Let it never be said that we cannot find out whether a Christian really loves Christ. It can be known; it may be discovered; the proofs are already to your hand. You have heard them this very day. Love to the Lord Jesus Christ is no hidden, secret, impalpable thing. It is like the light – it will be seen. It is like sound – it will be heard. It is like heat – it will be felt. Where it exists, it cannot be hid. Where it cannot be seen you may be sure there is none.
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#8-6: The High School Years and More

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#1 · April 15, 2005, 3:33 pm

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

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THE HOPE CHEST HOME SCHOOL NEWS

with Virginia Knowles

#8-6 on April 15, 2005

The High School Years and More 

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The Hope Chest is a free e-mail newsletter with encouragement and practical teaching tips. The writer is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, mother of nine children, and author of Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, and The Real Life Home School Mom.

 

Contact information:

 

Hello Hope Chest friends!

 

I’ve been plotting this high school issue for many months!   This is by no means an exhaustive treatment of the topic, but rather what has been bubbling to the top of my brain.  

 

In a week or so, I will also send out an addendum with lots of good stuff from home school graduates, an article about a talented teenage author, tips from other parents about teens and high school, and a list of favorite web sites for this age level.  I would love to include more input from you all.   If you are a parent, tell me what has worked or not worked with your teens.  If you have a son or daughter who has already graduated, I would love to hear from THEM on what they most appreciated about being home schooled through high school, what they are doing now, and what their plans are the future.  And send along those web sites, too!  The more the merrier!

 

What if you don’t have any high school students yet?  Well, read this anyway – for three reasons!  First, much of this information is applicable to teaching elementary and middle school children as well.  Second, BLINK and the high school years will be here. Seriously!  It seems like an instant ago that I taught Mary to read, and here she is graduating from high school with 30 college credits under her belt!  Yow!  How did that happen?  Lastly, I’m sure you know other families who are home schooling high school students, and you can share this with them.  Feel free to forward it along to your friends!

 

In this issue, you will find:

 

  • A Vision for the Future (Excerpt from the Real Life Home School Mom)
  • Virginia’s Quick Picks for High School Curriculum
  • Metro Life Church: A Model of Support for Home Education
  • Home-Based But Not Home-Bound: High School at Our House
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A Vision for the Future

Excerpt from The Real Life Home School Mom

by Virginia Knowles

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[Note: This very short excerpt is the introduction to the chapter “A Vision for the Future” in my first book, The Real Life Home School Mom.  For more information, visit http://www.TheHopeChest.net/RealLife.html]

 

In the journey of life, while we concentrate on dodging potholes and weaving through traffic, we often lose sight of the final destination.  If we don't have any “down the road” view for our children, or we don't have a map to guide us there, the grand adventure detours into frustration, confusion, and discouragement.  We get stuck in the rut of daily details and the “tyranny of the urgent.” 

 

I am grateful that my husband and I heard about home schooling before we had children, because it gave us plenty of time to dream, research, and prepare.  By the time we started, we had a good foundation and the confidence that we could really do this thing.  As the years have passed, I have been careful to keep an eye to the future.  I try to plan ahead, with various levels of intensity and detail, for the next month, the next year, the next five years, the next ten years, etc.  Having an idea of the sequence of our educational plans keeps us on track.  The skills, knowledge, and habits we develop now are foundations for success in high school and adulthood, since we won't get from here to there without taking all of the steps in between.  In a sense, our vision for the future pulls us along.  It's not just the narrow slice of academic education that concerns us!  Spiritual maturity, relationships, family life, and vocation are all part of the bigger picture.  Let's look at four major areas in which we must prepare our children: a Christ-filled life of spiritual maturity, a sense of “calling” for life, strong work ethic (and the skills to go with it) and healthy family relationships.

