I'm homeschooling my son who's going into 7th grade and?

Question

it's possible I'll homeschool him next year in 8th. However, I have already decided that I'm going to send him to high school. I want him to get a diploma, not a GED, and I want him to be able to participate in all the clubs and everything that high school offers. I also want him to have the pleasure of walking at graduation, and to have the ceremony and everything. I'm worried though that when I do enroll him back into public school will they accept the two years of homeschooling he had? Will he be able to attend public high school when he's supposed to? How do I make sure he knows everything he should know for a placement test? I'm so worried that I might be putting my son behind by homeschooling him, that I'm considering not even doing homeschooling at all.

Answer 1

Although i do not have any children of my own, i was homeschooled for many years and also attended a highschool instaed of homeschooling. For one i don't tink you should worry about whether or not your son is learning everything he needs to learn. If you are sticking to the curriculum for the most part and he is in the year that he should be, then there should be no problems. I learned that when i went to highschool from homeschooling I was ahead of my classes b/c of the one on one time i had gotten from my "teacher" versus them having to figure it out and keep up with everyone. All schools are required to accept homeschooled children and not discriminate against them, before your son goes into a highschool he will probably be tested to make sure that he is at the same level as everyone else. You can contact your state's education department to ask about this test, and i would also suggest going to the highschool you are looking at for your son, explain that yo uwant him to attend next year and want to make sure he is getting everything he needs to be prepared. They will help you make sure that he has covered all of the basic neccesities needed to attend their school! Don't worry about whether or not you homeschooling your son is the right descision, your not alone in it and many people homeschool! YOu can even maybe find a website of homeschoolers in your area and ask some of them about your concerns. Good luck!

Answer 2

Take a deep breath and relax - you can do this. If you are worried about "not covering enough", you could use a "boxed" curricula (everything from one publisher, such as A Beka, Bob Jones, Alpha Omega SOS or LifePacs, Sonlight, etc.) Just remember, many have done this before you and you can, too! If you need support or encouragement, find a local homeschool group where you can chat with other homeschoolers (moms and kids). They're a GREAT resource during the first year.

Backing up a bit - to graduate from homeschool, he does NOT need to take the GED. There are NO states that require the GED to graduate from homeschool. Some states require the student to pass the state high school graduation exam (required of ALL graduating students, public or private). Many states will allow you to issue him a diploma. You need to find out what your state requires. This is another place where a local group comes in handy.

Although many (if not most) states will not allow homeschooled students to participate in public school activities, like sports, band, etc., many private schools WILL allow homeschoolers to participate in not only extracurriculars, but even take classes on an a-la-carte basis. Take some time over the next two years to see what's available where you live. There are also lots of co-ops and sports groups for homeschoolers (and, as homeschooling continues to grow, more will pop up!)

Take this one day at a time. You may find (over the next year or two) that you both enjoy homeschooling so much, you want to continue through high school ... and that's OK. Most homeschoolers are "only homeschooling this year, then we'll re-evaluate." You don't have to have all the answers right now. See how it goes, then decide.

Answer 3

I've gotta say...homeschooling may be an option for you to look into. I'm not saying that his school is bad, or that homeschooling is the only way to go, but his school (from what you've described) does not have his best interests at heart and is determined to follow the letter of the regulations no matter what. He obviously is not being served well by his school; you do have the option to find a program, either in a classroom or out, that meets his needs - both socially and academically.

Answer 4

Hi, I started homeschooling for 8th grade and it got me ahead--not behind. I'm going into 11th grade as a full-time college student at a community college and well you don't really need to know anymore because I don't want to get sidetracked from the question.
Anyway, what I've done is go through a private school. If you homeschool THROUGH a private school, going back to public school is no problem because your son is recorded as a student at the private school, not as a homeschooling student.
However, if you go through a private school, you don't even need to send him to public school. He could be completely homeschooled and get his diploma through the private school(and participate in their sports, clubs, and other events) and/or take a couple of classes at the school--for instance it's easier to take chemistry in a classroom rather than just by a book at home. You could also switch to not being homeschooled at all and let him attend full-time at the private school.
If full-time private schooling isn't what you want, homeschooling through a private school would still help if you wanted him to go back to public school because the private school will keep track of transcripts and make sure he's progressing in his classes and working at grade-level.

I think you should deeply consider homeschooling through a private school, to me it was a great benefit and could be the same for your son and yourself. :-)

Good luck with everything!! :-D

Answer 5

Yeah, regular high schools will accept him even if he only homeschools 7th and 8th grade. Just keep track of all his records. Also, check with the laws for homeschooling in your state. They give you tips on what to do and not to do. Some people only homeschool for a year or two and they don't have a problem entering highschool. Good Luck

Answer 6

Sounds like you are having a bit of a panic attack, worrying about things that you don't even need to worry about.

Look at your reasons for homeschooling--focus on those. This will help you during your panicky times.

