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kbfsc
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| Posted: Feb 15 2016 at 3:50pm | IP Logged
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Ladies,
Long, long time since I've posted!  But our family is close to embarking on a new adventure, and you all are one of my go-to resources at a time like this. I wonder if you would share some wisdom with me, please?!
I'm in the beginning stages of planning for home schooling high school. At this point, I'm thinking of working backwards - that is, looking at the requirements in our state for graduation, and, together with something along the lines of the Charlotte Mason-ish program we've followed already, weave together a plan for the next four years. I have also thought that we need to spend some time in prayer to consider what direction God may be taking this child in life - and weave preparation for that into the plan as well. Lastly, we thought of looking together with this child at the entrance requirements at a college/university he might be interested in and let them guide us, too. (Apparently in our state there is a maddening mismatch between high school graduation requirements and university entrance requirements. Ugh.)
What are the things that helped you all the most in your planning? What is your advice for someone just starting out? Are we anywhere near being on the right track? Any absolute we-loved-this-and-wouldn't-consider-high-school-without-it's ? or things that you absolutely hated?
Thanks so much to you all!
__________________
Kiera
happy mama of ds '02, dd '03, ds '06, dd '09 and little ones in heaven
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Amanda
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| Posted: Feb 15 2016 at 7:16pm | IP Logged
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Congrats, Kiera! This is an exciting time.
Disclaimer: I only homeschooled my (now college-bound) student through 10th grade before sending him to public (for many reasons, including the fact that he is on the autism spectrum and needed a more gradual transition to outside schooling than most homeschoolers do).
I think you're on the right track in looking at requirements--particularly university entrance requirements--and working backward from there. I'd look at a few different colleges--maybe the state university, a top-level university or liberal arts college, and some kind of specialized school (if there's a chance he might be interested in engineering, for example, or music or art), print out their requirements, and see what's there.
I'd also incorporate college searching into your plans. You don't have to be specific at this point, but you might want to think of things like when you'll research colleges, when you'll visit them, and so on. Will you visit the Northeast in the fall and take the siblings to see Plimouth Plantation while you're in MA, for example? :-)
One thing I'll do differently with my younger children: I'll put more of the responsibility for the college search and planning on them earlier.
At any rate, yes, you're on the right track, for sure!
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mom to ds '97, dd '03, ds '07, and dd 1/11
St. Margaret Clitherow Homeschool
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guitarnan
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| Posted: Feb 16 2016 at 8:14am | IP Logged
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Kiera, that's exactly what we did. A couple of things that didn't work out as I'd planned: science labs (I had thought to sign my son up for the community college's homeschool science labs, but that program was canceled - so he did virtual dissections and bio lab at home and all of chem and physics lab at home), foreign language (my son couldn't find a language he liked, so he did a couple of years of German and one of French...and then took Italian in college...and my daughter picked Japanese, which I don't speak).
College searching takes a LOT of time. I think Amanda's idea is great. My parents did it the other way - wherever we went on vacation, we visited colleges in the local area.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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mom2mpr
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| Posted: Feb 17 2016 at 6:43pm | IP Logged
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Oh gosh. I remember this scary stress. I started worrying in 5th or 6th grade  Realize I am in the tail end of college applications and music auditions right now.
Working backwards is an awesome plan. Really, most high school diplomas are pretty much the same. If you hit 4 Language arts, 4 math, 3 sciences(1 with lab, but we shot for 2), American History, 2 years of a foreign language, and the other stuff just kind of fits in. Realize each school is a bit different in their requests for high school credits. But the 4 Language Arts and 4 math and 3 sciences(with at least one lab) were pretty standard. If you are missing an art class or something it usually isn't a huge deal. So, on that note I focused intently on the 3-R's. :)
On the Common App you have to write your school philosophy and that was where we added our requirements for "our" high school diploma--that might be a good thing to write out now while you are looking into requirements. One of ours, that wasn't on the high schools lists, was to graduate from our school, the kids need to be certified in Red Cross CPR and First Aid.
PRAY!! I struggled with HOW I was going to do this and wanting, but not, to send ds to school. By praying and spending time on this decision I found, and felt totally comfortable, with a Christian homeschool "school" for high school that met 3 days a week. It was beautiful and we had a lot of great theological discussions with things ds brought home.
Having just gone through making course descriptions and resume and extracurricular activity lists for the past 4 years I suggest you keep up on them and write them at the end of each school year. It was a crazy lot of work and the college application process is crazy enough. Good record keeping is key at this time, and I failed so have been working myself to the ground since June 2015(when we also moved across the country  ).
See if you have an opportunity for using a community college for some classes. I found ds really enjoyed being out and learning from people who knew what they were talking about . It's a great place to get those science labs :) We have dual enrollment and only had to pay for books--and usually rented for $20/semester. A deal!
Also, we used a few tutors. Personal teachers I interviewed and had say in who they were  We had some good ones and they were such a blessing to me.
Really, for high school, I was more a "manager" than a teacher.
I asked ds what I could do different for his sister. What he thought worked and didn't. The one thing he said he felt helped a lot was "getting out there" in co-ops and the homeschool "school" because its a social time and he felt it helped him learn to be more independent. And the social side was fun  .
Try not to move with kids in high school. It was REALLY hard for ds to restart his life. Even though he thought it would be fine.
Well, that is my brain dump about this subject. Bottom line is even though you will be, try not to be nervous. When I got dd's first college acceptance letter I cried, I was just amazed. I have no regrets. It is A LOT of work. Even when outsourcing.
I hope something there helps. Good luck!
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Anne, married to dh 16 years!, ds,(97), Little One (02), and dd (02).
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kbfsc
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| Posted: Feb 17 2016 at 9:11pm | IP Logged
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Ladies, thanks so much! Wonderful thoughts - and encouraging! I am excited to see what these next years bring. And, so, so thankful to be able to say this: peaceful, too. I really feel like God is guiding us. I appreciate your help. 
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Kiera
happy mama of ds '02, dd '03, ds '06, dd '09 and little ones in heaven
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Jenn Sal
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| Posted: May 17 2016 at 9:38am | IP Logged
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Thank you for this post, as I'm just venturing into HS with my oldest! I'm curious where you did the virtual labs for science and how that worked out?
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Jennifer, Texas
Wife to Mark, Mom to Cora 13,Kade 10, Sarah in Heaven 12/05, Colette 7, Corin 5, & Kieran 2
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: preparing to home school for high school!
