Close the Escape Hatch!
Let’s talk about high school for a minute (or two). Is homeschooling high school really worth it? Will I really be able to teach them all they need to know? I can answer this question - Absolutely YES!
When we began the homeschool journey 20 years ago, I never imagined that we would graduate them. I figured we’d take it “a year at a time” and wait and see how this homeschool experiment would play out. Several years in (with my first in about 6th or 7th grade) I listened to a favorite homeschool speaker talk about homeschool parents needing to “close the escape hatch” and commit to the long term. It really impacted me, and from that point I changed my perspective of homeschooling from “one year at a time” to “Graduation Day”.
I am so thankful I did! We have now graduated 4 of the 8, and I wouldn’t change a thing. All four have gone on to the college of their choosing, with plenty of scholarship money in hand. But, that is not why I want to encourage you to keep homeschooling through high school. I don’t want you to miss the opportunity these years hold!
The high school years are some of the best years of homeschooling. You have put in all the hard, seemingly endless days of teaching them to read, mastering the multiplication tables, and navigating the confusing maze of English grammar - WHY would you throw in the towel when school is finally getting to the good stuff?
High school is your last chance with them. These 4 short years are the prime time for you to press in, and really help them know and understand the Bible, to study Apologetics together (the reasons to believe the Christian faith), practice Communication skills (like writing and speaking) and open their eyes to the wonder of Creation through Science all around them! I know it’s tempting to fall prey to the fear of them missing out, your own insecurities, or the anxiety of comparison during these teen years. But I want to encourage you to “close the escape hatch” and really go for it!
Not only do you get to teach them the good stuff, but you get to enjoy these delightful creations that God blessed you with! In what seems to go by in a blink, they will be off on their own. Sure… high schoolers can be messy, loud, and careless at times. But, they are absolutely wonderful world changers with endless energy, creativity and new ideas. They are the leaders of your future as well. They are the businesspeople, doctors and nurses, craftspeople, and law makers for the next generation - and you have been given a gift of being the most powerful impact on them now!
I think of Esther from the Bible. Her upbringing by her uncle Mordecai was the foundation that she stood on when she approached the King and saved her people. I imagine that all those late-night conversations over pita bread and olives, chariot driving practice (or maybe donkey driving), and the endless reassurances that she really was created exactly the way the Lord designed her to be, became the internal narrative that gave her the courage to stand up for her people.
Too often I hear of homeschool parents who started the journey but gave up during high school. I want to encourage you to realize it’s truly the high school years that have the greatest impact on your homeschool journey. You were put on this path by the Lord, “for such a time as this”. Resist the peer pressure, ignore the lies, and press on to complete the race set before you!
Blessings,
Renita