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Greetings!

Deborah Wuehler and family

When my first two sons were in high school, I knew that was the time to really prepare them for college in case that was the avenue they would take. I did this in several ways.

• I began to research how to put together a transcript and portfolio using information gleaned from people like Lee Binz, Inge Cannon, and Janice Campbell. There is a myriad of information on high school and college prep at HSLDA.

• I had them each take a class outside the home so that they would know how to learn under, and answer to, someone other than me--normally another homeschool mom. I made sure the class was a subject that could be put on their transcript, such as a government/civics or foreign language class.

• I then had them each take a junior college class to get them used to the idea of college and learn how to use a syllabus and write college papers, so they took English 1A while in high school. We had to be careful of the worldview presented by the instructors in these general requirement classes; in fact, we had to drop several in order to find instructors that were not presenting a liberal platform.  The next semester they decided to take a couple more classes that would give them both high school and college credit.

• They were involved in some type of volunteer capacity or community service. They continued to follow their interests and hobbies and giftings, while praying for God's direction for their future college path.

• The first thing I heard about homeschoolers and college was that they were not prepared for all the writing, so I made sure to put a bigger emphasis on writing during high school. Kim Kautzer has excellent insight on preparing for college writing here.

• I constantly reminded them that we should be people of excellence and do all that we do in a spirit of excellence. We should show forth our best because we represent the image of God and the face of home education and the Wuehler family. When people ask anything of us, we give 110% because we represent Christ. This carried over in all of their studies, their character, and their life skills. If they get this right, they will do well in college and in the college of life.

Did it work? Are my two sons doing well in college? They certainly are by the grace of God. They are two young men who know how to work hard, how to study hard, and how to persevere through the hard stuff of life. Don't fear preparing your kids for college. The LORD is on your side.

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

~Deborah

TOS Senior Editor

SeniorEditor@TheHomeschoolMagazine.com  

Diana Waring

Relational Homeschooling

www.DianaWaring.com 

Dear Friends,

This topic whisks me back in memory to the days I was packing a steamer trunk (!) for college . . . but, of course, I don't think that is exactly what is meant by today's topic. Getting ready for college is far more than what clothes to take, isn't it?

With that in mind, here are my top three suggestions:

1. Cultivate curiosity
2. Rehearse resource-gathering
3. Walk winsomely

Cultivate curiosity . . . One of the most powerful tools a student can take with them to university is an interested and questioning mind. Not being content to merely take in facts as they are presented, a motivated and curious student will consider what is presented, dig deeper, and even challenge their professors. I learned from anecdotes from my children, from professors, and others that homeschool students are the most likely to ask for more information during and after class--even if it meant there would be more on the test.

Another way of describing this would be to say that kids who actively engage their own education will be the ones who derive the greatest good from it. And that, my friends, is important to know, regardless of when or if your children go to college.

When kids actively engage, that means they are no longer passively moving through the textbooks, workbooks, and classes to take a test, to get a grade, or to complete the course. It means, instead, that at some point, they become fascinated by what they are learning. In an enthusiasm motivated by deep curiosity, they quickly pack in vast amounts of knowledge and stay hungry for more.

So, cultivate this kind of curiosity now. Encourage questions: what-ifs, why-nots, how-comes, and how-we-knows.

Asking questions is the first point. 

Answering them is the second.

Rehearse resource-gathering . . . This means to practice finding answers. Simple, yes? Well, sometimes it can be simple, but other times it can be incredibly complex.  In fact, when you look for answers, you might find yourself right smack in the middle of a hotly-contested controversy. And that is one of the best reasons for helping your children learn to look things up while they are still living at home with you. Learning to recognize a good source, watching for nuances as well as overstatements, and grasping the difference between fact and theory are the ways a student gets to the heart of learning.

By the way, if you will be at the GHC conventions, FPEA, or SHEM this year, I invite you to come hear the presentation Dr. Jay Wile and I will be doing on "Textbook Myths." It will provide some helpful insights on this issue.

Walk winsomely . . . Our children will face extraordinary challenges at college, including challenges to their faith. My encouragement is to live your walk of faith openly and transparently before your children, so they can see the faithfulness and goodness of God in your life. Pray together, share God's answers with them, and let them see the reality of faith. This living faith--not a politicized faith, or a them-and-us faith, but a love-the-Lord and love-your-neighbor faith--is one of the best bulwarks against a corroding and growing atheism in our nation.

You've undoubtedly heard the saying, "Until they know how much you care, they don't care how much you know." It goes double for your adult children. Show in your day-to-day life the winsomeness of Jesus, and your kids will receive a strength to stand.

Remember, stay relational!

Diana

P.S. Don't miss the last day of our "Too-Sick-To-Speak-In-Carmel-Sale" . . . 15% off everything!  Ends tomorrow mid-day.

Raising Real Men

www.RaisingRealMen.com

Hal & Melanie Young

When we were thinking about high school and preparing for college with our first, we were worried about academics, but now that we're graduating our third, we've realized there are other things, sometimes even more important, that you need to pay attention to along the way. 

Teach your young adults to be responsibly independent. It's easy for homeschooling parents, who've been on the job 24/7, to miss this one. We need to allow our children to make decisions and even to fail while we are still there to give advice and help them along.

Teach them to work independently. As your children progress to and through high school, you need to allow them to do more of the planning and be responsible for their own day-to-day work. This is something our sons reported a lot of college students weren't able to do well, and their friends' grades suffered because of it.

Help them to figure out their talents and interests. Many students go into majors that they have little aptitude for or little real understanding of what is involved in those fields. Career testing helps, as does shadowing others at work.

Teach them to manage money. Long before they leave home, they need to have a checking account and some form of plastic (a debit card, perhaps) and understand how each works. An awful lot of college students make financial mistakes that affect their future.

Prepare them to stand alone for Christ. Encourage them to study the Bible themselves and pray daily. Teach them to defend their faith. Make sure they are well-instructed in the areas likely to be challenged--creation, the dependability of Scripture, the uniqueness of Christ as the one way to reconciliation with God. Teach them of the importance of being in a church body and seeking the fellowship of other Christians. Help them to find a church and campus Christian group.

Homeschool graduates can and do succeed and can even thrive in college, but we need to understand that often they face even greater social and philosophical pressure than we did, and we need to prepare them for it and support them in it. Let's pay as much attention to releasing those arrows as we did to shaping them!

Yours in the battle,

Hal & Melanie

P.S. Need some practical help in these areas? See our page of resources On Teens! We have practical resources to help you in academics, character, career testing, and college admissions. 

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