Home School High School - Schedule Examples

In order to show a complete picture of our day, I'm sharing actual screen shots of our daily schedule. As you can see, we use a lot of technology mediums to keep things interesting. I like to take advantage of all the resources that are free and easily available. It really helps to bring lessons to life. It does take a bit of time to research corresponding content, but it is worth it.

Home Schooling High School - 9th Grade

We are well into our school year, ticking off day 100 this week. I thought I would take some time to lay out what home schooling high school looks like for us.

We school Tuesday - Saturday because that is what works best for our schedules.  I work full time, three days in the office and two days at home, (which helps tremendously). My husband works 3 days a week - so between the two of us, there is an adult at home to facilitate school to our 14 year old boy.

I do all the tracking and planning. I seek my sons' input where I can to make sure he has a voice in his education. I approached this year with an overall concept for each subject, and plan out lessons 4 weeks at a time. This allows for adjusting things that aren't working and researching new ideas to keep things interesting and our reluctant student engaged.

English: 

180 Daily Teaching Lessons

These are 10 minute, pain free grammar lessons. Each day is a review of capitalization, punctuation, grammar use, etc. It is simple and straight-forward. 

Reports created for other subjects are duel purpose and count towards English as well. 

I set a goal of reading 10 books of his choice during the school year. So far he has read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Howls Moving Castle, and he is mid-way through Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. He doesn't love reading as much as I would like him to, and I doubt he will complete 10 books, but it's nice to have a number to work towards.

Math: 

Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1

Last year we  used Mathability-Math in the Real World in conjunction with Khan Academy. The workbook was fine, but my son couldn't stay engaged with the lectures offered on Khan.  

So far, Teaching Textbooks has been our most successful option to date. I am normally hovering around during the math lesson to assist in providing further explanation and make sure my son is understanding the concept being taught. 

Science:

Biology 101

This is a DVD lecture course with downloadable PDF coursebook and accreditation booklet. This is a very basic overview of biology. We replaced some of the suggested course work with our own content to provide a broader view and more in depth study of some areas. 

We use  Amazon Prime videos a lot for this course: The Secret Life of Plants, Wild America, Wonders of God's Creation - Human Life, etc.

We have also utilized online resources to dissect a frog, study anatomy, genetics, etc.

History: 

We are focusing on World Geography this year. This has been the most fun to plan. We used this book, assigning correlating art projects using Geography Through Art and other activities based on the country of study. The text covers topics including population, political landscapes, climate, and regions of conflict.

Other resources for World Geography: Try the World, YouTube: A day in the life of...., Instagram hashtags for specific landmarks, regions, and countries, travel podcasts, Foodbycountry.com, and Amazon Prime travel videos. 

Art:

Geography Through Art 

This book utilizes various mediums such as modeling clay, pastels, and water colors. I did give my son a choice in some cases where he could substitute a drawing by making a micro build with Lego or using MineCraft to "build" the assignment. 

Physical Education:

My son is a brown belt in karate and attends class 1-2 nights per week. He snowboards in the winter and we kayak and hike a lot during warmer months. He is also completing a 2 week study on physical health and nutrition.  

In addition to the above, our community church has a "teen night" the first friday of each month. These events normally have about 20 teens in attendance. They eat dinner together and have themed relay races and challenges. My son is also part of the youth group. They have a strong focus on community. He has been able to participate in visiting elderly patients in rehab facilities, serve meals to the homeless, and raise money to support different humanitarian outreaches. 

The best part about home schooling through high school is being able to learn side-by-side with your teen. The hardest part is keeping yourself from comparing your schooling methods to the traditional schools. In the end, I don't want my son to learn just to pass a test. I want him to discover what motivates him and where his passions lie so he can apply that to his adult life. 

Garden Ups and Downs

Believe it or not, we are still alive!  Life has been busy and hectic and full.

In the garden:

We were hanging on anticipation as our tomato plant blossomed, then grew small, green tomatoes. There was one the size of a plum - a heroic proportion for our garden!  I checked on it every day, watching for signs of the first red tinge of color.  I went out last evening to visit it, only to discover it was gone.  The deer have eaten each and every pepper and tomato plant. We will have to fence in a portion of the garden next year - there's no getting around it.  I can't tell you how disappointed I was, but I am sure you know the feeling.

