By Rebecca Welch

The Money Factor

Expenses generally skyrocket in the last few years with more challenging textbooks to purchase and additional after school activities. Some cities have homeschooling co-ops established to help parents cope with the rising cost of education. Local libraries can be an excellent informational resource and also give other homeschoolers a place to meet or share advice. One of the best low cost options is to join the local home school organization and share textbooks with other parents as often as possible to defray the expense.

Do you have an advanced student?

Teaching an advanced student can be scary, but parents should be proud of what they have helped their child accomplish. Online home schooling resources can be a great help for the advanced student. Many challenging curriculums can be purchased and completed online with tutoring help available when necessary. Online academies often provide textbooks and other home schooling supplies. Virtual classrooms where students can use a web cam to participate in class is another excellent alternative. They may also use lecture based courses online.

Post Secondary Option for Advanced Students

Post secondary level classes at your local university or junior college have some advantages for your student. Your child can avoid the stigma of being the new kid because college faces change every semester. At times you might not be required to pay college tuition for the classes that your high school child takes. Your child can earn high school credit and enjoy socialization as well as mental stimulation that college classes provide.

Transferring your homeschooler to private or public school?

For many parents, home schooling a high school age child can be extremely difficult. Some feel they should transition their child to a private or public high school, however, the stress of the transition can wreck havoc on a teenager. Public high school environments can seem unfriendly, stilted and restrictive to a child who has had theloving support and educational flexibility of being homeschooled. Private school could be an alternative, but there are still the drawbacks of public schools plus the added burden of cost with a private institution. In addition to adjusting to a new environment, if you decide to transition your homeschooled teenager you must also be mindful of the 'new kid' syndrome that so often occurrs. This can be especially difficult for homeschooled children who may be viewed as 'weird' or 'strange' by both students and teachers alike. Weigh your options carefully before plunging your child back into mainstream education.

Are there any additional options?

Feeling uncertain or over-whelmed about home schooling your senior high school student is normal. If transitioning your homeschooled child to public or private high school isnt an option, you might consider the following options. Network with other parents who home school their children. Have each parent discuss what they feel they are best at teaching. Find parents who would be willing to trade skills in order to gain the best education for their children. A parent who is skilled in Math or Science and enjoys teaching high school age students might be willing to teach your child in exchange for teaching one of their children English or a foreign language. In this way, both students will benefit from additional stimulation and extra socialization.

Rebecca Welch is a successful webmaster and freelance writer for Home School Resources. Did you find the tips on help with high school home schooling useful? Learn more aboout home school resources.

By Mary Joyce

Even more specifically, the foundation from which to build the foundation for this success is reading. How well your child learns to - and enjoys reading, is absolutely directly related to not only how well your child will do in school, but how successful they will be throughout their lifetime. When a child develops good reading skills they have developed a foundation on which all other learning is built upon.

From the day a child is born they begin to learn. From the moment you begin to talk or sing to your new baby they begin to hear and to respond to sounds. The more your talk and sing to your child, the more you strengthen and advance their understanding of language. You are laying the first blocks for your child to becoming a reader.

As a parent you yourself dont have to be the worlds best reader in order to help your child become a successful reader. It is your time, your interest, your enthusiasm, and your dedication to your childs success that is important. Remember, it is reading that is the essential element that all other learning is dependent upon.

Every child learns to read at different paces. It is a step by step process with each step mastered leading to the next.

Early on babies and toddlers learn primarily by experiencing the sights and sounds that become a part of their world. Babies are natural born curiosity seekers and learners. They are in a constant explore and discover mode. As a parent you should take great advantage of this natural desire.

As a part of this early discovery and leaning stage babies quickly learn to imitate those events that they both see and hear. So, right from the beginning, parents should be reading, singing, gesturing, smiling and making funny faces with their children. Believe it or not, these are the very first activities that begin to establish a childs path toward understanding the language and ultimately begin reading.

So you see, even though your baby hasnt officially began learning to read in a structured manner, becoming an eventual good reader starts from the first day your child begins to hear what is to become their primary language. The first steps of translating sounds into words, words to sentences, and sentences to meanings is, in a sense, the foundation for the foundation of reading.

Mary Joyce is a former educator, successful homeschool parent, and has written many articles on Homeschool Curriculum for the Homeschool-Curriculum-4u website. Please visit (http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com) for more of Marys articles, resources on homeschool, ideas, and curriculum information.