Search Results for: HSHSP Ep 51

HSHSP Ep 51: Career Exploration for Teens who Don’t Have a Clue

March 21, 2017 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

HSHSP Ep 51: Career Exploration for Teens who Don’t Have a Clue

“SO, what are you going to do after graduation?”

That’s the dreaded question for many teens. They simply don’t have a clue what they want to do.

How do you help a teen find direction in life? How do you help them get to know themselves or get to know God’s leading?

Sabrina, Vicki and Kym for decades have been mentoring, coaching and teaching homeschool highschoolers about Career Exploration. Join them for an expert discussion on helping teens who don’t have a clue.

Resources:

Case Study: Teen Doesn’t Have a Clue

HSHSP Ep 23: Career Exploration for Homeschool Highschoolers

My Next Move Career Interest Survey

Career One Stop (US Dept of Labor)

Filed Under: Homeschool Highschool Tagged With: Career Exploration, highschool, The Homeschool Highschool Podcast

HSHSP EP 151: Approaches to Teaching Literature in Homeschool High School

March 5, 2019 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

This week on HSHSP EP 151: Approaches to Teaching Literature in Homeschool High School.

HSHSP EP 151: Approaches to Teaching Literature in Homeschool High School

Is there ONE right way to homeschool high school Literature? Of course not! Sabrina and Vicki want to encourage you to have fun with right way for your homeschool high schoolers!

If your teens LOVE reading, you’ll approach Literature with them in a different way from for your teens that HATE reading. Each homeschool high schooler has their own abilities and interests. Not only that, moms have their own interests and abilities (some of us LOVE reading, some don’t like to read anything more than Facebook)!

Here are some approaches to teaching Literature. Hopefully one of the approaches will help you out.

Traditional textbooks.

Covers themes and analysis skills with snippets of novels, short stories and poetry. It is a skills approach, not a literature appreciation or in-depth approach. Textbooks are sometimes a good fit for more literal learners because the reading selections are more short and the instructions are more concrete. However, teens who like to delve into a book will hate this approach (because it tends to kill the book). Teens who don’t like tons of reading comprehension questions or being told the *right way* to interpret a book, this is not a best-fit approach.

Whole books approach for linear thinkers.

This approach is good for literal thinkers or struggling learners. Will BORE a deep-thinking teen. Here’s an HSHSP episode on teaching literature to literal thinkers.

Comprehensive whole-books approach.

This is an in-depth, in-depth comprehension and inferential thinking literature study guide approach. You’ll find these great for teens who like to tear a book to pieces (perhaps future English teachers). However, these HUGE literature guides kill the book for many teens.

7Sisters approach.

Our teens tell us that they don’t like to kill the book. They want one or two themes covered per book and mostly inferential questions. The literature study guide should be no-overkill, no-busywork. The guide should also provide suggestions for *leveling-up* if they want more rigor for their homeschool transcript or personal growth. We are hoping to develop our teens’ thinking skills with these guides because we want our teens to become thinkers, not parrots!

And remember: you want your teens, where it comes to literature, to inspired, not tired!

Want more information on choosing the right approach to teaching literature in your homeschool? Check out this post.

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HSHSP EP 151: Approaches to Teaching Literature in Homeschool High School

Filed Under: Homeschool Highschool

Career Exploration for Teens Who Don’t Have a Clue- Special Replay

March 31, 2026 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

📚 Part of our guide: Homeschooling High School

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Career Exploration for Teens Who Don’t Have a Clue- Special Replay.

Career Exploration for Teens Who Don’t Have a Clue

“SO, what are you going to do after graduation?”

That’s the dreaded question for many teens. They simply don’t have a clue what they want to do.

How do you help a teen find direction in life? How do you help them get to know themselves or get to know God’s leading?

