Highschool curriculum

[tcolwell]

Next year will be our first year homeschooling. I will have a 9th grader, 7th grader, and one in kindergarten. I am having a hard time finding curriculum for my older two, especially for 9th grade. I think I have math figured out but I need something for history, science, and English that my older two can do independently since I will have to focus a lot of attention on my youngest. Any suggestions? Thanks

[Tess in the Burbs]

Honestly, you won't know how independent your older ones will be until you actually start homeschooling.  I have an older child that still needs a lot of attention/asksmequestionsnonstop and then I have a younger kid who is very independent and never needs help with anything.  I had to adjust a lot for 9th grade this year simply b/c the child wasn't independent enough.  It's been a progress this year and I hope 10th will be better.   

 

I would suggest reading Well Trained Mind, and then go look up the vendor list at a large homeschool convention and look through options for high school.  Cathy Duffy Reviews has links to reviews and she has a book for the top curriculum.  This book also has a learning style quiz for you and kids.  If you are close enough to a state convention, go!  Your city might have a used homeschool curriculum store as well.  If you know other homeschoolers ask to see what curriculum they have been using.  The more you can see the better choice you will make.  But most homeschoolers have to adjust, especially the first year as you figure out what will work in your home with your kids.  By high school my kids had heavy input to curriculum.  What I would want them to do and what they are willing to do were vastly different.  We have bought and dumped curriculum the first month into a new year several times.  And all this leads to a bigger question of what kind of homeschool are you hoping to implement in your home?  History can be taught together.  Lots of options for group history.  Or do you want/need them separate?  Does your state law require a set list of classes for graduation?  So many questions to figure out answers for before asking about curriculum.  

And K?  We never did more than an hour of seat work in K.  In fact I think after learning to read, write, and do basic math we just played.  A lot.  You don't need a lot of time with your K'er.  Except to play.  

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Next year will be our first year homeschooling. I will have a 9th grader, 7th grader, and one in kindergarten. I am having a hard time finding curriculum for my older two, especially for 9th grade. I think I have math figured out but I need something for history, science, and English that my older two can do independently since I will have to focus a lot of attention on my youngest. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

First year homeschooling - if your rising 7th and 9th graders have never been homeschooled, I would not expect them to be successful at working independently. If you don't have time to teach them, consider other options such as leaving them in school, switching to a different school, or utilizing co-ops and online schools (private or ps) that have teachers.

 

There will be homeschoolers who disagree with me. They'll suggest ACE Paces and Lifepacs and other such materials, and tell you that there's no reason your 7th and 9th graders can't be completely independent. But having raised four children (graduated two), homeschooling all the way, I can tell you that experienced hs'ers know that while independence level certainly grows over time, it's probably not best to start one's homeschooling career that way.

[Omma]

I have heard that it can take some time to 'decompress' from public school and switch to the homeschool environment.  Are your dc willing and eager to switch?  Would you consider distance learning or online courses?  Another item to think about is to 'ramp up' to the new school year by not starting every subject at once on the same day, but to introduce subjects gradually.

 

And, wow, I can see you are very new as this is your first post.  Lots to glean, but it will be exciting.  Try to go on some fun educational field trips or outings while others are in school to showcase the fun difference when you do school from home.  But make sure you also have a schedule or you may find you are not really getting as much schoolwork done as you thought you were.  I know...both sides of the spectrum.  Part of it depends on the personality types of both you and your dc and whether you are driven and goal-oriented or relaxed, etc. 

 

Blessings on your new venture, BTW!!!

 

Brenda

Edited May 17, 2017 by Omma

[OneStepAtATime]

Welcome!  

 

As for your request for independent material, are you seeking more of a public school at home scenario, where all the classes are through someone else that structures the due dates and materials and provides all the feedback and grades?  Maybe something on-line would work better in that scenario.  Is there a possibility at least some of your kids might go back to a brick and mortar school after this year?  Even using something like I mentioned above, most kids at those ages will still need the support of a parent to keep track of everything.  Independence comes with time, lots of healthy modeling of how to function, and also usually some innate organizational ability (or a person willing to take years to teach organization in a systematic and supportive way if they do not have this ability to begin with).

