Homeschooling High School – Relax, You CAN Do It!

Homeschooling High School can intimidate even some veteran homeschoolers. When I started homeschooling high school 5 years ago, I would think of the millions of things that could go wrong, as a result of me not choosing the right curriculum, not assigning the right credit, or not meeting college requirements. I just didn’t want to deal with any of it, specially as a brand new homeschooler.

Turns out, I had no choice.Set featured image

My then high school sophomore and junior were homeschooling through a local charter school and failing badly. I have to admit that at the time I was too busy working to pay attention to what they were not teaching them, and I completely missed the fact that neither was on track to graduate on time. The good news is, that after homeschooling my son his senior year, and my daughter her junior and senior years, both graduated on time, and both went on to a University.

If homeschooling high school is in your child’s near future, and you’re frantically looking for a paper bag to breathe into, let me assure you that you won’t need it.

You can do this, homeschooling high school is not that hard, and you might even have fun.

Really, Homeschooling High School Actually IS Fun

High schoolers are independent, they want you to back off a bit, and let them do their thing. This is a good thing, trust me. Gone are the days when you can’t get anything else done. If they get stuck, they will call and ask for help.

High schoolers are curious, they’re interested in the world around them. Curiosity allows them to problem solve and think outside the box.

High schoolers are conscious leaders, it may not always seem that way, specially when they want to do what everyone else is doing. However even when they are shy, they’re looking to see where they fit in, and how their actions affect others.

High schoolers express themselves, they will let you know if that Little House on the Prairie unit study you’re excitedly planning is not their style. Ask for their opinions, they will give them to you. The curriculum selection process can, and should be done as a team.

Homeschooling High School Options

Did you get rid of the paper bag yet? There’s no need for anxiety here, let’s discuss some options.

1. File a Private School Affidavit (PSA) – You file all paperwork, and keep all records, including transcripts.
2. Join a Private School Satellite Program (PSP) – Also known as an umbrella school. For a small monthly or yearly fee, the school’s administration will file  all paperwork and keep records, including transcripts. This is my recommendation for any first time homeschooler.
3. Enroll in a charter school – Don’t let my bad experience sway you away from a charter program, there are many great ones out there. However keep in mind that charters follow public school requirements.
4. Hire a teacher or a tutor.

Homeschooling High School Resources

Now that you know your options, let’s talk resources. My go to place for homeschooling high school anything is the HSLDA High School website, where you can watch videos that will answer most of your questions in detail. They even cover the scary high school credit thing.

Also be sure to visit your state’s high school graduation requirement page as a guide.

If college is in the horizon, you should also look at the individual college requirements. For example since my kids have only considered California schools (so far) we would use this California Department of Education guide as a template for our high school plan.

Are You Homeschooling A High School Freshman?

I have one of these this year, so fresh and so clean. I’m looking forward to spending a few days with her finalizing the curriculum we’ll be using.

Allow me to encourage you to start fresh with each high schooler. If you have more than one child, you already know that they are uniquely different. No matter how wonderful the curriculum their older sibling used might have been, it may not work as well with the rest of your children. This freshman year is the perfect time to explore possible career opportunities.

Ask your brand new high schooler what they’re interested in, what makes them laugh, and what inspires them. Have fun with electives, the possibilities are endless.

Some electives we’ve enjoyed were creative writing, drama, cooking, sewing, apologetics, art, music, video creation & editing for YouTube (I’ll release this course in early August).

Finally, this semester we will be testing our woodshop skills. No worries, I have lots of band-aids on hand.

Are you Homeschooling Mid-Way Through High School?

Been there!

I’ll be honest, homeschooling high school was stressful when I tried to copy the public school system. My kids were stressed, I was breathing into that paper bag day and night… but I eventually remembered that the public system had failed them, and I was going down the same path.

Relax, you can do this in 3 4 steps:

1. Get a copy of the current high school transcripts.
2. Visit your state’s high school graduation requirement page, and figure out what you have, and what you need.
3. If college is in the near future, check out the school’s requirements. If it’s not, have some fun with high school electives.
4. Burn that paper bag and breather freely, you’re on your way to graduating that high schooler. Well done.

Still on the fence about homeschooling high school? read Betsy’s 101 Reasons to Homeschool High School. I guarantee it will inspire you.

This is day 13 of my Homeschooling 101 Blog Series!  I’m so glad you are here! Don’t forget to join the exclusive Facebook group to chat it up with our bloggers, ask questions and just be a part of our amazing and growing community!

Tatiana Adurias

Mom to five girls and one boy, wife to Mario, homeschooler, lover of books, aspiring apologist, follower of Jesus. She provides homeschooling encouragement and tools to reach the next generation of believers on her blog TheMusingsofMum.com