Can we do it? Yes, we can homeschool through high school!

I simply can’t believe that the baby I used to lay down for naps is ready for high school.

It sounded so distant. It sounded so far away, and the reality is that high school came knocking on our door much sooner than I thought it would. We began to think about our homeschool high school plans in middle school. Would we homeschool our children through high school? How? That became the question that EVERYONE wanted an answer to. How are you going to homeschool THEM through high school? We began to search for an answer!

This year our oldest daughter begins high school! We all begin high school again in a sense. With the diverse academic opportunities out there, a homeschool high school education can be tailored to suit each student’s needs. We spent some time looking at the options for high school within the homeschool world. We tapped into perhaps the best source out there, those who have gone before us.  Look around your co~op and approach that mom who has been at this much longer than you have. Sit down over coffee and learn just how she did it.  Aside from the few people I knew  personally who had actually DONE it,   I contacted,  Lee Binz, The Homescholar. I had heard Lee speak and she had the experience that I needed to tap into.  Lee had homeschooled her boys through graduation and honestly, I wanted to know HOW she did it. Lee has put together some materials that have truly helped us as we wade through new waters.

While each student is different, they will have to meet some of the same requirements, regardless of their future plans. Our daughter has plans for college and even advanced degrees. Could we possibly provide that? Looking at the resources available, we can CONFIDENTLY say, “YES!”

There are options available to homeschool students that have never been seen before with the use of technology. This year our daughter will have a variety of classroom situations. She will be taking several “virtual classes,” through Veritas Press. These classes are live, with a live instructor and other students. This is an option for those classes that we “can’t or don’t want to teach!”  We were able to “test” this out last year to see if it was something that she would be interested in for high school. The interaction between the students and the teacher allowed for competition and community. The students were accountable and she enjoyed the interaction they had. It was certainly an opportunity to “meet” new people from all over the world, many of whom she stays in touch with.

Having those classes as an example, allowed us to begin to look at our options for high school. One of the classroom situations that we will be using are virtual classes. While you’ll have to do some homework in this area, it IS their high school education. We have found some excellent classes at Veritas Press Scholars Academy, and that combined with some traditional enrichment classes outside of our home, and extracurricular activities, and a few traditional homeschool classes,  we have come up with a plan that everyone is happy with. As parents, we see that we are able to provide an excellent homeschool education for our child, and as a student, she sees that her future is wide open, as a homeschooler. There are ways to homeschool through high school on every budget. At this time, I teach several classes at our co~op, so that my children can attend for free. I enjoy the teaching, and it’s a trade off that truly pays off for us.  While the virtual classes are more expensive than a traditional homeschool class, there are incredible benefits, such as the interaction with other students and an instructor who is a professional in his or her field. Each family will have to determine how much they are able to budget for high school and work from there.

It’s a big step. It’s something that has come upon us faster than I would have ever expected! We have has to do the research to find what will work best for our child, this child. The next one, will be an entirely different individual, and we will look at her needs when the time comes. There are opportunities out there for homeschoolers. Opportunities that the world has never seen before! Explore them and you’ll be able to formulate a plan for your homeschooler through high school.

I’d encourage you to begin the process in the middle school years. Openly communicate what your expectations are, and what your child desires as well. Everyone can be happy and well educated, even through high school.

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