When Jenny Rose was in middle school I was given One Year Novel Adventure from Clearwater Press to review.

What a blessing!

This came with lessons on Dvd, as well as a teacher’s guide, student journal, and a sample adventure novel, The Prisoner of Zenda. This program focused on adventure which Rosie loved. The lessons were helpful, clear, and easy to apply to the novel that began to come together.

​I figured that we would count that year as our Fiction Writing Year in high school. But, then Rose and I came up with a plan.

Often I meet women who have homeschooled successfully all the way through middle school, but then they stop and put their kids in school for high school. Why? Often, they tell me that they are frightened to homeschool high school. It seems an impossible task.

Yes, homeschooling high school is different than homeschooling the younger grades. The subjects are harder, you have to give grades, and you have to put together a transcript. Looking back over 25 years of homeschooling, I am convinced that teaching children to read is the hardest thing and everything else, including high school, is a piece of cake in comparison. 

So many times, I have sat down with frightened moms about to take the high school plunge. Let me remind you. The teen years can be dangerous to navigate. Your teens still need you and you know them best. You are still the best teacher they will ever have. 

If you don't know how to teach something for high school--there are options galore! You can take online classes, enrichment classes, umbrella school classes, independent studies, and dual enroll. Even if you delegate several classes, you are still the one in charge of your teen's high school education.

My friend Laura and I sat down so many times with homeschooling moms who wanted to take the high school plunge, but were afraid, that we wrote a book containing all the advice we give, answered all the questions mom ask. The book, Unlocking the Mystery of Homeschooling High School, is available at Amazon. The E-book is available at Currclick and PowerlineProd. 

Please consider taking the high school plunge. Talk to other homeschool moms who have enjoyed their high school adventure. Talk to homeschool grads who enjoyed being homeschooled. Read my book--it will encourage you! 

You can do it! 

For His Glory, 
Merey (Meredith Ludwig Curtis)

One of Jesus' last commands was to make disciples "of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to obey all I have commanded you." (Matthew 28) Everyone is called to make disciples. No one is exempt.

Which is all well and good and everything—like, kudos to all the missionaries out there that are living it out. But how am I supposed to do that? What does it even look like for an American teenager to walk out Jesus’ last command?

The most obvious way is to get involved in a mentoring relationship. If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, or if the only picture that pops up in your head is some kind of Big Brother program, let me explain.
A mentoring relationship is where a more mature Christian takes a new Christian under their wing and teaches them the basics of the faith. It’s a relationship that models what Jesus had with his disciples—the discipler and disciple spend time with one another, becoming friends and confidantes, praying and fasting together, seeking the Lord together, and encouraging one another to keep fighting the good fight. It’s actually a pretty complex thing that varies from church to church and relationship to relationship, but the gist of it is that the mature Christian takes care of the baby Christian.

Since I was eleven, I had been on the disciple end of the mentoring relationship, but the late summer of 2013 marked a new chapter of my life: I became the mentor.

I've had the privilege of watching a beautiful young lady mature in the Lord for nearly two years now. We talk about anything going on in our lives that’s difficult, asking for prayer and advice from one another. We discuss how our quiet times are going, what God has been teaching us through them, and questions that have risen from studying the Bible.

But our relationship doesn't end in that hour-and-a-half window.

We’re friends. We spend time with one another at events and at church, we have sleepovers. We go to the mall, to the movies, or we sit lazily in the other’s room and chat about whatever comes to mind. We're in one another's lives, and we grow closer with passing time.

The way the discipleship relationship works is quite simple, yet it requires an investment of oneself. You have to be willing to devote your time, your energy, your love, and your persistence. But it's worth it.

And it's only one of the many ways to fulfill Jesus’ last command.

Moving in the more officially sanctioned vein is starting new ministries and involving ourselves in current ones.

My brother-in-law and another one of the young men from our church started a ministry where they play basketball in a nearby neighborhood, invite the residents, and use that opportunity to share the Gospel.

I help teach Sunday School to four- to eleven-year olds, sharing Bible stories and their practical application in the kids’ lives.

My church has both a teen and a young adult program, ministries that are geared toward bringing in and building up people in those age brackets.