For teens who know they do not want to go to college but do not have a clue what they want to do

Many teens do not have any idea what they want to do after graduation. That is okay. They do not need to know everything about the future during high school. However, it is wise to help them explore. Here are some ideas:

Give them rich experiences
- Many times teens do not know what they want to do because they have not experienced it yet. One kind of rich experience is field trips. Hey, the good thing about homeschooling is that we homeschool moms tend to value field trips (although sometimes at high school level, it is harder to squeeze them in to our teens’ busy schedules).
- However, if you create a Career Exploration elective credit for their transcript, you can log many field trips towards that credit. That is because, any trip gives a little more life experience. Any life experience helps build the ability to make decisions- especially career decisions.
- For instance: ranger-led nature walks at state parks, cooking demonstrations at special events, car shows or museum exhibits. Sometimes, a teen will get inspired by a watching the person in charge of whatever event they are experiencing. They think: “Hmmm, this might be a cool job!” Or, on the other hand, they might think, “Ugh, I would NEVER want to do that!” Either way is valuable career exploration.
Show them role models
- Movies based on careers
- Biographies of interesting jobs
- FB Watches or YouTubes about interesting jobs
Volunteer work
- Teens need to do volunteer work. It is good for transcript and the soul. Service work is SO important for personal knowledge and development, as well as making the world a better place.
- Some volunteer opportunities our teens have done:
  - Church (worship, set up, digital team, nursery, office)
  - Digital volunteer opportunities
  - Food bank
  - State park volunteer events
  - Library volunteers

For teens, whether they have a clue about career or not, try a career exploration course

A good career exploration course is very helpful. For non-college-bound teens, 7SistersHomeschool has a simple Career Exploration Textbook. Even if you choose something else, think about looking for curriculum that includes (like our workbook):

What is God’s will?
- Teens who are believers sometimes feel anxious about choosing a career that will please God. A good curriculum helps them trust God to direct their paths.
Past experiences
- What have teens already done that help them find strengths or interests
What other people see in them
- Get some feedback from people who know them
Can they identify interests?
- IF the power went out for the day, what would you do for fun? If you had a day to yourself with no chores or schoolwork, what would you do?
Define career values
- Career values help teens choose a career field by defining what is important to them: Work hours, desire for involvement in things after work, level of income desired, etc. (Rabbit trail, all teens will benefit from taking a Financial Literacy course that helps them understand and plan for financial responsibilities coming their way in adulthood.)

Explore careers

Check out career descriptions and information at CareerOneStop.org.

Join a club or interest group

Sometimes a group experience will help them explore an interest or strength, network or lead to the next interesting experience. Even if it does not turn out to be fun, no experience is wasted. All experiences are growth, one way or the other.

Try some apprenticeships

We cannot recommend this enough. See if you can help your teen find something that can count as apprenticeship.

Be sure to log everything!

Those Career Exploration electives are SO valuable and look great on the transcript!

For more on this topic

Check out this interview with our friend, Angela O’Shaughnessy about her non-college-bound sons’ career exploration experiences:
- Helping Non-college-bound Teens Find Success
- Why Trade School?
AND check out Susan Stewarts suggestions of Careers that Don’t Require College.
If you are just starting out, here is information on how to get teens interested in career exploration.

Join Vicki for a quick discussion to help non-college-bound teens get their career exploration underway!

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Sabrina, Vicki, and Kym have been mentoring, coaching, and teaching homeschool high schoolers about Career Exploration for decades.

Join them for an expert discussion on helping teens who don’t have a clue.

Resources:

Case Study: Teen Doesn’t Have a Clue

HSHSP Ep 23: Career Exploration for Homeschool Highschoolers

My Next Move Career Interest Survey

Career One Stop (US Dept of Labor)

Filed Under: Homeschool Highschool Tagged With: Career Exploration, highschool, The Homeschool Highschool Podcast

Homeschooler Becomes a Veterinarian with Dr. Sarah Varnell, Special Replay

March 17, 2026 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Homeschooler Becomes a Veterinarian, with Dr. Sarah Varnell, Special Replay.

Homeschooler Becomes a Veterinarian, with Dr. Sarah Varnell

Dr. Sarah Varnell is a veterinarian near Cincinnati, OH. Homeschooled through high school, Sarah studies zoology at the undergraduate level, went to veterinarian school, and now specializes in equine medicine: a homeschooler becomes a veterinarian!

How did Sarah handle her time in high school so that she was college-ready for a science like zoology?

Academics for Sarah were heavy in the maths and sciences, both textbook-wise but also hands-on!

Dr. Sarah Varnell. Photo used with permission.