 

 Or are you intending to do the grading and the bulk of the teaching but want the daily assignments to be more independent?  Or...?  In other words, just how independent are you expecting them to be?  

 

How independently do they function already?  Are they really good at self starting?  Do they have great executive function/organizational skills?  Are they really on board with homeschooling?  Are they very social?  

 

If they have been in a brick and mortar setting they probably are used to everything being scheduled for them.  It is not very realistic to just turn them over to a curriculum and expect them to be able to function without significant initial help in how to study, how to schedule their time, what to do if they hit snags, what to do if the material is too easy, etc.  Most kids still need a facilitator to help them learn at those ages and to stay organized.  They don't usually do well without some structure and feedback.  

 

There are plenty of materials to choose from but I strongly urge you to set up a system where you are involved daily in what and how they are learning.  They will need time to adjust to homeschooling.

 

As for the materials themselves, the one I would be most concerned about is the 9th grader.  What is required for graduation in your area?  What records do you have to keep?  Have you looked at the homeschooling laws and requirements in your area?  Do you live someplace with strict rules or is it pretty flexible?  Is your child intending to go to college?  Competitive Ivy league?  Standard 4 year Uni?  May do CC first then transfer?  Technical college?  No higher level education right out of High School but maybe further down the line?

 

As for the Kindergartner, I agree with upthread, the kiddo in Kinder shouldn't need nearly as much instruction.  Just a little bit each day.  The rest of the time you will need to find ways to keep them occupied while you work with your older two.  Kindergartners really don't need a lot of instruction.  They are hardwired to learn through play.  

 

 

[Guest]

Welcome!! I agree with a lot of the advice you're getting. I would worry the least about the K'er and focus more on helping your older kids adapt. You can knock out K in less than an hour. 

 

I started homeschooling my oldest in 7th grade. I followed the advice to use a box curriculum for the first year (Sonlight) and it worked out well for us- I had two very young children in addition when we started. (not quite 2&3 years old)  I greatly overestimated my daughter's independence level. It's a big transition and definitely expect some handholding. Even if you use online classes, they're going to need help managing assignments, workload and everything else, so definitely account for that. Their independence may or may not grow quickly and you can adjust from there, but plan on a lot of oversight for both. And probably for a while continuing with the 7th grader. At that age they can be a bit dreamy and harder to keep on task. 

[Saddlemomma]

For your older ones, it's really important to understand how they learn. Are they visual, kinesthetic, or audio learners, etc.?  For instance, my DD will also be entering 9th in the fall. This will be our first high school year; my first and only high schooler.  However, I know, by now, that DD learns best through a mix of lectures and reading. She absolutely hates hands-on stuff.  I also know that she always needs to be doing something with her hands while listening to a lecture or me reading to her.

 

Having this info, I've geared her classes towards a mix of GCP Courses, textbooks, living books, academic papers, and documentaries.  I've also asked for her input regarding which classes she would like to study.  The only caveats I provided was that we would be doing Ancient History next year, finish GCP Joy of Science (which she loves) for a credit in Conceptual Integrated Science, take a foreign language, and Geometry.  This was fine because she really loves Ancient History.  It didn't matter which math because she HATES any math.  So, based upon that info, she came up with the following electives on her own:

• GCP Ancient Astronomy (I purchased two books to flesh this out)
• GCP Masters of War: Histories Greatest Strategic Thinkers (The Art of War & 33 Strategies of War will be her texts for this one)
• GCP Mythology w/concentration on Mesopotamian Myths correlating with the Bible (Lots of material for this which will dovetail nicely with our Lit)
• GCP Masterpieces of the Ancient World (One lecture/week because she will already be taking an art class at the local high school)

For a foreign language, she chose Japanese.  Thankfully, Duolingo will begin offering that tomorrow. I'm also getting a book for her with an accompanying website to facilitate this difficult choice.  She's highly motivated to learn this rather than the Spanish I had planned, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

 

That's our plan anyway.  Keep it geared towards DD's interests and learning style then build around those classes.

[Garga]

Focus on the 9th grader's need first.  And by needs, I'm meaning that the things you teach in 9th grade this year, need to be on a transcript for colleges.  You need to be thinking clearly of what you need to teach the 9th grader for him/her to go to college.  This is vital.  Most colleges want things like 4 years of English, 2-3 years of science, including labs, etc.  I went to a few college's websites to see what sorts of requirements they had for incoming freshmen.

