what is your 9th grader doing for school next year?

[Grace]

I just started planning for my son's 9th grade year.  I am thinking it will look something like this:

 

Algebra II- Derek Owens or Chalkdust or Saxon with DiveCD
Honors English 1- Online with Bluetent and finish up Analytical grammar
Physics-Derek Owens
Geography - BJU DVDs
Spanish 2 - BJU DVDs
Music Fundamentals and Theory- Alfred Theory Book and Great Course DVD
Computer Programming: Ruby on Rails 

Intro to Logic-  Fallacy Detective and Thinking Toolbox

 

My daughters, who are seniors this year, did this in 9th grade:

Geometry- Teaching Textbooks 
English 1- Analytical grammar, Windows to the World, Vocab for the high schooler
Biology-outsourced class which used Apologia
Geography - BJU DVDs
Spanish 2 - BJU DVDs
Sign Language -  outsourced class
Music Fundamentals and Theory- Alfred Theory Book and Great Course DVD
Photography 2 

[EppieJ]

What is an ALE?

 

Hi Liza!

 

An ALE is an Alternative Learning Experience program. It is a public school option where the parent is the primary instructor, and chooses the curriculum, but has access to district resources. You can enroll as a "full time" student, which means you create & turn in monthly reviews, learning plans, and participate in state testing. Or you can enroll "part time" which means you are not required to do all that. For us, with an only, it's kind of the best of both worlds. We have control over his education, but also have support and accountability, and he gets to have classes with other kids (usually mixed ages) and experience teachers other than just "mom".

[Liza Q]

Eppie - what a great option for High school!

[MomOfABunch]

I'm still working this out, but here's what I have so far:

 

Math: AoPS Precalc

Medieval History and Lit - WTM style

Rhetoric I - WTM Academy

Arabic - online class

 

Still working out:

Science - Bio or Chem

AP Computer Science, maybe

AP Psychology, maybe

Another elective, maybe

[LisaKinVA]

My oldest is just completing the 9th grade.

 

He will complete:

 

Algebra 2 (online through Phil4, with Life of Fred Advanced Algebra on the side)

Physics (online through Phil4, as well as Time4Learning)

English Composition (Abeka 9th grade grammar/vocab/literature, with Killgallon and Time4Learning 9th grade)

Modern World Literature (mine, but 6 novel studies and 10 other novels, plus poems and plays.  Four related essays, not included in the novel studies)

Modern World History (K12 Human Odyssey book #3, Time 4 Learning Geography, plus lectures, books and movies, several short papers/essays)

Typing (Abeka)

Health & PE (Time4Learning and mine)

Italian (not a full credit yet)

Extracurriculars of swimming (practice 8-10 hours a week), and Scouts (he's on track to finish his Eagle by September)

 

My next 9th grader will take:

 

Pre-Calculus (she will have completed Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, both number theory books from AoPS, and the Counting and Probability books, she may take Statistics alongside or instead, though)

Either AP Biology or Physics (not AP)

English Composition

Western Literature 1

Western Civilization 1

German 3 & 4 (tutor)

Italian 2

Health & PE (through the high school)

Art Elective (through the high school)

 

Apparently, each of my children will have some wide variances for their level of coursework during high school years.  HOWEVER, they will all have at least the following:

 

Math

Science

Foreign Language (we try to start a modern language in 7th, but we do Latin earlier...I don't count Italian in that right now, because we live here).

English Composition*

Literature*

History

Health & PE

Elective Area of Choice

 

*I do have two children who I may lower the requirements in this area and just give them one combined credit, but they are both still a little ways off from high school.  I'm not sure where my youngest will fit yet at all, either.

[Kim C]

My current plan is:

Math: Precalc (using Lial’s Precalc), Intro to Number Theory (AoPS)

         (Possible Math 1 SAT II in the spring)

 

Science: Honors Biology using Miller Levine and Apologia AP Chemistry (at local co-op)

             (planning to take SAT II in the spring)

 

History:  World history I (ancients-1500) using Oak Meadow/ Speilvogel World History

 

English: Excellence in Lit Intro to Lit, Honors English (at local co-op)
                Daily Grammar Practice 9, Word Within the Word II

 

Foreign Language: German (online with Oklahoma State)

 

PE: Irish dance, tennis, fitness center twice a week

 

Elective: AP Psychology (at local co-op at home)

                Logic (Not sure what curriculum)

 

 

ETA:  Our plans have changed a bit.....see above

[KarenNC]

Here's what we've done/are doing:

 

Fall:

• Spanish 2---- individual skype tutor in Barcelona through Harari College Worldwide, 3 hours of class weekly plus outside assignments--this started in the summer and finished up early in the semester
• Honors English 9---online course through local public school, with an additional 14 week discussion and reader's theater class on Classical mythology at co-op using "Classical Mythology and More" by Marianthe Colakis 
• Career and college prep---online course through local public school, including extra activities like going to a college fair and taking a practice PSAT

 

Spring:

• Latin 1---online course through local public school (she didn't want to continue with Spanish)
• Honors biology---online course from local public school with some live labs at the school
• Government---started as a co-op class using Holt's "United States Government: principles in practice," but the teacher fell ill, so we will be completing this at home and adding in CLEP prep materials to try taking the CLEP government exam at the end of the class to make this honors.