 

[The chapter goes on to cover those four areas in-depth. It’s been five years since I wrote The Real Life Home School Mom.  The future has certainly marched right in – not always as I planned, but close enough.  God always has surprises and transitions for us.  “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future.”  As I write, my oldest is preparing for full-time college in our local area, and my youngest is preparing to be born!  Yes, it sometimes feels weird to be mothering such a variety of ages!  But even when it is rather late at night, one thing I treasure is the opportunity to talk heart-to-heart with my older girls about a vision for the future.  Psalm 144:12b says that with God's blessing and protection, "Our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace."  I have a vision of God making my girls strong and upright -- beautiful blessing to grace their families, churches, and communities.   Thanks be to God!  Oh, and for those of you who are wondering whether we are having a boy or a girl, we found out yesterday that we are expecting our 7th daughter!

 

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Virginia’s Quick Picks for High School Curriculum

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Math: Saxon Math, supplemented with the corresponding D.I.V.E. CD-ROMs.  (We haven’t used the CD ROMs, but friends say they are quite good.  We may get one this year.)

 

Writing: Writer’s Inc. Handbook with corresponding grammar skills workbooks.  We have used books in this series for elementary and middle school, though not for high school yet.  These are very thorough, and I like the interesting, student-friendly style!  Your student will learn the techniques and formats all of the major writing genres from the text, though they don’t give specific writing assignment.   The grammar workbooks refer to specific corresponding pages in the grammar section at the back of the text.  If, instead, you just want to review grammar in a less intense way, try Daily Grams.  For vocabulary, I like Vocabulary from Classical Roots.

 

Science: Apologia Science (http://www.highschoolscience.com), supplemented with optional companion CD-ROMS.  So far we have used General Science and Physical Science at the middle school level, and Biology, Chemistry and Human Anatomy at the high school level. 

 

History & Literature: We use A Beka (http://www.abeka.com/) text books as a core, supplemented amply with living books (biographies, historical fiction, etc.)  A Beka texts are extremely thorough – I have learned so much by reading them!  However, I must note that I sometimes detect a little too much conservative Protestant bias – and I am a very conservative Protestant!  However, this is still my top pick.

 

Literature Study Guides: We have used both Progeny Press (http://www.progenypress.com/)  and Total Language Plus (http://www.totallanguageplus.com/) -- and like them both, even though their format is different.  Each one is available for a wide variety of classic and Christian fiction. The Progeny Press high school study guides seem to be more thorough in their formal literature analysis, while Total Language Plus has more activities and variety.  For a serious study or for teaching a group class, Progeny Press would be my first choice – especially since the guides are fully reproducible.  Another great literature resource, Invitation to the Classics: A Guide to Books You’ve Always Wanted to Read, edited by Louise Cowan and Os Guinness, briefly introduces dozens of the great books of the past and gives some background on the authors and time periods.  (It is written from a Christian perspective, but you might find it in your public library around Dewey # 809.)

 

Current events: World Magazine (http://www.worldmag.com/) is our hands-down favorite.  My girls pounce on this magazine as soon as it hits the mailbox, so Thad and I often have to hunt it down to read it ourselves.

 

Philosophy and Worldview: The Consequences of Ideas by R.C. Sproule gives an overview of philosophy, and is written from a strong Christian perspective.  (I haven’t personally read it, but Mary did as an assignment for her a philosophy class taught by our pastor.)

 

Life Skills:  I haven’t yet seen a copy of Life Prep for Homeschooled Teenagers,   but wanted to mention it anyway after seeing an excellent article by the author, Barbara Frank, who has home schooled her four children (ages 11-20) since birth.  To visit her web site, read her articles, see a list of her books and booklets, and/or sign up for her monthly e-newsletter, “The Imperfect Homeschooler”, go to http://www.cardamompublishers.com.  I know that book includes lots of project assignments!  To see a sample, click here: http://www.cardamompublishers.com/mini-life-prep1.pdf

 

Driver’s Education:  Driver’s Ed in a Box has 17 video segments (on VHS or DVD), audio CDs, a text, workbook, parent guide, training mirrors and certificate of completion.   A newer interactive version replaces the books and videos with CD-ROMs.   Each option costs about $200.   http://driveredtraining.com/

 

Parent Guides:  I’ve seen several, but my two favorites are Homeschooling High School by Jeanne Gowen Dennis, and Home-Designed High School by Diana Johnson.  You will find lots of information on keeping records, preparing official transcripts, college admissions, etc.  I will try to do a more complete review of these in the next issue.  (I need to find my copy of Diana’s book, which got misplaced during either the hurricanes or our house renovations!).

