Homeschooling the Teen Years - What to Teach in High School.

Deciding what to teach to high school students can be a daunting task.  No one wants to be responsible for single handedly derailing their children's academic careers.  But as mother with two

Drawing By C (age 12)

graduated students (one in university, and one not) and a high school senior who is set to earn an associates degree the same week as she graduates high school, let me assure you it's not rocket science.

First off, decide with your children what they are aiming for - a career or college and then a career?  

Then, think back to the subjects you studied in high school yourself - math, science, social studies, English, some foreign language or other, maybe a home-economics or shop class with a semester of typing and a couple of gym classes sprinkled on top?  I actually got through with only one semester of P.E.

You can check with your state's department of education to see how many hours of each subject they are recommending - keeping in mind that with homeschooling there is a lot you do everyday that doesn't look like learning but is.  Most colleges have a list somewhere in their admissions pages of what they want to see on high school transcripts, though you might have to dig a little to find it.

Decide which subjects will forward your children's goals, and help them to find resources to pursue those (I'll post more about our favorite resources another time).  Our goal for high school has been to have our students college ready by the end.  With that in mind, some of our unschooling has fallen by the side, as we've had to teach to entrance tests (HiSet, Accuplacer, and SAT), but for the most part just studying what interests each child has covered everything they've needed to know.  In fact, now that I really think it through, we might be unschooling more than ever, in style if not in content.

The main thing is to remember to teach something.  The high school years are the time to knuckle down and take studies seriously - read books, join clubs, try out for sports and plays, take classes at a college or online.  Our job as homeschool teachers is to make sure learning is going on, goals are being set, and as many doors are left open as possible.  

It's great to be a homeschooler!