high school

Dear Friends,

Christmas is coming! Carols are in the air! Your children are busy making up their Christmas wish lists. The planning of parties, family holiday dinners, and Christmas cookie swaps may be crowding out the thoughts of English, history, and math. It's that time of the year! If you are already overwhelmed by the holidays, don't feel any obligation to add one more item to your plate. Instead, schedule down time on your calendar and spend some quiet moments meditating on the wonder and gift of Christmas, specifically, Immanuel, God with us.

BUT...if you would like to introduce the idea that "it's more blessed to give than to receive" as part of your Christmas traditions, this month we want to suggest ways you and your children can bring hope and God's love to those near and far away who are less fortunate. Of course, we are not saying each family must incorporate all of these ideas, but you may elect to choose one to try, or come up with your own idea to give a blessing. As homeschooling...

Dear Friends,

For many parts of the U.S., February is the snowiest, coldest month of the year with many days without sunshine. That may mean lots of indoor, togetherness time! Homeschool families often consider this a positive since one of the reasons for homeschooling is to build close family relationships. So this month we want to focus on how to dispel the dreariness of the dark days of winter while encouraging family unity. (For our readers in sunny California, Florida, and Hawaii--we are now accepting invitations to come for a visit!)

KEEPING IT LIGHT

Interjecting creativity into your teen's day will spice up his life, and you will be surprised at how it will deepen your relationship with one another. Don't let the academics obscure the necessity of spending quality time with your teen and getting to know him better through times of fun, times of open communication, and times of "being there." For most of us, the tendency will be to emphasize the academics--but often it is during...

Dear Friends,

With the beginning of a new school year, we reflect back on our personal homeschooling days with a variety of emotions. We remember the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!" Can anyone relate?

As we traveled to homeschool conferences and had the opportunity to meet many of you, some of you shared with us, "You two are so real--you're just like us." It's true, we are. That's how we know that September may be a good month to share with you an encouraging word.

More than likely, there will be days over the next school year when you may feel discouraged, weary, fearful, or depressed. When you do (notice we didn't say "if you do"--are we pessimists or realists?), we hope you keep in mind some basic truths that will reorient you and keep you going. The following thoughts are based on familiar hymns and choruses.

In His Time

Beginning the year lifting your voices in prayer and praise will definitely cause your family to rejoice in...

Dear Friends,

With Christmas festivities immersing you this month, we thought it would be an excellent time to step away from providing practical high school tips. Instead, we've asked Elizabeth Smith, wife of HSLDA President Mike Smith, to give you some words of encouragement to finish this year strong and look towards 2009 with hope.

Elizabeth takes over from here.

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect [at peace with or loyal] toward him..." II Chronicles 16:9 KJV

I find this verse one of the most personally inspiring verses in the entire Bible. Let me share how it became such a powerful life verse for me in the hope that it will bless you as well.

I have been speaking about homeschooling teens for over 20 years. I have a list entitled "Ten Reasons to Homeschool Teens" that has been shared at conferences and in magazines across the country. Several years...

Dear Friends,

As we promised last month, our goal for this newsletter is to get your noses out of the books, the lesson plans, and the activity calendars! We know it's only September, and you probably have fresh inspiration for another school year, but is it enough to last through the end of the school year, the end of next month, or just until the end of this week?

As former homeschool moms, we know that the day to day work of homeschooling and all of the details and deadlines you must deal with can be overwhelming. You may already be tempted to take your focus off of your long-term goals for homeschooling. We'd like to stop you in your tracks and concentrate for the rest of this newsletter on...eternity.

For readers who share our Christian beliefs, we hope the rest of the article serves to encourage and spur you on in your homeschooling. For other readers who do not share our views, we graciously ask that you consider reading on and gather the nuggets of truth that resonate with you.

Let's look at...

Dear Friends,

This edition of the high school newsletter is most likely reaching your inbox during your first or second week of school. For some of you...so far so good. For others, you may be thinking that it is going to be a very long year! Regardless of how your school year has begun, we'd like to share some tips that hopefully will keep you going strong throughout the year.

Practice Flexibility

We encourage taking time to plan everything from lessons, to field trips, to science experiments, and more! But, we caution you against rigidly adhering to those plans if circumstances suggest that something should be changed.

For example, although most students will include physical education (PE) during the early years of high school, you may elect to delay adding PE to your teen's high school plan until the later years if time is short due to the arrival of a new baby in the family or an unexpected illness. Or, it may prove helpful to delay teaching a co-op class right now because extra time...

Dear Friends,

It has been 15 years since I completed homeschooling and my last child entered college. As I look back over those years, there were special blessings I received from the Lord that I want to share with you. The first thing I want to say is that I am really pulling for you. I know you face things you never counted on when you set out on this journey. There are joys and disappointments, and for some, tragedies. The one thing I can assure you is that the Lord is with you--every day, every step. My prayer is that you will realize His presence and trust in His guidance.

My first and persistent awareness in those early years was that I was inadequate to the task. I felt like I was entering a great unknown. The outcome was so important, but there were no guarantees that I was even on the right track. It occurred to me more than once that I might be damaging my children for life. There were no studies or research about the success of homeschooling. I had never heard of scope and sequence and just figured I needed to turn a...

Dear Friends,

We love February. Being the shortest and often coldest month, we don't regret that it flies by if it brings us closer to warmer weather. February does not make you wait...but as you homeschool your teens there may be  circumstances and people that cause you to wait. What are you waiting for?

• A chance to read the last chapter of a book you began over a year ago?
• An end to your homeschooling days? (On some days it gives new meaning to "come quickly, Lord Jesus," doesn't it? :)
• A wandering teen to get on the right path or simply to show some motivation?
• A spouse to be more involved in what goes on at home?
• A result from a medical test?
• An answer to a "stale" prayer that your heart thinks has gone unnoticed?

Our goal this month is to help you gain a new perspective on waiting that will bless your homeschooling days. With help from Andrew Murray's classic book, "Waiting on God," let's peer into the...

Dear Friends,

September can be a time to turn over a new leaf. For some, the biggest challenge of homeschooling is the  academics, but for many it's the dynamics. You may be hoping and praying that you and your students will relate well to one another during this school year. Good idea! Here are some practical suggestions to get your homeschool off to a good start.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

We encourage you to begin the new school year by being a bit crazy! Fill your home with laughter, joy, and thankfulness. Buy a joke book to share with your teens, read funny quotes together, or keep a folder of trivia. If your high school at home is becoming too serious, lighten up! Hide your teen's favorite candy bar in his history book or give him an occasional day off school for a sun day. Why not? Public schools have snow days. Treat your teen to an ice cream cone for an especially fruitful day of school or tape a note to his calculator that simply says "I'm crazy about you!"...

Dear Friends,

April is a season of renewal and growth as winter comes to an end. Spring also is a time when children often get antsy (and parents too!) to see the end of the school year, counting the weeks until they complete their course work.

As one school year wraps up, you inevitably find yourself beginning to think about courses for next year. In this process, you can find guidance by taking note of special interests your children are developing, and think about how to foster those interests through projects or courses in the coming year. This month we offer some suggestions on projects and courses of study that fit closely with your students' highest level of interest--where they have the greatest desire to learn and stretch their knowledge base.

Before we begin though, here's a bit of friendly advice from two former homeschooling moms. Although specialized courses of study may be tempting to consider, you may only have the time, energy, and resources to pull off one, two, or three courses--or in some cases...