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Well, it’s that time of year again. As I finalize what I’m using for my kiddos this year, I figured I’d share the info I have gathered so far. We start our new school year next week, and I’m a little behind the eight ball. It’s been a bit of a rough year for figuring out where everyone is at, especially my younger two. (Which is exactly why I’m working from the top down and starting this series of posts with my oldest’s 10th grade homeschool plan.)

Using Alpha Omega’s Monarch last year for her freshman year was a great success for the most part, so we plan on using it again for a few subjects. She really liked the online format, even if the Christian viewpoint didn’t exactly sit well with her. We ended up ditching New Testament Survey fairly early. However, I made her stumble through all the biblical references in her one-semester health elective. You can read more about how her first year panned out here.

Language Arts

This is my child who has never, ever been able to fit into a box. Because of this, the Monarch English I was the first thing to be disbanded, so to speak. So, for this year, we’re going back to piecing together her language arts program.

Grammar

Over the summer I’ve been working on the first season of Analytical Grammar with both girls. So far, it seems to be working well, and I think I made the right choice in choosing this program.

Literature

Literature was the most difficult subject to decide on. I have no desire to teach it, nor do I really feel confident about it. Originally, I had planned on her either taking lit classes at our co-op or through AOP’s Monarch electives. However, she’s no longer attending co-op and I didn’t find the Monarch literature to work with her learning style.

Once I realized this was going to fall on me to teach,  I decided that I wanted her to read Lord of the Flies (<— Amazon link to book) this year. (I’ve been dying to share my favorite with my kids forever!) At first, I wasn’t sure if 10th grade was the right year for it, but after some forum research, it seemed that the consensus was that if you introduce it as early as 8th or 9th grade, most of the dark side of it is lost on them and doesn’t effect them as strongly as if you wait until 11th or 12th grade. Several people had stated that their older students were more disturbed than they had been when they read it. In addition, a lot of moms stated that it was way more disturbing when they revisited it as an adult than it had ever been in school. So, being that K is a young 10th grade homeschooler, I figured it’s the perfect year to read it. (I’m probably looking forward to this more than any other aspect of the 2018-19 school year!)

That being said, I wasn’t sure what to use for our lit program. I tried researching whether or not you could build a program using Spark Notes or something similar, and I tried asking other moms what they’ve used. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any information that encouraged me to pursue anything I came up with. I also had a few suggestions from other moms, but they came with, “but it was pretty dry.” Then I happened across Moving Beyond the Page’s (MBtP) brand new High School I program. And guess what the first unit is on? You guessed it: Lord of the Flies! (<— MBTP link to curriculum) I am so stoked to get this and start using it with her!!!

Writing

Although there will be writing included with MBtP, I also want to revisit Writing Strands. Writing is something that I feel is a stumbling block with both girls, so I want to try to gain some ground this year.

Math

Since the Monarch math worked well for her, we’re continuing with that this year. She’ll be taking the Algebra I class.

History

The World Geography class in the Monarch program was probably K’s favorite from her 9th grade year. I’m not sure if she’ll feel the same about the World History, since the content won’t be the same, but I’m hoping the format is at least tolerable for her. I might also throw in some fun lap book projects and possibly some of the TRISMS activities to keep things fresh and interesting, since history is one of those subjects that so many find to be dry and boring. I plan to keep a hand on this subject with her this year, rather than letting it be completely independent.

Science

This year, K is going to use Elemental Science’s Biology for the Rhetoric Stage. The original plan was for her to do this last year, but she really enjoyed the online format, so we did the Integrated Chemistry & Physics instead. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this program works.

I think that about covers our 10th grade homeschool year. Now that I have the first high school year under my belt, I’m much more relaxed about beginning 10th grade with my oldest. Are you homeschooling any high schoolers this year? If so, what programs do you plan on using?