the thought of high school......

is scaring me. I have been homeschool my son for the last 3 years. He is going into the 8th grade. I know we have a year before high school, but the thought is overwhelming me. He has been asking to go to school this summer. I feel like you had "not so great year" for 7th grade. We had a lot of interuptions with family dynamics. All is calmer now, but I feel I need to go over some 7th grade curriculum---writing and spelling are lacking.

Any suggestions?.................

Sandy

Relax!

Just go to 8th grade and continue to work on the weak areas.
I have generally been a CHC person and I bought High School of Your Dreams (HSYD), I am also a very undisciplined person and need someone to keep me on the right track.
For high school, I have been using MODG syllabi to help me do that. Between HSYD
and MODG things are going a little smoother.
My soon to be 9th grader is begging to go to school. He is very ADHD and social. Everyone else is fine at home...give or take.

So relax and start looking at what [b]he[/b] wants to learn in high school based on what he may want to do when older. If he has no clue (like my 9th grader), work up a basic high school course.

Just keep working with him. He may never be a good speller or writer. But that is ok. Some people just can't do it. I bet there are other subjects that he is very good at. Help him focus on those he is good at while working on the ones he lacks.

It will all be fine.

I began homeschooling my dd in 11th gr and she graduated from 12thgr at home this year. She also was average to below average in school, so I had to put together my own curriculum. You can do it! You already have 3yrs experience with homeschooling. High school is the same-just a little more work. Look into enrolling to have more structure and accountability for you and your child. Seton is very challenging from what I've heard, but they also have a special services dept to help. MODG is writing intensive. I've heard Our Lady of the Rosary is like Seton but not as intense. Just some ideas. Mostly, pray and know that you can't mess them up at home as much as they do at school.

God Bless,
Adele

Thank you both for the replies. It has been a while since I have first known about Cathshap. If I am seeing things right, this is a new forum. Anyway, I am glad I am here, right now. Thanks you are a comfort.

So, here to the next question. What do you all use for high school? I have been happy using CHC. BUt wondering out loud..............should I go with something more accountable. Or is CHC transcript friendly?

Sandy

Dear Sandy,

I was in a similar position a few years ago. My oldest daughter just finished 9th grade. She also had asked us last year if she could go to school. No, we said, let's try homeschooling for high school -- so many of our friends have been successful with it. Well -- this is not to contradict what the others have posted so far but just to give you another perspective as well. We are sending her to school next year. This was an agonizing decision . . . but there were so many distractions here at home (we are expecting our 9th child) that it WAS very difficult for me to keep up with the amount of time it would take to make sure she was learning everything very well. Now, we are blessed that not too far away we have a small Catholic school that teaches with the Socratic method (round table discussion using the great books) and that is where she will go to school. I think you just have to look at what is best for your whole family -- sometimes that will mean continuing to homeschool, sometimes it will mean looking for alternatives. For example . . .are there any co-op opportunities in your area (someone who will teach writing etc)?

One other suggestion: if you have not tried the Institute for Excellence in Writing, I would highly recommend their products. My son (who is also going into 8th grade) absolutely LOVED the Student Writing Intensive B this past year. (I used it for one semester, and used grammar for the other.) They also have a spelling program that is auditory-based. I forget their actual website -- if you're interested, just google Institute for Excellence in Writing, and it will come up. God bless you! Marie

Sandy,

CHC does not offer transcript service. They don't offer grading or recordkeeping at all. If that is what you are looking for, then look into MODG, Kolbe, OLVS, Seton, OLRS or Angelicum. They all also offer curriculum without enrollment if you don't need recordkeeping. It's easy to make your own transcripts. donnayoung.org has lots of forms that you can print out and use for free. Most colleges accept homeschool transcripts and SAT test scores. My dd will be enrolling in the community college. She did not take the SAT because she does not test well, so she will take the college placement test. I used an umbrella school for my recordkeeping. In my state you have to be a registered homeschooler with the school board or you can register with an umbrella school and are considered a private school. I did this since I wasn't sure if homeschooling was going to work out and I wanted to have an easy way back into ps. This is probably more info than you were looking for. If there is anything else you need to know just ask. HTH.

