The High School Plan - Part II

Disclaimer: OK, it has been revised. It isn't the original high school plan. It probably isn't the second edition. Maybe more like fifth edition and stay tuned for corrections type of plan. Let's just call it organic and leave it at that.

When we set about to plan high school, we were at a loss. Teaching our child at home full time wasn't the option we had thought we'd be using. Since we were at a loss, I panicked. Yep, full blown, panic.

Just how do you homeschool high school, by yourself?

We started at step one: Breathe. Remember the Lord has set us on this path and will provide for us as we walk it.

Then, we moved onto finding out the requirements for our umbrella school. These are very loose guidelines which help create some guidance to those parents who need help with panic about planning high school level courses (me!). They also offer a general outlook on what colleges like to see on transcripts (I have to write one of these too!!)

Somewhere, I got the idea that I needed to know where we were headed over the next four years to make sure we covered EVERYTHING under the sky we needed to. It is actually wise to have a high school plan. Last thing anyone would want is to get to senior year and have to burden a child with additional classes because you missed something that could have been taught earlier.

Add to this that we want our children to have a liberal arts education. Let me define that better. We are what the world calls conservative Christians (we just call ourselves Christians). A liberal arts education, to us, does not mean a liberal education. Instead, liberal arts includes such subjects as art, music, poetry, logic, and rhetoric. The inclusion of these subjects are what we mean by a liberal arts education.

Our method of education up until this point has been eclectic with a bent toward classical. There's really no other way to honestly describe it. We tend to gravitate toward the rigor, memorization, and stages of classical education. However, we like to add into it a bit of Charlotte Mason techniques of gentle, habit forming ideas. And once in awhile, you may even find us using a traditional book with many additional resources (primary and secondary if possible) added into the mix.

What does all this look like in our four year high school plan?
That's the very question I set out to answer a few months ago.

Before you read over it, disclaimer on the physical education, health, and computer basics courses ~ These will occur sometime in the four years, not exactly sure when. We'll aim to complete them early in the four years, but they may be done over a summer break. It depends on the difficulty of the course load.

Without further delay, here's the answer...

Ninth Grade Courses of Study:
Bible - I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist with curriculum by Apologia
Geometry (with review of Algebra I concepts)
Biology with lab
Logic
English (including grammar, vocabulary, and writing)
Literary Analysis
World Geography and Cultures
French I or Spanish I
Introduction to Poetry (1/2 credit)

Tenth Grade
Bible
Algebra II
Chemistry with lab
Logic
English (including grammar, vocabulary, and writing)
World Literature
World History
French II or Spanish II
Art History (probably a 1/2 credit course)

Eleventh Grade
World View
Advanced Math or Pre-Calculus
Physics with lab
Rhetoric
English (including grammar, vocabulary, and writing)
American Literature
American History
French III or Spanish III
Music Appreciation (probably a 1/2 credit course)

Twelfth Grade
Apologetics
Calculus or Statistics (depends on student's educational goals)
Creation Science or an advanced science class (depends on student's educational goals)
English (including grammar, vocabulary, and writing)
Literature (exact focus will depend on student's educational goals and other class choices)
Shakespeare (probably a 1/2 credit course)
Governmental Studies (1/2 credit)
Economical Studies (1/2 credit)
Elective Courses

This, of course, is our plan for now. Like I said yesterday, it is organic...ever changing, ever growing, and ever in need of cultivation.

In four years, I won't be any more of an expert than I am now, but I will be experienced. And I am looking forward to this journey with my husband and son. It began last week!