Homeschooling High School

I have actually written before about what our high schoolers do in our homeschool, but I think it's probably time for an update.

High school has been difficult for me to plan because I really believe that these are the years to help a child specialize and discover their gifts, which means I can't really operate on auto-pilot like I mostly do when they're in the elementary grades. You can see what our two oldest homeschooled high schoolers were doing four years ago in "Homeschooling High Schoolers in Our Classical Homeschool".

1 college student, 2 high schoolers, 2 little guys

1 college student, 2 high schoolers, 2 little guys

Quick history:

  • Our oldest finished his high school work a year early and spent his senior year amassing college credits through College Board CLEP testing and classes at the local junior college.
  • He saw the benefit of getting his Bachelor's Degree quickly and cheaply, and he worked with a fabulous coach through College Plus. 
  • He'll graduate early with his BA English and no undergrad debt. He's unsure about what to do next but wants to take a break before pursuing a Master's.
  • Our second son was accepted to Biola University, his school of choice. He plans to get a history degree and teach, but we're praying about the financing of a private education so we'll see if he can go this fall.

This year:

Nate - High School Senior

Geometry (we did this out of typical order)- Khan Academy
Spanish II- Break the Barrier
AP Government- Patrick Henry College Prep Academy
Humanities, including theology- Sonlight 300

Jack- High School Sophomore

Geometry- Khan Academy
Biology- privately tutored by a friend who teaches science in one of the public high schools here
Humanities, including theoloy, writing lab, and literature- Biola Torrey Academy
Piano- Certificate of Merit program, local teacher
Driver's Ed- starts in April

Photo-bombed by the five-year-old

Photo-bombed by the five-year-old

Nate has a part-time job. Jack is really working hard to maintain a decent grade in his honors humanities class, so we've put off Spanish until the summer. I'll likely then have our 8th grader join him since it will be the summer before her freshman year. Why teach them separately?

I am finding I need to outsource where I can. Hiring our science tutor was a fabulous decision this year; she loves science, loves teaching it, and loves Jesus! As we continue to add new high schoolers, I'll be looking for other options as much as possible. It's great for them to have deadlines and someone else to be accountable to. I appreciate the objective grades, too.

I've gotten a lot of transcript and record-keeping help from Lee Binz, the Home Scholar. If transcripts are the scariest part of homeschooling high school for you, be sure to click though to Lee's site.