There are so many ministries available to us, waiting to be employed in the pursuit of making disciples. All we have to do is look, and join in. Finding a nearby ministry—whether it’s an extension of your home church, or some kind of organization that takes care of the widows and orphans and allows you to share your faith—is never all that hard. 

And once you’ve found your ministry, you dive in. Start sowing into people’s lives, caring for the broken and the needy—making disciples.

"When do you want to go home?" I asked my almost-college grad daughter, Julianna.

"Mom, we just got here," she chided.

"It's freezing, Julianna," her best friend, Marla backed me up.

But, Julianna was determined. It was the first day of spring break and she wanted to ENJOY the beach. Hah! It was chilly and windy. But, I had promised to go, so I slid my sweat pants down to my bathing suit. Immediately, goose bumps rose and I felt chilled to the bone. I grabbed a winter blanket and cuddled inside of it, wondering why Christians have to keep their word anyway.

The hours dragged on unmercifully until it was time to leave. Now, keep in mind, the beach is my very favorite place on earth and had I been wearing a parka that day, I would have enjoyed myself. But, timing is everything.

In homeschooling, timing is everything too. Just like Julianna tried to rush summer fun ahead of schedule, we can rush into teaching subjects ahead of our children's time table. Children are unique and learn at different times and paces.

When to Start Formal Education

 Katie Beth, my oldest daughter, was ready to learn her to read at the age of 4. How did I know. Well, I copied pictures of each of the letters from the phonics program I intended to use and hung them on the wall in the dining room of our small seminary apartment. I made paper, scissors, glue, markers, crayons, and other art supplies available for her in a large drawer in the china cabinet. When she began to copy the letters on her own and ask to write her name, I knew that interest was there.

I had been reading aloud to her several times a day and she loved to pretend to read books to her dolls. We started a fun phonics program that involved learning phonics rules through songs.

Another daughter was not ready to learn to read until the age of 6, almost 7. I tried a couple of times to start reading instruction and she was just not ready. But when she was finally ready, it went smoothly.

The Early Years

The early years of childhood are the perfect time to prepare children for a lifetime of enthusiastic learning. Reading well-written, beautifully illustrated storybooks aloud, picnics at the park, and playground fun can fill your days. All the things mothers do naturally: teaching animal sounds, make up silly rhymes, singing songs together, and talking to children about family history introduce your little ones to learning in a fun way. Baking together, cleaning together, setting the table together, and shopping together introduce educational concepts to your sons and daughters. You can stop and look at leaves, bugs, flowers, and small critters when you go on natures walks. Or bring along a sketch pad and fill it with your discoveries.

Don't rush this time or turn learning into hard work. Enjoy living life together with your family, knowing they are learning so much in their memory-making moments with you. There will be plenty of time for formal education in the future. Fill the preschool years with precious memories that last a lifetime.

Your Child's Pace

The Bible has something to say about all of life, including government and economics. God is our provider and boss. All authority and power resides with God. We ignore God's authority at our own peril.

"Then Jesus came to them and said,"All authority in Heaven and on earth belongs to me," (Matthew 28:18 NIV (c)1984).

God also owns everything in world and all who live in it.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it; the world and all who live in it," (Psalm 24:1 NIV (c)1984).

Stewardship

God then delegates authority, responsibility, and wealth to people and institutions. What? Well, let me explain. God is the owner of everything and we are His stewards. We take care of His property for Him. The best biblical illustration of this is the parable that Jesus told in Matthew 24:45-51 where the master of the household puts a servant in charge of his household, possessions, and other servants while he goes away on a trip. When the master comes home, he will reward or penalize the servant based on the servant's care of others and behavior.

God places us in charge of his people and possessions. We are his stewards, accountable to him for the job we do in caring for what is entrusted to us.

Economic Stewardship

They were the best of times, they were the worst of times! 

College years are so exciting with friendships, opportunities to meet new people from all over the world, and the thrill of learning and growing. But, college can be stressful--those exams and papers! I have three people living in my house right now who are attending college. The end of the semester is crunch time around here, and sometimes stressful. 

