Most parents agree: teaching your children at home during the preschool, elementary and middle school years is quite a challenge. Homeschooling high school aged children, however, can seem even more daunting. According to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) Homeschool, approximately 2 million children were being homeschooled in the U.S. as of 2005-2006, . Not all of them can be junior high and under. So why are parents choosing to homeschool their high school kids?

According to NHERI, homeschooled children are actively being sought after by colleges. One does not have to desire to attend college to appreciate the fact that their recruiting homeschoolers is a good thing.

NHERI also states that adults who were homeschooled participate in local community service, vote and attend public meetings, go to college and succeed at college at an equal or higher rate than the general population.

One main reason parents choose to continue homeschooing through the high school years, however, is so they can continue to build strong relationships with them. After all, why let them go during a critical period in their lives in discovering who they really are? Continuing to build family relationships among siblings is another factor to consider. Sibling relationships are for a lifetime, whereas school friendships are usually just for those years. How many friends from your own high school days are still in your close circle of friends in your adult years?

Learning is another factor that influences parents to keep homeschooling their older children. The home has proven to be a very good environment in which children learn. NHERI shows that statistically speaking there is no difference in whether or the parents are high school graduates or college graduates, children taught at home still test higher than their public school peers.

With the advent of technology, even parents who lack some confidence in their ability to homeschool their high school aged children, can do so with ease with online curriculum or satellite schools available. These might require a higher budget but the peace of mind is priceless, knowing that your young person is getting what they need.

So, yes, although the task may prove difficult, it’s worth considering continuing the home school journey throughout your child’s high school years. Start collecting resources and information on this option while they’re still young so you can prepare for those years early - they’ll come all to quickly!

Some homeschoolers ask if they have to have an "accredited" transcripts to get into college. They also wonder if the transcripts they have prepared for their homeschool high school are "official" and can be used to enroll their children in college. Homeschoolers should understand the difference between "accredited" transcripts and "official" ones.

"Accredited" transcripts are those issued by accreditation and certification programs. With the usual government oversight, these programs evaluate your homeschool records and, for a fee, certify a number of credit hours. In most cases, these certified programs require that you enroll your children with them, observe their rules and use their curriculum. They may even require additional records from homeschoolers as a requirement for accreditation. But these accreditation bodies are businesses. They charge you certain fees for every credit hour. Indeed, these accreditation and certifying bodies make tons of money!

Unless your heart is set on a college that demands an accredited transcript (and, thankfully, there are fewer and fewer each year), there really is no need for homeschoolers to have their transcripts accredited! Homeschooling parents should know that our transcripts, provided that we comply with state law requirements, are official. Hence, they can be used by our college-bound students without need for prior accreditation.

I have done this myself! My sons received scholarships from each and every college they applied. They also received four-year-full-tuition scholarships based on what I call "mommy-made" or "mommy-accredited" official transcripts. And as far as the  admissions director of the university was concerned, my children's official transcripts were the best he had ever seen! Take note, my transcripts were not accredited by any outside group!

My message is simple. You don't need to get your transcripts accredited. You can avoid paying the high cost of accreditation by preparing your transcripts and records at home. The costs of accreditation may not be worth the inconvenience you and your children will face.

My Total Transcript Solution will show you how to create an AMAZING "official" homeschool transcript that will impress the colleges!

But regardless of how you record your homeschool, though, just make sure to prepare your student for college. Failing to aim for college is one of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

Teenagers don’t like a lot of input from adults about their money. They feel that it is theirs and they are free to do what they want with their hard earned money. For the most part there is some validity to their feelings that is why parents must start the education concerning money early with their teenagers. Instilling a work ethic within your child is an important first step; then showing them the importance of goals and savings when it comes to their money is another important lesson for them. They will also watch how dad and mom handle their money which will influence them when they make decisions concerning their own money.

A first lesson that we feel is important to teach our children about money is giving back to the Lord a tithe of their paycheck. A usual tithe is ten percent of their wage; in the beginning the amount is not as important as the life lesson. Giving a tithe teaches them several important lessons. It helps them to understand the blessings that God provides for them and how to be thankful for those blessing by acknowledging that God is the one who provided these blessings to them and the tithe is their way of giving back to God. It is also a way of letting them be a part of the community of their church and helping others in that community.