 

You'll need to come up with a grade for each class for the transcript as well.  This means that if you leave your 9th grader working alone and they're not understanding the material, you can't give them a good grade on their transcripts.  So, you'll need to be sure to be there by their side making sure they're learning.  The stakes are higher for your 9th grader to master the material than even the 7th grader, because the grades you assign need to be true and honest, and they need to be real.  You'll need to be sure your 9th grader is mastering their studies.  If not, you'll need to give your student a C or whatever.  So you must be on top of things.

 

For the 7th grader, you have two years of wiggle room until the thigns you teach becomes part of their record.  Of course, you want them to learn and do well, but it's not part of their record yet, so you've got a bit of breathing room.  Not that homeschooling is about the grades, but at the same time, if your 9th grader is just skating by, it would be dishonest to tell a college they got straight As.  And if they're skating, they won't be able to handle college anyway, so you're doing them a disservice.  You have more time to work with the 7th grader, but your 9th grader needs to be doing well from the get-go.

 

For the kindergartner--that's easy!  Really.  And hour or two tops and you're done.  Schooling the K will be a piece of cake.  Schooling the 9th grader will be the hardest.  

 

We're at the end of my son's 9th grade year, and he needed a ton of hand holding.  A ton.  The material at the 9th grade level often jumps.  Many 9th graders are challenged more than they have been in the past.  They need help.  I was greatly dismayed to find out just how much help my 9th grader needed.  I didn't realize how much harder the materials would be from 8th to 9th.  Or maybe it was a mental game with myself, when I realized that his 9th grade work (and the grade that I assigned for it) would be looked at by colleges. I felt I had to up my game to be sure I wasn't doing wrong by my student.

 

With that said...your actual question was about finding curric where the student can work independently.  I can't help much with that because my 9th grader didn't work independently.  I'm only replying because I think it's important for you to know that the 9th grader needs the most attention this year, followed closely by the 7th grader, and the k-er barely needs much at all.

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2017 by Garga

[Garga]

Note:  My son takes a Spanish class at a local tutorial with a retired Spanish teacher.  He takes an online math class at myhomeschoolmathclass.com.  Next year he'll be taking a chemistry class with a teacher on currclick.com.  

 

So, out of the 6 subjects I teach, 2 of them were outsourced this year and 3 will be outsourced next year.  Maybe that's an option for you?  Online courses with an outside teacher?  They're expensive, though, so be prepared for that. Is that the sort of thing you were looking for?  Classes?  Or books?  

 

 

 

 

Edited May 17, 2017 by Garga

[....]

You will probably spend the most time with your 9th grader - realistically.  And I've seen independent work backfire horribly at the high school level, so you'll really need to stay on top of things if your student does a lot of independent work.  We have a friend whose teen *ahem* wasn't doing what he was supposed to be doing...and it's taking him a long time to catch up again.  

 

Check your state laws, does your state have specific laws about homeschoolers and what high school courses they need to get a diploma?  Are you giving them a diploma?  (not sure where you guys are). That could affect what classes you're looking for.

 

And a lot of the high school homeschool curriculum on the market is weird!  IMO - not sure why...  My teens aren't really using much curricula.  I mostly put everything together myself.

 

The Well-Trained Mind is worth buying!  She goes into so much detail on how to teach writing, booklists, which subjects to cover, schedules, record keeping, etc.  I would've been clueless homeschooling without her book (I know I sound like a WTM salesperson).  

 

 

[Garga]

Me again...

 

Threads that ask for curric for an entire grade are very hard to answer.  There are too many choices of curric for too many subjects.

 

So, first step for you: find out exactly what you need to teach for your student to be accepted in colleges.  There is a lot of wiggle room in this, but you still need to understand what is required so you have a starting point.

 

Then, you'll need to research each subject separately.  Search on this site for each subject.  Like "9th grade history".  The search feature on this site is crappy, so I go to google and type "9th grade history welltrainedmind".  That will bring you to threads subject by subject.  Start jotting down what the other people use and then go to the websites for those currics and see if it looks like something you can use.

