"My biggest challenges involved calculus, physics, and foreign language. I researched the problem, and found a surprising solution. I did not have to learn the subjects myself, and I didn't have to teach the subjects to my children. All I had to do was make sure my children learned the subject. Older teens need to learn how to teach themselves. If they go to college, they will be expected to learn all the textbook material by themselves. College lectures are most often supplemental to the textbook — not the same. If perhaps they don't go to college, they will certainly still need to teach themselves some computer skills, or perhaps online banking, or how to buy a car — whatever.
Once I realized I didn't have to learn calculus myself, I was able to take a deep breath. I didn’t need an advanced degree. I simply needed a quality homeschool curriculum that assumed teacher and student did not know the material.
My kids taught themselves pre-calculus and calculus. They taught themselves physics, French, and Latin. I know they understood the material because they passed the tests. They studied on their own, referring to the answer key frequently. Each week, when I went to the grocery store, I gave them the test and took the answer key with me. When I returned, I compared their answers to the key. I didn't know what the calculus symbols meant, but my children gave answers that matched the answers on the key. I could have taught them biology and chemistry (I'm an RN and I love that stuff) but they actually taught themselves those subjects as well. It just worked out better for us when they were teaching themselves, while I simply checked up on them now and again." — Lee B. of The HomeScholar Helper
