What is So Scary About Homeschool High School?

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Are you scared of homeschool High School? I believe we will agree by the end of this post, that homeschooling high school is nothing to fear. When I first became a homeschool parent, I knew that I wanted to homeschool all the way through to the end. I think that’s a huge part of my success. Being able to homeschool my students all the way to graduation was a goal we determined from the very beginning. That was a goal I have had the blessing to see to the end for myself and my family. There is no reason for you to be afraid to teach homeschool high school. But it took more than determination. Let’s talk about the factors that helped our family be successful along the way. I now they will help you see where you can plan ahead to create your own success story.

Many times I talk to parents about homeschooling and they have no doubt they can handle the early years, but many of them have already written off teaching high school before they ever get there because of the fear they feel of teaching Homeschool High School. There is nothing to be scared of when it comes to homeschool High School. You will learn as you go just like I did.

Ensuring Success as You Homeschool Through High School Means Keeping These 5 Keys Close to Your Heart

• Sharpen Your Skill Sets
• Don’t Lead From Fear
• Inspire a Finish Line Mindset
• Create Community Support
• Relationship Above ALL

Are You Schooling Through a Crisis?

Are you homeschooling to get through a problem area in your child’s education? Did you choose to homeschool because of a behavioral issues? Are you here because homeschooling is the most accessible way to get the best education for your child? Maybe homeschooling through high school is not your current goal. I’m not talking to you. But, I do have some tips and wisdom to help you be successful right now.

When I talked to parents about homeschooling high school I hear a lot of fear and intimidation. Most of this stems from their own high school experience. Today, I have successfully homeschooled three of my kids all the way through to high school graduation. In the past, I was not a successful high school student. I share about homeschooling and education. I’m an advocate for your kids to get the best education they can. So, it might surprise you that I’m actually a high school dropout. I completed half of my sophomore year in public high school. My mother removed me to join the rest of my siblings in the family homeschool.

You Can Change Your Child’s Future

I won’t say that I was homeschooled voluntarily. It was not a decision my mother took lightly. I will say it was the best choice she ever made for me, in all of my life. Maybe you’re looking at removing a child from public school because of behavioral issues. It could be because of conflicts or grades. I know it’s an intimidating idea and you feel like you’re taking on the world. But I’m telling you right now your first priority is the health and wellness of your child. If you’re willing to put your fears aside, you can change your son or daughter’s life for the better.

Getting to the Root of the Fear of Teaching Homeschool High School

Let’s talk about the things that intimidate us and create the real fear of teaching Homeschool High School.

1. First is Deficits in Our Skill Set

Like I said, I only went through my sophomore year in high school. I didn’t take any of the classes that most people would take. No upper level maths, no chemistry. (what? how do I function, right) I could be worried that my education would be quickly eclipsed by my children’s abilities and needs. But, I haven’t lost my ability to learn. In fact I am much better at it now.

What I will tell you is that homeschooling materials are made for parents to use and understand. As teachers, you can learn right along with your student. If you so desire, you can go through every step one by one with him. I have learned more about algebra in the three years I took it with my homeschool children than in the one year I cried through it took in high school. I’ve learned a ton about world history and discovered I love it. In many ways, I’ve enjoyed this learning process more as an adult than I ever appreciated it in high school. I feel like that enthusiasm translates to our children and it becomes an appreciation for their education.

Many high school materials are made for your child to learn independently. Three of my students took Latin. Enough to have it on their high school and college entrance transcripts. No, I don’t know Latin. The materials I used were completely self paced by the student. It was clear enough and easy enough to use. I was always able to always find the answers if they weren’t sure about a problem.

2. Not Knowing the Tools Available to You

Homeschool Publishers are On Your side. I explained it to my kids when they were frustrated. They would come with a question and would want me for help finding an answer. They would sometimes claim that their answer wasn’t in the book. I gently explained to them that publishers made this book so that they could use it.

Here’s the problem if they leave the answers out. If students can’t find the answer and I can’t find the answer, we parents are going to be frustrated. What we’re going to do is complain to the publisher and possibly return the book. Publishers don’t want that to happen, so they make their materials very clear. The text may be academically difficult, but the text itself is easy to follow and the answers are always available. I want to encourage you that the tools created for homeschool parents are made to make teaching easier.

