the field of life science.

  • Harmony Art Mom has excellent suggestions for combining nature study with high school science courses.
  • Many zoos, nature centers, museums, and science centers offer classes for homeschoolers of all ages that may tie in directly with topics from high school science courses.
  • Field trip possibilities are endless. Look at the table of contents in your child’s science textbook and brainstorm with him or her about where you would like to go.
  • If you’ve never grown a frog, raised butterflies, or found constellations in the sky; you can do those things now with your high school student. Most high school students still enjoy hands-on activities.

Video Courses

Some students do really well working through a science textbook using an independent study approach. Others need a bit more help understanding the concepts or enjoy having a teacher explain the material.

For a busy teaching parent, a video course can be wonderful. A video course can help a high school student to become even more independent or you can watch the videos right along with your student. The extra teaching help and extra explanations of science concepts can be a benefit to students and homeschooling parents.

Be an Umbrella School

In Susan Wise Bauer’s seminar about preparing high school students for college, she suggested that once the high school years hit, homeschooling parents need to think of themselves less as the primary teachers and more as the director of an umbrella school. In essence, just because you’re homeschooling you do not have to teach every single class that your high school student takes.

If teaching a high school science course is something that you would rather just out-source, that’s completely fine! There are many options for your high school student to take a high school level science course that is not facilitated by you.

  • The Potter’s School – This online school offers a wide variety of courses, including science courses. From the personal experiences of friends, the courses are excellent.
  • Apologia Academy
  • Red Wagon Tutorials
  • Local private schools – In my area both Biology and Advanced Biology are taught at a Christian school for homeschoolers in the evening.
  • Co-op classes
  • Local community college – Many homeschoolers take lab sciences at a local community college during their third and fourth years of high school in dual-credit programs.
  • Private tutor

High school science courses do not need to be a cause of fear for homeschooling parents. With research and preparation, fears can be eased and the stage can be set for a great experience while working through science courses in the high school years…for both the student and the teaching parent.

Samantha writes about homeschooling and family life at To Be Busy At Home. For the 2011-2012 school year, she is homeschooling her 9th grade daughter, 7th grade son, and 5th grade son. When she’s not busy at home, she’s busy at a pool, as all three of her children swim competitively through USA swimming.

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Be sure to visit these brilliant women during our 10 days adventure between November 7th-18th!