You can homeschool high school — and do it well. On the Homeschool High School Podcast, the team from 7Sisters Homeschool guides you through credits, transcripts, GPAs, college and career prep, and raising capable, faith-grounded teens, minus the overwhelm. Start with an episode below, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for practical help through the teen years.

Sweet 13 Bonus: Will I Wreck the Transcript?

October 1, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Homeschool Highschool Podcast | Sweet 13 Bonus episode

 

Felice met the 7Sisters team at a blogging conference and invited them to bring homeschool high school to the network. Years and hundreds of episodes later, they are still the ones parents come to when the teen years arrive.

For the network’s thirteenth birthday, every host answers a single real question. This one is theirs.

Their question: “Your oldest is about to hit high school, and you are quietly terrified you are going to wreck their transcript.”

Their answer starts with a joke and ends with a reframe: there is no cookie-cutter homeschool high school, because there is no cookie-cutter kid — and yet the transcript is exactly a cookie cutter, one that admissions officers know how to read. Your job is the translation. The clip comes from Transcript Basics.

Also in this episode: Felice Gerwitz on whether to homeschool at all · Hal and Melanie Young on boys who will not sit still · Dr. Melanie Wilson on why you are already behind · Sue Myers on a fever and a two-year-old · Meryl van der Merwe on teenagers and AI · Meredith Curtis on getting the joy back · Lisa Nehring on life skills before they launch.

🎂 The Sweet 13 Giveaway is open. More than $1,500 in prizes, four drawings across October, and a free party favor for everyone who enters. Enter at ultimateradioshow.com/sweet-13 — October 1 through 29. No purchase necessary, US residents 18+, official rules here.

Presented by Eden’s Table. Use code EDEN13.

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Celebrating Our Just-Average Teens

September 29, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Celebrating Our Just-Average Teens.

Celebrating Our Just-Average Teens

Celebrating Our Just-Average Teens

Let’s celebrate  our just-average teens!

There is joy when we appreciate the fact that our teens are exactly who they’re supposed to be, exactly the teens that God created them to be.

Featured in this article:

  • A farming analogy
  • Can you catch the metaphor that’s coming?
  • Here’s the point about parenting just-average teens
  • Average teens may do average-level academics
  • Help teens learn not to criticize themselves
  • More about homeschooling average teens

A farming analogy

Vicki is from Florida. She married into a backwoods Florida farming family. Her mother-in-law was from a farming family that had been on the land for generations. On the family farm, some areas had rich soil, some had sandy soil, and some were a little damp down near the creek.

Her mother-in-law’s father had to know which crops would grow best in which soils. A wise farmer paid attention. Up near the farmhouse, there may have been some beautiful corn growing. You could watch it grow and get bigger and bigger from the farmhouse steps.

Further out towards the back 40 acres, there may have been things like mustard greens, okra, or potatoes that would grow best in the soil there.

The corn up near the house was more visible. However, it didn’t mean it was the most important crop. Each crop was important. Each was growing the way it grew best.

Can you catch the metaphor that’s coming?

We have some teens in our families or in our community who were born to be more visible. Perhaps they look like the ones that are the best at something, or they are outstanding at something, or they are award-winning at something.

Then we have teens that are like a lot of our teens: they are average at something.

In fact, most of our teens are average at most things.

If you ever had to take statistics in college, you may remember the bell-shaped curve of populations. For instance, perhaps you obtain a large population of almost anything: humans, cats, or trees. When you measure the way that population is behaving, you will end up with a graph that looks like a bell.

The largest numbers of that population are under the top of the bell. That means that most of the population is there. That is a simple explanation of the word “average”.

Average teens are going to live what looks like an “average life”. This is good!

Here’s the point:

God makes each of our teens exactly who they should be: an average person doing normal things in life. As long as they learn to fulfill who God made them to be and stay faithful to what God called them to do, living an “average life” is a good and beautiful thing!

So, if God called them to learn to be a family person, invest in that family, and pay the bills by being a plumber or a mechanic, but they don’t make the big, big bucks, that’s not wrong. It’s the right thing for them.

It is the right thing: doing anything that glorifies God as an average person. It is good when teens learn to make life good and glorify God in their faithfulness to what God has called them to do.

Average teens may do average-level academics

Our average teens may not love math or their literature classes, but they are doing them. They don’t need to do honors-level work; instead, they can learn through an average-level curriculum.

Then they can spend more time on real-life preparation that will help them faithfully do what God made them to be.

So, if you have just-average teens, you can help them to understand that the important thing in life is to understand themselves, who God made them to be, and to fulfill that with joy and faithfulness.

You can make sure that your teens are concentrating on:

Help teens learn not to criticize themselves

In her years as a licensed professional counselor, Vicki has often heard teens criticize themselves because they think they are not good at anything. But yes, they are. They are good at what God made them to be good at.

If we can help teens to relax and explore, have experiences, and just be faithful to the little things they know, whether that’s making their bed, “Okay, I’m faithful to that,”

or,

“I’m learning how to write this code on the computer,” they will be building who they will grow up to be.

They should not be criticizing themselves but recognizing that God made them to be who they are, and that is the right thing.

Our average teens are not ever less than. They are who they are supposed to be. It is not their job to be famous; it’s to be faithful.

And as homeschool moms, we need to remember that as well. Our success is not bragging about a kid who got a full-ride scholarship to college. What makes us a successful mom is doing what God gave us to do.

On the hard days and the glorious days, our job is to help our teens develop self-awareness, character, and academic preparation that’s right for them. So that when they graduate, we’ve done what we can.

You can do this!

More about homeschooling average teens

Stay in touch

Thank you to Seth Tillman for editing!

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Teaching Teens to Avoid Plagiarism

September 21, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Teaching Teens to Avoid Plagiarism.

Teaching Teens to Avoid Plagiarism

Teaching Teens to Avoid Plagiarism

Sometimes, parents will request a topic for the podcast. Recently, a parent asked us to talk about plagiarism.

