Homeschooling Grade 12: Our Curriculum Choices For High School

Are you homeschooling high school? Many ask what we are using for Grade 12 programs and curriculum. Sharing our homeschool choices for the year! 

My son is going into grade 12 and I am a little shell shocked. I am amazed that we are still homeschooling. Homeschooling high school at that.

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Homeschooling has always been one of those things I never planned. I didn’t plan on homeschooling, I never planned on homeschooling high school and I certainly never planned on working while I did it.

Alas, here we are in our last year.

I always said that homeschooling was one of those things that you don’t really know if you are making the right choice until you look back.

Standing here so close to the finish line, I can honestly say homeschooling has been the BEST choice for my son.

If you are a mom of a teen you can probably relate. Time flies! 

And before you know it you are facing the question: Do I homeschool the high school years or not?

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 ♥

Tips For Choosing High School Curriculum:

Now that your kids are older your homeschool will change, you’ve shifted roles from “I teach and control all the things” and moved into a supporting role for high school.

Therefore it is vital that you consider these tips when homeschooling a high schooler:

1. Plan your high school years carefully.

By grade 12 your teen may be tired and burned out. One of my treasured tips from Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School: How to Be Sure You’re Not Missing Anything by Ann Karako was to plan the last year to be lighter.

We stacked credits for the other years so he’d only have the minimum credits left for Grade 12, a grand total of 5.

For all help planning and credit wise etc. I used Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School: How to Be Sure You’re Not Missing Anything (review here) along with The Well Trained Mind for curriculum ideas.

Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School: A Step-by-Step Handbook for Research & Planning

 

2. Talk to your teen.

Every homeschool year it is important to talk to your kids before you do any homeschool planning but it is VITAL at this stage in your homeschool journey.

Before you make any decisions talk to your kids.

It might surprise you that they have already given this last high school year a lot of thought. They may know exactly where they are going in life and how they want to get there.

Make sure their course of study will help them get there.

3. Educate Yourself, Yes YOU!

One way to overcome the fear of anything is to learn more about it. The same is true for homeschooling the last year of high school.

It is never too late to learn more. Find out the requirements your child will need to meet. I called the local Colleges and University and asked. Learning the answers gave me a huge sense of relief.

Learn about exams they can take to make getting into College and University faster and more affordable for you and them, such as the CLEP and DSST.

Once you know this, plan to meet these requirements.

Learn about credits and transcripts. I called my homeschool board only to discover they did not count credits. Talk about freedom!!

True, he won’t get a government-issued diploma but I already know that he can take an entrance exam for community college because I called to find out.

Educate yourself so you know what to expect and get your child involved in the process!

Tips For Planning High School For The Child That Has No Direction

It’s okay if your child has no idea what they want to do when they finish high school.

Maybe you are stressing out because everyone is asking. Maybe you think because your child doesn’t have a clue you failed in some way. Let me assure you, you have NOT failed.

Think back to when you were in Grade 12. Did you know what you wanted to do? Has that dream changed over time? I’m betting it has.

All in all, it is okay. Really. You’ll figure this out.

Make a date with your child. Sit and chat one on one. Ask questions such as:

• Can you tell me what topics you are interested in learning about?
• What do you want to learn?
• What do you NOT want to learn about?
• Which format did you find the easiest to understand, videos? Audio? Written? Or a mix?
• What goals do you want to reach for this year?
• What dreams do you have?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help narrow your focus and help you plan your homeschool year.

Grade 12 Curriculum Choices:

I’ll be sharing what we are planning on using for Grade 12 because one of the biggest challenges of homeschooling and working is finding curricula that will work for you and your family.

Checking out what others are using is a great way to get new ideas to see what might work for you!

By the way, I’ll include clickable links and reviews when possible. I find personally that is the best way to see how something might work.

High School Planner:

One of the most important things I did this past year was to get my kids to start planning their own time.

Learning to set goals and manage their time wisely will be skills they will continue to use for life… I hope!

Unlike my daughter who loves planning, my son is not a fan. I really struggled with finding a planner he will use.