 

Actually, now that I think about it, for history, you may have to decide if you want to teach World History or American History or something specific like that.

 

And maybe even before all that...read The Well Trained Mind book.  It's in libraries or you can buy it.

 

I feel like I could tell you so many things, but typing slows me down.  You've got a lot of thinking/planning to do over the next couple of months.  Come back here with questions, but try to narrow them down to specific things.  Instead of asking for highschool curric, ask for World History curric, and then ask for English curric, etc.  

 

Good luck!  It's overwhelming, but doable, step by step. :)

 

Edited May 17, 2017 by Garga

[tcolwell]

Thank you all so much for your advice and passing on the wisdom that has come from your experience.

Yes it is the 9th grader's curriculum that stresses me out the most because I want him to be prepared for college and I don't have time for trial and error like I do with my youngest, or even the 7th grader. I have looked at the admission requirements to the college he is interested in so I have that as a guide to use. Also, we are in Texas which doesn't have strict homeschool requirements as far as I know. I would like to use a variety of methods...maybe an online class for writing, a CD rom course for Science...would love to find a Literature based History course.I know both of my kids would prefer for everything to be done on the computer but I'm not looking for a complete virtual school.I think maybe I wasn't very clear by what I meant about them working independently. I would still be checking their work and stuff like that. I just meant I want to be able to have a plan laid out in front of them that they can follow, rather then me standing in front of them and giving a lecture. Am I making any sense? But I am horrible at planning and organization so that's why I am looking for something that has the lesson planning done for me. Thanks again for the advice.

[OneStepAtATime]

I agree, before buying anything in particular I would read up on homeschooling, if you haven't already, and then probably read The Well Trained Mind, although you absolutely do not have to follow that book.  It may help you process, though.

 

And as mentioned there are about a zillion options for materials.  The trick is going to be finding things that will work right out of the gate while all of you are finding your homeschooling legs.

 

There is a master list of on-line resources pinned at the top of the General Education thread that you could browse through but I think that might just overwhelm you.

 

Maybe if you answered some additional questions others could give you some solid and more specific recommendations to be pondering as you do your research.

 

1.  SCIENCE:  Where is your up and coming 9th grader with regards to math?  Will he be taking Algebra I?  Pre-Algebra?  Geometry?  Something else?  Depending on where your eldest is in math and whether he has interest in going into a STEM major, there are several options for 9th grade Science.  The normal progression is usually Biology in 9th but that is not set in stone and some do something like an Integrated Chemistry and Physics in 9th instead, or Astronomy or several other topics.  Does the college he is interested in require lab sciences?  If so, how many?  Do you have any thoughts on what he might be interested in taking for 9th grade science?  And will his 7th grade sibling be doing something different or will they do this subject together?

 

2.  With regards to writing, is this a strong subject for him?  Or does he need some work in this area?  Are you wanting an on-line writing class because you are uncomfortable teaching this subject or because he is advanced in this area and you want him challenged or ...?  There are many options for writing but without having an idea of his level it is hard to make solid recommendations.

 

3.  With regards to a Lit based History course, are you wanting something like World History?  American History?  Something that blends both?  Or World Geography that includes a cultural component?  Do you care if it is writing and reading heavy?

 

 

And you might also look at this resource.  You can get some terrific bargains and being a member is free.  Just don't start buying stuff willy nilly.  It is easy to get caught up.  Look through some stuff, keep pondering, and do more research on your goals and philosophies and talk with your kids about theirs.

https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/

 

Do your kids have any areas of strength?  Areas of weakness?  Areas of extreme struggle?  

[Guest]

You might want to read Cathy Duffy's curriculum reviews. That might be a good place for you to start:

 

http://cathyduffyreviews.com/

[Sunshine State Sue]

I am horrible at planning and organization so that's why I am looking for something that has the lesson planning done for me.

 

Amelia Harper has enthusiastically designed Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings for students in grades 7-12.  Their website is http://www.homescholar.org/LOTR%20Curr.htm.  We used LLfLOTR for 9^th grade English.

 

For each chapter in the LOTR, the curriculum provides:

• Study guide (fill in the blank summary of the chapter)
• Vocabulary exercises
• Additional notes (discussing literary devices, LOTR background information, Tolkein background information, probably more)
• Comprehension questions (short answer)

 

There are 13 unit studies:

• Exploring the Author
• Exploring Linguistics
• Exploring Setting
• Map Study
• Exploring Epics (Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid)
• Beowulf Parts 1 & 2
• Exploring Genre
• Exploring Poetry
• Exploring Arthurian Romances Parts 1 & 2
• Research Project
• Exploring Unifying Elements
• Optional Movies and the Classics
• Optional Religious Elements

 

Finally, the curriculum provides:

• 6 tests
• 18 vocabulary quizzes
• Enough suggested writing assignments to have several to choose from on a weekly basis

 

Pros:

• Pick up and go (minimal teacher preparation)
• Well organized (lesson plans available at the website)
• Quizzes, tests, papers provide objective material for grade
• Secular (with one optional Religious Unit Study)

 

Cons:

• None for me.
• Some people complain about the fill-in-the blank activities.  We used everything as is.

 

Let me start out by stating that the LOTR is my favorite book of all time.  I loved this curriculum.  Ds was less enamored, but tolerated it well.  I also have a degree in math, so I loved how EASY it was for me to implement.  I wish Amelia Harper would write more.

[mirabillis]

You said it all so succintly! Well put! I too focus more on my 9th grader this year, knowing my youngers can skate by the same curriculum that got their older brother where he is today - ready for rigorous, high school level courses with grades, tests, deadlines, etc. now my 9th grader is mostly outsourced, and the youngers i do still teach - but i do spend more mental man-hours planning, organizing, counseling the 9th grader and his needs.

 

I too have youngers from middle school down to first grade, teaching phonics to pre-k. and it is true - i can manage 1st grade in probably about an hour. :-)

 

Focus on the 9th grader's need first.  And by needs, I'm meaning that the things you teach in 9th grade this year, need to be on a transcript for colleges.  You need to be thinking clearly of what you need to teach the 9th grader for him/her to go to college.  This is vital.  Most colleges want things like 4 years of English, 2-3 years of science, including labs, etc.  I went to a few college's websites to see what sorts of requirements they had for incoming freshmen.

 

You'll need to come up with a grade for each class for the transcript as well.  This means that if you leave your 9th grader working alone and they're not understanding the material, you can't give them a good grade on their transcripts.  So, you'll need to be sure to be there by their side making sure they're learning.  The stakes are higher for your 9th grader to master the material than even the 7th grader, because the grades you assign need to be true and honest, and they need to be real.  You'll need to be sure your 9th grader is mastering their studies.  If not, you'll need to give your student a C or whatever.  So you must be on top of things.

 

For the 7th grader, you have two years of wiggle room until the thigns you teach becomes part of their record.  Of course, you want them to learn and do well, but it's not part of their record yet, so you've got a bit of breathing room.  Not that homeschooling is about the grades, but at the same time, if your 9th grader is just skating by, it would be dishonest to tell a college they got straight As.  And if they're skating, they won't be able to handle college anyway, so you're doing them a disservice.  You have more time to work with the 7th grader, but your 9th grader needs to be doing well from the get-go.

 

For the kindergartner--that's easy!  Really.  And hour or two tops and you're done.  Schooling the K will be a piece of cake.  Schooling the 9th grader will be the hardest.  

 

We're at the end of my son's 9th grade year, and he needed a ton of hand holding.  A ton.  The material at the 9th grade level often jumps.  Many 9th graders are challenged more than they have been in the past.  They need help.  I was greatly dismayed to find out just how much help my 9th grader needed.  I didn't realize how much harder the materials would be from 8th to 9th.  Or maybe it was a mental game with myself, when I realized that his 9th grade work (and the grade that I assigned for it) would be looked at by colleges. I felt I had to up my game to be sure I wasn't doing wrong by my student.

 

With that said...your actual question was about finding curric where the student can work independently.  I can't help much with that because my 9th grader didn't work independently.  I'm only replying because I think it's important for you to know that the 9th grader needs the most attention this year, followed closely by the 7th grader, and the k-er barely needs much at all.