 

Year-long:

• Saxon algebra 2 using Saxon teacher dvds
• PE--tracking hours of a mix of activities for a half credit---swimming, hiking, kickboxing classes, ice skating, tent camping, CPR/first aid certification, 4 week intro to archery class---the goal has been a sampling of individual activities she can pursue lifelong rather than on team sports since that isn't her interest
• Intro to visual and performing arts---mix of a drawing techniques class at co-op (10 hours, using "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards), a painting class at co-op (10 hours--professional art teacher), photography class at co-op (14 hours--using a Great Courses photography course), Great Courses "How to Look at and Understand Great Art," some set painting work with local community theater, art gallery visits, and attendance at a variety of performances---student night at the opera, 10 minute play festival, improv comedy show (done by her friend's theater class), Afrocubanismo concert (local community college arts festival), Day of the Dead music and dance performance at local museum, and anything else that crops up and looks interesting :) .

All but PE will be for 1 credit, so this is 8.5 credits, which should give her some wiggle room later in high school. The PE and art credits have grown more out of giving credit for things she was already doing for fun than pre-planned courses. When I noticed that she was going to have a good number of hours that fit within a certain topic, I decided to write them up as a course and give credit. I did throw in the Great Courses videos to round out the art credit.

 

I could have counted the theater work for the full play and aikido toward the course credits, but decided to hold them out as extracurriculars since she had enough other hours not to need them. I wanted to keep them out as showing longstanding passions. She's been doing aikido since age 6, and has worked backstage for several plays with this theater. I may actually end up pulling the 3 hours of set work on "Jesus Christ Superstar" and bundling it with the other theater extracurricular. The PE activities I included for credit were either new experiences (ice skating, kickboxing, CPR, archery, tent camping where she's responsible for set up and take down, some of the camping activities like the high adventure weekend this week including climbing and rappelling down a 55 foot tower) or significant extensions of skills she doesn't do as often (hiking, swimming).

 

Extracurriculars:

• Did set work, prop work, and worked backstage for a 10 performance run of "Noises Off" at the local community theater (about 90 hours--this is the regular adult group rather than youth theater)
• Aikido--2-5 classes a week
• Girl Scouts---meetings twice a month along with three camping trips (including high adventure weekends) and an overnight at the Georgia Aquarium---these camping trips were included in the PE count
• Creative writing group at co-op--10 weeks (she also writes fan fiction on her own)

Testing: 

ACT---we are required to test yearly and this one works

PSAT--practice and extra credit for career/college class

CLEP Government---if it looks like she will do well

 

We considered the bio SAT 2, but it's not her strongest area and it would mean she would miss a big camping trip with the Girl Scouts that weekend. I decided to hold off and perhaps do that one after she's done AP Environmental Science in 11th, if we do the bio test. I'm hoping she'll have a better idea of the colleges where she wants to apply by that point, so we may not need them if she has the ACT each year.

[teeterbunch]

My current ninth grader:

 

Math---precalc using AoPS book, Intro to Number Theory (AoPS class) (1.0 and 0.5 credits)

Science---chemistry using Chang and loosely following Dr. Tang's syllabus (my first two degrees are in chemistry)

History--- ancient world history using TC History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective plus a zillion library books

English---Honors English 2 from Blue Tent Online

Foreign Language---Arabic 1 from The Potter's School

Elective---AP Human Geography planned and taught by me

 

She'll receive another credit for Arabic after a four-week immersion session this summer. I'm not sure which year to put that under, as she will have two university Arabic classes as a sophomore.

 

Extracurriculars: ballet (8.5 hours class weekly plus performances), Science Olympiad team

 

I see that your student is currently taking Honors English 2 through Blue Tent.  I'd love to hear your impressions.  Thanks.

 

Ashley

[AK_Mom4]

For the fall:

Calc AB

History of the Ancient World

Ancient Lit (homegrown)

Biology (miller)

PE - 1 credit - skiing, biking, gym time

Music - 2 different band classes at the local high school

 

We may go ahead and start a foreign language - it depends on how much time DD has free in her schedule in the fall.

