Ninth Grade Homeschool Curriculum {2013-2014}

Ninth Grade Homeschool Curriculum

As our third child enters high school this year, I’m happy to find that the experience is much less overwhelming than the first few times around. Yes, you can homeschool your child through high school, and you can do it well.

Like most of my children, Kaylee prefers to learn independently. Because she is a “hands-off” learner, most of her curriculum is textbook-based, allowing her to learn at her own pace without too many projects or experiments.

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Ninth Grade Homeschool Curriculum Plan

Math – Math-U-See Pre-Algebra

Kaylee isn’t quite ready for Algebra I yet, so she will be doing pre-algebra this year. After looking through the MUS pre-algebra text, I’m satisfied that it is a solid course and will prepare her well for Algebra I next year.

GrammarEasy Grammar Plus

Although Kaylee already has a very solid grammar foundation, she definitely needs to cover grammar at least once during high school. I’m planning to have her complete only half of the Easy Grammar Plus book this year in order to allow her more time to focus on writing.

Literature

I’m slowly compiling a list of books that will correlate with Kaylee’s American history studies this year. I happened across an excellent historical fiction book, Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin, that will fit in well when the Civil War is covered–and it’s currently FREE for Kindle!

I’ll be sharing more about Kaylee’s history and literature throughout the coming year. I’d be glad to have you follow along as I discover more great books that shed light on American history!

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Writing – Jensen’s Format Writing

This course is new to us, but I’m looking forward to trying a different approach this year. Jensen’s Format Writing covers all types of writing and appears to be a very thorough course.

If you’ve used this book, I’d love to hear your opinions and suggestions!

History – All American History Vol. II

This year Kaylee will be learning about the second half of American history. I’m very excited about the All American History textbook–it’s engaging and interesting, and it will pair wonderfully with extra reading. And yes, you’ll be hearing a lot about AAH over the next few months!

Science – Apologia Exploring Creation with General Science

Although my oldest son has used Apologia science courses for the last three years, this will be Kaylee’s first time to use them. She will be starting out with general science, which should provide her with a great foundation for science throughout high school.

Bible – School of Tomorrow New Testament Survey PACEs

I’ve been very happy with School of Tomorrow’s Bible courses, so I decided to use their New Testament Survey PACEs for Kaylee this year. She will also be reading through the entire New Testament as she completes the PACEs.

Music

Kaylee has been wanting to take piano lessons for a long time now, and this year she will finally begin. I’ll be teaching her myself this year, but we’ll definitely be looking for a piano teacher for next year.

Any suggestions for which piano lesson books might be best?

ArtCreating a Masterpiece

Kaylee loves art and spends a good portion of her free time drawing. This year will be her first year to use DVDs from Creating a Masterpiece, and she is definitely excited!

She is starting with Lessons in Acrylic: Caribbean Lighthouse, a level one DVD. When these lessons are completed, we’ll decide which DVD to order next.

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15 Comments

  1. Rebecca S. says:

    Hi there!
    I suggest the “Piano Adventures” books by Faber, published by FJH. Good prices and shipping at http://www.sheetmusicplus.com if you don’t have a good music store nearby. Depending on your comfort level, there is an “older beginner” series that goes a bit faster. The “regular” books are designed for the beginning 7 or 8 year old, so she may find them a bit slow, but maybe not. 🙂 Just depends!
    PS- I am a piano teacher, and also teach by Skype or FaceTime! There are also teachers available that way on CurrClick.

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      Thanks so much for the advice, Rebecca! And I must say that I LOVE the option of online lessons–so convenient for a larger family like ours!

  2. Sounds awesome! I am loving the plans you’re sharing for all your children. I especially can’t wait to hear more about your history plans, as that is one of Sarah’s passions.

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      Thanks, Joan. I’ll be posting monthly updates on Kaylee’s history studies (history is one of my favorite subjects, too!).

  3. My freshman will be using Monarch online (which includes world geography, biology, New Testament Survey, English, and Algebra 1) and will also be taking Spanish through CurrClick (online.) My husband and I will both be working this fall as we transition from him teaching our three children to me being at home, but it will take a year of transition.

