Homeschooling a Non-Conventional Learner for Excessive Faculty

My oldest little one began highschool at residence this yr.  He is a really non-traditional learner, which might current a problem when mother is the alternative.

And whereas he seems very very similar to me, we’re polar opposites. He is a number of inches taller than me, has opinions about every little thing on the planet (a very good high quality, I preserve telling myself) and is extroverted x 1000.

Me? I used to be a textbook (pun meant) conventional school- lover.

Guide studies? Sure, please.

Trifold tasks for presentation day? Can I make two?

Learn all of the books on the planet? Signal me up!

Math and Science evening for further tutoring so I might be uber-prepared? Yup. I’m right here for it.

My son was almost 5 after we began formally homeschooling.  I used to be a bit naive at first pondering he would need to sit down for 3 hours to do studying, writing, and arithmetic. That lasted perhaps half a day. Or maybe it was a half-an-hour.

He discovered to do fundamental spelling by bouncing on a ball throughout the ground. I might cover quantity flashcards round the home and he would run and discover them and inform me the quantity. We practiced letting writing along with his finger and sand or making letters out of modeling clay.

We learn BOB books, watched Phrase World and free play was welcomed and inspired. His brother and sister (twins which might be 22 months youthful) rounded out our little homeschool. We have been content material with our hands-on manipulatives, read-alouds, messy crafts, candy lapbook tasks and plenty of exterior play.

Did I point out my son simply turned 14?

I by no means meant to homeschool and I actually could not think about homeschooling highschool.

However right here we’re. And might I let you know a secret? I am sort of enthusiastic about it and I’m not freaking out as a lot as I believed I might be. At the least not but.

How We Are Getting ready a Excessive Faculty Plan That Works for a Non-Conventional Learner

We have been homeschooling for some time now and my ideas and concepts about residence schooling have modified and blossomed over time. We aren’t tied to a specific homeschool philosophy.

We’ve got been by way of some very difficult instances as a household the place homeschooling appeared very very similar to motion pictures, Lego play, and audiobooks.  We began off doing morning time and group work and finding out as many topics collectively as we might.

I’ve written about how center faculty homeschooling turned our days in a unique course. This has helped me chill out right into a extra interest-led, relaxed thought for highschool. I’ve additionally been a scholar of my little one for his total life.

We talked about him going to Classical schooling program three days per week or perhaps a College Mannequin faculty. He took a number of seems on the applications and instantly stated no. And that was effective with me.

Whereas I do have his first yr deliberate out, I have not executed a sweeping four-year plan but. I’m working my means by way of “Homeschooling Excessive Faculty By Design” by Heather Woodie of Weblog, She Wrote. What piqued my curiosity is her out-of-the-box strategy to homeschooling out-of-the-box teenagers.  She has modules on making a schedule and a four-year plan, making time for pursuits, creating electives, educating gifted teenagers, and extra.

If you happen to’re homeschooling highschool and are on the lookout for sources that remember interest-led studying, I like to recommend Blake Boles’ podcast and his books.  Additionally, unschooling books and podcasts could be one thing to discover as nicely—even when you’ve by no means thought of your self an unschooler.

Renee Tougas’ “Freedom Training” course can be a improbable useful resource (not only for highschool, however homeschooling basically). She is an skilled homeschool mum or dad who has walked the trail and has very important perception and steerage. I took this course this previous winter and it actually helped me craft a imaginative and prescient as we transfer into this subsequent part of homeschooling.

Since that is highschool, we might be monitoring all of those lessons and actions for his homeschool highschool transcript. Relying on how his programs come collectively, we will resolve to create a transcript grouped by grade or by topic space, whichever will benefit from his highschool experiences. This flexibility makes planning highschool programs for non-traditional learners a lot simpler.

Are you homeschooling highschool? Drop me a remark beneath and let me know what it seems like for you and your loved ones!