Homeschooling High School Is Worth It!

Y’all.  Homeschooling high school is so much better than you could ever imagine.

I just graduated my first who will go on to follow her equine passions in college this fall and I can tell you unequivocally that homeschooling was worth it.  Every minute – the good, bad and ugly – was worth it.  Notice I didn’t say every minute was blissful or easy, but I am so very glad we made the journey to the end.

Homeschooling high school is so worth it!

Not only do we have great memories of doing life together, we’ve also had awesome opportunities to grow together in Christ, in learning, in trials and in triumphs.

As I prepare for the 10th grade year with my second child, I already see some of the frustrations that might come our way – like battling upper level math dragons and helping him see the benefit of buckling down in foreign language studies.  I know there will be struggles, but I also know that working through those struggles together will make us stronger.  I know that homeschooling through high school means my son will have a much better chance to rise above the status quo of teenagers these days.  I know that in his “rhetoric stage” mind, we still have much work to do to build worldviews and prepare him for his Kingdom work and I’m so thankful for that time.

During these years of amazing opportunity, I’ll keep blogging about our adventures to encourage you (and me) that we CAN do it!

Since this page will automatically update when any new high school post is written, you might like to pin it for quick reference.  Blessings on your journey!

Homeschooling High School: A Quick Reference to Our Journey Westward Articles

How to make real-world gifted homeschooling a reality

How To Make Real-World Gifted Homeschooling a Reality

Book smarts are important, but they aren’t the only things that matter for gifted learners. It’s essential to make common sense connections through real-world gifted homeschooling, too. One of the often-mentioned challenges about gifted children is that sometimes brilliant-minded kids don’t always make those common-sense connections. It can be infuriating for the parent and embarrassing…

Bean Classification: A Logic and Science Activity for High School

Bean Classification: A Logic and Science Activity for High School

Logic and critical thinking easily meet science in this bean classification activity. Using a simple 16-bean soup mix, middle and high school students can develop their own systems of classification. It’s such a great way to practice classification and re-classification strategies based on debatable characteristics. Speaking of debate, the activity provides a great opportunity for…

The cemetery is a great place to learn about local history. This free scavenger hunt can be used by all ages!

A Cemetery Scavenger Hunt Makes a Great History Lesson

Eeeewww! A cemetery scavenger hunt? Are you serious? Yes! Believe it or not, this is a REALLY cool activity because cemeteries are chock-full of history! We’ve visited several cemeteries over the years as we’ve studied our state’s history. And, you might remember the times we’ve utilized our beautiful cemeteries for science purposes like winter nature walks, conifer studies,…

Using picture books is a great way to teach the narrative writing style to older students!

Picture Books That Demonstrate Narrative Writing for Older Students

If there’s one subject that seems to befuddle homeschoolers more than any other, it’s writing. I hear it during homeschool consultations and casually talking among homeschool friends. Plus, I see questions about it all over the internet. People are often surprised when I tell them I don’t formally teach writing until middle school. Really, I don’t. And here’s…

girl with ponytail in a pink bow advertising a blog post

68 Gifts for Girly Girls

Do you have a girly girl in your life? My daughter can muck the dirtiest of stalls in her Carhartt coveralls then settle in with Jane Auten and hot tea with girlfriends a few hours later. I’m not sure whether to call her a girly girl or not, but I do know that she’s enjoyed…

A girl in a blue dress and long, dark hair loves on a chestnut horse with a black bridle on. They are standing in a sandy arena. This is for a blog post about gifts for horse lovers.

Great Gifts for Horse Lovers

Horses are a lifelong love for my daughter. She has always gasped at the sight of horses grazing in a pasture, cleared the local library’s shelves of all the horse-related books, and covered her walls with posters of wild stallions and prancing ponies. Gift giving occasions have never been great mysteries for anyone who knows…

Bacteria science experiments are great for middle and high school students! #homeschool #science #homesciencetools

What’s Growing in Your Homeschool? Bacteria Science Experiments

Ah, fall. Beautiful weather, fun festivals, football…and the beginning of “sick season.” It’s the perfect time of year to teach middle and high school students about germs through some cool bacteria science experiments! I’ve harped to my son for years about the importance of hand-washing to prevent illness. Now that he has actually seen bacteria…

Living literature rocks. A LOT of learning happens between the pages of a good book!

Living Literature Booklists

If you asked me to name a few things that have made THE most impact in our homeschool over the years, one of the answers I would give without hesitation is living literature. Many precious hours have been spent together around books. Those moments have built strong bonds between us, created warm memories, and sparked…

I love our high school economics course!

How To Teach High School Economics

Economics.  It’s about earning and spending money.  It’s how businesses grow.  It’s using resources to satisfy needs and wants.  It’s taxes and interest rates and credit cards and savings accounts.  It’s in everything from local production to global trade. The study of economics is as important for the “average person” as it is for the…

My little horse lover is all grown up and preparing for college level equine studies. This post shares how I supported her passion through homeschooling over the years.

