By Lee Binz
So what is a college prep education? What do homeschool kids who want to go to college need to know. These weighty questions have been the subject of full length books. In this article, I will give you a simple, “no fear” approach to educating your homeschool high school student. Just some basic guidelines to encourage you to do what you probably already know is right for your student.
First off, it’s important to balance what your child needs to know, with what they WANT to do. If you can focus on just the basic, core classes, with limited fluff, then even in high school they can still get their schoolwork done in a reasonable amount of time. Math does take a long time each day, and it’s important because it builds on itself. You can’t quickly regain math skills if you don’t keep up with it. Other subjects can be handled a bit more quickly, and with less stress.
Core subjects means one hour (not more) on English, social studies, science and math. Add some foreign language or PE or fine arts or electives. The strategy we used was to focus our “school time” on the core classes, and let the other subjects become more delight-directed. In this way we “tricked” our kids into thinking they really weren’t doing school!!
Fine arts can vary widely. Just about anything artistic counts – from ordinary subjects like painting and dancing; to more unusual hobbies like knitting and crochet! Believe it or not, foreign language may be successfully learned in as little as 30 minutes per day. PE can be what they do for fun, like dancing or sports. We defined homeschool PE as “anything that breaks a sweat!”
Electives are the subjects you don’t assign – they are things they just want to do! Maybe that’s animal husbandry or interior design – let them decide as often as possible. For our electives, we didn’t assign much of anything. We just followed along behind and scooped up what they did into neat little courses to add to their high school transcript. Believe me, when you have kids with passionate interests, our way is MUCH easier than trying to control what they learn and do!
So what do homeschool kids need if they want to go to college? Core classes, and the freedom to choose the electives that will encourage their love of learning.
Just by reading this article you are demonstrating your desire to aim your children toward college. Did you know that failing to do so is one of “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School.” Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my FREE e-mail mini-course.
My e-book, “The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts” will show you how to how to package that great at-home education into an AMAZING transcript that will impress the colleges!
Lee Binz, The HomeScholar, is an expert in “helping parents homeschool high school.” Both her two boys earned full-tuition scholarships at their first choice university. Learn how she did it on her website, TheHomeScholar.com, which includes a free monthly newsletter and daily blog support.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Binz
http://EzineArticles.com/?Homeschooling-High-School—What-Do-Kids-Need-to-Know-to-Get-Into-College?&id=1873622
Other Articles You Might Enjoy:
