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What Makes a “Bad” Co-op Class?

August 24, 2005 by Leave a Comment

It has been my experience that a “good” teacher can present any information to any group of students with success. Why? Because the “good” teacher knows how to reach the audience. When things go wrong, and classes turn “bad,” there are usually a few common elements.

1 — A teacher (whether a parent from the group or a guest speaker) with a condescending attitude toward the students (or toward any other parents who may be present) will ruin the atmosphere of cooperation your group has worked so hard to establish.

2 — The material is too time-consuming. A full-year class (such as geometry), if your class meets only twice a month, will attempt to cover too much information during each class period. Some students may have difficulty keeping up.

3 — Too much (or mandatory) homework may conflict with the student’s regular schedule of classes at home. Again, some students may have difficulty keeping up.

4 — Do not expect all students to be on the same level. Some students may be well experienced in the subject matter, while others may be brand new to the topic, regardless of the age group.

5 — A public school format will be foreign and uncomfortable to homeschoolers who are used to self-directed learning or unschooling methods. (Do not expect all homeschooled children to sit quietly and raise their hands to speak.)

6 — Avoid anything that ridicules or excludes those students who cannot keep up.

7 — Presenting material in a boring manner (such as lecture only) will be less preferable to hands-on, interactive methods.

8 — Too large or too small of an idea will not work well in the time allotted.

9 — Focusing on the wrong age group will keep the class from being effective. Be sure students are not too old or too young for the type of information presented.

10 — Separating students to work independently (by themselves, not in small groups) defeats the purpose of a co-op group class. Individual work can be done at home; the large group provides the benefits of multiple views and perspectives. (In a class such as creative writing, students may do some of their work at home and then bring examples to class to share with the group and discuss their progress.)

Co-op classes should always be considered as supplemental to each family’s home education schedule, unless other arrangements have been made with all participating families prior to the class itself. Consideration for the students’ interests and abilities will turn any homeschool class period into an adventure, whether the class is in your home with a few children or in a large group setting. Opportunities for casual interaction among students will make your co-op class a memorable and enjoyable experience for all.

[For more information on cooperative classes and group activities, visit Topical Index: Co-op Groups.]

Filed Under: Co-op Groups

Co-op Classes: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

August 17, 2005 by Leave a Comment

Based on my experience, the most important thing to remember when teaching a co-op class is to keep focused on the students and on what they are taking away from the class. I have taught many co-op classes, covering a wide range of subject areas. I have sat in on other Mom’s classes while acting as an assistant (read: crowd control) or just eavesdropped from afar, and my children have told me about other classes in great detail. Over all, the most successful classes have been the ones that focused on the students, providing them with a larger perspective that they could not obtain in the smaller setting of their home situation. For success with any classes you do, seek to present material that is more easily demonstrated in a larger group than at home with only a few students — the things that are difficult to do at home are the things that are appreciated most in co-op groups.

One of the groups we belonged to included a Mom who would occasionally come up with what she considered to be a “great idea” and proceed to plan it all herself and present the class. Her independence and initiative were never the problem, but often the ideas were things that had worked well in her home with her one child, and they did not succeed in the large group setting of co-op day. She would pick a storybook to read aloud to the primary grades and serve snacks that had been mentioned in the book, or have the children make a craft that applied somehow to the story. At home, the children could have snuggled close to Mom during the story and helped in preparing the snacks. The large group required the children to sit as an audience and try to see the pictures as the book was held up in front of the group. The snacks had been previously prepared (for convenience) and were served to the children as they sat around a long cafeteria table. Elements for any story-related craft projects were also prepared in advance for the convenience of controlling a large group around scissors and glue, but leaving the children to experience all the creativity of picking up Piece A and sticking it to Piece B. The great idea for connecting the student to the story was lost in the crowd, and suddenly the homeschool activity took on a very classroom atmosphere, complete with admonitions to sit still and not talk. Just because someone has spent time organizing an activity does not make it a worthwhile group activity or even guarantee that it will be enjoyable for the participants.

