The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling High School



Summary:  More than 100 resources for homeschooling high school, to plan to homeschool your teens, assign high school credit, find your homeschool high school curriculum, and more.   Note - This post may included affiliate links to products that we love and have used or would use in our  own homeschool. Please see my disclosure policy.



Are you thinking about homeschooling your teens through high school?

Or are you already doing that at your house?


I am delighted to be given the opportunity to put together an ultimate guide for you, all about homeschooling high school.  Besides preschool, being home with my daughter through the high school years was my most favorite time in our homeschool.  Not that it was all rainbows and roses, but it was so worth it!

101 Reasons to Homeschool High School
Homeschooling our teens gives us so many benefits, not the least of which is how it builds up family relationships.  

It also gives us a chance to be there, side by side, which our teens are reaching out, exploring the world as almost young adults, and beginning to find their own paths.

Homeschooling high school is so much easier with all the resources that we now have on the web!

All it takes is an understanding of the special requirements of high school, such as making transcripts, doing regular record keeping, and figuring out how to assign our teens their high school credit.


Once the particulars are figured out, then it is all about encouraging our teens, choosing their curricula with them, and helping them get going with their studies, which is what we homeschoolers are already so familiar
with.

So today, let's start with the particulars, including: planning, record keeping, assigning credits, choosing curricula, and making homeschool transcripts.

The nitty gritty of high school.

Then we are free to look at the fun of the high school years, by discussing things like;
 - making our own courses
- doing high school electives
- and celebrating graduations.

Then, at the end of this guide, I saved space for encouragement for us mamas, and also some for our teens, as they work to develop their self esteem.

And for those who have college bound teens, the last section of this guide is for you.

So let's get started with some tips for planning, from myself and many other veteran homeschool moms with tons of experience in the high school years.


1.  PLANNING to HOMESCHOOLING HIGH SCHOOL


Knowing a few key tips will make your high school planning easy!  Here are a number of posts that will help you in your planning.

 4 Steps to Planning High School at Home
Abundant Life Archives/ 10 Day Series on High School  by Marianne, mom to 7 teens with dyslexia

Curriculum Choice High School Board  by Curriculum Choice Authors

Homeschooling High School with Confidence by BJ's Homeschool

My book - Homeschooling High School with College in Mind - is great for planning and includes 13 planning printables, to make it easy,


Next, let's talk about record keeping and high school credits....



2.  RECORD KEEPING AND HIGH SCHOOL CREDITS



3 Ways to High School Credit
3 Ways to High School Credit.

In high school, recording those activities is important, as they then become high school credits.

It is not hard to do!  There are 3 SIMPLE ways to assign high school credit.

How to Tackle Grading by Heidi

How a Homeschool Mom Grades a High School Essay by Tina

How to Prepare Your Student for College Writing - by Betsy, in my book Homeschooling High School with College in Mind below.  Now let's look at resources for choosing curricula...



3.  CHOOSING YOUR HOMESCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM



BJ's Curriculum Choices for High School 
BJ's Frugal Choices for High School Curriculum

101 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Annie Kate

Choosing High School Curriculum - High School Resources - Curriculum Choice a

High School Homeschool Video Courses
by Tricia

Geography Resources 
by Heidi

Of course, there are those transcripts to make, but doing that doesn't have to be daunting.....and here is some help for doing them... 



4.  HOMESCHOOL TRANSCRIPTS



BJ's Guide to Transcripts 
BJ's Guide to Transcripts 
by BJ's Homeschool
Including guidelines from HSLDA
website

Now that we've talked about the important details for planning high school at home, let's look at some of the fun things that can be a part of it too, for sure.  Another great option for high school courses is to make some of your own!


5.  MAKING YOUR OWN HOMEMADE COURSES


One of the most fun memories I have are when we created our own homemade courses.

Making your own High School
English Course
Making your own High School English Course



Have you seen all the resources from 7 Sisters Homeschool?  They offer frugal NO busywork ebook curricula from 20 + veteran homeschool moms.

They have high school courses in 
English
History
High School Electives 
Career Exploration
Health
Consumer Math
Literature Guides, and more.


Do you have a teen who is interested in art?  Or one who just wants to try their hand at it for an elective?

"Video Art Course -
Semester 2." 
 

Tricia Hodges, a veteran homeschooler also, at You Are An Artist, offers a large variety of art courses, taught by a professional artist, including video courses as well.  

This year, she has released two semester long courses, perfect for an art elective.

Most colleges require a fine arts credit, and here's an easy way to get that done, while having lots of fun, too!


Last year, she released two semester long courses, perfect for an art elective. 

She also offers Semester 1 set up for fall subjects, like autumn leaves, holiday scenes, etc, plus lots of art books, on a variety of subjects, like historical sites, etc.

Now that we are talking about art, that leads right into looking at more high school electives....


7.    HIGH SCHOOL ELECTIVES



Homeschool High School Creatively -
 100 Electives
 
Homeschool High School Creatively - with Electives (100 Electives List)


Photography As A High School Elective by Heidi

Homeschooling a Horse Lover by Cindy

High School Electives and College by Betsy - Included in my book -



But what does high school really look like at home?


8.  A DAY IN THE LIFE - HIGH SCHOOL



High School Homeschool Parent Teacher Conference by Tricia

The Usual Hayhem by Middle Way Mom

A Day In the Life at Hodgepodge by Tricia

A Day in the Life by Shelly, family of 9 kiddos




Awe, the fun of looking back on  my daughter's senior year, and all the fun of watching her graduate at our state homeschool graduation ceremony.

Below is more on that, and also a bunch of ideas for ways to mark this important milestone in your high schooler's life.



9.  CELEBRATING GRADUATION


10.  ENCOURAGEMENT




What about college?  Can your homeschool grad go to college?  Yes, of course!


11.  THE COLLEGE OPTION 



Do you have a teen who is thinking about college?

I did and you probably know that mine is in college now.

Boy, did I worry way too much about that, when she was in high school.  But I needn't have!

The colleges are getting more homeschool friendly each year.  That is the trend.



Here's more about our story, going from homeschool to college, with updates from my daughter's college experiences there.

 How First Quarter Went at College  What was is really like?

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,


 Betsy

Betsy is mom to her college grad whom she homeschooled from preK through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool about the early yearshigh schoolcollege and she offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting.


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Updated 2021
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