A Bountiful
Homeschooling Through High School
By Deb Turner
Yes, you can homeschool through high
school! Successfully!
At one time I was
the most apprehensive
homeschooler on the
block. Well, I was the only homeschooler
on the block, but you get my drift. Shortly
after I cautiously agreed with myself that
perhaps I really could homeschool my
children, the “high school” years came
with their own waves of apprehension.
Unfortunately, I was so intimidated that I
put my first homeschooled high schooler
back in public school. Make no mistake—
this is a decision we regret. Oh, she is a
wonderful wife and mother, married to a
wonderful man and homeschooling her
own children (www.homeschoolblogger
. com/learningforlife). The point is, she
l earned very little of value in her public
s chool education, and we could have done
m uch better. In fact, as an independent
l earner she could have done much better
h erself.
Since then, I have taught two of my
c hildren at home, through high school. But
learning is for a lifetime, isn’t it? I have
two homeschoolers remaining and nine
more years of homeschooling ahead of me.
We are quite happily committed to homeschool through high school. We believe
that public school was created by men but
that God put children in families. His grace
is sufficient for the task He has given us!
On the next page and on our featured
graduates page, 208, we get a glimpse of
the fruit of homeschooling through high
school. I am very excited about these graduates. They are bright, independent
learners, they have great relationships with
their families and their God, and they have
a great launching pad for “what’s next.”
Some people make the mistake of
thinking our teens don’t need us, that we
can be there for the elementary years and
then as they go on to the higher grades, we
can get a job to supplement the income and
get ready for those college years. But our
teens do need their parents, maybe more
than ever. The public school system tends
to rip children and teens from their parents
and their siblings, whether by way of too
much homework or extracurricular activities that constantly send family members in
opposite directions. I love reading what our
featured graduates had to say about their
education—no separation from family
necessary! Here, we see evidence of families learning and growing together, just like
God intended.
