Best of HSL: Our Favorite Advice for Homeschooling High School
Expensive doesn’t mean better, but some things are worth paying more for. Do your research before you commit your resources.
Take lots of pictures. You may not run into as many obvious photo opps as you did during the early years, but you will treasures photos of your high schooler at work.
Don’t feel like a failure if your teenager decides to try traditional school. Giving him the freedom to come to that decision on his own totally counts as success.
Keep quarterly records of classes and reading lists.
Let her stay up late. Let her sleep in.
Travel as much as you can, as many places as you can.
You will realize sometime during your child’s senior year that you left a hole somewhere in his education. Let it go. Everyone’s education has some holes.
Take your time. The worst thing that can happen is that your child graduates later than his public school peers. That’s not so bad.
Sign up for a community college class, just to get a feel for what it’s like.
Stick to what has worked. Don’t feel like you have to break out hardcore curricula or make your daily work time serious business just because your child hits high school.
Give your teen freedom to set his own goals and schedules. Let him mess up.
Make everyday activities, like budgeting for groceries or doing laundry, part of your curriculum. Your teen will thank you later.
Plan like your teen will be going to college. Expect that he might decide to do something else. You’ll cover your bases and minimize senior year stress.
Do not stop taking field trips and baking cookies together.
Give lots of feedback. Your high schooler needs to know how her work measures up.
Don’t panic. Yes, suddenly it seems like there is so much to do and so little time. There will be even less time in six months when you realize you just spend the last half-year freaking out.
Take a few SAT prep tests. Don’t take an SAT prep class unless your teen is applying to a super-competitive school.
Invest in what your child cares about most. If that means scavenging free math curricula and grammar lessons to pay for drama lessons, that’s okay.
Do not get so caught up in the this-should-be-on-your-transcript checklist that you suck all the fun out of homeschool.
Keep quarterly records of classes and reading lists.
Find a way for your child to do real labs. Even if she’s not a science person.
Visit lots of colleges.
See as many concerts, plays, ballets, poetry readings, films, and other performances as you can.
Plan ahead for timing-matters issues, like college applications and driver’s license testing.
Make plenty of one-on-one dates with your teen. These years fly by so quickly, and you’ll be glad you made the time when she’s not living at home anymore.
Help your child define what a successful high school experience for her would be. Then help her find ways to achieve it.
Talk seriously about technology and social media. Give your teen freedom to find her way and information to guide her.
Bask in your own glory. You did it. And you did great.
This list is adapted from a feature in the summer 2015 issue of HSL.
