Wow! Where did summer go? Here we are already in August and getting ready for Back to School. And this year is extra crazy in our house because we are welcoming our youngest child into high school. It's hard to believe that we're officially out of the elementary years and only have four years left. Where has the time gone?
My 9th grader is young (hello, fall birthday!), but beyond capable when it comes to high school level work. We are true eclectic homeschoolers so you will notice a variety of curriculum planned for this year... secular to Christian, traditional schooling to a little Charlotte Mason, and more outsourcing than I've used with him in the past.
So here's to two kiddos in high school and a great year coming up!
Math:
We'll be transitioning from Sadlier-Oxford (which we love in the elementary years) to Saxon Algebra I. He did quite a bit of Algebra last year with Sadlier-Oxford, so I'm confident that this will be just fine for him. I'm actually debating putting him into Shorrmann Algebra, so if anyone has experience with that curriculum, let me know.
LA:
This year, I want to put a greater emphasis on writing. We've had a good experience with IEW in co-op classes in the past so I'm hoping it will work for us at home. We'll be using level 1C this next year as it's a good starting point for high school. I'm hoping this will be a good launching pad for college-level courses in a few years.
My 9th grader is a very strong reader. However, since IEW is not a full 36 week course, we'll be using Rod and Staff on the lighter weeks. We didn't quite finish level 8 last year so we'll pick up there. Rod and Staff has a lot of high-level literature. We also appreciate the fact that all the selections are clean, and build into our children's character.
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 9th grader.
Biology:
My daughter LOVED Abeka, but I've heard a lot of good things about Apologia. Since I was able to get a free copy of the Apologia curriculum, we're going to give it a try. I've purchased a student notebook, and found many of the labs online. Hoping to give a more thorough review after this year.
Human Geography:
I'm really on the fence about this one. We used BJU's Human Geography for my daughter in her 9th-grade year, and it's TOUGH! We ended up using the tests as a study guide and giving her extra days in the schedule before the tests. It's a very challenging curriculum. I'm planning to fill out this course with lots of historical fiction. If we get into it and it doesn't go well, I'm looking into Thinking Tree's Seven Amazing Continents.
French:
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. 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?
Computer Science:
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 computer science course through Acellus. He started the course over the summer and is putting extra time into it because he's just enjoying it that much.
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 8. 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 8 which takes a deep dive into the New Testament. Additionally he'll keep reading through the Christian Heroes series. I've picked out 12 books for us to read and be inspired by this year.
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 the ballet. These are enrichment topics that we'll be learning together with my 12th grader.
Outside Classes:
Choir--He will be continuing on in the senior high choir and will be involved in that for about 12 weeks in the fall, and then 12 weeks in the spring.
Youth Group and Worship Team--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.
BSF--We're going to try BSF as a family this year. It will be the first time we've done something like this, and I'm hoping it's a good fit.
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 did you use for your 9th grader?
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