How do I homeschool my eclectic high schooler?
When you begin thinking about homeschooling high school, a certain amount of anxiety can creep into your thoughts. Maybe you’re concerned about teaching algebra, helping your students analyze literature, grading students’ essays, or having your children dissect a frog on your table.
Mom, you are not alone in this!
I have some great news for you! You have a variety of quality high school curriculum resources designed specifically for homeschoolers available to you. YOU don’t have to be an expert in every subject to teach your high school students!
Short of buying an all-in-one curriculum, what’s a homeschool mom to do? For those who like to pick-and-choose specific resources for each area of study, we’ve put together a list of our top picks for high school curriculum.
Analytical Grammar. This step-by-step program is designed to be done over three seasons, but can easily be adapted to one or two years of study if needed. This is a thorough grammar program that teaches the parts of speech, phrases and clauses, mechanics, common usage errors, and sentence diagramming.
Brave Writer. It offers a variety of products for teaching teens to write, including a self-directed writing program, Help for High School, as well as a variety of online classes. Brave Writer encourages students to find their unique writing voice and use it even when writing essays. The first part of the course exercises the student’s creative writing muscles while the second part takes students step-by-step through how to write several different types of essays.
Learning Language Arts Through Literature. LLATL is a living-books curriculum based on the methods of Dr. Ruth Beechick. The high school curriculum includes World, British, and American Literature as well as Literary criticism. If you are drawn to a common sense, natural approach to teaching language arts, you’ll want to check this one out.
Wordsmith Craftsman. This writing curriculum includes instruction on a variety of skills such as note-taking, outlining, letter writing, and more. Teens will learn to write descriptive, narrative, expository, critical, and persuasive essays as well.
WriteShop. WriteShop I and Writeshop II cover all of your students’ writing instruction needs for grades 6 through 12 with incremental lessons. The best part: if you are nervous about teaching writing, you’ll find plenty of support using the teacher’s manual. You’ll have checklists and grading forms to guide you. A video course is also available.
Progeny Press. Progeny press gives you an extensive selection of literary guides that include thoughtful discussion questions that will help your teens really think about what they are reading. You’ll love using this guide to have great conversations with your teens!
CTC Math. CTC math is a self-paced, online math curriculum. It includes video tutorials, interactive questions, worksheets and solutions, and progress reports. This is perfect for the parent who isn’t comfortable teaching high school math.
Math-U-See. This curriculum has been popular with homeschoolers for years. Mr. Demme teaches students why and not just how when it comes to solving math problems. Video and online resources are available as well as physical workbooks.
Teaching Textbooks. Teaching Textbooks is another option for self-directed math study during the high school years. The online subscription service programs include Pre-algebra, Algebra I & II, Geometry, and Pre-calculus. You can sign up for a free trial and they even offer a large family discount plan!
Apologia. Apologia is an award-winning science curriculum for students from K—12th grade. High school courses are offered through multiple formats so you can choose what’s best for your family including self-paced and live courses, as well as the more traditional textbook approach at home. With the Student Notebooks, your teens will also learn valuable skills such as note-taking and how to schedule their time.
The 101 Series. This series is available online or in DVD formats. The website states, “The 101 series was created using rich visuals in video presentations to help high school students easily understand the sciences.” So much of science is understandable for anyone, and this series emphasizes the wonder of learning it.
GeoMatters. GeoMatters offers a variety of resources for teaching geography whether you want to do it as a stand alone course, or incorporate it into your other studies. The unique approach to studying geography in the Trail Guide to US Geography and Trail Guide to World Geography means you can teach all of your children, from elementary through high school, with the same resource.
Notgrass Exploring World Geography. This new course is a one year study and can be used to assign credits in World Geography, English, and Bible with the literature pack. Though it has a textbook feel, the writing is in a conversational tone that keeps teens interest.
Notgrass. Notgrass’ high school history curriculum includes World History, American History, and semester courses in both Economics and Government. When you add in their World Geography, students will have completed a typical course of history/social studies. A literature pack is available and questions, writing assignments, projects, and Bible memory work are included. This curriculum can be used for credits in History, English, and Bible.
Mystery of History. This history curriculum is a complete, chronological study of world history from a Christian worldview. This history curriculum is designed for all ages with specific guidance on their website on how to use it with each age group—which means you can use it with all of your children at once!
All of these resources are excellent. When it comes to choosing what you will use, consider the following:
Talk to your teen and let them help decide! The more invested they are in the decision process, the more invested they will be in their learning.
You have so much freedom in homeschooling the high school years. Don’t stress about finding the perfect resource—there really aren’t any perfect ones anyway. Instead, focus on using whatever you choose fully, and trusting God to lead you to what will work for your teens.
HIGH SCHOOL CHARACTER BUILDING WORKBOOK
Your teen is unique, and so their character education should be too! We want to share with you the very best curriculum—one you design yourself.
We’ve created a resource to help you with each step of creating your own high school character curriculum. It includes the exact steps you need to take, worksheets, character traits to consider, an activities list, and so much more!
The High School Course of Study & Planning Workbook will simplify the planning process for you and your high schoolers. In it, you will: Learn the four steps you need in order to make an overall plan for your high school teens.
At The Character Corner, we want to take the fear and the overwhelm out of homeschooling high school so you can spend your time and energy on the thing that matters the most: your relationship with your teens. Grab yours today to get started!
