Figuring out how to grant high school credits seems daunting to some homeschool parents, but it’s not as difficult as many imagine. There are several different options for figuring out credits. Parents can mix-and-match them, using one method for one class and another method for another class. Or pick a favorite and stick with it.
A few years ago, when I was tutoring a public school student, I saw pieces by Shakespeare, Mark Twain, O. Henry, Dickens, and a variety of modern writers in the high school literature book. I also saw something shocking. Not only was this shocking material in the textbook, but a local high school teacher had assigned it to students. I’m sure most parents had no idea that this is what their child was studying and would be upset if they realized it. After all, how could reading stories by Dr. Seuss–the same stories read when their child was four years old–help prepare their child for college? Had high school standards really dropped that low?
Most high school English classes never finish their literature books. Their teachers pick and choose what they’ll cover. That’s true in public schools and homeschools alike. While most never think to question what’s taught in a typical public school, college admissions officers and employers alike might question the quality of education received at home. Course descriptions are one way to help show what your child’s been taught.
Continue reading Writing Course DescriptionsA lot of people want to know the schedules of other homeschool families as they try to figure out how homeschooling will work in their own families. So what is our schedule for our six-year-old? Our schedule is not like a school schedule. We do not have specific times ascribed to specific subjects–unless we are doing something with other families and a time needs to be set for us all to get together. We don’t have a specific order to do lessons in–many times the subject that we do first is based on what my six-year-old asks for when he sees me grabbing a bunch of books for his lessons.
Continue reading What’s Your Schedule for a Six-Year-Old?
Suggestion: At least once a year, check that you have a clear plan for your homeschooling written up. If your kids are in high school (or doing high-school-level work), make sure you have a transcript and course descriptions for each of their classes that are fairly up-to-date. Perhaps even a plan of what you hope to work on in the near future or goals or such. And keep them in a place that’s fairly easy to find.
Cheryl Trzasko (who took another call from a concerned relative who is suddenly in charge of the education of a child who was homeschooled after the homeschooling parent passed away and isn’t sure what to do)
chavivah@yahoo.com
P.S. If you know you are facing an illness or condition that’s likely to be fatal, tell someone near and dear to you. Give them time to think about how they’ll carry on, an opportunity to ask questions, a chance to help you through it, etc. Don’t leave them more devastated when they have to face additional burdens and challenges while grieving.
Once again this year, I learned of the death of a homeschool parent/friend. The first time this happened, I learned of it when a man contacted me, trying to figure out what his son had been learning and where to go from here. He’d left the homeschooling to his wife. She’d kept the records, purchased materials, took care of lessons, etc. while he’d been busy earning a living to pay their bills. But then, in the midst of their grief, he realized that he didn’t have a clue Continue reading Don’t Wait; Start the Transcript Now
A homeschooling mom tried to explain to another how to manage to cover all the various subjects by showing her a copy of a detailed spreadsheet. It had lots of columns and too many rows to see at once; I think it even had color coding on it. I’ve been homeschooling for years and that spreadsheet looked intimidating; I can’t imagine how scary it looked to someone just starting out. Well, maybe I can. I rather imagine looking at that as a new homeschooler and thinking, “Forget this. There’s no way I can keep to that list. Maybe I do need to just put my kids into school.”
Honestly, many of us veteran homeschoolers don’t follow insanely-detailed lists and yet our children are still getting a balanced education. Continue reading Scheduling…
It’s that time of year again.
Time to set up my children’s portfolios for the new school year. By Florida law, their portfolios must include titles of reading materials, a log of educational activities, and samples of work–though the law dictates little beyond that of how much detail to keep, how to organize it, etc. Over the years, I’ve worked on finding ways to simplify our record-keeping so I can keep track of what we’ve done without it being a burden. Fast and easy is what I want, and I’ve found that the key to fast and easy is putting in some time to set it up, so that it’s fast and easy the rest of the year.
homeschooling again 