Homeschool Happenings: Everyday Education ~ A Review

Everyday Education has a helpful tool to make navigating the high school years a bit easier with this 136 page eBook entitled, Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler's Guide to High School Paperwork.

Navigating high school as a homeschooler can be at times challenging and OVERWHELMING, especially for the first time. Having a resource and guide to help you navigate the way is very helpful. I remember the first time I journeyed my way through the high school years with my firstborn. I had so many questions, felt so lacking, and stumbled my way through those four years feeling like I could have done so much better.

Transcripts Made Easy

Part One ~ Meet the Transcript
Part Two ~ Plan with the End in Mind
Part Three ~ Keep Simple Records

Part Four Grades, Credit, and the GPA

Part 5 ~ Create a Transcript

Part 6 ~ Reference, Resources, and Reproducibles

I really like how Janice answers the question, Who will see the transcript? "Like a resume, the transcript is designed to provide information to the gatekeepers of opportunity." All high school graduates should have the basics such as literature, writing, speech/debate, math, history/government, fine arts, science, physical education/nutrition, foreign language, and then electives. Depending on what your child's interest of study in college is they may take classes in that area of interest. They may choose to do dual credit at the local community college. There are so many options for homeschoolers today. You also need to be aware of your states requirements for high school graduation. Each state is not created equal. We are very fortunate to live in Texas where homeschoolers do not have to follow set guidelines during the homeschooling years. Colleges do require students to follow the Texas requirements for high school graduation though. We have opted to utilize our community college for dual credits starting at age 16 for our second and third children. Once my children started taking classes at the local community college their advisor helped my kiddos navigate their academic interests and their necessary classes needed to take. Record keeping for me got much easier at this point.

A sample high school requirements chart is given in the eBook.

Skills and Habits to Cultivate in High School

communication skills
writing
research
organization
time management
test taking

Not only does the eBook talk about college preparation but it also talks about college alternatives. One does not necessarily have to go to college in order to be successful. This section talks about skilled trades, entrepreneurship, apprenticeships, guilds, and military. I am so glad that this was covered. College today is very expensive and so many graduate and have a hard time finding jobs in their fields of study. Society, often tells us that without a college education you cannot be successful and that is not true. My firstborn is a dancer. It is her love and passion. She started teaching dance at the age of 18 right out of high school. Today at almost 23 she is teaching 10 dance classes a week at a local dance studio to children. She loves her job and it is what she wanted to do. She also helps head a local MOPS program.

There is a great High School Q&A section that answers some common questions such as:

Does the student need an accredited diploma?
My homeschooler did high school algebra in seventh grade. Can I cont it on the transcript?
What about too many credits?

Calculating a Grade Point Average

FreeGPACalc.com

There are many wonderful chart examples of transcripts so that you can see what a transcipt should look like and have included. Here is a great Check-Off list of classes needed or that may be needed in your state.