Our Collaborative Way of Homeschooling High School - Backstory!

I would say generally that we pretty much unschooled up until about 7th grade.

By unschooling I mean:

• We read aloud tons - a couple hours a day on average at various points during the day.  These read alouds usually led us on rabbit trails where we read more about a particular aspect of a topic, we watched videos, educational TV, we went on fieldtrips, we did projects-all very loosely and casually pursued.  We also listened to lots of audio books and things like Schoolhouse Rock and other edutainment type media, including computer/video games.

• We were involved in all sort of outside activities such as co-ops (usually not academic), scouts, 4H, American Heritage Girls, all kinds of lessons like piano, swimming, tennis, art, etc, as well as group field trips and family organized field trips, and various week long camps.

• Strewing - we had a math station where the kids could measure and do various mathy things when the spirit moved them, I strewed lots of books and activity sheets, puzzles, games, magazines, etc on our family room coffee table.  I would often strew fun worksheets that were holiday related.  I hung up posters, handmade or bought, showing the kids things I wanted them exposed to.  

• My kids had tons of free play time both indoors and out.

• The one thing we didn't unschool (this was about 6 years into our unschooling journey) was penmanship because our oldest son was diagnosed dysgraphic.  So as a family, we practiced penmanship by doing copy work right after breakfast.

• I also taught one on one lessons, short and casual, to help the kids learn to read.  My kids were late bloomers and all began to read independently some time when they were 9 (some just about to turn 9 and some almost 10).  

• And finally if we were doing the end of year standardized testing required by our state, then I would purchase test prep workbooks and we would take anywhere from six to three weeks to work through them some.  Again, this was done in a very casual way.

Beginning in 7th grade we began to tighten up for one subject:  math.  We did this initially because I really thought my oldest would go to a high school and I wanted her to be prepared for the math part.  The other subjects didn't seem to need the same prep so I didn't worry about them.  Even though she was a late reader by the time 7th grade rolled around she was a voracious one.  By absorbing all the rich language from all the literature read aloud to her, she seemed to be a natural writer.  I was too intimidated to teach higher math.  I am not a mathy person myself.  So we hired a tutor.  We continued this same practice with all our kids.  It just became the groove we created for our homeschool.  

Sometimes the kids would want to take a class or do something academic with friends at this age.

My oldest took Latin with the other Catholic homeschooled students in our area in 7th and 8th grade.

I think in 8th grade she took a writing class with a friend, however she did not enjoy it and we pulled her out.

My sons all enjoyed the LPHRC on line courses and in 7th and 8th grade took a variety like music theory, logic, Greek Alphabet, and maybe another I am not remembering.  My youngest son did a year with Aquinas Learning in 8th grade (classical co-op).  He was craving more structure, but it turned out not to be the answer but even so he enjoyed it academically.

My youngest dd also liked LPHRC   She took a geography course and a couple other courses too from them.  She also was involved in Aquinas Learning  She was the real reason I got involved in Aquinas.  Our Catholic homeschooling co-op had fallen apart several years earlier.  The boys didn't really miss it, but my youngest was so extroverted, I had to be involved in something.  Aquinas was a good solution for her.  She was involved from 4th-7th grade.  

So we gradually got more formal about learning according to outside classes either on line or in a co-op.  

My dh was perfectly comfortable with unschooling until high school. But then he really wanted to know that the kids had the equivalent of a high school diploma and he wanted them set up so that it would be easy for them to apply to college if they so chose.  So we went to a more collaborative model for high school which really flowed very naturally out of how we did middle school anyway.  It was all a very natural progression for my family.  I know of other families who are just the opposite. They liked making sure the kids had the basics when they were in elementary school, but then as they got older, they let the kids run with their interests, confident that they now knew how to learn and would make good choices. Many of these kids wound up getting into colleges or starting their own business or pursuing an apprenticeship.  So it's all good.  Whatever works!  When adolescence hit my kids it effected them by making them feel a bit lost.  So they needed a bit more structure and clear perimeters.  

Next post will be on how we actually planned high school.