As for getting into high school, the most I've heard high schools ever doing is requiring language and math assessment tests. If you do your job and make sure he stays at least at grade level in those areas, you really have NOTHING to worry about. How do you make sure? You purchase grade-level math materials, find practice tests online from other states (seems to me Ohio has some online), find good middle school language arts resources.

You're getting the cold feet typical of starting homeschooling--or getting married. ;) "What am I doing? Am I crazy? This and this and that and that..." Just focus on your reasons for homeschooling and look into resources.

Btw, homeschoolers still get diplomas; it's not true that you have to get a GED. The difference is that in the US, it's usually the parents providing the diploma, just like a private school provides diplomas. (Where I live here in Canada, parents can still provide a diploma, but they aren't really recognized. Those who want diplomas go for the provincial diploma provided by the provincial government.)

Answer 7

I will answer yours the way someone answered mine...well at least with part of their answer. Just remember why you decided to homeschool in the first place (and no it wasn't because of religion, from how that other person answered me!!), but because your son was being bullied and you probably stopped something worse from happening. Seriously think about this. There are programs that he can graduate from online and he can do all his high school years online!! If he doesn't want to go and he doesn't enjoy it, then I wouldn't make him. School isn't what it used to be. A high school graduation ceremony is a nice event, but is it worth it if he has to go through 4 years of torture to get there? Kids are stressing too much and as long as you are able to educate him from home, the social part of it is the easiest part to accommodate. Homeschool groups, city organizations like baseball and football or the Y. Let him make his friends in college, or even from work...once the kids have matured at least a little and their isn't all that peer pressure to "be cool" or to "fit in". My sister told me a long time ago "Corona, you have to listen to your kids...listen to what they are telling you becuase if your not there to help them in bad times, no one will be". and I live by that rule with both my boys. Listen to your son girl...he's a good kid. Good luck.

Answer 8

Homeschoolers can participate in all kinds of clubs, the can have a homeschool diploma, and they can take part in a graduation ceremony with other homeschoolers.

As for college, check out this site

http://learninfreedom.org/colleges_4_hmsc.html

Answer 9

If you are in the US, then your state has a set of content standards for each grade and each core subject. At the very least they should have content standards for English, math, science, and social studies. The link below should help you access your state's content standards.

Content standards and benchmarks can be a little bit difficult to understand, so you should know that teachers struggle with them, too. Generally, you'll have a a big goal for a content standard, like "Student will be able to write a persuasive essay", and then some more measurable objectives or benchmarks. "Student will be able to write paragraphs with topic sentence and supporting sentences." "Students will be able to state an argument and back it up with at least three supports." You might have some performance standards or rubrics to help you know when a student has met a benchmark.

If the curriculum you are using doesn't address these content standards, then you need to find some materials to supplement the curriculum. One good source of materials that a lot of public school teachers use for such a purpose is EdHelper.com

You should know that some of the best teachers in the public schools are not able to teach in the ways they know work best. They are under tremendous pressure by No Child Left Behind to meet unrealistic goals for tests that address only a small portion of what they are supposed to teach. A teacher may know how to motivate kids with compelling material, but may be given inferior materials and be directed to use those materials and nothing else. It's a frustrating time to be a teacher.

If one of these teachers had a chance to homeschool her own child, she would take a student-centered approach. What are the strengths and challenges of your son? What motivates him? How independent a learner is he?

The teacher would then go through the content standards saying, "OK, I know he can do this, that won't take long to teach, ooo! That's going to be tough for him." The teacher with the freedom of homeschooling would try to schedule his days and weeks so that he never has too much that is too easy for him, or too much that is difficult for him.

Where there is a challenge, there needs to be a plan for getting him through that challenge: baby steps that get a little bigger each week, a frequent change in types of activities, more than one kind of approach.

Try to remember the best lecture you heard in 8th grade. I know I had at least one great teacher, but I don't think I can remember a single thing she said in class. I do remember quite vividly the research paper I wrote in 8th grade, including the material I decided I couldn't include in my paper after all.

Many good teachers are constructivists, which means that they understand that children do not learn much passively receiving the knowledge and wisdom of lecturers and authors. Students must build their own knowledge by connecting each new fact and idea to something they already know or have learned. Students will remember longer what they themselves have experienced, discovered, built, written, drawn, edited, or used in real life.

With that knowledge, a teacher homeschooling their own children would have the students researching, experimenting, and modelling more than reading and listening, even if they can't "Cover as much ground" that way. They would try to start less and finish more.

A good teacher will also realize that solid work habits, taking responsibility for one's own education, the ability to think critically, and the ability to get along with classmates and co-workers, teachers and bosses, will be much more crucial to your son's future success than the particular material covered in any given curriculum.

Answer 10

I'd suggest talking with the school administration to see what they will require to admit your son to 9th grade. I also suggest that you talk with other homeschooling parents. I've put a website in the source box that looks like a good resource for you.
Successful homeschoolers can help you meet and exceed requirements as well as have a good year or two with your son.