April has hopped by so quickly, I can’t believe next week will usher in May! Reflecting on the annual homeschool flow, I realized convention season has kicked off and curriculum decisions are swarming around many homeschool family’s minds. With curriculum, comes grade levels, and for those peering into the decision of middle/high school for the first time, questions and concerns often begin to snowball…
Am I qualified to homeschool the upper grades?
Will my kids be at a disadvantage?
If we don’t put them in corporate school, how will they get into college…
… or play sports… or do extra activities…?
How will I know what to teach?
Will it be hard… fun… boring…?
One common thought, as if to dismiss all the others, is to contend that a firm foundation has been established through elementary (and possibly middle) school homeschooling, now they can enter the upper grades in the public spectrum with greater security. One reasons; certainly they will be safe in the clutches of public (or private) school going forward.
While ‘firm foundations’ are not a bad place to start, it is often also reasoned that educating beyond elementary requires knowledge and tools a parent and home do not possess. The “firm foundation” argument may be firmly true for some, but for many, I believe, it is a rouse to disguise uncertainty or even insecurity for educating one’s own children in the upper grades. However, whatever this “firm foundation” establishes, may I offer some thoughts on what it could look like if homeschooling built the structure which next proceeds because the idea that you can’t or that the earliest stages are the only most important, couldn’t be farther from the truth.
I will admit, as we approached the later middle school and pending high school years in our home, I lamented how our ‘easy’ elementary days would be sorely missed and that teaching at the next level was going to be a challenge, and certainly more clinical than the free-spirited arts and crafts days of elementary! Yet, as we dove in, I quickly discovered some pleasant surprises.
Surprise #1 – It was more fun than expected
I’m a crafty, creative, make every lesson an adventure kind of gal! My kids were mostly the same. I presumed 7th-12th would require me to suspend those inclinations in order to teach the thicker texts of higher math, science, composition, etc. In fact, we were able to carry creativity and adventure into these subjects quite effectively and, for my more visual and kinetic learners, they seemed to excel in areas I know they would have potentially struggled in a starchy corporate educational setting. We still did book work and took tests, but we also supplemented many lessons with field trips, observational journals, and even experiments at our kitchen table.
Surprise #2 - We were equipped, without breaking the bank
I didn’t have a bunsen burner for science class, or an assortment of minerals and dissectible creatures. I did not have chemicals to make compounds for chemistry and a high-power microscope simply wasn’t in our budget. Yet, we did have viable alternatives to include field trips to naturally observe rock features, kitchen chemicals to broaden scientific understanding, a low-power microscope picked up on Christmas deals which allowed them to learn how a microscope works, and YouTube videos to see cell and chemical reactions under a truly high-powered alternative. You can graduate high school never having dissected a frog and instead filling out diagrams of what you would find in his slimy gut! My children worked through detailed diagrams of human anatomy and knew more than any of their peers on the inner workings of the body which mattered most: our own!
Surprise #3 - It actually wasn’t that hard
We followed our state’s requirements for required subjects in order to graduate. I set those out as the core framework of each year’s lessons and then worked with each of my charges to fill in other electives tailored to their own interests or post-graduation directives. We covered earth science and biology (no one requested chemistry and our state did not require it). I taught Algebra and Geometry with teacher’s guides at my side and everything coming back from my own days in school! Language Arts was a cinch with guided teacher’s aids and a basic concept of how the English language should sound and be communicated. History and geography came alive with texts and living books… and even some family travel to see sites with our own eyes! I didn’t need a college degree in any of the subjects, I simply needed a willingness to sit and learn, follow teacher’s manuals, or refresh by their side. Technically, I had learned it all once before, whatever I didn’t already remember, I did recall as we walked through lessons… I even learned some new things I know my high school never covered! For subjects I honestly didn’t do great in when I was in school, I actually understood better as an adult teaching my own children!
