Homeschool High School Curriculum Choice {Grade 11}
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I let this year’s curriculum choice post sneak up on me. We started back to school in the middle of June after a six-week break and I’m glad to be back at it. This year is a little different for me because I didn’t have to spend very much on curriculum and we started back a little earlier than past years. It is planned for us to take off the whole month of December. It will be a month of playing catch up if needed because of our move.
This year we are doing something a little different. Along with our daily Bible reading, we will read books by some of our favorite pastors. Another thing we are doing is a creative writing course based on Bible stories. In Their Sandals by Rand Hummel combines writing and Bible study to encourage meditating on God and the Bible. My reluctant writer loves this book!
We're using Geometry by Teaching Textbooks . Since Jamie likes to work more than one lesson a day several days a week, we don’t start math until September.
This year we are focusing on composition. After several months of researching and reading reviews, I settled on Elements of Writing by James L. Kinneavy. I found an older pre-common core edition for you groaning, eye rolling mommas out there. We’ll be implementing Quizlet again for the ACT vocabulary again this year. Literature, I found the Grade Saver website. I purchased a month’s subscription and downloaded all the literature guides we will use this year and next. Jamie started the year with Of Mice and Men.
Jamie chose his science this year. He has always had a love for astronomy and after a year of Chemistry I agreed this year needs to be something he is interested in and loves. I dug around for several days and found a free Astronomy course in the legacy courses from Saylor Academy. This is a college level course, so if he doesn’t make it all the way through, the workload is more than enough for high school credit.
This is a required course here in Montana. I bought the textbook on Ebay, with shipping I paid less than $20 for the book. The book is an older edition from what Christian Light requires, but I’ve notated the differences. Jamie is doing well and he’s enjoying it. Since we’ll be moving soon, this course will help him with some of the changes we will make in our lives.
We are using Understanding the Constitution 10 Things Every Christian Should Know by David Gibbs. (I found a new older edition of the book and workbook on Ebay.)* I highly recommend the book for any American who cares about our constitutional rights. I’ve even learned a few things myself. We’re also using resources from American Heritage. For economics, we are using Economics Work & Prosperity from Abeka.
Jamie is planning on pursuing a degree in game design or game programming for college. For this type of degree, he needs to have a portfolio of what he has done. Living where we do with no access to any game designers/programmers or schools close by I had to search online. Garage Games has moved into creating a game development curriculum for schools. Homeschoolers can register for these also. I recently found this course so Jamie doesn’t have an opinion on the software yet.
This will be an elective. We will start out with the basics using Adobe Photoshop along with the hundreds of tutorials on YouTube. Once he has mastered the basics, we’ll be moving over to Photoshop Illustrator. I haven’t even mastered the basics, so he’ll probably teach me a thing or two about Photoshop.
We are using an online test prep from our library. I don’t want Jamie to find himself overwhelmed with so much work this year, so this is a two day a week study time.
That's it for our curriculum choice for the year. After Jamie spends enough time on the game design program, I'll let you know how he likes it and what he thinks.
If your a home education family, do you have our curriculum planned for the new year?
2016-2017 Curriculum Choice
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Bible
This year we are doing something a little different. Along with our daily Bible reading, we will read books by some of our favorite pastors. Another thing we are doing is a creative writing course based on Bible stories. In Their Sandals by Rand Hummel combines writing and Bible study to encourage meditating on God and the Bible. My reluctant writer loves this book!
Math
We're using Geometry by Teaching Textbooks . Since Jamie likes to work more than one lesson a day several days a week, we don’t start math until September.
English
This year we are focusing on composition. After several months of researching and reading reviews, I settled on Elements of Writing by James L. Kinneavy. I found an older pre-common core edition for you groaning, eye rolling mommas out there. We’ll be implementing Quizlet again for the ACT vocabulary again this year. Literature, I found the Grade Saver website. I purchased a month’s subscription and downloaded all the literature guides we will use this year and next. Jamie started the year with Of Mice and Men.
Science
Jamie chose his science this year. He has always had a love for astronomy and after a year of Chemistry I agreed this year needs to be something he is interested in and loves. I dug around for several days and found a free Astronomy course in the legacy courses from Saylor Academy. This is a college level course, so if he doesn’t make it all the way through, the workload is more than enough for high school credit.
Agriculture
This is a required course here in Montana. I bought the textbook on Ebay, with shipping I paid less than $20 for the book. The book is an older edition from what Christian Light requires, but I’ve notated the differences. Jamie is doing well and he’s enjoying it. Since we’ll be moving soon, this course will help him with some of the changes we will make in our lives.
Government & Economics
We are using Understanding the Constitution 10 Things Every Christian Should Know by David Gibbs. (I found a new older edition of the book and workbook on Ebay.)* I highly recommend the book for any American who cares about our constitutional rights. I’ve even learned a few things myself. We’re also using resources from American Heritage. For economics, we are using Economics Work & Prosperity from Abeka.
Game Design
Jamie is planning on pursuing a degree in game design or game programming for college. For this type of degree, he needs to have a portfolio of what he has done. Living where we do with no access to any game designers/programmers or schools close by I had to search online. Garage Games has moved into creating a game development curriculum for schools. Homeschoolers can register for these also. I recently found this course so Jamie doesn’t have an opinion on the software yet.
Graphic Design
This will be an elective. We will start out with the basics using Adobe Photoshop along with the hundreds of tutorials on YouTube. Once he has mastered the basics, we’ll be moving over to Photoshop Illustrator. I haven’t even mastered the basics, so he’ll probably teach me a thing or two about Photoshop.
ACT Prep
We are using an online test prep from our library. I don’t want Jamie to find himself overwhelmed with so much work this year, so this is a two day a week study time.
That's it for our curriculum choice for the year. After Jamie spends enough time on the game design program, I'll let you know how he likes it and what he thinks.
If your a home education family, do you have our curriculum planned for the new year?