Homeschooling a Horse Lover

My little horse lover is all grown up.  This year she will graduate our homeschool and head off to college where she will major in equine science. Before her passion for horses blossomed, we knew her heart held a soft spot for animals in general – and all the jobs that come with those animals. …

Growing Hearts

Growing Hearts

(This post contains affiliate links.) Growing Hearts and Minds James 3:13-17 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny…

Our American Lit Selections

Our American Lit Selections

(This post contains affiliate links.) High School American Lit I love meeting the particular needs and interests of my children in our homeschool studies.  Once my children reach high school, the same philosophy applies.  Thus, the reason I’m pulling bits and pieces of various American Literature courses and adding some of my own choices in…

Philosophy Adventure Review

Philosophy Adventure Review

(I received a preview copy of Philosophy Adventure: Pre-Socratics in exchange for my honest review.) Christian Philosophy: Isn’t That An Oxymoron? For most of us who studied philosophy in high school or college, yes, our classes were anything but Christian.  Misleading, worldly, tempting, humanistic and me-centered are just a few of the words I would…

Homeschooling High School Science

Homeschooling High School Science

(This post contains affiliate links and links to my business, Shining Dawn Books.) Is Homeschooling High School Science Intimidating? Yes, it can be.  I’ve found so many wonderful resources to make it easier, though! Apologia We now have two years under our belt using Exploring Creation with Biology and Exploring Creation With Chemistry from Apologia. …

Logic is not only super fun, but it's an extremely important thinking skill to teach your children!

My Favorite Logic Resources

Is it really important to add logic studies in your homeschool from PK-High School?  Yes! Our children need to know how to think.  With the ability to think, almost any topic at any time can be learned and/or thought about critically.  Christian children who hope to defend their faith in the world absolutely MUST be…

Homeschool Service Projects

I’ve written about the importance of adding service projects to your homeschool before, but I want to reiterate how BIG making time to help others can be in the life your family. Setting up for our homeless guests at church I’m constantly amazed at the spiritual growth I see in my children as we take…

Economics in the Homeschool

Economics in the Homeschool

Sadly, the formal study of economics is left out of most of the curricula I’ve run across in my 11+ years of homeschooling. An understanding of economics is EXTREMELY important as our children grow up to care for a family, learn to tithe and give, and become the financial leaders of our country. Unless we took…

Project-Based Learning Ideas

I’m a huge believer in project-based learning! Keep reading to learn why and to get tons of project-based learning ideas for your homeschool! Just what is project-based learning? Quite simply, it’s a learning method in which your children dive into a subject and complete a project to show what they know.  Projects can really be…

Play Dough Geometry

Learning math with play dough geometry is so much fun! Middle and high school students like to play, too, and this series of lessons gives them a great, hands-on overview of beginning geometry. Concrete learning (actually touching, building, and manipulating things) is so important to solidify a real understanding of otherwise abstract concepts. Play dough…

Nature Walk Clipboards

Nature Walk Clipboards

While school supply shopping at Walmart the other day, I ran across some clipboard storage boxes in several fun colors.  I remembered Maureen from Spell Out Loud mentioning using these nature walk clipboards with her family, so I put three in my cart.  Wow – they have been a wonderful addition to our nature walks!…

Weekly Lesson Notebooks

Weekly Lesson Notebooks

(This post contains affiliate links.) Better lesson organization is one of my main goals for the upcoming school year.  Having a high school student, middle school student and a kindergartener, I have no choice but to be more organized – or feel flustered and fall behind too often like I did last year when I…

Renaissance Festival

I’ve wanted to attend the Ohio Renaissance Festival for years.  Since this is our last medieval history cycle with Mahayla (boo hoo), visiting the festival was now or never.  What a fun experience!  (A little gypsy-like at times, but fun nonetheless.) We attended on their special school/homeschool day.  While I didn’t like dealing with the…

Moss and lichen on a tree trunk. An image for a blog post about nature study.

Lichen vs. Moss

It can be difficult during a nature walk to identify lichen vs. moss. These simple descriptions and pictures should help you learn the differences between the two. Lichen vs. Moss: What’s the Difference? Through the course of our nature clubs and writing the NaturExplorers studies, the following question has come up several times. “What’s the…

Cleopatra Exhibit

Every once in a while, blogging has nice perks.  As a blogger in the Greater Cincinnati area, my children and I were invited to tour the traveling exhibit, Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt, at the Cincinnati Museum Center.  We just so happened to be finishing up Ancient Greek history and moving…

National Missionary Convention

Another field trip bites the dust.  More than a simple field trip, though, this one was life changing!   The National Missionary Convention was held this past weekend in Lexington, and because our church registered, we were able to attend for free.  You know me and field trips, I wasn’t about to pass up a free…

Favorite Games for Homeschooling

Favorite Games for Homeschooling

(This post contains affiliate links and links to my business website, Shining Dawn Books.) Games for Homeschooling? During my workshops about creative homeschooling and living math, I often talk about incorporating games into the school schedule. If your family has an established game night, you probably already know how educational many board and card games…

KY State Fair

We love the State Fair!  This year was our first time being more than spectators and we had a busy, but exciting blast.  The big kids showed goats two nights in a row, which left two days full of exploring all the sights and sounds. Some kind friends hauled our two goats to the fair…

2 Comments

  1. Awesome Cindy, isn’t it such a great experience to have with our kids? Congrats on graduating the first! For us it was scary and awesome at the same time and now that our daughter has finished her Freshman year successfully, we knew that we had made the right decision to homeschool all the way! Yippee 🙂

  2. Meridith, you’re always so encouraging. 🙂 I’m glad your daughter had a great freshman experience and just know we’ll be able to report the same next year!

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