Home School High School...

I am getting prepared for teaching/leading my first year of high school in the fall! The Boy will be 14 by then, and says he is ready to step up his game a bit. He's decided he wants to at least meet, if not exceed, the general California standards for high school graduation (really he's looking at doing the UC requirements, "just in case") so we've worked together on designing a curriculum that will meet those expectations, while still being tailored to his interests. There are a couple of areas I am working on fine tuning/choosing final tools, but we'll get there. I have the basic overview here, but this post provides a little more detail!

So away we go!

Literature & Composition ("English")

For literature, we have decided to adapt a "Roots of Steampunk" study that a friend put together. Think of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, even Sherlock Holmes, and you'll get the picture. I am in the midst of refining the reading list now, but will happily share it when I am done!

As for composition, he will move more toward writing across the curriculum, or, if he needs some additional instruction, he will work through Writing With A Thesis: A Rhetoric & Reader

{full credits in composition and literature}

Math

Two choices are on the table. He will either be completing Jacobs Elementary Algebra, which should finish out the year, or, he may switch things out and go for Life of Fred Beginning Algebra. Either way, ninth grade will be The Year of Algebra for him!

{full math credit}

Science and History Intertwined

I think this will be a very good fit for his inquiring mind. He has chosen to focus on The Big History Project, which integrates history with science, covering time from the Big Bang to the present, and science including biology and evolution, chemistry, astrophysics, and more. I do plan to add in additional reading and some projects to make it a full high school level history and science course, such as The Magic of Reality, Hakim's Story of Science, A Short History of Nearly Everything (or even the "Really Short" version), Science Matters, and there are a few other titles I am considering in addition or as replacements for the aforementioned.

{full credits on world history and non-lab science}

Foreign Language

He would like to learn more German, so we are researching possibilities for that. This is at this point optional.

{potential full foreign language credit}

Visual & Performing Arts

The Boy will be taking his first class in fall at the local junior/community college, probably in Drawing & Composition, as it is a prerequisite for other art classes down the line. He's talking about taking a sculpture class after that.

{Full fine arts credit}

and finally, Physical Education

For which he has fencing.

{full physical education credit}

So there we go! High school. Wow! If he wants, he may do some online/through book electives, such as computer science.