Tenth Grade Homeschool Curriculum {2013-2014}
This year our second-oldest son will be in tenth grade. It is extremely fulfilling to look back and see how far Devin has come since we began homeschooling when he was in second grade.
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Tenth Grade Homeschool Curriculum Plan
Math – Math-U-See Zeta
Devin spent his junior high years extremely frustrated with math. We finally switched to MUS and totally disregarded where he was “supposed” to be. Last year, math finally began to make sense for him, and he began flying through his worksheets. Success!
This year Devin will be completing Zeta level, which he already began last year. He will then be moving on into pre-algebra, hopefully completing most of it this year. And I am committed to NOT stressing and rushing him through the material. After all, isn’t this flexibility what homeschooling is all about?
Grammar – Easy Grammar Plus
Devin has an excellent foundation in grammar, having used the Easy Grammar series for several years now. This year he will be doing the first half of Easy Grammar Plus as a refresher course. (The second half of the book will be completed next year.)
Writing – Essay Rock Star
Last year Kaylee completed the Essay Rock Star online writing course, and she loved it so much that I KNEW I needed to use it for Devin this year! While I love to write, I don’t feel confident as a writing teacher, and this course is a great solution for us.
Look for a full review of the Rock Star Essay course in a few weeks!
Literature
Devin has enjoyed several works by Charles Dickens, so I planned a few more for this year. (These three books are all FREE for Kindle!)
After he has read these books, he’ll have the choice of reading more of Dickens’s works or choosing books by another classic author, such as O. Henry or Louisa May Alcott.
Vocabulary – 1100 Words You Need to Know
This is our first year to use this vocabulary resource, but after looking through the book, I’m very pleased with both the content and the layout. The book contains more material than I expect to fit in this year, but we’ll likely finish it next year.
This book is also available for Kindle.
If you’ve used this book, I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!
History – School of Tomorrow World History PACEs
Devin prefers working independently as much as possible, so at his request we are continuing with history PACEs this year. This is a fast-moving course that can easily become overwhelming, but Devin memorizes quickly, so I don’t anticipate a problem.
Science – Apologia Exploring Creation with General Science
Last year Devin used PACEs for science as well as history, but he found that the biology course covered too much material for him to thoroughly understand it when working independently. After some consideration, he agreed to switch to Apologia science, which I have found to be an excellent creation-based science resource.
Since he has already completed biology, but is not yet ready for physical science (due to his math level), he will be covering general science this year. I’m also looking into the student notebooks that are available, hoping that they may simplify some things in our busy homeschool.
Bible – School of Tomorrow Old Testament Survey PACEs
We have used School of Tomorrow’s Bible courses for several years now, and they are a great fit for Devin’s independent learning style. This year he will also be reading through the entire Old Testament as he completes the PACEs.
Keyboarding – Dr. Fry’s Computer Keyboarding
We somehow never got around to doing this last year, so this year Devin WILL be learning to touch type! This is NOT a full typing course, but rather a simple keyboarding course with basic instruction in touch typing. It’s just right to meet Devin’s needs this year.
And now I’d love to hear what you will be using this year for tenth grade–please share!
Hi Judy! It’s nice to hear that you guys like Math u See. I think I’m going to use that when we start school this year or next along with Life of Fred. 🙂
Hi Catie,
Math-U-See has worked exceptionally well for us. And incidentally, my math-challenged son LOVED Life of Fred, too! 🙂
Very awesome! I love that you are willing to scrap the “shoulds” and be where you guys need to be. That’s exactly right – that’s what the flexibility of homeschooling is all about!
Thank you, Joan–this was such an encouragement to me today! I got the end of year letters back from our school district today with several comments pointing out my children’s weaknesses. They are completely unable to see each student as an individual. Thank you for your encouraging words!
It was also encouraging to me to see a mom show how to step back and work with the children where they are instead of pushing the to get to where they “should be”. I will be a more relaxed teacher for reading this post. Thank you.
Our 10th grade plans:
– US History & Literature combo using Notgrass’ America The Beautiful, Homeschool in the Woods Time Travelers, and Moving Beyond the Page 12-14.
-Faith Formation – Didichae Series from My Catholic Faith
-Chemistry – Science for High School
-Spanish – Not certain. We’re starting with Homeschool Spanish Academy for a crew review, and if he likes it we will probably continue it. If not, we’ll figure something out. 🙂
-Geometry – Omega Math. He’ll start that over the winter (he wants to do chemistry, then math).
