help

I was so excited when I was talking with my Gold Care Club member, Lori, from Idaho. Her homeschooler had been invited to FIVE full tuition scholarship competitions!  Five colleges were so eager to have her homeschooler on campus, they want...

Make Laundry Fun

Anne, one of my Gold Care Club members, takes her laptop into the laundry room and listens to my classes while folding laundry.

Anne says, "You make folding laundry so much more fun, now!"

Funny thing ... I mentioned that Anne folds laundry while listening to classes during my online class the other night, and she was in the class with me! The next day she wrote to me again:

Watch this YouTube Tip of the Week to learn a few ways that you can help prevent a senior year panic attack!

Where to start?  If you are just beginning to homeschool high school, where do you even begin??  I have a video called "Preparing to Homeschool High School" that is just perfect for beginners.  It's a three DVD set that will talk you through the basics.  Intended for parents that have a 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th grade student, it can help parents who are looking at high school and don't know what to do about it.  The video series will talk you through the courses to provide, the tests to take, and strategies for success. 

I don't tell you what to do, I give you the information to make informed decisions for yourself.  If you are just beginning to homeschool high school, or if you know someone who is, this would be just perfect! 



 

Homeschooling is NOT the same as doing schoolwork at home.  There is LOTS of freedom!  My Gold Care Club will give you all the help you need to succeed!

I had a question today from a mom who was very concerned about starting to homeschooling high school.  Here is part of my response.

Are you brand new to homeschooling?  Or just new to high school?

I don't know any of the specifics about your state homeschool law, but I can help you with the "what do I do next" question.  I suggest two things.  First, contact your state's homeschool organization, and talk to them about what your state law requires.  It's easy to find.  Google your state name and "largest homeschool organization" and see what comes up.  Check with three or four people when you make those calls, because sometimes you'll get different answers.  If you call a public school, for example, you're might to get a non-homeschool-friendly answer.  But if you call an organization that supports independent homeschooling, they will be much more helpful and encouraging.

Second, if your child is in high school, you might want to get my 2- 1/2 hour DVD called "Preparing to Homeschool High School" because it covers the basics of homeschool high school.

While you are waiting for the video to arrive, sign up for my free mini-course that comes to you on email.

The other questions really hinge on your state law.  I will say that in general, and without knowing anything about your family, my favorite "where do I get the books" starting place in Sonlight Curriculum.

I *loved* using Sonlight with my children at every age, and I feel that it really shows you "how" to homeschool, while at the same time providing everything you need and allowing independence.  It doesn't fit everyone, and I don't know your family, but that is where I usually point people to start looking.

You can homeschool just fine!  It's fun!  If you feel anxious, you can consider getting my "Convention at home Kit" along with my transcript ebook.

If you spend a week with those things, you should feel MUCH more confident and secure by the time you are done!  Plus, the e-book comes with a free one month subscription to my Gold Care Club, so you can get the personalized support you are craving.

I hope this helps.



Friend or fan or both?  Become my Facebook friend and a fan of The HomeScholar.  I love staying in touch with my friends!

Psalm 32:8

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.

"Oh No!  High school!  How will I ever figure out what to do, how to teach?  What should I plan on?  Which path do I choose?"

Homeschooling parents often look at the teenage years with fear.  I know I felt that way myself.  Fear is a very human emotion - people have experienced this feeling since the beginning of time.

Instead of focusing on the *reason* for your concern, focus instead on a time-tested solution.  Like a tried and true curriculum, this is a technique effectively used by homeschooling parents around the world:

Look to God for help.

Spend time daily in the Bible, looking for his instruction for your homeschool.  He watches over us (over everyone!) with love and concern.  But he will also provide the counsel in your heart.  As you read His Word, He can speak to you about curriculum, choices, and techniques.  As you pray, he can give your heart a nudge - or calm frayed nerves.

How are you going to manage to homeschool high school?  Who can teach you what you need to do?

Psalm 32:8 says:  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.

God is the go-to guy.



Please help spread the word about homeschooling high school by adding my button to the sidebar of your blog. Here is the code.


<p align="center"><a href="http://www.thehomescholar.com/blog"><img src="http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh36/homescholar/HSbutton.png"/></a></p>

"I could never be around my kids all day!"
Outsiders may look at homeschool families and wonder how they survive being around their offspring all day long, every day of the week, all year long, for years at a time.

The truth is, most of us don't just survive.  We THRIVE!  It's true that parenting is hard, and the joys sometimes seem few and far between.  But when you homeschool, you are at least THERE to see the joys - making the difficult times much more bearable.  And because the teens are with family all day, they socialize with parents and older and younger people.  Those are the people who will moderate their behavior.  Teens become much more pleasant when they are socialized with a wide variety of ages!  Instead of trying to fit in with the high school crowd, they experience peer pressure to fit in within the context of the family.  That often means being nicer than expected to parents and siblings.

Still, there are difficult times when you homeschool.  Don't forget that some problems are inherent in PARENTING.  Difficult times may not be the result of homeschooling - it could be just because you are a mom or dad.  So how do you cope with the difficult times?  I have a suggestion:  lean on God.

Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It will be hard sometimes, because LIFE can be hard sometimes.  Teenagers will be hard sometimes, too!  (And no, I'm not naming any names!)  But God can give you peace in the midst of difficulty.

I meet with a ladies' prayer meeting each week, and our leader is well into her 80's.  She often prays using one particular phrase.  She says, "Lord, we don't know how others cope when they can't lean on you.  Where would we be without you?"  Did you see the news about the airplane crash this week?  A young man confessed corporate prayer when the plane went down.  He apologetically exclaimed "We all prayed to God!"  God is in the trenches.  Even the homeschool trenches.

