I said yesterday that having a clearly communicated plan was key to homeschooling my, shall we say, unmotivated, student. I didn’t need much of a plan for the first one, really. I just set up a transcript template, wrote up everything she had done, gave her some grades, and when she was ready for college, we were done. The second child needed to know exactly what courses he was required to complete and how he could get credit for each of those classes. So, after praying, looking at public high school requirements, looking at college requirements and praying some more, I gave him a paper that looked like this one:

Graduation requirements for Meriadoc Homeschool:
Bible: 4 credits—may include one credit for Worldview or Summit.
English: 4 credits, each credit including composition, grammar, and literature
Math: 4 credits: Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, and Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus
History/Geography: 4 credits
Science: 3 credits: Biology, Chemistry, Physical Science, Physics, Geology, or Astronomy
Foreign Language: 2 credits in the same language
PE: 2 credits (1/2 credit per year or per sport)
Electives: at least 4 credits

TOTAL: 27 credits

Alternatives for earning high school credit:
1. Complete the material in a high school level textbook with a test average of 70 or above
2. Complete a course of study planned by Mom or Dad
3. Complete a course of study and take and pass CLEP test in that subject
4. Complete a course of study and take and pass an AP exam (score of 3, 4 or 5) in that subject
5. Complete and document a total of at least 120 hours (=one high school credit) of study or practice in some subject
6. Complete a class at a junior college for dual credit
7. Finish an apprenticeship or practicum with someone outside the family who is knowledgeable in a subject area. Start with a signed contract that is agreeable to student, parents, and teacher.
8. Complete intensive study of a subject at a summer camp or other short term class
9. Complete an online course of study approved by parents

One public high school in the area requires 26 credits to graduate in its college preparatory program. However, they don’t require Bible credit.

This framework was where we started after the ninth grade year that wasn’t. I’ll tell you tomorrow what worked and what compromises we had to make along the way.