If there’s one thing I see causing moms entirely unnecessary stress about homeschooling high school, it is the perception that there are fully constructed credits out there that they have to hunt down and secure.
But you don’t have to “find” credits.
Credits are BUILT.
Work is done to *earn* them but not as a prize already constructed and needing to be obtained.
ALL work that a student does, throughout their high school career, is combined and constructed into the credits that they need.
Nothing is wasted.
Yes, there are courses and resources that have already built the credits for you, but you can follow the exact same process to build them yourself…
And if you’re pursuing any measure of communal, living, varied, rich high school education, you’re going to want to ensure that you know how.
Credits (Carnegie Units), are built of “hours”, which are not precisely 60 minute units of time.
Credit Hours Are Made Up of a Variety of Things:
1 Textbook (no matter how long it takes to complete)
Experiences (Field Trips, Research, Projects, Internships, Interviews, Documentaries, etc)
16 Books (no matter how long they take to read)
One Semester of College Level Course Work
Online or Local Classes (with books OR hours logged)
ANY combination of these can be used to build credit.
💡If a child completes an 80 hour internship spread across their 9th and 10th grade years, and then reads 9 books on a similar topic in their 12th grade year, they’ve earned a credit.
💡If a child completes about 3/4 of a writing textbook (no matter what grade) and also conducts an interview and writes a follow up report with the professional that they interned with, they’ve earned a Writing Credit…
💡If over 4 years they watch and discuss documentaries on a topic for around 100 hours (including discussion) and also write a final report on that topic, they’ve earned a credit.
Credits are built…
out of EVERYTHING a student does.
I teach this process in my CM High School Workshop…
but I also teach it in depth in my Peaceful Planning Course, which also provides needed High School Record Keeping Forms.
But you don’t have to “find” credits.
Credits are BUILT.
Work is done to *earn* them but not as a prize already constructed and needing to be obtained.
ALL work that a student does, throughout their high school career, is combined and constructed into the credits that they need.
Nothing is wasted.
Yes, there are courses and resources that have already built the credits for you, but you can follow the exact same process to build them yourself…
And if you’re pursuing any measure of communal, living, varied, rich high school education, you’re going to want to ensure that you know how.
Credits (Carnegie Units), are built of “hours”, which are not precisely 60 minute units of time.
Credit Hours Are Made Up of a Variety of Things:
1 Textbook (no matter how long it takes to complete)
Experiences (Field Trips, Research, Projects, Internships, Interviews, Documentaries, etc)
16 Books (no matter how long they take to read)
One Semester of College Level Course Work
Online or Local Classes (with books OR hours logged)
ANY combination of these can be used to build credit.
💡If a child completes an 80 hour internship spread across their 9th and 10th grade years, and then reads 9 books on a similar topic in their 12th grade year, they’ve earned a credit.
💡If a child completes about 3/4 of a writing textbook (no matter what grade) and also conducts an interview and writes a follow up report with the professional that they interned with, they’ve earned a Writing Credit…
💡If over 4 years they watch and discuss documentaries on a topic for around 100 hours (including discussion) and also write a final report on that topic, they’ve earned a credit.
Credits are built…
out of EVERYTHING a student does.
I teach this process in my CM High School Workshop…
but I also teach it in depth in my Peaceful Planning Course, which also provides needed High School Record Keeping Forms.