Heavy Sciences on the transcript, completed at honors level:

Biology in 8th grade
Zoology
Chemistry
Advanced Chemistry
Physics

Volunteering, MANY hours:

Horse rescue
Brandywine Zoo (snake handler who walked around the zoo carrying a snake for visitors to meet)
Teaching at a Christian summer camp that specializes in horses (she was also a camper there when she was a child)

Shadowing, MANY hours:

Small animal veterinarian (this steered her away from small animals because Sarah likes being out and about, not stuck inside)

Noticing and developing interests and loves:

Being in the outdoors
Being around large animals

Through college, her networking and shadowing helped guide her in her studies but it took time to clarify that she wanted to be a field veterinarian.

She connected to an equine vet (through a homeschool family that she babysat for- nothing like networking!) and spend many hour shadowing

For college success, Sarah learned to:

Look forward to necessary courses and kept in touch with college advisor for advice on specialized and extra courses she needed to take. (Sarah needed some specialized courses that most zoology undergraduates did not need.)
Visit her professors often during office hours.

Sarah chose a small, Christian college (Malone College) for her undergraduate degree. When choosing her college, she made these a priority:

Small college, so she could know her professors and advisor well
Good college advisors that are interested in the success of their advisees
Opportunities for networking and exploration/volunteering/shadowing

Of all the vet schools in the nation, Sarah applied to the best vet school in the nation: University of California. She chose her graduate program by applying to the average number of programs, not choosing University of Delaware (her local college) since it had no vet program and few opportunities with their reciprocal programs at other schools. Rather, she chose to other nearby colleges and the vet school that her veterinarian of her childhood cats.

After applying, she flew to California for interviews and tours of campus. She liked the way their program was organized. AND it was December with NO snow! She rocked her interviews. How did she do that?

Beginning in 8th grade and all through high school, she was a member of the homeschool rhetoric team, so was comfortable speaking.

Speech 1: Public Speaking for Homeschool High School

This is the curriculum that Sarah’s rhetoric league used.

She was also involved in her college forensics team (public speaking), where she specialized in 5-minute impromptu speeches.

At UC, the interviews were MMI format (Multiple Mini Interviews), which are 5-minute impromptu speeches in a sort of speed dating format. She did so well that she was accepted into the program.

Sarah’s advice for homeschoolers thinking about college?

Make sure you avail yourself of advisors and professors. Network, network, network!
Keep a class listing of what you will need. Keep an eye on when courses are offered (some courses are only offered periodically).

At the University of California, Sarah learned:

At the end of every lead rope there is a human.

So soft skills and speaking skills are important. Sarah began her skills in her homeschooling high school years. Today, Dr. Varnell is treating horses out on the road and in the clinic where she works. Just like James Herriot of All Creatures Great and Small, she’s out in the field with people and horses.

Here’s a free resource for helping teens choose a college major. Join Vicki and Dr. Sarah Varnell to find out how a homeschooler becomes a veterinarian.

Keep Listening

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Homeschooler Becomes a Veterinarian, with Dr. Sarah Varnell

Filed Under: Homeschool Highschool Tagged With: Career Exploration, homeschool high school, homeschooling high school, The Homeschool Highschool Podcast, veterinarian

How to Homeschool High School When You Don’t Know Everything- Special Replay

February 24, 2026 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: How to Homeschool High School When You Don’t Know Everything.

How to Homeschool High School When You Don’t Know Everything

No homeschool mom wants to leave holes in their teens’ education.

EVERYONE has holes in their education. No matter where you were educated or how much you are educated you have holes somewhere in what you know.

Holes are everywhere! Even the most expert professionals in long careers still have holes somewhere in their knowledge base. But don’t worry, your teens are learning to explore interests and become independent learners. Many teens will let you know what holes are important to them and help you explore how to fill those holes.

Know that some holes don’t matter! These holes are information your teen will never need in their future careers. (For example, a teen who will become a hair stylist or a Communications major don’t really need Calculus in homeschool high school.)

Our homeschool highschoolers learn to be lifelong learners. Homeschool highschool is a foundation of their life-learning. It is just a start. You can’t handle everything in the world in 4 years.

