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Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation

6 Ways to Organize Your Homeschooled High School Teen

April 17, 2015 | 7 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Organization is not something we should just learn our self, but it’s a blessing we need to pass on to our homeschooled high school teen.

6 Ways to Organize Your Homeschooled High School Teen @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus


Look at these 6 ways to organize your homeschooled high school teen.

1. Dedicated space.teen desk

Source: PBteen

There is nothing more important to helping your teen stay organized than having a place for “it all”.

From the time they start learning to drive until the time they graduate, they have a mounting amount of things to take up their space.

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Like you, they too need to know that when they put something away, somebody else will not move it.
Having both a dedicated space to store their items and to study at will help them to learn to manage their space.

2. Coloring is for High School.

If you have a teen that loves to organize, then something that makes a young organizer get giddy is a not only a new set of high lighters, but a color coordinating system.

I allow high lighting in books at any level if it will help my boys retain their information.
Yes, I know the book won’t have any resale value, but I am foremost concerned with teaching my boys a method to study.
They are all visual learners and so having an easy system for remembering new words and key points when studying is one I encourage.
Finding answers to questions happens when the answer is highlighted or underlined.
Too help them develop a code for each color.
For example, we used green for new words, then reviewing material becomes a snap.

3. Written or Digital Planner.

Though I love techie things, I found that having a paper planner or just even a daily checklist if a planner sounds cumbersome to a teen was a better fit for us than a digital device.

Student Planner 15 min increments editable 1
Student Planner 15 min increments editable 2

(2 Page View for the Student Planner – Tracking in 15 minute increments.)

I managed my boys’ time on line and because being on the internet was something they could not do in private, we found it easier to manage their time through easy paper checklists.

4. Subject Balance.

Taking their notebooks, planners or checklists with them in their bedrooms gave my kids time to look over what they actually did versus what we planned.
Like us, they can over plan.
Learning to balance the time they spend on each subject is critical to keeping the flow to their day balance.
High school is the time to learn to organize subjects differently.
For example, like a lot of college or upper level subjects, they may tackle one or two subjects intensely and then move on to others.
What matters is what is accomplished at the end of a semester or at the end of however your track a school term.
Let them try different approaches to organizing the approach they take to school subjects while they live with you.
That is the time to see whether a creative idea works or not.

5. Paper Management.

Mr. Senior 2013 came up with his own system of managing pages for assignments for the week.
Actually, it was a perfect example of how our children will model our behavior if we put forth a bit of effort.
He adopted a system I had used for years, which was pulling the pages out of a workbook or printing them off for the week from the internet and placing them in an organized bin.

Homeschool High School Student Organization @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus


One of the reasons I fell in love with this system was that it showed my kids what was expected each week and they could get started quickly without waiting on me to present their work to them for the day.
Nowadays, they call it a workbox system, but I still love organized bins that hold weekly assignments.
They are super compact if you are short on space and everybody can access them and see what is expected each week.

6. Supplies Matter.

Get your teen excited about an organized lifestyle by providing them with cool supplies.

Whether you’re starting a new school year or want to get your teen excited about organizing, sleek and snazzy supplies can infuse a crush for organizing.
One or two snazzy pieces to organize their supplies will give them a kick start to organizing.
In a world that teaches that we constantly need more of everything to be happy, our teens will be faced with the same decisions about trying to keep their lives clutter free.
Organize your homeschooled high school student now because organizing chaos never worked.
Organization at the high school level is not only the beginning to successfully learning how to follow a workable schedule but to mastering the skills needed for savoring life.

What about you? How do you organize your teen for high school?

You will also love to read:

  • Successful Entrepreneur-3 Best Homeschooled Teen Resources,
  • Teach Your Homeschooled Teen the Art of Studying (without nagging)
  • 3 Unique Things a Homeschooled Teen Learns From a Teacher’s Manual.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

7 CommentsFiled Under: Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, Organization Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool highschool, organization, organize, organizedkids, teens

Should I Let My Homeschooled Teen Graduate Early?

March 2, 2015 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The question should I let my homeschooled teen graduate early crossed my mind a few years before high school.

My oldest son was the kind of teen that never needed to be reminded of deadlines and pretty well knew that he wanted to do some missionary type of work after graduation and before he pursued a career.