Learning to be responsible for the bills they have is also another important lesson your teen needs to learn when dealing with their money. Most teens I know have a cell phone and other technology that has a recurring billing cycle. This is the perfect time to help teach important lessons by letting your teen be responsible for these bills. Technology is a privilege not a right. Letting them pay for these privileges while having the safety of home and food provided for is a good lesson.

Savings is another lesson in helping your teen with his money. Encourage your teen to open up a savings account at a bank; this will help with long range savings. This savings is for their future needs. It might include goals such as paying for a vehicle, college and those types of needs. Putting ten percent into this account as they get paid and then investing in a certificate of deposit (CD) when there is a larger amount of money in the account; these CD’s offer a higher rate of interest then the average savings account.

A short term savings is another important item for a teen to have for his money. This savings is for the things a teen wants such as video games, clothing and the necessities that teens feel that they need. These are items that once they have a job parents can turn over the chore of providing them over to the teen themselves. Around the age of 16 we no longer bought clothing, provided gas money or entertainment money for our kids. There will be times when they do not make wise decisions with their money and they will have to skip going out with their friends because they had run out of money by spending too much earlier. It is a wise parent that does not rescue the teen from this situation, a life lesson is being taught here and stepping in to change the consequences could create more problems in the future for the teen then learning the lesson at this point of time in their lives.

Our goal with helping teens make wise decisions with their money is that they will learn lessons that will keep them from falling into the pit of debt. That they will learn to manage their finances so that they can obtain a vehicle, a home and help provide for their family when they become adults.

It is often said in recent times that we live in a new world of global competition. Many policy makers, educators and researchers, including the National Academy of Sciences believe that the lead in science and technology which the United States has maintained since World War II could be lost and not recovered in the near future. Many corporations are looking overseas to find talented individuals to fill their needs for innovation. Research studies into the dwindling U.S. lead in technology are focusing on the poor performance of American students on achievement tests compared to many other industrialized nations. The lack of skill in mathematics, and in particular algebra, seems to be at the center of the storm of controversy.

Most Americans see the direct correlation between a nation’s economic prosperity and its education systems, however, they are divided about how to improve our students’ math skills -- a critical component in global competition. I believe that algebra is the key skill that American students need to acquire if we as a nation are to maintain our preeminent position in the world. The language of algebra has spread beyond science and technology and is currently used in business and the social sciences. Therefore, it is vital for our students to have a working knowledge of algebra in order to develop logical thinking, for they will eventually be making the decisions about the future of our country.

There is a call among math educators for simplification in the introductory algebra course. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Mathematical Association of America have said that there are too many topics in introductory algebra and that presenting a smaller number of core concepts would be a more effective way to learn. I agree with this approach and I think of introductory algebra as having two fundamental concepts which are outlined below.

1. Introductory algebra students must be able to factor quadratic polynomials. For example, if a student sees the quadratic x^2 + 8x + 15 they must see that 15 factors into 3 times 5, and 3 plus 5 equals 8, consequently, x^2 + 8x + 15 = (x + 3)(x + 5). This skill is preparation for calculus and higher mathematics, such as differential equations which is the language in which science is expressed. Factoring quadratics enable one to solve optimization problems in calculus by finding maximal and minimal values of functions. Additionally, the factoring of a quadratic is the key to finding the eigenvalues of a linear system of differential equations, and hence, the explicit solutions of the system.
2. The beginning algebra student needs to understand that the graph of the linear equation ax + by = c is a straight line and any straight line is the graph of a linear equation. Students should understand why the slope of the line is -a/b and that the x and y intercepts are c/a and c/b, respectively. The slope of a line is the fundamental idea of the derivative of a function in calculus.

High school algebra and geometry have been designed as preparation for calculus. The interplay between algebraic expressions and geometric objects starts in the introductory algebra course and continues through graduate level mathematics and research. Thus, it’s important for beginning algebra students to understand the link between algebra and geometry as soon as possible.

No discussion of introductory algebra would be complete without discussing the fundamental importance of mastering arithmetic. It is vital for arithmetic skills to be mastered early. In working with students I’ve seen what happens when high school students lack fluency in multiplication and division. A two minute calculation of an algebra II equation frequently takes ten minutes to solve because of the struggling student’s calculation skills. Slow arithmetic ability also goes hand in hand with lack of facility in manipulating algebraic expressions, and the further the unprepared students go with math courses, the harder the work becomes for them, until some eventually just give up. The use of calculators will not save them from their lack of arithmetic skills. By the time a student gets to calculus, he will use the calculator judiciously for complex calculations and do the rest in his head in order to save time. The student with poor arithmetic skills simply can’t compete at the calculus level.

