The transitional period from middle sets the tone for the high school years and strongly influences post-graduate life. I’ve always told my children that they can course correct, but setting the right course in the first place goes a long way toward a smoother path.
In the public schools, formal transitional planning is provided to all 8th graders entering 9th grade, including psychological, academic, social, and experiential preparations, so that they have an idea of what comes next and how to navigate it. If you’re interested in utilizing the resources schools are providing to students, or at least using them as a jumping-off point, you can download this six-page guide.
Strengthen Areas of Weakness
Every child has his own strengths and weaknesses, and these can be harnessed to form an individualized plan, but it’s also important to note areas of weakness and choose which ones to strengthen during these high school years. Perhaps your child is not as tech savvy as they’d like (or is that just me?) and wants to learn some additional skills. Or maybe they are still socially awkward and want more opportunities to explore friendships, events, and other social situations. Some kids need more experience with writing skills, and this is a good time to take additional writing courses or get one-on-one assistance and feedback to brush up those essays.
Special needs students who have not yet completed a formal IEP and set forth accommodations might undertake this paperwork with their parents, as it can help with standardized testing and other requirements for college entrance. For more specific information on teaching special needs teens, visit Teaching the Special Needs Child and Life Skills for Special Needs Teens.
All students should also take this opportunity to catalog their strengths. Where do they shine? What make them unique? Whether they plan to go to college, into the job market, or are undecided at this point, knowing your own strengths and weaknesses is an advantage…it provides a starting point and allows you to set mini-goals to get to your big goal!
Tailor High School Years to Skills and Talents
Just because most ninth grade students take algebra, biology, world history, and composition doesn’t mean that your student is ready for those courses yet…or maybe they completed them in eighth grade. One of the beautiful things about homeschooling is that we can tailor each individual subject to our students’ strengths. Maybe they are fantastic at writing, but struggling with math. In this case, you can provide more advanced language arts classes and a slightly remedial math class. (Please remember that, especially with math and writing, it’s more important to master the basics before moving on than it is to academically try to ‘keep up with the Joneses.’)
If you have a student ready for a math challenge, then allow them to take that algebra class in early and count it for high school credit. Two caveats here – first, be sure to note on the transcript that the course was taken in eighth grade, and second, do not use it as a way to skip out of classes later in the high school years. If your student took algebra in middle school, then colleges are going to want to see some advanced math courses in eleventh and twelfth grades.
You can tailor academics with any curriculum, but here’s a walk-through for how to tailor them specifically with the SchoolhouseTeachers.com School Boxes…
Let Your Teen Have a Say
“Do a job you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Allow your child to choose the coursework he’s interested in, and he’ll enjoy his school day. Granted, you can’t let him choose every single thing, but electives are an easy way to give him that freedom. Once he finds something he loves to learn about, you might find that he works harder at the basics so that he can get to electives!
Another way to foster that independence and feeling of self-direction is to allow them to have more control over their day (scheduling). One of the reasons teens give us attitude is because they are floundering between being an adult and being a child. They want to be the adult, but they still need you to be the parent. It can turn into a real power struggle. Similar to allowing him to choose his electives, allow him to structure his day.
We used responsibility charts – the kids knew what work must be accomplished each day. While there were a few things that had to be done at certain times, they had a lot of freedom about structuring their own day. Math was almost always shoved aside until last, but occasionally one of them did it first, saying “I just want to get the bad stuff done with.” Lessons being learned…and now they are capable of that same discipline and self-regulation in their college studies.
Transition to Independent Learning
High school is when we begin to transition our students into college life. A big part of that transition is learning time management. As a teen, your student is juggling classes, extracurricular activities, athletics, a part-time job, and friends and family. It can be difficult to remember all of the details!
A good planner works for you and your needs. What is right for one person may not be the best option for someone else, so take a moment to investigate several options and find the one that works best for your student. After they have that planner, allow them to be in charge of their day, set expectations, and give guidance, remain actively involved – have regular meetings with them. These might be daily or weekly, but choose a rhythm that works best for you and your teen.
That said, transitioning to independence doesn’t mean completely letting go of the reins. Teens still need you to be the parent (as do college-students, albeit with a more freedom), and this is not the time to let them fly without a landing spot. When it comes to academics, let them have that freedom and responsibility, but read ahead in their textbooks and syllabi so you know what’s coming up. As the parent, you also know what’s coming up with family and can help them remember to plan for all the things…
Improve Study Skills
Most kids don’t work on note-taking until the high school years, and it’s difficult to remember specific details without good notes. The process of note-taking cements learning further by involving all three modalities of learning. The engage the auditory when hearing the information, the kinesthetic by writing the information (by hand, not computer!), and visual when reading the information again. If this is a new skill for your student or you just want to know why handwriting trumps typing in this case, you can access more specific information on note-taking skills.
The Through the Door: Homeschool to College Success bundle includes several lessons to brush up on specific study skills in addition to inventories, college prep assistance, and life skills for adulting in the early years.
By beginning to work on these five skills during the middle school years, you’ll help pave the way for a successful high school experience and what comes next!
