High School Curriculum?

[puzzlepeace]

Any input on high school curriculum? Something that would have teachers overseeing preferably. Could be online or physical books. 

DD is advanced academically. She is in 8th grade.  She aspires to go to an Ivy League for college and is interested in government/history/law.  I want to give her the option to be homeschooled again but with a better strategy than we had last year.  She loves being back at school this year but will be changing schools regardless as the school has no high school program.  We are sorely disappointed in our local public high school, have considered moving to another state (would create a commuter marriage), and also homeschooling. There is not a private/parochial that would be in our budget that we would consider.

Thanks in advance!

[tsmama24]

LetsHomeschoolHighschool.com has a full curriculum directory for high school: http://letshomeschoolhighschool.com/homeschool-high-school-curriculum-directory-2/#.UBUx9LSwyZg

[puzzlepeace]

Thanks! That looks quite helpful.
 

[yvonnemommy]

Hi puzzlepeace Maybe you can have a try with beestar. My 5th grade has been using the curriculum for years. It combines all the syllabus from all over... It costs only $20-$30 per semester for each subject. I notice it comes up with high school curriculum recently. It will be years before DD using it, but I believe it’s worthy to have a try. The math program is recommended especially:) Lisa

[mom2ponygirl]

We have been homeschooling high school subjects for a few years although my dd is just a 9th grader this year.  We have found it pretty easy to piece together individual subjects.  It is hard to find a complete curriculum that fits well, particularly for an advanced child that may not have even abilities in all areas.  We do a mixture of self-designed study, online classes, and dual enrollment classes at the state University.  I have no worries about her being well prepared for college and being able to present a transcript that will be looked upon favorably by selective universities, if that is what she chooses to do.  

I love that she has the freedom to investigate and delve deep into her interests.  We can pick and chose the classes she takes and the studies we design so that she maximizes learning and enjoyment and minimizes busy work.  She will have external validation of her coursework through a few AP exams, SAT subject tests, and dual enrollment classes.  Given the number of homeschool students I know of getting into elite schools, I'm not worried about her ability to go to a school she will be excited to attend.  However, given her varied interests, I don't want to predict what she will chose by the time she is college aged. 

If you are interested in piecing together subjects I can give lots of recommendations.  We've enjoyed AoPS, www.artofproblemsolving.com for math, and some programming.  Lone Pine Classical for Latin.  eIMACS gets great reviews but we haven't tried them.  Have you looked at your local community college or other universities?  Some dual enrollment classes can be great particularly if you are daunted by high school labs at home.  Our local community college will take 9th graders who are 14.  Our local university will take anyone with a great ACT or SAT score - which is one reason my dd started there this fall at 13. LOL 

Many states have high school programs through K12 available but I haven't heard too many good things about their high school classes.  Dd has taken  two one semester courses at http://thevhscollaborative.org/  They were reasonably good but not tremendously inspiring.  www.coursera.org has lots of interesting offerings, but they vary a bit in quality.  They are free though so you can drop what you don't like!  www.hippocampus.org has lots of free high school course material available.  

[moominmamma]

I'm in Canada, and really don't have a good sense of what the college application process looks like at Ivy League colleges in the US, but I have homeschooled three kids at high school levels. I really think that you need to start with the learner and work from there, taking her current interests one at a time and exploring how her needs in each area might best be met. We would have a planning session, free-associating and brainstorming what might be fun/inspiring/useful to learn about, and dreaming up ways that might be possible to do that learning. Then we would start doing serious research, looking into particular courses, books, programs, mentorships, on-line resources and so on. Them we'd have a think about what structure, accountability and system of documentation would make sense in terms of creating an appropriate academic record.

At age 13 or so, things were still pretty casual. For instance, my elder dd wanted to learn music theory and Latin, among other things. These were new areas for her but she decided she didn't need a mentor or supervising teacher in either case and we simply researched good textbook/workbook programs since that delivery method suited her learning style. She set goals for completing portions of each program. She did the work and did self-check assessments as she went along, completed the books and that was that.

Like mom2ponygirl we have ended up with a piecemeal approach including self-study, on-line courses through the high school or college system in our area and mentored study. It wasn't the sort of thing where we could just implement (or sign the kids up for something) and trust that it was all in place. We had to get together regularly and examine how things were working, changing it up or re-setting goals and expectations as needed. But it was an individualized, challenging and responsive way of doing home-based learning. And it allowed my kids to transition easily into advanced high school and/or college study. With my 9-year-old, who is almost ready for high school level study in some areas, we'll be taking the same approach.

Miranda

[domesticidyll]

(Disclaimer: I don't have a hs kid yet. I just keep my ears perked up for interesting curricula when I hear something mentioned.)

Another vote for piecemeal. A few things on my looking-ahead list that might suit you:

Art of Problem Solving (math)

The Way Life Works (bio)

Wheelocks's (Latin)

Excavating English (history of English language)

The Elements (chemistry)

EPGY (math and English)

Institute for Excellence in Writing

The well-trained mind forums are a good place for academically rigorous curricula, even for the not especially classically-minded.

[lalovelady]

My 2 high school children are currently enrolled with California Virtual Academy. They use the K12 curriculum (www.k12.com). They have teachers and all the support they need. We love it and they are learning a lot and doing very well. DD has already taken 2 college level courses with a 4.0!