Sciences often make moms nervous. Who remembers their last Science course? It was a LONG time ago! But there are LOTS of ways to solve the problem of teaching the required Sciences to homeschool highschoolers.

Remember: There’s not ONE right way to tackle topics you don’t know. Look into one or more of these:

Pray
Co-ops and group classes
Swap courses with a mom-friend
Community college
Video courses and online courses (Here’s an episode on digital learning.)

You might enjoy these episodes on labs and ideas for non-science learners.

Higher Maths often intimidate homeschool moms. Here are some tips:

The tips listed for Sciences also apply to higher Maths. Also, try:

Working with a tutor
Find a homeschool highschool study-buddy

Language Arts/Writing is intimidating to many homeschool moms (especially grading writing):

Make peace with the subjective parts of writing…really mom, you can handle subjectiveness
Use a rubric (that’s why 7Sisters’ writing curriculum includes rubrics)
Have a friend of friends grade papers
Send your homeschool highschooler to co-op, group classes or online classes (This often includes the important experience: peer review.)

Language Arts/Literature can be frustrated to some homeschool teens:

Try Book clubs in person
Try Instagram book clubs (supervise)
Use Literature Study Guides (7SistersHomeschool.com are no-busywork, level-able guides that help teens build inferential-thinking skills…not just comprehension skills.)
Use online books and literary analysis/guides
Co-ops and group classes are great for discussion
Try Readers Theatre to read some plays. Here’s an episode to explain.

World Languages are so intimidating for homeschool moms. Here are some workable ideas:

Co-ops and group classes are wonderful so that teens get the discussion portion of Languages
Form a language club
Use apps for supplementing texts.
Online courses are often good
Listen to this episode on handling World Languages.

History is so much fun to teach in homeschool highschool! You and your teen can learn together or they can usually easily handle independent learning.

Often, if a textbook is engaging, teens can do the text independently. (Independent learning is a goal for 7Sisters’ Psychology and Human Development courses.)
Group classes and co-ops are marvelous for discussions.
Online courses
Video courses

Phys Ed sometimes takes some creativity!

Remember to keep logs!
Listen to this episode on Phys Ed.

Fine Arts is intimidating to moms who aren’t artsy. Remember this:

Lot those hours
Think Arts Appreciation (Here’s a link to a good how-to do Arts Appreciation freebie.)

Join Sabrina and Kym for TONS of ideas on homeschooling highschool when you don’t know everything!

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How to Homeschool High School When You Don’t Know Everything

Filed Under: Homeschool Highschool Tagged With: High School, homeschooling high school, How to teach what you don't know, The Homeschool Highschool Podcast

Movies for Educational Purposes in Homeschool High School- Special Replay

February 3, 2026 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Movies for Educational Purposes in Homeschool High School- Special Replay.

Movies for Educational Purposes in Homeschool High School

Need some fun in your homeschool high school? Think: movies!

Can movies and reading books BOTH count as English/Language Arts assignments?

It’s complicated, but the answer is: Yes!

Movies alone cannot count as literature for teens’ ELA booklists, but they can be used to learn:

themes
plots
characters and
other tools of literary analysis

In fact, we 7Sisters have always allowed our teens to count some movies as books for their ELA booklist as long as they complete an accompanying study guide that emphasizes literature analysis skills. That’s why we have made sure they had good resources for studying movies as if they are books (like 7Sisters Cinema Studies for Literature Learning Study Guides).

Join Sabrina and Vicki for an enlightening discussion of movies for educational process.

Why learn literature analysis skills through watching movies?

There are lots of reasons to add some movies to homeschool high schoolers’ literature analysis lessons. Let’s start with another of Sabrina’s famous quotes:

Stories are stories.

So, a story in a movie is still a story.

Studying a movie can add some sparkle to a year that is getting bogged down in heavy literature books

Of course, teens need to read lots of good books during their homeschooling high school years. Some teens like to choose literature topics for a year, such as:

Other high schoolers prefer a mix of genres and authors (which is why 7Sisters offers the popular “One-Year” ELA series).

Either way, reading books, books, books can be cumbersome, so liven things up by learning literature analysis skills through movies!

Teens with learning difficulties will find analysis skills more accessible when they watch and discuss movies

Learning story analysis skills by watching movies is good for all teens, of course. However, learning some of these literature analysis skills while watching a movie simplifies the educational process and adds a layer of multi-sensory learning.

