Our 2022-2023 Homeschool Plan for 12th, 10th, and 8th grades
It is time.
I’ve procrastinated homeschool planning long enough but it is finally time to make a plan for next year. Which is exactly what I did this week.
Homeschool planning is different now that all of my kids are teens. Quite a bit of my planning happened in the spring when we registered for classes for the coming year. Despite that, there are still a few things for me to work through that I have to teach or organize.
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Our Homeschool Year Plan for 2022-2023
Once again, I am only planning for three students this year because my oldest child will be a freshman in college. This transition to the final years of homeschooling has been a strange one, and honestly, it continues to be. Every year feels closer to the end of this homeschooling journey as my kids begin to take more classes online and from local teachers.
Despite much of the year “being planned for me,” I do still have a few subjects to plan and some decisions to help my kids make about their year so that is what I finally sat down to do.
Our Homeschool Year Plans By Subject
I am going to share our plans by subject area instead of grade level. You’ll find high school and middle school plans for each area if my kids aren’t doing or using the same thing curriculum and resources.
Homeschool Math
Mr. D Math
Years ago, we discovered Mr. D Math and my kids will continue to use self-paced Mr. D math class at their own level. We prefer the self-paced classes because my kids don’t always begin and end their curriculum on the traditional schedule so this allows them to work at their own pace.
12th Grade
My 12th grader is very much done with math. She would gladly put math behind her but she needs one more credit to graduate high school and I also want her to keep math skills fresh in her mind in case she needs them for a college class. We’ve decided that she will take Mr. D’s Consumer Math Course for 10th – 12th graders.
Mr. D’s consumer Math Course is a project-based learning course that will require her to apply math skills to real-life situations. Topics include financing a car, the stock market, compound interest, sales tax, and more.
10th Grade and 8th Grade
Both of my younger children will continue with Mr. D self-paced math classes at their level using the traditional courses.
Mr. D Math continues to be an excellent fit for our family and it is nice to know that our math plan is an easy one! You can read more about our past experiences and learn more about how Mr. D Math works:
How Mr. D Math Saved my Homeschool Sanity
Five Reasons we are Sticking with Mr. D Math
Successfully Homeschool Pre-Algebra with Ease
NOTE: Mr. D Math also offers live, online classes and I have heard only great things about them. They don’t fit our homeschool lifestyle but are a great option to consider.
Homeschool English
12th Grade
My 12th-grade daughter is enrolled in ENG 111 through the dual enrollment program at our local community college. This will also count as her English credit for high school. She’ll continue to listen to great literature with us at home because this class focuses mainly on writing.
10th Grade
My son will continue his classes with a local English teacher who will use Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis. My daughter took this class during her freshman year in high school and it was her absolute favorite. She loved this literary analysis guide so much that she refused to get rid of it when the class was over.
Booklist for 10th grade:
Summer Reading – Mississippi Trial 1955 by Chris Crowe
Summer Reading – Countdown (60’s trilogy) by Deborah Wiles
Summer Reading – Revolution (60’s trilogy) by Deborah Wiles
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Romeo and Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare
Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 (Book 1) by Richard Paul Evans
Joni: An Unforgettable Story by Joni Eareckson Tada
8th Grade
My youngest child is taking English with the same teacher we have enjoyed for a few years. He will be using IEW: Structure and Style, Year 1 Level B for writing instruction. While IEW isn’t what I would choose, this teacher does an excellent job implementing the lessons, and my children have learned to write well over the years.
Booklist for 8th Grade:
Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Follow My Leader by James B. Garfield
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Homeschool History
This is the one subject that our entire family still studies together and this year is no different. All three children will study US Government and Civics. We don’t have a formal curriculum. Instead, I am combining various sources to make a year-long study.
Sharon Says So – Sharon McMahon is a former US Government teacher who shares daily on her Instagram stories, hosts webinars, and produces a podcast. We will watch her Instagram stories every morning as part of our morning time and I’ll incorporate her webinars into our school year as well.
Kahn Academy US Government and Civics – The completely free curriculum offers video lessons and readings by topic to guide you through a year of government and civics. I’ll most likely use this as a spine for our year.
