Homeschooling a High School Senior, Planning Their Last Year

Congratulations, your homeschooling just finished their Junior year. If you are anything like me, when this realization set in, I went into full-fledged, screaming panic. While I had always had a basic outline of what his final year would look like, I realized that going through the motions of putting it into action was a lot different than writing plans of a piece of paper.

As I came to grips with the fact that this next school year was my son's last year at home, I began having conversations with him. While I knew in my head what I would like for him to have accomplished, I realized that the decisions for what he did his last year of homeschooling weren't mine to make. So after having some talks with him on what he wanted to accomplish for graduation, I did a bit of crossing out of my own plans, and writing down what was important to him.

Because he wanted to go to college, we had to first look at the requirements of the colleges he was most interested in. It turned out he really only needed one more class to graduate and get into college, but homeschooling is not just about checking of items from a college's checklist. In addition to the science class he needs for most colleges, he is interested in learning more about finances, so a personal finance class is in his future. In addition to that, his arts program that he has been in since 4th grade, has a few requirements for him too, and after seeing this year's graduation program, he can't wait to be a part of that too.

So what we knew was that he wanted to finish his homeschool arts program and participate in next year's graduation. Besides that, there were a couple of subjects to study. After much discussion, we decided that dual enrollment might be a good option. This means he will take classes at the local college a couple of days a week. The classes will count towards both high school and college credits. Add these college credits to the ones he has already earned through CLEP exams and he will start college one semester ahead.

So this is the option my son chose, to attend college two days a week, and his homeschool program one day a week, but there are many other options for homeschoolers in their senior year. If their prospective schedule is as light at my son's, an internship may be in order. Another option is to finish all of their academics by December, and go on a mission trip in the Spring of their senior year. They can also consider getting a job to put away some money before they leave for college.

In summation, it is important to first, give your homeschooler control over their senior year. You will have to make sure they meet minimum requirements, but let them decide through what means they will meet those requirements, whether it be through a textbook, a job, an internship, or a college class. It is also important to encourage them to not overwhelm themselves in their senior year so they can enjoy their last year as a homeschooler. Make sure they have time for friends and family, and a teenagers favorite hobby - sleep.