There are some projects that can work equally well both at home with only one student or in the mass assembly of a co-op group. One high-school-aged boy was very interested in aerodynamics and presented a brief talk to the entire group on the basic principles of flight. He then passed out inexpensive, purchased kits for each child to decorate a simple, but durable Tyvek kite. Once the kites were properly adorned with crayons and markers, a few more instructions followed on assembling the kites, and we all trooped outdoors to a large field for flying lessons. Any parents and older children with kite-flying experience were in high demand, running from child to perplexed child, getting the kites to lift off and sail on the breeze. While I have always enjoyed flying a kite or two with my own youngsters, the sight of 50-60 kites all aloft at once was spectacular!

I had produced a trivia game for my children, using basic information on the fifty states of the U.S.A. While it worked fine as a family board game, we were able to change the rules a bit and revamp the scoring system, enabling us to play the game with our large group of middle-school-aged students. I carefully divided up the roster of students ahead of time to balance it for introverts and extroverts, older and younger, regular attendees and likely no-shows, giving me four relatively equal teams. Study materials were made available so that everyone had a fair chance, and we assembled to play the game — TV game show-style. It was such a hit with parents and students alike that we continued it for several sessions. The outcome of this highly entertaining venture was that the students learned a great deal: research skills from studying the materials, memorization of historical and geographical facts, teamwork as they conferred over which answer to give, leadership and submission as only the Captain of each team could offer the answer. The only person not incredibly thrilled by my ingenuity was the Mom who taught the same students vocal music immediately following my time period. You see, I had not considered that aspect and foolishly handed out prizes of candy bars and lollipops — which the children did not save for lunch break (as I had so naively imagined) but promptly popped into their mouths on their way to her class. She later kindly, but firmly explained to me that it was quite difficult to produce the proper notes through throats coated with sugar and with sucker-sticks protruding from mouths. Oops. In future sessions, I cautioned my contestants not to eat their rewards until after lunch, under penalty of Mrs. Musicteacher beating me to a pulp and thereby cutting off their supply of contraband goodies.

Our group had the wonderful asset of a few parents who were involved in local community theater. Their personal dedication in transferring their experience to our co-op group allowed our students to put on wonderful productions. Those families spent their summer afternoons reading piles of scripts, searching for something appropriate to our group’s ages and abilities. The result was a fantastic treasure trove of undiscovered talents as young actors, singers, and stagehands found their niches. Scenery and props were created by students, and costumes became cooperative efforts among the Moms who swapped fabrics, trims, and patterns.

We also were blessed by the athletic abilities of parents who not only taught a team sport, but also took our students a step further by hosting an invitational homeschool tournament. Even the students who chose not to play on the sports team learned hospitality and organizational skills. Other homeschool co-op groups came from across our state to participate, and all of our students and parents had some hard choices between working shifts at the concession stand and cheering on players in the games.

Older students can assist your group through child-care, but be cautious around a student who prefers to “hide” in the nursery, rather than interact with the larger group. The student can easily slip through the cracks by excluding him/herself from group activities, when it may only take a little gentle encouragement to bring that student out of his/her shell. Many loners secretly desire to interact, but are afraid of rejection. A girl in our group was too shy to join in with the students her age for any activities we sponsored, and her mother arranged for her to do child-care for a nearby women’s group that met during the same time as our homeschool co-op classes. My desire was to see the girl overcome her shyness and be drawn in more to the high school group, but she continually withdrew herself to the point that her family dropped completely out of our group. Our loss as well as hers.

When families do participate in group activities, you can expect some changes to occur. Wallflowers often come out of their shells, and you get to watch them discover many previously hidden talents. New families may join your group for its advantages and fellowship opportunities. Some families may protest (to the point of leaving) any changes or any style of activities that they do not like. Be sensitive, but do not become doormats. The few should not dictate to the many.

What is your objective in offering a co-op class: to present material that is more easily demonstrated in a larger group than at home with only a few students, or to entertain a group of children for a few hours offering little or no educational value whatsoever? Personally, I have traveled great distances with my children to participate in co-op activities, whether classes or field trips, rising extra-early and packing sack lunches for the day’s excursion. When the effort provided a tremendous boost to their understanding, it was all worth it. On the other hand, some activities were nothing more than a waste of gasoline and cost us dearly in precious time away from our other studies. By sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly experiences we have endured, it is my desire that you will be able to turn all your co-op classes into good ones.

