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Michaela
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to continue to homeschool thorugh high school or put your child(ren) into public/private school?
The opportunities are calling to *me* and I just don't see the reason for me to continue anymore.
My ds isn't interested in going, but I can't give him what the public school can in extra curric activites.
How did you make your final decision?
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Michaela
Momma to Nicholas 16, Nathan 13, Olivia 13, Teresa 6, & Anthony 3
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guitarnan
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With ds it came down to two things - his inclinations (to stay home) and our finances (which could not stretch to cover $10K Catholic high school tuition unless I returned to the full time workforce). He did not mind giving up extracurriculars; he isn't that outgoing anyway and he got tons of camping, hiking, biking, service and social time via his Boy Scout troop.
Dd will be in grade 9 this fall and she went through a phase of wanting to go to Catholic school. The same financial conditions still apply, though, and she has discerned over this school year that to continue with the things she truly loves (dance and music) we will need the scheduling and financial flexibility that home education provides. (I would not be available to drive the "Dance Taxi" all the time either, and she's seen how that works with another family in our carpool.)
We live very near our local public high school, but neither of my children has shown much interest in attending that school vs. learning at home. They've talked to other homeschooling friends who've tried it and come home again - attending community college on a per-class basis at a developmentally-appropriate time was a much better option for them.
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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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mwittlans
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I was tempted to put my oldest in Catholic school for high school. He wasn't a self-directed learner and I was overwhelmed with always having to be on his back to get work done plus deal with a houseful of special needs kids. I was especially struggling with my then-five-year old who has Asperger Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.
So, I took teen son and the two of us went off to the Catholic high school open house. I have to say that I was quite impressed at first. The course selection was quite impressive with Greek and Latin, as well as some great history classes. Then we met the chaplain who I happen to know and is an awesome priest. I loved that fact that he meets every week with any boys who have expressed an interest in the priesthood. Since my son was discerning a religious vocation this really appealed to me. I met with the principal along with another mom and he answered all my concerns quite ably. Then as my friend and I walked to the library to check out the religious curriculum, we ran into the English teacher. I asked her what books she required the freshmen to read and gave me a list filled with such dark titles as Catcher and the Rye. My enthusiasm began to wane. It was restored when the librarian brought the Junior and Senior religious texts and books to me. All great orthodox stuff. But then she brought the Freshman and Sophomore books. They were trash. I won’t even go into with you all, but trust me it was garbage. Just then, I looked over to the magazine shelf and saw, prominently displayed, just where the students walk into the library, a copy of Ebony magazine. On the cover was pop star Beyonce barely dressed. That’s when it hit me: the reason I homeschool. My goal isn’t just academics, but formation of the soul. Heaven, not Harvard as they say. I went to meet up with my son who was in the gym talking to the guys on the hockey team. He was smiling and I could see that he really fit in with the guys. How could I compete with an ice hockey team?
That night, I took my son out to dinner. Just the two of us. I asked him, point blank, “What do you want to do.” He answered, “I want to keep homeschooling.” It wasn’t the answer I expected. With a sigh of relief, I asked next, “What do you want to do when you graduate from college?” “I want to be a priest and a writer.” “Christian, can I give you what you need to accomplish that goal? "Can homeschooling give you what you need to realize that dream?” “Yeah, for sure.” I told him that if we were going to make this work that he had to become a self-directed learner. I couldn’t be on his case all the time about getting assignments done when I had other children to tend to, especially his Asperger brother. He agreed, and I made it perfectly clear that if he fell back into old habits it would be off to “Real” school with him.
The great part about this story is that he kept his word and homeschooling high school was a joy. I’m not kidding. I started something in our homeschooling community called Teen Wednesdays. It consisted of a writers club on first Wed., which is for teens who really love to write. On 2nd and 4th Wed. we had Socrates Café, which is a philosopher’s club, and on 3rd Wed. was a readers club. These Wednesdays are heavily attended and my teens have gotten a lot out of the experience. There is also a Homeschoolers4Life club that came out of that group.
My son is now 21 and a junior at FUS. He's a pretty bright student and a very well-rounded young man. I'm really glad that I didn't let my fatigue get the best of me and that we kept the course.
Praying for your decision.
