homeschooling high school

Homeschooling High School | Preparing Your Child For Their Future Callings and Careers

/ Amanda Osenga / 4 Comments

One of our focuses is having teens choose a major from a young age. We do this so they can focus on building the skills needed for their future careers and callings. Fun-Schooled teens who choose a major can graduate High School having already started their own business- or with an impressive portfolio to jump right into the work world. Last month, we talked about homeschooling college-bound teens. Today we will focus on homeschooling High School when your teen plans to enter the workforce after graduation.

Top Tips for Homeschooling High School

We said this last month, and it’s worth repeating today. Ensure you know the legal High School requirements for where you live. The HSLDA is an irreplaceable resource for understanding your local laws. Also, check out our comprehensive guide on assigning credits to journals.

If your student is not already actively selecting their school materials, now is the time to start. Let them select some, or all, of their journals and the resources they’ll use alongside them. It works well to offer 5-10 choices for your students to select from if they get overwhelmed by too many options. You can do this with journals and book selections.

Get help from your community as needed. This track focuses on the skills kids need to step into their future careers and calling. You may not know exactly what they need to know and that’s ok! Give your child a chance to interview a few people in their desired field to get answers. Shadowing and internships can provide valuable information and build skills.

It’s okay to repeat a journal completed at a younger age. Because students combine journals with academically appropriate materials, they will get a different experience. High Schoolers can go more in-depth than they did when they were younger. Plus, we know there will never be 100% retention on any subject of study. Repeating a journal will allow your student to get closer to mastery and pick up things they missed last time.

FAQs for Homeschooling High School

What if my student has no idea what they want to study?

Parents often tell us asking the question, “What is your future career or calling,” elicits a lot of “I don’t know” answers. It’s a huge question and can feel heavy for a lot of teens. We suggest asking “What do you want to do?” and “What do you want to know?” This can apply to things they want to do and know right now at this stage in life if needed. As they hone their skills, they’ll think through what they’d like to do later in life. Here are a few more tips for using these magic questions to jumpstart learning.

How do you select materials that are High School level appropriate?

Many Fun-Schooling families like to pursue Charlotte Mason-based book lists to select materials. Ambleside Online, Wildwood, Simply Charlotte Mason, and Sabbath Mood Science are popular options. From 7th grade up, these programs use High School and College level materials. Simply Charlotte Mason also has a great book finder that allows you to narrow down books by grade and search for a specific subject or keyword. You can also search “living books + (subject)” to find more.

Other families head to the library and ask librarians for help. If you do not live near a library, most libraries have a free option to chat with a librarian online and get suggestions- or you can call. They’ll be able to help you choose age-appropriate materials and provide lots of great suggestions.

You may also get support from your local public high school. Some public schools are more supportive than others of homeschoolers. We’ve heard of teachers being willing to sit down with homeschool families and offer suggestions for materials.

As mentioned above, interviewing someone in the student’s desired field is a wealth of information. They likely have books and resources they’ll lend your student- or can provide plenty of titles and websites.

What about learning gaps?

Don’t fear “gaps.” All students come into life with gaps; learning everything we are taught is impossible! Once they’re in the workforce, they are so well equipped to know how to learn that they’ll be perfectly capable of filling in any gaps. Students can take courses at a community college if there’s something specific they have to know for their future career or calling that they can’t teach themselves. Check out this post for a few other thoughts on gaps.

How does Fun-Schooling help a student prepare for their future career or calling?

We have written several blogs about this which I will reference below. The short answer is that Fun-Schooling lets students dive deep into their field of study. It teaches them how to learn and gain skills. Students are set up for success for a lifetime no matter what career path or calling they choose- or how many times they change their path throughout their lives. The skills they will develop at home will help them find success no matter what they hope to do one day.

How and Why to Choose a Major at a Young Age
Choosing a Major & Why 13 Is the Magic Number
Transitioning Toward Adult Life
Raising Employees?

What are the top journals for High School students to use?

Find out the most popular journals High Schoolers preparing for their careers and callings in this post–

More tips for high school homeschoolers

About the Author- Amanda Osenga is a Fun-Schooling mom in Columbus, Ohio. She is also the social media manager and Virtual Assistant for Thinking Tree. Her family combines Thinking Tree books with the Charlotte Mason method using books from Ambleside Online and Wildwood Curriculum. In her free time, Amanda is an avid reader and loves to be outdoors.

Everything You Always Wanted to Ask About Fun-Schooling!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 3 Comments

 

What do I need to Fun-School besides journals?
Some- especially math and spelling- are open and go with nothing other than writing and coloring utensils needed. Others need library books, podcasts/documentaries, music, and other research materials. You can include games, craft projects, and other activities on the subject(s) your child is studying if you’d like but they’re not required to Fun-School.

 How many pages per day should students complete?
We suggest the same number of pages per day as your child’s age. For example, a 10-year-old would complete 10 pages per day in a core journal. Or they might complete 2 pages in a math journal, 2 pages of spelling, 2 pages of nature study, 2 pages history, and 2 pages Bible. A page is one single side of paper, not both sides. 