But, my kids are successful in college! They make good grades, share their faith, and build strong friendships. Mike and I managed to not just survive college years, but to thrive! How can you be successful in college? Here are some tips that work for our family!

Put Christ First

When the pressure of crunch time comes--a paper is due, an exam is on the horizon--don't neglect your relationship with God. More important than your GPA and keeping your scholarship, walking in the favor of the Lord must take high priority. 

My daughter, Jenny Rose, sets Saturday aside for the Lord (we happen to meet on Saturday right now because we don't have our own church building). She prays, reads the Bible, encourages her friends, practices with the worship team, goes to sound check, and sings on the worship team at church. She realizes that this means losing an entire day that could be devoted to studies, but she doesn't care. She knows the truth, life goes better when you put Jesus and His Kingdom first.

Work Hard

If you are in college, school is your job. Learning is your vocation. Be excellent at it. Don't just try to "get by" or "pass the class." Make up your mind to be excellent at all you do. Set aside time to study and treat those times as if you are heading off to work. Be diligent. 

Zack is working two jobs and going to school. Some weeks the only time I see him is at LIFE group and at church. He works hard writing papers, doing projects, and studying for exams. Yes, he misses out on some fun things and will have to wait until the end of the semester to see certain movies, but Zack knows the truth: All Hard Work Brings a Profit!

Know Your Professors

Every instructor has preferences and expectations that are different from every other professor. Learn about your  professor's teaching style and expectations by reading the syllabus and paying close attention in class during the first few weeks of the semester. Ask questions if you are unsure of what his/her requirements. 

Go see your professor during office hours when they are available. My oldest daughter teaches English at UCF and she loves for students to ask for help or just come by to chat during office hours. One on one conversations will help you clarify information. Professors are happy to help students with difficult concepts or assignments.   

Take Assignments One Phase at a Time

What comes to your mind when you think about teaching your teen to write an essay? Panic? The dreaded SAT essay or college entrance essay? Confidence?

If peace and confidence did not come to your mind then I hope to change that by the end of this article. We have already covered the basics of teaching teens to write in Teach Teens to Write and writing paragraphs and reports in Teach Teens to Write Paragraphs and Teach Teens to Write Reports. Now, it's onto essays.

Essays

Essays bring almost as much fear to students and their parents as research papers do. But essays are actually more fun to write than reports because while reports are factual, essays allow students to share both facts and feelings. The essay writer is able to express more of himself in his paper.

An essay is a short work of non-fiction that presents the author's view on a single topic. A good essay has a "grabber" opening paragraph, a body (with as many paragraphs as are needed to communicate effectively about the topic, and an effective closing paragraph.

As I have mentioned in the other writing articles, the more time you spending in intellectual discussion with your teen, the better prepared your teen will be to communicate on paper. This is especially true of essay writing.

Read Essays

Many teens have never read a good essay, so before you ask him to write his own essay, give him some good essays to read. Newspaper editorial pages are a good place to find examples, especially of persuasive essays. Here are some of my favorite collections of essays: Federalist Papers, Anti-Federalist Papers, God in Dock by CS Lewis, and The Complete Essays of Mark Twain. You can also find GK Chesterton's essays on-line at GK Chesterton's Works on the Web. Dive into these essays with your teenager. Read some aloud together and talk about what makes these essays so good. You also might want to let your son or daughter read older siblings essays or your old essays from college.

Topic & Audience

You might want to review Teach Teens to Write and Teach Teens to Write Paragraphs before we get started.

Reports are made up of several paragraphs that work together, informing the reader on a topic of interest. Teens write reports in science, history, Bible, and other classes. Often academic in nature, they should still be enjoyable to read. Your teens learns about a topic and shares the information in a report. My teens enjoy writing reports on other countries, historical figures, and Bible topics.

The first step in writing a report is to choose a topic, research that topic, and then narrow the topic down small enough to be the subject of the report. The biggest mistake students make is to choose a subject that is too broad. A narrow subject makes for a focused, interesting report that doesn't ramble all over the place.