It is so easy these days for young people to be tempted to throw a prompt into ChatGPT or another AI tool and get a paper produced for them. This might seem like a logical time-saver for teens; however, it is a kind of plagiarism. If an AI tool writes their paper, they did not!

Featured in this article:

  • A sad plagiarism story
  • A sadder plagiarism story
  • How to avoid plagiarism
    • Step one: remember your topic
    • Step two: do not ever copy and paste
    • Step three: write your paper
    • Step four: remember why you are writing papers
    • In brief: write your own paper in your own words
  • The good news about writing your own papers
  • Keep reading more on how to write research papers without plagiarism

A sad plagiarism story

One of my sons is a teacher at a university in Korea. Last year, one of his freshman-level courses required students to write a paper. When the students turned in their papers, he found that half of his students handed in AI-produced research papers.

The students had the theme of the assignment. They gave it to the AI tool, and the tool wrote their paper for them.

Unfortunately for the students, it was easily identifiable. Fortunately for the students, he was able to talk to the students and require them to rewrite the paper themselves. Because it was a freshman class and they were learning skills, with the university’s permission, my son could give them a second chance.

A sadder plagiarism story

On the other hand, when one of my other sons was in graduate school, he was teaching undergraduate students. One of his star students was very busy, so she bought her research paper from a website that writes papers for students. Unfortunately for her, teachers were required to use plagiarism trackers to catch those “bought papers”.

My son was required to report her plagiarized paper, and she lost her full-ride scholarship.

Plagiarism is a problem

Plagiarism is tempting for students, but it is a problem. Therefore, it is wise to teach our teens to develop the skills so that they do not need to plagiarize.

How to avoid plagiarism

Let’s talk with teens about how to avoid plagiarism, whether mistakenly or on purpose, in research papers (or any high school writing projects).

Step one: remember your topic

When you are writing your paper, you should have a clearly defined topic. For instance:

  • An APA paper has a topic
  • MLA papers have a thesis

This topic is going to guide you. It’s easier not to copy and paste somebody else’s work because it probably will not stay on theme as well as when you write your own paper.

Step two: do not ever copy and paste

When you are taking notes, do not copy and paste. It’s tempting. If you have cut-and-pasted notes from online resources while doing your research, it is easy to cut and paste directly into your paper.

According to the circumstances, this might be plagiarism. Or it simply might look like laziness. Several of my teacher friends have told me about teens who cut and paste sections of their papers from online sources. The font type, size, and colors have differed from the rest of the paper. Oops!

Instead, it’s better to take notes in your own wording or type quotes yourself directly into your document. (Or use flashcards and handwrite your notes!) Remember to keep your citations with your notes.

Remember: if you copy and paste your notes, you are not learning the material, and you are not learning how to write a research paper. The point of a research paper is to:

  • train your brain to do the process of research
  • interact with the research
  • and write the research paper

Step three: write your paper

Now you are ready to write your paper. Remember, you are not cutting and pasting something right out of your notes into the paper. Instead, you are interpreting what you learned and digesting that into your paper.

You do need quotes in your research paper. However, do NOT cut and paste. Type out each quote. Follow the guidelines for the style of paper you are writing (APA, MLA, or Chicago). Remember to include the citation for the quote.

Tip: It is a good idea to include at least one citation in every paragraph, except the introduction and conclusion. Even if you are not using a quote but putting what you learned into your own words, citations prove that you did not plagiarize.

Guidance: NEVER buy your paper or give a prompt to ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, or any other AI platform and have the AI tool write your paper. Your teacher has plagiarism trackers. (Your teacher may even know your writing style and recognize when a paper does not have your “voice”.

Step four: remember why you are writing papers

You are not writing papers because your teacher is bored and needs something to read. Rather, you are writing papers to:

  • grow your brain
  • become smarter
  • build some expertise in a topic of interest to you
  • learn to work with a format (which is like playing a game by the rules)
  • make you mentally stronger and sharper

In brief: write your own paper in your own words

Writing papers by format, by the rules, in your own words, not plagiarized, is so good for you.

It’s not that hard. Just don’t copy and paste. Put things in your own words.

If you have trouble putting things in your own words, practice with your parents. Say, “Hey, I’m trying to figure out how to say this,” and then maybe they can brainstorm some ideas with you. That is a perfectly valid thing to do.

The good news about writing your own papers

I have so many homeschoolers who have written good APA, MLA, and Chicago research papers; tell me that when they attend freshman composition classes, that they are way ahead of many of their classmates.

Thus, they get good grades and impress their professors. That’s a cool thing!

Even young people who are not college-bound build good communication and thinking skills by writing their own research papers.

More on how to write research papers without plagiarism

Thank you to Seth Tillman for editing.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HSHSP VIA COMPUTER

  1. Follow this link to our Apple Podcasts page.
  2. IMPORTANT STEP: Under our Homeschool Highschool Podcast logo, click on View in iTunes
  3. This will take you to iTunes and our own podcast page.
  4. Click SUBSCRIBE.
  5. Click RATINGS AND REVIEW. (Please take a minute and do this. It helps others find us. Thanks!)
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Organizational Tool for Homeschool High Schoolers with Rebecca Farris

September 14, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Organizational Tool for Homeschool High Schoolers with Rebecca Farris.

Organizational Tool for Homeschool High Schoolers with Rebecca Farris

Organizational Tool for Homeschool High Schoolers with Rebecca Farris

Working on getting organized now that the year has started, and you are finding out what is working and what is not? Congratulations! Today we are talking to Rebecca Farris, whose planners have been organizing homeschooling families for years!

Featured in this article:

Our 7SistersHomeschool meets Rebecca Farris story

  • Rebecca Farris’ story
  • Serving the homeschool community
  • Organizing Homeschooling teens and moms
  • Organizing homeschool high school
  • Chore charts and planners build lifetime rhythms
  • Each homeschooler is unique, so planning is unique to them
  • A planner is a tool no different than a hammer
  • How do high school planners work?
  • A hint of things to come
  • Contact Rebecca Farris and the Well Planned Gal

Our 7SistersHomeschool meets Rebecca Farris story

When we 7Sisters were new in the entrepreneurial business, we decided to participate as vendors at several homeschool conferences. At one of them, right across the walkway from us in the vendor hall, was a lovely, gracious, kind woman named Rebecca Farris, the Well-Planned Gal.