[Queserasera]

Heart of Dakota World Geography

BJU 9th Literature with Rod and Staff 8 for grammar

EIW 10 for writing

Apologia Chemistry

LOF Geometry

Latin 1

[MelissaMinNC]

:001_smile:

[MelissaMinNC]

Sorry, no idea where that smiley came from or why I can't edit or delete it. But I will have my first 919th grader in the fall. And since I've already typed this out and lost it several times, the short version is:

HOD WG

Apologia Physical

MUS Algebra 1

Latin Alive

[kids&me]

Expository Writing 2 (WWS2) -Well Trained Mind Academy

Ancient Lit. -Well Trained Mind Academy ( 1xper week

Story of the world -Well Trained Mind Academy ( using this to lighten load & get additional practice outlining & summarizing) ( 1X per week)

Crash Course Grammar for high school- Well Trained Mind Academy (only 1 semester)( 1x per week)

Geometry- Wilson Hill Academy

Conceptual physics - Wilson Hill Academy

Latin Alive 2 - Wilson Hill Academy

 

 

[3and3]

This is my tentative schedule for my dd who will be entering 9th in the fall. She has some learning disabilities so we are still playing catch up on some subjects.

 

Bible:She will be covering a lot of the Old Testament with history.

 

History: Notgrass World History which I will schedule out over 2years. She will be doing some of the lit that is suggested but I will be adding more historical fiction and videos to round out the subject.

 

English: Literature with history and Excellence in Literature, but I am not sure how she will do because there is not that much instruction. I have also thought about doing something through Easy Peasy or homeschool highschool for free.

 

Math: MUS pre-algebra and Life of Fred

 

Science: Environmental science through homeschool high school or earth science through ck-12.

 

PE: our local college has a program for homeschoolers and training for a 5k

 

She will also like to take some classes on cake decorating. And I am looking into a book club in the area. I would also like her to take a basic computer course.

[Brad S]

This is my tentative schedule for my dd who will be entering 9th in the fall. She has some learning disabilities so we are still playing catch up on some subjects.

 

Bible:She will be covering a lot of the Old Testament with history.

 

History: Notgrass World History which I will schedule out over 2years. She will be doing some of the lit that is suggested but I will be adding more historical fiction and videos to round out the subject.

 

Personally, I wouldn't include historical fiction as part of history at this level, except for a rare case. The real thing is fascinating.  If the reading is a challenge, I'd consider something at an easier reading level like you're doing with SOTW this year.

[Jenn121]

Hewitt Homeschooling Honors English using both the American lit packs (We are using the syllabus to work at home)

Wordly Wise 10

WWS 2

Grammar ????

MUS ALgebra

Apologia Biology

Mr. G German (currclick)

Hewitt Homescholling U.S. History (using syllabus)

Piano

TaeKwonDo

Concert Chorus

[Heathermomster]

nm

[Mom-ninja.]

Um, yeah. 

 

Math = me  :willy_nilly:

 

English: WWS 2 (trying to finish level 1 this summer and trying to decide if I should go back to IEW), Daily Grammar Practice, continue AAS, and for Lit study.....undecided. Leaning towards Teaching the Classics

 

Science: undecided; I have RS Bio 2 and Mr Q Advanced Chem; could also try online course through high school. We will finish Mr Q Human A&P this summer

 

History: so so behind this year. Will do Hakim's Story of US and figure out how to ramp it to high school level. History is not his favorite to say the least. 

 

Latin: finish online Latin through high school and switch back to BBL 2 per his request

 

German: continue Duolingo and maybe find online course

 

Music: private lessons and continue exams through Royal Music Conservatory and start private theory lessons

 

Logic: No idea. Sigh. 

 

Various co-op classes 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mom-ninja.]

 

 

She has also been watching Coursera and Great Courses classes on music theory. She has really enjoyed How to Listen to and Understand Great Music.

Any you would recommend along with the one above?

[Junie]

Saxon Algebra I

Apologia Physical Science

Bob Jones Bible

homegrown American Lit

still looking for a writing curriculum

homegrown American History

homegrown Spanish I

Abeka Keyboarding

gymnastics

violin

[mommymilkies]

Sorry for joining late!  My dd is very particular about doing all of these languages and I am by no means forcing them.  I require one, they are just her biggest area of interest. It's funny thinking about how different this will look for my son next year!

 

So far our plans are:

 

History:  Ancient History-a variety of sources. 

 

English:  Essay Voyage, The Writer's Journey, On Writing, Writing from the Senses, Elements of Style, Deluxe Transitive Vampire, Writing Without the Muse, EIL, Teaching with Movies units, Help for High School (Bravewriter), finish Vocab From Classical Roots, Don't Forget to Write, Perrine's Literature, Well Educated Mind.  Obviously this is a lot, I will organize it as units later and will spread some of this out over years. 