In the final analysis, this key algebra skill that our students need to keep the U.S. at the forefront of science and technology will be acquired by pure hard work on their part. There is no substitute for it. We should encourage students in their study of this difficult subject. Sometimes students will tell me that their brains hurt after a grueling math session. I often praise them for their accomplishments and let them know how proud I am of their efforts. In some instances I’m able to have my students teach math to other students. The self confidence this peer-to-peer mentoring can bring to young students is truly amazing. And the more successful they feel, the better the students become at working with math.

Homeschooling a high schooler can be intimidating. Motivating a high schooler who does not want to learn makes it worse. If you are having difficulty with your high schooler, or if you are considering homeschooling your high schooler for the first time, here are some tips that may help.

If your teenager neglects his studies and you know he can do better, try to find the underlying reason for his attitude. Give him a chance to explain. As a young adult, he should be able to express himself fairly well. He may have some valid points; perhaps he does not like the curriculum, or maybe he does not see “the point” in it all, or maybe he just misses the social aspect of high school.

There are a number of ways to tackle all of these problems.

Join or start a co-op

A co-op will expose your teen to other teaching styles, relieve some of the burden from your shoulders, and provide time with peers. Knowing they must share with others in the class provides both motivation and accountability. For parents who feel their teenagers do not take them seriously as a teacher, a co-op may be the answer. Also, it may make a good transition from public school to homeschool by offering weekly classes in group settings while maintaining the parental control of education.

An added benefit of co-op for our family has been the friends and opportunities for socialization that our teenagers have found through co-op. Since some high school homeschoolers sometimes feel they are missing the high school experience, a co-op may fill in the gaps for your child. To us, the co-op has combined the best of homeschooling with the best of a private school.

Check local support groups for possible co-ops. At the very least, consider starting a small one with one or two other families. Focus on one subject to start off. Our co-op started with four families getting together weekly to do Apologia's general science. Now we have 20 different classes for preschool through high school.

Consider dual enrollment

Dual enrollment refers to a high school student enrolled in a college class that counts for both high school credit and college credit. Perhaps your student needs a little more independence and a chance to learn from someone besides you. A benefit to dual enrollment will be getting a head start on college!

Many colleges accept homeschoolers for dual enrollment classes once they have become sophomores or juniors. Contact your local colleges or universities or check their web sites for information about dual enrollment.

Let your student take over his education

Perhaps the curriculum is at fault. Set aside his current books and let him pick new ones or help you pick them out. Better yet, let him design his own plan of study. He just may get excited about school again!

To provide accountability, schedule deadlines for completing various goals he has set and periodic "checkups" to discuss with him how well he is staying on track. Alternatively, ask a friend or relative to serve as his "accountability partner," an outsider who holds him accountable for his work and serves as his cheerleader. This may relieve some of the tension between you and your teen.

Look for an apprenticeship or internship

Perhaps your student needs a break from the books for a while. Investigate apprenticeships. Through an apprenticeship, a student learns under a master in the trade, skill, or career in which he is interested and at which he is talented. Many teenagers start off volunteering in an internship in their chosen field and then move on to paid part-time or full-time positions.

If he does not see the point of his education, try an "apprenticeship class." One mom in our homeschool group found this method successful with her son. What you do is have him list three or four careers he is interested in, then have him spend two weeks on each career. Part of the process would include researching each career field, interviewing someone in that position, arranging a field day to get an idea of what each person actually does, and writing a report on why he would pursue this career or not.

If he questions the reason for his education, this project will illustrate why education is important to achieve his goals. Plus, it may help him establish a career goal and inspire him to reach it.

Focus on others

If you feel your teenager is just becoming lazy and self-serving, then cut out school for three or four weeks and have him volunteer to read to the elderly at a nursing home, deliver food to the homebound, help build a home for Habitat for Humanity, or go on a mission trip. One mother in our homeschool group found that getting her son to serve others in some way not only brought about the necessary attitude adjustment but also significantly reduced the stress in their family.

Get a mentor

Sometimes the personality clash and respect issue are just too much. A mom in our homeschool group turns over her teenage children to their father’s direct influence, authority and discipline as soon as they turn 13. This may be particularly necessary for boys. Just as your daughters have a good female role model and authority figure in you, your sons need a good male role model and authority figure in their dad. If dad is not available to take over their education, perhaps another responsible adult will serve as a mentor and accountability partner, such as an uncle, grandfather, pastor or close family friend.

