This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Create a Great Transcript Using Levels in 7Sisters Curriculum- Special Replay.

Create a Great Transcript Using Levels in 7Sisters Curriculum

We 7Sisters have twenty-two homeschool graduates between the group of us. Not only that, but Sisters Marilyn and Vicki have served as academic advisors to hundreds of homeschool high schoolers. So we have seen first hand that there are no two teens alike!

You, too, have probably noticed that there is a LOT of difference in homeschool high schoolers. God created each to have different:

* Interests

* Abilities

* Goals

* Needs

Teens have different goals:

* There are teens who are headed to competitive colleges or state universities, need competitive transcripts.

* Some college-bound teens are headed to community colleges or smaller, less competitive colleges that still need solid transcripts.

* Other teens are headed into the workforce who need life and career preparation more than competitive core classes.

* Some teens are aiming for the military and need to concentrate on that preparation during high school.

* Other teens with special needs can concentrate on life skills and next steps. They only remedial work needed to concentrate on those goals.

We also know that our teens have different interests. We need to put emphasis on the areas they want to explore by increasing the "levels" of their interest courses. You cannot "Level 5- Honors" every interest area, but you can choose some. Talk to your teen!

You can tailor your planning and the homeschool transcript by teaching courses at the "credit level" of your teen's needs. Some courses can be leveled up. Some need to stay at Average- Level 2 or College Prep Level 3.

This does not mean that you have not allowed them to face challenges. It simply means you are wise enough to find your teen's sweet spot in education to have a well-rounded transcript with challenges in the appropriate areas for them. If you have not listened to What Are Levels on the Homeschool Transcript, be sure to catch up!

With all 7Sisters guide and textbooks, use:

* Higher level activities in the literature and writing guides for college bound teens who are English, Communications, History, Humanities majors.

* Also use higher level activities in the textbooks for teens going into Social or Health Sciences in college.

* Use Level 2 for a workforce-bound teen, adapt by using questions as discussion rather than writing.

* Level 1 (Remedial) is for teens with learning difficulties, so do the guides together choosing which questions and vocabulary are useful to them; also use adaptive technology for listening and writing.

How to create the right level for your teens using 7Sisters curriculum

Each 7Sisters guide or e-textbook comes with instructions on leveling for your specific teen's needs, goals and interests.

7Sisters Literature Guides include instructions for enjoying their reading at the levels that are best for each student.

You and your teens can choose the best level for each guide. For instance:

* Level 1 (Remedial): You will use audiobooks for reading and verbally discuss the literature guide together.

* Level 2 (Average): You may use audiobooks and verbally discuss th...

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: How to Start a Homeschool Co-op Your Teens Will Enjoy- Special Replay.

How to Start a Homeschool Co-op Your Teens Will Enjoy

We 7Sisters have always loved co-op! Co-ops do have their ups and downs, but all of our homeschool graduates still have best friend and fond memories of their adventures and misadventures there.

The homeschooling community is famous for co-ops! What are homeschool co-ops?

They are simply families homeschooling together in some format (co-operating on education).

Homeschool co-ops take lots of formats, for instance:

* Two families getting together to do fun learning activities

* Huge co-ops that have fifty families with structured studies

* (sometimes these turn into umbrella schools- one of our co-ops did)

* One topic co-ops

* (We had a chemistry lab co-op and a biology lab co-op at different times- where we moms set up lab stations and our teens cycled through them. It was SO much fun!)

* As we always say: There's not ONE right way to homeschool co-op

What are the benefits of co-ops?

* Experiencing other teacher's styles, grading

* Responsibility of a group setting

* Fun of some subjects that are delightful in a group

* Downloading teaching of subjects mom doesn't like to moms who do like them

Here's how to start a homeschool co-op you and your teens will enjoy:

First thing you and your team of homeschooling parents will need is time to plan your co-op.

*

Start with prayer together

* As Kym says: Prayer goes first, last and always!

*

Clarify expectations and goals (believe us it will save LOTS of storm and stress later on).