Studying movies for educational purposes is an inspiring activity for co-op

Teens love watching movies together and the literature analysis skills are great discussion material.

It’s fun!

Face it, it’s fun to watch movies! So why not have some educational fun!

A story is a story.That's why movies can be tools for literature analysis.

So where do you start?

First off: We recommend that you do not overdo it! Just choose one or two aspects of the story to discuss and analyze, even if the movie has lots of outstanding features that could be explored. In other words, don’t kill the movie (or a book, for that matter) trying to analyze everything that could be analyzed! Instead, allow teens to concentrate on just a couple of outstanding facets to analyze! Then they can actually learn and hold onto their learning- and still have positive feelings and inspiration from the movie. We suggest 7Sisters Cinema Studies for Literature Learning Study Guides for this.

When teens learn some concepts from a film story, they can then find those concepts when they read books. Making these connections is a necessary facet of education (and an important life skill).

Watching movies as an educational tool, helps teens begin to think that any time they watch a movie

They can use their brains and think about what they are consuming. In other words, when given tools for analysis in a gentle way, most teens will have more critical thinking skills for watching movies any time.

All 7Sisters curriculum is level-able (adaptable for Average- through Honors-level studies.) Homeschool high schoolers who are college-bound Honors level cinema studies will find interesting and meaningful leveling-up activities in 7Sisters Cinema Studies for Literature Learning Study Guides.

The way the Cinema Studies guides work:

Students watch the movie.
They take notes as they watch the movie on anything that is interesting to them.
They watch the movie again several days later.
Then they complete the study guide (questions and a writing assignment).

As an aside, Vicki and Sabrina rabbit trailed onto the topic of audiobooks for books and poetry. They noted that Benedict Cumberbach is one of their favorite readers. Vicki has several pins on her Pinterest Poetry board with him reading a poem.

Join Sabrina and Vicki for a “moving” talk about movies!

For more creative Language Arts ideas, check out this episode!

Keep Listening

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Movies for Educational Purposes in Homeschool High School

Filed Under: Homeschool Highschool Tagged With: cinema studies, High School, homeschooling high school, movies, The Homeschool Highschool Podcast

Stress Management for the Holidays with Natalie Mack- Special Replay

December 16, 2025 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Stress Management for the Holidays with Natalie Mack.

Stress Management for the Holidays with Natalie Mack

We know that stress can be a big issue, especially during the holidays, but even after the holidays, anxiety, depression, and the winter blues can creep in. Let’s talk about ways to manage these feelings and create a calm and enjoyable atmosphere for our families. Our friend and Cousin Natalie Mack shares tips for stress management for the holidays.

About Natalie Mack

Natalie has been a homeschooling mom for twenty-two years with five children, four have graduated from college while one is still homeschooling high school!

She is a retired Navy chaplain spouse and has a Master’s Degree in Education and Counseling. Natalie has worked in various fields such as drug and alcohol abuse, social work, and marriage and family therapy. Recently, Natalie has been leading the military outreach program for HSLDA. She also shares her wisdom at Natalie-Mack.com, where she offers some helpful freebies for homeschooling families.

Tip #1: Slowing Down and Embracing Fun

Homeschooling through the holidays can look completely different from “work, work work”! You can slow down with the schoolwork during the holidays and focus on creating fun experiences with your children. While it may be tempting to push through and maintain a rigorous academic schedule, remember that the academics will always be there. Take the time to enjoy holiday activities, bond as a family, and create lasting memories.

(Here’s a fun writing project about creating a Holiday Family Narrative, instead of typical academics.)

The picture-perfect moments we often see on social media or in magazines are not the reality of everyday life. Instead of striving for perfection, try embracing the joyful imperfections that come with family gatherings.

Remember the quote from GK Chesterton:

Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.

Learning happens in many different ways (including the developing a growth mindset during the ups and downs of imperfect celebrations).

Breathe and Relax

It may sound simple, but taking deep breaths and focusing on our breath can do wonders for managing stress. When we are feeling overwhelmed, our bodies flood with stress hormones, but the antidote is right there in the air.