Blessings,
Maureen :)
http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.com/
http://homeschoolconnectionsonline.blogspot.com/
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Mackfam
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We always thought we would continue home educating through high school, though we allow ourselves to prayerfully consider that decision anew each year.
When we got to high school with our dd, we talked with her about her plans and desires for high school. She most definitely wanted to continue with home education. She agreed to step up to her responsibility with regard to her high school education.
We chose home education for many positive reasons, and choosing to continue to home educate in high school was the same. It is a natural continuance of our family home education philosophy, just a little wider and a little deeper. Living the breadth and depth of this high school experience out continues to be a blessing. This past year, my dd's freshman year, has been a joy of learning together. We've planned/set up the sophomore year and anticipate another enriching year where she stretches herself in her responsibilities, growing in and gaining relationship with ideas and growing in experiences as well. Particularly enjoyable is the time spent discussing and cross connecting ideas with the high school student. Their ability to discuss and discern is opening up and their ideas are refreshing and so invigorating to discuss together. Truthfully, I wouldn't trade this high school home education experience for any other - not because other experiences may not be worthwhile or good, but because this experience is so rich, so full of depth and growing that nothing compares.  And, what a double blessing - my daughter feels the same!
In terms of outside-the-home/extracurricular activities - I find that home education in high school affords us a great deal of flexibility to accommodate a particular child's talents and interests outside the home.
Thinking of home educating high school somehow conjures up feelings of a task that will be hard, or somehow insurmountable, but it has not proven to be so, especially when viewed in perspective. Each new year is an extension of the year before, and should offer opportunities for stretching and growing in the child's education. <--That statement could be characteristic of 3rd grade, 7th grade, or 12th grade (in my experience and opinion).
Hope this helps as you consider your decision, Michaela!
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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guitarnan
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Michaela, reading Jen's post prompts me to add two things.
First, having my son home during those teen years deepened my relationship with him in a wonderful way. He feels very connected to us and I am thankful, especially since he'll be applying to 4-year schools in the fall and move away for his junior and senior years of college the year after.
Second, one thing that helped me, personally, was to chart out colleges' "wish lists" for incoming freshmen (# of years of math, science, etc.) and match them with my son's interests and possible college goals. I knew at the beginning of his 9th grade year that we needed four years of Language Arts, four years of math, etc. I always knew when we were on/off track. We discussed the high school plan every year and tweaked it as necessary.
This year I am doing the same with dd - she is more interested in life science, and we're working on a plan that will include four years of science that will interest her. Our state requirements have changed a bit, too - all seniors must take math, for example - so we have to work with those changes, too.
I love research, and figuring out what my son's potential colleges might want to see in an incoming freshman helped me work with him to plan his high school coursework.
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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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Mackfam
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guitarnan wrote:
| Second, one thing that helped me, personally, was to chart out colleges' "wish lists" for incoming freshmen (# of years of math, science, etc.) and match them with my son's interests and possible college goals. I knew at the beginning of his 9th grade year that we needed four years of Language Arts, four years of math, etc. I always knew when we were on/off track. We discussed the high school plan every year and tweaked it as necessary. |
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Yes!!! This is what we do as well, and an excellent point and tool for the high school family!!
We build a very basic high school roadmap based on our state's high school graduation requirements as well as any college/vocational/skill building needs and then map out the year from there. This basic roadmap does NOT dictate HOW we learn, but it does help me to "package" the transcript in a way that is easily recognizable and walks and talks like the same transcripts that are walking and talking out of high school in our state when my student graduates.
Like Nancy, we built the roadmap and agreed on it (high school student agreeing to their responsibility of living it out!!) at the beginning of high school, and it comes out at the beginning of each new year, to be reconsidered and adjusted slightly if necessary.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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JodieLyn
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Much simpler.. the schools don't get any better than when the kids were younger, there aren't other options.. the kids are the same as when they were younger.. basically nothing changed to say.. now it's good to send the kids there.
Plus that's not why we homeschool anyway. 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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stellamaris
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We have done both options...private Catholic high school and homeschool.
Our four oldest were homeschooled through high school. When I made this decision for each of them, I used the old "pro-con" list--dividing a paper in half lengthwise and listing all the reasons to homeschool on one side, and all the reasons against homeschooling on the other. This really clarified my decision-making process.
