Homeschool Through High School Workshop Replays

Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2010

Several of you have asked about replays from the Homeschooling through High School workshop I did for Cindy Rushton’s Ultimate Homeschool Expo a couple of days ago, and a few of you wrote that you hadn’t been able to click the link I sent out in e-mail. So here it is on the blog– I’ve even tested it for you!

We had such fun on this call, and there were so many questions at the end that the call lasted almost two hours. We were happy to share so much information about the scary subjects– transcripts, records, college admissions, financial aid, and more. If you were able to be on the call, I hope you were reassured by it all.

If you weren’t able to make it to the live call, Cindy has a page up that will tell you how to access this recording and all the other speakers she’ll be hosting over the next couple of weeks. The UHSE is an amazing online event, and it’s well worth putting on your calendar. You can check it all out at the Ultimate Homeschool Expo homepage.

Carnival of Homeschooling- The NaNoWriMo Edition

Preface

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Welcome to this hundred-and-umpteenth Carnival of Homeschooling! Because November is National Novel Writing Month (also known as NaNoWriMo or nano), and I’m over 10,000 words into the writing process (and can’t think of anything but writing, writing, and more writing), I thought it would be appropriate to format this Carnival as sections of a book. I even consulted the Chicago Manual of Style for an authoritative list of book parts!

Introduction

For me, homeschooling is first and foremost a heart matter. In Mangled Schedules and Grateful Hearts, an article I wrote for Home School Enrichment magazine, you can read how a father’s presence and influence can shape a family school. Enjoy! Read more

College From Home? Sure… At Least a Few Classes

The internet has changed a lot of things. Some for the better, and some not. One thing that is a huge benefit is the proliferation of ways to learn online for free or nearly free. One interesting development is that some colleges are posting entire lectures and classes online for anyone to access. I’ve come across several while working with the Excellence in Literature project, and I keep hearing of more.

One of the best-known resources is iTunes U, which can be found in the Apple iTunes store. If you visit the site, you’ll find the link to iTunes U in the top navigation bar. Mouse over it, and a menu of subjects drops down. A glance at the topics available in the humanities shows 18 pages of multi-part courses, including:

John Locke Lectures in Philosophy from Oxford University

Christian Apologetics and many others from Reformed Theological Seminary

Publishing from Stanford University Read more

Free is Good for College Textbooks

For many families, the cost of college textbooks comes as a shock. Paying $100 or so for a book your student will use for a mere 18 weeks seems entirely foolish. For families whose high school students are getting a jump start on college from home, it can be a real problem, as there’s no financial aid to buffer the blow. You can sometimes find old textbooks at yard sales, but they are often dated, damaged, or otherwise inferior. I just discovered Flat World Knowledge, which looks like a good resource.

I know there are other sources for free or cheap textbooks. Do you have any links to share?

College Choices - Homeschoolers Have Options!

This post is featured in the "Field Guide to Homeschoolers" blog carnival at Principled Discovery!

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Now that homeschoolers have proven to be high achievers in both academic and social realms, they are being actively courted by many colleges. However, just as many homeschool parents paused before placing their young children on the big yellow school bus, they are now considering whether the traditional model of sending young people to live on a college campus for four years is an ideal way to meet the goal of higher education. Homeschoolers have blazed trails in elementary and secondary education, and they are now earning early college credit through exams or dual-credit classes, completing college at home, or simply choosing to attend a local college while living at home. There are more options now than ever before!

Why Not Live on Campus During College?

According to Dr. Jeff Myers of Inspired Leadership, spending four impressionable years of life living closely with the world is similar to the immersion method of learning a foreign language. If parents are willing to have their child absorb the good, the bad, and the ugly along with academics, four years in a dorm is the way to go. Most parents feel that older teens still need daily mentoring, stabilizing family relationships, and spiritual answers to the questions that inevitably arise when studying academics presented through a secular filter. According to Anne Miller of the Home Educators Association of Virginia, whose four oldest children were attending college at the time of this writing, living at home keeps young people from developing a self-centered attitude as they continue to serve the family through helping with home chores and interacting with younger siblings.

Earning College Credit in High School

Students who are capable of undertaking challenging work can accumulate a year or more of college credit while still in high school. Traditional-school students take Advanced Placement (AP) classes, followed by an AP test, in order to place out of entry level courses in college, but homeschoolers can go a step farther and earn actual credit by taking a CLEP (College-Level Examination Program) test, rather than the AP exam.

Students can prepare for exams by doing extra study on their own, taking an AP or honors class (online or traditionally), or by participating in an advanced co-op. Advantages of earning college credit while still in high school include:

• Time - One 90-minute CLEP exam covers one or two semesters of a subject, and by taking several carefully selected exams, it is possible to shorten the time it takes to earn an associate’s or bachelor’s degree by a year or more.

• Money - The cost of earning 3-6 credits is about $75.

• Advanced placement - Instead of sitting through a basic class that covers material learned in high school, students can skip directly into more advanced and interesting classes.