 

Science:  Intro Chemistry at the local college over the summer for 1 credit.  Anatomy & Physiology.  Right now I'm using my old college texts, but I'm looking for something better. 

 

Math:  Algebra.  No idea what program yet. 

 

Reading List: (still working on this one)

 

Languages:  Ancient Greek with Lukeion, Breaking the Barrier French, Viking Languages I and II, Norwegian , German.  Latin we will continue but I'm totally lost on what to use.  I want Latin for the New Millennium but I got a very bad deal on the last one I bought and it's unusable, so maybe Wheelock's? 

 

PE: Baseball, Yoga if the Aikido school doesn't open back up.

 

Music:  Suzuki violin, composer study

 

Art: Art in Focus, Ceramics class at the college. 

[Reefgazer]

My DD is a language hound also. She is studying Latin and French formally with me, and insists on Russian and Dutch "on the side". It kind of over-extends her, but that's what she wants, so......

 

Both DD and I are using Memoria Press' Forms series for Latin, and we find that it is excellent for reaching the grammar. We plan to continue it into high school, just at a slightly faster pace than middle school.

 

 

 

Sorry for joining late! My dd is very particular about doing all of these languages and I am by no means forcing them. I require one, they are just her biggest area of interest. It's funny thinking about how different this will look for my son next year!

 

So far our plans are:

 

History: Ancient History-a variety of sources.

 

English: Essay Voyage, The Writer's Journey, On Writing, Writing from the Senses, Elements of Style, Deluxe Transitive Vampire, Writing Without the Muse, EIL, Teaching with Movies units, Help for High School (Bravewriter), finish Vocab From Classical Roots, Don't Forget to Write, Perrine's Literature, Well Educated Mind. Obviously this is a lot, I will organize it as units later and will spread some of this out over years.

 

Science: Intro Chemistry at the local college over the summer for 1 credit. Anatomy & Physiology. Right now I'm using my old college texts, but I'm looking for something better.

 

Math: Algebra. No idea what program yet.

 

Reading List: (still working on this one)

 

Languages: Ancient Greek with Lukeion, Breaking the Barrier French, Viking Languages I and II, Norwegian , German. Latin we will continue but I'm totally lost on what to use. I want Latin for the New Millennium but I got a very bad deal on the last one I bought and it's unusable, so maybe Wheelock's?

 

PE: Baseball, Yoga if the Aikido school doesn't open back up.

 

Music: Suzuki violin, composer study

 

Art: Art in Focus, Ceramics class at the college.

[momto2Cs]

First time with ninth grade here... this is for my ds14, UPDATED VERSION! (updates in blue)

 

Writing: Writing With a Thesis, some  BraveWriter's Help for High School  stuff, writing across the curriculum

 

Literature: a variation of The Roots of Steampunk study OR maybe a run through some classics by era  He decided on dystopian lit and sci fi this year, plus listening to family read-alouds TBD

 

Math: Life of Fred's Beginning Algebra, and then we'll move into Advanced Algebra if he finishes Beginning Alg early

 

Art: He'll be starting his first class at the local jc this fall too, in art (drawing & composition).

 

Everything else: will be interest-led/unschooled. He likes online courses through edX, Coursera, etc., so he'll likely continue with computer science, animation, and so forth. He does fencing for P.E. He's also interested in German. We'll keep up with our Afternoon Basket for a variety of topics (broad exposure).

Edited June 9, 2015 by momto2Cs

[mommymilkies]

My DD is a language hound also. She is studying Latin and French formally with me, and insists on Russian and Dutch "on the side". It kind of over-extends her, but that's what she wants, so......

 

Both DD and I are using Memoria Press' Forms series for Latin, and we find that it is excellent for reaching the grammar. We plan to continue it into high school, just at a slightly faster pace than middle school.

 

 

 

I've been unsure about Memoria Press.  I'd prefer something Classical vs. Ecclesiastical and secular.  I've heard excellent things, though. OTOH, I already own all of Wheelock's for my own study!

[Reefgazer]

I hear you - I strongly preferred something classical and non-religious also.  But I didn't know a stitch of Latin when we started and felt unable to teach it, so I needed pre-made tests/quizzes, really explicit instruction, and a video teacher.  I couldn't find all that in one package with the any of the classical pronunciation stuff out there, so that's how we wound up with MP.  Both DD and I have been able to learn the first year of grammar pretty well (at least gauging by their tests).  But if you already know some Latin, you probably don't need the hand-holding I need.

I've been unsure about Memoria Press.  I'd prefer something Classical vs. Ecclesiastical and secular.  I've heard excellent things, though. OTOH, I already own all of Wheelock's for my own study!