* Decide the goals co-operatively. Your goals might look like:

* Some goals aimed at middle schoolers and high schoolers that are science experiences and labs

* Other goals aimed at mostly reading and writing projects for high schoolers

* Some goals might be aimed for multi-subjects and multi-ages

* Special goals might be aimed at multi-ages as field trips to historic sites

* And ENDLESS other goals

*

Decide here you'll meet

* It matters! Is there parking, nice neighbors, etc?

*

Decide when you will meet

* How often

* Length of school year

* Breaks

*

Choose class period lengths

*

Will you have a hard start?

* Do we wait for everyone to show up? Do we start right on time? This determines who teaches what.

* Believe us, you will be glad you settled this up front.

*

What has God given us to work with?

* Moms' interests, gifts and needs

* Teens' interests, gifts and needs

*

Determine the costs per family or student

* Facilities costs (even if you're in someone's home, there are expenses to the hosts)

* Curriculum

* Course resources and materials

* What limitations are families experiencing?

*

Clarify logistics

* Set-up and clean-up chores should be assigned

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Incorporating Adulting Skills into High School Planning- Special Replay.

Incorporating Adulting Skills into High School Planning

When we are homeschooling our high schoolers, one of our most important tasks as parents is passing the baton of "who's in charge of learning and living" to our teens. In other words, we hope that as our teens move through high school, they become more and more in charge of their education and of their life preparation.

Of course, all teens are different and there's not ONE right way for teens to progress into their preparation for life. The cool thing is that we can appreciate and build on each of our teens' unique personalities, gifts, interest and goals to help them be ready for what happens after graduation!

What we are saying is: homeschooling high school is time for preparation for life:

* For many teens, high school is preparation for college

* On the other hand, for many teens high school is preparation for career

* For all teens, high school should include preparation for adulthood

In this special replay, Sabrina, Vicki and Kym talked about how they worked on increasing educational and adulting ownership by passing the baton of responsibility from parents to teens.

Laid back teens

Teens who are go-with-the-flow often simply needs to be part of the goal setting and planning process. If they are part of this process, they can simply schedule backwards to get things done. BTW- scheduling backwards is a useful adulting skill. It helps teens and adults get ALL sorts of big projects done!

Teens who have chronic illnesses or disabilities

One of Kym's teens had a chronic illness. Teaching adulting skills and educational ownership skills had to be frequently adjusted due to her teen's conditions. Sometimes her teen felt healthy and strong and could run with her skills. Other times, Kym pulled back expectations and simply worked on her daughter's health.

Teens who "don't give a flip"

Some teens are not interested in adulting or owning their own education. The things they care about are not in textbooks or chore lists. These teens need patience, love and boundaries with clear expectations. Make sure they are involved in planning.

Teens who think they "own the baton"

Some teens think they have already arrived at adulting; some of these are hyper-responsible teens. They need their parents' love and encouragement to run with their ownership, while turning to their parents for love and support. (LOTS of love and support because these teens sometimes make mistakes.)

Teens who are head butters

Some teens are natural head-butters, especially if their personalities are similar to mom or dad. Here are some tips:

* Watch your own triggers: calm down before blowing up

* Make sure there are lots of adults in their lives

* Keep communicating on the plans and goals you both have already agreed upon

More tips to help planning on adulting skills:

There is so much planning that goes into homeschooling high school! Especially when your goals include helping their teens own their education and adulting skills. Here's some more advice.

Remember to let go and let God

As homeschooling moms, it can sometimes fall into the temptation to become

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: How to Create Honors Credits on Homeschool Transcript- Special Replay.

How to Create Honors Credits on Homeschool Transcript- Special Replay

Vicki shares how to create a powerful transcript by building Honors credits. She explains the method called "leveling up" that her family and the homeschool umbrella school that all the 7Sisters' homeschoolers have graduated from. Check out this Homeschool Highschool Podcast episode that explains the concept of "Levels".

If you have homeschool high schoolers who are headed for college, it is likely they will need to show rigor on the homeschool transcript. How do you handle creating courses with rigor and showing them on the transcript?