[For more information on cooperative classes and group activities, visit Topical Index: Co-op Groups.]

Filed Under: Co-op Groups

Are You Ready for a Challenge? Pan-states!

August 8, 2005 by Leave a Comment

We underestimate the life-long effect homeschooling can have on students. As homeschool parents, we demonstrate fractions by cutting up brownies or “drawing” in yogurt. We take science class into the backyard with a magnifying glass and carefully ignite dry leaves with the sun’s rays or peek into the miniature world of creatures existing beneath our feet. We see lesson applications everywhere we go in life and in everything we do. And then we are still somewhat surprised when we see our students continuing their educational adventures long after our “homeschooling” days are over. My son is a prime example.

My son was spending the weekend with my daughter, and he began making breakfast for his sister. Being the unstoppable comedian that he is, the pancakes began taking on shapes other than the usually simple, but somewhat boring round disks. It soon became a breakfast geography challenge to “name that state” as Iowa, Utah, New York, and New Jersey each took shape on the griddle. Hawaii was an obvious success, but the sharply angled states were a little more difficult to discern. The name “Pan-states” preceded a rush to do states having panhandles: Florida and Oklahoma leading the way. The entire process was soon overridden with such hilarious laughter that attempting to swallow food was not a safe activity.

What doting parents have not treated their little ones to bunny-eared pancakes or a breakfast tribute to Mickey Mouse? I have been well acquainted with shaped pancakes in the past, but this was a new concept for me. Even the cakes I shaped like my children’s initials seem quite tame by comparison now. Pan-states — pancake batter dribbled into shapes roughly (very roughly) resembling U.S. states. It brings a whole new dimension to breakfast.

Filed Under: Activity Ideas, Kinesthetic Learning, Learning Outside the Books

Homeschooling Is Hard Work

August 1, 2005 by Leave a Comment

As a young man, my father-in-law built houses. I doubt if he would have called it easy, and I think I could go so far as to say that building a house is hard work. But I am also quite sure he would have called it satisfying work, enjoyable work, and well worth the required effort. I watched him one day as he walked into my neighbor’s home, looked around a bit at the structural lines, and said, “Yep, I built this one.” The frame was many decades older, remodeling projects had changed a wall here and there, and the latest occupants had never seen it in its prime, but the master craftsman could still recognize his work.

Many things we do each day can be considered enjoyable and satisfying, even though they also fall into the category of hard work. Stripping the bed linens and stuffing them into the washing machine can be a chore, especially when bedrooms and laundry room are several floors apart. Carrying a basket of wet sheets outdoors and hanging them on the clothesline is also not an effortless task, but the sun-dried scent of clean cotton defies description. The delight of lying down upon cool, crisp bedding after a wearying day somehow trivializes the amount of work it took to accomplish the task.

Homeschooling your children is hard work. In the midst of this grueling task, we often have to remind ourselves of what our goal is and how much we will appreciate the reward when that job has been well done. Homeschooling can be either complicated or simplified in many ways, based on the tools we choose to use and the extravagance of the details we decide to add. If we have chosen the proper equipment to fit our task, we can progress smoothly — some days barely working up a sweat. At other times, we may compare our progress to hanging pictures with a sledgehammer and railroad spikes — it will get the job done, but the results may be less than desirable.

From time to time I found our homeschool “product” becoming less than satisfactory: the children were not learning the material as easily as I had anticipated, some or all of us were frustrated with the presentation of material, or some or all of us became bored with the materials, the lesson format, or schooling in general. Those were the times when teaching and/or learning were becoming hard work, with few rewards to maintain our focus or enjoyment of the task.

