Homeschooling the Junior High Student

Homeschooling the junior high student can be viewed in many different ways. It can be a time to make sure the skills taught in middle school are cemented and the skills are known well enough to make the step into higher level classes for your student without any struggles on their part. Or if your child is ready and looking for new learning opportunities the junior high years are a perfect time to let them get started. At this age level you ought to be able to see their passions and what they are eager to learn about. Find the resources for that passion, self paced curriculum, outside or co-op classes, community college, special lessons, whatever fits the bill to help your child stay excited about their learning.

Now I am a stickler for making sure that the formal part of a childs education is covered. In my opinion it would be foolish not to make sure that the basics of math, science, history and literature are covered. This is the time to expand on these foundations not to leave them behind. However, this is the time to give the kids some freedom and say in what else they are interested in adding to their education.

This freedom should comfort the parents of junior high students. This is a time when you are not fully responsible for all of the teaching of your child. The child themselves should be taking more and more responsibility for that and then with the outside classes and help with the education the role of a parent becomes more administration then teacher. Your job will be more of making sure that all the education goals are covered and that you child stays on track with the long range goals that they have for their future.

Now that we have talked about the educational goals for your junior higher and how your role in their education has changed to a certain degree, its time to talk about other goals you have for you junior higher. We wanted our kids to have life experiences were they can take care of themselves as they grow into their adult lives. No matter the gender of the child they need to know how to cook, it didn't matter much to me if it was a gourmet meal or boxed macaroni and cheese just having some knowledge of how to feed themselves was important. At this point in a junior highers life washing dishes, cleaning the living room and bathrooms along with taking care of their own room should already be chores they are familiar with. It is also important to teach children how to do their own laundry, go over how to use the machines, how much detergent to use. Also teaching the correct way to iron is an important skill, they might not use it much but they still need to be exposed to it.

What an exciting time for you and your child. You should start seeing the rewards of all of your hard work as you see your child becoming more and more responsible for themselves, their education and their future.