Take the GED and move on

Another mom in our homeschool group informed her son that if he was not going to do the work she assigned and if he refused to go back to school, then he had to take the GED and start college or start working full time. He passed the GED very easily and has begun the admission process at a local college for the next semester.

Expand their social activities

Socialization is often the main reason stipulated by many high schoolers for returning to school. Your homeschooler will be socialized as she runs errands with you, goes to church, and participates in any extracurricular activities (soccer, basketball, chess, horseback riding, fencing, archery, drama, art, dance, etc.). However, as a homeschooler you will have to make some effort that you did not have to do when she went to school. At school, she was with kids her own age all day and had access to various school clubs. Now you have to find local clubs and take her to club meetings and to friends' houses.

Although you should let her continue to see her friends from school, it is imperative that she make new homeschool friends as soon as possible. Why? Her school friends will only tell her the good things about school that she is missing out on. The “bad” things will not be mentioned, and eventually she will forget how bad they really were. This happens all the time!

As a result, you should join a homeschool support group or two. Most group feature regular meetings, field trips, holiday parties and clubs. If your high schooler has a particular interest, find a club to match. If you see a need for a new club, start one! If your child is interested, then there must be other teenagers who are too and whose parents will help you get started.

Be committed

Commitment is an important factor in successful homeschooling. Homeschooling is a lifestyle. Transitioning from public or private school to homeschool will be a big adjustment to your teens and to you as well. You need to decide that homeschooling is the way you will go and nothing will get you to change your mind. Completely forget the options of public or private school; if you have to, pretend they are not even available. This attitude will help you face obstacles as challenges to overcome and you will be less likely to give up.

Pray for guidance, talk with your spouse, then sit down with your student and "lay down the law." Perhaps he needs to see that both his parents are committed to homeschooling, that both of you are in agreement that his education comes first and that he must obey.

Make sure your teenager does not think that homeschooling means he can hang out and have a lot of free time. Homeschooling is a commitment from him too; it's not an "easy" way out. Perhaps have a "Responsibility Agreement" that you and he will sign, where you both specify what is expected and what the consequences will be if expectations are not met.

Basically, homeschooling is not a magic solution, and some homeschooling families do find obedience and rebellion a problem in their teenagers. However, homeschooling can be successful for all ages and grades, and it is flexible enough to adapt to any homeschooler's needs, even a teenager! Just remember, if the Lord has led you to homeschool, then He will equip you to do so successfully. Perhaps some of these ideas will help you do just that.

If you're looking for a way to connect with your teenage daughter this summer, consider starting a girl's book study group with your daughter and her friends.

You may think that teens would not respond well to this idea, but think again... you just might be surprised.

First, bounce the idea off your daughter and see what her thoughts are on the subject. If she shows any sign of interest, then brainstorm some possible book titles and/or topics. When my daughter and I started our group last summer, we had in mind to get some girls together from our church's high school youth group. So we talked about some of the books that people were reading at the time.

Next, my daughter started calling her friends and acquaintances to see who she could interest in the idea. Almost everyone she talked to was interested in coming and liked the idea, but many were already busy with other summer activities. We narrowed the list to around four or five who committed to reading the book and getting together to talk about it. We all gave input into which book we wanted to read, and ended up with "What's So Amazing About Grace?" a popular Christian non-fiction book by Phillip Yancey.

I broke the book down into three- to four-chapter sections, and we decided to meet Wednesday evenings for six weeks. Overall, the study went very well, and it was very rewarding. We all have fond memories of it, and it was great to spend that quality time with my daughter.

If you think this is something you might be interested in doing, here are some tips I picked up along the way:

• Don't take it personally if everyone doesn't come every week. Everyone has busy schedules and conflicts arise. Probably only one or two girls came every single week, even my daughter missed at least one. You'll find that conversations can greatly differ depending on the mix of girls, which is good!

• Meet in a low-key, relaxed setting so everyone is comfortable and doesn't feel like they're in a classroom. We took blankets to sit on down to a local park and had snacks every week.

• Don't pressure yourself into having to "lead" the group. You're not there to teach them, but only to facilitate the conversation. I found it helpful to choose a book that included group study questions. Some books have the questions in the back. This particular book had a companion study guide that had to be purchased separately. Just let the girls talk, and ask questions if there is a big lull in the conversation. Although you might be tempted to challenge "wrong" answers, let the girls challenge each other first and see what conclusions they come to. It is rare that you'll have to intercede. Instead of challenging someone directly, ask them more questions to help them reach a another answer.

