Yes, indeed, you have come to the right place because I’m going to tell you the secret to homeschooling high school – how to make sure our precious darlings one day become productive citizens who move out of our house, quit eating our food, and buy their own clothes, how to ensure that they can spell their own names and know their date of birth, how to get a child from reading Dr. Seuss to Shakespeare. Are you ready? Here it is.
I have no idea!!!!
We are eleven weeks into my daughter’s freshman year of high school and I have only one concrete piece of advice for anyone attempting this crazy venture:
Pray without ceasing!
It really helps that it was God’s idea first, so I’m clearly a total copycat here. But, I can’t stress enough that praying is the only thing that seems like it might do a lick of good over the next four years.
So, why did we even attempt to homeschool through high school – besides the obvious fact that I’m crazy? First of all, we were doing so well through eighth grade that it just seemed like the right thing to do. Second, we live in a small town and the local public school doesn’t have much in the way of curricular choices. For example, all the kids take the same English 1, 2, 3, and 4. There aren’t any advanced classes except for a few AP classes and nothing like Creative Writing. Third, I really want to spend the next few years working on developing an even closer relationship with my daughter and that’s easier to do when she’s here instead of at school. Then there are the other things like the fact that schools don’t fit well with kids’ circadian rhythms, the entire institutional nature of schools rubs me the wrong way, and I want my kids to spend more time with groups of people of different ages, not just their own age (to name a few reasons of about a hundred).
But it’s not easy. Rosie Girl and I butt heads about getting her work done just about every week. Part of me wonders if it is really worth doing this or should we put her in school or do an online school. We are already having her do an online writing course since that’s the subject that has given us such fits in the past. The reason that we continue with what we’re doing right now is that I see progress in our relationship every week. Rosie Girl is not only learning to manage her work (and I’m learning to help her) but the two of us are learning to talk about the problem, not just carp at each other.
I hope that I can give some of you some more concrete advice at the end of this year, but right now, we’re just hanging on for dear life and enjoying the ride!! And, of course, praying without ceasing!!
Check out Thirsty Thursday to see what others have to say this week!
2 comments:
I do homeschool, but I stop at 8th grade. Why?
My kids are math/science geeks. I can handle the science, but can't legally set up a lab, and that's a huge part of the learning experience in high school.
Plus, my calculus sucks.
For anyone attempting homeschooling, I do have suggestions. In just about every state, you can find university sponsored, accredited homeschooling courses with actual teachers on the other end. I highly recommend them.
If you don't have the math/science background, it's really hard to teach HS. Take advantage of all the resources around you.
Like your big guy in the sky. I'm sure he'll (she'll?) come in handy over the next four years.
I'm planning to homeschool through high school as well. My oldest is 7th grade this year.
There are so many resources that homeschoolers can take advantage of for those courses which we as parents aren't as strong. I'm strong in math, science, and English, but I won't hesitate to enroll my children in specific courses if they can learn more in that environment.
I think you're on the right track when you're focusing on the relationship with your child. The education is obviously important too, but what's going to make her a better adult is rooted in much more than the kinds of curriculum she goes through.
Keep up the good work!
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