Well hallelujah, look who finalized the homeschool curriculum plans. I know, I know. I really left it to the last minute this year. Time completely escaped me and then this weekend I saw that the Toronto District School Board doesn’t start school until the 9th this year so that gave me a couple more days.
We generally start when the locals start, it just makes things easier. We take off different times over the year and longer breaks over Christmas, but we tend to accomplish more in a short day than a lot of schools fit into 8 hours.
This is Roo’s last year of high school. She has no college plans at the moment because she will only be 17 when she graduates and she is in no rush.
I told her that it’s better to go when she is older and knows what she wants to take than when she is younger and feels that is what she is supposed to do vs what she wants to do.
I find the former is usually more successful at school since they are more mature and serious about it.
If you want to see what our plans were last year for grades 5 and 11 you can see that in this post. School has been really weird for the last 18 months, even for us people who have always homeschooled.
It makes me wonder how colleges and universities will be looking at new applicants after this. I think there is probably going to be a whole different kind of application process and criteria for getting in.
There is no possible way that this won’t change things in my opinion.
That being said these are our plans as it stands. They are open to change depending on if we like where it is taking us.
This year I think the focus on both kids will be writing and math. Those are two areas that I want to make sure are solid.
Well, as solid as we can make them.
For Roo, since this is her last year I want to make sure she really knows how to write. Edit, research, documenting…all the fine details that are required.
She doesn’t like taking writing courses but she is writing a screenplay that no one is allowed to read…so there’s that :/
As for Math, it is absolutely not her favourite so she won’t be striving for Calculus this year like many seniors. She also opted out of physics this year because it is too mathy and she would rather do some other science so…
Grade 12 Homeschool Curriculum
Language Arts
Writing and Rhetoric – finish the series up
I wanted to sign her up for this writing program but it has been postponed until spring which obviously doesn’t work for us.
Grammar for the Well Trained Mind (student book, and answer key)
Books:
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
Bleak House
Middlemarch
Dracula
Vanity Fair
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Hamlet
The Bluest Eye
Heart of Darkness
Math
Unlock Math (finish as much as we can) this program is fantastic and has helped her immensely.
History
We’ve gone through the history cycle many, many times now so this year we are just going to focus on her favourite period in history, The Victorian period. Nothing strenuous. Just a 36 part lecture on Victorian Britain that will take us through the year.
Books:
I focused a lot of the Language arts book choices on Victorian authors.
How to Be Victorian
Science
Thinkwell Honours Biology, not physics but still vigorous.
Books:
The Origin of Species
Foreign Language
We’ve done french for years because I always felt that french was what we had to take. This year I let them choose what they wanted to take. She chose Ukrainian and Russian. I need to find other sources for languages but so far we have:
Duolingo
Netflix/Movies with subtitles and podcasts/news/youtube channels (mostly for Russian) Ukrainian is a bit harder to find.
Women’s Studies
Beyond the Ballot: Women’s Rights and Suffrage from 1866-today
Fighting for Equality 1950-2018
Books:
The Awakening
A Room of One’s Own
A Doll’s House
Pygmalion (book and movie My Fair Lady)
The Feminine Mystique
Outrageous Acts and Every Day Rebellion
A Handmaid’s Tale
Iron Jawed Angels (movie)
Suffragette (movie)
Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony
Economics:
Honours Economics
Extra: I’m trying to motivate her to take a college course via Athabasca University. You can enrol pretty much anytime so we have time to think it over.
6th Grade Homeschool Curriculum
Language Arts
Writing & Rhetoric 4 (Teacher and Student) and 5 (Teacher and Student)
Spelling Workout C and D
Grammar First Language Lessons 4 (teacher and student)
Math
We are working through Math Mammoth units to fill any holes before proceeding to Unlock Math Foundations, then Pre Algebra
History
The Big History Project
Crash Course Big History
We like History Quest but it has a lot of busywork that we end up not doing.
Science
Fascinating Chemistry
We also like Science Comics.
German
She decided that German is her language and she says she plans to be fluent by age 16.
Duolingo – she just hit her 125-day streak.
Watch German TV and read German kids books. Her aim is to start Harry Potter in German.
Art
During the pandemic, she took up drawing and really loves it. It’s been amazing seeing how much her drawing has improved over this time.
How to Draw
Sister Wendy’s Art – The Complete Collection
Geography
Mapping the World with Art
Shepherds Software for memorizing countries and cities.
Mythology
Crash Course Mythology
Greek Mythology
Norse Mythology
Piano/Keyboard
I also bought a subscription to Curiosity Stream Documentaries. It’s only $20 for the year so I figure it would be worth it.
And that is it folks. It took me a long bloody time so I hope we don’t change it up too much.
Stay safe.
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Thanks for sharing home school curriculum Sarah. So thrilled to see women’s studies there as a women’s studies teacher! Liz
What a fantastic subject you teach! I firmly believe that women’s studies should be a mandatory subject in high school. Also in grade school because I feel that it’s important to start talking about it with younger children as well.
Agree absolutely Sarah – maybe you should develop a home school women’s studies curriculum! I teach at masters level here in Ireland (very part time) and it is the only women’s studies programme in the country! We don’t even have undergrad. Your home school curriculum really inspired me. I have two children with additional needs and I am not seeing a suitable school for my oldest when he moves into secondary, so this could be my alternative! I do very part time teaching, but I aspire to write and combine with activism through a website. Hence your website always inspires me! Keep it up! Liz