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      It sounds like you have planned an excellent transition year, Amy. We are considering pursuing foreign language courses through CurrClick in the future. Thanks so much for sharing your plans!

  4. Thanks for sharing. My oldest is are diving into homeschooling with 10th grade (my other homschooler just finished kindergarten!), so it’s nice to compare plans. Yours sounds much like ours – US History, Literature/Writing (we’re doing a cross-curricular program as well), Math and Science (Geometry & Chemistry here), Religious Instruction, Spanish, and Fine Arts. (I’m still figuring out that one).

  5. I second the recommendation for the Piano Adventures, my 6, 11 and 13 year-olds all use them. I really enjoy their adult series, as well, as I picked up piano alongside the children. We also supplement piano theory with loads of games, which make leaning notes names, location and values so much more fun. Check out our wonderful piano teacher’s blog with games and ideas to keep music/piano fun http://sherylwelles.blogspot.com/. If you happen to be near N Stonington, CT, I cannot recommend her highly enough! Enjoy!

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      Wonderful to have a second recommendation for Piano Adventures, Brenda–thank you! We are in PA, so unfortunately we’re too far away for lessons with your teacher, but her blog is WONDERFUL. I’m pinning it to my music board on Pinterest. Thanks for sharing!

  6. HI…so glad I stopped by after googling 9th grade curriculum. I’ve been homeschooling for 8 years but this will be our first year for high school. A little intimidating for me, even though I’ve been home schooling for so long! We’re going to be doing a lot of inexpensive or free curriculum (partly doing Easy Peasy All in one homeschool) because this year my husband lost his full time job and things are tight to say the least. I’m still putting it all together…but so fun to see your kids’ school plan all laid out for each grade level and glean some good ideas.
    Also, I use to be an avid blogger but took a huge break…just got back to it yesterday so feel free to stop by! 🙂
    ~Tammy

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      The first year I had a high schooler, I was nervous, to say the least! But now that we’re only a year away from graduating our oldest, I feel a lot more confidence in the decisions we have made.
      So sorry to hear about your husband’s job loss–that’s never easy, I know. I’m glad you’re able to take advantage of some of the free resources that are available (would make for a great blog article, too!).

  7. We love Math-U-See and will be using it with my 9th grader, too. 😉 Stopping by iHN!

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      It’s nice to hear from someone else who will be using MUS for high school, Adrienne! While MUS is very popular in the lower grades, I know very few who actually use it for the upper levels. Glad you stopped by!

  8. Hi, Judy. Thanks for your blog. We just moved to PA about month ago, and I was looking for PA history resources. I have a question, as this is our first year of high school, and I’m more than a bit intimidated by PA’s laws. 🙂 I, also, will be doing pre-algebra with my 9th grader this year, as she’s a math struggler. Can this count as a credit in PA for high school or are we just a bit behind? We’re doing Easy Peasy mostly this year, as my husband was out of work for almost 9 months (which is why we’ve moved to PA for a job-praise God!). Also, how do I count a science curriculum as credit if it’s not listed in the diploma handbook (like you were using General Science?). Thanks for any help. 11th year of homeschooling, but all in “easy” states with few homeschool laws. God bless!

    1. Judy Hoch says:

      Welcome to PA, Kari! 🙂

      I used pre-algebra for a “General Math” credit, with approval from our evaluator. You might want to discuss this with your evaluator, since he/she is the one to award credits for a state-recognized diploma, but I don’t think it should be an issue.

      The “General Science” credit basically refers to any science curriculum that doesn’t fit any other category (i.e. chemistry, biology, etc.). In my opinion it could include earth science and similar courses, as long as they are grade-appropriate. Again, I’d suggest checking with your evaluator for “official” approval.

      I totally agree that PA’s laws can be VERY intimidating! I think it will get easier as you get used to the requirements, though. It may encourage you to know that we’ve been homeschooling here for 9 years and never had any real issues. 🙂