Well, it's complicated! There are not any unified how-to's. Our advice is:

* Choose your method

* Keep it consistent through all core courses (core courses are Language Arts, Maths, Sciences, Social Studies and World Languages)

* Make sure you create a legend or key on transcript that explains a little about how the level of rigor was achieved

* Be sure to record along with the title of the course, the level of rigor that your homeschool high schoolers achieved

This is how we do it. First decide on the level for each course:

Remedial Level: Level 1

* This is not college level. It is for student who are severely behind or have learning disabilities.

Average High School Level: Level 2

* These are courses with textbooks that have easier reading levels and shorter lessons. Some examples would include: Westfield Studios 101, Pacemaker series.

* If your homeschool high schoolers complete a Level 2 course it will not prevent them from getting into college.

* However, the colleges that accept Level 2 courses will most likely be community colleges or some private colleges.

* Make sure that the Level 2 courses are not in the courses that will become your teens' college majors.

* Very few courses should be Level 2 for college-bound teens.

College Preparatory Level: Level 3

* Most available textbooks are Level 3. Some examples of Level 3 publishers are,Apologia, BJU Press and Abeka.

Advanced Level: Level 4

* This level is more powerful than college prep.

* Leveling up the Level 3 to Level 4 in our homeschool umbrella school requires completing a Level 3 course plus one half of another Level 3 course of that same topic.

* This will earn 1 credit of that course at Level 4.

* It is an attractive credit to many colleges.

Honors Level: Level 5

* An Honors level homeschool high school course is similar in rigor to an AP course. However, the title "AP" can only be used by courses specifically approved by  the College Board. They own that designation.

* Honors level courses are highly rigorous; they require a lot of work. This is worth it for teens who are applying to competitive private or state colleges.

* Concentrate on Honors level for courses in the general area of your homeschool high schoolers' future major or interest area.

* Some competitive colleges want to see ALL core courses at Honors level. Check with colleges of interest for their requirements.

How do you develop Honors credit?

It is hard work. A teen working on a Level 5 Honors credit will be doing about double the Level 3 College Prep.

7Sisters textbooks and Literature Study Guides include instructions (with Literature Study Guides the instructions vary by age and grade).

This week on How to Enjoy Being Mom of a Just-Average Homeschool Teen- Special Replay

How to Enjoy Being Mom of a Just-Average Homeschool Teen

Your teens do not have to go to Harvard to be exactly who God created them to be. Most teens are "just-average" in the ways that get big attention like:

* academics,

* sports or

* arts

However, God has given each teen gifts, so even "just-average" teens have areas where they shine. Join Sabrina and Vicki for celebration of average homeschool teens with their giftedness from God!

It is easy to fall into the trap that our homeschool high schoolers must perform extraordinarily in some area that gets big attention...or full-ride scholarships to college. Sometimes moms find themselves almost embarrassed if their teens do not go to college or do not do anything news-worthy. It is an unfortunate thing in "American mom-ness" that we moms feel that we are failures if our teens are not famous.

So really, do ALL teens need to be famous in the world's eyes? How about our teens fulfilling the callings that God gave each of them individually- no matter how large or small?

SO let's debunk this myth of the idea that only those teens who are gifted in academics, sports or arts are gifted. NO, all teens are gifted in God's eyes! God gives each person a gift of something in order to bless His kingdom. Therefore, since God gave our teens gifts of some sort to bless his Kingdom, we can rejoice that:

Just average teens are not "just average" in God's eyes!

ALSO, let's debunk the myth that average is bad. If average is bad, then God goofed up because statistically MOST teens are average. That's what "average" means, after all.

How can you enjoy being a mom of a just-average teen?

So, if you have a just-average teen in your house, enjoy them! Thank God and hold an attitude of gratitude in your heart for them. (Okay, realistically, no one feels grateful in tough moments. However, OVERALL, remember to be grateful for the teens God gave you.)

