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The 5 Stages of Homeschooling High School

Many homeschool parents today are intimidated by the thought of homeschooling through high school, overwhelmed by the thought of college applications, and unsure how to plan for this final stage of their child’s education. Generally, parents tend to react in one of two ways to this challenge. Some are stressed out and need minimal information, because if they are given too much information, they become immobilized and can’t do anything. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum are parents who need more information to overcome these challenges. These are the parents who want all of the information at one time, as soon as humanly possible. When they don’t get it, they get incredibly stressed and frustrated.

Both kinds of parents need information in order to succeed at homeschooling high school, but one kind needs a ton, and the other kind needs to know when to plug their ears and hum, "La la la, I can’t hear you!” No matter which kind of homeschool parent you are, knowing the five stages of homeschooling high school will put you on the path to success and help you keep from being overwhelmed.

The first stage of homeschooling high school is middle school, grades 7 and 8 or sometimes grades 6, 7 and 8 (usually about age twelve to thirteen). This is a time when you’re training students in good study habits, grounding them in the basics, and helping them to explore the topics starting to interest them.

The second stage of homeschooling high school is freshman year, which is grade 9 (beginning at about age fourteen or fifteen). This is when keeping records and transcripts becomes important, because you’ll be submitting them to colleges when your student applies in senior year.

The next stage of homeschooling high school is sophomore year, which is grade 10 (about ages fifteen or sixteen). This is a time when you need to work on specific things to prepare for college, such as covering the courses that most colleges require for admission.

The fourth stage is junior year, eleventh grade (beginning at age sixteen or seventeen). This is the time to work on finding colleges your student is interested in, and making campus visits.

The final stage of homeschooling high school is senior year, grade 12 (about ages seventeen to eighteen). Senior year is when your student applies to the colleges of their choice and gets ready to graduate.

The important point is to focus on what stage you are in and what’s coming up, and avoid the temptation to get overwhelmed by the big picture! Step by step, you can successfully homeschool high school!

Would you like to learn more about your goals at each stage of homeschooling high school?

This article is an excerpt from my Coffee Break Book, Your Goals this Year: A Year by Year Guide to Homeschooling High School. Regular price is $2.99 for Kindle.



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