Too, even before taking his high school courses, he would work into the afternoon without my prodding him to do so. 

In ninth grade, I could have noted the 8 credits he had because we schooled year around and because he didn’t mind working long hours on his curriculum.

If he kept up that schedule and pace, he could easily have graduated in about 3 years depending on the number of high school credits I had planned.

In other words, I just knew he was on the path to early graduation.  Do you know that my plan was for him to graduate early? 

If you have been following me for a while, you know however, that our lives took a significant change when the Mr. had his heart attack during the 10th grade year of Mr. Senior 2013.

Mr. Senior 2013 stepped up and helped me run our business while my husband recuperated and of course, my son’s schooling suffered.

Instead of focusing on the sad time then though, I always like to focus on the good that came out of that for all of my boys. 

Should I Let My Homeschooled Teen Graduate Early @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Though, Mr. Senior 2013 did not graduate early as planned, I realized that he didn’t mind at all because he learned more about our family owned business then he ever knew before.

He has learned valuable skills in customer service because he was the one that had to go with our installation guys to our customer’s homes.

I was very nervous, but like a lot of our mature homeschooling teens he was equal to the task.

Though things don’t always happened as planned, I still see many positives for allowing a mature teen to graduate early.

If a teen knows what they want to pursue, then they have extra time to pursue what interests them.

There are many teens who are mature and already know that they want to pursue a career that requires minimal college time. 

I knew one teen boy in our homeschool group that knew he was going to be a chef and wanted to start pursuing culinary classes.

In his early high school years, he was hosting food parties in his home cooking for people.

He had a true gift for the culinary arts and his parents recognized the need to allow him to pursue his dream.

Many schools encourage a gap year and see the benefit of it.

Does it really matter if your teen takes a “gap” year earlier? 

Only you as the homeschool parent knows if your teen is mature enough to take a gap year and pursue what interests them.

High achieving and mature teens are ready to get on with their life.

Some teens are high achievers and are ready to get on with their life.

On the flip side, homeschooling is about recognizing the different personalities of our teens and some want to be done with the “book learning” part of school so they can get on with doing activities they know will help them be independent adults.

They may never be the bookish type of person but our teen may still be mature enough to have already decided what course he or she will pursue.

Too, teens feel the same satisfaction that we do as adults when it comes to knowing that they can finish early if they have fulfilled the number of high school credits we require.

If a teen is on the college track, then wouldn’t a year head start help him or her to add a internship to the mix, pursue some other goals or just get them ahead in college?

Homeschooling highschoolers can be complicated, but you don’t have to worry about ALL the choices, just concentrate on what your teen needs.

There is nothing wrong with a teen not being ready to finish high school earlier because teens all mature at different rates and there is no rush – really. 

They only have one time in their life to be carefree, independent, yet totally needing your guidance.

There are so many things that affect whether or not it’s beneficial for a homeschooled teen to graduate early, but in the end all that matters is the decision that allows your teen to pursue his or her chosen course when they are ready.

What about you? Do you have a teen you feel may graduate early?

Hugs and love ya,

 

Check out these other posts to help with homeschooled high school teens:

Homeschool High School Readiness?

Homeschool High School How To Prepare THE Transcript

Homeschoolers Who Want More Than College

Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School?

Leave a CommentFiled Under: Graduate a Homeschooler, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation Tagged With: high school, homeschoolhighschool, teens

9th Grade Homeschool High School – Avoid the Sock It to Them Attitude

February 6, 2015 | 5 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

It feels like starting brand new when your child enters the 9th grade homeschool high school trek. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School.

This is not going to be another one of those homeschool high school posts.

You know where I share all the future plans for my sons.

Looking back now after having gone through it with my first two sons, I have tips.

I realize that realistic sanity saving tips would have helped me better.

Sure, I found plans for all 4 years of homeschooling high school helpful.

But in reality each child and each family’s goals are different.

Too, I chuckle now that I planned ALL 4 years of high school in 9th grade.

I will share why I feel that way in a minute.

The tips today that I want you to know about are tips I didn’t give enough credit ( pun intended, corny I know).

9th Grade Homeschool High School

Try to remember that over crowding your teen’s schedule in 9th grade can be a new mistake.

Even for the most seasoned homeschooler, it happens.

In our attempt to “do it right”, we can take a sock it to them attitude at the beginning of what can be, at least for us, some of the most memorable times about homeschooling.

