7 Tips for Showcasing Your Student to College Admissions

Get your homeschooled high schooler into college, with their homeschool transcript.  #homeschoolhighschool #getintocollege 

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.

Homeschool transcripts are being well accepted by colleges, especially when two important things come along for the ride -Good course descriptions and great reference letters.  

This time of year, a few years ago, we were finishing our transcripts and starting on our college applications.  Are you facing this task with your teen this fall, or just wanting to find out how to do it....... for later? 

As many of you know, my daughter is now a rising junior in college. We were so nervous about applying to college when she was a senior.  It helped to research the college websites, and talk to my friends who had already applied. 

But the whole thing turned out to be not such a big deal.  

And I am so glad that we homeschooled all the way, and my daughter still is close to us, and comes to us with any concerns.  It really helped to build up our relationships as a family.

Today, I have gathered up tips for course descriptions, reference letters, and more, to help showcase your child's accomplishments, in the best way.....

 I have included a few pictures of my kiddo just for fun. Here's one showing her as a 5th grader, and one at her first day at college.

Here are my latest tips to help you with your college application process.

1.  I recommend making your transcript just one page. 

The colleges that we applied to wanted just a one page transcript, with the course descriptions attached in a separate document.  More info on making homeschool transcripts is here. 

2.  What about activities, volunteering, awards, etc?

• There is a place for these on the actual college application itself.  It does not need to go on the transcript.  I found that the colleges liked seeing the activities, etc, on the application.
• 
  

You can list your teen's activities, leadership, awards, honor society, volunteer hours, jobs held on the application itself.

3.  Choosing a Homeschool Name - I recommend using a homeschool name, like Jones Academy, as opposed to Live and Learn Homeschool, as it gives your homeschool more formal, respected tone for the transcript.

4.  The homeschool transcript should include all the courses taken,  at home, and any outside courses, too.  That way, your homeschool transcript serves as the clearinghouse for all of your teen's high school coursework.  This gives the college admissions officers one place to see everything, at a glance. And that is what they are looking for.

5.  Request transcripts from all outside sources as well, such as community college, any online courses taught by someone else, etc.  Be sure that these are sent directly to each colleges that your student is applying to.  I found that it was easier to have them snail mailed to the colleges, than to try to upload them onto the application itself.

6.  What are course descriptions anyway, and do I need to include them?

Many colleges request that you also send in course descriptions, as you know.  Sometimes this can be simply a sentence but some colleges may want a short paragraph. 

Note that not all colleges require course descriptions – please check with the college in question.  

HSLDA has a nice article on Creating a Course Description.  They also have sample descriptions here.

I have a chapter on course descriptions in my new e-book on Amazon, and the link is at the end of this post, if you are interested.  It includes a printable for keeping all those details, as you go, to make writing course descriptions easier.

7.  And finally, including strong reference letters can be key to college admissions, too....

The common application for college usually requires a letter from a teacher and the school counselor.  But for homeschoolers, we can often use letters that come from coaches, co-op teachers, or other leaders in our student's activities. 

Some families write their own counselor letter, and that is an option, too.  Moms talk about doing just that in the yahoo email group below.

Here is a helpful email group called hs2coll@yahoogroups.com -  Many of the families there used multiple recommendation letters for their college applications, and got into a wide variety of colleges.

I have a printable with a letter for requesting college references available in my e-book, with many more downloadable planning printables there as well.

"Betsy's book is a terrific resource for homeschooling parents who are planning to send their teens to college.  As a homeschool upperclassman advisor, I can attest that the information is spot on.  Also the book is chock full of resources with links and lots of helpful forms.  Be sure you are ready to take notes while you read!"

              .......review by Vicki Tillman, from www.7sisters.com

I am so glad that we homeschooled high school, as it gave my daughter a solid foundation, as she explores, spreads her wings, and learns on her college campus.  I can't wait to see where it will lead her....

What other tips would you add to this list?  Thanks for stopping by, and I encourage you to leave a comment or two. 

Have you seen my facebook group called Homeschooling Through High School?  Join us!

And here's my book... 

...sharing how I helped my teen get into all of the colleges she applied to, with scholarship offers.

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind - 2nd edition, 

For more info: Homeschooling High School with 

College in Mind - 2nd Edition

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

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Copyright, 2019 
All Rights Reserved

Homeschool High School Electives -

There is so much more to homeschooling high school than core studies. Our teens want to explore the world around them, follow their interests, and delve into new subjects, as their hearts lead them. 