Lean on God.  It will help.  At the very least, leaning on God can keep you sane when chaos is all around.

A mom wrote to me asking where to start.  As the parent of an 8th and 10th grader, she was feeling completely incompetent and needed a quick dose of you-can-do-it reality.  For beginners, I recommend the video Preparing to Homeschool High School .  It covers all the basics of how to homeschool high school, from planning courses, to giving tests.  My goal is to remove the fear of homeschooling high school, so that you can listen to your heart and NOT your fear when deciding if you can do it.  The Preparing to Homeschool High School video is about three hours long, so it's a lot like a seminar to get you up to speed quickly.  In fact, I'm actually giving a seminar in Vancouver Washington in February, with the exact same content!  If you are interested in attending the seminar in Vancouver, they have opened it up to the public.  The cost for the event is $40-$43.  For more information, click on this link.  I love doing seminars because I can answer specific questions for people.

If you feel insecure, then sometimes personal support is really the key.  When you buy the book "The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts" you get a free month of my Gold Care Club Membership site.  Try the membership for a month free, and see if that is the kind of personal support that will help.  Gold Care Club members have access to extended free private consultations every Wednesday.  You can call and talk for up to 20 minutes each week.  Some parents call each week so I can talk them through their transcript, or their college admissions.  Others call to discuss courses to teach, or fears and frustrations.  Members also get priority email support.  You can email me a questions and get a long, meaty answer.  Or you could email me a document (a transcript, course descriptions, or high school plan) and we can discuss it together on the phone.  The Gold Care Club membership is a great way to get the parent-to-parent support that can sometimes be hard to find.

I do provide support for everyone for free, as well.  I have the free monthly newsletter (which will come out on January 1st), free weekly 10 minute consultations, free daily blog support for your questions, free mini-course on "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School"  free articles for your support group newsletter, "Dig Deeper" websites with in depth discussions on specific issues like Gifted Education or Record Keeping.  You can always search this blog looking for the topic you need help with.

I apologize if I sound like a commercial, but I know that some folks really do just want to know where to start, in order to get the help they need.



Nearly 1000 of you have subscribed to our free mini-course, "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School."  If it has blessed you, we would really appreciate it if you could send the link above to your yahoo group, homeschool group or forum to let others know there is help available for high school.  Thank you!

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. It is a strange fact that Christians and even ministers frequently consider their work so important and urgent that they will allow nothing to disturb them. They think they are doing God a service in this, but actually they are disdaining God's "crooked yet straight path" (Gottfried Arnold). But it is part of the discipline of humility that we must not spare our hand where it can perform a service and that we do not assume that our schedule is our own to manage, but allow it to be arranged by God.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Stuff happens.  Anyone who knows me knows that I'm all about planning and consistency.  And yet, we still have to be willing to let God be in charge - even in our homeschool!  The holiday season is coming up.  Did you know that the holidays are the leading time of year for death and suicide?  It's the Stress!  So go about making plans as you know best.  At the same time, if your neighbor needs you -especially this time of year! - lend a hand.  In the long run, your children will learn more about life from serving than being served.

I was whining to my cousin, I confess.  I never let my kids whine, but it's OK for me.  You know how that is.  Anyway, I was complaining about my getting a remodel.  I know I have to do it.  Two months ago we pulled off some wallpaper had a new kitchen window installed.  Here we are, two months later, and I still have no paint on the walls, and the window remains "unwrapped."  I don't have curtains or blinds.  The summer sun beats into the kitchen.  Two months.  And yet, I just can't do it.

"I just want someone to come here and do the thinking for me!  I don't have any forward momentum, it's all come to a dead stop!"

In all fairness, my business does keep me... well... BUSY!  I hardly have time to do anything, but especially not something as large as a remodel!  Still, to live in a paint-less kitchen with a roughed-in window isn't very fun!  So I plan to hire a contractor.  Really.   I plan on it.

Everyone needs help sometimes.  Nobody can do it all, all the time.  If you need help with homeschooling, I can help!  That doesn't mean that *I* don't need help with some other things sometimes.  It's not a sign of weakness at all!  I'll be glad to come alongside of you.  I know what it's like to ask for help.  Everybody asks for help sometimes.



What has you immobilized?  I'd like to hear if you have things you know you have to do but just can't get moving forward.  Please leave a comment!  Come on...It will be theraputic!

I got a panicky call today - not unusual.  It started out normal, but when I explained that I had one appointment available in August, but the other openings were all in September - this mom was suddenly in full panic mode!

There are times when you have a TRUE emergency, like a natural disaster, fire, or theft.  If that's the case, please let me know!  Like a doctor who takes emergency patients in between routine physicals, I'll always try to squeeze in clients that are having an emergency.  My client today had her computer stolen.  All of her high school plans and records - gone!  With school just weeks away, she desperately NEEDED help with her plan.  In an hour, we had everything all figured out again, with a great plan for her coming year.

If you have an emergency, and you just can't wait for an appointment, please let me know!  I'll do my best to fit you in as soon as possible.



Follow me on Twitter!  Twitter is like a mini-blog based entirely on the question:  "What are you doing?"  Each "post" can only be 140 characters (a couple of sentences.) I am a new member and look forward to hearing about your day!

I know you're out there ...

You, the one who has been trying to decide whether to call or write me about a question that has been eating you up. Let me make it easy for you. Join my Gold Care Club! Members get access to everything they need to homeschool high school, PLUS weekly consultations with me! When we talk on the phone you can ask and I can explain as we go, so issues get resolved much more quickly. Many parents find it a huge relief to talk through the details with someone who really understands.