My oldest is entering 9th grade this September and our homeschool high school plans will include all four years right off the bat. These curriculum & resources are the “ideal” program for my son, but they may change based on 1) budget 2) our family life 3) his interests & career path.
The great thing about homeschooling is that we can have that academic flexibility needed to accommodate and adjust over the course of years. Since he is our oldest, I also realize that things may change in ways I can’t yet understand when he gets his license, a part-time job, and/or as he matures so I am going into these last 4 years of his formal education at home (and under my supervision) with both ambition and caution.
I don’t want to put too high of expectations on him or myself but I also do not want to miss the opportunity to experience so many things with him still a child and not an adult. I LOVE learning with him, but since I do have 6 younger children my 1:1 time with him is limited.
(I also love learning with my other children, but there is just something different about going through it all for the first time with your oldest, right? Tell me I am not alone in this.)
We plan to use a mix of resources. We will use some that offer independent studies and some that can be done with me – either one on one or with his younger siblings.
Because we are currently on a tight budget, some of the curriculum and resources are being used simply because we already own them, though I would never use anything that I felt did not encourage his general knowledge, love of learning, or that was anti-Christian. I have textbooks from my own years of homeschool and others that I have simply collected over the years from used book sales or were given from other homeschool moms.
If our financial situation allows it in the future, we may adjust this plan to include more/different curriculum.
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4-year Homeschool High School Plans
Math – We will continue with Teaching Textbooks 3.0, starting with Algebra 1 in 9th-grade.
Personal Finance – Revisit Micro Business for Teens by Carol Topp & Economics For Everybody from Compass Classroom because we already own them and/or Dave Ramsey’s Foundations in Personal Finance High School Edition for Homeschool (I have not researched this option as much).
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Language Arts – In a nutshell: IEW. Specifically, we will be continuing Fix-it Grammar books 4-6 from IEW, starting IEW’s Level C writing course, revisiting Teaching the Classics & Timeline of Classics from IEW, and reading a lot of literature (see reading list below).
Science – We use Apologia now and had planned to continue, but we already have the Devotional Biology course from Compass Classroom so he will use that for 9th-grade science. After that, we will use Apologia Chemistry since we have it already.
- Throughout high school, we will study science based on his interests since I don’t feel that advanced science is needed unless it is an interest of the student. This is where our “lifestyle of learning” approach will be applied towards high school science credit … it may be accumulated from hands-on animal husbandry, horticulture, and other sciences related to homesteading/farming, plus he will be required to read science-related books from Christian/Creation Scientists (see reading list below). He might choose to take a Marine Biology course.
History – I REALLY want to continue using Tapestry of Grace, but I am not sure it will work out simply because it hasn’t been in the budget to buy the books and going to the library on a regular basis is not something I can commit to with our medical/special needs kids. On that note, we do have the American History courses from Compass Classroom that we will use for 9/10th-grade. After that, we will either go back to ToG or use Modernity – World History Curriculum from Compass Classroom.
- We have already read SO many amazing books from biblical through modern times during our 2+ years of using ToG (my own history knowledge/education was greatly expanded and enriched) and I will add more living history books whenever I can (see reading list below).
Foreign Language – We will continue Visual Latin from Compass Classroom. He also has an interest in learning other languages like Spanish or German.
Bible – He will be required to read the Bible from front to back during high school, plus a variety of nonfiction books by Christian authors (see reading list below).
Other – Guitar lessons & film-making lessons (he wants to do Filmmaking from the First Directors from Compass Classroom).
High School Reading List for Christian Homeschool
I have not chosen a complete list of titles, but rather, I have chosen a list of authors that I will require him to read 1+ books from. I have a few specific titles in mind from some of the authors but otherwise, we will choose the title together as we go along. If time allows, I may read these with him.
Nonfiction Authors
Historical Fiction Authors
As I said, this outlines the ideal homeschool high school plans for our oldest entering into 9th-grade – and the general scope & sequence of what is studied will probably stay the same – but the programs used may vary since we have no way of knowing exactly how the next four years will unfold. I hope this inspires and encourages you in your homeschooling journey, but that it does not limit you in customizing high school for your child!
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