anyone homeschooling teens?

[frugalmum]

I've noticed a lot of threads about young children, just wondering if we could do a rollcall of families homeschooling teens?

I am homeschooling one teen and one pre-teen. Plus some younger ones.

[moongazer]

This is a great idea!!
I am homeschooling two 13 yos. My 18 yo is attending the local community college full-time, so I guess I am not homeschooling him anymore
I have two littler ones also.

[moominmamma]

I have a 16yo who is partly homeschooled (in school part-time), a 13yo who is homeschooled and an 11-year-old who is homeschooled and working at an 8th/9th grade level. Plus a 7-year-old.

Miranda

[SagMom]

[caefi]

Originally Posted by frugalmum

I've noticed a lot of threads about young children, just wondering if we could do a rollcall of families homeschooling teens?.

This year I have 2 teens, and 3 preteens (along with a 7yo and 5yo plus a 3yo and 7mo)

[Dar]

I have an 17 year old unschooler... currently taking 8 or 9 credits at the community college, as well as doing other things.

[MyFullHouse]

My oldest is "only" 12, but he's probably beginning high school work next year. I'm slightly panicked.

[sapientia]

I'm homeschooling a 16yo-who is currently taking college courses-and a 14 yo. The other 3 are younger.

[frugalmum]

I'm wondering how things are different for you, HSing a teen, vs when they were younger?

My son wants an accredited high school degree so he is in a correspondence school. There is a curriculum we follow and he is pretty much self-taught at this point. He actually refuses to let me help him, even when he is doing poorly grade wise.

The main issue for me is that I would not be able to help him with math, even if he asked for help. This is a little scary for me! We do have a DIVE cd-rom.

[dairy2dogs]

I'm also homeschooling a teen (15) using a correspondence school. He asks me for help when he needs it though. This is our first year.

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by frugalmum

I'm wondering how things are different for you, HSing a teen, vs when they were younger?

Well, my hsing friends and I joke that once they become teens, our role is to provide transportation and write checks.

A lot depends on the individual teen--my oldest was not college-bound and his hsing through the high school years was a seamless continuation of earlier years, meaning, he did a lot of reading, independent research, some outside classes, lots of hands-on projects etc.

My second child always planned to go to college. She's always been very independent. Starting before "high school" she was keeping track of her reading list, arranging volunteer opportunities for herself, planning her studies, researching colleges etc. etc. She began taking community college classes last year and loves it. She talks to me about what she's doing, and when I learn of opportunities (like an upcoming lab science class) that I think she'd like, I let her know about them, but she's happy making her own plans.

They both began doing more in the way of "field trips" with friends rather than with family. Although, we still enjoy going to a play or show together, they've done more of those things with others as they've gotten older.

The main issue for me is that I would not be able to help him with math, even if he asked for help.

Same here! There are so many resources though--from books to online help, to tutors to classes--that I'm not too worried about it.

While math is the "school subject" that I couldn't help with, actually they've surpassed my knowledge in a number of other subjects over the years--ds1 knows far more about woodworking than I do for example and my 10y/o's knowledge and ability in music is lightyears beyond my own. So, that's really nothing new--we just find mentors and teachers who CAN help them.

[MyFullHouse]

Originally Posted by frugalmum

I'm wondering how things are different for you, HSing a teen, vs when they were younger?

My son wants an accredited high school degree so he is in a correspondence school. There is a curriculum we follow and he is pretty much self-taught at this point. He actually refuses to let me help him, even when he is doing poorly grade wise.

The main issue for me is that I would not be able to help him with math, even if he asked for help. This is a little scary for me! We do have a DIVE cd-rom.

My ds does a lot of his work independently, and I use the answer keys.
I'm good with math up to Algebra 2. After that, I intend to write a check to the local community college! Probably for science, too. Not because we absolutely *can't* do it at home, but because I'd prefer not to. I hate labs.

[Dar]

Just bumping... we're in the midst of college prep stuff here, as well as Rain's community college courses. It's interesting to me how differently colleges seem to respond to homeschooling. It is clear that homeschooling teens is a lot more mainstream than it was a few years ago - nearly all the colleges seem to specifically address it on their websites. Some are really open to non-traditional applications, while others really aren't. Some are insisting on a GED, which is annoying... none of the top tier places seem to want one, but a lot of the less competitive ones do.

Other than that, I'm finding that I'm actually more involved then I'd been in previous years, which is interesting.

[Purple Sage]

Subbing.

DD is almost 14 and in the 8th grade, and she just started k12 virtual school a few weeks ago. I'm not sure how well it's going to work out because she really does not seem to do well with traditional schooling at all, but we're going to continue with it until I can figure out an alternative. I've never HSed before, so this a whole new world for me.