Research

When I first heard the term apologetics, I immediately thought of apologizing. It sounded like Christians were saying, "I'm sorry for what I believe." But the term apologetics refers to intellectually defending the faith. As believers in Jesus, we are commanded to give a reason for the hope that we have, to answer the intellectual questions of our day. The Bible does have an answer for the questions the world is asking.

"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of your slander," (I Peter 3:15-16NIV).

Teens Defend Their Faith

People will ask you and your Christian teenager questions such as "Why do you believe the Bible?" or "Why do you think Christianity is the only right way to believe?" Is your teen ready to answer those questions? Maybe you are thinking, "Golly, I'm not ready to answer those questions." That's okay. You and your teen can learn together.

Where do we start in teaching our teens to defend their faith? Set apart Christ as Lord. Set Him aside as the Supreme Master of your life and home. Whatever He says goes! His Word is Truth. His commands are obeyed. He is the One we live to please, not the world, our friends, or our college professors.

Training

Next, we receive preparation or training so that we can be prepared to give an answer to those who ask. This preparation can be in the form of a class with you or your spouse. There are many wonderful books available on the subject of apologetics such as More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell or Know Why You Believe by Paul E. Little. My husband taught an apologetics Sunday School class that we have adapted for our teens. It covers the following topics.

• Reality and Uniqueness of the Bible
• Creation and the Evolution Scam
• The Flood
• Archeology
• Prophecies of Cities' Destruction
• Prophecies of the Coming Messiah
• The Trilema: Is Jesus, Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?
• Jesus' Resurrection

"The skit was excellent. But, unfortunately, that is exactly how my family is," a man admitted to my husband at the Finish Well conference. He was referring to the skit that opened up the conference on Friday night portraying the communication problems that many homeschooling families experience in their homes. This skit revealed the spiritual battle that occurs when we try to communicate.

Many fathers, after the skit was finished, listened attentively as Pastor Mike challenged them to lead their homes and walked them through how to win back the heart of a rebellious teen. In fact, you could hear a pin drop. Every eye was watching Pastor Mike, listening. I never knew the problem was so intense in homeschooling families. People needed hope. When an altar call was given, dads rushed forward to ask the Lord to help them, anoint them.

Ah, the joy of ​​teaching teens to write!

​Last time, in Teaching Teens to Write, we talked about playing with words, talking, reading examples of the writing they will do, and crafting an excellent sentence. Today, we will move on to paragraphs and reports. As we move forward, don't forget to keep talking to your teens about the subjects you expect them to write about, to prepare them to write.

Paragraphs

An excellent paragraph is filled with excellent sentences, so remind your teens to check each sentence in a paragraph to make sure that it is well-crafted. A paragraph is a collection of sentences that flow together about the same subject. The topic sentence tells you what the paragraph is about, often the first sentence in the paragraph.

Don’t be worried about homeschooling during the high school years!  Florida is a great state to homeschool in! After graduating three homeschoolers and sending them to Stetson University on Florida Bright Future scholarships, I have had the privilege of dealing with college administrators, state government bureaucrats, and local country officials. I have not had one negative experience. Everyone has been kind, helpful and supportive. Many people took time to help me through the maze of the college application process and the grand scholarship hunt. 
         
Academically, high school is the transition between basic education and college. Practically it is the zone between childhood and adulthood. It is complicated by hormones that fling emotions into unknown regions of agony and ecstasy.  [How thankful I am that those years are over in my life—now I just have menopause to look forward to!] There is a need for prayer planning to make these years successful.        

Eighth grade is a good time to plan the high school years with your husband and teen. I recommend reading a few books on homeschooling the high school student and talking to other moms who have (or are!) successfully homeschooled teenagers. Other homeschooling moms can lead you by the hand and help you through the questions and decisions.            

Realize that your plan will change over the years, but it is good to have a rough idea of what you want to accomplish. Here are the graduation requirements from the state of Florida:

High School Graduation Requirements

What fun it has been to design my children's high school classes! It has been one of the greatest joys of homeschooling for me because I love planning, learning, and planning to learn. Now, you may not feel the same way I do. I can understand that. So, we will keep everything simple.