The first time this happened, we were brand new to homeschooling. I had purchased an all-in-one language arts program that was becoming very popular with the other homeschoolers I knew. My daughter looked at the material with some apprehension, but faithfully gave it a try. Day after day, we worked together on the lessons, and day after day she became more frustrated. One part of the lessons required me to dictate a story excerpt to her while she transcribed it into a notebook. As simple as that seemed in theory, it was tremendously difficult in practice. As we pressed on through increasingly trying days, I began to analyze the process, hoping to determine what was making this so hard. After all, the homeschool families I had talked with told me how their children progressed from one lesson to the next without difficulty — what were we doing wrong? Our first two months of homeschooling made us question our motives along with our sanity: how could we possibly continue on this path for an entire year, let alone multiple years?

It finally became evident that we were following the instructions accurately as laid out by the curriculum’s publisher, but their plan of action for this particular subject just did not fit our needs at this time. Heart-to-heart discussions with my daughter revealed what she was hoping to receive from homeschooling. Her public school classrooms had too few books to go around, and the students were required to copy their lessons into notebooks instead of writing directly in the workbooks. My daughter’s vision of homeschooling included being allowed to write in her very own workbook! I grabbed my stack of curriculum catalogs, and together we read through the descriptions, looking for a program that would meet her expectations besides providing the basic grade level instruction. As soon as the parcel-delivery service brought the desired package, our homeschool days underwent an amazing transformation. My student had her first personal work-text to write in, without any reprimands for doodling in the margins or plastering each completed page with “job well-done” stickers, gold stars, and smiley faces. The stigma of her public school experience was suddenly vanquished, and she became an overnight homeschooling enthusiast. We were no longer bashing the walls with sledgehammer and oversized spikes: we had the proper tools for our job.

Houses do not get built in a day (except through the “magic” of television), and children do not obtain an education overnight. Homeschooling takes dedication, hard work, and a little sweat, but hopefully not too many tears. While still in the midst of your mission, you can look around to see what has been accomplished so far, and from that obtain the encouragement needed to see this project through to completion. The reward will come when one day you look at the finished product and recognize a job well done.

Filed Under: Curriculum Choices, Deciding to Homeschool, Encouragement for Parents, Homeschool How-To's, Leaving Public School, Roadblocks to Learning

How to Come Up with Co-op Classes

July 25, 2005 by Leave a Comment

You and your fellow homeschoolers are interested to cooperating together to do some group activities or classes, but you wonder where you can find ideas for the best classes for your particular blend of students?

1 — Borrow ideas from other sources, then modify those ideas to fit your group.
Start with my list, talk to other homeschoolers and other groups, browse through homeschooling websites, or just let your mind wander. Adapt things to a larger or smaller scale to fit your group’s students. Scale back information for your younger students, or expand the scope for your older students.

2 — Poll families in your group for ideas, suggestions, and abilities.
Whether you hand out informal surveys at a Moms’ Meeting or request that members call your “idea committee” with their suggestions, learning the desires of your member families (parents and students) will provide a good starting list: I’d enjoy a group class about… I have trouble teaching… I’d like my kids to know more about… Brainstorming sessions with other parents and students can bring up a surprising amount of information: I have this hobby… I know how to… I know a person who can do…

3 — Favorites and standby’s
— Our group tried to do a musical or play or a program of vocal music each year, rehearsing throughout a semester. This type of activity is a favorite both with students and parents: the children enjoy it as a fun, non-textbook experience, and the parents love seeing their children blossom with newfound confidence and abilities that may be difficult to impart at home.
— Team sports were another regular standby, allowing the students to continue developing their abilities in basketball or volleyball. Players and non-players alike benefited from seeing teamwork in action. Non-players were recruited into supporting roles for managing competitions and concession stands.
— Many of our families felt writing was their weakest area of teaching, so we tried to have some form of writing classes each year: journalism, creative writing, poetry, novel writing, etc. The group classes provided the students with friendly, non-threatening competition and a wonderful melting pot of ideas.
— Art classes were another favorite among the students, and we had several Moms who were able and willing to give basic instructions.

