High School Plan - Am I forgetting anything? Or doing too much?

[missymeunier]

9th

English 1

World Literature 1

Geometry

Ancient History

Biology

Spanish 1

Art (1/2 Cr)

Health (1/2 Cr)

Speech (1/2 Cr)

10th

English 2

World Literature 2

Algebra 2

World History 2

Chemistry

Spanish 2

Fine Art (1/2 Cr)

Technology Elect.

 

 

11th

English 3

European & Early American Literature

Precalculus

Early Modern & American History

Physics

Spanish 3

PE (1/2 Cr)

Financial Literacy (1/2) Cr

Elective (1/2 Cr)

12th

English 4

Modern American and European Literature

Calculus

American and Late Modern History

Science elective

Economics/Govt

Electives (up to 1.5 Cr)

This will be 28=30 credits

[Farrar]

To do something interesting that your kid chooses? I see the half a credit elective junior year, but that's so limited.

What are this student's potential goals? I genuinely can't tell from this overall plan. Will you use any outside courses? Will keeping everything in house work for your kid for all four years?

[missymeunier]

Thanks so much for the feedback :).  Those are good points. My son isn’t at all sure what his potential goals are.  He has mentioned computer game programming and cartoon illustration… outside passions have been his art classes and computer coding.  I’m going to give him a half credit each year for art and a full credit for some sort of computer coding in 10th.  He really enjoys history and reading, so I have included lots of that.  I’m going to use outside courses for speech and writing next year.  I’ll probably outsource a few classes for 10th.  Beyond that, I’d like to have him take some of his junior and senior classes as dual enrollment.  Once he narrows his future goals, I may change things, but for now my goal is to keep options open.  

[ScoutTN]

I’d suggest holding plans loosely and enjoying homeschool freedom by including some not-vanilla courses, as his interests go. 
 

Has your Ds had input into his course selections? 
 

Edited January 21, 2023 by ScoutTN

[Farrar]

Strongly seconding getting his input, keeping things flexible, and also being willing to change things up.

A lot of this depends on college goals and home goals. It doesn't take an amazing high school experience to have some college options, so it depends on how much he might want to go somewhere other than the community college or your nearest 4 year commuter school.

Regardless, I would not force him to do 5 core social studies courses unless history is a side interest. I also would consider why you're requiring a financial literacy half credit (does your state force you to?) because colleges can see it as remedial. Same thing with PE. Why have a half credit one single year? If the goal was to keep an inactive kid active, then I'd do it every year. If he mostly stays active to your satisfaction, I just wouldn't bother. I'd make more room for computer science, graphic design, art, game design, etc. Students who might be interested in majoring in computer science have multiple years of it to be competitive for colleges. Students who are interested in graphic design, art, and yes, even game design, often need a portfolio to apply to college, so they need to have enough art classes to compile one.

[BusyMom5]

I wouldn't include 2 full credits of English and Literature each year.  I would scale those into one class, maybe move a few books to history, and have him take an elective instead.  Its good to have a loose idea,  but be prepared for changes.  My kids tend to do DE Jr and Sr years.  It just works better for them to have outside teachers.  

For freshman year, my current ones have a pretty generic line-up,  electives of Personal Finance,  art, and PE- all at co-op, with extra PE stuff at home.  As they get older, we will do more interest-based electives.   

[8filltheheart]

In addition to what others have posted, he does not have to have lit and history lock step.  And, unless you live in a state that is dictating what he has to take, homeschooling allows for a lot of flexibility.  For example, my kids have spent a semester just on the adult fictional works of CS Lewis or War and Peace or short stories and fairy tales.  They have also taken history courses like the history of countries critical to current US relationships, etc.  I have had a student take a boat load of science and math, another foreign languages, and another computer science courses.  It really is about making their courses meet their needs.

[missymeunier]

4 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Strongly seconding getting his input, keeping things flexible, and also being willing to change things up.

A lot of this depends on college goals and home goals. It doesn't take an amazing high school experience to have some college options, so it depends on how much he might want to go somewhere other than the community college or your nearest 4 year commuter school.