 

Most of these resources are available from Rock Solid (http://www.rocksolidinc.com).

 

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Metro Life Church:

A Model of Support for Home Education

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Our family started attending Metro Life Church (http://www.metrolife.org) two and a half years ago, and it’s been a huge blessing to us, not only spiritually, but educationally.   I think Metro Life is a wonderful model of how a church can encourage and equip families. Home school families make up a large part of the congregation, but all of these services (with the exception of the enrollment program) are available to families with children in public and private schools, too.  Many smaller churches would have a harder time doing all of this, but could implement at least some of these ideas.   Here are some things I appreciate: 

  • Direct supervision of the home education ministry by a pastor (Benny Phillips) who has been a home school dad for well over 20 years.  
  • A commitment by the pastors to not let any of their programs replace the parents – which led to the discontinuation of a three-day-a-week high school program that didn’t seem to bear the desired fruit.
  • An official “private school” enrollment option, The Regent Academy, which keeps our records, provides guidance and administrative support, assists with college applications and scholarships – all with maximum flexibility given to parents. (Available only to Metro Life members.)
  • Standardized testing at a reasonable cost.
  • Small bi-monthly home school support groups for Moms AND Dads.
  • Bi-monthly workshops on home schooling and child training topics.
  • Book fairs and home school seminars open to the public.
  • Weekly 90-minute group tutoring sessions in high school math, science and foreign languages, for a fee of $10 per week.  (Available only to Metro Life members.)
  • Volunteer-taught enrichment classes in various subjects for all grade levels, usually running in 6-8 week sessions.  High school classes have included philosophy, literature, church history, essay writing and others.  At the middle school and elementary levels, classes can include P.E., home economics, basic science, writing, sign language, Florida history and other subjects.  (Available only to Metro Life members.) 
  • A church library stocked with home schooling resources.
  • An active sports program, with high school basketball (boys and girls) and golf, as well as a Saturday morning soccer season and summer basketball camps  for younger children. 
  • Royal Rangers and Missionettes scouting-type programs for K-8th grades.
  • An “adult” worship team that welcomes teen instrumentalists and vocalists.
  • Terrific retreats, conferences and seminars which teens are encouraged to attend along with the adults.
  • Monthly Deluge youth meetings for high school and college age students, which include the parents in worship, teaching and fellowship times. (Non-Metro members are always welcome – second Saturdays at 6:45 pm.)
  • A worship service which includes the children in the singing and prayer times before releasing them for Sunday School – plus a one-way-mirror nursing moms’ room and a separate toddler training room (for parents and their tots who are learning to sit still!) at the back of the sanctuary.
  • Mission trips for high school and college students every other year.
  • Extreme youth conference for high school and college students every other year.

Thanks, Metro Life!

 

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Home-Based but Not Home-Bound

(High School at Our House)

by Virginia Knowles

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When my children were younger and people found out that we were home schooling, they often asked, “What are you going to do about high school?”  To which I would reply, “We are going to continue home schooling all the way through.”  The next question: “What if you find that you can’t teach a certain subject?”  Well, at the time, I still thought I could do EVERYTHING, but I replied, “Then I’ll get my husband to teach it or hire someone else to do it!”   This has certainly been the case!

 

I’d like to share a few random insights about home-based high school, and then move on to a summary of options.

 

First of all, please note that my two oldest daughters are quite different from each other.  Mary, a senior, is a very academic learner who has a reserved personality.  She excels in writing, current events, worldview and so forth.  Julia, a sophomore, is ultra-outgoing, athletic, musical, artsy.  She thrives in group settings,  loves hands-on projects, and always has a keen sense of what is going on around her.  She’s a great student, but doesn’t particularly LOVE reading and writing.  As you can imagine, our approach to education has been different for each of them!

