How to Homeschool High School {Question of the Day}

Here’s a comment I had on my blog this week . . .

I really enjoy all your post and topics on homeschooling, however my daughter is in 9th grd this year. I want to homeschool but have no clue where to begin. If you could give me beginner pointers I would be very grateful. Thank u much.

First of all, there are so many ideas running around in my head, I’m sure I won’t cover them all as I try to answer this question.

Congrats on considering homeschool in high school!

I loved homeschooling my kids in high school because I learned so much along the way.  As many of you know I believe in a leadership style of homeschooling.  In high school, your kids should have some freedom on the topics they study.  Use the topics of their interest to mold their high school studies.

Having said that, here’s what we did personally.

There were certain subjects that were family requirements, such as humanities (includes history, literature & writing).  After humanities, we worked with the kids according to their interest and direction in life.

My girls did not like math and Ashley never finished Algebra 2.  She struggled with College Math, but got some help from a young man she knew (now her hubby, Jesse :-)) We knew she wouldn’t be in a math field so this was not a big deal to us.  Ashley loved science, so I found a tutor for dissections at our home and bought chemistry kits for her studies.

Gentry completed Algebra 2 and did great in College Math.  In fact, she now helps her friends in math.  We laugh about it now.  Once again, she was interested in sports & coaching, so math was not as important.  Gentry loved literature, so we created projects around classic books for her.

Both the girls were interested in Astronomy, so we found an online Astronomy class for them.  We also spent evenings looking at the stars.  We even took a trip to Goldendale and looked through the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Hunter loved Math and made it through Calculus.

That’s just a glimpse of how we tailored the kids’ studies.

There are a multitude of choices in curriculum for homeschooling high school.  Here are a few that worked well for us:

Math – Saxon Math with DIVE cd’s (We used Math-U-See until high school)

Humanities (history, literature, writing) – King’s Meadow (formerly Gileskirk) or TruthQuest History
I am researching Mystery of History to see how that might have worked in our family.
The most important aspect of this curriculum choice is having a Biblical worldview.
Add field trips to enrich your studies.

Science – Apologia

Writing – Institute for Excellence in Writing
We used Advanced Communication Series & Student Intensive Continuation Course – Level C because that was about all the homeschool high school resources they had at the time.

If I had the current  IEW resources, I would choose Windows to the World, Excellence in Literature, Writing Research Papers in my high school homeschool.

Literature – If you need help, consider classes from Wes Callihan. My kids took a few of his classes at Schola Tutorials

Homemaking – Interior decorating – redecorate your own room.  Cook & sew with mom

Art – Find local art classes or take classes from Potter’s School

Music – Find local music classes

P.E. – Play sports

Drama – Participate in a local theater

If there is a subject area you don’t feel you can teach your kids, consider classes at the Potter’s School.

If your kids plan to go to college, find out what the requirements and structure their homeschool high school accordingly.

No matter what you do in your homeschool high school, I strongly suggest you encourage your kids in Bible study.  Be sure you are having family devotions & discussing current events from a Biblical worldview.  This is imperative to give them a strong spiritual foundation as they graduate and move on in their life.

Question: What resources have been helpful to you in homeschooling high school? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Save

There may be affiliate links used in this post.