Students who plan to use CLEP exams to get a jump start on college need to create a high school curriculum plan that includes advanced-level course material for subjects in which tests will be taken. These subjects will be recorded on the high school transcript as AP or honors courses, and students receive weighted grades (one extra grade point) for each class. College credit is awarded by the college the student attends in the future, and it is based upon a passing score on the CLEP exam. Not all colleges award credit for exams, so it is important to select a school that does.

Dual-credit classes are another way to get a jump start on college. To earn dual-credit, a student studies a subject in a community college class instead of a high school class, and earns both high school and college credit. Mature teens may be ready for the challenge of the classroom atmosphere, and taking dual-credit classes can provide a gradual transition into a more structured learning environment.

College From Home

If you have heard of the Swann family, you know the idea of college from home is not new. Each of the Swann’s many children was homeschooled, not only through college, but also through graduate school, receiving their master’s degrees at an age when most other teens are graduating from high school. This family used traditional correspondence courses for each level of schooling, and this is still possible, but the Internet has dramatically increased the number of options available. Students at home can participate in classes which include a variety of online elements, including virtual labs and real-time discussions. The degree earned at home is just as marketable as a degree earned on-campus, and it often comes with less spiritual risk.

Attending College While Living at Home

This final option is probably the most familiar - students attend a traditional college, but live at home, rather than on-campus. While this option limits the choice of a college to one within reasonable driving distance, it provides several advantages. In addition to being more economical than on-campus living, this option provides students with the familiar, supportive environment of home and family in which to process all the new information they are receiving. Second, they have instant access to spiritual, academic, or personal counseling from someone who knows and loves them, and who shares their spiritual worldview. Third, the presence of other family members of various ages with various needs helps to remind young people that they are not the center of the universe - self-centeredness can be a problem for students whose primary consideration is “my schedule, my classes, my choices.” And finally, this option enables students who are academically ready for college, but younger than traditional college age, to benefit from the home atmosphere while they mature.

Just because our teens are growing up, it isn’t necessary to follow the rest of the world in their education. If we don’t want the results we see in the culture around us, we can change the input. The purpose of college is an education, resulting in a degree, and each family has many options for achieving that goal.

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College Admissions: Knowledge Is Power!

Getting in to a college isn’t terribly difficult if you have decent grades, a professional-looking transcript, and a reasonable work ethic (if all else fails, most community colleges admit anyone who is willing to pay for classes). However, if you want to get into a particular college, there are some things you should know. Read more

Homeschooling High School: Is Outsourcing an Option?

When I talk about homeschooling through high school, I always mention the possibility of seeking outside help for advanced subjects. Although most people understand the reasons behind finding an experienced algebra tutor or writing coach, some parents don’t see it that way. I heard from one irate mom after I mentioned several options for working through advanced subjects: “That’s not homeschooling through high school,” she fumed, “that’s not even homeschooling!”

As I understand homeschooling, the defining characteristic is that parents choose and oversee what is learned and how it is taught, and most of us do most of the teaching, at least for the primary grades. Read more

High School Transcripts- Frequently Asked Questions

Creating a high school transcript is easier than it looks, but there are a few questions that tend to recur like dandelions in springtime. The beginning of the spring semester seems a good time to review a couple of the questions that are most frequently asked.

The winner of the most FAQ (frequently asked question) contest would have to be some variation of the following:

Q- My 10-year-old is doing Saxon Calculus this year. Can we count it on his high school transcript? Read more

Homeschool Through High School Audio (and Benefit)

I finally have my Homeschooling Through High School: There’s Joy in the Journey audio workshop, with PowerPoint(TM) presentation and book list handout, available on my website! If you’ve been wondering about whether you should home school through high school, I think you’ll find this workshop very reassuring.

There’s something special about it this week, though– I’m offering it as part of an amazing benefit package for someone who is a very special part of the homeschool community. Tammy Cardwell, reviews editor for EHO (Eclectic Homeschool Online), is living with her family in a home that is virtually giving away in the Texas rains. Water, mold, and falling ceilings have created a dangerous situation for their family, and they just need to get out (read more). Several of us in the homeschool community have joined together to offer a collection of really good products in an amazing package deal, so that Tammy and her family can transform a little warehouse they own into a safe, dry home.

For just this week, you can get my brand new Homeschooling Through High School: There’s Joy in the Journey audio workshop package as part of the benefit special, along with over twenty other good things from other home school writers and speakers. CLICK HERE to read more about the benefit and to make a donatation to help Tammy and her family.

If you’d like to read more about Homeschooling Through High School: There’s Joy in the Journey, you can visit my website by clicking here. But remember, be sure to go to the benefit site to get it, so that you can receive all the other special products and benefit the Cardwells.

Among the things included in this workshop:

Why you might want to home school through high school

Basic high school requirements

Learning tips for advanced subjects

College admissions

Extracurricular activities such as music, drama, and sports

Basic facts about high school paperwork, including the transcript and diploma

And more!

I’ll share some of the most important lessons I’ve learned as I’ve homeschooled my sweet boys from kindergarten into college. You can curl up with a cup of something cool, and listen, while I take some of the unknowns out of the homeschool high school experience. Remember– there’s joy in the journey!