10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

As I look at our 10th grade curriculum choices, the pile of books isn’t as big as I expect when I think about homeschooling high school. It seems like we’re missing things, but I know we’re not. There’s actually a good reason why Abigail’s 10th grade course load looks the way that it does – dual enrollment.

Abigail plans to dual enroll at our local community college next year, so there are certain classes that she will have to take there. Since she’s been working on high school requirements since 8th grade, she’s already completed some of the credits she needs to graduate from our home school. That means that there are only a handful of classes that she has to complete this year in order to stay on track for graduation.

Obviously, one of our main goals this year is for her to get accepted into the dual enrollment program, so she will spend some of her school time working toward the PERT test in the spring.

We’re also leaving room in her schedule for her to pursue passions she’s thinking of turning into a career, namely art and coin carving. Last year she was a bit overwhelmed with her course load and these pursuits took a back seat, so she asked that we make time for them this year.

Homeschool Planning for High School 10th Grade Curriculum Picks

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Homeschool Planning For High School

Foreign Language

Abigail will be taking Spanish II through Florida Virtual School. She did well with level I and I have confidence she’ll have another great year in Spanish. It’s a lot of work, but she puts the time in and I’m proud of how well she’s doing with her foreign language requirement.

History

History has always been one of Abigail’s favorite subjects and she’s always enjoyed reading historical fiction, so Beautiful Feet is the perfect fit for her. This year she has chosen Modern American History for her American History credit. This programs also allows her to earn one general Literature credit.

She’ll learn about American history from the 1850s into the 2000s through non-fiction and historical fiction reading assignments, research and discussion topics, mapping, timeline building, and hands-on activities.

A few of the books on the reading list are:

Modern American History for 10th grade homeschoolers.

Language Arts

I want to make sure Abigail is ready for the demanding writing assignments she will face next year, so for the writing portion of her English credit, Abigail will be using The Power in Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School by Sharon Watson. The lessons are designed to help her feel comfortable writing multiple forms of nonfiction, including persuasion, exposition, description, and narration. This is our first time using this program, but we were both impressed that throughout the course she will learn brainstorming tips, how to organize her thoughts, how and when to cite sources, proofreading skills, and more.

Abigail will also continue writing articles for various coin-related publications and plans to build a couple of seminars and classes that she can deliver to audiences throughout the year.

All of this will make an exciting English credit for 10th grade!

Math

Math is by far Abigail’s Achilles heel. Over the years, she has struggled with various concepts, and that has lead to her belief that she’s just not good at math. While this blanket statement isn’t true, it has made it difficult to get her through the math she needs not only to graduate but also to pass the PERT test. So this year, our main focus for math is to get her caught up and ready to take the standardized test.

We started using Learn Math Fast last year and since Abigail seems to like it, we’re going to keep using it. The concepts are carefully laid out and explained in a way that’s easy for her to understand. She will be working hard to finish Volume 5 as quickly as possible.

10th Grade homeschool curriculum picks electives

Electives

For fun, Abigail is taking:

  • Drawing II – learning how to draw figures. This is a class taught by a professional artist at our homeschool co-op. It’s an intense course, with a lot of time outside of class required (3-12 hours a week). She’s wanted to improve her figure drawing for a while now, so she can’t wait to get started!
  • Coin Carving. Abigail is a hobo nickel coin artist, meaning she uses carving tools to turn Buffalo Nickels into works of art. She’s been doing this for a couple of years and is constantly working to improve her craft. Since she sells her coins at local coin shows and is considering this as a profession, we’re making time in her school schedule for her to carve.
  • We’ve finally signed her up for Driver’s Ed through Florida Virtual School.

As I mentioned, Abigail will be taking the PERT test later this year as a requirement for dual enrollment in our county. She will be using the PERT Study Guide to get ready for the test.

Similar to what I shared about Marianna in my post about our 8th-grade curriculum choices, Abigail is responsible for maintaining her own daily school schedule. She uses The Ultimate Weekly Planner for Teens by Apologia to keep herself organized.

10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

With dual enrollment on the horizon, this is actually my last year truly homeschooling my oldest. I’m excited to see what amazing things she learns and accomplishes this school year!

What Curriculum is Your High Schooler Most Excited About This Year?

 

Megan Zechman
I love homeschooling! Learning is a way of life for our family. Most days you will find us exploring our Central Florida community, having fun while learning. I am constantly looking for new and interactive ways to engage my older children.
Megan Zechman
Megan Zechman
Megan Zechman

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