We lived at the time in a community with a lot of homeschooling families and many extra-curricular options, so that factor did make high school at home an enjoyable and enriching experience for our older children.
Our fifth daughter is in Catholic high school. It definitely has been a mixed blessing. She has opportunities that she wouldn't have had at home in this area that has few homeschooling families and almost none of them Catholic, but it has not been academically as rich (though more pressured) and it has exposed her to a lot more sinfulness and worldliness than she would have been exposed to at home. We keep on talking about these things and working through them, and she has seen how important it is to guard her faith and her purity. Having her in a school outside the home has changed the "tone" of our family relations some, too.
Every year we discuss whether or not she ought to come home again, but given our current living situation it would be challenging for her to stay home. Sometimes I am tempted to be very sad about this situation, but then I remind myself that God knows this child, He placed her in our lives at this particular time and in these particular circumstances, and He will guide her to holiness and to Himself if she is willing to follow Him. Maybe the plan for her is just a little different than the plan for the other children.
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Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
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drmommy
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When my son had food thrown at him for being pro-life, I knew it was time to homeschool. My very popular and outgoing son was failing, and we had to do something about it. Now, he is 19 and realized what a poor education he had in public school (we couldn't justify the 11K+ tuition, let alone the driving, service hours, subpar Catholic education at the local Catholic boys school...which is 45 minutes away). He BEGGED me to continue homeschooling his 3 sisters. The lack of morals and eye opening experiences he said, are too much for high school/teens. He wish he had never seen or heard of the things that happen in high school.
I am sorry to sound negative, but this is the truth for our situation. We are raising souls.
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LLMom
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DH and I prayed and discussed...a lot. He, as the head of the household, made the final decision, and I am resting in that decision knowing it is God's will. We will be blessed abundantly by following our dh leading. What does your dh think?
This will be our first child in school. Our 2 oldest homeschooled through high school, and I was not very happy with it. We live in a very remote area with few homeschoolers and opportunities. Just 2 years ago, a new Catholic high school that opened and it is a classical, liberal arts school. They use wonderful texts (Didache for religion), teach Latin, and of course have extras like sports that my son is craving. The classes are small; about 10 per class. I am really excited for him. We will evaluate the need for each child as they approach high school.
forgot to add, in response to the post above, yes, we are raising souls, but homeschool is not a guarantee, and school is not always negative. Works both ways. Children can and do thrive in both places.
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Lisa
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JodieLyn
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Also it really depends on where you are.. here in Oregon, homeschoolers may use the schools for one class or half a day or to play sports, what the actual options are and how easy it is probably varies from school to school.. and there are some additional requirements you'd need to know about.. for instance eligibility for sports is usually based on grades.. and for homeschoolers it's based on the previous year's end of the year testing. Which also means that you'd have to test every year, and not just the legally required years.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
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time4tea
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Echoing here what others have already said - we had already used the public schools in elementary for a few years, and they were horrible (at least here), so neither one of my two oldest (both ds's) had any desire to return for high school.
Also, as others have said, we did not have the $ to afford private/Catholic school.
I wanted to add that the high school years are some of the most rewarding years that I have taught as a home schooling mom. A lot of focus is naturally spent on the early years, but high school "crowns" all of that hard work, so to speak. I have found the time I have spent discussing various topics and learning alongside my teens to be some of the best years of our homeschooling journey.
As far as extra-curricular activities are concerned, my two boys have activities that they are involved in and love, and they just continued those activities on into high school. There are a lot of options that open up for older kids in high school, so I would like to encourage you that a brick and mortar school is not the only place to find extracurricular activities for your student. My oldest ds cross-registered with our local community college and earned dual high school and college credits for 11th and 12th grades, and that has worked out really well for him and opens up many opportunities for extra curriculars.
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time4tea
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JodieLyn wrote:
Much simpler.. the schools don't get any better than when the kids were younger, there aren't other options.. the kids are the same as when they were younger.. basically nothing changed to say.. now it's good to send the kids there.
Plus that's not why we homeschool anyway. |
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I so agree with you, Jodie! And the bad stuff just gets so much worse and so much more intense at the high school level.
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Blessings to you!
~Tea
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4Real Forums : High School Years and Beyond
Topic: How did you decide....?