I planned way more for Mr. Senior 2013 than he was able to do for his age in 9th grade.

With Mr. Awesome, the schedule and load was just about right.  Then of course Mr. Awesome is my second child to enter high school and you get to expert status real fast.

In addition, a lot of kids at the 9th grade level are taking driver’s education on top of their workload.

This means they are not driving yet and you are still taking them and your younger children to activities, classes and events.

Then there is the period where you have to ride with them when they are learning to driving.

If you have a highschooler, you know what I am talking about because I had claw marks on the car door though Mr. Senior 2013 ends up being a good driver now as an adult.

The point is that extra stress at 9th grade is not needed and because most of us have younger kids to school, you have time to still take a marathon pace.

The beginning of teaching them self-independence as an adult begins here but doesn’t happen in one year.

From Teen to Young Adult, A Complicated Unfolding

Speaking about young adults, another factor that I did not appreciate enough is that there is a noticeable difference of maturity at 14/15 years of age at the 9th grade level and 17/18 years of age in 12th grade.

That can be a good and bad thing, but that is another post.

I want you to know that eventually you stop going the homeschool planning alone because if you have raised your children with independence in mind, which is our goal, then the training continues in high school with them planning their courses.

9th Grade Homeschool High School - Avoid the Sock It to Them Attitude

Though I sat down with both of my older boys to plan out each year and though I consider them both fairly independent for their age, I was still pretty clueless as to the level of maturity and independence that they would grow into as a young adult.

As I planned with my second son as he entered high school, I simply explained to him that at least math and language arts would be done each year and the rest of the subjects we will map out as we went along.

It was a different approach than I took with Mr. Senior 2013 because as Mr. Senior 2013 approached being a junior and then a senior, he had decided to change out some subjects.

For example, I had science planned for all four years, but like me, his first love is history.  Too, the careers that he mentioned to support himself as an adult were not science related.

For his junior and senior year, he planned out his subjects and they didn’t include science but did include some form of history study for all four years.

At first I was hesitant to agree with him to immerse himself in what I thought was lopsided planning, but then I had to question myself because isn’t that the whole reason I homeschooled in the first place.

The beauty of high school is for a teen to pursue his interests and to not be weighed down with subjects that he won’t be using.

Throw Out the 4 Year Homeschool High School Plan

It’s easier to say that than doing it because you are always a parent and want to help your teen make the best decisions in high school.

However, high school is the time for them to start making the decisions for their life.

You can’t teach them how to be self-reliant and make good decisions if you take away their right to make decisions at the first instant they flex the decision making muscles.

A young adult has definite ideas of what his own future should look like and both of my older sons knew which subjects they wanted to focus on.

Like I mentioned, it has been different with Mr. Awesome.  Along with doing basic subjects, he will have 4 years of science and is pursuing more computer related courses in high school.

You can see why now that I chuckle at the fact that I listed all courses for each year.

It’s like planning for an adult without asking them their plans for their life or at least including them.  Crazy notion,uh?

Focus on Homeschool High School Framework

It only took one year of over planning for Mr. Senior 2013 in 9th grade to learn that I needed a framework or guide for the high school years instead of focusing every bit of energy on all four years and the courses.

Understanding about credits, planning either for college or a focus on career or ministry, when and how to include outside classes, if any, and whether or not to CLEP are all easier to find out about if you have a framework to guide both you and your teen.

You are not going to ruin your kid’s chances for having a successful life if you don’t plan all 4 years in 9th grade.

Core Subjects are Key

I know you need a basic guideline, so look at the foundational plan on my blog post Homeschool High School The Must Cover Subjects Part 1 so that you can use this as a jumping off point for planning 9th grade.

Planning from the inside, or basic subjects like the 3 R’s that you have been doing all along and moving to the outside, which are content subjects like history, science, geography, foreign languages and electives is the basis for an excellent and superior education in high school.

Not only will 9th grade be rigorous, but it will be spicy, eventful and unique to each child of yours that enters 9th grade.

Remember that producing the transcript, attending a college if they go to college, choosing a career, or missionary work are all done the end of the journey.

Too, by then you will have a young adult that wants a definite say in the direction his or her life takes.

