Will's First Year of High School at Home

Well, this school year has come to a close, and the new one is just around the corner. Well, kind of :). This year will be the first in a long time that I am choosing not to follow along with the school calendar (public or private) for our homeschool. Kate graduated in May and will be starting college classes at the end of August, so I'm thinking Will and I will probably wait to start school when she does.



I can't believe my baby has finished his first year of high school! I remember how at this time last year I was so apprehensive about teaching high school at home. It's amazing how God uses situations like these to draw us closer to Him, teaching us to lean on Him and trust Him. He helped us to pull everything together that we needed to complete Will's 9th grade year, and get everything ready for a transcript to help him be ready for college.

Our curriculum this year included:

Bible - 

*Bible Doctrines

*Old Testament History

History - 

*Exploring World History, Literature and Bible, by the Notgrass Company

     *Part 1: Creation Through the Middle Ages (first semester)

     *Part 2: The Renaissance to the Present (second semester)

Math - 

*Saxon Algebra I and CTC Math Tutor

English/Composition/Grammar - 

*Jump In Writing Program

*Easy Grammar Plus

*Copywork using Our Beautiful America, by Queen Homeschool

Literature - 13 works, including:

*Mere Christianity

*The Cat of Bubastes

*Julius Caesar

*The Imitation of Christ

*Here I Stand

*Pilgrim's Progress

*A Tale of Two Cities

*Pride and Prejudice

*Heart of Darkness

*Eric Liddell

*The Hiding Place

*War Horse

*The Abolition of Man

Science - 

*Physical Science, by ABeka (first semester)

*Human Anatomy and Physiology, by Apologia (second semester)

Geography -

*The Earth, Its Wonders, Its Secrets

*Mapping the World

Foreign Language - 

*Beginning Spanish

We also scheduled in weekly readings to include subjects such as biographies, nature readings, animal interests, poetry and hymns, inventors/inventions, astronomers and forensics.

working on lesson plans for the week

reading about molecules and matter

Dad explaining math concepts in Algebra I, because a math teacher I am not

learning about the dynamics of breathing in his Anatomy workbook

studying Bible doctrines and learning to apply them to his life

Dad teaching Will the mechanics of blood pressure, since he learned about this in Human Anatomy

writing

more math

reading a classic

a sick day...

experimenting

balancing an egg

one of our favorites this year

We needed to make a trip out of town, so we enjoyed a nice lunch out... one of the perks of homeschooling!

So, Will's 9th grade year has come to an end. We both learned so much this year, and that's one of the things I love best about homeschooling... I have an opportunity to learn just as much as he does! 

We are enjoying our summer, but I have been busy researching and gathering what we'll need for the upcoming school year, which will be upon us before we know it!