Now for some practical tips to help you enjoy being the mom of just-average teens.

*

Help your teens discover the things in them that are a blessing to the kingdom of God.

* This is where a good Career Exploration curriculum can help them identify gifts. Also they can have some fun with personality tests. Here is a link to some freebie personality tests from Vicki Tillman Coaching.

* Read this important post on helping teens discover their purpose.

*

Just like you are practicing thankfulness, help your teens learn to have an attitude of gratitude for those gifts.

* Teens are often going through identity crises and feel poorly about themselves. Moms can help them look at their gifts and respect that God placed those gifts in them to bless the kingdom of God.

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Planing Homeschool Graduation Ceremony and Party- Special Replay

Planning Homeschool Graduation Ceremony and Party

Whether it is your first or your fifth homeschool graduation, planning homeschool graduations can be stressful.  You want it to be memorable AND something you can manage. We asked our 7th Sisters in our 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group about graduation events that have worked for their homeschool families.

Planning tips for homeschool graduations:

Start your planning process with this important fact: Just as there's not ONE right way to homeschool high school, there's also not ONE right way to hold a graduation event. For real. You and your teen should have a chat or two. Ask what they need and what do you need (you count, you did a lot to help this homeschool high schooler to get to the point of graduation)!

Decide if you want an event

Some graduates do not want a graduation ceremony. Rather, they only want a pat on the back and maybe their favorite meal.

On the other hand, some would like an event. Hey, some of us moms NEED that event for closure; it's okay to have an opinion. (I know that for me, I needed that graduation ceremony to celebrate all we had done as a family. My teens were glad that they had that significant event, once it was done.) Come to a workable and respectful compromise.

Decide what kind of ceremony you will hold

There are lots of ways to hold a graduation ceremony:

* Hold a get together in the backyard or at a local park (I've been to a number of these events)

* Have a big event with your local homeschool umbrella school or co-op (this is what our family has always done)

Choose a date

To help you decide on a date, think about:

* When can the family come?

* What are facilities available (if you will go somewhere besides home)?

Do you want someone to film or live stream it?

This is very popular these days. Start looking early for a friend, family member or professional to handle this.

Will you send graduation announcements?

Will you want to send traditional announcements from a local printer? (Grandparents often like these because you can enclose a photo that they can put in their wallets and show their friends?

Will you create your own announcements or post cards?

* You can create your own notes online with websites like Shutterfly or Canva  (We are not affiliates, btw.)

* Handmade announcements are popular with many of our local homeschool graduates.

Remember to send the announcements early so that folks can make plans.

We highly suggest you create a diploma (and keep a copy of the official transcript with it)

You can make your own:

* Buy parchment and an "official stamper" at the local office supply store and create your own. (Check Pinterest for samples.)

You can purchase one online from Homeschool Diploma (we are not affiliates)

* We have found over the years that graduates occasionally need to show a diploma or send a copy of the diploma to prospective employers, military and even graduate schools.

For the transcript:

* You can create your transcript yourself using a template available at many places.

*

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!

Movies and reading can both count for Language Arts assignments? Yes, they can! Reading is fundamental, of course. However, movies can be a wonderful way to teach literature themes (and make a wonderful change of pace from books, books, books...). Our 7Sisters' teens have loved the years where we took an entire year to study movies through a literature lens. They have also enjoyed years when we added a movie or two to study with literature themes.

Cinema studies for learning literature

Movies cannot always count as books. However, when our teens completed a study guide to accompany a movie we DID count that movie as a book. That's because they were learning about literature through a movie, while doing high-school level learning.

they can be used to learn themes, plots, characters and other tools of literary analysis. Studying a movie can add some sparkle to a year that is getting bogged down in heavy literature books. However, you want to have good tools (like 7Sisters Cinema Studies for Literature Learning Study Guides).

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

Let's start with another of Sabrina's famous quotes:

Stories are stories.

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

Learning story analysis skills by watching movies is good for all teens.