We grew about 6 pickling cucumbers. We sliced them and put them in brine in the refrigerator.  They were tasty.

I've harvested two squash.  Most of the squash and pumpkin plants died. We had an infestation of squash bugs which got the best of the plants.  There are two plants remaining which are full of blossoms and hope.

The kale, chard, and lettuces did well. Our first crop is tilled under and a fall crop is planted. Greens thrive in our yard and the deer don't bother them at all. *small blessings*

The potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and onions are all still growing. I'll let the potatoes and onions go until the tops start dying off a bit.  The carrots and parsnips will remain until the first frost.

Our herbs did well this year and our blackberry bushes produced large, juicy berries for the first time.

I know the growing season isn't over, but for me it feels like the garden and I are in a strained relationship. It's not performing the way I expected. I think we need some space. I'll be perusing farm stands in search of produce I had hoped to grow myself. I guess I'm in search of a surrogate garden.

The Final Cut - 8th Grade Home School Outline

I don't know about you, but summer has certainly flown by.  The new school year will be here before you know it.  We plan on starting August 17th.  I already have our first week planned and a supply list made. It feels good to have that out of the way.

As I stated in my previous post things were sure to change and they did.

MATH:
We are going to start out with Real World Math and then transition to Khan Academy.  

While I wanted to use The Life of Fred for some of our math, I really didn't want to invest in the books for a supplemental program.  I will keep my eye out for used ones or perhaps borrow them one by one from another home school family. I like how the Fred books keep things interesting and fun, but I don't think they provide enough substance for a complete program, especially for 8th grade.

ENGLISH/GRAMMAR:
I still plan on combining this with other subjects.  I have books picked out that coincide with US History and Science. We'll be utilizing these for reports, vocabulary, spelling, etc. 

SCIENCE
We will be using this book for Nature Study which includes Q&A. Of course we have our bees and meet once a month with our local bee keepers. 

We also have a book of science experiments that includes Q&A as well. That sure makes things easy!  

HISTORY
We are using the documentary: America, The Story of Us  There are study guides provided for each episode on the website.  I have a few other resources that I've printed off the internet to go along with this such as a lap book outline for the Constitution, a week of living like a pioneer which will include no electricity for one day, making your own butter, hand washing clothes, etc.

I will be planning the school year week by week. We will be using composition books (one for each subject) to work in.

The hardest part about planning a school year, is knowing when to stop looking for more resources! There is so much information out there; it's easy to get overloaded with data which actually creates more work in determining which direction to go. My advice, plan an outline of the concepts you want to achieve for the year, then look for resources that meet your needs, obtain them, then...stop!

Gardening with Life

My sister has a huge yard. In prior years she has planted large vegetable gardens. She now has 3 little ones, ages 1-7. Rather than giving up gardening all together, she decided to work within the confines of her house perimeter.  She has lettuce and herbs planted in pots where she can easily access them for watering and harvesting. She tucked in a few tomato plants in between the shrubs. 

 Knowing your boundaries and accepting your season in life is the key to keeping perspective.

Dublin, OH

A recent work trip took me to the small town of Dublin. It's only about 20 min from Columbus. I found this short hiking trail that led me to an old cemetery. Most of the stones were dated in the mid 1800's,

I was able to attend a charity event for the Ronald McDonald House  at the Brothers Drake. The stories of these families were incredible.  The charity provides housing for families while the family members are seeking medical treatment. It was really encouraging to see so many positive people in one place.

Rainbow Chard

 Note for next year: Plant more chard.  It does so well in our garden.  I love leaf crops because you can harvest from them numerous times and they keep replenishing their leaves.

 I love how the chopped stems look like confetti!  They are good to eat as well.

I love sauteing chard in a bit of olive oil. Sometimes I add lemon or garlic.  It's good as is or mixed with other veggies. Add to slightly mashed potatoes to sneak in some greens for picky eaters.