Make the most of your homeschool high schoolers’ summer. Here are tips on logging credits over the summer.
Logging Credits Over the Summer
What a relief! That last math test is done. That last paper is over. The textbook is finished. Whew! Now it is time to relax.
You and your homeschool high schoolers can relax but you can also log some hours for the homeschool transcript. During the summer, your teens will be doing some things that can be captured on credit logs.
Why bother capturing things on credit logs when you are trying to relax over the summer? For sure, this is an optional task to take on. Here are the reasons we would log hours over the summer:
- Knocking off books for the book list
- Creating an elective credit that we have less time for during the school year
- Leveling up a core credit of interest
- Knocking out credits that are hard to finish in the school year
- Simply appreciating the cool things you and your teens do
Let’s take a look at each of these and the way we logged credits over the summer.
There’s not ONE right way to homeschool. We have so many wonderful 7th Sisters, that I am sure there are many ways you have used the summer months to help your teens create credits for their homeschool transcripts. What can you add to these (we would love to hear from you in comments below or in our Facebook group)?
Knocking off books for the book list
Homeschool high school Language Arts credits include four important topics:
While we did not work on writing, editing or vocabulary officially during the summer. My teens would work on their book lists. This was especially important to them as they were college-bound and leaning to English- or Humanities-type majors. That meant that they needed to aim for Honors-level Language Arts (and that rigorous credit requires LOTS of reading).
What counts as books for our summer reading list?
Lots of things can count as books:
- Books teens are reading on their own.
- My homeschool high schoolers often had a literature topic during the school year such as Great Christian Writers, CS Lewis, American Literature, British Literature, Cinema Studies or World Literature. So, during the summer they had lots of time to read anything THEY want to read.
- Audiobooks
- We love to keep audiobooks going in the car when we travel locally or for longer trips.
- Read alouds
- Our family has never outgrown read alouds. In fact, my homeschool grads would sometimes have read aloud groups in their college dorms and read aloud short stories at family get togethers, even after they were grown.
- Graphic Novels
- A favorite way to get some reluctant teens to read and exhausted-readers to enjoy reading again.
- Poetry
- Poetry collections count as books, for sure!
Creating an elective credit that we have less time for during the school year
Our friend, Ticia, at Adventures in Mommydom was telling me that her homeschoolers use the summer to explore their interests and gifts. They can log hours to earn a Carnegie-hour credit in Career Exploration or simply an elective credit. (Remember, electives are important for personal growth and a powerful transcript.) Ticia’s homeschoolers are variously working on cooking, engineering and writing this summer.
How do you log hours for elective credits? Here a post with simple guidelines.
Want some specific ideas for summertime electives that some of our 7th Sisters’ teens have enjoyed?
- How to Show Teens’ Interests on the Homeschool Transcript
- How to Earn a Home Economics Credit
- How to Earn a Home Maintenance Credit
- How to Ean a Life Skills Credit
- How to Handle an Apprenticeship
- How to Record Internships on the Homeschool Transcript
- How to Try Out Podcasting, Interview with Homeschooler Noah Tetzler
- How to Earn Fine Arts Credit
- How to Earn a History Elective
- How to Become an Entrepreneur, Interview with Samantha Shank
- Career Exploration Electives
- Other High School Electives You Never Thought of…
Leveling-up activities may include things like:
- Relevant movies or documentaries
- Extra books
- Field trips to museums, historic sites, or other relevant locations
- Interviewing people about their relationships to historic events (for instance, teens could interview a relative who is a Vietnam War veteran)
- Projects of interest
- Relevant hikes, boating, activities in nature
- Do some fun research on American life in the US Census Bureau’s Statistics for Schools. It has some fun information like: number of candy stores in each state.
Leveling up a Core Credit of Interest
College-bound teens can use the summer months to earn some hours that they can use to level up a core course in order to make themselves more college-attractive. Need some ideas to help your homeschool high schooler plan their summer leveling-up activities?
- Showing Rigor on the Homeschool Transcript
- How to Create an Honors Level Language Arts Credit
- How to Create an Honors Level British Literature Credit
- How to Create an Honors Level Creative Writing Credit
- How to Create an Honors Level World History Credit
Leveling-up activities may include things like:
- Relevant movies or documentaries
- Extra books
- Field trips to museums, historic sites, or other relevant locations
- Interviewing people about their relationships to historic events (for instance, teens could interview a relative who is a Vietnam War veteran)
- Projects of interest
- Do some fun research on American life in the US Census Bureau’s Statistics for Schools. It has some fun information like: number of candy stores in each state.
Knocking out credits that are hard to finish in the school year
Some busy families find it harder to fit some credits into the normal school year. Credits like Fine Arts or Phys Ed might get pushed to the site. Summer is a perfect time to log hours in the sun for Phys Ed or in the house for Fine Arts.
Simply appreciating the cool things you and your teens do
Sometimes, we log hours or otherwise document our summers, just to help us preserve our good memories. A geeky way to scrapbook, I guess. It is fun to go back and look at our homeschool high schoolers’ portfolios and see all the cool things they have done over the years.
Have fun with your summer, and if you want, log some credit hours, too.
For more thoughts and tips on homeschooling high school over summer, check out this Homeschool Highschool Podcast interview with our friend, Anita Gibson.
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