Rebecca and her kids were the most welcoming people ever. The memory of their kindness to the new vendors on the block has stayed with me for well over a decade.

That’s why Vicki was so excited to finally have a chance to talk to Rebecca on the Homeschool Highschool Podcast!

Rebecca Farris’ story

Rebecca was a first-generation homeschooler. Unfortunately, she did not have the best experience. In fact, as she grew up, she did not even want to get married or have kids. She said to herself, “I am just gonna go my way!”

From childhood, Rebecca was business-minded, so she planned on a career in corporate America. However, Providence had different plans for her!

Rebecca often says, as the Well Planned gal, her life did not go as planned, and that’s okay. She ended up getting married and having children after all. She had Jenny, my first child, followed by five kids within seven years.

When her youngest was four years old, Rebecca started thinking about preschool for her oldest. She had already taught her to read through playtime. So, she decided to wait another year.

Then kindergarten came, and she said, “Well, I’ll just wait one more year.” And so on.

They homeschooled one year at a time until suddenly, all five are grown, and she’s an empty nester.

Serving the homeschool community and her grandchildren

As a grandmother of five grandkids, Rebecca has had time to reflect on what she did right, what she did wrong, and what she wishes she had done. One of her key takeaways from her reflections is that she learned more than her kids through homeschooling.

I learned more than my kids through homeschooling. -Rebecca Farris

Rebecca also feels called to help other homeschool moms now that she is on the other side of it. She loves sharing the gifts God has given to her through homeschooling with homeschooling moms.

Organizing Homeschooling Teens and Moms

Rebecca receives questions from moms such as, “My teens haven’t learned how to organize their lives and their time.” Another frequent question is, “How can I get myself organized?”

Because Rebecca did not have a great homeschooling experience as a child, she decided to make sure her own kids had a wonderful time homeschooling. One way to do this is to make sure she was prepared and planned.

One of the tools she developed was a set of assessments to help homeschooling moms understand where their children were academically, as well as their personal achievements. This series is called Well Planned Start.

Organizing Homeschool High School

Rebecca reminds homeschooling moms that every single high schooler is different:

  • They learn differently.
  • They make decisions differently.
  • They value different things.

“The best thing you can do as a parent is to understand your teens.”- Rebecca Farris

She helps moms appreciate each teen’s uniqueness and leverage what they know about them to motivate them to :

  • Do their chores and schoolwork
  • Learn time management
  • Grow into responsible humans

Some of the tools that Rebecca makes available are chore charts and planners for teens, so that teens and moms can find the best fit for that unique homeschooler.

Chore Charts and Planners Build Lifetime Rhythms

One benefit of training children and teens to use charts and/or planners is helping them build a neural structure of daily routines and rhythms.

Rebecca remembers working with her oldest daughter, who was not a naturally organized child, to understand the routines of daily and school-year life. She would work with her to help her understand the end goals for every school year. At a young age, Rebecca also worked with her daughter on internalizing daily rhythms and routines such as:

  • Brushing her teeth
  • Washing her face
  • Making her bed
  • Having a Morning Five devotion time

Rebecca remembers the day that her daughter got married. She went up to her daughter’s bedroom and asked, “Hey, what are you doing?”

Her daughter replied, “I’m almost finished with my five.”

She is an adult and still doing the same practice! It was internalized.

Each homeschooler is unique, so planning is unique to them

One of Rebecca’s daughters was “super smart but super quiet, very introverted”. She did not need to long-term plan. Rather, she just needed to know the plan for today. So, Rebecca would help her each morning assess what happened the day before and make the plan for the day.

This daughter’s planner was a tactile way to help her keep her “boots on the ground”, as Rebecca called it. She could keep an eye on and celebrate each day’s progress.

One of Rebecca’s sons needed to move freely to learn. Rebecca photocopied his planner and posted it on the wall. He would walk around and occasionally, throughout the day, check his progress on his own planner on the wall.

A planner is a tool no different than a hammer

A planner is a tool no different than a hammer. How do we use a hammer? There are a thousand ways to use a hammer. You must read the situation, and then you adjust how you use it. However, in the end, hammers are used to hit a nail in some way.

Planners are tools. There are lots of ways to adapt planners to our kids’ needs. In the end, when you use a planner, you write down what needs to be done. Then you acknowledge what was completed.

How do high school planners work?

Teens are not simply completing their academic credits. They are preparing for life. Planners can reflect this by including:

  • Academics
  • Relationships
  • Responsibilities such as chores or other obligations
  • Time management
  • Career preparation such as apprenticeships or entrepreneurship
  • Sports and other extracurriculars

By using a well-rounded planner, teens learn self-management and build practice for life success.

A hint of things to come

Rebecca has many homeschooling-related projects. She dropped a little teaser about some new federal legislation. This legislation provides a way for homeschooling to be 100% funded by our taxes. Rebecca is part of a team that is building the infrastructure right now. She hints that in 2027, every single homeschooler will have the opportunity to have their curriculum, enrichment, supplies, and technology fully funded. To find out more, check out the latest information at her Curious Mind Network.

Contact Rebecca Farris and the Well Planned Gal

Visit Well Planned Gal for resources and how-tos for teens and moms

More on planning and life skills from 7SistersHomeschool and Homeschool Highschool Podcast

Come join the 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group, where you can share questions or cool things that you have learned.

Thank you to Seth Tillman for editing.

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Homeschoolers Who Learn Differently: Empowered Strategies with Ashley Barta

September 8, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Homeschoolers Who Learn Differently: Empowered Strategies with Ashley Barta.