Though it didn’t seem silly at the time to plan all four years, it didn’t hurt because it gave me a measure of security because I wanted to be a responsible homeschooling mom.

I realize now that each of my son’s personalities and strengths were a larger part of determining what we covered.

It is not easy to change hats from teacher to supervisor, counselor, coach and partner in the high school years, but I wouldn’t trade one tear shed for the precious and memorable moments we now have in high school.

I don’t like being sappy either when I talk about my sons growing into young men, but it is hard to not have a few tears.

Somebody told me once that the high school years fly after your kid enters 9th grade. Guess what? It’s true.

Look at these other posts to ease your mind:

The Must Cover Subjects Part 2 in High School

High School–How to Log Hours for High School?

High School Readiness?

Homeschool High School How To Prepare THE Transcript + Editable High School Transcript

Accreditation Removing the Shroud of Mystery

5 CommentsFiled Under: Graduate a Homeschooler, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation Tagged With: homeschoolhighschool

Free Middle and High School Homeschool Language Arts

January 30, 2015 | 27 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, I am sharing free middle and high school homeschool language arts resources. Also, look at my page homeschool middle school and how to homeschool high school page for more fun tips

Update: You know I love ya so when I round up freebies, I round up everything I can find.

I do not have the answer keys to these free resources below. 

Free Middle and High School Homeschool Language Arts

Kindly said: Please do not email me asking about the answer sheets, other teacher guides or tests.  If and when I find them, I will post them for you and me.

These workbooks are ones that I have kept up with and used through the years with my sons as enrichment.

The links have changed and as I have found them, I have updated my links. 

Too, I have found new resources to add, but never had them in one place.

Middle and High School Homeschool Language Arts

After using some of the books, they are pretty nifty enough to almost be used as stand alone curriculum.

Too, kazillion (new invented word alert) resources exist for helping you out in preschool, kindergarten and early elementary and after that, free resources seem to thin out.

Determined to have plenty of free homeschool language arts program through middle and high school, I hope you can use a few of these with your kids.

Language Arts Reference

Free one reference of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.  Great tool to also teach middle and high school students research.

Multi-grade Language Arts Resources

Free Guide to Grammar and Writing and Principles of Composition and a Search Engine will also help you find help on grammatical issues, tips on composition, and advice on English usage.

6th grade Printable Resources

Glencoe Language Arts Spelling Power 88 pages.

6spw2.pdf (5737 downloads )

MacMillan Treasures Practice Book O 230 pages.

Free-MacMillan-Treasures-Practice-Book-O-6th-grade-230-pages..pdf (5543 downloads )

Glencoe Language Arts Vocabulary Power 98 pages.

Glencoe-Language-Arts-Vocabulary-Power-98-pages.pdf (5623 downloads )

MacMillan Treasures Spelling Practice 200 pages.

94274741.pdf (5228 downloads )

MacMillan Treasures Grammar Practice 200 pages.

MacMillan-Treasures-Grammar-Practice-200-pages.pdf (5540 downloads )

Free Glencoe Grammar and Language Workbook 150 pages.

7th grade Printable Resources

Writers Choice Grammar and Composition – Grammar ENRICHMENT 56 pages.

Free-Writers-Choice-Grammar-and-Composition-–-Grammar-Enrichment-7th-grade-56-pages.pdf (5399 downloads )

Glencoe Language Arts Spelling Power 88 pages.

7th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-Spelling-Power-88-pages.pdf (5071 downloads )

Glencoe Grammar and Language Workbook – 172 pages.

7th-grade-Glencoe-Grammar-and-Language-Workbook-–-172-pages.pdf (5654 downloads )

Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition –  Grammar RETEACHING 56 pages.

Free-Writers-Choice-Grammar-and-Composition-–-Grammar-Reteaching-56-pages.7th-grade.pdf (5355 downloads )

Free Glencoe Language Arts Vocabulary Power – 100 pages

7th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-Vocabulary-Power-–-100-pages.pdf (5398 downloads )

8th grade Printable Resources

Glencoe Grammar and Language Workbook 352 pages.

Grade-8-Grammar-Complete.pdf (5744 downloads )

8th grade Glencoe Language Arts Spelling Power 88 pages

8th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-Spelling-Power-88-pages.pdf (5312 downloads )

Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition Grammar Enrichment 56 pages.

