BJ's Guide to Homeschooling High School - You Can Do It!

Are you homeschooling high school, or thinking about it for next year?  Homeschooling high school is really not so hard.

Looking back, I pulled together some planning resources for the high school years, for Credits, Curriculum, and Transcripts.....

You know, like the saying goes...Lions, Tigers and Bears....... But really, if you have these 3 tools, an understanding of high school credits, curriculum, and transcripts, then you have all that is needed to start your high school journey....with confidence.

First of all, let's talk about high school credits.

1.  Assigning High School Credit

You probably saw my post on credits last week, but in case you didn't, here is a bit about that.

It is not that hard to assign high school credit. 

There are the...................1.  the Textbook method

                                             2.  the Hours method

                                             3.  the Mastery method

This post explains each of them, and all of the work that your teen does can earn high school credit.   

This includes courses that you make yourself, volunteer and paid work hours, internships, time spent reading, etc.  

We did a lot of different kinds of learning, and all of it counted.

Secondly, let's talk curriculum.....

2.  Curriculum Search Resources

First, we started with our favorites from middle school.  I wanted to keep whatever was working  best for my daughter.  For example, we used SOS for math in middle school, and just continued with it for most of high school.  That was a no-brainer.  

My daughter was a big part of this process.  Together, we searched the internet, our favorite blogs and homeschool catalogs, and talked with our homeschooling friends, to find new ideas.  


Here are my favorite resources for your search:

------ There is a great CURRICULUM DIRECTORY at Let's Homeschool High School

This curriculum directory for high school is the most complete one I have ever seen!  And it includes TONS of links, too! 

------ THE CURRICULUM CHOICE

This site is full of curriculum reviews, written by a team of authors (me, too!) who have used the curriculum, at home with their families.  There are reviews of curriculum such as Tapestry of Grace, IEW for literature and writing, Oak Meadow, a number of Charlotte Mason options, and tons and tons of many more reviews, too. 

 At BJ's Homeschool, we used a combination of faith based and secular resources.  My book on homeschooling high school has lots more information on curriculum and how to meet the college's entrance requirements, if your teen is headed that way.

So we looked for things that fit my daughter for her basic high school courses. But what exactly are high school core studies.....

3.  High School Core Studies

Core studies are just the basic high school courses, in math, english, social studies, and science.

What your choose for core studies is most often up to the individual homeschool family.  

Most states do not list what is required for a homeschool diploma. 

If you are unsure of this, just check with your local homeschool organization.

Now that you have resources for finding your curriculum, and you understand what core studies are.  You are ready to search for your own high school curricula.

But before we ordered anything, we spent time talking about my teen's special interests. These influenced our choices for core studies and also became her high school electives!

4.  High School Electives

What is your teen passionate about?  How do they spend their time, when they have free time?  What are their gifts?

My daughter wanted to learn about film making, and also had an interest in political science.  So we did some video making that one of her homemade electives. She learned how to make her own videos, and entered them in various contests.  Then we did a course in Government for one of her social studies requirements.

The beauty of homeschooling high school is that you get to build and nurture your teen's interests and help them to discover their strengths.

Now that we finished talking about curriculum, core studies and electives, let's talk transcripts...

5.  Making your High School Transcripts

Volunteering is a great leadership building activity and colleges love to see this on their applications.

Compiling your transcripts is really not that hard!  

Really! 

Above is a post on that, with a list of what is needed to be on your teen's transcripts.  And if you would like a little help to put them together check out my book below,  which has printables and help for course descriptions as well.

High School was my favorite time, of all of our homeschooling years.  Watching my daughter blossom and grow, during the teen years....That was priceless!

After helping my homeschooled high schooler get into each of the colleges she applied to, I wrote this frugal guide:

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind - 2nd edition 

Paperback and Kindle are on Amazon 

Paperback is at Amazon $11.99

For more info: Homeschooling High School with 

College in Mind - 2nd Edition

Have you seen my facebook group called 

Homeschooling Through High School?

 Homeschooling Through High School 

Join us!

Let's chat about:

choosing curriculum 
high school electives
assigning high school credit
making transcripts, how to get started
long range planning tips

writing a college essay
preparing for college writing 
freaking out!

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, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

Want to stay in touch?

Subscribe, Pinterest, Facebook 

No spam ever.  
Just encouragement for your homeschool in your inbox.

Copyright, all rights reserved, BJ's Homeschool 

Thanks for respecting my copyright, 2020