Surprise #4 – I wasn’t alone
Help was available and viable. When my youngest wanted to “take all the maths” in high school and my brain just couldn’t compute calculus, I put in a call to the local college for a tutor. When she and her older brother wanted to take a foreign language, I enrolled them in a well rated language app and researched how to learn another language on our own (hot tip: watch familiar movies and shows in the language you want to learn!!). We had known business professionals and missionaries over the years who had taken on another language for the work they did. If they could do it at their own direction, why couldn’t we? Additionally, once kids turned 15/16, they can gain access to dual enrollment through the local college (many online colleges will do the same). How often do you go from high school to that first year or two of college learning many of the same things you already covered in high school?! The cost is reduced from regular enrollment AND, if a student is planning to attend college after high school, they get ahead on their classes. (Why is that still better than attending regular high school? Because the classes are usually only 2 days a week and are better directed at course learning they can use in the long run. Also, peer pressure in these settings is nearly non-existent, everyone they attend with is there to be a serious student, not pass notes and worry about the latest gossip!) Dual enrollment is especially helpful if you truly lack the confidence to teach certain subjects like Language Arts, Sciences, Foreign Language, or Maths, yet without losing the empowerment homeschooling gives both parent and child. You can pick the one class which is the hardest for you to teach, or a few. As a bonus, and if you are worried about the kinds of things taught in colleges these days, course work which brings about information you know to have an ulterior agenda can be readily discussed, equipping your young student to recognize error or context and think critically in critical situations! A skill often lost in the public school system as peer influence often pushes students to conform without question and rebel against parents who try to caution.
Surprise #5 - They were actually more confident than their peers
To that last point, I did not ‘indoctrinate’ my kids, rather, I taught them both sides of arguments. We looked at evolution vs. creation when we studied science, we dove into the good and the bad sides of history, we read challenging books alongside faith-filled ones – we considered various sides on every topic and I taught them how to ask questions until they were satisfied with the answer… not because it was part of a narrative or what they wanted to hear, rather, because a satisfactory answer is replete with TRUTH, even and especially if it requires them to adjust a view for accuracy. This also taught them to stand firm in truth so as not to be so easily influenced by opinion or falsehoods. Yes, we can do this in the lower grades, but it is the upper grades where they are more developmentally ready to understand these more complex concepts and begin articulating tangible ideas. Going to youth group in a politically polarized era, they could speak confidently about facts, often winning respect from peers and positively influencing more constructive worldviews. They weren’t lost to the tides of public opinion or narrowed peer group expectations, instead, they were better able to walk more confidently in choices and understanding.
Surprise #6 - They were better prepared for college
With the confidence and focus homeschooling through to graduation afforded them, when they entered college they were generally better students. When they didn’t know something, they adeptly sought out the information or help needed. They came to class more prepared than many peers, and knew how to balance their time and stay focused. I’m not saying public school kids can’t or don’t have it together for college, but statistically speaking, homeschoolers tend to have and maintain a better stride upon entry.
Surprise #7 - They were wanted by the colleges
Seriously, we were told by various admissions officers how homeschooled students are coveted because of their work ethic and tendency to complete what they started. They tended to cause less problems in class/on campus and were most often an asset to the institution’s metrics for success at statistically higher levels than public schooled peers!
Surprise #8 – Extracurriculars were more vibrant as a homeschooler
Getting involved in a local band, choir, theater, or central sports team was not only accessible but where these and other opportunities might not be obvious, we were able to initiate and find an outpouring of response. Craft clubs, dances, 4H involvement, and even apprenticeships were either ready and available or easily created, fostering opportunities to learn with and from others of varying ages and skill levels – real world style, unlike the ‘semblance’ of cookie-cutter ideas which really don’t apply or conform beyond graduation. The kids still learned teamwork and, in some instances, the quality of the activity far exceeded the public high school’s (shout-out to the high school senior who sang at the end-of-year homeschool band and choir concert in Latin with clear pitch and band accompaniment that would make any professional organization envious…. or to the “Chitty-chitty-bang-bang” homeschool performance which rivaled any community theater I have ever attended!) Even accessing more main-stream resources like the robotics club my kids did at the local library where they learned basic coding and engineering, still provided them with greater freedom as they could come home from meetings and continue their work and research unimpeded (because, quite frankly, homeschool lessons don’t take from 8am-3:30pm + evening homework to complete!!) Extracurriculars through homeschool avenues don’t just expose students to varied experiences, they also inform them on a higher quality level often fueling, if not enriching, their real world choices beyond graduation.