4 — Strive to provide the areas that are difficult to do/organize.
Some things are worthy of your efforts, even though they are not easily done, spur of the moment events. Yearly photos and testing are examples of events that require no talent other than organization from your member pool. Often with events like these, many parents are needed for traffic-flow, crowd-control, or just to serve as room monitors. A parent who shies from the task of teaching a large group of students may not hesitate at making the series of phone calls required to set up an event led by someone else.
— Science (group lab experiences)
— Hands-on history (field trips or special events)
— Standardized testing
— “School” photos

5 — Utilize or follow the natural inclinations of your group’s students.
Aeronautics, fashion history, and journalism were the strong interests of some of our students. We often allowed an older student to teach a single session class in his favorite field, sharing his knowledge and interest with the others. We took field trips and held multiple session classes to explore other favorite fields and spread the enthusiasm around to other students.

6 — This is a good idea; let’s find a way to teach it.
Discover your “growing edge” by daring to tackle something new. I have been a fan of the space program ever since NASA launched their first manned rocket, but I never dreamed I would lead dozens of children on a virtual trip into space! One Mom suggested it, we asked a few questions, did a little research, made a few phone calls, and I soon found myself spearheading an endeavor taking upper elementary through high school students on a space shuttle simulation trip to the moon. The hard part was all handled by professionals at a science museum, and I just coordinated the logistics of dozens of parents and their students (with my daughter’s capable tutoring in computer databases), telling them who had to be where at what time. It was a great idea, and we found the way to make it happen.

Another time I mentioned an educational game my children enjoyed playing, and asked if anyone else would be interested in it. Suddenly I was challenged with revamping the table game into a team sport, building a scoreboard, and posting the needed information to a website for the students to download. Again, we had a good idea and modified it to fit our group.

7 — Do not allow 1 or 2 dissenters to veto a perfectly good idea.
If you have majority support for the class, interested students, a willing and able teacher, and all the necessities (access to any required special materials or locations) for holding the class, then do it! One or two objectors should not be permitted to ruin a good opportunity for all the others by whining until they get their way. Encourage any who disagree with the idea to make alternate plans for the day, then proceed.

One time, children from a certain family were enthusiastically participating in a long-term group project when one aspect of it brought strong objections from their father. Those students withdrew, their vital positions were filled by other students, and the project was allowed to continue for the benefit of the group. However, I was very nervous for a while, worrying that the entire group could actually be forced to sacrifice their united efforts for the beliefs of one person.

Ideas for classes can come from the most unusual sources. Even the smallest of ideas can be expanded to fill an hour of time, and larger ideas can be spread over several meeting periods. Once you have an idea for a co-op class, talk to others in your group and see what they think. Do not be intimidated by a lack of experience. Everything was done for the “first” time sometime. Seek input for ideas, then seek help in transforming those ideas into reality. If the idea is good, surely you can find a way to make it work.

[For more detailed information on organizing co-op classes, see Co-op Classes: A Primer. For general information on cooperative classes and group activities, visit Topical Index: Co-op Groups.]

Filed Under: Co-op Groups

Homeschooling High School

July 6, 2005 by 1 Comment

The prospect of Homeschool High leaves many parents trembling in fear. A cold sweat breaks out on the forehead of the new homeschooling mom who dares to envision life a few too many years down the road. Moms have little real difficulty teaching a child how to tie his shoes, but those same moms will often cringe at the very thought of teaching high school.

A good high-school-at-home plan can be easily set up by using the basic entrance requirements for college, whether your student wants to attend or not. The student’s personal interests can be accommodated with some creative class development, and college-level classes can be utilized for high school and college credit at the same time through community colleges or distance learning programs.

If you have not been homeschooling previously, you will need to check your state’s laws regarding legal homeschooling accountability. It is best to check with a reliable source such as http://www.hslda.org/ — Home School Legal Defense Association — for the actual laws in each state, since local school districts are often ignorant of their state’s laws and can unintentionally mislead potential homeschoolers. Some states require you to file an “Intent to Homeschool” form with your school district; other states have no withdrawal procedure. Some states list which subjects must be taught in their homeschooling laws; others do not, meaning that there are no state-mandated requirements (i.e., Iowa lists no required subjects, but Pennsylvania has a detailed list).