• On the same note as the last point, don't feel you have to give advice or have all the right answers. Most teenagers love having someone, particularly adults, listen to their thoughts and feelings. They don't expect you to know everything, they just want you to listen. You'll find that the teens come from all different family backgrounds and don't always have other people to listen to them when they need to talk.

• Encourage girls to come to the discussions even if they didn't do their reading for the week. You'll find that most are embarrassed if they didn't do their "homework" and don't want to show up. Encourage them to come even if they didn't read it, to encourage fellowship among the girls.

• Dads can have book study groups with their teenage sons and their friends too! They may need to goof around some more and maybe burn off some energy before they get down to business (some kind of outdoor activity), but teenage guys like to get together and learn from each other also.

A book study group is a great way to get to know some of your teenager's friends. Encourage them to also invite people they don't know very well... people from youth group or work who they want to get to know better. It's a great way to make that first step towards friendship and teaches them to reach out to others.

Homeschooling the junior high student can be viewed in many different ways. It can be a time to make sure the skills taught in middle school are cemented and the skills are known well enough to make the step into higher level classes for your student without any struggles on their part. Or if your child is ready and looking for new learning opportunities the junior high years are a perfect time to let them get started. At this age level you ought to be able to see their passions and what they are eager to learn about. Find the resources for that passion, self paced curriculum, outside or co-op classes, community college, special lessons, whatever fits the bill to help your child stay excited about their learning.

Now I am a stickler for making sure that the formal part of a child's education is covered. In my opinion it would be foolish not to make sure that the basics of math, science, history and literature are covered. This is the time to expand on these foundations not to leave them behind. However, this is the time to give the kids some freedom and say in what else they are interested in adding to their education.

This freedom should comfort the parents of junior high students. This is a time when you are not fully responsible for all of the teaching of your child. The child themselves should be taking more and more responsibility for that and then with the outside classes and help with the education the role of a parent becomes more administration then teacher. Your job will be more of making sure that all the education goals are covered and that you child stays on track with the long range goals that they have for their future.

Now that we have talked about the educational goals for your junior higher and how your role in their education has changed to a certain degree, its time to talk about other goals you have for you junior higher. We wanted our kids to have life experiences were they can take care of themselves as they grow into their adult lives. No matter the gender of the child they need to know how to cook, it didn’t matter much to me if it was a gourmet meal or boxed macaroni and cheese just having some knowledge of how to feed themselves was important. At this point in a junior highers life washing dishes, cleaning the living room and bathrooms along with taking care of their own room should already be chores they are familiar with. It is also important to teach children how to do their own laundry, go over how to use the machines, how much detergent to use. Also teaching the correct way to iron is an important skill, they might not use it much but they still need to be exposed to it.

What an exciting time for you and your child. You should start seeing the rewards of all of your hard work as you see your child becoming more and more responsible for themselves, their education and their future.

Who was I kidding?

At least this is how I used to feel... I just spent time with my lovely niece, driving to Oregon, and we were talking about her public high school experience years ago. I knew that her father had taught a class on The History of Baseball, and that's one of the things that I share in my "Preparing to Homeschool High School" video. But when we were talking the other day, my niece mentioned that she had taken a different class from her father when she was in public high school. The class was called Sports Communications. They learned about journalism, radio broadcasting, and marketing - all of which she has put to good use in her career, by the way. But what she remembered the most was watching a LOT of movies in school and doing some sports "play by play" announcing to baseball games! Her father gave her a grade - an "A" as she recalled.

So, it appears that there are some creative curriculum choices being made in public schools as well as in homeschools. Apparently, it's OK to have some unique courses in your homeschool. Yes, make sure you have the basics down, but stretching your wings is also good! Homeschooling high school gives you the freedom to explore your student's areas of passionate interest. For us, those included Chess, Russian History, Economics, Economic Thought, and a bunch more that, quite frankly, I wasn't even aware my kids were studying.

Relax! Oftentimes learning is uncontrollable. Enjoy the process and don't be too concerned about what you name all the courses in the end.

If you ever do need help getting your creative homeschool courses down on paper, I have an entire chapter on how to capture "delight directed" learning experiences in my e-book, "The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts", which is included in the Total Transcript Solution.   In it, you will get detailed guidance on how to create a homeschool transcript that will impress the colleges.

