I am the queen of procrastinators, y’all. Especially when I am intimidated by something that seems really big, and I don’t know where to start. Then I put it off until the absolute last minute — and usually it turns out that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be.
Maybe you can relate. Especially when it comes to homeschooling high school. This is a kinda big thing, huh? And maybe you’re feeling like you have no idea what to do first to get ready for it. So you’re ignoring the whole thing, in hopes that it will miraculously all come together when it needs to.
Well, I’m here today to help. Today I’m going to tell you what to do first. And the wonderful thing is that this first thing will alleviate a LOT of your fears — and then you’ll be ready to charge ahead with the rest. It won’t be as bad as you thought it was gonna be; I promise!
My guess is that your fears about homeschooling high school are a result of scanning Pinterest and seeing titles like “5000 Books Your Child Should Read in High School” or “Does Your Teen Have Enough Extra-Curriculars for Colleges to Think He’s Worth Anything?” or “AP Credit: The New Norm.”
OK, no, these are not actual articles (and yes, I had fun making them up! lol) — but it sure feels like it, doesn’t it? The list of “must-do’s” that we see out there for homeschooling high school gets intimidating FAST.
You don’t have to do all that — really
But did you know that there is a LONG list of things that you DON’T have to do? Here are just a few:
- You don’t have to follow state public school laws.
- You don’t have to do dual enrollment.
- You don’t have to have an accredited curriculum.
- You don’t have to pay to have a transcript made.
- You don’t have to teach chemistry.
- You don’t have to schedule all core courses to be done every year.
- You don’t have to prepare your kid for the Ivy League.
- You don’t have to replicate the public school curriculum.
I could go on — but hopefully you get the point. So many things that we’ve heard we HAVE to do are things that we really don’t.
But what DO we have to do? Aren’t there things that we really shouldn’t neglect? Or can we just do whatever we want? How can I know for sure that I am doing things right?
I can almost hear these questions winging around your brain, lol. But I’m not going to answer them for you, oh no — at least not here. 🙂 No, instead I’m going to recommend one simple task that will help you get started on the path of educating YOURSELF about homeschooling high school.
Pssst… lean closer for the high school secret
This little bit of research will go a LONG way towards easing your fears about what you really DO need to do to homeschool your teen all the way through to graduation. You will be surprised by how empowered you feel after doing this!
Here’s what to do: go onto some college websites and find out what they require of their applicants.
It’s almost too obvious, isn’t it? If you want to find out what you need to do to get your child ready for college, then ask the colleges! Except you don’t have to get on the phone; most colleges have everything you need to know right on the website.
You can do this task at any time, no matter how old your child is now. That’s the beauty of it; doing it early will help ease your fears and encourage you that homeschooling high school really doesn’t have to be that hard. So you will look forward to it, instead of shuddering at the thought of it, lol.
For now, just pick a few colleges that are in your geographic area. Maybe the closest state school and a private college or two. If your child is in middle school, and they have an idea about where they want to go, then be sure to use that one.
Then just look on the websites for “application requirements.” Sometimes it’s under the Admissions section; sometimes you have to download the catalog to find it. But it’s almost always there.
Make note of how many credits are required for each core subject and what specific courses are listed, if any.
Don’t stop until you’ve checked three or four colleges, because you won’t be convinced until you see it happening again and again.
Note: If you’d like step-by-step instructions for how to do this, plus a form to record your findings, my free resource called Quick College Confidence will help. You can grab it here: How to Know for SURE What Your Teen Needs to Get Into College.
What will you see when you do this? You’ll see that most colleges don’t really require that much! I mean, unless your kid really IS wanting to go to an Ivy League school (and is capable of it).
For the rest of us, the colleges out there are surprisingly undemanding when it comes to what the high school graduate must have accomplished.
But don’t take my word for it — that’s not gonna fly later on when all those fears resurface (because they will — trust me on that one).
Take the time to actually do this and record your data, so that you have it to refer back to later when you are doubting the whole high school thing again. You will appreciate having the concrete reminder of the research you did and exactly what you found out.
This shouldn’t take more than an hour, if that long. The hardest part is finding the information you need on the websites.
But it is an hour well-invested, because it will give you confidence and dispel your apprehension about all the things you thought you had to do. Now you will KNOW what you have to do. You will OWN it!
The BEST way to prepare yourself for homeschooling high school is to get yourself educated about what you really need to do. The first step is to research at college websites — grab Quick College Confidence to guide you!
You’ll feel TONS better. You’ll be singing right along with Julie Andrews: “I have confidence in myself; I have confidence in me” as you swing your computer case and click your heels!
Well, maybe not. But you’ll WANT to. 🙂
- Homeschooling High School with Youngers Around - July 26, 2018
- Homeschooling High School? Priceless. - January 18, 2018
- College is not the only option for your homeschooled teen. Really. - November 30, 2017