I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.
If there is one thing, besides Advanced Math that strikes fear into homeschooling parents, it's High School and making sure the right documentation is done for their child to be accepted into colleges. So when I heard that Janice Campbell had a new book out for JUST that issue, via her Everyday Education company, I knew I had to check it out. The goal of Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler's Guide to High-School Paperwork is to take ALL the guesswork out of the hardest part of homeschooling high school- the planning and documentation!
This excellent book ALSO comes with something you don't normally see for books- Janice’s MONEY BACK Guarantee: "I promise that the simple instructions in Transcripts Made Easy, will help you manage your high-school paperwork and create a homeschool transcript you can be proud of. If you feel that TME has not delivered on this promise, you may return it for a refund. I want the best for you and your students!".
Janice also has some other great resources on her website, Everyday Education, especially if are following Charlotte Mason methods! So be sure to sign up for her free newsletter for some great info and resources!
Be sure to follow Janice and her company on social media, for specials on all her great products, and great information on homeschooling high school and the college app process:
This book is not just a faddish resource- it's in its FOURTH edition, having sold thousands of copies! Janice has kept it up to date with websites, new information and current needs of colleges! This book is more than just how to grade, grant credit and create a high school transcript for your child, it is the how-to homeschool high school without fear, and send your child off to college like ANY other public/private school student guidebook!
You really need to start using this book when your child is in MIDDLE school! Janice gives you very good guidelines on how to PLAN out your child's high school course load, with info on how many credits are needed (and what exactly a credit and half credit ARE and how they are achieved), they types of classes colleges are looking for, and how to find out what is required for YOUR state. By starting in middle school, you have an idea of what YOU are able to teach, what classes you need to 'outsource' via online or coop classes, and what classes you can create from work study or 'interest led' activities.
I love how Janice says in the book to PLAN for your child to get into college, even if they decide not to go, as they may decide to go back later in life, and those lack of classes will affect them then. better prepared, than not able! And speaking of, her chapter of non-college resources is excellent. Not every child is ready for college, or wants to go. Knowing there are still guilds and ways for them to learn a valuable (and good paid) trade, helps to offer new discussions between parent and child.
Because Janice has chapters from additional contributors, like college professor, Carol Reynolds, she can offer great insight into not only what parents need to know, but what their child needs to know to success in college. For example, Reynold's chapter on "Seven Tips from Professor Carol Reynolds on what college freshman need to know", lets students know the 'skills' they will have to handle on their own. AND those skills are ones that parents need to be teaching in the high school years. So, by including the chapter, parents can make sure to add ways for their child to learn the skills needed.
Janice teaches you to how to keep a simple record book, using her forms, for the high school years, that not only allows you to have a full record, in case any of your child's classes are questioned by a college, but one that allows you to keep an ongoing transcript, so when it comes to making them during senior year, it's a breeze! I was actually surprised to see how similar the record book I use know is to her book! With just a few tweeks, it will be very easy to start Miss Grace's high school book.
One of the big issues with homeschooling parents is grading. Obviously you need a GPA and grades on a transcript. Colleges are looking to see if a transcript lines up with the standardized test scores. Some kids don't test well, but have great GPAs, or vice versa. These could be indicators to help being needed at the college level, and colleges DO take them into account. We tend to have really high standards as home schooling parents, but they might not be realistic! I had to pause and say "WOW, that's what I'm doing", when I realized I was teaching Miss Grace on a high school level now, and expecting her to give me that level of work, when she isn't there yet! While Janice speaks about setting college standards, not high school ones, it's the same concept, and one that we all may be guilty of!
Janice gives you a basic framework for both traditional and honors class grading, & how to access coursework for grading. She takes the worry out of grading and helps you to understand and keep to a framework, to make it easier for YOU. The additional info on how to grade work experience, non-traditional classes and unit studies, is also VERY helpful and lets you see your child's coursework from a college's perspective. By the time you finish reading the grading chapter, making a transcript doesn't seem as scary as it did when you started the book!
And making a transcript CAN be easy! She not only walks you through why it is needed, and who will be wanting a copy of it, but how to make one properly! She explains the different transcript styles, the 3 parts needed on EVERY transcript, and EXACTLY what needs to be included on your child's transcript! This is the part that makes it so simple! She not only offers guidelines, she gives you SAMPLES to see exactly how the transcript SHOULD look like, and how the info should be recorded on it! This is the part that is also well updated, including info on how to address special needs you may want to include on the transcript (the chapter on record keeping with disabilities, also covers special testing needed, for documentation, that colleges MUST have in order to continue any adaptations for your child in college!).
