My third born had an incredible summer. In June, we got a phone call on Thursday that he had a nearly full ride scholarship to an incredible adventure. The catch? He was leaving on Sunday. So at 14 years old, we packed him up for 2 weeks of backpacking over 60 hrs in the wilderness and whitewater rafting over 35 miles on the river... with no contact. It was the longest 2 weeks of my life. :-)
Along with this adventure of a lifetime, he went on two camping trips with the family, volunteered at our local mission, went to houseboat camp, and joined a men's Bible study group.
Getting back into the groove of school is going tough. But I'm confident that 10th grade year is going to be memorable in its own way. Here's what we have planned for now. I'm thinking of structuring our weeks for 4 days to allow time for our teen discipleship group. Or at the very least, making that 5th day shorter.
Geometry and Algebra II:
We had originally planned on going a different route with Algebra last year and instead found Shormann Math. It's amazing! Video lessons, auto correct, email support... I loved the format and he loved learning from Dr. Shormann. This year he'll continue with a half credit of Geometry and a full year of Algebra 2.
English II:
My 10th grader is a very strong reader. However, since we put such a strong emphasis on writing last year, we plan on weaving in a lot more formal read this year. Rod and Staff has a lot of high-level literature and we'll be using level 9. We also appreciate the fact that all the selections are clean, and build into our children's character. I also plan on pulling several books from his Notgrass World History. His reading list will include: A Tale of Two Cities, Julius Caesar, and Animal Farm, just to name a few.
We're going to pick up Structure and Style level 2C to keep writing fresh in his mind. But I don't plan on him finishing this curriculum in it's entirety this year.
In the past, we've used Rod and Staff grammar. While I love that program, we've gotten to a point where it's college-level. This year, we're looking for something quick, to the point, and effective. I've used Easy Grammar with my oldest and liked it. So we'll be returning to that for my 10th grader.
Chemistry:
Third kid and this is my first experience with Chemistry in our homeschool. But we have had some experience with Berean Builders Physics. Good experience. So I'm looking forward to see where the Christy class goes.
World History:
I love Notgrass' history program in the high school years. We focus on the history portion, but will also be pulling some of the historical fiction for our English credit.
French II:
I've tried to get all three of my kids to take Spanish. I've been out of luck all three times. So online French it is. This will be his second year learning French and he's really come a long way. My oldest used Rosetta Stone, and I wasn't very impressed with the voice recognition. However, I haven't been able to find a course that our charter will pay for, and still covers the speaking element. Any advice?
Robotics:
This is probably the class that he's most excited for. He is heavily motivated to learn coding and programming so we've signed him up for a Robotics course at our charter. He's been taking Robotics with them for several years and has a great relationship with the teacher.
PE:
He's still taking gymnastics/ trampoline classes, but to round out his PE credit, we'll be adding in swimming and cycling, and weight lifting as the weather turns.
Bible:
We're continuing with Rod and Staff level 9. This curriculum runs from level 5-10, but that doesn't necessarily coincide with grades. Rather, each level looks at a different part of the Bible, what was happening culturally with the people, what was the background, etc. This year, he's in level which covers who God is and how He reveals Himself to His people. Additionally, we'll do a couple of studies from Not Consumed, and read through
a handful of Christian growth books together.
Morning Time:
Next week, I'll go more in depth into what exactly is in our Morning Basket, but some subjects we'll explore this year include apologetics, Shakepeare, and current events. These are enrichment topics that we'll be studying together before launching into independent study.
Outside Classes:
Choir--He will be continuing on in the senior high choir and will be involved in that for about 14 weeks in the fall, and then 14 weeks in the spring.
Youth Group--He'll be entering his first year of high school youth group where he'll be a part of a discipleship group and attend camps and Bible study intensives
Trampoline-- 1-2x/week, he'll continue trampoline lessons in big trampoline, double mini, and some tumbling at our local gym.
Homeschool Teen Discipleship Group--He was a part of a homeschool group last year that we're hoping will continue this year. This will fall on our 5th, short school day.
A lot of the curriculum that we're using this year, we've used in the past with great success. While I try to tailor our year to each child's needs, I also find that when we find something we like, it's best to stick with it. So many of these curricula are returning from previous years. Plus, he's been very lucky to find several outside opportunities that fit his interests this year. He'll certainly be busy, but I don't think my social butterfly would have it any other way.
What curriculum are you using for your 10th grader?
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