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Normally, I would post our curriculum picks at the beginning of the year. This year, I made a bunch of last minute changes as we made a late decision to join an academic co-op. I’m still deciding how I feel about homeschooling high school through a co-op, but I will write more about that later.
Homeschool Curriculum Changes
Like I said, joining the co-op required some last minute curriculum changes. I was all set with a highschool plan, but my oldest definitely benefits from the interaction he gets in a social learning environment. So, we changed things up and had to make some curriculum compromises to align with the co-op.
Switching Homeschool Curriculum: Why It’s Okay and Even a Good Thing
What is Required for Homeschooling High School?
I am planning on writing more posts about the specifics about homeschooling highschool, as there is a lot of bad information out there. It’s really not as complicated as some make it out to be. If you are in a state that has graduation requirements for homeschoolers, then obviously you need to meet those requirements.
While we live in a state that doesn’t have specific graduation requirements for homeschoolers, there are still basic standards we want to meet to prepare for the future. I will write those in another post, but I will say I want to balance the freedom and flexibility that homeschooling brings with preparing for future pursuits.
Homeschool Curriculum for High School – My Homeschool with a View
High School Math Homeschool Curriculum
For math this year we started with Math U See. MUS is a great math curriculum and sometimes I find the teaching mind-blowing in how it explains a concept in a way that I never understood before. Other times, it left both my son and me with more confusion than when we started.
I had the opportunity to try CTCMath while doing a sponsored post for them. I had actually used this program in the past, but the computer based math wasn’t a good fit when my son was elementary age. After writing this post, I started feeling that CTCMath might be a better fit.
At the beginning of the year, I gave my son the choice between Math U See and CTCMath for the year. I had access to both programs, and I figured either one would be a great choice. He chose to stick with Math U See.
After getting stuck on some concepts in MUS, we decided to try CTC to see if it explained the concept better. He is now working through all of the Algebra lessons in CTCMath. Never be afraid to switch homeschool curriculum.
This has been the perfect switch for him. The immediate feedback he gets from CTCMath helps him see if he actually understands a concept. He actually does the lessons until he can get one hundred percent because he likes the feedback of the confetti and congratulations on the screen. This is working well for him so we will keep going with CTCMath for now.
High School Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum
This year for Language Arts he is using The Good and the Beautiful. We have always done Essentials in Writing and then added Essentials in Literature, but decided to try out TGATB this year.
I like that The Good and the Beautiful is an all in one language arts program. It also covers geography and art and it is broken up into ten units for the year. I love that it covers so many subjects and I don’t need to add things like a separate vocabulary program.
The writing instruction with The Good and the Beautiful is lacking. There are writing assignments with a rubric to follow, but there’s not much instruction. For us, this is okay for this year as he has had a lot of instruction in the past. I don’t know if we will stick with this program for all of high school, but I do like it.
Should Christians Use The Good and the Beautiful Curriculum?
Homeschooling High School Literature Curriculum
While the Language Arts curriculum covers literature, this is also a co-op class he is taking. We are kind of doubled up on literature, but he likes to read so it works. Here is the book list that his literature class is using this year.
High School History Homeschool Curriculum
My plan for homeschooling high school history this year was The Good and the Beautiful. We actually started this in the spring, and if I were to write my own history curriculum, this is exactly what it would look like. Both of my kids were really enjoying this history. I did question if it was rigorous enough for high school. That is saying a lot as I don’t believe curriculum, especially for history, needs to be rigorous. Anyway, I was feeling like I may need to add to it for high school.
Joining the co-op this year meant that we had to use the history curriculum that they are using. So, my ninth grader is using Compass Classroom: Antiquity this year. This is definitely a full curriculum. It is video based with added readings from source texts, poems and more. There are five video lectures a week that tend to be a little long, but my son is enjoying it.
High School Science Homeschool Curriculum
Science is the one subject I really, really, really wanted to outsource this year. This is what started us down the path of joining a co-op. I am not a sciency person and if I didn’t outsource this subject, we would be using Greg Landry’s because I need the teaching done for me.
The co-op is using The Riot and the Dance for homeschool biology. This is probably not a curriculum I would choose on my own, but it works since I am not teaching. The co-op goes over the teaching and the labs, so my son just does the reading and questions at home.
Homeschooling High School Electives
We aren’t doing as many elective this year as I would like, as homeschooling alongside a co-op class is a completely different way of homeschooling than what I am used to. Some of our electives we are doing through the co-op, and one we are doing on our own.
Logic
For logic he is using Art of Argument and the Thinking Toolbox. This is a class that he is taking through our co-op. He enjoys the teaching and likes learning logic. I don’t love Art of Argument, but when it’s used as more of a guide and not a curriculum it works well.
Leadership and Discipleship
This is another co-op class where there is not an actual curriculum. Here is the list of books he is reading for this class.
Thank You for Coming to My Ted Talk
Computer Coding
This is his favorite thing to do and something I definitely don’t understand. This year he is taking an online Introduction to Coding class and next year we are hoping to pursue some sort of professional certifications. I know nothing about coding or software development, so if any of my lovely readeres do, I would welcome some guidance.
Music
He is continuing to take guitar and voice lessons this year. His love for music is something that came as a surprise to me once he started taking lessons. I love that my kids have both developed a love for the arts.
I am definitely looking at adding more electives next year, like foreign language. This year I decided to focus more on core learning and just using the electives offered through our co-op.
Homeschooling Ninth Grade
That wraps up what we’re doing for ninth grade. Homeschooling high school really isn’t as daunting as it may seem. For the most part, this is just a continuation of what we’ve always done.
How are you homeschooling ninth grade? Tell me in the comments.