So, whenever you can, take a moment to pause, take a deep breath in, and slowly exhale. It helps chip away at those stress hormones and calms our nervous system. You can teach this technique to your teens as well!

Make Time for Field Trips

Take advantage of the unique field trip opportunities available during the holiday season. Many places offer special events and attractions during the holidays.

Whether it’s visiting nature gardens with beautiful lights or driving along the boardwalk to see Christmas decorations, these experiences create lasting memories and provide valuable learning opportunities for your kids. Plus, they are just a lot of fun!

Field trips during the holidays are a fantastic way to bond as a family and create positive memories. Education an happen anywhere, and these experiences enrich our lives in so many ways.

Enjoy Holiday Books

Holiday-themed picture books are a great way to create a cozy and magical atmosphere during the season. They have a way of bringing joy and warmth to our hearts. Snuggling up together and reading these books aloud fosters a sense of togetherness and creates cherished memories.

Explore book lists from resources like Read Aloud Revival and 7Sisters Homeschool to discover wonderful holiday reads. Visit your local library and pick up some holiday-themed picture books. Make it a tradition to read holiday books with your loved ones and let the joy and laughter fill your home.

7SistersHomeschool has a Literature Study Guide for A Christmas Carol. Not only that, we offer a Cinema Studies for Literature Learning Guide for A Christmas Carol, as well. This is a meaningful way to sneak in some no-busywork, meaningful education.

Organizational Tips

Organization can make a big difference in reducing stress during the holidays. (Hey, it’s okay if organization is not your strong suit.) You can learn the value of organization, especially during the holidays, from others, such as from our 7th Sister, Allison, who is a master at event planning. We turned her planning skills into a unit study for planning the Thanksgiving meal.

Some organizational tips from Allison:

Consider the flow of activities, such as setting up a buffet with silverware and napkins placed at the end to avoid juggling them while serving food. These small organizational adjustments can make a significant difference in reducing stress levels.

Do what you can to prioritize your to-do lists and let go of unnecessary tasks. Recognize that it’s impossible to do everything perfectly, and some things can be dropped without major consequences.

Focus on what truly matters and be intentional about allocating your time and energy to activities that bring joy and fulfillment. Good holiday event planning is about finding what works for you and creating a sense of calmness amidst the busyness!

Stress Management for the Holidays with Natalie Mack

The holiday season should be a time of joy, togetherness, and relaxation. Follow these stress management tips for the holidays and then let us know how they helped you!

Find Natalie Mack at Natalie-Mack.com and lots of places through Linktree.

Wishing you a peaceful and joyful holiday season filled with beautiful memories!

Thank you to Seth Tillman for editing and Richie Soares with Homeschool & Humor for writing this blog post!

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Filed Under: Homeschool Highschool Tagged With: Handling stress for the holidays, holidays, homeschooling high school, Natalie Mack, thanksgiving

Homeschooling Middle School Your Way- Special Replay

November 4, 2025 by Vicki Tillman Leave a Comment

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Homeschooling Middle School Your Way- Special Replay.

Homeschooling Middle School Your Way

We don’t often talk about middle school because we are so busy talking about high school. However, there are many, many homeschooling families that not only have high schoolers but middle schoolers as well. Not only that, but there are more and more families with middle schoolers who will be homeschooling all the way through graduation.

SO we get questions about the RIGHT way to homeschool middle school! (Can you guess what we are going to say? You are correct! There’s not ONE right way to homeschool middle school!)

However, parents of middle schoolers often feel a LOT of pressure to homeschool middle school correctly. They are told:

If your kids do not start working on high school material in middle school, they will not get into college when they graduate!
If you do not do serious academic work with your middle schoolers, they will not be ready for high school…and that means failure!
You must keep up with the educational Joneses!

Thus, middle school turns into a pressure-filled situation. Is that what your tweens need? Must middle school be filled with pressure?

SO, let’s talk about how seriously to take academics in homeschool middle school

Remember what we said: There’s not ONE right way to homeschool middle school.

With that in mind, let’s think about statistics: Most middle school students are average academians. That is because “average” is the statistic describing the middle of the population (usually the “bell” in the bell-shaped curve, if you like statistical graphs).