Homeschoolers Who Learn Differently: Empowered Strategies with Ashley Barta

Homeschoolers Who Learn Differently: Empowered Strategies with Ashley Barta

We love meeting new people with cool resources. That’s why we are excited to introduce you to Ashley Barta, who helps empower parents of homeschoolers who learn differently. Ashley is a consultant at Empowered Strategies and Consulting. She is also a military homeschool mom (and comes highly recommended by our friend and 7Sister Cousin, Natalie Mack).

Featured in this article:

  • Ashley Barta’s story
  • How Empowered Strategies and Consulting started
  • Benefits of homeschooling
  • If your child has challenges, you can homeschool
  • Connect with Ashley Barta

With over twenty years of experience in education, Ashley is committed to bringing the joy of learning back into the lives of families, educators, and children. Her work is really cool because that’s why we’re homeschooling! We want our families to enjoy education!

Ashley Barta’s story

Ashley’s story actually started in public school. She got her dream job as a kindergarten teacher in a small town in North Dakota. Those were the early days of No Child Left Behind, and there a huge push for all those kindergartners to be doing first-grade work.

Ashley remembers talking to the superintendent and saying, “I just want a play kitchen. I just want a kitchen in my classroom.”

Fewer people understood the importance of play in education. However, Ashley held onto the joy of playful education and brought that joy back into that classroom. Her young students experienced lots of imaginative play and learning through play.

When her oldest son was born, he was diagnosed with epilepsy. They tried to manage care while she worked full time. (And as military spouses know, the spouses run a lot more than their own job and their children.)

She found that all the running around was too much. Her mom-heart was calling her to stay home with her son. Ashley got my first master’s degree in early childhood special education during that time.

She opened her own preschool, and somehow managed to get all of her son’s PT, OT, and speech. Not only that, she ended up having a special education preschool full of children like her son.

Being a military family

Then her husband got orders. Ashley calls it, “The magic sauce of being military”. She had to close the preschool down, and they moved. In fact, the military moved them five or six times in fifteen years.

When the family moved to Nebraska, Ashley thought, “Let’s try homeschooling kindergarten. Let’s just try it.”

So she got all of the “how to homeschool” books. She soon found that homeschooling was fun. They had lots of zoo days and “school on the deck”.

Ashley and her husband decided, “We’ll just homeschool one year at a time, one year at a time.” And now she has a just-finished eighth grader and a just-finished sophomore. Her son is thriving. He might not do algebra and chemistry like his peers, but he is happy, healthy, and thriving. He is doing great for a severely medically complex child.

How Empowered Strategies and Consulting started

Soon, mothers with children who had health issues or learning disabilities started coming to her for advice, saying, “Well, you’re homeschooling! How do I do this?”

Ashley understood their struggles. It is easy to think that homeschooling means you have to buy a boxed curriculum and do what other homeschoolers are doing.

She always encourages them, “You know you’re your child’s best teacher. You are completely equipped to figure it out. And get help from other homeschooling people and resources when you need the support.”

Ashley gives homeschool moms the example of working with her son. He is non-verbal, but he uses his talker. For the longest time, everybody said, “Well, he can’t read if he’s not using his talker.”

However, she found a book: Structured Literacy.  The authors of the tool believe that literacy is possible even if you use a speaking device.

Ashley was able to add buttons to her son’s talker that were relevant to him. Now he demands shows that he wants to watch and then wants to talk about it. He can ask Alexa for different things. Through homeschooling and resources like this, Ashley has given him a world that we didn’t think was possible.

Benefits of homeschooling

Besides being an excellent education choice for her children, the family loves being able to take time off when Dad is home. They can school through the summer if they need to. This is especially valuable for military families. They want to make the most of their time together.

Ashley Barta’s advice for homeschooling moms with homeschoolers who learn differently: Just breathe. Breathe. Every day is a new day in homeschooling, and if your first day stinks, the second day will be better.

If your child has challenges, you can homeschool

Ashley frequently reminds nervous parents that homeschooling is totally doable. If you are a parent who is thinking about homeschooling and has a child who has some medical complexities or special needs, or if you are a military family with different rhythms, it is easy to feel intimidated.

That’s okay. There are resources to help. One of those resources is Ashley Barta and Empowered Strategies.

When Ashley begins to work with a family, she starts with a consultation. Every consultation is free. It’s a conversation to figure out what each family needs to go forth on their homeschool journey.

Sometimes she advises exhausted families to take a little time for de-schooling if they have been in a frustrating school situation: Enjoy the family, re-learn your relationships. Then Ashley helps them decide on the academic goals, strategies, and resources to help their specific needs

One thing that homeschooling moms with children who have learning struggles or the unique needs of military families need is encouragement, and a little “hold your hand and walk that path with you” attention. Also, if students come from a traditional school setting with an IEP, she can help the parents translate it into what it would look like at home.

Connect with Ashley Barta

You can get in touch with Ashley Barta at her Facebook page: Empowered Strategies and Consulting

Explore more about homeschooling with teens who learn differently

Thanks to Seth Tillman for editing.

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The Youth Speak Magazine with Houston Wrona

September 1, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: The Youth Speak Magazine with Houston Wrona.

The Youth Speak Magazine with Houston Wrona

 

The Youth Speak Magazine with Houston Wrona

One of our favorite things is talking to homeschool graduates who are doing cool things. That is why we were so excited to have homeschool graduate Houston Wrona, about his homeschool youth magazine, The Youth Speak.

Featured in this article:

  • Houston Wrona’s story
  • The Youth Speak Magazine
  • How it started
  • How The Youth Speak works
  • What are editors looking for in submissions?
  • The magazine accepts
  • How to subscribe to The Youth Speak

Houston Wrona’s story

Houston’s homeschool journey began at preschool and continued through graduation. He has found homeschooling to be a great experience and is thankful for it.

The family’s homeschooling style changed over the years. In his younger years, the family employed a much more curriculum-based approach. However, in high school years, they moved to a “basically no curriculum” approach with more problem-solving, exploration, and skills development behind all his learning experiences.

