Everyday Education: Transcripts Made Easy Review
We started homeschooling our oldest at the end of his kindergarten year. I remember being freaked out about high school. I was told that it can be totally different than the rest of the homeschooling years. I watched other moms, who had older children, be stressed out because they were trying to decide whether to continue homeschooling for high school or to send their children to public school.
Our oldest is in high school now and I am so glad that we didn't think twice about keeping him home and homeschooling him through high school. There are a few things that I have to do to make sure that he is getting the education that he needs in order to continue on to college. One of those things is making a transcript. I started a transcript for him before he started high school because I wanted to make sure that he was taking all of the classes that he needed to take. This is my first time making a transcript, or having a high schooler, so I was happy to get a copy of Everyday Education's Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler's Guide to High-School Paperwork. It has given me the confidence to know that we are on the right track with high school.
Don't think that this book is just about transcripts. I mean, it all leads back to what needs to be put on a transcript, but it went way beyond what I thought was going to be in there. I figured that it would let us know some details about what to include on a transcript and maybe some formatting suggestions. I wasn't sure what all would be in the 138 page book. You guys! There is so much in this little book.
The book is split up into 6 sections: Meet the Transcript, Plan with the End in Mind, Keep Simple Records, Grades, Credit, and the GPA, Create the Transcript, and References, Resources, and Reproducibles. I'd like to highlight each section of the book so that you know how much great information is in this book.
Meet the Transcript
This is what I thought that the whole book was going to be about. It is the nuts and bolts of the transcript. This section gives the basics of the transcript: what needs to be on it, who's going to see it, and what the parts of the transcipt are.
Plan with the End in Mind
I have to be honest, I think that this was my favorite part of the book. This gave information on what to study in high school along with a sample of requirements. Of course, you have to check with your own state and where your child is planning on going to college to know for sure what they need to study in high school. This just gets you going in the right direction. Along with what to study, there is how to study. This isn't a study skills book. This gives homeschool families ideas on how to schedule high school. This always helps me think outside of the box sometimes as I get stuck in a routine that doesn't work. This books gives homeschool families the freedom that they need with ideas on how to make high school work in their family.
Keep Simple Records
I don't usually keep samples of my kids' work, but after reading this, I am going to start. You don't need to keep everything, or even a lot of things. Just samples to prove their work. This section also gives help if you have a special needs child. Fantastic!
Grades, Credit, and the GPA
This section is just what it's title suggests. It helps with grading, which is something that I was wondering about. We are a "do it until you master it" kind of family. I don't really give grades. This helped me to understand how our style can fit into a transcript. Very useful information!
Create the Transcript
This is where the details about formatting comes into play. She has even given samples and blank transcripts for us to fill in and/or follow. Suggestions on issuing an official transcript is even given. Wonderful!
References, Resources, and Reproducibles
This is where you will find blank forms and samples of what she had been talking about throughout the book. There are some wonderful resources given in this book!
Everyday Education's Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler's Guide to High-School Paperwork far exceeded my expectations! It really does give you a boatload of information in order to make keeping track of what your high schooler needs in order to complete high school. I have even bookmarked websites that were talked about that I want to make sure that I can check out more later as I need them. There is even one about curriculum about how to start your own business - something that our oldest is a little interested in and I am extremely interested in. This book will be a resource for our family for years to come.
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