Want to hear something shocking? I do not teach my teens their school lessons. You heard that right… I do not teach my teens their history, geography, math, science, grammar, spelling, logic, Spanish or any other school subject.
But you may be asking, Don’t you homeschool your kids all the way through high school? And the answer is… well, sort of. You see, I don’t need to teach my teens anything because they have learned to teach themselves. They have become completely independent in terms of learning their school subjects.
They memorize scripture on their own (however, they do recite it for us).
They teach themselves their history, science, grammar and spelling lessons.
They take classes outside of our home and are completely responsible for their homework.
They are teaching themselves higher math that I never learned.
They are utilizing the local community college for advanced classes.
In fact, here is how our school day goes:
9:00 – We meet together as a family to discuss the days events, coordinate rides, worship, pray, etc.
9:30 – I read to my middle two daughters, while my oldest daughter watches the two little ones. My son works on his biology assignments for a class that he is taking with a group of homeschoolers.
10:00 – I work with my youngest school-aged daughter on her math lesson, while my middle daughter takes care of the youngest two (ages 4 and 1). Oldest DD works on her college Spanish assignment and DS works on his pre-calculus assignment.
10:30 – I work with my middle daughter on her math lesson, while my 3rd daughter watches the youngsters. Teens are busily working on their math and science school work.
11:00 – Son’s turn to watch the littlest ones, while oldest daughter gets ready for class at CC. Middle girls finish up their school work and then turn to their piano lessons.
Noon – 3rd and 4th graders are finished with their school work, while teens head off to various classes and finish up school work in the CC library or when they return home.
As you can see from our schedule, I do not teach my teens. They teach themselves. However, I am available for questions and schedule in times for discussions. I want to hear about what they are reading; I want to help them formulate their opinions on something they have read or heard; I want to help them debrief about a book or lecture or assignment they have finished.
My teens are very helpful around the home and are active in their community. I am enjoying the fruit of spending quality time training them and teaching them when they were younger. I am also enjoying the benefit of having them home most of the time because I cherish their company and appreciate their involvement in my life and in the lives of their siblings.
Are you homeschooling your teens? Are you considering it? Are you looking for some guidance so that you can launch sons and daughters from your home who are well-prepared for life? Do you just need a little confidence, resources and tools to help you KNOW that you are doing things right?
Check out Upper Level Homeschool for a free 5 day mini-class. We also offer a paid 13 week course that will show you all of the ins and outs of homeschooling your high schooler.
http://www.upperlevelhomeschool.com
This entry was posted on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 4:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