You and your student need to decide if he is college-bound and what colleges are likely candidates. Check with those colleges and your state universities for a comparison of the basic admission requirements. Knowing how many years of math, science, English, and other classes are required for college admission will give you a basic plan for high school. Then, even if your student does not opt for college immediately after high school, you can still know that you have given him an excellent foundation for any future educational endeavors. I drew up a simple block chart with spaces for each grade (9th-12th) across the top and each subject area (math, English, science, social studies, and electives) down the sides. Then I penciled in our plan for what courses would be covered in which years. As I settled on specific books to use, those were also added to the spaces. It was a very basic guideline that changed several times over the years, but it gave us a place to start.

For a very rough outline of high school, begin with the basics of physical science (9th) and life science/biology (10th), a good foundational program for advanced grammar (9th and 10th) and the styles of composition writing (11th), algebra (9th), geometry (10th; Saxon Algebra 1 & 2 texts conveniently combine geometry with algebra in a clear and logical manner), world geography (9th), world history (10th), and American history (11th). Add in extra math and science courses when needed (11th and 12th), depending on your student’s career goals and interests. Literature (12th) can be split into one semester of American authors and one semester of foreign authors. Half-year or semester classes in American government (12th) and economics (12th) help to prepare your student for life in an adult world, as will courses in personal finances, independent living skills, auto mechanics, or home economics. Music lessons do not need to be formal classes: regular participation in congregational singing at church meets my personal requirement for a vocal music class. Most homeschooled children are naturally active outdoors, so be sure to count their regular outdoor chores or recreational bicycling, roller-blading, or swimming as physical education.

Once you have a basic plan of the required classes for high school, you can tailor those requirements to your student’s interests. My daughter became an ardent admirer of Abraham Lincoln as she focused her American history course around reading Presidential biographies. My son’s personal interests exhibited themselves as he taught himself to play guitar with little or no involvement from others; I counted this as a legitimate “course,” even though it did not have a textbook, a teacher, or an enrollment fee. The same principle applied to his learning percussion and earning a spot on the church worship team.

My daughter began working with tiny glass beads, threading them together into amazing patterns. A little internet research led her to animal designs, which she then strung together to form bracelets. She was making them for herself and as gifts for her friends, using the time as a relaxing diversion from her normal lessons. By the end of that year, she had designed so many intricate patterns herself that I gave her transcript-credit for “art projects.” She also spent a great deal of “free” time researching the collection of antique clothing buttons she had inherited from her great-grandmother. As her knowledge of button history increased, so did her list of credits — “Art History through Clothing Buttons.” One of her goals in life is to be a judge for state and national competitions among button collectors, so this course was tailored specifically to her interest.

We had a hearing-impaired friend who usually “listened” by lip-reading, since few people sign. My son wanted to learn sign language as a favor to her, and when a local church offered a free night class, he enrolled. He later went on two mission trips to a boarding school for deaf children, vastly increasing his knowledge through immersion in the language. Two years of experience with American Sign Language has now been accepted by his college as his high school foreign language requirement.

Other homeschooled friends of ours have pursued their interests during high school as preparation for their chosen career fields: veterinary medicine, aviation, real estate, computer science, agriculture/farming, etc. Exposure to a variety of career options can be gained through field trips or informal interviews with acquaintances for the student who has not yet decided on a lifetime goal.

Certain shortcuts can be implemented to make progress possible in the high school subjects where a student has difficulty. Textbooks may seem boring or tedious to certain learners, so consider the possibility of letting them read biographies related to the subject or read through a text very quickly, perhaps in only a few weeks, and then moving on to the next subject. Many students would rather push through a boring subject quickly and get it over with than drag it out for an entire year. We used videos as an aid to reading high school literature, so that a story line could be absorbed without losing precious hours getting bogged down in a not-so-interesting book. My student was then required to read a portion of the book to get a feel for the author’s writing style. The portion could be a page, a chapter, or even the entire book, based on the student’s interest. (A supplemental discussion topic from this approach was “the variations from book to movie” and how or why those variations took place.) Our public library had videos for many literary “classics” that the local video rental store did not have. Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jane Eyre, and Oliver Twist were easy to follow on-screen, giving us the context of the story, which was then followed by reading a portion from the book to see how the author had put those scenes on paper. Reluctant readers will usually watch a movie, and even picky movie watchers will endure a change from their favorite genre for the class credit. My daughter was eager to read the equivalents of chick-flicks such as Sense and Sensibility. My son, however, was allowed the more action-packed selections of The Man in the Iron Mask and The Hunt for Red October. Ironically, a mix-up at the video store left my son watching Jane Eyre one day when he found it accidentally slipped into the case of his chosen rental and he did not want to give up his planned afternoon of movie-watching.

