How to Turn Interests into Electives on the Transcript

Make the most of your teens’ interests! Here’s how to turn interests into electives on the transcript.

How to Turn Interests into Electives on the Transcript

How to Turn Interests into Electives on the Transcript

We 7Sisters graduated twenty-five of our teens through homeschooling high school, we also helped advise hundreds of local homeschooling teens through graduation. So, we have had lots of time to figure out the ups and downs of teens, transcripts and high school education.

One of the most meaningful positives of homeschooling high school that we have found is the fact that we can create electives for the transcript that reflect our teens interests! Teens in traditional school settings can develop interests also, but to a much more limited degree. By homeschooling these pivotal years, teens could spend lots of time exploring and developing interests. Then they could capture them to create a powerful transcript!

In other words, interests can become excellent electives for the homeschool transcript! Let’s talk about it.

What kinds of interests can count as electives on the transcript?

Just about anything! After all, there’s not ONE right way to homeschool high school and there’s not ONE right way to choose electives. For instance:

If your teen has a talent they love to pursue, that can become an elective

Early Childhood Education
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Here are some talents that our friends’ teens have developed into electives:

If your teen is not sure if they have a talent, but they just enjoy a subject or hobby, these can be counted as electives also

Many times, teens have a special interest in an academic subject that they do not actually need for graduation. Perhaps they have already fulfilled the basic graduation requirements in a subject but want to learn more. Or on the other hand, their state does not require a certain subject but your teen would like to learn about it. These may all be counted as electives on the transcript.

Here are some courses that our teens completed for elective credit:

Human Development from a Christian Worldview
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What if your teens do not have any particular interests yet?

Often, teens who cannot tell you what they are interested in, simply have not discovered their interests yet. One way to help teens discover their interests it to try a number of new experiences. Here are some ideas:

How can teens earn those interest-based elective credits?

  • Use a textbook
    • Textbooks make it easy, as long as they do not bore the interest out of the interest! A good guideline for an interest-based elective is to find shorter texts that give an overview without killing the subject (such as 7Sisters’ texts). Save the high-powered text for a second, deeper dive.
  • Take a course in your local homeschool co-op
    • Sometimes, teens discover interests when they take a course with peers. Experiencing a new topic with friends can open up their mind to subjects they did not realized they like!

      How to Create a High School Transcript. Create meaningful transcripts with this editable PDF transcript, course checklist and detailed guide.
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  • Log hours for a Carnegie credit
    • One way to earn credit in homeschool high school is to log hours of educational experiences. You simply keep a sheet of paper where you record:
      • What was done
      • The date and times
      • Running tally of amount of time spent until you meet the requirement for a credit in your state
    • Remember, though, if it is not logged, it did not happen. Keep those log sheets! (We usually kept our log sheets on the refrigerator door so that we could remind each other- hopefully your teen- to get those hours recorded.)
  • Take an online course.

You and your teens can explore and develop interests for a useful electives on the homeschool transcript. Need more ideas? Here’s are two helps:

Have fun trying some out!

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Vicki Tillman

Blogger, curriculum developer at 7SistersHomeschool.com, counselor, life and career coach, SYMBIS guide, speaker, prayer person. 20+year veteran homeschool mom.

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