We have an overall plan. We understand the concept of credits. If not, review our previous articles in our homeschooling high school column  Now we are going to talk about designing individual classes! You can design classes to earn 0.5 credits or 1.0 credits. 

Ingredients of a Class

The various aspects of designing a high school class are: textbook or main living book (or DVD teaching series), supplemental books and materials, written and oral assignments, other assignments, and requirements for final grade.

Classes can be simple or complex, depending on what you want your child to learn and what he wants to study. The best way to explain how to design a class is to show you! Let's start with something simple.

A math class is pretty simple to design.  A math textbook, math tests, and sometimes lectures or videos comprise a simple math class. Let's look at Algebra II.

Algebra II (1.0 credit)

Textbook: Saxon Algebra II

Supplemental books and materials: The Algebra 2 Tutor Video course

Assignments: Complete one lesson a day. Take corresponding test once a week.  Watch one video segment a week.

Grading: For an C grade, complete all work, watch all videos, and test grades above 70%. For a B grade, complete all work neatly, showing how you did the problem, watch all video segments, and test grades above 80%. For a C grade, complete all work neatly, show all problem solving work, watch all video segments, and test grades above 90%. 

Now let's get a little more complicated. You are going to teach a literature class and you're not sure what to cover. You want him to read the classics, but your son wants to read mysteries.  What should you do.  One of your options would be to design a class based on classic mysteries. Your son could read a classic mystery and another book by the same author each month. You also want him to do some writing, but he hates writing and reading. You are trying to think of some way to make this class more fun, but don't want to compromise. You notice that your son spends hours on facebook or on a blog site blogging. Ah, you will have him write book review to post on his my space. You will call it blogging, but require correct grammar and spelling.

You can design high school classes! Really! You can do it! Think about all the things you would like to teach your child in high school. Go ahead and make a list.

Dreams for Your Children

My list for each child will include things that are the same and things that are unique for each child. For instance, I want all my children to read Communist Manifesto in high school so that they can understand the socialist agenda in American universities and colleges. I also want them to study worldviews so that they can recognize the different worldviews that are predominate in our culture. Most of all, I want my children to know God's Word and apply it to all of life.

Dreams for Each Teen

But then I have unique dreams for each child. For Katie Beth, it was to cultivate her gift of writing and give her opportunities to act. Julianna was a singer, so I wanted her to take voice lessons. Jenny Rose is a song writer--she developed that gift in high school. Sarah Joy is already skilled at movie making. Her high school classes include assignments to make videos! 

Your Dreams to Teach

Now, let's talk about you. What is it you want to teach your children in high school? How do you want to equip them for life? Make a list of things that are near and dear to your heart in this area. Once you have that list, we'll move on to making a general plan for the high school years. After we have the general plan, we will move on to individual course.

Ready for next year? My favorite part of high school is planning the classes for my teenagers to take the following year. If it is not yours, relax. I will walk you through a simple way to plan next year. Keep the Lord part of the process and cast your cares on Him!

Time to Plan

After you've evaluated the past year, it's time to make a plan for next year. Don't forget your overall plan for high school. If you want to design your own classes, you may want to review Create Your Own High School Courses and High School Credits. What classes does your teenager still have to take before graduation? Are their classes that she would like to take? Are there things that you still want to teach her? The years are flying by, but there is still time to do that special project you've always wanted to do with her--weave it into a class!

Dream Big!

At the beginning of every school year, I start my planning by dreaming big--the sky's the limit. Yes, most of what I write down gets chopped but sometimes God does amazing things to let homeschooling dreams come true! One year I wrote down that I wanted my family to play sports together for fun. No one liked my idea of spending family night playing basketball or volleyball instead of watching a movie. But, a family friend started Sunday Sports on Sunday afternoons where children and adults from our church play soccer and football for four hours every Sunday afternoon.  Sometimes, the whole family goes, but my children go almost every week!  It's great exercise, fun, and takes care of that P.E. credit for high school.

Why don't you try it too, after a simple prayer for God to give you wisdom, creativity, and vision! Jot down everything you can think of that would be awesome to do in the coming year. Write down books you'd love for your teens to read and other books you'd love to read aloud together. (Yes, you can still read aloud together in high school!) Think of adventures that you'd enjoy with your teen. Now, walk away from the list for a few days and keep praying about the coming year. Let this be the most prayed-over year ever!