Lab work is required in some science classes, but lab work simply means hands-on learning and experimentation. Biology lab work can be accomplished by studying plants and animals through gardening and pet-care, or collecting wildflowers, tree leaves, or insects and identifying them through reference books obtained at the public library. Labs do not need expensive or complicated equipment in order to impart knowledge. I have heard of homeschoolers who scooped up fresh “road kill” to use for dissection (although I must admit my reaction is EW!). Even flowers and seeds can be dissected and examined to learn how their basic parts differ among species. Do not assume that learning at home means a second-rate education: the vast resources available on the internet put incredible amounts of knowledge right at our fingertips.

Before you protest that you did not do well yourself in high school, let me say that you now have a second chance. I know a Mom who wanted to read and discuss literature with her son, so she went to the public library and checked out two copies of a book at the same time: his and hers. I tackled the higher math lessons right along with my son, reasoning that if he became confused on a concept halfway through the book, I did not want him to have to wait around while I studied the last 30 lessons to be able to help him with the one that stumped him. Yes, these methods do mean more work for Mom, but they are excellent ways for your students to see education as a lifelong endeavor, and they provide common ground, a unique bond between you and your student — goals I consider well worth the effort.

I have often advocated taking advantage of community college classes to complete the high school courses that may be more difficult to do at home: chemistry, physics, calculus, etc. My children were able to accumulate multiple college credits in this way while still in high school. One college counselor instructed me to specify the college classes on the students’ high school transcripts as “a college class, taken on a college campus, from a college instructor, with other college students.” College-level classes are often available at public high schools, but college administrators do not view them as identical to the classes taken in the actual college atmosphere.

However, there are a few things to be aware of before dropping your impressionable high school-aged students off at the college doorstep. The assignment expectations are often much greater than students usually handle in high school. The college “atmosphere” includes a vocabulary that is R-rated, not PG-13, and classmates with questionable reputations and worse recreational pursuits. I cannot recommend involvement in college theatrical departments for conservative Christian students: the subject matter chosen is usually extremely liberal. Speech class topics, literature excerpts, and English compositions will also likely include “mature subject matter.” Art appreciation and drawing/painting/sculpture classes will include exposure to human figures lacking apparel. If your student is mature enough to handle these situations gracefully, he or she will probably do well in the college setting. I do recommend taking classes on a part-time basis (1 or 2 classes at a time) to start and attending full-time only after the student is 18 years old (the age of most college freshmen).

To successfully homeschool high school, start with a solid foundation of college entrance requirements. Fulfill those requirements to the best of your ability and with a bias toward the student’s interests and consider using college classes to complete any classes that you find too difficult to accomplish at home. I personally enjoyed my students’ high school years of homeschooling more than the elementary grades because of the wonderful one-on-one discussions my students and I had about their studies and life in general. High school at home is not a fearsome thing to be dreaded; it is an exciting adventure to be anticipated.

Filed Under: Encouragement for Parents, High School, Homeschool How-To's, Transcripts

How Long Should I Homeschool?

June 29, 2005 by Leave a Comment

When considering whether to homeschool your children, you may also be pondering how long to homeschool or if homeschooling can be used as a remedial alternative for a child who is lagging behind in public school. I have found that there are as many opinions on the length of time to homeschool as there are reasons to homeschool and methods to use.

