Most home-school curricula offer approximately the same typical courses that high schools all over the country offer. Especially if your high school student's goal is to attend college, you will want to ensure your student has a well-rounded transcript that adequately describes his high school experience and work quality. Complete 24 credits to show your student has finished a four-year high school program. One credit usually means the student has spent five days a week for 50 minutes a day for 36 weeks studying the material. Since disruptions are less frequent while home schooling, many home-school students can move through courses quicker than students in a school building. Also, home-school curriculum for each subject has the advantage of being as focused as desired.
Your child will need four years of language arts, which typically includes grammar, composition, vocabulary and literature for each grade level. Provide a strong writing course coupled with a in-depth literature course and SAT vocabulary lessons to round out your home-school English curriculum. Usually, students in high school spend a year each on elements in literature, world literature, American literature and British literature. Include points of interest to your child such as creative writing courses, speech and debate, rhetoric or journalism if a future career might involve strong language ability.
Typically, algebra I is the first math course in high school. Students then go on to take geometry, algebra II, trigonometry or calculus. A minimum of three credits are recommended for high school. Do not be alarmed by the challenge of having to teach these complex courses yourself as a parent. Investigate teaching videos, tutors, interactive Internet courses and even remedial college courses to help your high school student learn the material.
Science courses found in home-school curriculum are usually physical science, biology, chemistry and physics. Most high school students take a minimum of three science courses; home-school curriculum allows students to take the course at their own pace while participating in as many experiments, hands-on trips and camps as wanted. Many companies offer lab equipment to home-schooling families to supplement these science courses.
History courses can really be adapted to your child's interest, although most high school students take at least one semester of American government and American history. Home-school students can take three or four years of history. Also, most colleges want to see two years of a foreign language study. Many home-schooled students study modern and ancient languages (Greek or Latin), but colleges like to see two years of the same language as a minimum.
The remainder credits needed for a high school education are electives that offer a wide array of choices. Most home- school students have the time to pursue outside interests that correlate with school objectives. Any sports program can work as a physical education class. Music instruction such as voice or piano can be a fine arts credit if the time and skill level is monitored. Teenagers interested in computer skills, drivers education, photography, local government leadership programs and home economics can add these subjects as their electives. Since home-schooled students have the flexibility of scheduling their school around their interests, many high school students can work at apprenticeships gaining real-world experience in a topic they want to study further.