Homeschooling High School: Letters of Recommendation

Planning for Letters of Recommendation

Letters of Recommendation: What are they?

Letters of recommendation are recommendations for your child, written by individuals who have been part of their high school career. Colleges generally ask for 1-3 letters to be submitted and often request that one or more are from an academic teacher. These cannot be written by a parent (you’ll get your chance to share your praise in the counselor letter!) and are not gathered or viewed by the parent or student. The letters are submitted directly to the college by the recommender either through the Common App or the college's application process.

How Do I Find a Recommender?

While letters cannot be submitted until your child has open college applications (usually their senior year), you should be on the lookout for, and strategizing about recommendation possibilities throughout your child’s high school years. Keep the need for recommenders in mind as you are planning classes and activities and look for opportunities for your child to make connections.

Possible sources of recommendations are co-op or outside provider teachers, dual enrollment instructors, coaches, mentors, volunteer coordinators, and employers. Students in public and private schools have these relationships built into their high school years but homeschoolers will need to find and create opportunities for these relationships to occur.

Keep in mind! Letters of recommendation are one reason to take outside courses. However, it’s not enough to just take the course. Your student also needs to establish a relationship with the instructor. They should be actively participating in the class and also communicating directly with the instructor: asking questions, requesting feedback, etc. This will give the instructor insight into your child and help them feel confident about agreeing to write a recommendation.

Additional Resources

Homeschooling for College Credit: Help! We Need a Letter of Recommendation from a Teacher
The HomeScholar: How to Get a Great Letter of Recommendation

For more homeschooling high school information check out our Homeschooling High School Series

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Learning Through Travel: Why Homeschool Families Will Love The Capitol Collection

By Melissa Robb • February 12, 2026

Some of the best learning my family has done didn’t happen sitting at the kitchen table. It happened walking through old buildings, asking questions, and seeing things with our own eyes. State capitol buildings are among our favorite stops, we learn so much about a state by visiting these unique and beautiful buildings. If your family likes to travel—or even just take day trips— The Capitol Collection is a wonderful way to turn those outings into something meaningful and memorable. It is a souvenir passbook ($15) that helps families keep track of visits to state capitol buildings. Each visit becomes more than just a stop along the way—it becomes part of your family’s story. Turning Trips Into Adventures Kids love having a purpose, and visiting capitols gives them one. Instead of just passing through a city, they’re exploring, noticing details, and looking forward to marking another visit in their book. Over time, those pages fill up with memories, and the learning happens naturally along the way. It doesn’t feel like “doing school”—it just feels like life. That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about homeschooling. Learning doesn’t have to be complicated to be meaningful. Our Family’s Story This means a lot to me because of our own experience. Our family has visited 22 state capitols so far. Our first recorded visit was Pierre, South Dakota in 2009 when my son was 10 years old , and at first it was just something fun to do while we traveled. I never imagined how much it would shape him. One of my favorite memories is a tradition he started. Whenever a capitol had a rotunda, he would lie down on the floor and just look up at the dome. He would study the paintings, the shapes, the light—just taking it all in and thinking what that epic element represented. Those quiet moments often turned into some of our best conversations later. At the Oregon state house we were even able to go up INTO the dome, what a climb! Over the years, those visits led to many talks about history, government, and how laws are made. The experience stayed with him so strongly that he even wrote about it in his law school application essay . Visiting state capitols has expanded to exploring government building internationally such as the Reichstag in Germany and Canada’s Parliament in Ottawa. As a parent, it’s an amazing thing to see something that started as a simple family outing become part of your child’s future. Most recently, we visited Maryland’s capitol during a trip to Annapolis. My son is a young man now and living on his own, but when we travel together, this is still something we do. That’s what makes experiences like this so special—they grow with your children. Why Capitol Buildings Are Such Powerful Learning Spaces State capitol buildings offer a unique blend of subjects all in one place: Civics and government come to life when children see legislative chambers and learn how decisions are made. Local history becomes tangible through exhibits, memorials, and stories tied to each state. Art and architecture surround you, often reflecting the values and culture of the region. Critical thinking and curiosity grow naturally as kids ask questions and make connections. Best of all, these lessons don’t feel forced. They happen through exploration and conversation—often led by the child’s own interests. A Journey Worth Remembering Looking back, I’m so thankful we took the time to stop, explore, and learn together. Those capitol visits weren’t just educational—they were time spent together, sharing discoveries and building memories we still talk about years later. Whether your family visits one capitol or dreams of all fifty, the important part isn’t the number. It’s the time spent learning side by side. (There is a Facebook group for this hobby. It’s small but would be a great way for families to share their experiences!)