From the HM Bookshelf: The High School Handbook

I thought I would kick off this school year with a new “monthly feature”: From The HM (Homeschool Mom) Bookshelf. Hopefully this will help me keep track of all the wonderful reads that come across my desk.

Some will directly relate to homeschooling, while others might pertain to maintaining my home or my sanity (just kidding). All of them will be reads I absolutely couldn’t put down or I felt added something significant to our lives.

My hope is that some of these reads might inspire you to do further research on your own and, at the very least, initiate a little intelligent conversation.

……

Our oldest daughter is currently in junior high. Never one to procrastinate and (heaven forbid) not be prepared, I made sure to read this book over the course of last summer.

In The High School Handbook, Ms. Schofield does an excellent job of laying the groundwork for Jr. and Sr. High. She provides a helpful, step-by-step process to organizing your students workload, as well as ideas on how each can be implemented to their fullest. She explains, with clear reasoning, why each step is taken and how it benefits both your student and yourself. To further assist you with each step, Ms. Schofield has graciously placed helpful sample forms throughout the book, showing how her family has organized each area. She has also included blank forms for you to copy and use at your own disposal, making your job even easier.

Ms. Schofield covers every area of Jr. and Sr. High that you could possibly imagine. If you are unsure of how to organize your classes, this book will help. If you are unsure which classes are needed to attend a university, this book will help. Need tips on grading, courses standards, transcripts, and college? This book is definitely the one for you. From Language Arts and Arithmetic, to Driver’s Ed and Work Permits, this book has something for everyone.

On a personal level, I am extremely grateful that I chose to read the book last summer. Our daughter was still in elementary school (we are not including sixth grade as part of “middle school”). Had I waited until the summer before junior high, I might have stressed myself out with the amount of paperwork and organizing that needed to be done. However, having read the book a full year in advance, I had plenty of time to prepare whatever forms were necessary. I very much appreciated the sections on Missionary Opportunities, Apprenticeship, and College at Home, as each of these areas are of particular interest to our family.

I highly recommend The High School Handbook for everyone with a child going into Jr. and/or Sr. High. Even if you don’t homeschool, it will help you to better understand what classes your child should be taking in their studies. It will help you prepare them for ACT and SAT exams, College Applications, and other areas common to all students. I greatly encourage you to read this book. Don’t wait until your child is about to start their higher education, help them now. You won’t regret it!

For those of you with children already in Junior or Senior High, was there a particular book(s) that you found helpful in organizing the chaos? I would love to delve into a few more books. The more ideas, the better!

…..

In truth, I did write a post about The High School Handbook over a year ago. However, with a new year dawning and a fresh generation of high schoolers upon us, I thought it couldn’t hurt to update my review of this insightful book….