And that's where the high school electives come in!  

There's nothing better than watching your child or teen delve into a subject of interest, and watch that wonderful spark as it is ignited!  And homeschooling is the ideal arena for our teens to begin to find and develop their special interests....through their high school electives.  


Here's what we did for activities and electives:  

I encouraged my daughter to explore her interests and to try out different activities that she might be interested in.  Isn't that what homeschooling is about anyway?  

Assisting in a Science Class

In middle school, my daughter was particularly interested in science, so when an opportunity to assist in a science class,we set that up for her.  My daughter developed confidence through this experience.  

The  teacher helped her to assist with the science labs, and lead one class by herself each semester.  She liked doing this, but decided that she didn't want to become a teacher after all!  But that she wanted to explore being a leader in another way..., and maybe not in science...

Irish Stepdancing

My teen started irish dance in 3rd grade, and then continued with it through high school.  This was an interest of hers, and her friend was in the class.  

She took irish stepdancing until 17, then took a modern dance class.  Modern dance was also a help in our homeschool, as it was a great way to get in PE.  These activities can be counted for PE credit!

Video Production   

My daughter wanted to learn how to make her own videos, so we just made our own course for that.  It was easy. We just kept track of the hours that spent researching and making videos. 

It was the most fun activity that I had with my teen during her senior year!  It developed her skills in photography and videomaking, and  helped her to develop her organizational skills as well.  


Volunteering

My daughter loved volunteering at our local Museum of Flight, for a couple of summers.  She worked with others to make a video, and helped with their camp program.  Volunteering is such a great way for teens to gain experience, and our college choices loved to hear about her volunteer efforts.  

This experience included counselor training, which got my teen interested in developing her leadership skills further.  There are so many places for a teen to volunteer.  Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and community Parks Departments also offer many counselor-in-training programs.


Youth and Government

When my daughter wanted to develop her leadership skills, we heard about a Youth and Government delegation that was led by a homeschooling mom, in our area.  

So my daughter joined,  and ran for office, starting with secretary, then later served as committee chair, then VP. What great experience for a teen!

She also went, with her delegation, to district and state events, where she got to serve in other roles as well.  

All dressed up to participate in the Youth Mock Legislature.

Teen Pack is another great leadership opportunity, which offers classes, workshops, and a national assembly, to equip teens to become leaders in politics, and in the community.

Speech and Debate - The NCFCA is a Christian organization that offers a variety of competitive opportunities to learn and practice speech and debate.

There are so many places to volunteer and learn leadership skills in our communities.  

Parks Depts. have youth boards, which give teen a chance to give input to their recreation programs. Then there is the YMCA, YWCA, Scouts, church and co-op activities.   

What are your teens interested in?  What are your favorite high school electives? 

Are you already homeschooling your teen?  Below is my guide to homeschooling high school, with tips for getting into college, too.

Homeschooling High School with College in Mind - 2nd edition, 
Amazon 

For more information on homeschool high school electives, click here, for the Authoritative Guide to Electives for Homeschooling High School, full of links to frugal high school elective courses for your teen.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

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Just encouragement for your homeschool in your inbox. 

Building Up Our Teens through Speech and Debate

My college junior just is finishing up her leadership program this year. It is called Global Leadership, and she is delighted to be in this program. 

Getting into it as a freshman involved two interviews, references, and the like.  

Her interest in leadership began when she was homeschooling high school...

First, she wanted to try a speech class, to learn how to do public speaking.  And it went on from there...

Today, I'd like to share how my daughter developed speech and debate, with 2 resources for speech and debate:

1.  Speech 1 - Public Speaking and Practical Life Skills 

This fun and creative Christian based course was put together by my friend, Vicki Tillman of 7 Sisters Homeschool.

It is has a Christian world view. And is very encouraging. 

Speech 1 includes:

•  everything you need to help your teen develop the confidence to speak publicly 
• 15 lessons which can easily be expanded to make it a full English credit.

If your teen is interested in a Christian or other college, this can be a great addition to their transcript.

I am so glad that she has developed confidence in public speaking. 

There are so many options in the community, for teens!  

2.   NFSCA Christian Speech and Debate Progam 

Another great option for public speaking is the NFSCA Speech and Debate Program.  The program offers a nationwide  program in public speaking, specifically for homeschoolers.  They offer training, qualifying tournaments, and a national championship.  Many of the families in our area have participated in this activity. 