Really, we’re getting access to the tools that teachers are using in the public school and beyond. Better tools are being developed for us every day. The homeschool market is a huge market and people are taking notice. The ability to get tools and materials into our hands is a huge blessing as a homeschooler. Sharing about tools you love is a great way to serve our community.

3. Fear of Repeating YOUR Historical Narrative

Sometimes the fear of teaching Homeschool High School is rooted in a deeper fear. Often a parent is afraid that their children will end up repeating past failures in their own high school results. My best parenting advice is, work through your past issues. I am so thankful that I have had time to work with my husband, professionals, pastors and friends. They have helped me to get healing in areas and issues in my past so that I didn’t project those on to my children.

You can do better. You can receive healing from the pain of your past.

Oftentimes, our greatest fears come from our greatest failures.

Amber from 200 fingers & Toes

Don’t let your past experiences leave you with a fear of teaching homeschool High School

The teen years are hard. Many of us made poor decisions or were left on our own to find our way. Those things resulted in pains and hurts that we carry into our adulthood. Our unresolved experiences affect every one of our relationships. The greatest place these experiences affect us is in our relationships with our children. Oftentimes our fear cause us to react in ways that are overblown or unfair to our kids.

The most important thing we can do as a parent, is to work through our personal issues from our childhood. Than we can come to our parenting relationships with honest and clear intentions for our kids best well being. I encourage you to get the help you need. Work to be the very best parent you can be for your children. Don’t repeat the patterns of the past. I’d love to help you connect with the resources you need to get freedom.

4. Think You Need to Know the Answers, not Where to Find Them

Another reason parents fear homeschool in high school is they believe they’re not equipped to teach. This is an area you can overcome easily. You could take a class on any subject in the world by just a click of a button. I’ve taken classes on foreign languages. Purchased short courses to understanding mathematical thinking. I’ve taken courses with my children and ahead of them. There’s no limitation to the materials that you can learn or re-learn if you need access to them.

5. Thinking You Have to Use a Broken Model

The point of homeschooling high school is that you can create a better program than the one you may have experienced. Maybe you had a great high school experience. I know that my elementary education in the GATE program in California gave me a huge foundation for how I wanted my homeschool to look. When I developed it with my family, I knew I wanted to include hands on learning. We created a school filled with experimenting. Focus on learning about different cultures and countries, in a way that was broad and full. You can create the kind of experience you want, and you do not have to recreate the public school setting.

Create the School You Wish You Had

I’ve said in previous podcast episodes, I despised textbooks in my public school. I find them depressing, boring and uninspiring. I don’t intend to insult anybody who thinks a textbook is a great way to go through the materials systematically. It’s just not my preference. When I created a homeschool, I wanted to work with living books. I wanted to read and be inspired. Read great stories. Have the freedom to continue on with exploration in depth with those areas we were interested in. Giving us the flexibility kept me excited about our homeschool.

So, when you think about homeschooling high school, don’t think about recreating a boring, an arduous classroom setting. Think about what kind of learning that inspires you and re-create that in your education model. There are opportunities that are unique to homeschoolers. You don’t have to be located in the middle of four walls. You’re not required to stick to a timetable or a certain subject matter. As you’re covering your state required core subjects, you can be free to explore all of the sorts of peripheral subjects. There is absolutely no limitation. Not only can you explore what your child is interested in. You can explore your own interests and inspire your children as well.

6. You Were Created to Lead Your Family

This is an area that I experienced myself in our homeschool. My daughter was interested in writing. I wanted to show her that you could dig in deeper and make your writing something that mattered. So I started a blog. I wanted to show her that we could develop our tools into things that people could actually use. So, I continued my writing experience and brought her along side to see what I did.

Maybe you’re an entrepreneurial parent. Do you have a creative spark, something that you’re interested in? Something that you’re doing in your real life that you can share with your children. There is no reason that you can’t make that a huge part of your child’s education.

I went to college to get my associates degree in graphic design. The best thing about my program was that most of my instructors were active members of the design community. There was a core value in bringing those professionals to teach us. They could show us their work with an understanding of what was going on in the industry.

Think about that same thing as a homeschool parent. You’re bringing what you know to the table in terms of teaching your own child. You have a lot to offer. Do not underestimate your skill sets.