Studying movies can build literature analysis skills for a variety of teens:

* Those who have special needs

* Average teens who need to liven up their literature learning experiences

* College-bound teens who want to learn literature analysis skills in a variety of ways

Homeschool high schoolers with learning difficulties

These teens will find analysis skills more accessible when they watch and discuss movies. It can be easy to get bogged down in a book while trying to learn literature themes at the same time. Movies are short compared to many books, so there is less likelihood of becoming overwhelmed.

BTW- For more out of the box credit ideas and support for teens with special needs check out these:

* Resources for Teens with Special Needs, Interview with Dr. Rochelle Matthews-Somerville (one of our 7Sisters' Cousins)

* Favorite Resources for Teens with Learning Disabilities

* Out of the Box Credits for Teens with Special Needs- An Authoritative Guide

Average teens who need more variety in their literature

Average teens,

This week on  Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Helping Non-College-Bound Teens Find Success! Special replay of a favorite interview with Angela O'Shaughnessy.

Helping Non-College-Bound Teens Find Success

There's not ONE right way to homeschool high school AND there's not ONE right way to do life after high school.

Many teens are gifted by God to go into a career without going to college. That's good. Why spend tens of thousands of dollars and four years of life on college, when a young person was created to do something else?

Huge numbers of teens have gifts and interests that they can develop without going to college. This is good. Career-bound teens can have a high school experience that is completely different than the academics for college-bound teens. With this in mind, Vicki asked her friend, Angela O'Shaughnessy, to talk about her two homeschool graduates who went right into careers that did not need college.

Today Angela and Vicki will discuss helping non-college-bound teens find success

Vicki and Angela are old friends who have worked together at Pike Creek Psychological Center. They have also had years of homeschooling together in their homeschool co-op (Angela always did the most fun history-related activities with the teens!)

Angela (who also joined us for more about homeschooling high school with career-bound teens) has two sons are loving successful lives that did not require college! How did Angela help guide them through high school to prepare them for life after graduation? Here are some tips from Angela.

Top Tip: Notice interests as they grow

Angela is skilled in noticing. As her oldest son was growing, she saw that he loved:

* History

* Music

* And especially figuring out things by working on them with his hands

She kept an eye on these interests as he progressed through high school. Angela and her husband concentrated on helping her sons:

* Explore their interests

* Develop their strengths

Therefore, she was not surprised when he told her that he did not want to go to college, but rather, to trade school and learn to be a machinist. This is what he did and is now a highly successful leader in that trade.

For more on helping teens discover and develop interests and strengths, check out our interview with Anita Gibson about helping teens discover their star.

Tip #2: Help teens develop strong life skills

Angela and her husband worked to model and teach the character, and life skills that her non-college-bound teens would need to have success in adulting. As adults, her sons have reported that they find these skills (that they developed during high school) highly valuable:

* Enjoying hard work

* Taking opportunities when they come

* Getting technical training when they needed it

* Learning job-hunt skills

* Practicing

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Inspiring Online History and Civics Courses, Interview with Nichelle Nelson.

Inspiring Online History and Civics Courses, Interview with Nichelle Nelson

The past can be an incredibly inspiring source of knowledge and learning. For many, history and civics classes in school were where we first learned about the world around us and our place in it. But what happens when you have the opportunity to learn more? 

Nichelle Nelson from Warp and Weft History is here to show us how online history and civics courses can bring greater depth and understanding of these topics. Get a unique look at Nichelle's personal journey with online courses as she talks about her experience, tips for success, and more!

Enjoy this inspiring interview with Nichelle Nelson and we discuss ways of inspiring online history and civics courses in your homeschool!

About Nichelle Nelson

Nichelle started homeschooling back in 1993. Did she know she was always going to homeschool? No, she didn’t. In fact, it didn’t ever enter her mind the possibility of homeschooling until one day in prayer. 

After Nichelle and her husband got married, they immediately moved to the Azos, which is a small island off the coast of mainland Portugal. 

At the time, her and her husband had extensive conversations about family life for when they had kids.

