Each calendar year, I try to pick a focus word or phrase to help me guide my year. For 2023 my term was Make Space, and it came about primarily because I felt God encouraging me to make space in my daughter’s school schedule for her to pursue the gifts he has given her.
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My oldest is a senior this year (more on his schedule coming next week), and when my daughter started high school, I was mainly putting her on the same track as he was on. I was thinking if it was working, no need to change it.
Considering Each Student
However, I wasn’t considering the differences in their goals and passions. While they had a few different electives, I realized I needed to make even more changes in my daughter’s schedule to make time and space for her to pursue her music passion.
This meant dropping things like foreign languages to make space for more music electives. It also meant adding a business elective to help her prepare for running her own business (she wants to teach music lessons). Much to her disappointment, it did not mean dropping math.
I am sure we will still have some adjustments as we go along, but we looked at the course requirements for the associate’s degree in music that she wants to pursue, in addition to some certifications that she will be working towards. Then, we lined up a curriculum path that would help her gain the skills needed, take some of those courses early, and still have an excellent, well-rounded education that will allow her to change her mind later if things change.
As this is her sophomore year, she will be doing all homeschool courses and begin some dual enrollment classes next year.
Math
I learned my lesson the hard way with my oldest and Algebra 1, and now we use online math programs beginning with Algebra for their sake and mine. My daughter will be taking Algebra II with Thinkwell Math. It is my favorite upper-level math program because it is thorough and well done and offers online help classes for students struggling with a concept.
Reading
I am very excited about her reading program this year. We wanted to do some British Literature, but we will do a deep dive into Jane Austen instead of doing a survey class. I am using a variety of her novels and these great resources from You Are an Artist to combine literature with art.
I look forward to book discussions over tea and snacks (something my daughter and I enjoy). I am also excited about a few movie nights to compare and contrast the movie and the novel. It will be a great learning experience and provide fun memories and bonding with my daughter.
Science
We did science a little out of the typical order so my son and daughter could do chemistry together last year. This year, she will be doing biology, which is often ninth-grade science. She is excited about it because there should be less math included in science than last year! We use Journey Homeschool Academy for our high school science needs. I love the Christian worldview, the engaging videos, and the thorough classes.
(If you want to know more about Journey, check out our full review here.)
Geography
We have a big cross-country trip planned for the spring, so it is the perfect time to do a course in geography. She has had some geography spread throughout her history courses, but I created this geography course to work on US geography specifically.
She started working through the course already and is enjoying it. It allows her to research and learn while also helping plan our trip.
Music
Of course, we must remember the music classes. She will officially get one music credit for Music 2 on her transcript this year. However, we have made some extra time for additional practices and performances.
She will be taking viola and piano lessons with Practice Monkeys (we have been using them since the fall of 2018, and I highly recommend them for music lessons).
She will perform on her viola at a local historical site’s Christmas tour, which will mean some extra practice.
In addition, she is currently playing the keyboard for our church’s youth group band. She is also working with our Worship Minister to incorporate her viola into some Sunday morning worship songs.
She was able to go to three different music camps this summer, and I think the extra practice and encouragement were great for her motivation. I am excited to see the progress that she will make this year.
Electives
Finally, she is taking three electives. First, she is taking her PE course, which means that for our homeschool, she will log hours doing various physical activities. She enjoys running, so that will make up many of her hours, but she also kayaks, hikes, bowls, and enjoys doing some of the workouts using our Fit2B membership for cardio and weight training.
Next, she is going to be doing a business elective. She had been taking some workshops through our local small business center and asked about turning them into a credit. So we have decided that we are going to track those workshops, as well as the time that she spends putting the ideas and information into practice for her soap-making business or helping with her brother’s farm, and count them towards a business elective.
Her third elective will be a poultry science elective. She participates in Poultry Judging and Avian Bowl through 4-H and, in addition to participating, helps to teach younger children. Her team is even going to the national competition this year. They learn so much about poultry and science in general through this program, and we are counting the hours participating in practices, contests, and teaching towards this elective.
Morning Time
In addition to her transcript courses, she will participate in our daily family morning time. During that time, we do our Bible study, current events with World Watch, Shakespeare, and some fine arts. I will share more specifically how we use that time in another post. Still, I think it is important to remember that not everything your high school student does has to be for their transcript, but it is also great when you can turn things you are already doing into high school courses.
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Looks like a great year for her. Hope it goes really well.
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