The Youth Speak Magazine

The Youth Speak is a magazine by homeschoolers for homeschoolers. It is a glossy, professional magazine with high-quality articles on a variety of topics. (You can read digital editions of the magazine for FREE here.)

The Youth Speak is a magazine by homeschoolers for homeschoolers.

How it started

The magazine came out of a homeschool group that Houston attended during high school. He and his peers created a newsletter-style newspaper. The teens in the group wrote the articles, printed it, then mailed it to the families in the group.

As they neared graduation, Houston and his friends were enjoying their journalistic adventures so much that they wanted to continue and level up their publishing efforts. They decided to create a glossy magazine and open it up to any Christian homeschooler for submissions.

How The Youth Speak works

Today The Youth Speak is run by a core team. The team shares writing, editing, layout, and design responsibilities. Any Christian homeschooler can submit an article for consideration through email. (The staff does not charge writers to have their work published in the magazine.)

After an article is accepted, the staff handles the rest of the production process.

The team creates an attractive, professional magazine. They try to follow instructions in the Bible, “Whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord, not to men.” To The Youth Speak’s team, this means to create an attractive, professional journal at a reasonable subscription price. (The cost is $9 per issue in the contiguous 48 states. The rest of the production cost is covered by advertisements and corporate sponsors.)

Some recent articles have covered:

  • What is homeschooling?
  • History of donuts
  • Thanksgiving traditions
  • A paper on paper
  • The National Parks
  • Maple Syrup
  • Camping
  • The history of Valentine’s Day
  • Thomas Edison’s life
  • Birds of North America
  • The history of the American flag
  • AI art vs real art

What are the editors looking for in submissions?

Submitting an article for publication can be an exciting experience for high schoolers. Here are some criteria from Houston and his team:

  • This is a magazine for Christian homeschoolers, so topics and wording should fit in that mindset.
  • Articles should be well-edited with good grammar and punctuation.
  • Topics should be more evergreen rather than current news. This is due to the time it takes to produce each edition. Current news becomes stale.
  • The author should share topics where they have firsthand experience and can incorporate their own personal story.
  • Wherever possible, have an original perspective.

The magazine accepts:

  • Articles
  • Poetry
  • Short stories
  • Recipes
  • Listicles

You can find details for submissions to The Youth Speak here.

How to subscribe to The Youth Speak

You can find a link to subscribe to The Youth Speak here. While you wait, check out the free digital editions!

Join Vicki and Houston Wrona for an inspiring conversation about a magazine by and for homeschoolers: The Youth Speak.

Thank you to Seth Tillman for editing.

Learn more about cool things that homeschool graduates are doing with these fun Homeschool Highschool Podcast episodes:

  1. Follow this link to our Apple Podcasts page.
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How Oxford Style Tutorials Work with Trinity House

August 25, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: How Oxford Style Tutorials Work with Trinity House.

How Oxford Style Tutorials Work with Trinity House

How Oxford Style Tutorials Work with Trinity House

Many of us homeschoolers are fans of C.S. Lewis’ writings. For those who have followed his biographies, you know that his most impactful educational experiences were with his tutor, William Kirkpatrick. We Americans do not often have the opportunity to experience tutoring of this style. However, it still exists. That’s why we were excited to have our friend Justin McGeary of Trinity House on the podcast again.

Featured in this post:

  • Justin McGeary’s story
  • His time at Oxford
  • Understanding the tutorial system
  • Formation of Trinity House Oxford-style Tutorials
  • Working with Trinity House
  • Contact Trinity House Tutorials

Justin McGeary’s story

Justin McGeary founded Trinity House, where he offers Oxford-style tutorials. He is no stranger to homeschooling! His mother started homeschooling him in sixth grade. He graduated from homeschooling and headed to college.

When Justin taught at the college level, he had a number of homeschool students that came through his classrooms. He found that these students transitioned well to college because there are many similarities between the kind of education you get in high school homeschooling and at the college level.

Growing up, Justin learned to love the classics by both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. During college, he had the opportunity to study at Oxford as part of his school’s study abroad program. He was at Oxford for the Hilary Term (January through March), and loved experiencing the full tutorial experience.

His time at Oxford

Justin loved his time at Oxford. He rode my bike around the city and attended evensong with its beautiful choral evening hymns.

In the college, he met with his tutors and attended lectures. One of his favorites was a lecture series on Tolkien and Old English literature. The lecturer had not expected it to be very popular. However, on the first day of the lecture, the tiny room was jam-packed. The lecture series had to be moved to a larger lecture hall.

Justin attended lectures on modern British literature and 19th-century American literature, as well as some side courses on British culture.

Understanding the tutorial system

The tutorial system is an intensive kind of education that cultivates learners and develops critical thinking skills. There are three main features of the tutorial system:

  • tutorials
  • lectures
  • library system

For example, C.S. Lewis would have his tutorials with a handful of assigned students. He would give lecture series that any student could attend. Then the students used Oxford’s amazing library system for reading, studying, and preparing for major exams at the end of several years of college study.

Justin’s tutor would meet with him regularly. Each meeting, the tutor would give him a sheet of paper with several questions written on it. Underneath those questions would be several resources. Justin’s responsibility was to read through those questions and decide, “Which question do I wanna tackle? Which question do I want to answer?”

Then he would go to the library and do his own independent learning using the resources list that tutor had provided. For example, in literature, he might be looking at a particular poem or a particular section of a novel. He would answer essay questions on a key section or theme in the book being discussed.

Justin would take a week or two to write an essay based on the questions his tutor had given him. He would read the completed essay out loud to the tutor. Then the tutor would give him feedback on that essay. He would then rewrite the essay. This process helped him to hone his writing and critical thinking skills.

He remembers that his first few essays were really terrible. However, his writing improved rapidly because he was getting help right away. He also liked that he was not graded on every single essay.

Formation of Trinity House

Trinity House evolved as Justin was teaching college students. A number of his students were struggling with college-level requirements. He remembered author Dorothy Sayers asking, “Where are the tools of learning? Where is the kind of careful thinking, and the ability to write well?”