As homeschoolers, we're already expert in following our children's interests. And I just followed my teen's interests...what a joy to be able to do that.

Sunday was our youth group service.....

My 17 year old daughter got up in front of our  congregation and spoke with confidence.

She built her confidence through different homeschool activities throughout her growing up years.

But speech and debate were key for her for developing that self confidence.

Now she is a marketing coordinator for an engineering company.  And loves her work.

Homeschooling is the best way to help our teens develop their God given gifts and special interests. 

What are your favorite activities for your teen?  

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,  

Want to stay in touch?

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2024

Homeschooling Kids with ADHD - Tips from an OT Mom

Summary:  Expert tips for homeschooling your child with ADHD or sensory issues.  Here's how we did that with ours, who now is a college grad.  #homeschooladhd #homeschoolelementary #homeschool2e

Do your kids struggle with attention issues?  

Or are they very active, have difficulty concentrating, or show signs of ADD, or ADHD?

When my daughter was young, she was a very active child who had ADHD tendencies.  (She was also 2e)  She had difficulty concentrating on verbal directions. She also had sensory processing issues, and was a sensory seeking child.  

My husband and I worked to meet her needs as best as we could.  I used my OT background, and experience with special needs kids, to find ways to meet her learning needs.

Homeschooling was ideal for her, as it allowed us to adapt things to the way she learned best.  With her difficulty with auditory processing, ie concentrating on verbal directions, listening to the teacher talk in public school, would have been all wrong for her. We wanted her to have the daily support of learning at home.

We did a number of things to facilitate her learning, and through the years, her issues became less and less of a problem.  How we went about homeschooling her, when she was young... that is what I would like to talk about today, starting with how we set up our days.

How we set up our Days

My little one did better with short learning periods, such as 15 or 20 minutes at a time.  I gave her a break between each session, where she played, watches an educational show on tv, etc....  But when she was on a roll, then, of course, we continue.  And we did a A LOT of hands on projects, too.

Kids with attention issues often do better some structure. My daughter liked that I wrote out our schedule, which she decorated. That way she knew what was to happen next.  This can be a comfort for kids with anxiety issues, too.

She also liked to earn stickers, which she chose each week or two from the book store.  Earning stickers gave her a concrete reward. We always went over her sticker chart at the end of the week, to give her extra attention for her efforts.   Not every child is a sticker kid, but ours sure was.

Next, I'd like to talk about following verbal directions.....

Following Verbal Directions

My daughter struggled with verbal directions.  She tended to have difficulty remembering what was said.  Whenever there are directions to be given, she played with a small toy. This helped to lessen anxiety and improve concentration.

We also used a lot of hands-on activities, and found that handwork was a great way to teach concentration and increase attention span.

When there were more complex directions to be given, I would say the direction first, then ask her to repeat it.  Later, when she was older, she preferred to write down any directions that were given. That technique helped her all the way through middle school.

For her lessons, I set her work up so that she could learn visually. She loved using workbooks, following the written instructions. Oak Meadow was one of our favorite curriculum publishers.

During our days, active breaks were very popular!

Taking Active Breaks 

My daughter loved one to climb all over the couch, and do handstands off of it.  She loved spinning in her dad's desk chair and jumping on our small trampoline.  We even found a nice plastic spinner at a consignment store.  I watched how much spinning was done, so as to stay within her limits.  

During our homeschool day, we built in active breaks often, to meet her sensory needs.... running around the backyard, spinning in our spinner, jumping on a small trampoline, and doing cartwheels across the living room.

These were done in between lessons.  Sometimes we would also use a large exercise ball. Bouncing on the ball was very popular for study breaks.  Great sensory input! 

Experiment with your child, and see what kind of sensory activities are best for them.  If this is hard to figure out, consulting with an OT with experience in Sensory Integration may be a help.

Some kids do well actually sitting on a big ball to do a lessons or two.  Sitting on a ball may help some kids focus and do better  Click here for an article on that.

The important thing for us was to fit in these active breaks, and then help our daughter to move back into the learning activity at hand.

Then, sometimes, there was the opposite need....

Taking Restful Breaks

When there was anxiety of some sort, and a need to calm, my daughter would grab a blanket, and a book.  Sometimes she spent some quiet time with our cat, sometimes it was time for a quiet read together on the couch....for snuggle time.  

We found that providing deep pressure, as explained below, helped our daughter to calm and relax her sensory system.

