How does one go about home-schooling their 15 yr old?

Question

Are there other options than an on-line program. If so, where do you get the materials, etc.

Answer 1

I'd be very careful about homeschooling older children. My boyfriend was taken out of school early on because he was a 1st grader taking 6th grade classes. However, his mother could not teach him at an advanced enough level and he ended up worse off than if they had just kept him in a traditional school. If you are going to homeschool your child, be sure you can teach advanced enough concepts. There are countless support groups for homeschooling parents. They might have the best methods

Answer 2

My niece and nephew are both home schooled (mix as my niece attended a public highschool for Westerners in Ukraina) and tho' I believe homeschooling impoverishes a student and warps them emotionally and mentally, this program in the USA (used mostly by fundies who are scared of science, esp. Evolution and want

their children indoctrinated ((but at lower cost than private church run schools)) is overseen by the respective state.  

You can contact the local public schools in your area for all the information you need as the public schools oversee it, provide course materials, textbooks and give periodic testing.  It is a state run program and not an educational free-for-all like some think. And you must register your child as "homeschooled" with the local authorities. That's the law in probably all areas.

The biggest problem is that education is more than just Math and English and History, but involves social interaction with your peers. How do you deal with bullies? How do you handle insults? How do you handle the Totality of human society?

Homeschoolees may rank as well as public school students in test scores and SATs, maybe even better in some areas, but often end up emotionally and socially deprived, misfits incapable of handling social problems.  But the choice is not mine but yours.  There is a book out called What's your Emotional IQ that posits another type of intelligence besides the conventional.  Homeschoolees usually have a very low Emotional IQ as a result of homeschooling.  Children need to be with others of their own age. But then you might think otherwise.

Answer 3

I am 16 and I just started being homeschooled this year.....my parents and I chose the ABEKA program, they are fully accredited ad you get a diploma when you graduate, they send you books and dvds in the mail and its not hard at all for the parents who have to do practacly nothing except make sure that the kid is doing the work and giving them the evaluations.......dont listen to the people who say its bad....I was having a hard time in math at school because my teachers just didnt care and I couldent find a tutor so I failed but since being homeschooled I fully grasp the concept of algebra and thinking back I say wow if only they would have taken the time to ac/tully teach me and not shove test after test in my face for me to fail......it's really cool also because if you dont understand something you can just e-mail your teacher and they email you right back.......I've also grown alot closer to my parents since the switch before I was into partying and stuff and now i think its all imature and stupid so really think about it theres alot of good programs out there and people who are willing to help, support groups ect..... check out these sites....

Answer 4

Remembering my son at 15, I would say an exercise in futility.

Answer 5

I homeschooled my daughter for high school and she received her diploma from The American School.  It's a correspondence high school, with everything being sent via U.S. mail.  I'm not good with math/science, so we hired a tutor for help.  She took courses like keyboarding, car maintenance, and drawing, as well as her academic courses.

Answer 6

You can google homeschool curriculum and find millions of links. I would suggest starting by looking at www.hslda.org for your state's legal requirements. The schools in most part are not overseeing homeschoolers, and are a font of misinformation. Some will purposefully mislead you because they are losing funding for every child pulled out.

After finding your state's legal requirements, I would suggest setting a goal WITH your son. What does he want to do with his life? Is his goal college? Is his goal technical school? Does he want a vocational job? Then look at your end result. College classes will require a bit more. Other's not so much. Teach to that need...filling in the blanks as you go. Don't worry about teaching calculus  and biochemistry. He won't need to know that to get into college, or else why would they teach it to there? It can help, but it's not a requirement.  

Other's have mentioned socialization. I can't imagine where they get their info, but no, every homeschooler isn't socially delayed, just waiting to enter the real world. Most homeschoolers do a wonderful job allowing their children to exist in the REAL world, not one created by LEAs. We're involved in sports, scouts, music and other programs. We volunteer for homeless shelters, literacy campaigns (ironic, I know...considering these kids are in public school), etc.

Good luck. I haven't homeschooled a teenager yet, my oldest is 12. But the Teenage Liberation Handbook is supposed to be really good, i've read part of it and I do like what I've read so far.

