Considering homeschooling for our 17 yr old and need guidance on requirements and curriculum, any suggestions?

Question

Considering homeschooling for our 17 yr old and need guidance on requirements and curriculum, any suggestions?

Answer 1

We're homeschooling our 17-year-old for the first time this year -- he's a junior. This summer I read everything I could find at our local library on homeschooling and talked to other homeschooling parents. We're using A Beka for English comp, American history, and biology; Saxon for algebra two; and a modification of Great Books for literature. We're supplementing the English comp with Writing Strands and the Vocabulary from Classical Roots series. (Basically, the English comp class is also for SAT/ACT prep.)

The Great Books program uses literature from ancient times to now. I'm basing our literature class on information from a book called Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to a Classical Education at Home by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1999). Usually the program covers both literature and history. There are also websites that offer suggested book lists.

We found most of the books we're using (A Beka, Saxon, Writing Strands, and Vocabulary/Classical Roots) on eBay. (And plan to sell them next year!)

In our first few days, we've focused on three classes and will add the others in the next couple of weeks. As far as algebra is concerned, I'm not sure who is teaching whom! I have to stay a step ahead on that one, but I'm enjoying it. We're flexible in our expectations and schedule as we get used to NDHS (my son's name for our home school).

I wish you the very best as you begin this journey. Prepare for the bumps -- there will surely be some for all of us -- but enjoy the landscape along the way. It'll be worth it*

Answer 2

Requirements depend on what state you are in, hslda.org will tell you the requirements for your state.

I'd recommend Saxon for math, apologia for science, applications of grammar (Christian liberty press) for grammar/English, and I kind of like Pearson's history courses.