Blankets and Vests

Blankets can provide deep pressure for your kids, which could be very calming.  That's because it provides deep tactile pressure to the muscles and the joints.  Some kids even benefit from having a favorite weighted blanket,   

We just used a regular blankets, which my kiddo liked to stack up and let them rest on her lap. OT's can help with deciding what kind of weighted blanket to use for your child, if you have any questions.

How to make a DIY weighted blanket has an entire weighted blanket tutorial, by Maryann at Mama Smiles blog.

Other kids may benefit from wearing weighted vests, which also may help for calming.  

"Weighted vests provide constant even, deep pressure input to your child when his body is craving this important calming and organizing proprioceptive input."  (www.sensory processingdisorder.com.) 

And finally, here are some ways that we were able to activities that helped to....

Turn Limitations into Strengths 

Since my daughter was so active, we started kid gymnastics classes when she was young.  It was a super great fit!  This helped us to turn her need for physical activity into a strength, and she loved it.  She continued with gymnastics for many years, building self esteem, physical strength and friendships along the way.

Then she tried an irish dance class...She loved learning the irish dance steps.  This became a great way for her to she develop direction following and listening skills. Since it involved physical activity, she was more comfortable, so following verbal directions was easier for her in this setting.  

And her listening skills improved, while she enjoyed participating and learning irish step dancing.  This is just one example of this.

Our daughter is now in college, and has no trouble following the teacher's verbal directions and lectures.  This has improved over the years, but if it doesn't....

Some kids benefit from the adaptations available for learning issues at their college, through the American Disabilities Act.  They are entitled to accommodations to allow them to succeed in college, if they have a diagnosed learning disability or learning issue.  

Most colleges have ADA or accommodations counselors who can be a great help or at least can be negotiated with, to get the needed note-taking help, tape recorders, extra time for testing, etc. 

While homeschooling, we can provide those arrangements for our kids/teens...

Isn't that one of the reasons that many of us with gifted/e2 kids, or kids with ADHD decide to try homeschooling?

I was recently asked to write for the top special education site on this topic.  I invite you to click 8 Tips for Homeschooling a Twice Exceptional Student for more ideas and encouragement.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is retired O.T, homeschool blogger, and most importantly is mom to her 2e college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school, college and 2e.  

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Copyright @ BJ's Homeschool 2023
All rights reserved.

Helping Struggling Readers Focus

Summary:  Here is a help that I found for children and teens who struggle with reading.  It is called the Reading Focus Cards and there is also an app that can be used on computers, too. It has already helped 1,000's of kids/teens.  #readingfocuscards #strugglingreaders


Do you have a child or teen who struggles with reading?

Do they forget what line they are on, or have trouble concentrating?  

Or does your teen get distracted by the other words on the page?

I have recently found out about a helpful and clever device that could help your reader, called the Reading Focus Cards (Patent 7,565,759).

These specially designed cards help eliminate distraction, and improve reading in a number of ways, by guiding your reader to focus on just the words at hand.  

This device has helped 1,000's of kids and teens with: 

-ADHD 
-dyslexia 
-autism 
-visual processing issues 
-and other learning issues.  

They are made to work with all kinds of books, from picture books to novels,  and come in two different sizes, with filters included.

Below is a picture of one of them.

The Reading Focus Cards are specially made with specially made filters to help the reader focus.  

They were developed by Mrs. Joan Brennan, a special education teacher who has worked with kids and teens for over 20 years.  She is a big supporter of homeschooling and started Brennan Innovators, LCC.  

With these tools, her challenged readers significantly improved a number of reading skills, including their:

-focus 
-tracking
-fluency
-reading rate
-comprehension 
-word attack
-and retention.

The way this reading tool works is simple.  

It is designed to train the reader to focus on individual words and text lines, guiding the eye appropriately from left to right. 

In this way, this educational tool helps promote more focus, improve important reading skills and eliminate distractions such as other text lines on a page and the white page backgrounds.

from Mrs. Brennan @ Focus and Read Blog, where there is much more information on the Reading Focus Cards and how to use them.

She also offers an app that works on computers.

To read more about that and how it helps with digital reading, please click here - Reading Focus Cards App. ((Patent 8,360,779) 

I have a complete review of the Reading Focus Cards on Tricia's site called The Curriculum Choice.

What have you found that helps your kids who struggle with reading?  Please share in the comments.

This post was shared on What to Read Wednesday and was featured!  Thanks!!

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved