November 2017

I am a second-generation homeschooler. I really wasn’t sure if I would homeschool. Not because I hated my childhood, and it’s not because I was worried about socialization (insert eye roll). I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to do it. I knew the amount of time, effort, and heart my mother put into educating my siblings and me, and I wasn’t sure I could do what she did as well as she did it.

From the world’s view, my parents were not qualified to teach. My father never attended college, and my mother was a college dropout. Some would say this was a recipe for disaster. In fact, many did say that!

My mother decided to start homeschooling after months of watching me come home crying from school. Knowing absolutely nothing about homeschooling, she took the plunge and withdrew me from public school. She threw herself into learning everything she could about homeschooling. She researched, planned, and met other homeschoolers. She quickly realized that she could give me so much more than I had been getting at my Christian school. We spent the early years doing unit studies. We read books, did crafts, and experimented with new foods that went along with whatever we were studying.

I was homeschooled from 1st grade all the way through high school. Because of homeschooling, I did not have the same kind of childhood as most other children. I wasn’t stuck in a classroom, reading out of a stuffy textbook; I was diving into real life experiences!

Is this what my children’s homeschool experience will look like? No, it will be different. One of the greatest things about homeschooling is that it frees you to pursue what your child is interested in, what your child is craving to learn. Every homeschooling journey is different and at its own pace. That is what makes it beautiful. ~ excerpted from Hip Homeschool Moms

We recently attended the annual meeting of our accrediting agency Florida Coalition of Christian Private Schools where we received updated information about legislative activities, Bright Futures changes and lots of ideas for apprenticeship programs.  One of the topics focused upon was early preparation for our college-bound students through a Personal High School Plan.

While we already work closely with students who want to go to college, this Personal High School Plan is a more formalized and detailed plan that will ensure nothing is overlooked in your student’s progress toward acceptance at the college of their choice.  We have mailed the plan package to students in 8th  through 12th this year but if your student has not received a copy, please contact the school.

In the meantime, seniors and juniors should look at this checklist and contact TOPS if they are behind in any area: