When my oldest child neared the end of homeschooling middle school, I had mixed feelings. We knew we'd probably keep homeschooling for high school (based on conversations we had with him) but I also knew that homeschooling him for high school might not look exactly like what I was picturing in my head.
Know Your Non-Traditional High School Goals
Over the last two years, I've shared in several blog posts about the non-traditional high school path we've taken with him. There's been a delicate balance of checking the boxes and partnering with my son to take steps (sometimes leaps and bounds) towards his goals.
Our ultimate goal with homeschooling our children is for them to have a personalized education, lean on their strengths, and set them up for success in this ever-changing world. As part of that goal, we should prioritize giving our homeschooled teens permanently accessible permanent education records.
One thing that worried me was creating a transcript that showcased his specialized education but would also be appropriate if he decided to attend a post-secondary educational institution.
Let's dive into a few ways you can turn your teen's non-traditional homeschooling or unschooling resources and experiences into credits for an interest-led or unschool transcript.
Make a Plan + Start Documenting
By high school, you will most likely know if your teen is on a non-traditional path with his courses, learning, experiences, etc. If your teen even thinks they will want to apply to and/or attend a traditional four-year college or university, check out what is required by a handful of potential colleges your teen might be interested in.
This will give you a great place to start. For example, if you know that most colleges have certain math, science, and English requirements, then you can figure out how to weave your non-traditional resources into a traditional transcript (more on this below). TheHomeSchoolMom also has a detailed guide for course planning for college admissions chock full of ideas, resources, and a homeschool transcript resource with a free transcript spreadsheet template.
Another idea is to research non-traditional colleges/universities. These might be smaller schools with vastly different transcript requirements. I recently had a friend tell me about a visit to a local art school and she was pleased to find out that the school was looking for a portfolio and raw talent over basic high school classes.
Don't forget to connect with your local community colleges. Often, high school students can dual-enroll in their local community colleges and begin completing general education classes towards an associate degree. These courses are strong additions to any transcript. Contact your local community college for their policies and programs.
Once you have a general plan, it's time to start documenting. Each of my kids has a section in my homeschool planning notebook so I can write down class ideas, resources, books, and more. I also print out blank transcripts and fill them in for each kid so I can keep track of what everyone is doing. The important thing is to have some sort of documentation in place that you can refer back to as your teen progresses through high school.
Name the Courses
So, what should you call the course on the transcript? Well, it depends.
If your student is applying to a more traditional college that requires specific courses to apply, then you'll want to be sure material is covered for the required courses and label them in a way that the college will recognize: "English Literature" or "Earth Science" or "Physical Science".
If you have some leeway on your transcript (again, depending on the college), you could get more creative.
If you have a kid whose learning experience includes a focus on poetry, you could list that as English: Poetry Writing and Analysis. If you have a budding artist who has studied a variety of art and artists within the context of history, that is "Art History". If your teen has done a deep dive into gardening, "Botany" and "Botany Lab" would be appropriate under Science.
An example... If your teen has learned all about podcasting and implemented their own podcast over a two year period, simple names like "Podcasting Basics" and "Intermediate Podcasting" are good descriptors of what is being covered the first year. You could also use course numbers like 101/102/201, etc. The second year could be drilled down to more specifics, like "Advanced Podcasting: Editing, Publication, and Monetization."
Look for naming inspiration online in courses about the topic—what do courses about the topic in MasterClass, LinkedInLearning, and The Great Courses call their courses and sections? If your teen has covered the topics referenced, use the name as inspiration for coming up with your own course name.
Don't forget to include internships and mentorships where appropriate as well; they can simply be called "<Topic> Internship".
Contact the admissions counselor at the particular college or university and share your teen's experience with them. They might have helpful guidance when it comes to coming up with proper course names for this type of transcript.
Group the Transcript by Subject, Not by Date
I recommend grouping your transcript by subjects and not by dates. Most traditional transcripts will show that a student completed certain classes or subjects within a fixed period of time. If you have a non-traditional kid, you'll need to get creative. Homeschooled teens might spend the bulk of their time volunteering, working, interning, doing project-based learning, and traveling.
If you can, keep track of hours of time spent on what I call the learning and the doing. What do I mean? If your teen is more hands-on, this might be mean tracking the hours building a computer (computer science credit) or writing a play (language arts credit). I've pulled together some other ideas based on common high school subjects.
Please note: this is not an exhaustive list. The goal of this list is to spark ideas as you and your teen brainstorm to pull together your teen's unique transcript.
History & Social Studies:
- Listening to podcasts
- Watching documentaries
- Taking field trips
- Engaging in project-based learning
- Reading historical books (fiction and non-fiction)
- Traveling (planning trips, geography, cultures, etc.)
Language Arts:
- Writing and editing papers for other classes (they're still writing and it still "counts")
- Keeping a journal for projects, travel, jobs, etc.
- Reading (keep a book list)
- Playing language games like Scrabble or Scattergories
- Blogging
- Write and produce a podcast or YouTube channel
Science:
- Home science experiments
- Raising a pet/raising animals
- Farming and/or gardening
- Participating 4H Club
- Stargazing
- STEM projects
Physical Education:
- Playing team sports
- Family hikes/walks/runs
- YouTube exercise videos (solo or with family/friends)
- Lawn work and landscaping
- Swimming
- Skiing or snowboarding
Fine Arts:
- Music lessons and/or playing in a band
- Keeping an art journal
- Taking art lessons
- Visiting art museums
- Going to the theater or symphony
- Acting in local theater productions
Public Speaking:
If you teen volunteers or works in an area that requires interaction with the general public, this can be counted as public speaking. Keep track of the hours (if needed) and consider this good life experience as well as an elective.
