The number one question I hear over and over again is: “How can you homeschool through high school?” The answer is a resounding, “yes, you can!” The first step in conquering this task is to make a four year plan.
When my oldest approached high school age, he was interested in going to college. So, we looked at several colleges around the country to see what they required to be accepted to their institutions. Generally speaking, the requirements were basically the same from one college to the other: four English credits and three each in history, math, and science, as well as some credits in fine arts and foreign or computer languages. (You’ll want to do your own very current research as you start this process to make sure you hit all the things on any particular school’s list.)
I have now graduated all four of my children. Each time, I used the same method to plan for their high school years. Around the beginning of 8th grade, I began to put together their planners for high school.
I made a one-page planner (like the one you’ll find here) that covered four years of high school. I used the research I had about admission into colleges, courses that I knew interested my son, and courses that I felt were important to complete before he graduated. I entered them on the one-page planner with a pencil. I wanted to make sure I could change it easily as needed. For the most part, we followed the plan, but most years we adjusted a class here or there.
This four-year planner becomes a record of what you did during the high school years and is a great help in making a transcript in the future.
Here is an example of the one-page planner I made. You can adjust the planner to make it suit your needs but it is a good place to start. Another important this to note is that I included 8th grade in my high school planner. I did this because occasionally, you will have a high school class that your child takes in 8th grade that could be included in their high school transcript, like Algebra I or Physical Science. Be careful about putting too many high school level classes in the grade year but make sure you give credit when it is deserved.
I promise that spending a little time planning before the high school years start will make your journey through those years much easier. It will be your road map to success!