Curriculum Choices 2022-2022

I started planning for Merry’s junior year (grade 11) about Christmas of last year. I started by looking at what her sister had done. Then I looked at what Merry was currently doing. Made a list of what was going well, what was going poorly, and what we seemed to be doing just for the sake of doing. 

What was going poorly was easiest to identify. Last year we were doing too much. Her schedule was overwhelming. But I was unwilling to cut academic classes and she was unwilling to give up her electives. So we had settled with the block scheduling. I resolved to not give her such a heavy schedule this next year.

I also realized she was getting bored with her classes. They were requirements that she didn’t have much say in. So this year I gave her a say. Over spring break I made a list of possible classes. Some were required for graduation, so I italicized those. Some were my preference for teaching, I bolded those. And most were simply classes she could take, if she wanted. 

Next was the hard part, I gave her the list and let her choose. She only picked one of my bolded classes (Latin online), she only picked one of the graduation required classes (the other three will have to be done next year), and she definitely showed interests.

Do what does Merry’s junior year schedule look like? Much to my surprise she chose two science electives, marine biology and astronomy. We will be using Apologia for both of those. In that science vibe, she also chose Sci-Fi literature. I was unable to find a curriculum for that so I’ve spent my summer putting one together for her.  And she is taking computer programming again this year from CompuScholars. Along with her STEM heavy choices are her required classes, world history and foreign language. We will be using Notgrass for history again this year, and Latin will be with an online class again.

Notably lacking from her list is math. She had finished the required levels and I decided making her take calculus would not benefit either of us. Besides there is always next year.

We start next week! And I’m excited to see how the year turns out!

Planning highschool

I'll be honest, the closer my kids get to highschool the more I think, "I should blog about their preschool days."  After all write what you know.  And I know they can both read and write now, so I must have done ok.

But highschool, I don't know how that will go yet.  I've started making plans, buying curriculum, and scheduling next year.  But will things go as planned?  Am I scheduling enough time?  Will this curriculum work for the year?  So many questions!

So I'm going to give myself a little advice, the same advice I would give someone starting homeschooling their kindergartener.

First: This isn't a one day process, just like you don't learn to read in a day, there is very little that is learned in just one day!  Highschool lasts 4 years, so don't cram everything into the first year! It's better to ease into somethings.

Second: You aren't starting from scratch. When I started homeschooling, I had already spent 5 years watching my daughter grow and play.  I already knew her personality.  So I was able to choose learning options that I knew she would enjoy, like worksheets with princesses and mermaids.  Now I've had 8 years lesson planning and used a variety of curriculums.  I know what has worked and what has not.  Just because now it's highschool level doesn't mean previous experience won't help.

Third: Breath!  As much as I would love for everything to go smoothly next year, it won't ruin my child if a subject doesn't work out.  After all I thought I had ruined her love of reading when she spent an afternoon crying under the kitchen table, cause "sounding out words was too hard." (After that we took some time off schooling, more coloring and watching PBS) But she reads for fun every chance she gets now!  So maybe being relaxed will help her, as well as me, next year!

So that's my advice, fingers crossed I'll follow it!