[myjo]

My oldest ds is almost 13. We started out in an online public school, but we didn't like it at all, so it's back to homeschooling this year. We'll probably go with another online school for 9th through 12th, but for now, homeschooling works better.

It seems like you really have to let teens have a say in how they learn. They want to make decisions and have so control over where their life is headed. At the same time, it's important to recognize that they may not always know what's best for themselves, especially if they choose to spend most of their time socializing online or watching youtube videos. It's hard to strike the right balance.

[simple living mama]

I have a 13 and 12 year old, home schooled all their lives but will be trying out a fairly new high school next year. So, since we've been doing our own organic way of learning, this year it's more structured so they will have an idea what to expect. They are taking it on board and my 13 year old says she wants to homeschool through summer so she will feel totally prepared. It's been pretty cool seeing her take charge of her learning this way. I feel excited for them and I hope I am doing all the right things to prepare them for the new experience.

[Tigeresse]

I have 2 homeschooled teens, the oldest is 18 and a freshman at the CC. Even though we're not technically homeschooling anymore, it is very involved helping him navigate the system and support his transition wherever that may be (looks like he wants to transfer to a 4-year college). DH is spending 2 nights/week working with him in math to help bring him up to speed, and I work with him on long term goals and strategies on how to reach them. Besides CC he has a job, has taught himself to play guitar and is starting a band, is in the beginning stages of writing a novel, and has a girlfriend. Busy guy!

My 14 yo is a lot like my 18 yo was at that age, his main focus in life right now is sleeping and food . He is very much into online gaming and communicating with friends in other parts of the country that way. He volunteers at the library, is involved in a couple homeschool teens groups, takes a homeschooled teens science class at the CC, a Coming of Age program at our church, and at my request, has begun some work on building skills in areas that presented problems for my older ds. He spends a lot of time working with and playing with his younger brother (11) and sister (7) as well.

We have taken a slightly more structured approach to our homeschooling than we have in the past (and I do mean slightly!), and it has infused a nice rhythm to our days and has enhanced everyone's sense of both discipline and responsibility, especially the teens. We're having a great time.

[moominmamma]

I have two unschooled teens. The eldest, who is 16, is 3000 miles away right now in Montreal. She wants to attend university there starting in 2011/12, for music performance, and has been scouting out teachers. The wrinkle in the plan is that she now says she wants to move there next year, during her senior year, so that she can get the lessons and orchestral and chamber music experience that kids in less rural areas all get. We live in the middle of nowhere, and it's true that she's not getting the level of training or the breadth of experience that almost all the students she'll be competing with for scholarships take as a given. So I see her point. I had been considering finding her a way to live in a "nearby" city (8 hours away, which we visit once a month at least) next year. But the idea of her living independently at 17 without the support of a college environment and so far away is a little much for me right now. She would not consent to be billeted even if we could find her such an arrangement. Her privacy and autonomy needs are far too high for that. And she has hit it off so well with three prospective teachers this weekend ...

Dar, I know Rain was abroad last year. Was she living independently? How did it work for her?

Miranda

[Callimom]

Originally Posted by moominmamma

I have two unschooled teens. The eldest, who is 16, is 3000 miles away right now in Montreal. She wants to attend university there starting in 2011/12, for music performance, and has been scouting out teachers. The wrinkle in the plan is that she now says she wants to move there next year, during her senior year, so that she can get the lessons and orchestral and chamber music experience that kids in less rural areas all get. We live in the middle of nowhere, and it's true that she's not getting the level of training or the breadth of experience that almost all the students she'll be competing with for scholarships take as a given. So I see her point. I had been considering finding her a way to live in a "nearby" city (8 hours away, which we visit once a month at least) next year. But the idea of her living independently at 17 without the support of a college environment and so far away is a little much for me right now. She would not consent to be billeted even if we could find her such an arrangement. Her privacy and autonomy needs are far too high for that. And she has hit it off so well with three prospective teachers this weekend ...

Dar, I know Rain was abroad last year. Was she living independently? How did it work for her?

Miranda

Semi thread crashing.....

Miranda
I lived on my own from the age of 16 plus. My mum was in Fla and I was in Ontario and I supported myself and finished highschool here. From what you have said about E I have no doubt she could manage it.
Good luck with the decision.
Karen

[Dar]

Originally Posted by moominmamma

Dar, I know Rain was abroad last year. Was she living independently? How did it work for her?

She was with a host family in Russia - actually two host families, because the first one pretty much sucked. The second was a lot better. I think it would have been really hard for her to live alone, especially when she first got there, because she didn't speak the language at all or know anything about the country where she was living - and she learned the language a lot more through being with a family.

But none of those will be issues for your daughter, it sounds like... my only question would be the cost. Wouldn't renting an apartment in Montreal be expensive, even if she were able to get a part-time job there? And working fulltime would make it hard to do the other things she wants to do...