What should I do if there isn’t a journal for what my student wants to study?
While many of our journals are themed, we have dozens of journals that can be used to study anything. The seasonal core journals are especially popular, any core journal can be used along with books and documentaries/podcasts on the subject your child wants to study. Master Class- 30 Day Portfolio is another option to study anything your child wants. 

What are Learning Languages?

Learning Languages are five unique learning styles.  Think of these as like The Five Love Languages. The Languages are Creator, Detective, Explorer, Friend, and Follower. You’ll find more info here.  These can be helpful in selecting journals and troubleshooting issues in your homeschool. 

 What are Dyslexia Games?

Dyslexia Games is our one-of-a-kind Language Arts curriculum.  It’s excellent for all students as it helps build problem-solving, creative thinking, right/left brain integration and more.  Children with Dyslexia, Aspergers, ADHD/ADD and Autism especially benefit.  

You can find more information in this document. 

 Can you help me with record keeping and compliance?

Laws vary by state/country as to what records and subjects are required.  We are happy to offer suggestions, you need to verify they are compliant with your local laws. Many families choose to use the 10 Subject Portfolio or the 12 Subject Portfolio for record-keeping.  The HSLDA is a great source for homeschool compliance information by state.

What about High School Credits?
We have a comprehensive guide to Fun-Schooling High School here. 

 Can I purchase materials with charter funds? 

Yes! Most charter schools allow you to use your charter school funds for Fun-Schooling materials.  Find more information here. We also put together the bundles with Charter Schools in mind. 

 How do I schedule a school day with these materials?
 We are happy to help you with a plan and offer suggestions.  Our bundles come with a suggested lesson plan for your schedule.  PM us here or email us here for help.  You’ll find lots of sample schedules by searching for “schedule” or “scheduling” here in the group.  

Some families use only a core journal while others use multiple journals per day. The beauty of Fun-Schooling is you can adapt to what works best for your family! There are thousands of Fun-Schoolers and no two families have the same schedule.

Here are a few popular options for scheduling but you can truly do whatever works best for your family-

(This mentions loop scheduling. In case you’re not familiar with a loop schedule- stack up all your “loop” journals up. Whatever is on the top is what you start with. No need to assign certain journals to certain days or worry about a specific schedule. When you’re done w/ the journal for the day, it goes on the bottom of the pile.)

Option 1-Pure loop- Stick everything in a pile- including the core journal. Let your child decide how many pages to complete in each journal as they work their way through the loop. Some days they may decide to do all pages in one journal. On other days they may decide to do a few pages from each journal. This is the most child-led and relaxed method.

Option 2-  Half pages per day from a core journal. Half pages per day from 2-4 loop journals. 

Option 3- Rotate core day/ single subject journals day. For example, Monday they would do all pages/day in her core. Tuesday would be 2+ single subject journals. Wednesday would be all pages in the core again. Etc.

Option 4- Half pages from a core journal, and the rest of the pages from only one single subject journal. Stick with this single subject journal until it is done and move on to a new one once it’s done. 

You can also look at our bundles – they all have suggested lesson plans in the bundle description. Look at the bundle that’s closest to your child’s grade level and you can plan in the same way as our lesson plan with the journals that you already have. https://www.funschooling.com/all-curriculum-bundles

Transitioning Toward Adult Life

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 2 Comments

Here are some books that are very important for my 12 to 15 year-olds.  At this age, we are transitioning them from mainly studying what they love, to requiring some things that we believe they really need to master, to do well in adult life.

They will study their preferred majors and minors most of the time, but at least once a week, they need to spend a couple hours with some of these books.

At ages 12 to 15 I want my children to study leadership, economics and grammar while I expose them to many options for a future calling or career.  If they already have chosen an occupation, we get specific. For example, you can’t just major in horses. You need to choose one or two horse-related career options to train in.  You can’t just focus on general photography. You need a specific market. You can’t just major in the Arts. You need to focus your skill building in one main area, maybe two…like producing a musical. You can’t just keep playing around with lots of different artistic mediums, you need to master the one you love the most.

By age 14, they need to make a serious choice about what calling or career they want to pursue so we can focus on training, gaining experience, skills, providing equipment, volunteering or internships in the area they choose.

From age 14 to 18 we will help them turn their dream into an income source, or help them get involved with others who are living out the calling they want to pursue. They will gain 4 years of practical experience in the field. I will also ONLY require them to learn the math specialized to their future occupation.  If they change careers, they will have something to fall back on. And, they might just have a source of passive income to help them take the next step.

Fun-Schooling for High School Credit

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 7 Comments

Parents often feel overwhelmed homeschooling high school and assigning credits. Remember, homeschoolers have a lot of flexibility. You don’t have to “school at home.” Your teen is preparing to launch into the world and doesn’t need to sit in a classroom with boring textbooks to thrive! Below is guidance on credits and some options for planning the high school years.

