Homeschooling High School: Favorite Resources For Every Subject
So you’ve decided to homeschool a high school student?
Are you beginning to doubt your ability to make this happen? Let me assure you that there are plenty of ideas and resources for homeschooling high school. In fact, sometimes it feels like there are too many resources and it can be hard to dig through everything.
I am about to start homeschooling my fourth high schooler next year and it has gotten easier each time. Now we know the resources that we love and the curriculums that work well for our family. It definitely helps when you have some experience to draw from as you are planning.
I hope that sharing our favorite homeschooling resources and ideas sparks a few great fits to your family’s growing list.
{This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure.}
Getting Started in Homeschooling Homeschooling High School
Homeschooling high school doesn’t have to be as scary as it might feel when you get started. With some basic planning and record keeping, you and your high schooler will be able to chart a successful course that meets their needs.
Homeschooling High School: Favorite Resources For Every Subject
This list is a collection of our tried and true favorite homeschooling resources for high school. This list is not meant to be an exhaustive list of resources available to parents who are homeschooling high schoolers. It is a list of the resources that I heartedly recommend based on our experience.
Please remember that while these resources have worked for me, they might not be the best fit for your situation and that is okay. Take what works and leave what doesn’t.
My fourth child enters high school this year and these are the products, programs, classes, and resources that I will turn to again for consideration.
I’ve organized the list by subject to make it easier to find what you are looking for. You’ll find ideas for math, English, Science, History, Fine Arts, PE, and Electives.
Homeschooling High School: Resources for Math
1. Mr. D Math Classes – We discovered Mr. D Math for online math classes in 2018 and we have never looked back. My children begin using Mr. D’s math classes when they are ready to begin pre-algebra. We have enjoyed the option of self-paced classes, but I have been told by readers that the live classes are fun and engaging.
More information about our experience with Mr. D Math classes can be found on the blog:
- How Mr. D Math Restored my Homeschool Sanity (general review)
- 5 Reasons with are Sticking with Mr. D Math in our Homeschool
- Boost Your SAT Scores with Mr. D Math
- How to Successfully Homeschool Pre-Algebra with Ease (more about middle school, but good information)
2. Purple Math – This website has been a favorite of mine for years. It’s a great resource to review math concepts for parents or students. The explanations are step-by-step and several examples are provided.
3. CTC Math
Homeschooling High School: Resources for English
1. Resource Texts for Parents:
Less is More: Teaching Literature with Short Texts
The Little Norton Reader: 50 Essays from the First 50 Years
2. Windows to the World: An Introduction to Literary Analysis from IEW – A local teacher used this curriculum in an English class. My daughter loved this year so much that she didn’t want to get rid of her guide.
NOTE: This is not a secular curriculum. Christian themes are woven into the discussions.
3. WriteShop I and II – When I teach writing to a teen at home, this program is my top choice.
4. Brave Writer Online Classes – We only used these classes for my first child as they are quite expensive, but our experience was a good one. My daughter took the series of Essay Prep classes and they worked well for her freshman year.
Homeschooling High School: Science Resources
I’ll be honest here. I have never found a science curriculum that we love enough to recommend wholeheartedly to other people. Every year we make it work through local classes or a purchased curriculum, but I haven’t really loved anything we have tried for high school.
But I can recommend two science resources that you can use to supplement your science activities.
1. Masterclass – When you sign up for a year membership, you gain access to all of the Masterclasses. I highly recommend a year with Masterclass. We dabbled in topics from science to history to dog training. It was a great year and a highlight of our Morning Time with Teens.
We learned a ton from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s class on Scientific Thinking. But my personal favorite class was learning about Space Exploration from Chris Hadfield. I teared up as he described his first flight into space and I am not even that interested in the topic – HA!
You’ll also find Jane Goodall teaching about Conservationism, but we didn’t watch that one before our year ran out.
