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HOMESCHOOLING HIGH SCHOOL: OUR 9TH GRADE RESOURCES

Yes, we’re homeschooling high school and no, we’re not afraid of it. The only thing that’s really worried me over the summer is that I don’t want to lose the fun part of school with my oldest just because he’s in high school. While the other kids are making dioramas and going on nature hikes, I don’t want him left behind because he’s busy with “more important high school subjects.”

So we’re going forward with as much fun-schooling as we can muster. We’re outsourcing, playing to our strengths and getting our credits checked off, too.ย How we're homeschooling high school this year in 9th grade.

Homeschooling High School: the how’s

Homeschooling high school isn’t scary, it’s just a bit more involved perhaps. There’s a few things you need to think about when you start this high school thing.

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  • Figure out grading scales. Even if you didn’t keep track of grades for elementary school, it might be a good idea to keep a closer tab on it now. You can gradeย with a percentage-type grade, a letter grade, a pass/fail type of system or more, but if you’re going to do it, it’s a good idea to start something you can carry through all four years, just to make it easy on yourself down the road.
  • Decide on credits and what they mean. In Minnesota, the teacher (me, hi!) gets to choose how many credits your kid needs to graduate. I’ve been looking at the local public schools and what they require as a guide. Normally, 120ย hours of “work” equals one full credit, but you can explore other options for that as well, depending on your state requirements.
  • Come up with a four-year plan. This is the most fun in my opinion. I laid out a chart of what Noah will (probably) be covering over the next four years. It’s a good idea so that you can see if you fill in all the required classes, what credits you have left to fill in and what classes to fill those with. I’ve laid out his maths for the next four years and ideas for history. The other things we’ll fill in based on interest at the time.

Ninthย Grade Language Arts

Ninth Grade Math and Logic

History and Science

  • American Government (Social Studies 1/2 credit)–we’ll be using lots of different resources for these two units and I’ll be sharing those as we do them
  • Early American History (Social Studies 1/2 credit)
  • Apologia General Science (Science 1 credit)

Other Cool Stuff

  • Foreign Language: Rosetta Stone German (Foreign Languageย 1 credit)
  • Baseball (P.E. 1/2 credit) and Boy Scouts
  • Art: Drawing and Art History (Fine Arts 1/2 credit) I’ll share the deets on this course as well!

Total Credits: 7

So who’s starting this high school journey with me?? I want to know what you’re planning for the year too!

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This post is part of my Big, Fat Homeschool Planning Series.ย 
See the other posts here:

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13 Comments

  1. When you create your transcripts for your high schooler, you don’t have to note which school year they completed the course. All that needs to be there is the course and grade. Course descriptions are included on a different page.

  2. I’m curious…how do you put that on a high school transcript since these courses were not taken in high school? I know some schools, you have to list courses by grade taken, not by subject matter.

  3. Loved this post, I am homeschooling grade 8 and 9 this year. First all where did the time go?? I love how you broke everything down. I am glad we don’t have to break it down as such here, but it is good to know how to do it if need be. ๐Ÿ™‚ Love the ideas.

  4. Maybe each state has different guidelines.

    I feel the same way as you do about wanting to enjoy our last years together. Our relationships are more important than academics. There is more pressure, for sure, in high school!

    We, also, are using Easy Grammar. We began The Power in Your Hands last year for writing. I want us to continue with that this year (though we haven’t yet used it this year). We use Teaching Textbooks math. We are finishing the final Mystery of History book, plus beginning Notgrass Government. My “Plan A” for science has already been scrapped. We all hated it! So, this week we are beginning oceanography. I’m excited about that! I’m having fun putting together different resources. We have various other things going ~ books to read, Scripture memory, piano, Pimsleur Spanish, etc., but those are some of our core resources. Something that has been good, so far, is reading Why Didn’t They Teach Me This in School? I read one principle per day in our Morning Meeting. It takes less than five minutes, but we are learning good financial practices, which is a goal for me for our children. Okay, I’ll be quiet, and let someone else “talk” now. I hope you have a wonderful year!

  5. This made me so excited! We just started our 8th grade year with our oldest but I have been slowly trying to figure out the high school stuff so I’m not waiting until the last minute!!! I love your posts!!! Thank you for sharing.

    We get that question a lot too about homeschooling through high school – are you scared!? ? Excited!!!

  6. Ryan is only in 8th grade this year, but he’s taking 4 high school credits – Physical Science, Lit & Composition, Spanish 1, and American Government/Current Events. I am thankful he’s taking these classes at co-op, leaving the “fun” stuff for home! ?

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