I’m sure you’re wondering, what do I even teach my kids in high school?
Depending on state laws, you can do whatever you want. If you want your child to do math every year, then that’s what they’ll do, regardless of what the public school is doing. (Again, your state laws trump anything I say here.)
Mapping out all 4 years of high school is a good idea.
This is not as big of a task as it sounds like. Just sit down with your child in the summer before 9th grade and figure out how much of each subject area they would like to do.
If you want 4 years of math, then you would simply write out a math level for each grade.
9th Grade: Pre-Algebra
10th Grade: Alegebra 1
11th Grade: Geometry
12th Grade: Algebra 2
Then just do this with each subject area, such as history, English, science and so on.
In no time, you’ll have a simple and easy map for your child’s high school career!
Now you may be wondering, how much math are they supposed to have? How much English?
There are many ways to figure this out, but here’s what I do.
I go onto my state college website, in this case it’s the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. There they have a list of requirements for incoming freshman.
This means that every child who comes into UNL as a freshman needs to have these classes. This list becomes my child’s high school class list!
All the thinking is done for me!
Now, UNL is not a top, Ivy League school, but it is a very run-of-the-mill type college. Most colleges would have similar requirements as UNL, so I can confidently use them as a baseline.
If my child figures out in 11th grade that she wants to attend a different college, I would go to that college’s website and look at their freshman requirements and switch to that as my guide for the remainder of their high school career.
Here’s a screen shot of their requirements.
Category | Units | Requirements |
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English | 4 | All units must include intensive reading and writing experience. Innovative interdisciplinary courses and courses in speech and journalism may be substituted if they include substantial amounts of reading and writing. |
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Mathematics | 4 | Must include Algebra I, II, and Geometry, and one additional unit that build on a knowledge of Algebra II. |
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Social Sciences | 3 | At least one unit of American and/or world history and one additional unit of history, American government, and/or geography. |
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Natural Sciences | 3 | At least two units selected from biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences. One of the units must include laboratory instruction. |
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Foreign Language | 2 | Students who are unable to take two years of foreign language in high school may still qualify for admission. Such students will be required to take two semesters of foreign language at the University of Nebraska. These students are still required to complete 16 units of academic courses for admission. |
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Total Units | 16 | |
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Now, this is only showing 16 credits and most high schools would require more than that to graduate.
A couple of classes that are missing here are PE and Fine Arts. I looked at my local high school and they also have classes like Career Ed, Health (which is required in my state for homeschools as well), and Technology.
Adding in those types of classes would get you more credits than even UNL is requiring. But again, this is just a blueprint to help provide you with some structure and a starting point. You can add in any classes you need based on your state laws or that you want, based on your family’s values.
HSLDA has some great resources, including different plans already done for you.
Here is another great resource, showing each state’s homeschool high school credit requirements.