Many homeschooling parents are confident about the elementary and junior high years but are reluctant to forge ahead into the high school years in fear of giving their students inadequate preparation for college entry and college-level work. We have two high schoolers in our home this year, and I have to admit that the record keeping alone took my breath away. Homeschooling high school students is definitely a whole new adventure.

David P. Byers and Chandra Byers know what that pressure is like, as they have homeschooled their six children from preschool to high school. And although David is a college professor, they make it clear from the start that you too can do this--college degree or not:

"While we're not experts in every subject, David and I drew on our strengths and interests to cover most of the subjects. Where there were gaps we relied on classes taught at the local community college. In subjects such as advanced mathematics, I felt like I did a good job of teaching the children, but to reinforce their skills for college they took some math classes (like algebra) a second time at the community college.

Now, more than ever, I am totally committed to homeschooling our children all the way through high school. Our children are safe, happy, and learning not only academics but also the values that we want them to learn. These values cannot be taught anywhere else or by anyone else.

Homeschooling is the best opportunity you will have to demonstrate what it means to be an adult and to provide a real-life example of the values you've been teaching your children for years. In many ways the high school years represent the last chance you have to directly influence your child's development before she graduates and begins pursuing college or a career."

College Prep Homeschooling is packed with useful information and helpful details. A chapter entitled "Is Higher Education Right for My Child?" will help you to evaluate if college is even a path you should pursue. Other chapters cover such pertinent topics as self-directed learning, critical thinking, teacher-directed homeschool methods, student-directed homeschool methods, learning styles, buying curricula, how to write educational objectives, selecting courses, evaluating and grading, developing a syllabus, keeping records, creating transcripts, writing course descriptions, and preparing portfolios. Helpful appendices cover course-specific resources, and a thorough list of references is included as well.

My copy of College Prep Homeschooling is dog-eared, underlined, and often referenced. Although we only have two in high school now, there are six more coming up right behind them, and I foresee College Prep Homeschooling maintaining an important place on my shelf of go-to homeschooling resources.