God Bless,
Adele

+JMJ+

Dear Sandy,
We used Kolbe (they do a nice job on the transcript, but if you are paper oriented, you can do that yourself--). They have good lesson plans, but I do feel you need to adapt them to your student. I know many, many people who used Seton very successfullly for their home highschool, both just the materials and going the whole nine yards. I incorporate some of their stuff with Kolbe.
Also, I have friends who are evangelical homeschoolers and they do an approach where their kids do a lot of sports participation in the public high school. Due to the influences in our local sports teams, I wouldn't allow it for my kids, but it might be a social outlet for your son. It has worked for my friends, but they have had to keep a very close eye on things.
You can do it and no matter how you do it, you will be doing a much better job than the public high school -- but prayer is key--keep asking the Holy Spirt (and your guardian angel!) for direction, wisdom, and help,  help, help!!
God bless,
Elizabeth

Sandy, I know how it feels to be intimidated by "highschool". I just went through it last year. I felt totally confused as to what was the best for my daughter. She prefers homeschool. We did try part time at a local private school for the "hard stuff" like algebra. For us this did not work out. She was in with children who wanted to do anything but learn. So we pulled her out. we lost our tuition and she is behind a semester in algebra. I learned a valuable lesson. not to let fear make my decisions. There are many helpful programs available like video/cd or online for the subjects we aren't up to.(previous posts lisited great resources) The limited access to friends can be an issue especially with an outgoing child. I think we need to pray so we can see the options available. My daughter is active in church and does mission work, she's a mother's helper and has met some friends through the local homeschool support group. (not catholic) I belong to a nondenominational group Insights on Education which is a legal opption in South carolina. They do transcripts with minimal cost/paperwork involved. They do accept members from other states. I think we need to pray (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton or St. Maximillian Kolbe may be helpful intercessors for this need) to determine what is best for each child we have been blessed with. Don't let fear rule your decisions. Peace to you, Ann

Sandy,
I was sooooo there in December of last year. I was looking down the barrel of high school, having failed at my attempts to practice record keeping and transcripting (is that a word?) during middle school. Plus I would have 4 boys in "official" homeschool in grades 9,6,2 and K! I mentioned my concerns to my husband, who's reply was, "He's already going into high school?!?!?" Then we both kind of freaked out. Ha! After much prayer, discussion and research we decided to enroll him with Seton homeschool... the idea of someone else keeping the transcripts and handing the boy a bonafide diploma at the end of it all is very comforting. Of course, being the control freak homeschooling mother I am, I decided not to use their math program, so will be doing that without any handholding (with the exception of the uber-calculating 16yo math tutor I've hired to "help") and am taking advantage of a local co-op for lab science. Seton was definitely ok with this to my suprise. This really forced the three of us to sit down and do some planning and decision making. The boy has always been involved in his school choices and planning to some extent, but now he really seems to OWN it...he's excited to be trying new things (Bio I with a real lab and real lab partners...not just one of his little brothers) and even keeping a calendar! Instead of dreading highschool, we are all excited to start in the fall. Don't be paralyzed with fear about what might be, look around at your options (Seton is not the only choice) look for co-ops, let your child be involved in the process and, of course, Pray for Guidance!! I will remember you in my prayers...
~cmb
hs mom to C(13)W(11)J(7)M(5)

Hi,

I have a 15 year old son who is will be in 10th grade this fall. We did Kolbe last year and we really loved it. We had so much fun with the history and literature program designed by Kolbe. Anyway, I am mom to 8 kids and just aquired a new student, my 15 year old little sister . Last year was a tough year for us. We had unending distractions and even fell way behind. See last year I was expecting baby #9, and sadly I had a miscarriage. This was a really difficult time for us. But somehow, by the grace of God, we got through the year. We are actually still finishing up some of our 9th grade material over the summer.

I started the year off with my son on a regular 6 subject a day schedule. By the time the 2nd quarter came around we felt overwhelmed with everything. Then we tried something new. We tried block rotation schedule. We only cover two subjects at a time. This has worked out wonderfully for us because we usually get one weeks worth of lessons done in one day for two subjects! This freed up so much time for us and my son really absorbs the material. The tricky part is the report card, I have to fill out the cards as if we were doing a full schedule. But with help from Kolbe Academy, it's been OK.

I really cant tell you how pleased we are with Kolbe Academy. They are so helpful, and never get tired of my silly questions

I am not trying to belittle your tough times, God knows it is really not the easiest thing to do. Homeschooling our kids will never be easy because we are family and stuff is gonna happen. But we get by only with the grace of God. And besides, your child is worth the struggle. For many of us it's the soul of the child that is at stake, especially if we dont have good schools around. It's something to pray about and you did the right thing by posting here for advice. See what a wonderful support we have I wish you and your family the best!

Michelle Briseno

Another option I recommend looking into is Regina Coeli Academy.(www.reginacoeli.org) Our eldest of 6 started highschool this past fall and due to our family situation (an elderly parent living with us with health issues, a young toddler underfoot and 4 others I was homeschooling) I knew I would not be able to give her the high school education she needed. At a friend's suggestion we looked into RCA, an on-line, excellent school. Our daughter loved it! She rose to the challenge of each of her classes, worked terrifically hard - much harder than I was ever able to inspire her to do. I also appreciate that RCA is loyal to the magisterium of the Roman Catholic church and that that attitude pervades throughout all their classes.

I'm not sure what state you live it but I would like to recommend Cyber Charter for Highschool. Many states have cyber charters that use www.K12.com curriculum. You can supplement with Apologetics, theology etc. My eldest is entering his senior year with a cyber. I LOVE having the extra support and tutors available to answer questions that I can't find answers to.