 

The common denominator is that Mary and Julia have both been “home-based but not home-bound” for high school.  This means that I do not personally teach them as much.  However, I do help them pick out what courses to take each year, loosely supervise their workload and schedule, point them to appropriate research resources, critique the rough drafts of many of their assignments, etc.  As a quick summary, their out-of-home opportunities have included one-day-a-week classroom programs, group math tutoring, church-based enrichment classes in specific subjects, community-based skills classes, choirs, volunteer opportunities, paid internships, dual enrollment in a community college, team sports, on-line classes, out-of-state workshops, student-directed clubs, etc.   This summer we will add short-term missions trips to the mix!  There are benefits and drawbacks to this send-them-out approach. 

 

In our case, with such a large family (10 children as of this summer), outsourcing education has been somewhat of a necessity.  I just don’t have the time or mental energy to do ALL of high school when I am still teaching middle school, elementary school and preschool, with a pregnancy and then new nursing baby every two years.  (Don’t let it blow your mind too much.  We’ve survived!)   Having other teachers available to assign and evaluate their work has been a life-saver.  This need was particularly acute when it came to upper level math, lab science and foreign language – which were all out of my league as a teacher.   My girls actually appreciate the extra accountability, as well as the fresh perspective that another teacher brings.  They liked having someone prepare a lesson to TEACH them rather than just reading the text book themselves. They have also enjoyed the social aspects of being in a class at least once a week.

 

The drawbacks of outsourcing education are that you necessarily give up a certain amount of control over your child’s education and there is more of a tendency toward peer orientation.  Not to mention that certain out-of-home options can get expensive, and you do a lot of chauffeuring!  Also, it is easier to get over-involved in “extras” than to pull back from them. If you allow one child to do a certain activity, the others might expect the same privileges in the future. These challenges are not insurmountable.  You just have to be aware of them and make the adjustments – and keep on top of things even when it seems that you can take a back seat and just let someone teach your teen.

 

The most important thing to do when choosing high school options is to pray continually and fervently for wisdom as you take things year-by-year, teen-by-teen.

 

Now, I’d like to briefly evaluate various educational opportunities outside the home.

 

One-day-a-week (or two to three day) programs:  Programs differ in style, structure and accountability.  Smith Prep ([email protected]), where Mary attended for two years, is quite classical, and the teachers decide what to cover each year without much input from parents.  The EXCEL program, which Julia has been in since 8th grade, is more traditional, hands-on, with the parents having more say in the content and style, even when a teacher is hired.  There can also be a mix of professional and parent teaching within a program.  In the EXCEL program this past year, we hired teachers for drama and chemistry, and the moms taught world history, literature, writing, money management and year book.  I particularly liked this co-op approach because it got me involved in the process for four weeks, and because I got to know all the students more personally.  It was also less expensive this way!   Group classes are a good transition step toward college since students are encouraged to come to class prepared, interact wisely with peers, and be accountable in their assignments.

 

Group or individual tutoring in single subjects:  This is particularly helpful for those subjects that mom doesn’t feel equipped to teach.   Our church offers a la carte group tutoring and enrichment classes in specific subjects (more on this in another article) and I know that many teachers throughout our community offer the same services, sometimes from their homes.  You may also find that local organizations or businesses offer classes in sewing, first aid, music, art, cooking, photography and other skills. 

 

On-line classes:  These are offered by many organizations.  I wish I could present you a knowledgeable list of these.  Our only experience has been with the Florida Virtual School (http://www.flvs.net/), a state program which offers a huge variety of high school credits free of charge to Florida students. It is also available for out-of-state students for a fee.   Many of our friends have been quite pleased with the quality of instruction offered by FLVS, so we decided to give it a try.  Mary has found the AP English class to be quite rigorous, with a much heavier work load than any of her college classes.  She feels like she is swimming in the homework, but is sticking it out.  However, the experience has been very stretching for her as a writer – which is good!   Enrollment for FLVS classes starts in May – check the web site for more details.

 

Dual enrollment at a local college:  Basically what this means is that the student attends college and gets both high school and college credit for the same courses.  In our area, tuition is free, but we have to pay for books.  This is a very popular option with the older teens in our church.  In her junior year, Mary began dual enrollment at Valencia Community College (http://www.valenciacc.edu/).   She has done quite well (straight As so far) and will have 30 college credits next month.  I am glad that she had a good solid Christian worldview before she went, because she has had myriad opportunities for expressing it her speeches and papers.  College classes are an adjustment; students will need to quickly learn to be self-disciplined, come to class on-time and prepared, and do the work completely according to the teacher’s specifications.   I don’t have specific information on how you can get started with this since my husband and Mary did all of the legwork, and that was two years ago.  Check with the individual school.

