Looking Forward to High School

Emily will be starting high school this year. Although she’s my fourth child, the others all went to public school for high school, so I’m beginning a brand new adventure in homeschooling a high schooler. I’m excited about all the new things she (we) will learn and the new subjects to be tackled. I love comparing curricula and trying to pick the best ones for our family, so I am enjoying that process. Until now, a lot of what Emily has used were materials that I chose for my older children when they were in elementary and middle school. Suddenly, we are starting new since I haven’t had to purchase high school materials before now.

I am really  happy to have the opportunity to look at everything from a Christian rather than secular perspective. We’ve always done this, of course, but she’s getting to a maturity level now to dig deeper, to explore and develop her personal faith, to study apologetics. Several of the products we’ve reviewed recently have been wonderful (Veritas Press’s Omnibus, Progeny Press guides) and I’ve said to Emily, “If you were in public school, you wouldn’t be studying this book or historical event through a Biblical perspective.”

On the other hand, I’m a bit nervous. I have just four years to get her ready for college. Everything she does needs to be documented, credits need to be counted, and the subjects she studies need to somehow fit neatly into distinct courses. I’m not overly concerned about teaching any subject in particular, but I’m starting to think of activities we need to add—some group learning experiences, volunteer activities, and generally more outside/social activity. She is happy to be a homebody and needs to expand her world a bit!

We’re still firming up plans for the fall, but so far, she plans to take:

• Biology (I plan to teach a group of homeschoolers using Apologia’s Biology course)
• Geometry
• English  I Literature
• Late 19th-20th century world history
• Spanish
• Probably computer applications, PE, art, and/or Bible/apologetics as 1-semester electives

Do you have any tips or links for homeschooling for high school? I’m very open to advice!