Planning Out a High School Program

We’ve homeschooled through the years using a variety of methods, from Five in a Row to unit studies, literature-based history studies, with an occasional traditional workbook or textbook thrown in. Likewise, I’ve used a variety of planning and record keeping methods. When my children were little, I found it easiest to do informal planning on scraps of paper, then to journal what we had done. As our curriculum become more structured, I started doing more formal lesson planning. Still, our planning was basically year-to-year. Often we would carry over a text or study from one year to another if we hadn’t finished it. Generally, in the spring, I start to think about what topics we’ll be studying and which resources we’ll use for the following year.

High school, however, requires longer-term planning. Because I want my daughter to have a traditional transcript, covering all the subjects that our local public schools cover, I need to be sure that I cover each subject and that schoolwork is separated into specific courses for which credits can be awarded. Although Emily is not required to meet the same standards as public schooled students, I do look at those standards and use them as minimum  requirements for our homeschool. First, because I expect her to have an education that is at least as good (hopefully better) than she would receive in public school. Second, because when colleges look at her transcript, they will expect to see something comparable to what traditionally schooled students have completed.

Requirements vary by state, but in Alabama, the current high school graduation requirements include:

• 4 credits social studies (world history, US history, government, economics)
• 4 credits math
• 4 credits science
• 4 credits English
• Physical Education (1.0 credit)
• Health Education (0.5 credit)
• Career Preparedness ( 1.0 credit)
• Electives (including career/technical education, foreign language, arts) (5.5 credits)

There are several ways to accumulate high school credits: completing a text book or structured program, taking an online course, taking an outsourced course (through a homeschool co-op for example), independent study (60-80 hours of work per 0.5 credit hour), and dual enrollment through a community college. We plan to utilize several of these methods.

The bulk of Emily’s courses are either textbook or other structured programs…Apologia science, Sonlight history, Sonlight and Lightning Literature for English, and so on. We have a group science lab, but since I teach it, it isn’t exactly outsourced! It does provide group interacting and a different learning experience, though.

This coming year, Emily will be taking psychology and criminology online through Landry academy. She’ll also be doing some Landry Academy science lab intensives (2 day on-site programs) and will likely take some online classes the following year.

I hope for Emily to take a few classes at community college her junior and senior years. I think that will be a good transition to college life as well as allowing her to accumulate some college credits ahead of time. I love the time-saving aspect of courses counting for high school and college at the same time!

We already have a tentative plan for Emily’s courses through high school. There is still some room for change, depending on her interests, but it feels good to know there is a plan that includes everything that is necessary for graduation.

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Read more about how others are planning for high school with the Homeschooling High School Blog Hop!

Meg from Adventures with Jude on Planning Your Homeschool High School
Chareen at Every Bed of Roses with thoughts on Planning to Homeschool through the High School Years
April from ElCloud Homeschool shares Homeschooling High School: Planning For High School
Debra over at Footprints in the Butter asks: You mean I have to PLAN our Homeschool High School?!?
Michele at Family, Faith and Fridays shares Here's the Plan
Lisa at Golden Grasses says Don't Panic! Homeshcooling High School Blog Hop
Debbie at Debbie's Homeschool Corner Planning Out a High School Program
Gena over at I Choose Joy! shares her The Top Tip for Planning Homeschool High School
Kym at Homeschool Coffee Break shares on Planning and Preparing for Success
Tess from Circling Through This Life shares on Planning the High School Years
Erica over at Be The One shares Planning and Record Keeping for High School
Jennifer from A Glimpse of Our Life on Planning For Homeschooling Highschool
Carol over at Home Sweet Life on Making A Plan
Wendy at Life at Rossmont shares thoughts on Planning for High School
Cristi from Through the Calm and Through the Storm shares on Making High School Plans
Dawn Oaks at Double O Farms shares Planning for the High School Years
Leah from As We Walk Along the Road shares her thoughts on Making Plans for Homeschooling Through High School
Leah from As We Walk Along the Road shares her thoughts on Making Plans for Homeschooling Through High School