 

Public or private school classes:  We’ve never taken advantage of this particular option, but some of our friends have.   In the state of Florida, high school students are legally eligible to take individual classes at the public school.  There may be  some restrictions on this.  Many private schools will also let home schooled students enroll for specific classes.  I’m sorry I don’t have more information on it, but I wanted to at least list it!

 

Performance groups:  Many home school support groups, churches and community organizations offer choir, band, orchestra, drama, dance and other performance opportunities that are best experienced in a group setting.  A main concern would be WHAT they are performing, as well as how rigorous the rehearsal schedule is.  Is the main focus teaching the child the skills, or doing a spectacular performance?

 

Team sports:  Students can participate in team sports through home school programs, private schools, public schools (in many states) and churches.   This counts for P.E. credit and is great for staying in shape.  Julia has played varsity basketball on two different teams – first with a private/home hybrid school and then with our church.  Of course, involvement in team sports complicates the weekly schedule during the season, and there is always a risk of injury!

 

Volunteer opportunities:  In the state of Florida, most college-bound students are required to complete 75 hours of volunteer service during their four years of high school.  While this can include non-skilled services, students can also find opportunities to learn while they work.  They might tutor under privileged students, learn to do web research, run an office, etc.  The key is to find an area of interest!  Of course, the most intensive and cross-cultural volunteer opportunities are foreign mission trips!  Mary and Julia are scheduled to go to Bolivia from June 22 – July 3, and I’m sure it will be the adventure of a lifetime.

 

Paid internships: Students who show particular interest and skill in a certain area might be able to find paid internships – basically jobs where the they are learning and earning at the same time.  If there is sufficient educational content and training involved, an internship can count for high school credit.  In 10th grade, Mary worked at home for Smith Prep grading essays.  In 11th grade, Mr. Smith arranged for her to join an intern program at a law office, for which we gave her a full credit of Executive Internship.  Mary went back to work for Mr. Smith this past year; now she grades essays, tutors students in writing, monitors lunch hour and does administrative work.  These experiences are very valuable for college applications!  It takes a little leg work to find the right job, but ask around among people you know in the field.   Network!

 

Student-directed clubs:  Does your student have a burning interest that he would like to share with other like-minded teens?  Then he might want to look into joining or even starting a club!  As an extra-curricular activity, Mary founded Scribes and Witnesses, a home school high school journalism club with about 10 members.   Meetings have consisted of writing activities, discussion, occasional special speakers, and putting together two issues of a mini-newspaper.  This has been quite an educational experience for Mary as she has had to organize people and resources, learn to use publishing software, lay out issues, edit other people’s articles, deal with printing companies, etc.  Mary has just turned over the reins of the group to another student, since she is taking a second part-time job to help pay for her summer mission trip to Bolivia. 

 

Out-of-town camps and seminars:  Last summer, Mary had to choose between three options: a world-view academy, a mission trip, and the World Journalism Institute (http://www.worldji.com/).   After much careful thought, she chose the latter option, which is affiliated with World Magazine. In August, she flew up to the campus of Covenant College in Tennessee for the two week seminar, which was an awesome experience for her.  Unfortunately, WJI no longer offers this high school session, but they do still offer college sessions in New York City, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles.   A word of caution gleaned from friends: even if your teen is well-supervised and in a Christian atmosphere does not mean he or she is immune from getting into trouble, especially if guys and girls are in the same program!   Some highly recommended programs are the Summit Worldview Academy and Teen Pact.

 

As you can see, there are myriad opportunities for home schooled high school students.  The main challenge is picking the right ones for your teens!  

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Thanks for reading this!  I’d love to hear what has been helpful to you in this issue.  Please send me a note at [email protected].  And don't forget to send in your teen tips, web sites, and thoughts from home school graduates!

 

In His Sovereign Grace,

Virginia Knowles

http://www.TheHopeChest.net

 

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