One evening, when he was having a conversation about this with his wife, she asked, “What about the Oxford tutorial? Might that not be a thing that you can bring to high schoolers to help them prepare for college success?”

That’s when Trinity House Oxford-Style Tutorials was formed.

Working with Trinity House’s Oxford-style tutorials

Working with Trinity House’s Oxford-style tutorials is like educational learning coaching.

Each week, students answer questions assigned by their tutor. Then they come back with an essay and say, “Here’s how I thought about this question.”

The tutor is sort of this personal trainer coach. He does not say, “And here are all the right answers.”

Instead, he says,  “This is a good argument here, here, and here. What about here? Have you thought about this? Explain to me more about this.”

In Trinity House tutorials, students engage in a conversational relationship where they are continually honing their thinking with a seasoned tutor.

Students learn how to learn and think independently. Their essays are not simply regurgitating what “so-and-so” thinks, but rather, “what do they think”?

Doesn’t that sound inspiring?

Contact Trinity House Tutorials

Sign up for their newsletter or email me for a sample tutorial: justin@trinityhousetutorials.com

Thank you to Seth Tillman for editing, and we’ll see everyone next week.

Keep listening

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College Safety and Fun for Homeschool Graduates with Seth and Caroline Tillman Replay

August 11, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: College Safety and Fun for Homeschool Graduates with Seth and Caroline Tillman- Replay.

College Safety and Fun for Homeschool Graduates

 

College Safety and Fun for Homeschool Graduates

This is a replay of a favorite episode. We feel like it is useful information for our grads who are heading to college soon.

Featured in this college safety and fun:

  • Safety Tip #1: Walk in a group
  • Safety Tip #2: Lock your dorm or apartment doors when you leave
  • Safety Tip #3: Ride-share advice
  • Safety Tip #4: If you are walking around while listening to music or podcasts, leave one earbud out
  • Safety Tip #5: Use the share your location app on your phone
  • Safety Tip #6: Have a friend who leaves their phone on sound at night for you (and you for them)
  • Safety Tip #7: When going on college tours, what kind of campus safety measures are in place at the school?
  • Safety Tip #8: When going to an event, make sure that at least one or two of your group will stand up for you

Vicki’s five homeschool high schoolers are all graduated from college now, even her youngest, Seth, and his newlywed wife, Caroline. Seth and Caroline loved their years of homeschooling. College was a big change for them both, but they loved it and made the most of their experiences there by getting involved in college activities and mentoring relationships. They also made lots of friends.

From the many experiences they or their friends had, Seth and Caroline offered to share some safety tips for homeschool high schoolers who will head off to college (or anywhere in the big, wide world).

Seth and Caroline Tillman

Seth and Caroline Tillman, photo used with permission

So here are Seth and Caroline’s tips for college safety and fun for homeschool graduates

Seth is a elementary music education teacher in a local public school. Caroline first worked in the retirement industry but recently transferred to the University of Delaware as academic advisor and assistant to the UD Health Professions program. Both of them have had the adventure of spending part of their year teaching or advising remotely. (Check out Seth’s videos for his music students.) They believe in paying the things they have learned forward to current homeschoolers to help them prepare for college or employment situations.

Safety Tip #1: Walk in a group

As often as you can, especially at night. If you will be late at the library, call a friend and talk to a friend while walking and use “Find My Friend” app on your phone. (Predatory people tend to prey on lone individuals, so groups are best when possible.)

Safety Tip #2: Lock your dorm or apartment doors when you leave

You would think this is not something you really need to tell teens. But Caroline shared that she saw the poor outcome of roommates or friends not locking doors a number of times. (Keep a key on a hair tie if you find keychains are too cumbersome.)

Safety Tip #3: Ride-share advice

Ask the driver what YOUR name is. Make sure they and their car look like the descriptions you were told when ordering the ride. Also look for the lit sign in the windshield of the car (Uber or Lyft have signs). If you can, ride with a friend on the ordered ride.

Safety Tip #4: If you are walking around while listening to music or podcasts, leave one earbud out

This makes you more aware of your environment, especially for crossing roads but also for unusual things that might need your attention.

Safety Tip #5: Use the share your location app on your phone

But only share that with close, safe friends. It is not a social media app!

Safety Tip #6: Have a friend who leaves their phone on sound at night for you (and you for them)

If you have car trouble, are locked out of your apartment, or are in an uncomfortable situation, phoning a friend can be a lifesaver.

Safety Tip #7: When going on college tours, what kind of campus safety measures are in place at the school?

For example, at the University of Delaware, there are safety blue lights regularly around the campus for calling for help. It is so important for schools to be considering the safety of their students!

Safety Tip #8: When going to an event, make sure that at least one or two of your group will stand up for you

Let there be an understanding that if things get uncomfortable, you can say to your friend, “I need to go” and they will actually leave with you.

Teach safety skills as well as academic skills for your college bound teen.

Okay, now for some uncomfortable topics. Sometimes we homeschool parents try so hard to shelter our teens, that we find it extremely difficult to discuss “adult” topics with our young adults as they leave for college. (As Seth says, your kids are not kids anymore when they leave for college, they are adults…young adults but adults, so need to be prepared for an “adult” world.) Naivety will not work for new adults.

Safety Tip #9: When encountering alcohol, if you see someone heavily intoxicated, please do not leave that person alone

Be aware of your surroundings. If you see someone who is not okay, call the university police or 911. If it is someone you know and you feel safe, help them get back to their dorm. When calling 911, remember it’s better to have folks mad at you about it than have someone die from alcohol poisoning. Also, there is usually a medical amnesty policy that protects you from getting in trouble when you call 911.

Safety Tip #10: Know what alcohol poisoning looks like

From Mayo Clinic’s website: confusion, vomiting, seizures, slow breathing, irregular breathing, blue-tinged or pale skin, low body temperature, passing out and cannot be wakened.

Seth and Caroline graduated from a state college. Seth points out that alcohol is common in state colleges, so they were not surprised to see these kinds of things. He also has lots of friends who went to small private or Christian colleges. In the smaller schools, these things happen, too (but mostly in secret).

