Transcripts - What's the Buzz?

As I have talked with homeschoolers, it appears that one of the primary concerns of those considering the high school years is the issue of transcripts. The very term seems to strike fear into homeschoolers. Okay, I'll admit that as my oldest entered high school, I was not certain how I would create a transcript, but a friend walked me through the process, and perhaps now I can alleviate your fears by walking you through it as well.

First of all, there are two different aspects to preparing a transcript: 1) compiling the records, and 2) actually creating the document.

Compiling the records is best done yearly rather than in the final stages of the senior year. Think step by step, line by line, course by course. It is much easier to collect the information about the courses that your child completes when the material is fresh on your mind. For each of these courses, I recommend that you keep a list of what was studied, what materials were used, and how much time was devoted to the process. Your child's course may fall into a very common title such as Algebra 1, in which case you will likely have used a textbook and your child will have completed daily lessons. This is an easy course to record, since most textbook-based courses that are designed for two semesters of study would be considered 1 credit for a high school transcript. If you are recording a course of your own development, or one that is not designed in a traditional format, you will need to have your child maintain a log of the time spent on the coursework so that you can determine how much course credit to give - traditionally, 1 credit would represent 120-150 hours of work, but given the tutorial nature and efficiency of homeschooling, I lean toward the 120 hours for 1 credit. You should also create a brief description of each course and its goals as you compile your records.

The next step for transcripts is actually creating the form. This is easiest to do using the computer, but you still need to select the format you wish to use. Lest you be concerned that your transcript will not look like others, be assured that every school district produces a transcript that looks unique. Some transcripts show the coursework chronologically, and some group the coursework by general subject areas (such as English, Math, Science, and Electives). Either way is acceptable. Sonlight offers some helpful resources in Cafi Cohen's Homeschooler's College Admissions Handbook and Barb Shelton's Senior High: A Home-Designed Form+U+La. I have used Excel Spreadsheet software to format my transcripts and print them off. Barb Shelton offers a good suggestion ... when you print your transcript in black ink, have the principal (Dad?) sign it in blue ink so that it is clearly an original copy.

Now, when you are using a non-traditional program such as Sonlight Curriculum's literature-based Cores, you may wonder how it breaks down into courses. I'll post that in my next installment.

Homeschooling High School

High school at home? Most definitely! Many parents approach me with concerns about their ability to teach the high school subjects, but I assure them - and you - that it is not the daunting task that it may seem. There is a vast array of resources available to homeschooling parents of high school students - ranging from self-study courses, to tutoring settings, to traditional texts taught by parent or by video - and don't overlook the rewarding approach of learning alongside your student. I never thought I would be learning Latin at my age, but I have found it both fascinating and rewarding to study along with my sons. Now when we tour historical sites, it has become a game to translate the wording on the seals and official plaques we encounter.

Let's face it, many of us feel inadequate to "teach" high school because we don't remember much of the material that we were supposed to have learned in our high school years. That's really not a problem. As I've worked through courses alongside my sons, I've refreshed some knowledge, discovered new areas of interest and gained some new understanding of knowledge that I had retained. That was beneficial for me, but it also demonstrated that learning can be a life-long adventure.

You might find it helpful to hear input from several Sonlighters – including me – from the Staying the Course podcast on the Sonlight website. Listen and be encouraged!

By the way, the handsome graduate pictured above is my youngest and last one.

What started our homeschool journey?

Ask any homeschool parent what prompted them to begin investigating homeschooling and you will, no doubt, hear a unique story. Our reasons can be as varied as our taste in food and clothing, or our family backgrounds.

Our family's home school journey began in 1990. After teaching the middle of our three sons to read as a preschooler, we attended the local public school's Kindergarten orientation and realized very quickly that he would not be sufficiently challenged in their course of study. I had several friends who home schooled and encouraged me to consider it, so we decided to bring our oldest son home from public school and begin home schooling with a 3rd grader, a Kindergartener and a baby.

Of course, we started off with traditional textbooks because that was what I knew from my school experience. We managed through our first years this way, but frankly, it got boring...and quite challenging for me to cover all subjects for so many different grade levels. Eventually, I decided to leave the textbooks for a more hands-on learning approach and joined 4 families in a co-op using unit-based materials. Learning in this way was much more exciting, but it was not uncommon for me to spend at least 3 hours each weekend preparing for our lessons.

As our oldest son approached high school, I began looking for a method that would provide for this level of study, help me break away from a pile of textbooks for each child, and release me from extensive preparation time. I found my answer in Sonlight Curriculum. The Instructor's Guides minimize the need for preparation, we enjoyed reading much of our materials as a family, and instead of a pile of textbooks written for a captive audience, we enjoyed a collection of books that immersed our family in the environment and lives of the people who made history. Just months into our first year using Sonlight Curriculum, my children voted unanimously that it was the most fun they had had in school.

Now our oldest son has graduated from college, married and is starting a family, while the middle son is in college, and the youngest is finishing high school. For those of you who think that high school is simply too big an undertaking for the home environment, I would encourage you to reconsider. While we would all agree that it is best for parents to be home with preschoolers, I personally feel that our teenagers need us just as much. By home schooling in the high school years, you can help to shape your child's studies to prepare him for his future and provide stable support and guidance as your teen tests his or her wings.

You don't have to have the end figured out when you first start ... trust me, I certainly did not! In the beginning it was a one year at a time commitment. And then one day I realized that home school was a part of our lives, something I no longer needed to debate each summer. It has benefitted us as a family and as individuals, and enabled us to touch many lives in ways that we never would have had we followed the "norm" of shunting our children off to traditional school.