Please forgive me a few newbie questions....

[prairie rose]

-or- Oh my GOODNESS, how on earth did we get so close to high school so quickly!?!?

 

It has smacked me in the head recently that I will have a high school aged student in about 18 months. I'm excited and scared to death at the same time. I've been lurking the high school board for a while and trying to search for old threads every chance I get. But here are some questions that I just can't seem to find the answers I'm looking for (could entirely be that I haven't come up with the right thread search phrase yet)

 

#1 I really like the idea of using CLEP and AP exams to verify mommy grades. Even if they don't all transfer to their chosen college or university, I still like the idea. How can I make sure their course work prepares them for these exams?

 

#2 I've read the WTM section on high school several times recently. I have the original printing of TWTM if that makes a difference. What other books can you recommend for high school homeschooling?

 

#3 Any recommended resources for talking to kids about their future plans? I don't ever remember being talked to about my future other than "What do you want to be when you grow up?" No one talked to me about colleges or preparing for college or how to make getting accepted and completing the course work easier. I've learned a lot over the years from my own college experiences but I feel like it's just a huge lump of information that I have no idea how to organize into a usable plan.

 

I'm quite wary of counselors, both high school and college. I went to 3 different high schools, only the first one actually tried to help me with my dream (being an architect) the second and third high schools I went to kept trying to pressure me to prepare for med school ("Honey, with your grades and tests scores, you would have no problems in med school"....what part of "I faint at the sight of blood and have no interest in medicine" do you not understand?!?!) Even the first college I went to tried to pressure me into their pre-med program because of my grades and test scores. The second one was a technical school with no medical program so I was free to pursue what I wanted there. So as you can see, between no college talks at home and school counselors with their own agendas, I really have no idea how to guide my children in this area.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give me. :D

[prairie rose]

Thank you Karen for all that helpful information. :)

 

I never thought about having him take the ASVAB. Dh is former military and now a civilian working for the military. My oldest expressed some interest in joining the military when he was younger but now says he's not that interested anymore. I would love for him to serve like his dad and grandfathers did but I don't want to push him into it. I ran into far too many young enlisteds that were pushed into it and just don't want my kids to walk that path. I know if you score well on the ASVAB, recruiters will hound you. BTDT. Any advice on that if I have him take the ASVAB when he has no real interest in the military?

[Rain]

I'm also new to high school and have never read TWTM, so you may disregard my suggestions, too.

 

The two things that I've found very helpful so far are material from Lee Binz The HomeScholar and College-Prep Homeschooling.

[fischerl]

Karen (Kinsa)—The asvab program sounds great. I'd love to do this with my son, but I've been all over the asvab website and can't figure out how a homeschooler can take the test. I see no contact information either. Have you any experience with this program? How did you access it?

 

Thanks!

[fischerl]

Thanks, Karen! Still looks like they don't want to hear from individuals, but I sent the information to my homeschool group administrator. If nothing comes of that, I'll try submitting the form myself.