Many people worry about homeschooling highschoolers because teaching subjects like Chemistry, Trigonometry, and Calculus is so hard. Compared to the full job of homeschooling a high school students, a few AP courses don’t scare me in the least. If you really want to be scared, look at what I am dealing with on a regular basis as a mom homeschooling teens.
1. I am homeschooling TEENAGERS. Teenagers are tough to deal with so closely on a daily basis. When I was homeschooling little kids, it was all fun and smiles all the time. We laughed. We played. We learned. It was that simple. Now that they are adult sized with teenage hormones and moods, its not all laughter and games. They challenge you. They push you. Fortunately, they’re mine and at the end of the day, I love them unconditionally so each new day is a do-over with all the stress of the previous day forgotten.
2. I am their guidance counselor too. It’s a hard job too. I have do research constantly to find out what scholarships are available. What colleges are a good fit for my kids. What course they should take next to get where they want to be. I find that I spend almost as much time each day researching and learning as they spend doing math.
3. I am teaching them to learn on their own. Going back to Chemistry and Trigonometry, there are some things I can’t teach them. Therefore I am teaching them to find resources and to teach themselves. When and if they get stuck, I will provide a tutor, but I do have to save my tutoring dollars for when it is really needed, so getting them to research on their own is very important.
4. I am trying to force independance. In addition to dealing with moods and ‘tudes, guiding their way, and getting them to self-teach, I am also tasked with also raising them up well as adults and pushing them out on their own in many ways. I am not exactly kicking them out of the house just yet, but because they spend so much time with me, I actually feel that I have to do less for them and put more effort into making them independant than the next parent.
If you liked this you should also read my blogs at the home blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
Also read:
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.