Answer 7

If you do chose to homeschool your child, there are things you need to do to get ready.  First, you need a support group.  You need to get with other home schooled parents and children.  They can help you with any question you may have.  Second, find the perfect school for you.  Some homeschools use the parent as a teacher.  You give the grades.  Do you feel comfortable give your child grades?  I was home schooled and my home chose a homeschool where I sent in my tests, homework, etc.  There were teachers that graded and sent the scores back to my mother.  You also need to brush up on your Math, Science, Social Studies, English, etc skills.  Your child may have questions.  If you can't answer them, this is a good reason to have the support group.  Home schooled kids can come together and study and all that good stuff.  Also check into college after high school.  I graduated from home school in 1996 and started college in 1997.  My home school was accredited but not.  I hope this makes sense.  I had to get my GED before any college would allow me to sign up.  You will need to follow a schedule.  Sometimes at home it is so easy to get side tracked.  Again with the group, many home schoolers can become recluses.  Make sure he or she get social interaction.  I will give you the website to the school I attended.  My mother enjoyed the school and the teaching staff were excellent.  Make sure you do your homework to find the homeschool that fits you and your child.  Good Luck!!

Answer 8

go to your childs state board of education and ask them if they have any kind of home schooling for you child.

Answer 9

I have two homeschooled teens, and we know many more. Here are several ways they do it:

1. Enroll in a public charter school or district Independent Study Program. Some of these use online curriculum, some use traditional texts.

2.Purchase online curriculum with or without enrolling in a distance learning program from a private school.

3.Take classes at a community college. Around here, students as young as 15 can take one or two courses. In CA kids 16 and older can receive a High School Proficiency Certificate from the state by passing the CHSPE. Passing this allows you to enroll in community college or work full-time.

www.chspe.net

4. In our area there are one-day and two-day support schools for homeschoolers. Basically kids go to "school" but just 1 or 2 days per week, and you can choose which classes you take.

5. In our state families can homeschool completely independently of curriculum, books, or tests by establishing a private school. Many homeschooled teens don't do traditional coursework at all. Instead they volunteer in the community (zoo, aquarium, animal shelter, food bank, church, etc) or work (babysit, library page, grocery store, etc) and in their free time they pursue their own interests and hobbies (community theater, 4H Projects, Scouts, dance, digital animation, game design, archery, writing, etc)

6. Enroll in a private Independent Study Program, where you'll have someone to help with your curriculum choices, keep records and create transcripts for you.

7. Decide what you think is important for your child to learn. Buy books and materials to teach those concepts, borrow them from the library (we use lots of CD-ROMS and DVDs) or use free internet websites. A few of my favorite are

Hippocampus has free online science, math, history, including AP

www.hippocampus.org

Youtube has videos on every topic, just search the topic you want. Here's our current favorite, on binary. "Octopus's Counting"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4p-9-nK-mwY

Online Typing Lessons

http://www.typing-lessons.org/

I recommend you contact your state homeschool association for legal options

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regi...

or a local homeschool group and see how their teens do it, and to link up to a support group.

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/webl...

Answer 10

I cannot believe the people ATTEMPTING to answer these questions.  It would be like me trying to answer questions about being an airplane pilot when I have only heard the opinions of others that have flown in the past and have NEVER been in the cockpit of a plane.

FACT: There are people in all types of education (public, private and home-schooled) that are socially, emotionally and mentally warped.  It has never been considered a result of home education, except in uninformed and warped minds.  FACT: Homeschool students usually advance farther academically then their parents. See research below. FACT: There are recluses walking down the halls of the local public school. A shy person will most likely remain shy.. A social butterfly will still maintain those qualities in a homeschool environment. The benefit of homeschooling is social activities are no longer part of academics and they can focus on each individually at the appropriate time. FACT: The majority of parents that homeschool have a vested, loving interest in their children (much more than teachers) and will make every effort to provide a rounded education, opportunities to interaction with others (of all ages) and outside activities such as sports, music, art and field trips.

As to answer the question... there are so many resources for educating your child at home, that it may be overwhelming. First, there will be a time of "deschooling". School should no longer be the same as a traditional school. Homeschooling gives you lots of opportunities to create a love of learning, research things your 15 year old wants to discover and prepare him/her for dealing with people of all ages, not just peers (which has NO resemblance to the real world.)

At 15, I do believe your child is old enough to have input into the type of curriculum you decide to use. Take into consideration the focus of the high school education based on future plans (college prep, tech school, apprenticeships etc). Take time to evaluate the type of materials you really need and want.  A homeschool group is great for exchanging ideas, learning from those that have gone before you and they might even have materials to borrow.  Don't forget your library too.. there are books that cover lots of curriculum choices (author Cathy Duffy) Meanwhile, browse some of these sources below to see some of your options.

Curriculum Reviews:

http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/

http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/

Favorite Curriculum:

http://www.notgrass.com/

Free resources:

"Homeschool Your Child For Free" by Gold and Zielinski.

http://www.amblesideonline.org/

http://oldfashionededucation.com/