One of my boys used Notgrass America the Beautiful last year, Meg! Sounds like you have a busy year planned for your son. 🙂
Thanks for sharing. I clicked through and looked at lots of your curriculum and even downloaded some the literature that was free for Kindle. I have a 10th grade son this year, and here are our plans: *MathUSee Algebra 2 (we went straight from Alg 1 instead of doing geometry first because I wanted him to have alt 2 before doing Chemistry – we’ll pick up geometry next year), *Physics: A First Course, *Easy Grammar 10, *Building Thinking Skills from The Critical Thinking Company (continued from last year), *Rosetta Stone Spanish 1, *Vocabulary from Greek and Latin Roots IV, *Jensen’s Format Writing, *Khan Academy’s Computer Science, *daily Bible reading, plus other related books I choose, and for *American History I’m putting my own curriculum together for him using the timeline from Guesthollow as a resource. He’ll play basketball for our local Christian school this winter, and along with his snowboarding, I’ll give him a *PE credit. He’s also helping his dad remodel our house, replacing siding currently, which is earning him a *carpentry credit.
Kathy, I LOVE the idea of giving your son a carpentry credit for his time spent remodeling! I’m trying to figure out what type of credit I could give my oldest son, who will be a senior this year, for his job sandblasting in a factory. I honestly believe these “real-life” skills are just as important as the book learning, especially for those who are nearing adulthood.
Thanks so much for taking time to share your curriculum plan–I know it will be helpful to many other parents!
You’re right about the life skills credit. Even if it’s only something like “vocational skills,” I believe they should get some credit for it. My oldest worked at an ice rink during high school doing everything from rink guarding to front desk to concessions to maintenance and driving the Zamboni. I didn’t give him credit for it on his transcript, but I wish I had! He spent plenty of hours there, that’s for sure! Learned a lot too!
One thing we did do for both boys was buy this old ’79 Firebird that was sitting out in a pasture. It needed everything, so it has become a project car. They’ve been learning mechanics and body work. My oldest got both auto mechanics and auto body shop credits for the work he put into it. It isn’t finished, and my 10th grader is working on it now. I’m sure he’ll be putting in enough hours on it to earn credit as well.
I really appreciate your thoughts on this, Kathy. I think the term “vocational skills” would work well for us. Because we live in a highly regulated state (PA), I was feeling a little anxious about my oldest son’s lighter schedule this year–this will really round out his transcript nicely!
love this series! We are using:
MATH: Saxon Algebra 2
WRITING/LITERATURE: American Literature (Stobaugh)
BIOLOGY: The 101 Series (Biology)
VOCAB: Marie’s Words
HISTORY: American History (Stobaugh)
LANGUAGE: Random books from the library, music and podcasts.. Hebrew!
Thanks for sharing, Samantha! I’m SO impressed that you’ll be doing Hebrew–that’s amazing! It’s so helpful when everyone shares what they will be using–we ALL get new ideas. 🙂
Yeah, I see curriculum choices for younger grades but rarely older grades. How did Math U See work for your family? Would you recommend it for a student who struggles with math?
You’re right–there is less info out there for those homeschooling high school.
I definitely think that Math-U-See is an excellent choice for a struggling math student. That is the main reason we switched to MUS. We had been using Saxon (which is an EXCELLENT program), but our kids were beginning to bog down with it. One son in particular just could not retain anything with the incremental approach–he needed more practice before learning a new concept. We now use MUS from about 3rd grade on up, and my math-challenged son is finally beginning to catch up in math. 🙂
Oh yeah, and a business class, piano lessons, and a 4H journalism class 🙂
My 10th grade son is using Notgrass World History for history, Bible, writing, and literature.
Math~ finishing up Teaching Textbooks geometry, then move into Algebra 2
PE~ Family Time Fitness Foundational Strength Training + a few days a week on the treadmill
Spanish~ Rosetta Stone Homeschool
Vocabulary~ Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power- finish 1 and then move to 2
Science~ Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry
For an elective, he studies computer programming, etc. on his own.
Sounds like you have a very solid year planned out! Thanks for taking time to share–it’s a big help to new homeschoolers and those who haven’t yet finalized their curriculum choices.
Love seeing everyone’s curriculum plans!! Here is my sophomore’s plans starting on the 26th of August.
Hi! I am a 6th grader. I found a typing course that is fantastic for all ages and its free. It is called typingweb. I love the article, so thank you for writing!
Thanks for sharing your favorite typing course, Tahj. It’s fun to hear from a sixth grader! 🙂