Even parents who have homeschooled for many years sometimes question whether to homeschool high school. When you homeschool high school, students are more mature, often have better study habits, and are able to take more responsibility for their own learning.
If your student is in or starting high school and considering college, take a look at our college preparation and admissions resources. For students interested in military service or are not college-bound, visit our page for homeschoolers joining the military or our page about homeschooling students who are not college-bound.
Help for Homeschooling High School
How to Choose the Best Homeschool Curriculum - Choosing the best homeschool curriculum is important to new and prospective homeschooling parents, as well as those who want to improve homeschooling or adjust to a new phase, such as kids starting high school. Many parents start with the question, “What’s the best homeschool curriculum?” A more productive question is, “What homeschool curriculum is the best fit?” Asking the right questions before investing in what may end up being a poor fit saves money and frustration.
Free High School Course Planner - Our spreadsheet planner, Homeschool Planner Plus, includes several resources to help you plan and keep track of your homeschool high school student's courses and credits.
Free Homeschool Transcript Template - In addition to helpful hints for creating a transcripts, this resource includes a free template that will create official transcripts (including calculating GPA for you) based on the grades input for each course.
Quickstart for Homeschooling High School
- College-Bound Course Planning for Homeschooling High School
- All About Homeschool Transcripts (and a Free Template)
- Do Homeschoolers Need a Diploma?
- Using an Online Homeschool Program for High School
- Do You Need to Use an Accredited Homeschool Program?
- Bad News/Good News of Starting Homeschooling in High School
- Resources for Homeschooling High School When Mom’s Not the Expert
- Homeschooling High School When Your Child is College Bound
- Homeschooling High School When Your Child is NOT College Bound
Free Community College Course Planner - If your student is taking community college classes (using community college classes as dual enrollment gives your child an opportunity to learn core college subjects in a small classroom setting while saving money by completing the first year of two of college at significantly lower cost), our free course planner spreadsheet can help you make sure your tuition dollars are put to the best use by ensuring that the courses will meet requirements.
Senior High: A Home-Designed Form+u+la and other resources - Book by Barb Shelton of Homeschool Oasis; great for preparing your child for life after high school
How to Study - Studying is a skill to be learned, not a talent one is born with. From taking notes in class to how to succeed on an essay test, this site gives useful and practical ways to succeed. When you click a link, scroll down to see the results - the page will not appear to change when clicking links since what changes is out of site below. The site is provided by two education professors who developed more detailed study skills programs that can be purchased from the site.
Taking Charge - "Should we homeschoolers be worried about getting conventional credentials? Are homeschoolers' futures jeopardized because the path to a conventional diploma is less clear-cut than it is for a student in a conventional school? Why and how is the process of getting a diploma becoming more complex? What choices do we have?" This article by Larry and Susan Kaseman addresses these questions.
Suggested Reading From Our Blog
Tips for Creating Friendships and Community for Homeschooled Teens
How to Manage Stress & Find Balance in High School
Tips for Assigning High School Credits for Your Non-Traditional Teen Learner or Unschooler
One thing that worried me about my non-traditional learner was creating a transcript that showcased his specialized education but would also be appropriate if he decided to attend a post-secondary educational institution. Here are ways we turned resources and experiences into credits.
Read More »
Homeschooling High School: 3 Challenging Things (and What To Do About Them)
5 Tips for New Homeschoolers with Teens
How Mentors Can Help Homeschooled Teens
Our 10th Grade Plan for a Non-Traditional Learner
Our 9th Grade Plan for a Non-Traditional Learner
Homeschooling a Non-Traditional Learner for High School
9 Hands-On Learning Ideas for Teens
What Is Accreditation? Should My Homeschool Be Accredited?
Homeschool to College: Outside Evidence
Ask Jeanne: Can a 20-Year-Old Earn a Homeschool Diploma?
Ask Jeanne: Homeschool a Prospective Dropout?
Instead of Curriculum: Earn High School Government Credits Differently
Homeschooling a High Schooler Who Is Not College-Bound
Ask Jeanne: Online Homeschool Program?
Resources for Homeschooling High School When Mom's Not the Expert
College Admission Requirements: Homeschooling High School
Bad News/Good News of Starting Homeschooling in High School
Ask Jeanne: Do Homeschoolers Get a Diploma?
Teen Tech Project: Building a Computer
Homeschooling Teens: Finding a Third Place
Homeschooling High School: Our 11th Grade Plan
5 Homeschool Graduation Ceremony Ideas
Two Vital Factors for Homeschooling Teens
9 Benefits of Hosting an International Exchange Student
Challenges to Homeschooling High School
Homeschool High School Composition: The Assignments
Homeschool High School Composition
High School Homeschooling: Our 10th Grade Plan
Contextual Learning: Homeschooling Through Fashion
Instead of Curriculum: The Great Courses
Dropping Out Was a Great Idea
High School Graduation Checklist
7 Reasons to Homeschool Through High School
Why would you want to homeschool through high school? Do the advantages really make it worth while? My husband and I homeschooled all four of our boys from kindergarten into early college, and we'd do it all over again in a minute. It was a joyous journey! Here are seven reasons you may want to consider homeschooling through high school. Read More »
Homeschool Accreditation
Accreditation is a process in which school standards are evaluated by an accreditation agency. In the United States, this process is not completed by the federal government, but by states or private companies with varying rules and standards. Different groups promote accreditation for homeschoolers. They suggest hard and fast rules on how things should to be done, leaving parents feeling that their way of homeschooling was somehow deficient. It’s as though they think only a certain format or approach, or a single method will guarantee success. Looking around, it’s easy to see that homeschoolers of all varieties do indeed succeed, ... Read More »
How to Homeschool in High School
How do you homeschool in high school? The greatest encouragement someone gave me when I was contemplating what high school home schooling looked like, was - "It's no different; you just keep going." When our children were entering the "high school" years, I had an idea that homeschooling was going to change completely. However, our routine stayed the same, and most subjects stayed the same. The difference was our learning methods and our focus. By the time our children have reached the high school years, a foundational base of knowledge should have been laid. They should have a basic grasp of history ... Read More »
Homeschool High School's Most Essential Subject
What subjects should you include when homeschooling your teen through high school? Answering this question can and does fill entire books. Personally, I think at least some of the subjects should be related to your teen’s interests as much as anything else. But there’s one subject that should be mandatory: personal finance. Now that our economy appears to be in freefall, a quick look at the comments section of online articles about the subject reveals people complaining, lamenting and sometimes bellowing about the lack of financial education offered to teens in our public schools. Some believe that if adults had been ... Read More »
Homeschooling High School
Step One- Thinking About It! Does the idea of homeschooling your high schooler sound scary and uncharted to you? Just as homeschooling is an adventure no matter what grade or age level, homeschooling for high school can sound intimidating! Please know that many, many families have successfully (and happily!) completed this chapter of education for one or more of their children. Speaking as a parent who has done this, these capstone years are do-able, really fun, easier, and more rewarding than our family imagined they’d be. What’s wonderful is that just as in the other years, you can find courses and help them ... Read More »
Online High School Program Reviews
Online high school reviews by other homeschool parents can help you choose the right program for your student. The feedback is from families who have used the online programs to homeschool high school and includes pros & cons along with detailed feedback. Topics covered in the reviews include accreditation of the school, teacher quality, level of customer support, quality of curriculum, flexibility of schedule, and more.
Reviews for some of the best known online high schools are linked here: