One of the most frequent questions I used to be asked as my children got older was: "Are you going to homeschool through high school?" Yes, definately. Followed with "How are you going to teach...?"
Homeschooling through the highschool years is often seen as something to dread or fear. Today I would like to encourage you to overcome the fear of homeschooling in the Highschool Years and know that you can teach anything. The most important thing as your child's tutor to remember is that you can learn a new subject or skill alongside your student.
Looking Back is there anything I would do differently ?
DON'T CHANGE A THING - if it is not broken don't try fix it! Learning does not change, once our children know how to learn it does not change. However IF they are not ready for independence and we push them into it then it derails their journey.
What I now realise is that the high school years are no different to the primary years. Take a deep breath and just keep doing what's working. You know and they know what is working. The method needs to remain the same but the content changes and becomes deeper. Your student will discover in themselves the best environment for them to learn in and as home educators we can cater to their growing need. Independent learning is not isolation. Sending them to their rooms to learn is isolation and does not foster independence. For more thoughts on this read: Nurturing Independence in High School
Resources to help you teach
- Join your local Homeschool Co-op. Remember Together Everyone Achieves More. Some co-ops are formed specifically to teach things that can not be learned on your own and others are more informal to provide a platform of support.
- Build a network of homeschool mom's from all walks of life. Ask them for advice on how they teach a certain subject. You will be surprised with the wealth of information available to you in these circles.
- Find magazine articals written by veteran homeschoolers. Three that I have often read are: Otherways is produced by the Home Education Network, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine the trade magazine for homeschooling families and Keystone Magazine from the Home Education Foundation.
- Invest in good video courses. One of our favourite companies is The 101 Series. So far we have enjoyed their Physics 101, Biology 101 and Chemistry 101.
- Look at investing in online teaching for the particular subject your student wants to take but you don't know how to teach. For example: Visual Latin and Veritas Press.
- Join some homeschooling forums or Facebook groups and ask questions there. Remember though to take any advice as ideas. Pick and choose wisely what you take on board for your family.
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. … Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9,10,12
"Can I teach high school science?NOAs your student gets older,your role changes fromteacher to fellow learner."
Some posts to encourage you on teaching in high school
- Language Arts in High School
- Homeschool Record Keeping
- Science in High School
- Nurturing Independence in High School
- Writing and Composition in High School
- Help! Math is a problem. Now What?
- How do you teach poetry?
- Electives in the High School Years {Homeschool High School}
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Don't forget to read some of these great posts from Day three of the blog hop where our team talked about Curriculum ...
Kristen @ A Mom’s Quest to Teach shares Top Five Homeschooling Curriculum Choices.
Annette @ A Net in Time shares Grade 10 Curriculum Choices.
Yvie @ Homeschool on the Range shares Curriculum Reveal.
Vickie B @ Tumbleweed News shares Our Favorite Curriculum {Blog Hop}.
Jessica H @ My Homeschool with a View shares Tips for Curriculum Shopping.
Yvonne @ The Life We Build shares Our Kindergarten and 4th Grade Curriculum Choices.
Dawn @ Schoolin’ Swag shares Morning Time.
Teresa B @ Teresa Brouillette shares Homeschool Curriculum .
Lori @ At Home: where life happens shares 5 Tips on How To Pick a Curriculum.
Find some more inspiration on How to Teach today with the Crew below.
We start high school this year!
ReplyDeleteThis is a good list of resources to help you teach. It is such a relief when a parent believes that they don't have to teach it all and can have help in various forms.
ReplyDeleteWonderful advice! I love that we have the flexibility to change things but to stay the same when it works.
ReplyDeletehighschool isn't so bad mostly... sometimes it's a challenge finding the right course though
ReplyDeleteI wish I could find more confidence in my homeschooling high school self. Both my current high schooler and my graduated one have chosen to do a charter school instead of traditional high school. I'm hoping I can be brave so my last 2 can do traditional if they'd like.
ReplyDeleteLove the quote from Jay Wylie. I have been telling people this again lately and some still don't really believe me. That's okay - I'm learning alongside my girls and it is great.
ReplyDelete