Caroline and I have discussed the idea of extending her high school studies another year off and on over the past several weeks. Today we came to a conclusion and shook on it. We are adding a fifth year to her high school. Homeschooling a fifth year of high school is not the norm, but nor is it unusual.

While we were discussing the pros and cons of such a choice, Caroline said roughly this:

Why are we deciding when my high school is done based on the expectations of the institutions you’ve done everything to keep me out of?

That sums it up very well. We homeschool because we reject the idea of state-run, state-dictated education that usurps the role of the family and faith. So why do we feel compelled that we must complete her education according to some arbitrary date and what is considered the culturally-acceptable time? We shouldn’t feel compelled. Just as some students graduate earlier than “normal” other students graduate later than “normal.”

So starting next week, we will move to a four-days-a-week homeschooling schedule. We’ll be doing our studies M-T-Th-F. We will take Wednesdays off. (More on that later.)

Reasons for a Fifth Year of High School While Homeschooling

So what led us to this decision? It’s a combination of several factors. None of these alone would cause us to make this choice. But taken together? We both believe it is for the best.

If Caroline is to graduate on time, we will have to push very hard for the next fourteen months. There is no other way to get it all done and even then I have my doubts if we can do what needs to be done. We’re already both teetering on the edge of burnout and the thought of pushing hard for the next fourteen months depresses both of us. Neither one of us is wired to excel under that kind of unrelenting pressure.

Caroline’s particular learning challenges mean that it takes us longer to get our studies done on a daily basis. She needs to work in short spans of time as opposed to teens who can sit for hours and focus on subject after subject. We do a lot of her studies together. Reading aloud takes more time than a student reading silently to herself. We have to break things up in smaller segments and take breaks. This necessarily makes progress slower overall. (See this post: Homeschooling a Child With Slow Processing Speed)

Her dysgraphia has mostly been dealt with and really isn’t much of an issue any longer. The dyscalculia, on the other hand, is a significant issue. She’s made slow progress, but an extra year will make a big difference in this area. To have two and a quarter years left to tackle this seems realistic. To have fourteen months seems like an insurmountable task.

Caroline has started to take off in many areas of her studies this year as she’s overcome some of the earlier challenges. For example, she’s grown by leaps and bounds in her writing abilities (essays, etc.). This will give her the time to grow in these areas more naturally and not be under pressure to perform and churn out what needs to be done.

Some of the other issues are mundane. We’ve had quite a bit of sickness over the past two years and it always disrupts our flow. The year of lockdown set us back in many ways. She’s not interested in going to college and has no interest in a gap year. And, unlike many teens, she’s not really in a hurry to grow up and launch out on her own. Given the state of the world at the moment, I don’t blame her. I’m hopeful things will be significantly better in a few years and this could end up being a very advantageous move for her overall.

Because she’s not interested in college, we both want her high school education to be solid. This will afford us the luxury of more time to to ensure that happens. And if things change over the next few years and she decides she does want to go to college, she will be infinitely more prepared with another year under her belt than she ever would be after next year. There is no way she is ready to apply to colleges and universities at this point. With an additional year? Yes.

Lastly (and in some ways most importantly), because Caroline is a creative introvert, she truly needs downtime to be alone and create on a regular basis. We’ve found it impossible to balance sufficient sleep, daily studies, and ample creative introvert time for her. By giving her a break mid-week, she will get that time she needs which will hopefully make the days we do her studies that much better.

So that’s the decision we’ve made. It has given both of us a profound sense of relief and freedom.