Recommendations needed for high school curriculum

[Finding Serenity]

I am taking my DD out of public school for 11th grade and am looking for a really dynamic homeschool program for her to do for both 11th and 12th grade. Does anyone have any recommendations for me? I am needing to get things together for this fall.

[Cynthia Mosher]

Moving this to the Learning at Home and Beyond forum so you can get an answer from the community.

General reminder to all - posts to Homeschool Curriculum and Resources Reviews should be reviews, not questions about products and resources. Thanks!

[Lillian J]

You'll have lots of time.

I think the most dynamic program would be one you and she put together yourselves - there are lots of wonderful materials to choose from. All you need is a list of subjects, and then you can pick materials for each.

I'd get a copy of The Teenage Liberation Handbook, by Grace Llewellyn right away - it's full of ideas.

This catalog - FUN-Books - has quite a few really good math materials for all ages, for instance. Look especially at the Harold Jacobs math texts. Also look in this page - Go Figure! - underneath the box of articles - for sites that describe good books for math. I think math will be the most important element to choose, because it can make or break her enthusiasm, so I wouldn't leave it to a program - better to make sure it's something that really appeals to her and is written by an author or company that specializes in math. Here's a resource section put together by a homeschooling group that has some good suggestions for various subjects, too, with links to places where you can red more about them: resources. And here's a page that has books suggestions for finding out more about college issues. This page has links to lots of interesting articles and links about high school years and beyond.

So there's lots to take a look at, but you really do have lots of time. There's honestly no real need for her to jump in immediately - in a home setting, things go much easier and faster than in school with all its distractions. Here are two important articles to start with:

"Older Kids - Decompression," an article by Cafi Cohen on the complexities of moving from school to home.
Transitions To and From Homeschooling

And here are some good "getting started" resource links - including links to pages of support group listings.

I hope she has a wonderful experience! - Lillian