Let me tell you, this year has been a whole new ballpark for us. Michael officially entered high school and Therese is right behind him. Over the years, I made most of our lessons up using a variety of resources. Now that they are in high school keeping track of all those resources seemed daunting. Not to mention the fact, I had NO CLUE on what I needed to do. Ironically just when I started to research what to do, I was offered a chance to review Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler's Guide to High-School Paper from Everyday Education. This wonderful resource couldn't have come at a better time!
For this review, we received a digital download of the eBook. Transcripts Made Easy is now in its fourth edition and has already helped thousands of families with high school students. The digital eBook covers a wide range of topics and shows parents how to grade, grant credit, keep records, create homeschool transcripts, and a high school diploma. Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler's Guide to High-School Paper is broken up into 6 parts.
~Part 1~
Meet the Transcript
This section covers what a transcript is for us clueless folks, who needs a transcript, who will see the transcript, what the parts are of a transcript, an overview of the whole transcript process, and finally where to start in the book.
~Part 2~
Plan with the End in Mind
This is the planning section of the book. This is where parents and students make plans with an end goal in mind. This section covers what to study in high school, sample high school requirements, skills/habits to cultivate during the high school years, how to schedule courses, samples of four-year schedules for college-bound students, what tests to consider taking (SAT, ACT), college alternatives for the student not interested in college, and a how to teach teens.
In this part of the book, there are a few sections that actually address the student. High school students can read about six things they can do while in high school and seven strategies for a successful first year at college. We all know what a big change it is to move away from home. Freshman year was fun and exciting, but scary at the same time.
~Part 3~
Keep Simple Records
This is where we are introduced to the high school binder to keep for each student. We learn what forms and information to keep in the binder. Reading logs, activity logs, course descriptions, samples of the student's work, and grades are just a few of the recommendations. Two forms are introduced: class profile sheets and subject worksheets. I had never even thought about creating a class profile sheet or a subject worksheet. I read this section a few times and started creating class profile sheets for all of Michael's classes. Other topics covered are what to name classes, special needs resources, and how to keep records for special needs students. After I finished this section, I immediately set out creating a binder for both Michael and Therese.
~Part 4~
Grades, Credit, and the GPA
Now, we are getting down to the nitty gritty of things. This part of the book covers a huge list of topics... grading realistically (and ethically), how to use simple credibility clinchers, how to grade written work, how to use a writing evaluation rubric, grading for unschoolers, how to handle a non-grading philosophy, retrospective grades if you're getting a late start on your record keeping, defining a grading scale, how to assign quality points, how to grant credit for regular classes, as well as, honors, AP, dual credit, or college-equivalent course, and finally how to calculate a grade point average. A few of these things I already knew. My online planner has an option for transcripts so I've taken what I've learned and applied it to my set up. As far as a grading scale, I went and researched what my college-prep high school uses.
~Part 5~
Create the Transcript
We're finally in the part about how to create a transcript. Don't go running away screaming. I promise it's not as hard as you think, especially with Janice's help. Before reading this section, I was clueless! I had no idea what to include or where to start. This part of the book answers all your questions about homeschool transcripts for high school. After reading this part, you'll know how to issue an official transcript and how to format a transcript. Samples are included in this section to help parents understand what they are doing. This part also includes a section dealing with high school diplomas. The format and how to create a diploma are all covered here. This was an important section to me. It answered all my questions and helped me relax a bit about dealing with the high school years.
~Part 6~
Reference, Resources, and Reproducibles
You've now come to the end of the book. Here you'll find a glossary of terms used, resources for planning and learning, reproducible forms to use in your homeschool (reading logs, activity logs, etc.), and blank transcript forms.
"My goal with this was to take all the fear out of high school paperwork and make record keeping just another relatively simple task that could be done in a few minutes at the beginning and end of each semester. After all, learning is the point of homeschooling-- not paperwork!"
~ quote from Janice Campbell of Everyday Education
Transcripts Made Easy: The Homechooler's Guide to High-School Paperwork is an incredible resource for parents with older students. If you have students in 7th grade or 8th grade, I highly recommend purchasing this eBook. It will help you plan and understand the high school years. Those high school years will seem less scary. At least the planning part will. Teenagers can be scary in their own right. Gone are the days of sippy cups and coloring books, now we have to navigate social media and teenage attitude.
If you already have high school students I'd still recommend this book, especially if you have doubts or concerns with what you're doing. This eBook will help ease those worries and put a few of those doubts that run through your head to rest. No matter what else you may doubt about your homeschooling journey, you'll know that your student's transcripts are amazing!
Learn more about Everyday Education and all their other resources.
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Till Next Time,
Monique
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