Remember-

Each country and state has different legal requirements. These suggestions should meet the requirements of most places. Please verify requirements where you live.

The HSLDA or your local homeschool support organization are good resources. Check to see if your area requires detailed record-keeping, transcripts, portfolios, testing, evaluation by a certified teacher, or any other records. Some states require in-depth and detailed transcripts while others are very laid back.

HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS

Most states require 15-25 credits for High School Graduation. For example:

Language Arts/English: 4 credits
Math: 3 credits
Science: 3 credits
Social Studies (U..S History): 1 credit
Social Studies (Any other Social Studies): 1 credit
Electives (physical education, home economics, foreign language, music, etc): 9 credits

Total: 21 credits

College-bound students will need a more specific record of courses based on their desired University requirements. The University admissions department will provide those details.

For example, specific science credits needed might be: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, & a Science Elective.
Social Studies might be: U.S. History, World History, American Government .5/Economics .5, Social Studies elective.

College-bound students will also need grades assigned to each completed credit.
Some areas require a more detailed description of courses taken. This can be anything from a short sentence to an entire portfolio of completed work. This is why it’s important to understand your regional laws.

How much work equals one credit?

In most places is 120 hours = 1 credit.
This is time working on journals as well as projects, field trips, interviews, etc. An easy way to track time is for your teen to write the start and end times when they work in a journal. This will also give you an idea of how much time is spent on that subject.

If you don’t have to track time, Fun-Schoolers usually give shorter single-subject journals ½ credit, longer single-subject journals 1 credit, and completed core journals 3-5 credits depending on their size. (click Page 2 to learn about selecting journals and assigning credits with Fun-Schooling)

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Sarah’s Mom Tips – Homeschooling High School Outside the Box

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

(Note: This information is gleaned from a post in our Facebook Fun-Schooling Mom Support Group, dated 2017)

I don’t force my kids to learn anything that is obviously irrelevant.

I don’t teach toward college.

Naomi (then 11) volunteering as a barista, she is learning to clean the coffee bar right now.

I lead them toward a specific career starting at age 13. All of my kids look forward to turning 13, because they know that it is the big birthday where we buy them professional equipment based on their current passion, hobby or interest. Most kids feel like they don’t need to think about a career until they are choosing a college. It’s a different mindset. At 13 Isaac wanted to be a chef, Anna wanted to be a baker, Esther wanted to be a photographer, Rachel wanted to be a musician. Naomi wants to be a horse trainer. I expect to invest about $750 at that point.

We have more freedom to specialize and build real skills. The biggest obstacle to developing real skills as a teen is an addiction to media. I have limited my teens to about two hours a week on games or entertainment at times. Pull the plug. It’s great that your daughter knows what she wants to do, that is what my oldest son is doing.

Anna, helping with craft clean up, after hosting over 100 kids at an outreach. Great skills! Cleaning!

I am having them build portfolios and major now (this is from a post dated 2017) in the things they would learn in college later. Film, missions, caregiving, music, art, publishing, horsemanship, dog training, cooking, childcare, leadership, teaching, graphic design, editing, administration, baking, volunteering, drama, team building, event planning, entertaining children, photography. At this point (2017) the five oldest are already working professionally or as volunteers in these areas.

Our kids have very rich lives and lack no opportunity to use their skills to be a blessing wherever we go. Just thinking about today they are working as baristas, planning and organizing activities for 100 kids, editing their own film, taking care of their siblings while my husband and I cared for my mom who is in the hospital. They are illustrating books, they are managing their money, they planned a birthday party for their little sister, did all the shopping and baking, they are hosting new missionaries in our home, they are learning Russian. That was just today.

The goal is for each one to be an expert in their field by age 18, and to have an income source to support themselves.

If they need college to further their goals, they can show a great portfolio, and pay for it themselves.

I don’t really want them to go deep in debt over a degree though. Most kids don’t have a chance to develop their skills and become specialized in anything at a young age, because so much time is taken up on irrelevant things. 🙂

Ask God for wisdom for each child, and He will guide you, that could mean teaching toward tests, college, careers, missions, homemaking or anything.

Mom Tips: Homeschooling High School Outside the Box

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

  • I don’t force my kids to learn anything that is obviously irrelevant.
  • I don’t teach toward college.
  • I lead them toward a specific career starting at age 13.
  • We have more freedom to specialize and build real skills.
  • I am having them build portfolios and major now in the things they would learn in college later.
  • The goal is for each one to be an expert in their field by age 18, and to have an income source to support themselves.
  • If they need college to further their goals, they can show a great portfolio, and pay for it themselves.
  • I don’t really want them to go deep in debt over a degree though. Most kids don’t have a chance to develop their skills and become specialized in anything at a young age, because so much time is taken up on irrelevant things. 🙂
  • Ask God for wisdom for each child, and He will guide you, that could mean teaching toward tests, college, careers, missions, homemaking or anything.

Join the discussion in our Mom’s Support group here.