They often discussed how they wanted to raise their family and how they wanted the culture of their family to be. By the time their firstborn daughter was born in 1989, they had established Nichelle to be a stay-at-home mom. 

This in itself was weird for Nichelle because her mother and her mother-in-law were both pretty much pioneers as far as women of color in their professional fields. They were always the first woman of color to do this, the first woman of color to do that. 

And so the idea of her being a stay-at-home mom was a bit out of her comfort zone. But because they are people of prayer, they felt strongly to pursue this direction in life. 

One day, Nichelle was praying for Adrian, their firstborn, and she remembers this really strong feeling that Adrian was to never enter the public school system. This caught Nichelle off guard, once again, because she knew that this meant at some point in time they were going to hit a big windfall and need to school her  and her future siblings.

When Adrian was about 8 months old, they moved from Azos to Germany. It was during their time in church one day when homeschooling came up again.

Her husband introduced her to a family in the church that taught their own children at home. But Nichelle wasn’t impressed at the time because she had absolutely no dream, no fantasy and no thought process in her mind to ever teach her own children.

Then later on, she met another family who homeschooled.

And the very first thing that impressed her about this family was how well the siblings got along together. For the older one to pick up the younger one to make sure she was eating and comfort her, she was awestruck.

That was the first draw to homeschooling for her, the idea of familial closeness. It really touched her heart. 

Then, on another day, she was standing in the same hallway in church, enjoying a deep intellectual conversation with someone as she was looking away at something. At one point, she turned around, and she saw the person she was talking to was a 12 year old young man. He happened to be a homeschooler of a Latino family.

And it was the mother of that Latino family who became her gateway to the homeschool community. She loaned her all of her teaching home magazines, and inspired Nichelle further about homeschooling her own children.

This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: How to Plan Language Arts for Homeschool High School, a Special Replay.

How to Plan Language Arts for Homeschool High School

English/Language Arts credits are a huge part of the high school process. It can be overwhelming trying to figure out what to cover and when. Join Sabrina and Kym for some helpful guidelines for covering ELA in homeschool high school!

First off: remember, there's not ONE right way to homeschool high school! So remember, these are guidelines. You know what your unique teens need.

How can you know what to plan for when organizing your materials for your teens' homeschool high school English/Language Arts credits.

* Reading (Literature)

* Writing

* Grammar

* Vocabulary

* Public Speaking

Reading

There's not one right way to choose books for homeschool high school. For students with learning disabilities or career-bound teens they may need more practical reading and/or audiobooks. Think at least one book per month with a literature study guide (follow guidelines for ability level usage in each 7SistersHomeschool.com's Literature Study Guides). Then fill out the list with Bible reading, magazines, poetry, etc that interests them. Discuss this with you supervisory advisor for exactly what can be counted.

For students who are college bound, you will want to invest in more reading and probably more literature analysis (in the form of study guides). That's the cool thing about homeschooling high school: you do what is best for your teens!

If you would like an in-depth look at how many books each teen should cover in each year of high school, here is a comprehensive look at how many books by level and by grade. (Remember, these are guidelines, not rules.)

Writing

Writing is as important as reading. Everyone needs to be able to write efficiently. Here are some very basic guidelines.

* 1 research paper (think about over the 4 years of high school: 1 APA paper, 1 MLA paper, 1 Chicago paper and repeat one of them for the 4th year). Lengths of the paper vary by ability, interest and grade.

* 4 5-paragraph essays

* 4 other kind of writing (business, poetry, short story, etc)

* Check 7Sisters' writing guides for no-busywork, user-friendly, success-oriented writing curriculum!

Of course, if your teen has special needs or other challenges because life happens, adjust this to make it work for your family.

And if your teen is college bound or wants rigorous writing, check out this post on how many papers teens should write (by level and year).

Grammar

Grammar is necessary for homeschool high school. However, teens who have a practical mastery of grammar rules may find that editing their papers is enough grammar (proof that they understand grammar usage). If your teen is good with simply editing, it might be helpful to have a simple checklist of grammar rules to refer to. We suggest