In fact, failing to carefully plan your children's high school courses is one of "The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School." Learn how to avoid all 5 mistakes in my free e-mail mini-course.

Two families, two students, same question, same answer.

A mom called me for transcript help. Her daughter homeschooled for two years, using Alpha Omega LifePacs and Weaver Curriculum for 9th and 10th grade. Once her daughter got up to grade level, she wanted her to go back to public school. She asked me how to get her homeschool transcript accepted by a public high school.

Today, a father called me for transcript help. His daughter homeschooled for one year, using Alpha Omega Switched on Schoolhouse during 9th grade. Now he wants his daughter to go back into public school, and asked how to get his homeschool transcript accepted.

They both got the same answer: there is no guarantee a public high school will accept the credits a homeschool transcript. It's very easy to pull a child out of public school to homeschool them. It's more difficult to put them BACK into public school.

Let's be clear about one thing, though. Colleges don't give us nearly the trouble about our homeschool transcript! Colleges are fairly used to seeing transcripts from unaccredited schools. They are used to seeing kids will accredited transcripts who are poorly educated. They know that "accredited" isn't all it's cracked up to be. They will usually accept a homeschool transcript with the same wary eye as any other transcript, and we aren't at a disadvantage at all. Not so with public high schools. I'm not sure they just don't like the competition - our business as homeschoolers threatens their business, you know. For some reason, they care much more about having control over a transcript. Depending on the district, you have a 50/50 chance of having a particular homeschool class accepted by a local public school.

If you want to homeschool high school, it's a good idea to go into it knowing you'll continue for the full four years. If you know you will only homeschool for a year or two, choose an accredited program, or an accrediting agency, which can give you greater security that your credits will transfer into a public high school.

If you are homeschooling, and you know you want to continue for all four years, do NOT worry about whether or not a public school will accept your transcript. Maybe they would - if you gave it to them. But frankly, if you continue homeschooling through high school, there IS NO REASON to give them your transcript. You don't give it to public schools at all, you give your transcript to the college.

The truth is that colleges understand homeschoolers and their comfort interacting with them increases every year. One of your most important tasks in high school is creating a homeschool transcript.

I hope you feel stronger, knowing that your transcript has value to colleges! Don't you worry about those persnickety public high schools. You don't have to interact with them if you don't want to.

Home schooling during the high school years can be a fun and rewarding time for both the child and parent. This time can be used to keep, maintain and even deepen a relationship with your child during a high stress time of their lives. This can be a time to build a trust with your child so that they are willing to listen to council that you would like to share with them during this time of their lives. Also, as a Christian parent it can be the time to guide your child in their Christian walk and to help with any questions that they have so that their relationship with the Lord is their own; which will help them as new choices and decisions come their way in the upcoming years.

As your child enters the high school years record keeping becomes very important. You will want to start recording the things that your child accomplishes so that you can report them for college admission considerations. This is the time to start looking at the requirements of the top three college choices that your child is thinking about attending. This will help in knowing what they require from incoming freshman. Also, check your state requirements in what they recommend a high school student to have before graduation. Some things that we learned along the way is to start a record writing down every book read during the high school years either for school or free reading. Keep up to date with your records; this will help if you need to present them for scholarships or grants.

Keeping track and recording your child’s extracurricular activities are just as important as recording the grades of the academic classes. For homeschoolers this is important because sports can also be counted as physical education credit as well as extracurricular. Colleges are interested in a child’s outside activities only to show that they are a well rounded person, sports, 4-H, part time job it isn’t important to a college what a student is involved in just that they have a well balanced life and are active in academic as well as extracurricular activities.

During this time of your child’s development it is important for them to start learning life lessons while they are still in a safe environment and still have you as a sounding board to hear from them and have some input towards their dreams and decisions. This is a great time to teach about finances, if they have a vehicle its time for them to pay for the bills that occur from that vehicle; hopefully there isn’t a payment on it; but there will be insurance that has to be paid, gas, maintenance such as new tires and oil changes. All of this is to teach them that as they get ready to step out on their own there are financial things that they will be responsible for and this is a step towards learning this responsibility.

This is a busy, exciting time for your teen. They still have their school work to keep up with; they are busy with extracurricular activities as well as many of them having jobs to help them earn the money they need for their special purchases. Its also a time for teen parents to start paying more attention to record keeping to help our teens take the next step in their educational process as well as being there to listen and give sound advise as your kids contemplate what they will do next in their lives.