Help! DS, 10th grade, now wants to be hs! Can I do it?

[lisabees]

For the record, I have never hs. Ds 13 will be hs starting in a few weeks. He is a struggling reader and I have spent months reading and researching and have a game plan.

Now, ds16, who is entering 10th grade has been asking to get hs for years. He is extremely bright, gets straight A's in all honors classes. He has always wanted to be more engaged in his learning, rather than being "shuttled like cattle" at public school.

Anyway, I finally feel like I have a good grasp on what to do for the 13 year old, but for a 10th grader who has dreams of going to Stanford? How easily is it to get into really good colleges as a homeschooler? How do I ensure that he is getting an excellent education, being a total newbie?

This son easily gets straight A's without studying more than 15 minutes. What a wake up call this will be. I'm scared that hs would either be the best thing for him...or the worst.

Help!

Lisa

[Laurie4b]

For the record, I have never hs. Ds 13 will be hs starting in a few weeks. He is a struggling reader and I have spent months reading and researching and have a game plan.

Now, ds16, who is entering 10th grade has been asking to get hs for years. He is extremely bright, gets straight A's in all honors classes. He has always wanted to be more engaged in his learning, rather than being "shuttled like cattle" at public school.

Anyway, I finally feel like I have a good grasp on what to do for the 13 year old, but for a 10th grader who has dreams of going to Stanford? How easily is it to get into really good colleges as a homeschooler? How do I ensure that he is getting an excellent education, being a total newbie?

This son easily gets straight A's without studying more than 15 minutes. What a wake up call this will be. I'm scared that hs would either be the best thing for him...or the worst.

Help!

Lisa

Many homeschooled students go on to prestigious universities. If your son is self-motivated, you're about 80% home. Let him do some of the research on what kind of education he wants, select courses, etc. Some people do all the high school homeschooling themselves; others utilize outside courses. If your state allows dual enrollment for high school students in community college courses, that can work really well. There are online courses and in many areas, homeschool co-ops. The biggest obstacle I know of for homeschooling moms of high schoolers is when the kids need a lot of prodding to get their work done. That doesn't sound like it's going to be the case with you; rather, it sounds like you'll both enjoy it. If it doesn't work after a semester of 10th grade, you can always re-enroll him in ps.

[MBH]

I absolutely agree with Laurie4b. If he is a fast learner, self motivated student, then he will be doing most of the work on his own.

My 10th grader is doing most of the work on her own. She and I work on SAT and ACt preparation using Princeton Review's Cracking SAT and ACT.

I check her exercies and tests. She does the rest. That's the way she likes it.

A good score on the PSAT will open the door to all kinds of scholarships. A good score on ACt and/or SAT will open the door to many universities. You don't even have to worry about AP exams. Not everyone takes them. AP exams will save your son time and money in college, but they are not a necessity.

I do believe that your son could do well on AP's if he chooses to go that route.

For foreign language, my daughter does Artes Latinae on CD-Rom. I check her tests. I am not her Latin teacher.

For example for French there is French in Action (many have spoken highly of it in highschool forum). A mother does not need to know French in order to grade french tests. The answer key will lay it out clearly.

You can really do this. Be encouraged and go for it.

[Therese]

Yes, you can do it and it may be even better for a bright student to be homeschooled than to be in a brick-and-mortar classroom. The reason is that you can set a pace that challenges him more easily than can teachers in a classroom; they have to teach to the pace of the average student in a given class but you can tailor your son's curriculum and pace to his individual ability and needs.

I know this works from experience: I have a very bright son (he earned a perfect score on the SAT the one and only time he took it) and one of the reasons we began homeschooling him is that, while he had a bright mind, he wasn't self-motivated and wasn't being challenged enough in a classroom setting. By homeschooling him, we held him accountable for working at the level he was capable of achieving and provided materials that kept him interested.

Regarding college admission, ithe scene is pretty friendly for homeschoolers these days. Most colleges have learned that homeschool graduates do well in college due to their solid study habits and skills. They are open to accepting qualified homeschool students and some even actively recruit them.

Have confidence! There's lots of assistance available for you.

[Chris in VA]

YES! I started with a K'er daughter and a 9th grade son.
Some suggestions--keep it organized, rigorous, and make him write til his hand falls off...just kidding on the writing part--but make him write a lot, because this and tests are about the only ways you can prove to the colleges that he's done good work at home.

Have you read WTM? It's really great because it lays everything out.

[Starr]

You can do it! It will be nice to have them both home.

[Ellie]

Just so you know, Stanford is very open to homeschoolers. Here is Stanford's policy (http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/requirements/home_school.html).

[lisabees]

Just so you know, Stanford is very open to homeschoolers. Here is Stanford's policy (http://www.stanford.edu/dept/uga/basics/requirements/home_school.html).

Wow! You are wonderful for sharing that with me. Off to forward the link to dh and ds!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement. Not sure if dh is on board yet. :glare:

Lisa

[living_2_learn]

For the record, I have never hs. Ds 13 will be hs starting in a few weeks. He is a struggling reader and I have spent months reading and researching and have a game plan.

Now, ds16, who is entering 10th grade has been asking to get hs for years. He is extremely bright, gets straight A's in all honors classes. He has always wanted to be more engaged in his learning, rather than being "shuttled like cattle" at public school.

Anyway, I finally feel like I have a good grasp on what to do for the 13 year old, but for a 10th grader who has dreams of going to Stanford? How easily is it to get into really good colleges as a homeschooler? How do I ensure that he is getting an excellent education, being a total newbie?

This son easily gets straight A's without studying more than 15 minutes. What a wake up call this will be. I'm scared that hs would either be the best thing for him...or the worst.

Help!

Lisa

You can do it!! Just research curriculum. Get some homeschooling high schooler resource books and go for it. There are soo many good curriculum's out there. I'm homeschooling my high schooler for her junior and senior year. The first year was rough,(junior) but we made it through. It won't be a piece of cake by any means, but it will be worth it. Just have faith and confidence in yourself and your kids and you will do fine.

As far as colleges go. I would research the ones they are interested in now and see what the requirements are. Alot of the one's I have looked at only require ACT scores or another type of learning assessment to see what classes they need to start out in. Most colleges from what I have read and heard, really like homeschooled kids.

These boards are a valuable resource too. I've learned alot just reading posts from other homeschoolers. Also, if you aren't a member of The Homeschool Library, you might wanna check it out. Alot of wonderful ladies over there that are friendly and give great advice whenever you need it.

Good luck on your journey!!

[Valerie(TX)]

if he is entring 10th grade, and is very bright, you should makes arrangements *immediately* for him to take the October PSAT. This will be the one chance he has to take a practice test before the jr. year test which counts, big time.

Even if he takes it "cold" with no more than a bit of passing familiarization with it, it would be good to take it, and there is no way it will hurt him. Be sure *not* to mark anything that would have his score sent to anyone. All though if he scores particularly well, he will begin receiving mail. :)

The CollegeBoard website will tell you which locations in your area are offering the PSAT, and you can call the one of your choice to make arrangements to have him take it there.

Best wishes...and yes, you can do this!!