Free-Writers-Choice-Grammar-and-Composition-Grammar-Enrichment-8th-grade-56-pages.pdf (5486 downloads )

9th grade Printable Resources

Glencoe Language Arts – Vocabulary Power 131 pages.

Vocabulary-Power-Workbook-9th-grade.pdf (5230 downloads )

Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition – Grammar Practice Workbook 56 pages.

[ 9th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-–-Spelling-Power-104-pages..pdf (5575 downloads )

Grammar and Language Workbook  352 pages.

grammar_workbook_honors-9th.pdf (5645 downloads )

Glencoe Language Arts – Spelling Power 104 pages.

9th-grade-Writers-Choice-Grammar-and-Composition-–-Grammar-Practice-Workbook-56-pages.pdf (5441 downloads )

10th grade Printable Resources

Glencoe Language Arts – Spelling Power 88 pages.

10spw2.pdf (5521 downloads )

Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition – Grammar Practice Workbook 56 pages.

10th-grade-Writers-Choice-Grammar-and-Composition-–-Grammar-Practice-Workbook-56-pages..pdf (5452 downloads )

Glencoe Language Arts – Vocabulary Power 131 pages..

10th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-–-Vocabulary-Power-131-pages-2.pdf (5474 downloads )

11th grade Printable Resources

11th grade Glencoe Grammar and Language Workbook 170 pages.

11th-grade-Glencoe-Grammar-and-Language-Workbook-170-pages.pdf (5566 downloads )

Glencoe Language Arts – Spelling Power 88 pages.

11th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-–-Spelling-Power-88-pages.pdf (5367 downloads )

Glencoe Language Arts – Vocabulary Power 131 pages.

11th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-–-Vocabulary-Power-131-pages..pdf (5472 downloads )

12th grade Printable Resources

Glencoe Language Arts – Spelling Power 88 pages.

12spw2.pdf (5540 downloads )

Glencoe Language Arts – Vocabulary 131 pages.

12th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-–-Vocabulary-131-pages..pdf (5520 downloads )

Glencoe Language Arts Grammar and Language Workbook 352 pages.

12th-grade-Glencoe-Language-Arts-Grammar-and-Language-Workbook-352-pages..pdf (5243 downloads )

 Check out these other resources.

  • How to Choose the BEST Homeschool Middle and High School Language Arts Curriculum & Options
  • 5 Creative Ways to Boost Handwriting in Older Kids
  • Free Middle School Science Curriculum and Magazine
  • Toddler to Teen 100 Free Unit Study Resources
  • 7 Budget-Friendly Language Arts Curriculum to Pair with Unit Studies (with printable)
  • 3 Beginner’s Tips: Homeschool High School Literature
  • 24 Borderline Genius Ways To Relieve Language Arts Boredom

Hope you enjoy them.

Hugs and love ya,

27 CommentsFiled Under: Free Homeschool Resources, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, Middle School Homeschool Tagged With: composition, grammar, high school, high school literature, homeschool, homeschoolanguagearts, language arts, languagearts, middleschool, reading, readingcomprehension

4 Secrets to Creating Your Own Successful Homeschool Co-op

January 18, 2015 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Savoring the food of the Amazon region in a banana wrapped leaf, dancing the minuet like George Washington, creating Native American crafts with beadwork and studying the healing power of plants like Lewis & Clark did are just a few of the adventures that my sons and I have participated in as I led a homeschool co-op.

4 Secrets to Creating Your Own Successful Homeschool Co-op

In my many years of homeschooling, I have seen numerous elaborate definitions of a co-op, but in its most basic form a co-op is simply a group of two or more families meeting together to share their collective efforts in teaching their children all together.

Depending on your personal experiences in participating in co-ops, you may conjure up in your mind a picture of your children engaging in awesome hands-on activity along with socialization or you may picture a mini-version of a very regimented public school that you probably fled not too long ago.

Understanding some basic facts in how co-ops are developed will help you to determine if a co-op is a good fit for your family.

Enhance Your Journey or Encumber It

There is no one set of rules for any co-op. Co-ops can be very informal without many rules or it can be as formal as public school.

Take time to ask questions after you determine if you want to meet for socialization or to meet strictly for academic purposes.

One note of caveat for new and struggling homeschoolers is that sometimes you may join a co-op to ease the burden of teaching, but actually create an environment where you may feel trapped.