Safety Tip #11: Monitor what you are drinking

This is difficult to talk about but important. No matter where you are whether restaurants, parties or get togethers. Vicki jumped in on this to add that, as a counselor who works with college students, she has worked with a number young women who have been “roofied” (a date rape drug slipped into their drink) while at a public gathering. So:

  • Keep a lid on what you are drinking when possible
  • If you go to the bathroom, have a trustworthy friend watch your drink
  • If you start to feel bad and feel like you are “blacking out” and you do not have a trustworthy friend with you but are at a public place, ask staff for help
  • If you feel frightened, call 911

Safety Tip #12: If you are choosing to drink (or have friends that choose to drink) alcohol, understand that not all alcohols are alike

Some are stronger than others. Learn about it ahead of time.

Safety Tip #13: Offer rides if you have a car

Of course, keep boundaries (some people might think you are an endless free ride) and remember that you can offer but not everyone feels comfortable accepting rides.

Safety Tip #14: Offer your dorm to a safe friend if they are stuck on campus late in the evening

Of course, only if you know they are safe friends

Safety Tip #15: Know what harassment and consent look like

If you see someone who appears uncomfortable, (and you are safe) walk up to the person who looks uncomfortable and talk right to that person. If you do not feel comfortable, feel free to call 911. Don’t just walk away, err on the side of keeping people safe.

If you are in an uncomfortable situation and do not feel safe, it is okay to lie in order to stay safe, as in: “Sorry, I can’t go with you, I have to meet my roommate here.” Or give out a fake phone number. Remember that actually if you find you are making someone feel uncomfortable, stop and walk away.

Safety Tip #16: Take a self-defense class

It is a genuinely valuable investment of time

Safety Tip #17: Parents: teach your male sons to be respectful

Teach them to be gentlemen. Teach them no means no. Teach them the value of all God’s creation. Teach them good manners.

NOW, before you feel terrified for your young adults (and also we aren’t advocating for any unhealthy behaviors; we just don’t want young adults to be naive), here are some GOOD things that happen in college:

  • Going out to eat with classmates so you get to know them better and enjoy class together more.
  • Inviting classmates to study groups at the library (especially those in your major)
  • Joining a healthy fraternity and sorority (not all of those organizations are about partying and wild living; rather some are about service or building their major)
  • Joining the university choir
  • Joining an interest group or club
  • Getting an on-campus job (Caroline worked in the college creamery, Seth worked in events)
  • For more tips on making friends in college, check out this post

Join Vicki, Seth and Caroline Tillman for an empowering discussion. Also check out the college success tips interview with their friend, Kendall Smythe.

Watch one of Seth’s digital classes for his elementary music students (his school was online during COVID-19). And his fun project with friends, Newbit.

 

 

 

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College Safety and Fun for Homeschool Graduates

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Cooking for High School Credit with Angela Smith

August 4, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Cooking for High School Credit with Angela Smith.

Cooking for High School Credit with Angela Smith

Cooking for High School Credit with Angela Smith

As homeschool parents, we 7Sisters know a win when we see one! How about life skills, cooking, and food science combined for a fun and meaningful high school elective credit?

That’s what we found with Angela Smith at Inquisicook!

Featured in this article:

  • Angela Smith’s story
  • Inquisicook’s story
  • How Inquisicook works
  • Find Inquisicooks
  • Learn more about electives

Angela Smith’s story

Angela likes to say that she is “actually a native member of the homeschool tribe”. Her family started homeschooling in 1992 and continued until their last child went to college. These days, Angela is helping with the homeschooling of her twelve grandchildren.

Inquisicook’s story

The Inquisicook online program combines food science, life skills, and culinary arts into hands-on courses that put delicious food on the family table.

The Inquisicook online program combines food science, life skills, and culinary arts into hands-on courses that put delicious food on the family table.

These practical, elective courses include science labs that wind up as a prepared dish for the family table!

When her youngest child was about ten or eleven years old, she informed Angela that she wanted cooking to be one of her homeschool subjects. They were already cooking together as part of their family lifestyle. (Angela’s family loves to exercise hospitality.)

However, being a homeschool mom, Angela wanted to incorporate a science-driven approach to cooking. She thought it made sense to study the science that’s literally under their noses and that they were engaging with daily.

Angela believes that anybody ought to be able to prepare a tasty dish based on what’s in season, what’s on sale, or what’s in the fridge. She wants teens to be free from the tyranny of an ingredients list that says, “I’ve got to buy, you know, this and this and this, and if I don’t have those things, I can’t make this recipe.”

Angela could not find a curriculum that taught comprehensive, science-based cooking, so (being an industrious homeschool mom), she created her own. It took years to finally have the course in the form she wanted to launch, but it’s ready, and you can get your teens started now!

How Inquisicook works

Inquisicook offers two courses. Each of the courses is divided into five units with fifteen lessons. Also included are optional recipes that we call “for further eating”, and teacher resources.

Inquisicook 1 covers eggs, quick breads, salads and dressings, yeast breads, along with herbs, spices, and seasonings. This is combined with soups and stocks.

In this first course, teens also learn the basic culinary art skills, such as:

  • Knife skills,
  • How to use a double boiler
  • Recognizing signs of doneness

Students also conduct sensory evaluations for every recipe they re-prepare, rating it based on appearance, flavor, texture, and aroma. This guides them to think specifically and analytically about their outcomes. It also gives them a pathway to craft improvements or variations for future attempts at the recipes, because we want them to be intuitive cooks, not recipe followers.

These skills help students figure out what the version two of that recipe might look like for their family’s tastes.

Food science in Inquisicook

Of course, all of the units are packed with science. For instance, they learn about egg protein molecules and how those molecules are transformed when heat is applied to them. They learn the physics of whisking: what is happening to egg proteins as they unfurl and then collect around bubbles to create an egg white foam.

In the science of custards, students learn special techniques to trap moisture droplets within the protein network.

