One of the traps that homeschool families fall into is in the
area of awarding academic credit for everything that their students do.
Not every area of study is worth awarding academic credit even
though it might be worthy of studying or doing. Colleges will be
suspicious of homeschool records where students have earned excessive
credits in P.E., Art, Drama, Debate, etc., even if students have
actually spent many hours pursuing those activities.
Some studies and interests are valid to the overall preparation and formation of your student, but use caution in thinking that academic credit must be awarded for every single activity that your student engages in. For instance, a homeschool student may be responsible for all of the cooking for a particular month, or a standard week or day of every month, but that does not mean that Home Economics credit should be awarded on the homeschool transcript. It can be awarded based on a course of study and skill development, with objectives, lesson plans, standards of measurement, etc., but awarding homeschool credits based on day to day responsibilities is one area where homeschool families can get into trouble with colleges.
There are many regular skill sets that can, and should, be taught at home in a homeschool program. These things should include regular chores or contributions around the home, small home repairs and maintenance, financial management and record keeping. A homeschool environment lends itself nicely to taking on these skills prior to sending a child off to college, but that does not require that these skills appear on a homeschool transcript for credit. The goal for a homeschool family should be to train up students who are academically capable, prepared to study and learn with appropriate techniques and strategies, as well as students who are personally responsible to take on leadership of themselves and their surroundings when not at home any longer.
Homeschool families, who take their education seriously and apply themselves to studying, learning, and engaging their brain for longer retention, can easily include life application skills into their programs. The two goals are compatible and should go hand in hand as objectives in any effective homeschool program. Be sure that you are focusing on a well-rounded student in your homeschool. As adults, some things that we learn and some activities that we engage in are just "good for us" to do. We do not need to seek credit for them. The same is true for our homeschool students. A well-rounded student will have a strong academic transcript to show for their homeschool career, including evidence of diligent work in the core subject areas of Math, Science, Social Sciences, and English, but with a reasonable, not excessive, amount of the extracurricular and elective courses.
Colleges will be more open to an academically solid student, homeschool or otherwise, who demonstrates academic success than they will a student who has excelled only in Debate or Theater, for instance, and done very little work in Math or English. Assess your program to ensure that you are developing a homeschool student of excellence. Students who are prepared for life and personal management skills will do well in college when they also have an academic foundation that prepares them to study, learn, and test at that level. Don't overlook or skip their academic foundation in lieu of abundant time in activities that are just plain fun.
Some studies and interests are valid to the overall preparation and formation of your student, but use caution in thinking that academic credit must be awarded for every single activity that your student engages in. For instance, a homeschool student may be responsible for all of the cooking for a particular month, or a standard week or day of every month, but that does not mean that Home Economics credit should be awarded on the homeschool transcript. It can be awarded based on a course of study and skill development, with objectives, lesson plans, standards of measurement, etc., but awarding homeschool credits based on day to day responsibilities is one area where homeschool families can get into trouble with colleges.
There are many regular skill sets that can, and should, be taught at home in a homeschool program. These things should include regular chores or contributions around the home, small home repairs and maintenance, financial management and record keeping. A homeschool environment lends itself nicely to taking on these skills prior to sending a child off to college, but that does not require that these skills appear on a homeschool transcript for credit. The goal for a homeschool family should be to train up students who are academically capable, prepared to study and learn with appropriate techniques and strategies, as well as students who are personally responsible to take on leadership of themselves and their surroundings when not at home any longer.
Homeschool families, who take their education seriously and apply themselves to studying, learning, and engaging their brain for longer retention, can easily include life application skills into their programs. The two goals are compatible and should go hand in hand as objectives in any effective homeschool program. Be sure that you are focusing on a well-rounded student in your homeschool. As adults, some things that we learn and some activities that we engage in are just "good for us" to do. We do not need to seek credit for them. The same is true for our homeschool students. A well-rounded student will have a strong academic transcript to show for their homeschool career, including evidence of diligent work in the core subject areas of Math, Science, Social Sciences, and English, but with a reasonable, not excessive, amount of the extracurricular and elective courses.
Colleges will be more open to an academically solid student, homeschool or otherwise, who demonstrates academic success than they will a student who has excelled only in Debate or Theater, for instance, and done very little work in Math or English. Assess your program to ensure that you are developing a homeschool student of excellence. Students who are prepared for life and personal management skills will do well in college when they also have an academic foundation that prepares them to study, learn, and test at that level. Don't overlook or skip their academic foundation in lieu of abundant time in activities that are just plain fun.
