Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
My guest this week is Mary Schofield, homeschool veteran and author. Mary, some parents may be intimidated about homeschooling through high school. How can parents best design courses for their teens?

Mary Schofield:
Well, first, I think parents need to take time to think about why they're teaching each subject in the first place. What is it they want the student to learn and to remember when the course is finished? And are there some parts of the subject matter that are just for exposure? Next, parents have to make an informal assessment of what has the student already mastered.

It's kind of like drawing a road map. You have to figure out where you're starting from and where you want to end up. And then you have to decide what stops along the way are most important and what things are going to be included only if there's enough time. And by taking a little time at the beginning of each course to figure out exactly what it is the parent thinks should be learned, it's fairly easy for parents to design courses that are custom-tailored to the individual student and to their particular family.

Mike:
Mary, thank you so much for that practical advice. And listeners, please join us next time when Mary will talk about scheduling and lesson planning. Until that time, I'm Mike Smith.