Homeschool Questions

Laurel over at Our Journey of Faith asked some interesting questions regarding our homeschooling. Though after homeschooling for as many years as she has, I am sure she is just curious about how it works in Oregon, comparatively. Anyways thought I would answer them and some other homeschool questions in case anyone was interested.

I want to say up front, that though we homeschool, we know that it is not for everyone. We are not the homeschooling only type of family. If, I thought it was better for any of my kids at any time to be schooling in a different way, we would pray about it and do what we felt was best at that time for that child. That said, here are some Q and A's.

Has Drew been in some type "program" for his homeschooling?

Actually both Drew and Danielle have used Abeka Video Academy for upper division school(Danielle from 7-12 grade and Drew 9-12).

For Danielle it started because, she and I were struggling and I thought the best way to preserve our mother/daughter relationship was to remove the stress of the teacher/student relationship. It worked out great.

Also we suspected she would go on to run in college, as is Drew, and having an 'accredited' diploma would make life easier.

Though it made life easier in some aspects, we were still considered homeschoolers at state colleges and had the same college hoops to jump through as other homeschoolers.

Since Abeka is so test driven, we did not use it for Erinn, who at the time dealt with major test anxiety. She now is holding a 3.8 GPA at college to keep her 1/2 tuition scholarship---guess she got over the anxiety!!

Are these just a group of homeschoolers who decided to "graduate" their kids together?

Yes, in the previous post you see a group of homeschoolers from our county who have decided to graduate together. Our local support group is the catalyst for this, though the parents and students plan and fund the entire graduation.

Danielle's class was 27 kids and I think Erinn had 18 kids in her class.

Do you follow state guidelines for "graduation"? Or, do you create your own homeschool requirements?

We have followed Abeka's guidelines for graduation, adding in our own classes as need or desired.

For Erinn we followed the local high school's guidelines and made our own transcript. We did add in our Bible classes that the high school does not require. We also made adjustments and such for things such as spending a month in a tribal location during the school year. We called it
"cross cultural training" or something like that. I also added an addendum to our transcript that showed what texts, programs, classes or whatever for them to see that we actually did it.

I have not had any problem getting any of the kids transcripts accepted at any school, be it state college, private college, Christian college, or Naval Academy. We have sometimes had to provide additional resources, so I recommend to every homeschooler starting high school to keep records of everything. It is only for a few years and worth the hassle of not having to find it later.

Do you get official Oregon State diplomas, or do you give your kids self-made homeschool diplomas?

The diplomas we give the kids at graduation are home made and endorsed by our local homeschool group if the kids have passed their required state testing at a certain level. I do not know what that level is, since all the kids have been above the 95th percentile I have not had to worry about it. Danielle and soon Drew will also have accredited diplomas from Abeka Academy.

Do the local high schools graduate this early in the year? Or, was this just a date chosen by a group of homeschoolers?

Our graduation date was chosen by our group---well me actually (LOL). We usually choose a date before most high schools are graduating, so there is less conflict for families who want to come. Since I knew how busy our spring was I check early on race dates for Drew and Danielle's wedding and this was seriously the only date we could do in May and early June. Thankfully it worked for the other families as well.

Drew actually has 2-3 weeks left of his video schooling and till sometime in June for his college credit anatomy class that he is taking at the local high school.

Nothing like graduation then having to hit the books the next day!!! He isn't complaining and is upstairs working away as I type!!! :):)

So that answers most of Laurel's questions.

One thing she did not touch on was our participation in athletics.

Here in Oregon our homeschool kids are allowed to participate in public school sports. They are required to take testing every year to prove that they are academically eligible and follow all the other guidelines the public school kids do.

This has not always been easy. For Danielle and Drew who excelled at their sports from the minute they stepped on the field (their dad has coached them since elementary school) it was easier in some ways as they were immediately accepted as a helpful part of the team. For Erinn who had never played water polo it was entirely different and much more difficult.

They have been teased and hurt by words, but we felt that giving them the freedom to step out in this was was a good way to start spreading their wings outside in the world. Then each evening they would come home and be refreshed and refueled. Unlike giving it to them as they went off to college and did not have home to come to every night.

So far we have been blessed to watch all three walk these waters and come shinning through. We are exceedingly proud of their accomplishments on the field, in the pool and in the school room, but most importantly in the way they have grown to be mature adults who love the Lord and shine for Him where ever they go. I think that is the goal!!

Interestingly now that I have run the race with our oldest three, I am finding myself doing it again and since these kids have their own special challenges, we are changing lots of ways that we do things.

Different curriculum, different schedules, different goals.

Not bad, just different.

A new challenge!!