Regardless, I would not force him to do 5 core social studies courses unless history is a side interest. I also would consider why you're requiring a financial literacy half credit (does your state force you to?) because colleges can see it as remedial. Same thing with PE. Why have a half credit one single year? If the goal was to keep an inactive kid active, then I'd do it every year. If he mostly stays active to your satisfaction, I just wouldn't bother. I'd make more room for computer science, graphic design, art, game design, etc. Students who might be interested in majoring in computer science have multiple years of it to be competitive for colleges. Students who are interested in graphic design, art, and yes, even game design, often need a portfolio to apply to college, so they need to have enough art classes to compile one.

Our state requires the PE and financial literacy for public school.  I don’t have to require them.   I think the PE thing is kind of silly.  I could just put his martial arts as an activity.  He will probably go in-state, so I was wondering if colleges around here would be looking for at least the financial lit class?  Same with econ and government.  Could I drop those?  

 

[ScoutTN]

Agreeing with Farrar on the history and adding the same thought for science. 5 x 5 doesn’t leave much wiggle room. Plan for the basics, then let your kid steer some. Go deep  and include interesting courses in your student’s areas of interest. Survey outside course options, even just for ideas.
 

 

[ScoutTN]

1 minute ago, missymeunier said:

Our state requires the PE and financial literacy for public school.  I don’t have to require them.   I think the PE thing is kind of silly.  I could just put his martial arts as an activity.  He will probably go in-state, so I was wondering if colleges around here would be looking for at least the financial lit class?  Same with econ and government.  Could I drop those?  

 

Reread your state’s homeschool laws and then read entrance requirements for universities of interest.

I did include personal finance and PE bc our umbrella school requires them. We would have done the PF anyway and I just made my student’s regular exercise/sport PE.

Edited January 21, 2023 by ScoutTN

[8filltheheart]

16 minutes ago, missymeunier said:

Our state requires the PE and financial literacy for public school.  I don’t have to require them.   I think the PE thing is kind of silly.  I could just put his martial arts as an activity.  He will probably go in-state, so I was wondering if colleges around here would be looking for at least the financial lit class?  Same with econ and government.  Could I drop those?  

 

I personally wouldn't drop econ and government bc those are subjects that are valuable to understand as responsible functioning adult. Personal finance and PE are equally valuable, but in our home those are just normal everyday things and not something that needs to be tied to a course or cr.  If your child has no exposure on how to manage finances, then I would make an effort to do that as well bc that is equally important IRL.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

27 minutes ago, BusyMom5 said:

I wouldn't include 2 full credits of English and Literature each year.  I would scale those into one class, maybe move a few books to history, and have him take an elective instead.  Its good to have a loose idea,  but be prepared for changes.  My kids tend to do DE Jr and Sr years.  It just works better for them to have outside teachers.  

For freshman year, my current ones have a pretty generic line-up,  electives of Personal Finance,  art, and PE- all at co-op, with extra PE stuff at home.  As they get older, we will do more interest-based electives.   

I was also wondering about the content of an English class in addition to a literature course. I'd say most schools incorporate writing into a topical literature course. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

23 minutes ago, missymeunier said:

Our state requires the PE and financial literacy for public school.  I don’t have to require them.   I think the PE thing is kind of silly.  I could just put his martial arts as an activity.  He will probably go in-state, so I was wondering if colleges around here would be looking for at least the financial lit class?  Same with econ and government.  Could I drop those?  

 

You could include financial literacy with economics if you want to cover that topic.

I don't think many colleges will base admissions decisions on PE or financial literacy credits. Even for in state applicants. 

[ScoutTN]

I would not drop Econ and Gov’t. They are pretty fun and very useful, if taught well. They can be get-er-done or much more. If you are looking to be more flexible with history, ask your Ds what he wants to study, besides the Econ/Gov’t and American. Keeping Lit and History in lock-step can be great when a student has a real interest, but otherwise it steals your ability to do more interesting courses.

