Many people go through anxiety and concern as they prepare for home education in the high school years. If children are college-bound, the potential for anxiety is even greater. Add to that the lack of skills for preparing a transcript, and questions regarding college requirements, and you have a recipe for a panic attack. Fortunately, there are resources like Homeschooling High School by Jeanne Gowen Dennis. Filled with practical advice, this book can be a great companion on the path of schooling your older student.

The chapter titles include Is Home High Schooling for You? Planning and Priorities, High School Course Work, The 'Perfect College' Pursuit, Making the Grade, and "Professional Packaging." Appendixes include Resources for the Home High School, Recommended Reading, and Sample Essays. There are excellent questions to make you think, and practical suggestions for navigating through some of the tough spots. Each chapter of this book is designed to help you prepare for what is ahead.

There are many lists and forms included. Sample High School Goals, Homeschooler Strengths and Homeschooler Weaknesses (as reported by colleges), and College Application Checklist are a few that are provided. Forms include Reading Lists, Course Description pages, School Data, and Student Data, as well as several more. The lists provide samples, information and details that we might otherwise forget, while forms give us the organizational tools we need without having to come up with the system ourselves. Both are helpful time saving measures.

Every family is unique; we all home educate for different reasons and with different methods. When preparing our students for college admissions, though, there are some questions and challenges that we all need to work through. Even if this book just helps you identify questions that you have regarding your child's academic future, it would be invaluable. But, when you add the incredible detail in the lists, forms, and resources, you have a volume that is worth its weight in gold.



-- Product Review by: Diane Wheeler, Senior Staff Writer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine