We also are looking at a slightly out-of-the-box year with a high-energy guy with no interest in college. Basic high school requirements are done, and he knows it. Thinking Stats at CC or Trig at home + Survey of mathematics Ramsey Finance Entrepreneurship with True North Academy Local lit class; there was also talk of a local mock trial Great Courses with papers for science WW2 History, still deciding on resources Also researching Bible programs. So still some things to nail down yet.

Math - Systematic Mathematics Algebra 1 LA - Excelsior Classes English 1 Science - Biology, either ACE or Friendly & Mapping the Body with Art History - Possibly Notgrass World, but I'm tired of it. :P Thinking Spanish & Health as electives Violin/choir/bells

My baby's going to be in sixth! Math - Systematic Mathematics 6 Writing - Writing Trails and free writes Grammar - Daily Grammar Practice Science - Ellen McHenry, living books History - Living books Piano/choir/bells

Learn Math Fast is my favorite low-cost math. It is written directly to the student and is easy to understand. The books are non-consumable and you can print off as many worksheets as needed. You can find the books even cheaper on Ebay. Volumes 5, 6, and 7 are for high school, but the earlier volumes are great for filling in gaps too.

Systematic Mathematics LA2 through Excelsior Classes w/ writing club Geography with Mapping the World with Art & Book of Marvels Science with Ellen McHenry Spanish (not sure what materials yet) Local music and art. Hoping Irish dance starts up again.

Daily Grammar Practice. Love it!

I can retract her username. However she has posted about the academy in the past. Sadly, she is not on the boards anymore. I sure miss these older experienced moms. Grateful for those who are still here.

Seatwork I would say 1-4 hrs, depending on age. Reading/hands-on work would be on top of that.

I recently got back from this GHC and really enjoyed some sessions by Lisa Nehring of True North academy. Something about her was ringing bells in my memory so I went to her booth and sure enough, she was an old boardie from here. She had a lot of great content which combined classical ideals with a firm grasp on where technology, higher ed, and job market is moving. This was very helpful to me (a HSer of 18yrs) as I've been floundering a bit recently on how to prepare my kids for the future world. And I know from other posts here that others feel this way also. So I thought I'd suggest Lisa as a possible resource for those who don't know about her. Her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lisanehring2347/featured Her online academy: https://truenorthhomeschool.academy/ Her approach is definitely Christian with a classical flavor but for the modern world.

Considering Mr. D's Consumer and looking at Abeka's Business. Can anyone comment on these or suggest options I haven't seen yet?

For resources that are not mom-dependent, and provide support beyond a textbook or workbook, you could consider Easy-Peasy high school, or an old-fashioned correspondence school, or curriculum that utilizes video CDs, or hiring a tutor. Great Courses are great, and come on CDs. Do you have any other local homeschoolers that would be interested in starting a literature class/club? It really helps if the student has some self-drive when it comes to homeschooling high school, and kids can really vary on this point. And I agree with you about being dependent on mom (assuming you are the mom here). I've found it's not developmentally or relationally healthy for mom to be overseeing/enforcing every last thing throughout high school, especially for boys.

I just noticed this thread, and I wanted to post a video that addresses the OP's question as it regards math and the phonics analogy. This was made by the creator of Systematic Mathematics, who has since passed. (His business shut down but the site is still up if you want to poke around for more of his philosophy.) His point was that the issue isn't procedural vs. conceptual (he taught both), but a spiral vs. a systematic approach. I would describe it as more "mastery," but with an incremental, logical progression. Most of the vintage math books (pre-1965) will teach math in this way. Strayer Upton is one that is still in print.

I would check out the Writing with Skill series, Write with the Best Vol. 2, and Jensen's Format Writing.

My rising 11th-grader is not interested in college. He's a smart, cheerful, hands-on guy, probably headed into the trades or entrepreneurship. We considered sending him to the local community/tech college, which has programs that overlap academics and trade certifications. But he wants to retain his schedule flexibility, so we are going to give it another year here at home. If he changes his mind, he can still enter the tech program in 12th. (aaand now we want to be a pilot like older brother... :D) Math: Business math, looking for recs here Going with Mr. D! English: Center for Lit with writing or I may see if he can stay with Jess Woods at Excelsior Classes. He really likes her. Eng III with Jess Woods. Social Studies: Considering stuff from Hillsdale, Tom Woods, etc. Excelsior has a WW2 class he might be interested in. Civics with True North Academy. Uncle Eric books for 2nd semester. Science: Earth/Meteorology/Environmental. I still have resources from the last student. Aviation Science with Excelsior. May add in the Great Courses weather course we already own. We will want him to do Personal Finance (We already own Ramsey's) at some point. (Decided to do this in 12th.) Other than that, I'll probably have him select any other electives. We're hoping to join a local speech class if the schedule works out. Also, music/choir/bells. That's all kinda vague, isn't it? Decisions finalized 4-2-23! Aah, it feels good, like getting your closet purged and organized.

I also agree that good classic literature is important. You don't need to read "all" the classics, but every child should be exposed to at least a few during their education. Some good reasons are given upthread. When it comes to enjoying good literature, whether old or new, my first question is how much screen time are the children getting? The color, light, movement, engagement, and immediate feedback of the digital world militates against the slow-moving, imagination-requiring world of the printed book. My experience is that when books are in competition with screens, screens will win every time. The more screen-time there is, the less the ability to enjoy books. It's like it destroys the ability to sustain attention on anything unstimulating. Maybe there are some lucky households that have the two coexist, but it's not been my experience. Perhaps it is luddite in our current culture, but I restrict screens until I see the kids enjoying literature. My non-readers enjoy listening to a book, and that's good enough for me.