If your kids like online planners, I highly recommend Homeschool Planet (review) or Flexible Homeschool (review). As you can see I’ve used both. I prefer Homeschool Planet as it handles everything I can throw at it but if you want a simple and focused online planner, Flexible planner is perfect!

High School Math:

This year his plan is to finish off  Geometry from All In One Homeschool.

By the way, if you are listing it on your transcript I highly recommend you use that title ^^ instead of “Easy Peasy”. I was informed it sounds more professional.

He will also be doing a Business Math Online Course to learn more about budgeting and taxes!

High School Language Arts:

My son loves the Writing With Skill series and has completed the first two. This year he will finish Writing With Skill Student Workbook Level 3.

And I’ll be getting the Writing With Skill Instructor Text Level 3 for me!

This series is actually designed to be a one year course of study. However, I decided to break it up and combine it with Analytical Grammar.

He will continue on with this series and for grammar, he will use Analytical Grammar which can be broken down to a 3-year program.

You can also get it here on Amazon: Analytical Grammar, a Systematic Approach to Language Mastery Teachers Book & Student Book. 

We will be finishing year 3. He loves this program. I hate it. I’m glad to be DONE!

High School Science:

We love to supplement our science with our favorite subscription boxes, e-books and fun experiments the kids find.

This year his base will be Biology with Lab from All In One High School. This is the high school site of Easy Peasy.

High School Health & Physical Education:

Although we are a very active family my son would just rather not.

However, I am sticking with my 30 minutes of outside and unplug rule I’ve had since they were little. We also hike, bike, and do a ton of nature walks.

He is also in charge of push mowing the grass and we have over 2 acres to do. It takes a few hours and its a great workout!

We feel educating our kids on their food and activity choices is vital to raising healthy adults. He’s been learning about food, cooking and working out as part of our lifestyle for years, although not very enthusiastic about the whole thing.

Here are a few resources we’ve used:

• Kids Cook Real Food. Not only does this program teach basic cooking skills but it encourages them to think about what is IN their food. You can read our full review here.
• How to Read Nutrition Labels for Kids: This is a 2 part video + Worksheet activity that teaches our kids how to read nutrition labels in the video so they can make informed, healthy decisions.
• Living the Good Life by David Patchell-Evans: this book came with the membership and includes his personal story, the basics of fitness, balanced health.
• Choose My Plate: Helps you learn more about building healthy food and physical activity habits will help teens now and as they enter adulthood.

High School Cooking:

Last year, he decided to cook one dinner meal a week. This will continue and include writing the grocery list, buying the food, preparing, cooking and clean up.

He started last summer by working on his knife skills and helping prepare dinners with me or his father.

Since then he’s moved on to both the Instant Pot course for kids and the full E-course Kids Cook Real Food.

You can read all our thoughts on this program here: Homeschool Cooking Curriculum We Love – Our Experience With the Kids Cook Real Food Program

He is still NOT a fan of cooking but does chip in when required. He’s made some great meals over the past year. He loves to experiment which I’ve always encouraged. Playing with your food in a good way!

He has also helped me create a great kid-friendly cookbook for kids and worked hard in testing them out and making suggestions. You can see that here.

High School Foreign Language:

He has been learning French over the last few years using  Breaking The Barrier French along with Duolingo.

Honestly, I don’t recommend Breaking The Barrier unless you have some knowledge of the language yourself. He struggled big time.

However, he says it is okay and he has to spend some time researching how the phrases will go.

We also find that if he also reads along with audiobooks and magazines it raellly helps him to make the connections.

The ideal way to learn any language is to talk with someone else but since he refuses to do any type of live classes this is what we’ve been using.

On the other hand, Duolingo has come a long way and he is really enjoying it!

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There you have it our curriculum plan for Grade 12.

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 him take responsibility for his education.

This year was so much easier than I thought it would be. We went through the books, dug out last years 4 year plan and saw what was missing. Adjusted and look at what was working and what wasn’t.

Now that we are entering our final year, I must admit I am torn. I am sad I’ve got just one year left and yet I am proud and amazed to be part of this journey.

Are you homeschooling high school? What is your favorite curriculum you are using for grade 12?

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 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

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