The directions for making a high school transcript make it VERY simple- Janice starts you off with what type and color of paper to use, what fonts look best, and even what size font and spacing to use! the best part is she walks you through HOW to make the transcript using the word program you already have, one you can download for free, or via an online document editor! She literally walks you by the hand through the set up! I have never seen this in any other 'transcript how-to' book! And if that wasn't enough, she also lets you know how to use 'professional' wording for still in high school transcripts, that are needed for college and scholarship applications, and then how to update it for a final one, and who you need to send the final one off to. The best part, is if you set it up BEFORE high school starts, you can just keep updating it as the school year progresses, and not have to do it all at once Senior year, when you suddenly need 18 copies!
And that's not all that is included in the book! Janice also takes you through formatting and making a high school diploma for your child! She includes what needs to be on it, and how it should look, so that your child can have a 'traditional' diploma, they are not only proud to show off, but helps them when needed by future employers!
PLUS, you get a whole section of reproducible worksheets that cover everything you need for planning out high school, calculating the credits achieved and setting up your transcripts! This is the best part- everything is started for you. You just need to print out the sheets, and fill them out, then add to your record book, and your record keeping is easy peasy! You KNOW how much we love that!
I made use of one of the sample transcript forms to start laying out Miss Grace's high school plan. As you can see, I don't have the years noted, as right now we're still deciding what she will do in which year. And because she is ahead right now, she may actually start some courses in 8th grade. So I will either omit that column, or use the Subject transcript format (which omits year earned) instead. And that is also why she may end up with the 27 credits, 3 more than she actually needs (traditional 24). Additionally, I omitted a year from the Foreign Language section and added it to the Physical Education one, as our state has a Health component requirement. that falls under it, and she only plans on 2 years of foreign language. And the colleges she has looked at so far, only require 2, not 3. I made use of course title recommendations from our state guide, as well, but the actual CONTENT is still up to me.
For right now, in the planning stage, I also notated what course/book I plan on using, that way I not only know what I already have (check mark), but what I need to purchase! This is really helpful with all the used book sales coming up! Plus, it lets me see where she has room to decide on courses, and where they are set- based on state and college requirements. We are much farther along in planning than I had realized and I've breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that if this part is this easy, then tackling the courses should be easier than I feared as well! This book is WELL worth the cost in giving you your sanity back! And if you do suddenly question what you are doing and aren't sure, Transcripts Made Easy: The Homeschooler's Guide to High-School Paperwork is the only low-cost transcript resource that comes with free e-mail support from the author! You can't beat that!
Transcripts Made Easy is available as a downloadable e-book, a traditional paperback (136 pages), and as a print/ebook bundle. While the print copy is great, I think the ebook is the best option, because you can print out the forms and use them directly! I highly recommend anyone who is thinking about homeschooling high school to get this book! Even if you're already in the process of it, it's a valuable resource that will set you on the right path and save you valuable time and money!
Check out how my fellow Crew members are using the book, at their stages of homeschooling, for more ideas on how it can work for YOUR family too, by clicking on the picture below:
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About Janice and Everyday Education:
Janice Campbell and her husband Donald homeschooled their four sons from preschool into early college using a lifestyle of learning approach influenced by Charlotte Mason and classical education. Janice started her website in early in 2001 she wrote the first copy of Transcripts Made Easy. The book was made because she needed to make her son a high school transcript and realized there was no EASY to use resource, so she compiled all her notes and a book was born! The website came soon after, as part of an assignment for her son. She needed a webpage, where she could post articles and sell the book. Everyday Education was born and has been used ever since.
In 2005, Everyday Education became a sole proprietorship, and in 2008, it became “Everyday Education, LLC,” a limited liability company. It remains small and family-owned and operated, so if you contact us, you are likely to hear from directly from Janice, or her husband, Donald! Besides speaking around the country, Janice writes for various homeschooling magazines, as well as online sites. Janice is still spreading her wings, and this year is a speaker this year at the great Homeschool Conventions, so don't miss her talks, if you go to them!
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