This means that some middle schoolers can start doing the higher-level maths (such as algebra or geometry) and enjoy them. This is especially true for the more academically bright tweens.

However, for many middle schoolers, these higher-level courses are not necessary. They will get to them in high school just fine and will not experience life failure as a result. They are not trying to compete for the most competitive colleges, such as Harvard. Rather, many homeschoolers will start out:

at local community colleges to save money
going to trade school
joining the military
or are aiming for less competitive colleges that have the best-fit for them

These middle schoolers are free to work on their academics at a more relaxed pace… in the right timing for them!

Homeschooling middle school your way

Really, really, really: You do not need to impress anybody…and neither does your middle schooler!

If your middle schooler thrives on doing seventh-grade math at seventh grade, followed by eighth-grade math at eighth grade, it is OKAY! If that is what is best for your family, put your shoulders back and chin up and do NOT be pressured to do otherwise!

Instead of heavy academics, why not fill middle school with rich experiences?

After all, middle school years are the last years where students can be free to truly experience learning adventures without being overly tied down to textbooks. High school can wait until high school for many middle schoolers.

Homeschooling high school (even for many unschoolers) will have a fair number of textbooks in order to earn the credits for graduation.

However, middle schoolers do not need to worry about earning credits. Instead, they can concentrate of building their love of learning. Just be sure to record all their cool experiences in their portfolios so you have a good record.

Here are some of the things we concentrated on during middle school

There are endless rich experiences that your tweens can build during middle school. They will extend many of these experiences into electives during high school but this is a good time to start. Think about:

Life skills

Cooking
Home maintenance
Home economics

Social skills and networking skills

Build their confidence for those teen years. (7Sisters has a tiny Social Skills training book that we have used with our tweens.)
Also check out this episode on civility skills and welcoming skills.
Build interests and talents (help them discover their star)

If you can allow your tweens to explore and interest or gifting without pressure, they often will run with it. Some middle schoolers will ask about competitions in their interest areas. If so, go for it. However, if they just want to explore an interest for interest’s sake, why not?

On the other hand, there are middle schoolers who need the powerful academics

By the time these kids are in sixth or seventh grade, you know these kids. You understand that they are competitive academically (and often otherwise). You can see that they will be driven and WANT to go to a powerful college.

In that case, have them blast through their maths and other courses at their paces and interests. If they are:

Ready and want to do Algebra, Geometry and high school Sciences or Social Sciences
Or they are highly gifted in writing or other communication forms

let them run with it.

Give them resources: textbooks, mentors, courses…whatever is best fit for their learning styles. To hold them back to grade-level texts would stifle them with boredom. For these tweens, their interest and talent IS their academics.

Of course, with these tweens you often have to help them develop the life skills of work/life/social/self-care balances. Help them disrupt academics regularly with other activities.

It is good for young people to be the people they are! All kids are gifted in the way God made them to be gifted (check out this discussion on all kids being gifted).

For us moms: How to handle homeschooling middle school your way

Homeschooling middle school in the best way for our unique kids is wonderful at home. However, sometimes it can be a challenge for us moms. Especially when we are at co-op or with a group of other homeschool moms and someone is talking about their tweens’ WONDERFUL accomplishments!!

Sally won this amazing competition
Bob is just finishing Geometry with his tutor
George was just chosen for the Mensa program

And you are sitting there thinking, “My tween is plugging through seventh grade Math but he LOVES hiking and sketching what he sees. He doesn’t want to do a competition with the things he loves, he just wants to enjoy them.”

When your buddies ask you, “SO, what’s your kid doing?”

So you answer:

My kid is being the best HIM that God made him to be.

Because that is what he is called to do. AND we are called to help them be their best selves…not someone else’s best self.

That’s because there’s not ONE right way to homeschool middle school, so homeschool middle school your way.

One great way to handle homeschooling middle school is to ease tweens into literature analysis skills with no busywork middle school-level literature study guides!

7Sisters offers middle school literature study guides that promote a love of learning and reading while introducing literature analysis and comprehension skills.

Treasured by horse-lovers everywhere, the tale of the ponies of Chincoteague and Assateague Islands becomes a rich learning experience for your student. This ten-page ebook guide was created to complement Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. It is our gift to you and your family!