As of last May, my first year of teaching high school is done. Only 19 more to go! (If you count the years I'll spend with each individual child. Twelve, if you count the overlap.)
Fortunately, homeschooling ninth grade was not the dumpster fire everyone had forewarned me about. It was actually pretty rad, to be honest. (Yep. I just used the word "rad". I'm a child of the 80s and have decided that since Target had the audacity to bring back the stonewashed, button-fly jeans, "rad" can officially make its resurgence too.)
Sadly, the woebegone narrative about life-with-teenagers is too easy to grab at and hold onto. So many moms jump ship on homeschooling after 8th-grade for fear that geometry and participial phrases will be the final wave that pulls them under. I can't blame them for their very visceral fear of geometry. It takes a special kind of crazy to find joy in teaching angles and proofs, in my humble opinion anyway. (Fortunately for me, I have a secret sauce for teaching big math.)
But I digress...
(Because we only homeschool 4 days a week, you can assume that all subjects will be completed four times each week unless otherwise indicated.)
(This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details.)
Content-rich Subjects
Personal Devotions- everyday
- ESV Student Study Bible
- The Bible Project App- This is a wonderful app that includes a daily Bible reading, a Psalm-a-day selection, and a digital video that coincides with the reading. This app was created in partnership with Francis Chan's Rethink Church ministry and is a great tool to help break the Bible into daily-sized chunks. (Chan is my daughter's absolute favorite preacher and writer.)
Language
- BJU Writing & Grammar 10
- Word Roots Level 2- She did the first half of this book last year.
- Read for pleasure (everyday)
- Read a new book from her MUST READS for Christian Teen Girls book list each month.
Science
- BJU Distance Learning Biology class- This is an online class that comes with digital teaching and printed books. I've also ordered the corresponding lab kit. (To learn why I like BJU's Distance Learning programs>>)
Government
- Constitutional Literacy and corresponding DVD series by HSLDA founder Michael Farris.
Electives
Typing
- Photoshop Basics Video Library- She will be shadowing my husband who works from home as a graphic designer/advertiser. Once a week, she will learn one specific Photoshop skill from one of these basic videos and/or him. She'll then create one project that corresponds with that skill and will present it to him by the end of the week for his evaluation and art direction.
Life Skills
- Home-Ec 101 (read 1x a week, practice 3x a week)
- Life Skills for the Homeschooler by Andre J. Olivan (2x a week during the first semester)- This book is no longer in print. I was fortunate enough to find a used copy at a used book sale. It is a simple primer for learning how to write a resume, fill out a rental agreement, file taxes, etc.
- Clean her room and make her bed each day.
- Make dinner every Tuesday evening.
- Wash and dry all of the laundry. (She does not sort the clothes or fold them, although she has been known to volunteer to do both quite often.)
- Sweep and mop all of the moppable floors on big-chore days.
- Babysit for two young families as needed.
Volunteer Activities
- Work at a local Bible camp on special event weekends throughout the school year.
- Create care packages for medical missionaries to distribute to pediatric patients all over the world on behalf of CURE International.
Co-operative Learning
This year, our family has joined a larger co-op that meets twice a month in a neighboring town. (Funny enough, it's the same co-op The Hubs attended as a teen.) My daughter will be in the 7th-12th-grade group with her younger brother. She'll be studying the following:
First semester
- Physical Education
- Newspaper
- Literature- Oliver Twist
Second semester
- World Religions/Worldview
- Newspaper
- Literature- TBD
My girl is a self-starter who is not afraid of a challenge. As she faces lots of new and different ideas in tenth grade, she'll, no doubt, do just fine.
Curious how you have 19 more years left to go?? Did you have another little one? :) We're in our 14th year of 21. Loved seeing your choices for 10th grade! ;)
ReplyDeleteI did the math based on how many kids I have x 4 years a piece. I suppose, technically, some of those years will overlap and I'll have a few in high school at the same time. If you don't count the overlap, it will be something like 13 years???
DeleteAh, I see...thanks! It's good to have one year down! 😊
DeleteCorrection...12 years with the overlap.
DeleteWe've done the Constitutional Literacy course; it's a good one! Happy 10th grade to your girl. :)
ReplyDeleteOh good. I'ms so glad. I watched a handful of the videos, and thought they were interesting.
DeleteYour site is amazing! I am a former teacher of high school and junior high at local public and then a Christian private school and found myself at home due to the pandemic...I just pulled my son out of the dreadful local independent study program that he hated to officially join the ranks. Your site is so helpful, thank you soooo much! I'm trying to set up his 10th grade Spring semester right now. I am going to do your interior design class with him, buying the math teaching textbooks curriculum, and then I suppose the rest will come as I keep researching your site :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome! Glad you found my little space on the web. I pray you have a great year with your son!
DeleteI'm curious what content you chose for world religions/worldview?
ReplyDelete