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Hearing the words "high school" brings fear to those who have not walked down that path yet. Since graduating my two oldest, I can tell you that high school is just like all the other years. You pray, you do your research, you pray some more. You check with other homeschoolers, you read books and websites, you go with your child's interests and work his studies around that, you start putting names of subjects down on a transcript-it's really not that hard. It's just new and a bit different, which is what homeschooling was to you in the beginning, too. But you persevered and were glad you did. Persevere through high school and you'll be even gladder. There is something powerful about homeschooling all the way through.

Today, my 17-year-old had a counseling appointment at the local college. When questioned about his extensive credits, 4.0 average, and many educational experiences at such a young age, he simply said, "I was homeschooled, so I received the best education ever!"

People will inevitably question you, "What about high school? What will you do THEN?" As if high school is some magic point in time when you must stop educating and throw your kids to the wolves. When do we stop listening to the call of God for our children and our family-when society says we should? Sending kids out at this critical age has been devastating for many families. They wish they never bent to their child's wishes to "go to school" and kept them home where they belong.

What about all the "fun" they'll miss staying home? They're going to miss that feeling they get when the popular cheerleaders in the school assemblies encourage the whole crowd to participate in the school cheer! You might remind yourself that they'll also be missing the reasons for the school assembly: graphic displays of safe sex practices or homosexual speaker day or any number of God-blasting philosophies.

Home is where fun and education should happen. Home is where it all happens. It is the starting point as well as the leaping-off point for all of life. Home is where babyhood happens, where elementary learning continues, where junior high kids shine, and where high schoolers graduate with excellence. You can do this. There is no need to fear when the Lord is on your side. He is the author and finisher of your life and your homeschool, and He will be with you through to the end of the race.

The LORD is on my side; I will not fear . . . " Psalm 118:6

~Deborah

P.S. My Hannah (16 in May) has her sights set on graduating next year, so she has a lot of planning and preparing to do. This will be the first year she will use her own TOS High School Schoolhouse Planner. I pulled it up for her to look through today. She can't wait to print out everything she wants to put in her binder and start using it now and working all the way through her goals to graduation and beyond. Hannah was really impressed and had this to say about the planner:

"This planner has homeschool forms, weekly planning for school assignments, and due dates so you never lose track of your schedule, forms for academic goals (daily, weekly, monthly, semester, and yearly). One thing I found that stood out to me was the section on the high school transcript. So many different options to help keep your school and personal life organized. Test score sheets, recipes, articles, lists of every kind, school subjects-the list goes on! The more I read, the more I am convinced that every high school teen needs this planner! It seems like no matter what you need for anything in high school, the High School Schoolhouse Planner has what you need. It has so much information and so many forms, I cannot begin to name them all. But one thing that came to mind when going through this was that it isn't just for high school. This planner can be used for college students, too! I highly recommend this product to anyone in high school who would like to have more order and more options to help your busy homeschool life become a little easier."

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Homeschooling Through High School--Oh yeah. I love this topic. Lots of parents come up to our booth at conventions and ask for advice or want to share their fears/concerns about the dreaded "high school years." They don't think they can do it, but their fears really are unfounded. They see one of our older boys working the booth and wonder if their bouncy, hyper little monkey will ever grow up and be able to stand still long enough to make a customer contact, much less an actual monetary transaction.  

One lady approached me, very concerned, about her child's math program. Which one should she use, how formal should it be, etc. She seemed pretty serious about the whole topic of math and being able to teach it. I figured the kid was in junior high or maybe even starting high school (we weren't too formal with math 'til way later--and my college boys were 4.0 in every math class they ever took at our college here in Tennessee, even the crazy insane math like Probs & Stats--eeeek). But the funny thing was when I asked her how old her child was, she said "Four." I about fell over. FOUR? You are talking about formally mathing your 4-year-old (*gales of laughter*-- politely, of course). I just found it humorous because my 4-year-olds are lucky if they get to measure out sugar and water for Jell-O in the kitchen. Can you imagine Sani (3�) with her nose in a Saxon textbook next year (*more gales of laughter.*)? Talk about a hyper little monkey. She'd probably tear out all the pages and make paper dolls. But at least she'd count them first.  

Anyway, please don't worry about high school. Work and play with your kids now, let them pursue their interests, cook with them, do math games, concern yourself about the formal stuff later. If your kids are anything like my munchkins, they'll be fine. And I have six of them (two college age, one about to graduate high school, one in ninth or 10th--not sure--and two babies). It all works out because you're surrounding them with enriching learning resources, talking to them (conversations are KEY), and keeping them home where they belong. Introduce the more formal learning later on, and it's all good. Just lock away the video games and other distracting junk and encourage them to find pastimes that educate and cause them to flourish both in character and in academics. Soon your eight little monkeys jumping on the bed will be gentle, focused adults who love the Lord, who can think, and who will rise up and call you blessed. Good trade up. I'll take it. 

Love,
~gena
gena@tosmag.com

There's something about the words "high school" that sends shivers up the spines of countless homeschooling moms. Somehow high school has become the next level of Homeschool Mario Brothers.

Doomsayers are quick to offer their advice about buckling down, extensive recordkeeping, and making sure you have all your ducks in a row. Mothers who previously enjoyed their children and homeschooling become scared to death, doubt their efforts, and begin to wonder if they should put their kids in school so they can get a REAL education that will prepare them for college and beyond.

That kind of advice poisons the homeschool mom's mind and generates lies straight from the pit of hell.

Mom and Dad, don't believe for one moment that high school is any more difficult OR vital than teaching third grade. The truth is: You are perfectly suited to train and teach your high schooler. God created you to be able to prepare your children for life.

Oh, you may not understand algebra, biology, or world history . . . but it doesn't matter. There are plenty of options available to help you through those subjects. High school is the best time to homeschool, and YOU CAN DO IT.

And don't forget to . . .

Be Real,

Todd

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Ruth Beechick, Curriculum Specialist 

and

Debbie Strayer, Homeschool Consultant 

My children's high school years of homeschooling were truly a delight. I was grateful to be such an involved part of their lives and honored to be considered such good friend material! We charted a path, with Ruth's help, that allowed us to stay the course of using the unit study approach that had always been so successful for us. We integrated language arts into everything, decreasing the time spent working on isolated subjects, and became skilled observers and recorders of all that we did.

While many around us felt they had no recourse but to use textbooks or prepared courses, we took steps that were truly bold for us. We used the course outlines from our state's educational website, which we kept in a notebook. I would mark off objectives as they were covered, writing the date next to the goal. I kept a folder for each course we claimed credit for, which included lists of materials used, reports, projects, and perhaps photos of field trips or related activities and a summary of what was completed.

Once the course objectives were broken down like this, we were free to use the library or other resources we already had and to deal with the topics from our family's viewpoint. People became valuable resources as we learned from those who had expertise or experience in the topic area, equipping the children with the ability to come up with a plan to learn just about anything. It also allowed us to customize the plan to fit their particular bents.

When young people become confident learners, where they learn won't matter. They will be successful. Don't be too quick to send your children to learn from others, even in the high school years. There will be plenty of time for that. Cherish the relationships and blessings that come from your time together.

~ Debbie 

Read more from Debbie at www.debbiestrayer.com.

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