2. Home Science Tools has been an excellent resource for materials, kits, and other science equipment. You can find equipment and tools for physics, robotics, astronomy, engineering, and more!
Homeschooling High School: History Resources
1. Big History Project – We had an incredible year with the big history project for World History. We chose to use World History from 1750 and we learned a ton! Best of all, this complete curriculum is absolutely free!
2. Beautiful Feet Books. (*secular or religious versions) This history curriculum worked for our family with middle schoolers. We have not been able to use the options for high school because of the way we choose to study US History on its own rather than as a part of World History. Looking back, I wish we hadn’t but it was what worked for us at the time. I love this program and I love a literature-based history study. I have no doubt that the options for high school would create an excellent year.
3. My favorite sources for history booklists:
BookShark
Build Your Library
Beautiful Feet
4. SharonSaysSo on Instagram. This Instagram account has been invaluable when it comes to learning about current events and general government facts. I follow it and watch the stories daily. In addition to keeping me informed about current events, she offers courses on her webpage covering topics such as Supreme Court Cases You Should Know and Constitution 101.
5. Masterclass. Yep. We loved our year with Masterclass so much that I am listing it in the history section. One of our favorite courses was US President History with Doris Kearns Goodwin. We learned a ton about some of our former presidents from an expert on the topic.
6. Crash Course YouTube has both US History and World History and more history options. These videos can no substitute for a full curriculum but they are fun and informative supplements.
Homeschooling High School: Fine Arts
1. Masterpiece Society Art Courses:
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Mixed Media Art Courses have been a fun way for all my kids (the artsy and non-artsy) to earn high school credit in Fine Arts. We own all four courses and we select 4-6 projects each season. At the end of four years, they’ll earn credit in Mixed Media Fine Arts.
Art School 101 courses work well for high school credit. I have two children partway through the drawing class, but there are other Art School options. You’ll find courses focused on acrylics, watercolors, or chalk pastel.
Mixing with the Masters. These courses work well for an art appreciation credit, especially when combined with my second resource listed below.
2. Your Local Art Museum. We are members so that we can attend all of the ticketed events. Before attending, we study the artist through books, videos, or whatever we can find. When there is a Mixing with the Masters course that coordinates with an exhibit, we combine the two. After 4 years of attending all ticketed events, my kids earn an Art Appreciation credit.
Homeschooling High School: Physical Education
The most obvious choice here is a sport your child participates in. Your child can earn credit in any sport from martial arts to a competitive team sport. They should participate during the entire school year for credit. (You can also give them a credit for seasonal participation all four years of high school) Otherwise, if it is a seasonal sport, you can supplement it with training/exercise in the off-season.
1. Teacher Fit and Student Fit. These two programs have been invaluable for family physical fitness in our home. I have used Teacher Fit for years and recently the kids joined me to work out. We usually use Teacher Fit, but it’s nice that our membership includes both StudentFit and Teacher Fit. Both programs include Yoga, mindfulness, strength training, and more.
Homeschool High School: Morning Time
I have an entire post devoted to this topic – Morning Time with Older Kids. I still begin the day with Morning Time with my teens UNLESS someone is working or has a class and we have to wait for “Afternoon Time.”
Our Choices for Homeschooling High School
9th Grade Plan for my Oldest
10th Grade Plan for my Oldest
What are your favorite high school resources?
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 would like to share a science resource/ curriculum that has made homeschooling high school possible for us as we don’t live near any sort of co-op where we could do science with a group. It’s called Journey Homeschool. Their year long science courses include Experience Biology, Experience Chemistry and Experience Astronomy. Each course has two levels one not for credit and one that is for high school credit. We have completed Astronomy and Biology and they were fantastic. Not secular, but I felt they did an extremely good job of discussing both points of view (Creationism and Evolutionism) and many great discussion were had around the dinner table based on our lessons. It is video based/ self paced and has excellent labs! Highly recommend, a bit pricey but worth it.