Some families choose to start their children out with homeschooling, desiring to give their children a firm foundation from home and then sending them off to public school once the elementary years are completed. Others will keep their children at home until time for high school, reasoning that the junior high/middle school years are difficult enough by themselves without the trials of the public school atmosphere. Many homeschooling families educate their children all the way through to high school graduation and then send their offspring to college, while a few families utilize distance learning programs to complete college from home as well.

I have noticed a tendency in some families to “yo-yo schooling” — send the kiddies to school for a while, then teach them at home for a year or two, send them back to school, bring them home again, etc. Overall, children (and the teaching parents) need more continuity in the educational process than can be gained from bouncing back and forth. Since homeschooling usually uses different curricula from what the public schools use, there will be some uncertainty in the amount of progress made each time the student changes facilities. A few particularly obstinate school administrators have refused to accept part or all of the work students have done at home, creating even more inconsistencies. While homeschooling can be an effective way for the struggling student to get back up to grade level, it is my opinion that it is not a good plan to send that same student back to the institution that caused the problem in the first place. [See my previous article on Homeschooling Failures I Have Known… and What Can Be Learned from Them for some true-life examples of families who suffered from the yo-yo syndrome.]

I have groped for the proper words to address parents who told me they intended to send their little ones to public school first and then homeschool them for junior high, “when they really need it.” Pardon my bluntness, but it may be too late by then. My daughter began showing signs of the you’re-only-my-parent-what-could-you-possibly-know attitude as early as second grade, and it was fully functioning by the end of her third grade year. Her progress in every subject was showing a drastic decline throughout fourth grade, at the end of which we removed her from the public school system. Since then, I have observed children who despised their parents’ influence from even younger ages. Yes, your sweet little darlings are the image of innocence and devotion at three or four years old, but it will not take long for their values to be compromised under the strong influence of public school peer pressure and bullying (which is not limited to just students: teachers are just as effective at bullying and manipulation as the students are). Classroom pressures only increase as time goes by, and children who are in elementary classes now are exposed to things that were not even mentioned in my high school classes. Do you really believe those influences will be beneficial to your children?

Job transfers or terminations can happen to anyone, bringing major upheaval to the family routine, sometimes including relocations to unfamiliar territory. Homeschooling families are also not immune to tragedy and death: I have mourned with those who have lost children and even spouses. Yet homeschooling can continue. Creative scheduling has enabled many working parents to supervise their students’ education while still providing the necessary family income. Students who have learned to teach themselves can carry on a great deal of their home education independently even if major setbacks arise to hinder your efforts. My daughter found the routine of doing math lessons to be a valuable coping strategy for the stress of having two grandparents near death at the same time.

While the idea of homeschooling for the next 13+ years can be overwhelming at first thought, I recommend focusing on only one or two years at a time. Reassure yourself that you can complete this task and plan for doing just that, but choose not to look too closely at all that the future holds, lest you scare yourself away from attempting it. Once we as a family had recognized the benefits of homeschooling over public school, we knew there could be no turning back for us, but to consider how much work lay ahead of us was a very daunting prospect indeed. However, my children were currently in elementary school, not high school, and I realized that I had several years to figure out how I would handle the harder subjects once we arrived at that level. I was able to learn many things right along with my students, and our progress came one year at a time: we did not tackle chemistry or calculus until we had the foundations properly laid for them.

My children extended homeschooling into the college realm by attending a few classes during their high school years and then living at home while completing an Associate of Arts degree from our local community college. I proofread college papers at their request and offered suggestions for changes before the final editions were handed in. Occasionally, I was called upon as a sounding board as they attempted to explain their college lessons to me in an effort to better understand the concepts — proving the old saying that the best way to learn something yourself is to teach it to someone else.

How long should you homeschool? No one can predict exactly what your future will hold or what obstacles to homeschooling may cross your path, but I personally recommend doing everything possible to homeschool your children through high school graduation. The benefits of individualized learning at home and the consistency of steady progress will provide the momentum needed to carry you and your students through the years that you dedicate to education at home.

Filed Under: Deciding to Homeschool, Homeschool v. Public School, Leaving Public School
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