In Light of the Overall Plan

What classes/credits does he still need to take before graduation? Pull out your overall plan for high school. Are there any skills (e.g. writing) that he needs to focus on?  Make sure to include these skills in class assignments. Find out what enrichment classes, dual enrollment classes, and coops are available for your teen to participate in next year.  Do any of them interest you or your teen?

Creativity in Teaching

It's that time of year again when homeschool conventions, curriculum catalogs, and all kinds of sales on homeschooling products are going on. What should you purchase for next year?

Stop and Evaluate Before Planning Next Year

Before you order, sit down and make a plan. But, before you make a plan, evaluate the past year. Have you had one of those years where your child did all the work, but can't remember anything? Or maybe they did learn, while complaining how dry and boring the curriculum was. One year I got these wonderful high school history tapes. Katie Beth, my oldest daughter, endured them without complaint, but when it was Julianna's turn to use them, she let me know how difficult it was to listen to them. Jenny Rose has never even heard of the tapes! I moved on to something new for American History.

Learning From My Mistakes

Katie Beth succeeded with independent learning, but she missed being part of family fun. Looking back, I wish I'd included her in some unit studies. She did all her high school work, except for coops and dual enrolling for three classes at the local community college, on her own. She was in the house with us, but not part of what we were doing.

Julianna and Jenny Rose did a lot of work independently, but they were part of our history unit studies and other classes. It required creativity to weave everything together, making sure we stayed on track for high school requirements and credits, but it was worth the time and effort. Not only did the girls enjoy learning with the family, but it's good for the little ones to hear the wisdom that comes from high schoolers.  Yes, I said wisdom. Teens thrive when they are heroes/role models to younger children and they rise to the occasion to dispense wisdom to younger siblings. 

Don't assume that because your teenager can do schoolwork on their own, they don't need you anymore. Homeschooling is still a full time job in high school. One of the most important thing a mom can do when teaching high school is to discuss what is being learned. Intellectual discussion is stimulating and a way for teens to process all the material in their classes.

Teens Can Help Evaluate

"I've decided to go ahead and switch my major from Finance to Accounting," Julianna informed her daddy and me one evening. We had been praying with and for her on this decision for several weeks.

"Well, if you think that's God's will,..." I began.

My husband shot me a look. The look warned me to not share my personal feelings about accounting.

I had mentored a younger Christian girl in college who had majored in accounting. She hated it and I hated it for her. She worked faithfully as an accountant for ten years, married to a college professor, eventually pursuing another field. Her experience put a bad taste in my mouth. Not wanting to see my little girl suffer, I had my hesitations. I have since had to adjust my thinking on accounting. While not all people will enjoy accounting, it is not the boring task I once envisioned.

How thankful I am for people who crunch numbers and are good at crunching numbers. Since starting my own business, I see how important accounting is--how it can even make or break a business. My personal philosophy of educating my children includes training them to start and run their own business. So, when Professor in a Box sent me their Financial Accounting Class, I was excited to check it out. However, after looking it over, I decided to take the class myself so that I can grow in the area of managing my own business. Interested?  Let's take a look at this "course in a box."

What's Inside the Package?

Michael P. Licata, Ph.D. is the creator of this accounting course, Professor in a Box:  Financial Accounting, for homeschooled high school students. He is an accounting professor at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. My guess is that he is a popular professor because of his practical teaching style. Everything he taught had practical application with companies that young people can relate to.

Accounting, the language of business, is introduced to the high school student through lectures, homework problems with solutions available, and exams. Taught from a non-traditional approach, there is not a big fat accounting textbook to read. Instead, 12 chapters are divided into 2 or 3 flash lecture slides each. The flash lecture slides include a description of each key concept with discussions of all the important concepts and sample problems with step by step illustrations of how to work them out. The slides are bright and cheerful, easy on the eyes, but very informative and easy to understand. I learned a lot by reading them for this review. They were very impressive.

Investigating the Class