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Just now, ScoutTN said:

I would not drop Econ and Gov’t. They are pretty fun and very useful, if taught well. They can be get-er-done or much more. If you are looking to be more flexible with history, ask your Ds what he wants to study, besides the Econ/Gov’t and American. Keeping Lit and History in lock-step can be great when a student has a real interest, but otherwise it steals your ability to do more interesting courses.

 

There is also the issue that there is more contemporary literature than ancient to early modern lit. And some of those older works can be tough to access. (SWB once mentioned that some books were hard to read and others were easier to read but harder to digest because of content. )

Putting some period literature in with history, then allowing more freedom in the English Literature box can be nice. (Realizing some classical curriculum explicitly ties literature and history together) 

We did a year of literature I called Roots of Steampunk, which included works like Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, Dracula, and then contemporary books that drew on those periods like Diamond Age, Hungry Cities, and a Steampunk anthology.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

8 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

I would not drop Econ and Gov’t. They are pretty fun and very useful, if taught well. They can be get-er-done or much more. If you are looking to be more flexible with history, ask your Ds what he wants to study, besides the Econ/Gov’t and American. Keeping Lit and History in lock-step can be great when a student has a real interest, but otherwise it steals your ability to do more interesting courses.

 

Also, the year we did US Government and Comparative Government was one of my favorites. 

[missymeunier]

1 hour ago, Sebastian (a lady) said:

I was also wondering about the content of an English class in addition to a literature course. I'd say most schools incorporate writing into a topical literature course. 

I was thinking of following SWB’s recommendations for rhetoric (counting as language arts/English credits) and great books as well as history. Should I make the history and lit into one credit?

[wendyroo]

9 minutes ago, missymeunier said:

I was thinking of following SWB’s recommendations for rhetoric (counting as language arts/English credits) and great books as well as history. Should I make the history and lit into one credit?

Is your son especially interested in English and literature.

I've always been drawn to the idea of rhetoric and great books for my kids...but now, faced with the reality of my oldest, his 9th grade year will include neither. My oldest son is a STEM kiddo who also loves Spanish - spending a lot of time on language arts would be torture, and would not be preparing him for what he thinks he wants to study in the future.

My son will, of course, complete an English 9 class next year, and it will be appropriately challenging, but it won't be the focus on his year or expand beyond one credit. My son and I sat down together and looked at a bunch of English 9 syllabi from various high schools that we found online. That gave us an idea of the general content and skills that needed to covered...and also showed us how much flexibility there really was. Now we are brainstorming together how DS wants to structure his English 9 class. For example, I gave him the option of doing almost all of his required English writing as parts of his other classes about topics he found interesting - he firmly rejected that! He says he doesn't want to "pollute" his favorite classes with any more writing than is absolutely required. But he does want to do a lot of his reading within the context of his other classes. This is why we are choosing (and liberally tweaking) Build Your Library so that he can read a lot of living books as part of history and biology. When he chooses his electives we will also include a couple novels in each of those that can "count" toward his English 9 credit. Some of the electives he is considering as Cryptozoology, Egyptology, Game Theory, Vermicomposting, Inventions that Changed the World, and creative writing based on Dungeons and Dragons.

[BusyMom5]

2 hours ago, missymeunier said:

Our state requires the PE and financial literacy for public school.  I don’t have to require them.   I think the PE thing is kind of silly.  I could just put his martial arts as an activity.  He will probably go in-state, so I was wondering if colleges around here would be looking for at least the financial lit class?  Same with econ and government.  Could I drop those?  

 

My state also requires Personal Finance,  health, and PE for public schooled kids.  I see a lot of value in those classes, too,  so I have my kids take them.  I also put Drivers Ed on sometimes.   

[Lori D.]

Welcome! And how exciting to be planning for high school!

You can absolutely follow WTM guidelines, or other program, when doing high school.

At this stage, it is very helpful to also be looking ahead to the list of "required credits" you will want to complete in high school in order to meet admission requirements for college. So, as we plan for high school, we're also planning to be "college prep", and we can fulfill required credits for college admission in a way that also allows doing those credits "ala WTM" (or other program).