Field Trips – We are fortunate to live in the state capital, so we will try to visit various local branches of government, local courts, and our state representatives. I’d love to visit DC to tour the White House and the Capitol Building, but we shall see if that works out.
Homeschool Science
High School
Last year we found a local science teacher and my 10th grader is going to take Physics with him. I am excited for him to dig into physics because he has wanted to for quite some time!
Middle School
I have never been the best science teacher, but I definitely did a better job when I had multiple children participating. So as much fun as we did have with BookShark last year, I decided to search Outschool for a science class option for my 8th grader.
We’ve decided to give Mrs. Pope’s Sparkology class for 7th and 8th graders a try this quarter. We liked that it was an 8-week commitment so my son can decide if this is a good fit. The genetics topics this quarter are the ones we didn’t get to during our previous year so the topics are a great fit.
I was glad to see that the projects, tests, and quizzes were all optional. This allows us some of the freedom we are used to while homeschooling. We can make the class what we want and what works best for us. I plan to have him complete at least one of the two projects each weeks and a few quizzes and tests for practice.
Yes, test taking is an important skill that we work on, though not in every subject. We’ll use science to practice this skill this year.
Homeschool Spanish
After two years of ASL, my 10th grader is going to give Spanish a try this year. We don’t have any local options that have been a great fit so I turned to Outschool once again.
Because we like flexibility, he is doing to try a flex class, which doesn’t have a particular meeting time. I am not sure how this will work, but we are going to see how it goes. I have requested additional sections for the live class in the spring, otherwise, we’ll continue with the flex class.
Homeschool Economics
My plan is to add a half-credit (one semester) economics class to our homeschool year in the spring. Mr. D offers a self-paced one-semester class Economics for high schoolers that we’ll add to our schedule if we can make it work.
I know we will not be ready for this during our busy fall, but once our routine is established it would be a nice addition for the spring if possible.
Homeschool Fine Arts
Art Appreciation
All of my children will receive high school credit in Art Appreciation because we spend time every year visiting every exhibit that comes to our local art museum. This is not a credit they will complete in one year but over their entire school career, including all four years of high school.
We don’t use a formal curriculum. Instead, I simply purchase a family membership to our art museum and we learn about the artists being featured throughout the year. I usually find information online so we can dig in a little before we visit the exhibit.
Fine Arts: Drawing 101 with Masterpiece Society
My 10th and 8th graders began working on their Fine Arts credit for high school last year using the video art course, Drawing 101 from Masterpiece Society. It’s been a great fit and we will continue working through the rest of this drawing course this year.
Theater
My 12th grader will continue participating in local performances this year. This time she earned a spot in an audition-only show for 14-19-year-olds as well as a competitive theater group.
This will be the fourth year we have recorded a theater credit on her transcript so I continue to make sure the credit reflects her advancement each year. This year I will record her involvement as “Advanced Theater Company.”
Homeschool Physical Education
No one needs an additional high school credit for Physical Education, but moving your body is part of a healthy lifestyle so I try to help my kids find sports and activities that they enjoy.
My 12th grader will continue to participate in dance workshops, dancing at musical theater, and Taekwondo. She loves all of this
My 9th grader and 7th graders play Airsoft with their father 1-2 days a month and they play for almost 7 hours each time! My husband has also mentioned trying disc golf with them this year so that will be another activity on our list.
Homeschool Dual Enrollment
My 12th-grade daughter will continue her dual enrollment classes at our local community college this year. She will focus on graphic design classes but also plans to dabble in a few core academic classes.
This fall semester she will take ENG 111, Typography I, and Computer Design Tech II.In the spring, she’ll continue her design classes and be well on her way to a graphic design certificate by the time she finished high school.
I can’t wait to get started!
(Well, maybe I can…)
She believes that creativity, laughter, and fun are the backbone for engaging and inspiring homeschools. You can find her encouragement and tips on this blog, Mary Hanna Wilson.
She is an enneagram 7 and an extrovert. She enjoys traveling, tea (iced or hot), good conversations, and books. You can connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
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I loved reading about your year and I love you. You’re the best….. Love you MOM