Teaching High School With Graduation in Mind

I want you to teach high school with graduation in mind. I see a lot of homeschoolers not keep this as their central core value. There’s an education requirement that we should hold a standard, too. There are days when my kids didn’t want to do math. My kids didn’t want to do upper level science sometimes. I had to remind them that when they choose to slack off they’re limiting their future.

My job as a parent is to make sure they’re prepared for their heart’s desires. I want to inspire my kids to know that by getting the best education, they’re opening doors to opportunities yet unforeseen. When those opportunities come I want you and your child to be prepared to accept those with open arms. That means approaching homeschooling high school with a graduation in mind.

I like to break down the graduation requirements for my students. Or, better yet, you can choose a college in your area that your child may be inspired to go to. I go directly to their website and pull off their requirements for entrance. All of my children have known from the beginning what they need to do to graduate. I think it’s important to give a child of finish line and keep it in front of their sight. We can do that easily with the entrance requirements from our local college.

1. Create Clear Exit Expectations

Our Children know what credits they need to accomplish to enter college or to finish for graduation. With that in the forefront of their mind, they are always working to accomplish their goals. It is important for our children to know that we’re not just wasting their time. I think it’s important that our Children understand why we’re doing specific things. If it’s achieving a graduation requirement, or simply obtaining a specific skill set. They need to know what is expected from the beginning.

That’s why I talked; in the first issue of this podcast series, about developing our goals for our independent students before we choose curriculum. If we all understand the direction we’re going we won’t be scared of homeschool High School. A plan helps us work as a team to accomplish those goals. Especially when the times are hard. Often in homeschooling in high school, there are difficult times, we need an end goal to point to.

2. Determining Your Desires

It’s not easy to develop the character in our children that they will need as an adult. It’s a lifelong process. Homeschool to graduation is a choice and we need to be determined about it.

I remember when I switched to a midwife. A friend had asked, what is the best way to have a drug free home birth? Now, I’m not advocating that everybody has a drug free home birth. When I asked my midwife what was the biggest determining factor to a successful home birth her answer surprised me.

She said, “Decide you want to have one?” That was the biggest factor.

If you decided in your heart that you were going have a drug free birth, the likelihood success was higher. Please HEAR me, I’m not talking about labor and delivery! I’m talking about high school. You don’t need to be scared of homeschool High School. If you determine now that your goal is to homeschool all the way through high school. The likelihood of succeeding is so much higher.

I want you to really think. What are the things are causing you intimidation or fear about homeschooling at the high school level?

• Is it a lack of knowledge on your heart?
• Lack of understanding of the tools and materials that are available to you?
• Does the fear the that your children will repeat patterns of the past create unnecessary conflict?
• Are you afraid you will ruin their chances at a future in college?

I encourage you to look on my website at 200fingersandtoes.com. There are a ton of reviews about different kinds of materials to fit every family. We’ve used everything from math, textbooks, to online learning. I have plenty of reviews and recommendations o te blog to help you find the tools you need.

This year, we’ve used online science where we can see our experiments done on the computer. We’ve also used an interactive math. There are tons of opportunities out there, and every learning style can be met. The more creative you are in solving the problems, the more likely you are to have a successful school here.

3. Create Your Own Community of Support

Now, don’t get the idea that it’s all rose gardens. Homeschooling High school has its low days. I’m not saying it doesn’t. There are times when my kids don’t want to get up. Sometimes, they stay up way too late. I’m not gonna lie, it’s very hard to be the mom, the teacher and the chore taskmaster. There are days no one likes me very much. That’s why I encourage you to find a community of people who love you very much.

If your family is supportive then lean on them for strength and encouragement. Keep your friends close to you. If not, find a community of homeschoolers who have a cheerful disposition. Be sure to give time for people who bring you encouragement when you’re feeling down. My greatest resource as a homeschool Mom, is a best friend who saw great things in my kids. She would constantly remind me about what great children they were.

Sometimes we need to be reminded in the thick of it. A little encouragement goes a long way. Support is one of the things that helped ease my fears of teaching homeschool high school.

4. Give Room for Creative Sparks That Ignite Interests

Encourage our high schoolers by making sure we’re including their interests as part of our education. If they have a hobby, are we making room for it? If they have a creative spark, are we feeding it? Make sure we’re making the tools and resource is available. Let them explore hobbies and new habits. Explore interests and different types of education models to find what fits them best.

High School is a Time of Exploration.