Regimented schedules, turning in homework assignments and preparing extra-curricular activities are a few reasons why some homeschool families find co-ops more stressful than helpful.  They can feel a little too much public schoolish.

Do not leave the rigidness of public school to trade it away the freedom so quickly to a very regulated co-op.

Co-ops can spring up or shut down at any time. Realizing that most co-ops are ran by homeschooling parents like yourself, you will appreciate that rules are made by the homeschooling parents as they lead the group.

Most co-ops expect all the parents to shoulder some of the responsibility of running the co-op whether it is teaching, supervising toddlers, cleaning or making copies.

Unless the co-op is being ran like a small private school, most co-op leaders welcome the help. Normally it is the few doing the work of the many.

Because there is so much variety in classes like teaching crafts to preschoolers to preparing teens for driving in high school, co-ops can spring up and shut down each year or at any time during the year.

Most groups try to have their goals written down by the start of the school year, but even that can change.

Clear expectations by either a group you create or either join will avoid a lot of misery down the road.

Homeschool Co-op Conundrum

Avoid confusion of which co-op to join by having clear in your mind your purpose for participating. For example, I knew when I formed our private local co-op that my main purpose was for socialization and enrichment.

I was not interested in anybody teaching subjects like the 3 R’s to my sons because I wanted to do that.

Did I mention teaching my three at home was way more relaxing too?

The co-op serves as a refreshing break in our routine so I didn’t want a weekly co-op, but one that met once or twice a month. In addition, I wanted like-mind parents who have Christian values and a place where my sons could make lasting friends and memories.

Too, I purposely kept the co-op small because it is easier to make friends in a more cozier environment.
Activities like doing a lab, presenting a geography report to an audience and drama are better done in a group setting. It is nice to have an audience for projects.

My sons have benefited from doing those activities and have become more well rounded out in their education.

In one area I lived in we had a homeschool mom who use to be a high school Spanish teacher. My older sons took her classes which was ran more like a mini private school.

Though I prefer a more informal and hands-on setting, I took advantage of local resources for enrichment. It has only strengthened my sons’ skills in foreign languages.

4 Secrets To Creating Your Own Successful Homeschool Co-op @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

When You Gift Others

I can’t hum a tune, draw a beautiful portrait or shoot professional pictures, but none of those things are required to serve others.

Sharing with other homeschoolers and teaching is a gift.

It’s true that when you serve in a leadership position it can have trials. But I have a secret to admit and that is I am the one that always feels blessed after leading the co-op.

Over the years I have learned that each homeschooling parent possesses a gift or two whether they admit it or not.

You do not have to be a former public school teacher to teach a subject, but you do need to love the subject you teach.

Instead of looking into joining a co-op, can you form one near you? Beginnings are important. So start slow with a just few of your like-minded friends.

Meet once a month and use forums like yahoo to communicate and set up polls.

Avoid the modern day quick methods of communication like texting that interrupts your day schooling your children.

In the beginning, it’s easy to communicate like this, but as the group grows, your time can be consumed by taking care of the needs of others.

Don’t neglect your own homeschool routine and family.
When you use something like an online forum or email list, each teaching parent can respond to emails after she has taken care of her family for the day. It also trains others in your group that your priority is your own family and to be considerate of your time.

There are a wide variety of curriculum resources to use from laid out lesson plans to unit studies that make leading a cinch. Unit studies are my very favorite in teaching multiple ages because there is something for all ages to do.

Serving others is a joy and your blessing in giving will be immeasurable not only to your children, but for all others that come your way.

Creating the co-op we had took time. My first attempts at meeting with others wasn’t a fit for our family because of either the scheduling or activities.

Forming a co-op after my previous failed attempts ended up being a blessing for our family because we then met with like-minded families.

Shared experiences and fostering friendships for a lifetime have heightened our homeschool adventures.

Have you been part of a co-op that has changed your life?

3 Homeschool Co-op History Resources Worth Exploring

5 Days of a Homeschooling Co-op Convert

4 CommentsFiled Under: Homeschool Multiple Ages of Children, Homeschool Teens _ From Teen to Graduation, Plan For & School Year Around, Teach Unit Studies Tagged With: homeschool, homeschoolco-op, homeschoolmultiplechildren, multiple children, teachingmultiplechildren

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