Here's a basic "college prep" set of credits:

4 credits = English* (usually 1/2 Literature + 1/2 Writing)
4 credits = Math (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, + a 4th math above Alg. 2)
3-4 credits = Science** (at least 2 as lab sciences) (some colleges want Biology and Chemistry, but there is great flexibility here)
3-4 credits = Social Sciences*** (many colleges want 1 credit U.S. Hist. + 1 credit World Hist/Geog; some also want 0.5 credit each Econ & Gov't)
2-4 credits = Foreign Language (same language) (Latin accepted at all colleges; ASL accepted at many colleges)
1 credit = Fine Arts (can be creation of art, performance, or appreciation) (very flexible; examples: art, music, drama, digital arts, animation,  filmmaking, photography, woodworking, jewelry-making, print-making, textiles... etc.)
4-8+ credits = Electives (examples: Logic, Computer, Theology/Religious Studies, PE, Health, Vocational-Tech, personal interests, additional credits in Fine Arts, "Academic Electives" (additional credits in English, Math, Science, Social Science, or Foreign Language beyond the required amount of credits); etc.)
22-28+ credits = total

* = ENGLISH:
- is usually about 1/2 writing (composition/instruction and actual writing of a variety of types of assignments), and about 1/2 Literature (reading, discussing, analyzing, writing about novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, plays, and essays)

- Speech is often counted as 0.25 to 0.5 credit of one of the English credits by public schools, so you can do something similar if you wish and fold Speech or Public Speaking into an English credit

- Rhetoric is the formal name for persuasive writing and speaking, so wanting to focus on WTM Rhetoric, that can be half of your English credit, and Literature the other half of the English credit each year of high school -- or, some people focus solely on Composition/Writing for a 1 credit of the English credit, and then Literature for 1 credit of English -- so not integrated Writing & Lit., but alternating years of Writing & Lit -- you could do something similar with Rhetoric and Literature for your English credits

- you mentioned that your DS "... really enjoys history and reading..." -- as @Sebastian (a lady) mentioned up-thread, you might sit down together and design your own Lit. course that would be of high interest to him; the favorite high school Lit. year for our DSs was the year we made our own "Worldviews in Classic Sci-Fi Lit." -- SUPER interesting, loads of great discussion

** = SCIENCE:
- if you have a STEM-oriented student who will be going into Engineering or other STEM field, or if your student will be applying to top tier/competitive colleges, then you'll want a full 4 credits, and possible 5 credits, of Science to be competitive for admission -- also, Math through Calculus IF you have a STEM student
- some homeschoolers have their students doing dual enrollment (DE) for the last 1-2 years of high school, and often "outsource" the science that way, so that it counts as credit on both on the high school transcript AND on the college transcript; when doing DE, a 1 semester college course in Science = 1 YEAR of high school credit on the transcript, so a student taking 2 semesters of DE Science at the local community college or university earns 2 credits of Science in one school year

*** = SOCIAL SCIENCE (Social Studies):
- this is where it can be a bit tricky to follow WTM guidelines of 4 credits of History, plus credits in Economics and Government

- most colleges do not require that many specifically History credits for the Social Studies credits, and many only require 3 credits total of Social Studies from: 1 credit US History, 1 credit World History/Geography, and 0.5 credit each of Econ and Gov't

- since your student has an interest in reading about History, what about focusing on the time/area of History of high interest to DS -- for example, if he is interested in cartooning, he might also be interested in Japanese manga, and a study of Japanese history might be very interesting or useful

- you may find that as you go along, your student becomes less interested in History and that you need more time for what the student's interests and potential future career field may be, so it is perfectly okay to adapt WTM guidelines; ideas:

• do a more abbreviated "cycle" -- do World History in 2 years rather than 4 years
• drop finishing the History "cycle" if your student develops other interests and "spend your credits" on the student's area of interest
• drop WTM guidelines of 4 History credits and do other kinds of Social Studies credits that are more of interest to your student -- colleges accept any of the following: Anthropology, Archeology, Sociology, Geography, Political Science, Government, Economics, Philosophy,, Religious Studies, Ethnic/Gender Studies, etc.

