Homeschooling High School: Our Grade 10 Curriculum
Inside: Are you homeschooling high school? Many ask what we are using for Grade 10 curriculum. Sharing our homeschool picks for the year!
We finished up our homeschool year at the end of May.
I’m not sure who was more ready for a break, me or the kids?
We spent the next week gathering information, such as final grades and samples, to send off as part of our final year-end report.
Then the “fun” began! Or so it would seem…
Choosing Grade 10 Curriculum
Life with teenagers can be tricky. Life with hormonal “I don’t know!” teenagers can be like walking in a minefield blindfolded.
My girl is heading into grade 10.
And I am torn.
She’s my “baby, ” meaning I have 3 full years left. It is bittersweet. I am so proud of all that she is and yet… I miss those chubby grubby fingers and baby snuggles.
If you are a mom of teens, you can probably relate. Time flies!
If you are not sure if you can or should homeschool the high school years, be sure to read about the 3 questions I asked to help us decide what was right for our family ♥
When what “they” say doesn’t work!
Anyway, when it came to picking out her
I shared a bit about how neither of my kids know what they want to do when they grow up and how that can cause a bit of a dilemma for mom.
After all, all the advice is “talk to your kid,” which is awesome...if your kids have a clue!
We had all our subjects nailed down but a few.
Asking her to do research and see what she liked and didn’t turn into tears and frustration.
Finally, I said, “Trade me. You do my housework, and I’ll narrow it down to a few choices, okay?”
So we did.
First, I asked her a few questions, such as what kind of program she wanted. Her answer was something she could get it done and over with.
Um. That’s love of learning right there 😛
I dug out my two favorite resources for planning, The Well Trained Mind and Cure The Fear. I also reached out to our online community to see what was working for working moms who homeschool.
The beautifully printed planning sheets you see are from Cure The Fear! Click here to read more about how I use that book for homeschooling high school.
The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home
Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School: A Step-by-Step Handbook for Research & Planning
After all, I needed something that she could do on her own, online or offline components, that was checklist driven and not an online instructor.
This is where those awesome reviews and free testing trials come into play.
Grade 10 Curriculum Choices:
Here are our final choices and what was submitted. We are waiting back to hear if they are approved therefore, these may change.
Math:
After trying and failing at so many math programs, we find CTC Math CTC Math is the best fit.
This online program has the option to print some lessons, and keep records, and they can learn at their own pace.
I love that when she completes a section, it will send me a printable award. Simple, but she loves it!
She still struggles with math programs as a whole, but she likes CTC Math the best out of all the programs she’s tried.
Her brother sits and helps her when she gets stuck. He also wrote out this great list of 5 free math sites to help her out when he can’t.
We also use Thinkster Math for a while for one on one tutoring.
Language Arts:
This was the cause of the major meltdown. She knew what she did NOT want. In grade 8, she loved Easy Peasy, last year, nope!
We decided to try this brand new program was released called Poetry and a Movie: A Poetry Study for High School
This course has all the elements you need for a full-year language arts course for high school!
UPDATE: Read our full review here! OR click here and use the discount code WHSM for 20% off!
Science:
We love to supplement our science with our favorite subscription boxes, e-books, and fun experiments the kids find.
This year her base will be Oceanography With Lab from All in One Homeschool.
So far she has chosen several experiments from STEAM Kids in the Kitchen. I snagged the E-book, which you can get here.
History Canadian:
Last year we did an introduction to Canadian History. This year she is building on that with the Visions and Voices Textbook and she will notebook, do research and keep a timeline.
I shared all our Canadian History Unit Study Resources here: A Beginners Guide To Canadian History: Notebooking Pages, Books and More!
We decided to add in the Canadian Time Capsule for fun!
Art:
This past year she has decided to start Drawing Professionally. Not a week in, and she was hating everything she did. I hated watching her self-confidence drop like a rock.
We switched to Art School: Drawing 101 by Masterpiece Society, and she loves it!
She also
Cooking & Baking:
Since starting the Kids Cook Real Food E-course she has really taken off.
Last year she dove deep into the world of cake decorating, creating her own recipes, and cooking in the kitchen.
She will continue to work through the Kids Cook Real Food E-course and help in the kitchen making meals and meal prepping.
She bakes once a week, and does all the recipe research, including pricing and budgeting.
Health:
We are a pretty active family and will be aiming for 30 minutes a day. These will include swimming, skating, mountain biking, hiking, and shoveling snow.
Health we will be using Physical Fitness: Looking Good, Feeling Good as our spine.
And since the new puppy will need a ton of exercise, we’ll add puppy training classes to the fun.
Grade 10 Curriculum Plan
There you have it our “tentative” 10th-grade plan!
You might think that high school is scary. I sure did. I have learned that it is great to be able to step back and let her take responsibility for her education.
Even if she balks and cries sometimes. 😉 When I stepped back and narrowed the choices down to a few, it really helped her focus and make a decision.
It was a great reminder to always do things in a way that works for our kids.
Are you homeschooling high school? What is your favorite curriculum you are using?
Many freak out about the very idea of homeschooling high school. I know I did! I thought it was going to be horrible and scary. It wasn’t. If you are worried that you can’t do this, breathe deep, momma, and repeat after me, “I got this!” Have a little faith and trust in you <3
I LOVE this book to help me cure the fear and overwhelm of homeschooling high school. Read my review here: Cure The Fear: A Powerful Tool To Help You Homeschool High School With Confidence
Hi, I’m Jen. I help working moms juggle their career and homeschool their kids by providing support, systems and tools. You are warmly invited to Join the Online Community Here!