Surprise #9 – Homeschooling middle and high school is still foundational
If we are speaking academically, yes, teaching elementary ages establishes those “3-Rs”. However, the grade levels beyond offer other foundational aspects often overlooked because our young adults often seem just like, well, adults: people capable of unaided decision making on all of life’s directives. Fact is, they are still learning good foundational study skills, they are still developing emotionally, they are still, if not most so, trying to understand where they ‘fit’ in this great big world. Whether homeschool or public, their decisions will be aided so we have to ask, what will they be aided by? Will it be peers who don’t know anything more about life then they do (the proverbial blind-leading-the-blind) or teachers you may or may not agree with morally? No matter what, there will be the everyday culture which will also shout LOUD, whether you homeschool or not… but not, the din of the world very often drowns out the wisdom of parents in guiding critical and moral thinking in life’s varied choices. Yes, there are exceptions to this rule. Honestly, though, they are few and far between. Homeschooling in upper grades is not just the filling of a pail of facts from books, it is the lighting of a fire of adult morality, integrity, inquisitiveness, and independence… all too often squashed in the starched corporate setting of common public (and even private) schooling.
Surprise #10 – Our whole family grew closer through the high school years
If you or anyone you know has (or had) high school kids, you will understand how huge #10 is. If you have read my books (or last week’s article) you know how our oldest was actually public schooled through graduation. Before deciding to homeschool the youngers, I felt all the kids were on similar footing as far as our relationship to them and their relationship with each other. Sadly, each one was doing his or her own thing and we would all touch base at the dinner table or over a holiday (because even weekends tended to see us scattered). As my oldest navigated high school, the draw of friends and activities took him from home more and more until we were simply waving as he ran by at a track meet or mandating Sunday night family dinner against groans and complaining. On the way to his graduation party he complained over having to include his siblings, avoided us for most of the party, and by the time he headed to college, complete disconnect had taken over. While, over the years of the others’ homeschool and life experiences, each of my younger kids maintained their bond with each other and with us. They treasured friends but never forsake family for them. They enjoyed extracurricular activities and yet didn’t hesitate to wave back from the court or share behind the scenes with their siblings. My husband and I were even invited to be part of their decision making processes and sought for late-night life contemplation sessions which both wore us out and made us feel respected and connected. To this day, we remain quite close with our younger three in a way I wish we had with our oldest. When you consider how most high school friendships will not last far beyond graduation (especially if they go to college) while family is for life… it makes you reconsider real relationship priorities.
Honestly, in the end, we make the higher grade levels about textbooks and certain experiences which, often, are not the only way to pursue the needed knowledge to be a thriving and well educated adult. We underestimate our ability to facilitate their higher education and we overestimate what is truly taught (and not really gained) in the public school setting, spending all day with a gaggle of same-age emotionally and hormonally driven sound-boxers. The fact is, research has been consistently showing how home-educated teens are far above average in social, emotional and psychological development. AND, contrary to the “weird unsocialized” trope non or anti-homeschoolers often trapse out, studies are also finding that homeschooled high schoolers significantly excel in areas of peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family cohesion, self-esteem and even participation in community service and civic responsibility.
Yes, there are ‘haters’ out there, even sometimes within one’s own family. People who say you “can’t” or you “shouldn’t” or try to scare you with all the ways your child will be behind or messed up or missing out. I could write for hours on how NOT TRUE all of that is (it is why I’m diligently working on the next book in the homeschool series, “Q&A’s”!) For now, however, I hope I have touched on just some of the surprising benefits of making the leap to homeschool all the way through graduation.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments below or shoot me an email or dm on socials. I’m always happy to expound and even address a more direct situation when needed! If you haven’t already, hop over to Amazon and grab copies of my first two books (see below or on the side-bar). Keep an eye out for “Q&A’s” as well, which will contain a whole section specifically on homeschooling through the higher grades. Perhaps I need to add another book to the series covering this in more detail!!
Happy Homeschooling!
Blessings,
For over 80 articles on our homeschooling journey over the years, you can visit my old blog and browse "Homeschool Mother's Journal" (link in text). We trucked along all the way through high school graduation!
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