Prepare your homeschool middle schooler for high schoolPin
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Middle schoolers can be a squirrely lot, can’t they? One minute they’re impressing you with their maturity and self-control, the next they’re arguing with their sibling about who gets “shotgun” on the trip to church. First they are claiming something is too “kiddie” for them, next they are clamoring for you to buy them a ring pop. What gives??

Prepare your homeschool middle schooler for high schoolPin

And what’s even more crazy is — get this — in one or two years they’ll be in HIGH SCHOOL. When schooling is FOR REAL. When it counts for credit, and colleges will be looking at it, and their whole future could be at stake — and you’re certain either they or you will die in the process.

Well, I’ve been through middle school with my kiddos five times now. And it is actually SUCH a fun age, when they are young enough to enjoy joking around about silly things but old enough to hold somewhat intelligent conversations about a wide variety of topics.

And that means there is hope for high school, too. All it takes is doing a few things during middle school to begin working towards the responsibility level of the high school years.

Here are five things I recommend you start doing now:

1) If you haven’t begun this already, then start now to teach your child how to learn independently. I wrote about this earlier as the BEST way to prepare your child for high school. Middle school is definitely time to start cutting those apron strings, to have them begin to read the lesson and do the problems for themselves. By the end of eighth grade, they could be pretty much teaching themselves most of their subjects, only needing you to answer questions and grade papers. I kid you not. It’s a beautiful sight!

2) Don’t just begin teaching them independence in learning the material, also begin teaching them independence in organizing their day (and eventually their week!). This is where Pam’s student planners come in. Middle school is a GREAT time to teach your child how to schedule their day or make a to-do list or plan out a long-term project.

Do it in small increments, maybe one day at a time or one subject for one week at a time, until you see that your child understands how to plan and will implement their plan. Then gradually have them do more and more of it on their own. When they get to college, no one will hold their hand or tell them when to do their work. No time like the present to begin working towards that goal.

3) In eighth grade (some people do it in 7th, but I personally have never felt comfortable with that), you can begin doing a high school class. Or two. Maybe even three, depending on your student.

It is TOTALLY OK to give high school credit for work done in 8th grade. My kids did Apologia Physical Science that year (except for #5, who is in Classical Conversations, where they don’t do it until 9th grade).

They also took their first year of a foreign language. And a couple of them took Algebra 1. It works well to get started with a partial high school workload the year before, so they can get their feet wet and understand the level of work that will be expected of them — and yet still have some schoolwork that isn’t as heavy.

4) Begin giving them grades. Now, I realize I could get into some deep water with this, lol. I know there is a large camp of people out there who don’t believe in giving grades at all, ever; and there is another huge collection of peeps who only give A’s, because their child reviews and reviews until they have achieved mastery.

I do not hold either of those positions, for the simple reason that in college and the workplace that ain’t the way it is. If I am training my child in every other respect to be prepared for adulthood, I feel like I need to do the same here. So I give my children the grades they have earned on a given test or paper.

If they get something wrong, they get points taken off. They might end up with a B or even (gasp!) a C on that assignment. To me, this teaches them the idea of working to get something right the first time. I do give them the opportunity to retest, and then I average the two grades together.

So in our family we are still trying for mastery — but there is accountability to be ready to test within a certain timeframe and do well the first time.

I believe middle school is the perfect time to get started on this. Did you notice I said “get started?” I am not advocating all of a sudden giving grades for everything your tween does. I am just saying that occasionally you should grade their work and tell them how they did. Grading is a form of feedback that can be very constructive.

First, teach them how to prepare well BEFORE they test. Then give them the feedback to know what they got wrong and how to improve. It’s really not a horrible thing.

And referring back to #3, high school level courses will NEED to be graded, so you can make a transcript for your child that colleges will see. Yes, this is a thing, and it can be intimidating to think about while your kid is still in middle school. But that’s why I’m here — no worries; I’ve got your back. When you are ready to think about transcripts, just go here: The Truth about Homeschool Transcripts.

5) Begin letting them sleep if they need to. LOL. Seriously, though, right around age 12-14 they may very likely stop being the early risers they used to be. This is very normal! Their bodies are growing and changing at such an alarming rate during the teen years; let them have the rest they need.

This is one of the big perks of homeschooling middle and high school, that homeschooled teens don’t have to get up early to meet the school bus or start class at 8am precisely. Getting enough sleep means that their minds will be more alert and ready to tackle the harder concepts that come with higher level curriculum. It also means they will be more in control of their emotions, because a rested body often means a more peaceful mind. All of this is good stuff. Not to mention you might have time to enjoy a cup of coffee uninterrupted. 🙂

To me, the middle school years are a wonderful opportunity to explore new horizons and stretch the boundaries of your child’s education — because it’s not “for real” yet. So you can experiment with types of curriculum and learning styles and subject matter with impunity — and that is all a LOT of fun.

But middle school is also the perfect time to begin gently introducing some of the skills your child will need to be successful in high school and beyond, as well as some of the practices that will help them grow, both mentally and physically.

And buying the occasional ring pop isn’t such a bad idea, either. 🙂

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