- whatever you decide, be sure to plan and cover 1 full credit (1 year) of US History, as that is a VERY frequent college admission requirement

 

9 hours ago, missymeunier said:

I was thinking of following SWB’s recommendations for rhetoric (counting as language arts/English credits) and great books as well as history. Should I make the history and lit into one credit?

Yes, you can count Rhetoric as part of your English credit. (see above notes about English credits)

Just me, but no, I would not combine History and Literature. If the works are non-fiction -- histories, primary source documents, first-person accounts, biographies/autobiographies -- those are great to add to History. But Literature that is fiction-based (novels, novellas, short stories), or that is poetry or plays, are read, discussed, and analyzed very differently. That fiction Literature has a very different purpose than nonfiction, and really should have its own focus and course built around it.

Also, you mentioned that DS "... really enjoys history and reading...", so I wouldn't try and shorten the part of an English course that he already would really enjoy (reading), in order to make it all about WTM Rhetoric. Again, that's just me.

 

It is super to jot down an overall high school plan so you have in mind the types & amounts of credits you'll need to have a college prep set of credits, but I totally agree with previous posters about writing it in pencil and prepare to be flexible to take advantage of opportunities that arise and to adapt to changing student interests and needs throughout the high school years.

BEST of luck as you and your DS solidify your 9th grade course plans! And enjoy your high school journey! 😄 Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Lori D.

[missymeunier]

Thanks @Lori D.!  That is very helpful!!!

[Clemsondana]

When I had an 8th grader and started laying out a high school plan, I wrote out something like what Lori posted - usually 5 lines under each but a note about how many credits were needed for each subject.  Under each I wrote the required courses - in my state, there is a requirement for US History, World History, and Gov/Econ, so I wrote each of those under social studies and then had some blank space to fill in any other credits that we chose to do.  We have to do 1 credit of PE, 1 credit of fine arts, and 1/2 credit each of health and personal finance, so I included those on the list.  

Looking at college preferences, kid decided to do 3 years of foreign language, so our plan for the first 3 years of high school started with a base of English, social studies, math, science, and foreign language.  Then we started filling in other things.  We chose to cram a lot of the not-difficult state requirements in the first 2 years just so that we could be done with them in case kid wanted the space later, but others choose to sprinkle these easy courses over the 4 years.  Then we could use the remaining credits to do courses that kid was interested in.  

We also chose not do do a generic world history class.  Kid chose to focus on military history and trade, so I found some books about that for kid to read.  Kid will likely graduate with more than 4 social science credits, but those will include some non-required subjects like psychology.  We did an extra 1/2 credit of English based around kid wanting to read science fiction (we might have used it for our regular English credit, but kid had chosen to take a full-credit English class at co-op with friends so we did it over the summer).  We've also used those credits for a bit of career exploration.  Kid enjoys helping with the garden, so I designed a horticulture credit.  Kid decided that it agriculture is a better hobby than career, but that's useful to know!  Spouse, an engineer, designed a class so that kid could explore that field after kid liked a basic high school coding class (if spouse couldn't do it, we likely would have dual enrolled).  Kid liked it, and we are looking at more options for kid to explore for their senior year.  As kid narrows their career interests, we're also focusing on credits that will help to prepare kid for that course of study.  That can involve specific career exploration, checking off prereqs with DE, checking off non-major requirements by DE, and using at-home classes to explore random interests.  

I guess all of this is to say - have knowledge of what is required, but also be prepared to shift gears.  Even within courses required by your state, you can specialize to make them more interesting to your kid.  As for whether it's too much, a lot will depend on the particular kid, the specific classes that you plan, and how time is spent.  Some kids choose an internship, a giant research project, a job, or a time consuming extracurricular instead of the maximum number of classes each year.  It's hard to predict what a kid will want to do in 4 years.  In our case, I think that kid is looking forward to having flexibility in their senior year, although I'm not yet sure what we'll end up doing with it.