Be Flexible + Work Together
My oldest son recently completed an emergency medical technician (EMT) cadet training program. He has spent hundreds of hours studying medical vocabulary (language arts, science), physiology and anatomy (science), pharmaceuticals (science), trauma response (science, life skills, growth mindset), natural disaster response (science, geography, life skills), and more.
In addition, he has worked community events (public speaking), and he does 12-hour EMT shifts where he's learning real-world skills such as business paperwork, empathy, communications, geography, and more. Once the training finished, he stepped up to start teaching the next round of cadets and you can bet we will work this into his transcript.
As a homeschool parent, here are some things you can do:
- Keep a journal that outlines what your teen is doing on a week-to-week basis. You might be surprised how much they are learning outside of any traditional bookwork.
- Document with photos, write-ups, projects, etc. so you'll have everything at your fingertips when it comes time to create the transcript.
- Make a date to review your notebook and your teen's work every few months so you can get a feel for how much time they're spending on a particular subject or interest area.
As always, keeping an open dialogue with your teen is key. Bring them into the transcript writing process and give them ownership. You can be there to guide them. If you need outside assistance, consider working with a homeschool consultant (especially one familiar with out-of-the-box learning and students). Homeschooling high school and preparing your teens for their future is a lot of work, but you don't have to do it alone.
One final thought - don't get so caught up in making the perfect transcript. With the field of higher education rapidly changing and more and more families homeschooling for high school, a student's portfolio, interview, and willingness to learn and grow can be just as important as a transcript.
Vanessa is a homeschooling mama to three inquisitive, creative and often loud teens. Vanessa is a writer, speaker, and a life coach for mothers of pre-teens and teens. She guides them in creating sustainable self-care practices so they can discover their purpose and passions. You can find her on Instagram at 
I am curious what to do about grades on a transcript for courses that are more hands-on. For example, if the class is applied entrepreneurship, and I don't have written "assignments" or "tests" but she did the real-life work of entrepreneurship. Some areas took more guidance from me than others. I may be answering my own question as I ask it, but do I need to develop rubrics for each class in order to get a numerical grade? Do I use my gut-feeling about how much effort she put in and what I observed she learned/improved in? Do I make courses pass/fail?
You can choose your own method of assigning grades. Many people grade on "mastery." While you're calling that a gut feeling, what I imagine you have done is make one-on-one observations and had endless conversations about all the entrepreneurship topics, and you are making judgments about your teen's level of mastery as demonstrated by the various entrepreneurial tasks she executed. Some people do use rubrics and numerical grades derived from them, but it's not the only way to assign grades. I would not encourage pass/fail on a transcript because that designation can affect a student's GPA. Often colleges have their own formula for including pass/fail classes in GPA calculations, and you don't want to be on the wrong side of that when it's not reflective of your student's performance.
It helps to think of it this way: the grade you are giving is meant to reflect learning rather than tasks that were designed into a course. That is a legitimate approach.
Hope this helps!
Looking forward,
Jeanne
Do you know of someone who can help me get started on the homeschool process for high school?
Check out our local and state homeschool resources to find your state homeschool organization. In most states, volunteers for state organizations can help you get started with a new phase of homeschooling, including high school. If you are unschooling, be sure to see all TheHomeSchoolMom unschooling articles. If you are seeking an unschooling coach, look at the 1:1 coaching available from UnschoolingMom2Mom.
How did you approach grades for these "non-traditional" courses? I'm trying to figure all of this out too. Did you give a grade at the end of the learning experience? If you're a "non-grader," how do you give a grade on something your child struggled with? For example, if you don't grade math, and it comes extremely hard for your student and you have to give a lot of support, would you base their grade in math on how much support you gave your child even though they eventually got the work done?
Hi Leah,
Parents have different ways of approaching grades for non-traditional courses. Some don't assign a grade for some courses but provide narrative descriptions for those credits. Some adjust the title of a course to reflect the level of learning. (For example, naming the range of topics covered in a course). Some provide a grade for the level of ultimate mastery, regardless of the student's pace or amount of support provided. Some parents grade based on effort and engagement. Some grade based on the amount of material learned compared to what would be typical in a school class. Some give tests, and others offer kids alternatives to test-taking, such as making a presentation or explaining what has been learned.
You might be interested in the book College Without High School by Blake Boles. Even if you aren't an unschooler, you might read about strategies for grading that will feel appropriate for you.
If you do include some non-graded courses for a college-bound student, you will want to be sure your child can also provide outside evidence of the ability to succeed in college.
Great question!
Looking forward,
Jeanne
this is amazing and just what i needed- thankyou
Hi Rebecca, thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I am so glad this blog post was helpful to you. Wishing you all the best! -Vanessa
Ok this just made me freak out! I'm scared of homeschooling my soon to be 9th grader now!!!! I had not even thought about transcripts!!!
Hi Karla - Transcripts are nothing to be afraid of. 🙂 This post and our main transcripts post with template (linked by Vanessa above) will walk you through making your own transcripts in a format that is the best fit for your situation. Just keep good records along the way (and consider starting the transcripts as soon as your child starts taking courses that will be high school credits so you don't have to play the "do you remember?" game when you record the classes). Enjoy homeschooling high school!