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Next year will be our first year homeschooling. I will have a 9th grader, 7th grader, and one in kindergarten. I am having a hard time finding curriculum for my older two, especially for 9th grade. I think I have math figured out but I need something for history, science, and English that my older two can do independently since I will have to focus a lot of attention on my youngest. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

For your youngest, I would focus on introducing reading and starting out with math.  We used Saxon for K through around 7th grade.  For reading I used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, although there are other really good programs that have been published since.  Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading is worth checking out.  Other than math and reading, everything else in kindergarten is flexible.  You can get a ton out of reading picture books and introductory non-fiction titles.  Nature study can be pretty awesome, because so much of the world is new.  Playing store is not only good imaginative play, but can help with math.  We did Story of the World for history in kindergarten.  We'd read a chapter in the book, then spend the rest of the week reading other books about the same topic, or simple projects (making a mummy out of a GI Joe, complete with shoe box sarcophagus and clay canopic jars, for example).  My secret weapon for that age is Jim Weiss, who not only did the audiobook version of Story of the World, but also dozens of incredible retellings of myths, fairy tales, literature and history.  My kids would listen to them while building with legos or other toys.  I didn't usually get through everything in one hour, but usually in 2 - 2.5.  

 

There were few times when school for older grades consisted of my standing up and lecturing.  I did that when I was teaching coop, but not when I was teaching just my own kids.  We did have a lot of discussions, sometimes I explained new concepts on paper, sometimes we watched a video together.  Frequently they would read a book or a chapter and we would discuss is.

 

I also did not find grades 7-9 to be very independent.  Even though my kids were great readers at this age, they were also easily distracted. This isn't simply because they had short attentions spans, but because there were so many things they were interested in, that it was easy to get sidetracked while investigating something.

 

Older kids will have time that they need to spend reading (ex. novels for literature or chapters in history or science). While they are reading, you can have your time with your youngest.  A half hour on reading, then some time with math later, then some time with history/science/library book later still.  [There was one year when I had a weekly schedule that broke my time down in 30 min blocks to show when I was committed to one of the kids and when I was free.  The olders knew that the reading lesson time was not time to interrupt with a math question.  The youngest knew that when I was helping with math, he was free to play or do an audiobook.]

 

As others mentioned, I'd concentrate on your 9th grader.  In particular figure out what he needs for math and English.  Then science and history.  One of the early courses I outsourced was foreign language.  We did Latin with Lukeion Project, but there are many options.  

 

For the 7th grader, I would work on math and reading/writing.  If you can get him ready for algebra in 8-9th grade, that will keep a lot of options open.  For science and history, I'd probably give him a lighter version of what you do with the 9th grader.  Ex. if the 9th grader is doing world history, then have the 7th grader read middle grade books on the same cultures and historical periods.  

 

Our family's experience was that there was a diminishing benefit to each additional hour on the computer.  Not only did they tend to space out, but the internet was full of so many tempting sites.  It was easy for them to lose an hour or more if left unsupervised.  I would very much recommend that computers are in common areas where screens are visible to anyone passing by.  Even great kids can find a lot of temptation on line.

 

Since you are new to homeschooling and new to the boards, you may want to check out some of the pinned threads at the top of the high school board.  In this one on Starting High School, many really helpful threads have been collected that will help you figure out what direction you want to take with various subject areas.  The high school timeline thread is a good one to consider.  http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/354200-high-school-time-table/  When my oldest started 9th grade, I made a rough 4 year plan showing what courses I expected to get through.  Math and science were more detailed.  History was roughly outlined, but I deviated from the plan in later years.  English really just said "English".

 

Welcome to the boards and to homeschooling.  It can be both very draining and very rewarding.  Sometimes on the same day.

[lmrich]

Personally, I would start with finding a math text or program that he likes. If you are not confidnent in either your ability or time to devote to teaching math, stick to an online class or DVD instruction. Then move on to the next subject. Do not try to bite off everything at once.  

 

Also, it is nice to start a subject or two before school starts. If you can start math two to three weeks before everything starts, it gives both of you time to learn a routine and set standards. Then as the year progresses, he can take Fridays off from math (if he does 15 days of math in the summer, he can take almost every other Friday off) which has always been helpful. 

 

Best of luck!