If we could keep that in mind, then we know that making a change isn’t a failure. It is simply a choice, it’s really narrowing down the things that are not successful. Think of all of your schooling materials as tools for your student. Failure is still forward motion. It is a huge part of living, creating, learning and growth mindsets. I try to let my kids know discovering the thing you hate. It is the next best way to find out what you love. Continue to narrow down things we don’t like. Find the tools that don’t work for us. Then we’re much closer to finding things that make us successful in our work day.

I created the In Due Season course, to build your roadmap for your own personalized homeschool journey.

Listen, beginnings are great. Planning for the end is satisfying. But the middle season of homeschooling can be a long and winding, uncharted road. I want to help ensure a strong finish by helping you live well in the middle. In Due Season is a course that helps you with practical lessons, life examples and encouragement. We will create a personal Map that will serve you. From your anxious first day, until the moment you walk down the aisle or send them back to school because you’ve resolved the issues that you wanted to work on it will be your guide.

Create a Map to Guide You

Simple shifts in your school set up. Challenging conversation questions. This course is specifically designed to help you get the very best outcome from your homeschooling year. The lessons in the course cover relationship building. We show how to uniquely express love to your child in your education planning. You will create a school that fits your personal needs. Tips for helping you transform the way you approach Teaching your Children.

I want you to create a personalized map that will last you your entire homeschool lifetime. Sign up to a FREE Unit here to create your own “why” page. This will help you stay on track with your homeschooling goals. In the full course you can join us to explore several other vital and powerful truths. When you finish, you will ensure that this will be your best school year ever.

My heart’s desire is that you never lose sight of the end of the road in your homeschool journey. We want to help ensure a strong finish by helping you live well in the middle. You can find out more about the In Due Season course at www.indueseason.net. You will not have to be scared of homeschool High School again.

5. Relationship Should Be Your Top Priority

I think there are more important things to address than our fear of teaching Homeschool High School. Nothing is more important to address than our student personally in homeschooling high school. What if your relationship is not where it should be? I encourage you to make that your most important goal in the education of your student.

Yes, we want them to be academically successful.

Yes, we want to push. I have pushed my children to get their education at the highest level they’re capable of. But not at the cost of our relationship. My kids and I have built a foundation of mutual respect. It has taken years of hard work. By being intentional with our time and making sure we show that we love our kids with our actions AND our words.

This is an area that I strive to keep at the forefront of our homeschool experience. I feel like this is an area that sometimes gets ignored behind the goals of getting an education. Our children’s education is important, and a great education is my top goal in homeschooling my kids. But I don’t want to do it at the cost of our relationship.

Shaping Our Future Relationships Today

That means respecting them as my peers. Now I’m always the parent. We’ll make sure they do their chores, make sure they brush their teeth. But when I talked to them, I try to remember that these are my future peers. I want to raise them to know, we’ll be working shoulder to shoulder one day. Keeping that attitude helps me speak in a way that respects who they are as individuals.

As a parent, the high school years are the transition to adulthood. Keeping that in mind, we do a better job of shaping the adults that we want to be with in the future. We can be the people they want to be around long after they are out from under our roof.

I hope this is encouraging to you as we talk about the fear of teaching Homeschool High School. Maybe it’s a new idea to you. I want you to really chew this. What things are causing you fear or intimidation in the area of teaching at the high school level with your children?

What can you do to shore up those places now?

Do you have deficits or areas that you feel like you wouldn’t be able to serve your children best. Are there some courses you can take? Do you need help in finding the materials that will do the teaching for you? You can work alongside your student to help them accomplish what they need?

All of those are available to you. I want to encourage you to reach out and share what your greatest fears are about teaching high school.

I can lead you to the materials you need to help teach subjects. But your heart is the main thing that needs to be understood. You can transform your fears into successes for your student. I encourage you to keep moving forward in your goals and learning about homeschooling your students. I encourage you to keep an open mind about homeschooling high school.

There is no reason to fear Homeschooling through High School. I encourage you to explore the idea further.

Next podcast, we will talk about creating opportunities in the real world for fellowship and community while homeschooling. But for now, I thank you for reading.

Please share this episode with somebody who has talked about their fears of homeschooling high school. I want to encourage to not be scared of homeschool High School anymore too.

Like always have a beautiful week.

I’ll talk with you again soon,

Amber