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Written by a homeschooling college professor and his wife, College-Prep Homeschooling would be an excellent addition to your homeschool library. The information it provides about teaching methodologies, learning options, and college-level skill development would be particularly valuable for parents considering homeschooling through high school.

David and Chandra Byers are uniquely qualified to teach parents how to homeschool teenagers. David, a professor, wrote the family's curriculum himself, and Chandra did the day-to-day teaching of their six children. Together, they walk concerned parents through every step of high school education, from buying or building a college-worthy curriculum, to making sure your child has all the skills he will need to enter college or the workforce. Chandra's notes tell you how the plans their family made worked out in real life.

I wish I'd had this book when my children started high school. David's straightforward, practical approach to high school education and Chandra's refreshingly honest commentary on going from reluctant homeschool mom to homeschool champion make this book the perfect tool for parents who worry about these critical final years of homeschooling. College-Prep Homeschooling is thorough, realistic, and reassuring!

David and Chandra share their passion for teaching and learning along with a remarkable story of their own experiences, which have the power to help you along the fruitful and rewarding journey of educating your own children. It's a gift of love. Through their insights, they provide the nuts-and-bolts of planning this challenging task and since I've been there with my own two children, their guidance is wise counsel, targeting the important characteristics that move beyond the content into the heart of learning. They distinguish teaching from the art of learning through practical suggestions and a realistic perspective. By focusing on the four characteristics for a successful transition into college, David and Chandra have also outlined those necessary for lifelong learning, a needed ability in this ever changing global economy. Reading like a conversation shared over coffee, they invite you into their lives to capture a glimpse of how you may effectively evaluate your family's needs and desired outcomes. After all, as parents, we want to give our children the best of the past in preparation for their future.

David Byers has a tremendous approach to grow not only great students but great adults. His concept of going beyond textbook and pedagogical methods, teaching students to think, analyze, and critique should be required reading for homeschooling parents of high schoolers. Thinking from the point of view of a college professor (David) receiving homeschooled students as well as parents developing that student (David and Chandra), the Byers offer a unique approach to education. The superficial approach common in today's classrooms and textbooks is well explored, with the end result a teen sub-educated and not ready for the mental and time management processes required in colleges and universities. As a practicing Optometrist, I see young people on a regular basis who unfortunately do not have the higher level thought processes and performance skills necessary for success in today's world. The procedures recommended here will get a student ready for the deeper thought needed post high school and applicable for getting ahead at that first job. As a leader of a large metropolitan area HS group (Homeschooling High School in the Omaha metropolitan area) dedicated to high school education and activities, I've seen Dr. Byers techniques transferred to many of our local teens with lasting results thru his student classes. There are very few books currently available in the homeschool community training the HS parent in educational technique and thought. His ideas regarding grading and assessment methods go beyond "was the multiple choice correct" or "was the essay completed." This book goes from "what to do" to "why do it" while remaining very practical. There is a very useful section on alternatives to traditional testing to assess performance and level that will give any HS ideas to break the written test monotony. The pro/con segment on different curriculum types is excellent. The sections regarding planning, record keeping, transcripts, and portfolios are extremely useful with first-rate examples, some of the best I've seen. The history of homeschooling was a very interesting chapter. Chandra's sections in each chapter keep the ideas well grounded from the day to day HS teacher's point of view. My first thought after reviewing the book was this is something that should be read regularly to act as an annual gyroscope, reminding the HS parent to assess their goals and methods prior to starting the new academic year while keeping the big picture in mind.

College-Prep Homeschooling is my number one suggested book for those interested in homeschooling high school. Every parent I know who is homeschooling would benefit greatly from this book, whether a veteran or new to homeschooling. I found it inspiring, could even feel my insides swell with a new excitement for what I was doing with my own children. Not only is this book inspiring, it is insightful and practical. I absolutely loved it!