Having another formal level of academic authority is helpful with teenagers! Last year I had trouble with getting him to pace himself. He was taking WAY TO LONG on assigments that he liked and avoiding others he didn't like altogether. Our support teacher helped get through to him with the assistance of his supervisor and a conference call. They mapped things out to him as far as his progress was going at the rate he was turning in assigments. Yes, I told him the same things but coming from someone else lit a fire under him. He is now on target to graduate next June no problem.

Not having to grade his papers and keep records frees up my time to work with the younger siblings!
Free books, grading services, computer and internet access is also helpful to spend $ from the ed budget on great supplementals and extra curricular activities AND now gas for the tank

Gwen

To be informed, you'd want to check into your support group's 'policy' on charter/cyberschool. A Christian support group here in AZ will not allow participation by students who are using the cyber/charter school programs because the cyberschool is not considered 'homeschooling'. I'm sure this is just an individual instance and not an across the country policy. Just something to be aware of.

We heartily recommend Institute for Excellence in Writing-even though we used Mother of Divine Grace, we needed the extra teacher-helps which IEW dvd's offered me. It involved watching and reading a few evenings during the summer and fall for me to get the hand of the program but once I was able to do that, it all meshed beautifully and quite easily since writing was a giant concern for our family, especially teaching writing. GOd bless. D

How many of us honestly have enough time to participate in 'support' groups on a regular basis? What kind of Christian 'support' group doesn't support home education?

I would hope that a family would make an education decision based upon what is best for their child and family NOT what a support group might think about the family's method(s)!

With the economy and winter heating issues on the horizon cyber chater schooling may be the only way for many families to continue to home educate their children and keep them fed, warm and healthy.

Gwen

This is a good article at HSLD. Thanks for sharing it. The strong focus of the article with HSLD is freedom of choice public vs. homeschooling as well as the potential negative impact of cyber charters on homeschooling. I would argue that vouchers and charters (cyber or otherwise) allow more options for families to choose from based upon their needs (support, financial, etc.). Which does not limit anyone's freedom but increases opportunities. More converts have been won over to the benefits of home education as a result of cyber charter options across the country.

This is especially true in cases where families would have never considered homeschooling their children BUT jump into home education with a cyber charter (I've meet dozens). They often opt for this option because of the support and limited expenses. These have been families who drop to one income cold turkey and have no confidence that they can deliver what their kids need academically and pay their bills. They become new converts to home education. These families have been truly blessed by having the opportunity to regain control of their families from the brick and mortar mess. As a result most of them have become very vocal advocates for all forms of home education! Yes, homeschooling and cyber charters fall under different laws but I have yet to meet one cyber charter family who hasn't also an advocate of non-invasive homeschooling laws.

My family educates under both laws and I have found benefits and detractions with both in my state. BUT we continue to have a wonderful experience educationally under both laws. I am thankful we have the freedom for these options. We have been blessed!

My husband is disabled, and I am the breadwinner for our family this year. His working fulltime this year just about did him in, and he is going to have to take it easy this year. I am very grateful for these charter schools as a back-up, as in our situation, where we really do need help with keeping our homeschool up and running. We have experience with private homeschools whose invasion into our privacy rivaled that of the government! So, I think the key is to stay in charge of your child's education, whatever you end up doing. Our daughter was picked in a limited lottery situation, and we said, well, if God wants us to do this, she'll get accepted. And she did! She lives in a secular society, and we can use these secular materials to teach her about subversive writings and the like, and what a good Catholic response to it is. I actually had a teacher in my secular high school that taught me this as well, to be aware of bias and question it. I had teachers in Catholic school try to teach me things against the Church's teaching, and I had Catholic relatives try to do the same, including in my own immediate family! I think the HSLDA would have done well to support the charter school families and bring the cases to court, to argue for subsidiarity and for the parents' right to be the educators of their children. By staying out of it, they are just letting the other side win.
All of this said, I wish there was a Catholic cyber school that had sufficient funding to support Catholic homeschoolers, to pay for most if not all of the materials, as well as a set system like K12 that would help keep you organized.

Hi,

Just as encouragement, I was a past homeschooler who wanted to go to school in 9th grade. Anyway, I stayed home, graduated from highschool in 3 years, took college placement testing (scored 99%), took the national NET (nursing entrance exam) and scored 91% on that. I have straight A's in college so far. And I started out in grade school with 2 subjects : Math and Phonics until 4th grade! Then I wasn't considered on my actual grade level until 9th grade. RELAX! The subjects repeat each year! I was very behind in English until high school then only took 2 "grammar and spelling courses" and am considered "ahead" in college.

Also, HOMESCHOOLING is NOT A FAILURE if you learn your FAITH!!!!!!!! That's all that matters!

I hope this helps...
~Catherine