In the quick breads unit, they learn the differences between biological leaveners, physical leaveners, and chemical leaveners. They learn about the different types of wheat, different protein contents of the wheat, and the different ways to capture those little air bubbles that cause bread to rise.

During the soups and stocks unit, students learn about extracting flavor through long, slow cooking and the science behind different flavoring agents in terms of herbs and spices

Inquisicook is an applied science that’s super tasty!

This course would be a good choice as an elective on the high school transcript!

Thanks to Seth Tillman for editing the podcast.

Find Inquisicook at:

Learn more about high school electives in these Homeschool Highschool Podcast episodes:

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Choosing This Year’s Curriculum for Homeschool High School

July 28, 2026 by Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Choosing This Year’s Curriculum for Homeschool High School.

Choosing This Year's Curriculum for Homeschool High School

Choosing This Year’s Curriculum for Homeschool High School

Let’s talk about choosing this year’s curriculum for your homeschool high schoolers! This is one of the most fun (and sometimes stressful) parts of the homeschool year.

Every year, you have different circumstances and a different budget. Every year, you must choose curriculum that fits your teen’s goals (and your goals) for their graduation.

Featured in this post:

  • Tips from homeschool veterans on how to choose curriculum
  • Start with prayer
  • Clarify your budget
  • Remember your long-term and short-term goals
  • What kind of learning situation or curriculum is needed?
  • Factoring in circumstances
  • Used resources
  • Curriculum reviews
  • Every teen is different

So, here are tips from homeschool veterans on how to choose curriculum

Remember, there’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school, and there’s not ONE right way to choose curriculum. You are homeschooling to do what is best for your unique teens.

Start with prayer

The number one thing to do is to pray. As our 7Sister Kim always says, “Pray first and pray always.” We all need skillful and godly wisdom in all areas of our homeschooling, especially in purchasing curriculum.

Clarify your budget

The next thing we want to consider is the budget. These days, everything is more costly: groceries, gas, and medical expenses. Everybody needs to balance the budget as best they can.

What fits in your budget for this year’s curriculum purchases?

Remember your goals

Most, or all, of our curriculum choices need to reflect our short-term and long-term goals.

  • Long-term goals
    • We know what our teens should have accomplished by the time they get to graduation day. If not,  think about your teens walking across the stage or the backyard at graduation. While you are watching them, and you’re so proud, and you think, “These are the things they have accomplished, and we’re so grateful that they have accomplished those things, and we know they’re ready for the next part of life.”
    • Those are your long-term goals.
  • Short-term goals
    • What are this year’s specific goals that should be accomplished for those long-term goals to happen? (BTW- 7SistersHomeschool offers a self-paced online course for parents to help get started, including how to do your goal setting.)
    • Look at the long-term goals. Break out the specific goals that need to be completed this year
      • What academic subjects will they be covering?
      • And is my teen this year working towards college or a career or the military or missions?
      • What should they work on towards those goals?

What kind of learning situation or curriculum do our teens (and we want) this year?

Talk with your teens. What are some considerations for curriculum and learning experiences that need to fit your budget?

  • Are they hoping for co-op, umbrella school, or digital classes? (Remember: you will need the required textbooks and supplies, along with any other required fees.
  • What are my teen’s areas of interest?
  • Which careers or majors is my teen exploring?
  • Are there some areas that need extra textbooks or experiences to build a strong transcript?
  • What courses do I need to beef up?
  • What are my teens’ learning styles?
    • Some teens love to sit down and read a textbook. They really like it.
    • Some teens do not like to sit down and read a textbook.
  • Are our teens self-directed learners yet?
    • Or are they working on a course they will need or want a lot of direction in? If your teen is facing a subject that they will need more support for, take a look at possible curriculum choices and make sure you and your teen both like it!

Factoring in circumstances

Are there circumstances that will affect curriculum needs and choices?

Teens’ Needs

  • Sometimes, teens hit a rough patch. For instance, let’s say your teen all of a sudden started worrying about whether they wanted to go to college. Like, “Oh, no, maybe I can’t do it.” And before we had been thinking, “Oh, let’s, let’s do a more competitive college,” or, “Let’s aim for our state college.” And the teen all of a sudden gets angsty and says, “I don’t know whether I can do this honors-level work that is required for admissions to competitive colleges.”
    • When this happens, you might be hearing some burnout, so you might need to back it off this year. Thus, you will be looking for a curriculum that gives them a little bit of time to recalibrate (more of the basic college-prep curriculum rather than Level 5/Honors work.
  • Family’s needs
    • What are our family needs this year?
      • Do you have multiple high schoolers or multiple kids?
      • Do we need portable curriculum because we’re gonna be road schooling this year
      • If there are needs for less space, you definitely want to look into PDF curriculum like 7Sisters Homeschool.

Used resources

Are there some subjects that my teens can share a textbook or borrow one from a friend? (Our umbrella school has a lending library of sharable curriculum.) Of course, this is limited by any copyright rules (such as sharing downloadable curriculum is usually only okay between family members).

Curriculum Reviews

Many homeschooling families feel best with actual curriculum, whether this is downloadable PDFs or hardcover textbooks. Check out these resources:

Every teen is different

There’s not one right way to be a learner. Some teens are more interest-led, preferring a more relaxed homeschooling or even unschooling situation. For those teens, you may just totally toss out the textbook and work more on logging hours.

You can always change things up

Relax. You can give yourself comfort in knowing that even if you get a curriculum that doesn’t really fit, it is okay at any point during the year to say, “this isn’t working,” and put it on the shelf.

Maybe it’ll work for the next kid…or simply toss the curriculum. One of my favorite posts at 7Sisters is 50 Ways to Scrap Your School Book, because there have been many times when we have tossed curriculum around January. You can always change. You are not locked in just because you purchase something.

Learn more on these related topics:

You CAN do this! Be encouraged!

Also, you can get more suggestions and advice from all the 7th Sisters in our 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group. Join us there!

Thanks to Seth Tillman for editing!

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