Do you have middle schoolers at home, who you are thinking about homeschooling through high school?
The other day I spoke with a homeschooling family, whose middle schooler was interested in going to college, when the time came.
She wanted to homeschool her through high school, but was not sure how that would work.
Another parent wondered how she could prepare her middle schooler for high school. She wanted to keep her interest-led style going, but also did want to be sure she would be ready for high school at home, when she was old enough for that.
Another parent wondered how she could prepare her middle schooler for high school. She wanted to keep her interest-led style going, but also did want to be sure she would be ready for high school at home, when she was old enough for that.
During our discussion, I came up with seven factors to look at, for your middle schooler to help prepare them for high school at home.
And keep your nurturing, interest-led homeschooling style all the way.
Let's start with English skills:
1. Whatever English curriculum you are using, take time to Discuss what you Read
Does your curriculum, whether published or homemade, include critical thinking questions to discuss? Is your child beginning to analyze what they are reading?
There are, of course, many options for middle school English. In our home, we used Oak Meadow, and also 7 Sisters Literature and English courses and lit guides.
7 Sisters Homeschool Middle School English is all about introducing the components of good literature to your middle schooler.
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This is by 7 Sisters Homeschool, a FRUGAL PDF course that is also Christian based.
Through this course, literature became something that my daughter looked forward to each day....She enjoyed learning about plot, setting, point of view, and characterization.
For many more ideas for middle school English, go to The Curriculum Choice, and read about 7 Sisters Frugal English courses. They have lots of middle schoolers, too and are less than $30.00 for a whole year long course.
2. Encourage Free Reading.
Kids who read a lot, develop strong vocabularies. We know that. My daughter loved reading science fiction and adventure stories, and we encouraged that. It doesn't have to be limited to good literature.
3. Math - Get Pre-algebra done.
Most colleges ask for algebra 1 in 9th grade. So a good understanding of pre-algebra during middle school can really help.
We used Teaching Textbooks, then went to Switched-On-Schoolhouse's, which helped my daughter with retention. There are many great resources for pre-algebra.
4. Write a lot!
Encourage all kinds of writing, fiction, essays, reports, biographies, autobiographies, etc.
We all know how important writing skills are to the college student. How is your child doing with their writing?
The key to learning to write well is to make it FUN!
This Fairy Tale writing course is by 7 Sisters Homeschool, which is Christian based and very frugal.
One year, my daughter was really interested in airplanes and the airline industry, so that became the focus of her research report that year.
We all know how important writing skills are to the college student. How is your child doing with their writing?
Do they have a chance to practice different types of writing? Are they finding a way to express themselves in the written form?
Use their interests for their writing assignments!
5. Consider providing Practice in Test Taking.
We used hands-on approaches in our homeschool, with lots of unit studies. But somewhere in 7th grade, we began to incorporate some quizzes and tests.
Test taking skills are key to success in college. And starting in middle school gives your child plenty of time to practice.
I hated to add this in, but starting in middle school gave my daughter plenty of time to get used to tests, and not be anxious about them. Knowing how to take tests has helped her so much in college.
More ideas on this is here, from my friend Vicki at 7 Sisters Homeschool: Authoritive Guide to Transitioning to High School
6. Encourage their Budding Interests.
It's never too early to encourage our young teen's special interests. And isn't this one of the reasons that we homeschool anyway?
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It's also very FRUGAL, and a fun way to explore what a high school course might look like!
7 Sisters Homeschool has lots more elective courses, to look at, too. Such as drama..
There are many ways to show your child's leadership skills, volunteering at church, assisting in a class in co-op are just a few.
What would you add to the list?
Homeschooling is a great way to educate our kids, and to prepare them for future endeavors in their life, including the college option.
Are you looking for information on transcripts, assigning high school credit and more?
My book below, is FREE to read on Amazon Prime, and goes over all the details you will need for doing high school at home.
Plus college tips, not that that is the only way to go. After helping my teen get into each of the colleges she applied to, I wrote a book, which is mentioned below. It can serve as your guide to homeschooling high school and help with college applications, too.
No spam ever.
Homeschooling is a great way to educate our kids, and to prepare them for future endeavors in their life, including the college option.
Are you looking for information on transcripts, assigning high school credit and more?
My book below, is FREE to read on Amazon Prime, and goes over all the details you will need for doing high school at home.
Plus college tips, not that that is the only way to go. After helping my teen get into each of the colleges she applied to, I wrote a book, which is mentioned below. It can serve as your guide to homeschooling high school and help with college applications, too.
Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,
Betsy
Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school. She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool,
No spam ever.
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