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Free Homeschool High School Planning Sheet (and pssst help for high school too)

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today, in sharing a free homeschool high school planning sheet, I am sharing a much needed update to that form and sharing a tip or two when planning so that you too can see how easy peazy homeschooling high school can be. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School.

Homeschooling high school can be a scary time, but I created forms that helped me to successfully graduate two of my children and put some of my fears to rest.

Free Homeschool High School Planning Sheet (and pssst help for high school too)

I used my original high school planning forms found here on STEP 5a of my free 7 Step Homeschool Planner. It saved me countless hours of stress because I could plan.

Try to remember too that planning sheets are just that, a plan and not what will probably end up being the final goals.

MUST HAVE BOOK FOR HOMESCHOOLING HIGH SCHOOL

Also, I included some high school resources you may like.

How to Homeschool High School Books & Resources

How to homeschool high school can be daunting at first. With a little help and these great resources, you’ll be a homeschool pro in no time.

Life will affect how you and your teen think, your teen will grow into a young man or lady, complete with very strong feelings of what they want to do and the job market and college scene will change.

However, it is better to plan because it gives you goals to shoot for and I find that putting my plans down in writing cements what we are aiming for.

For this year, I also stuck my editable high school transcript in my planner because it is my blue print of what I am looking for Tiny to do.

By the way, I did that for each year when I had a son reach the high school years.

I would add the transcript and carry the credits from the previous year. Since it’s editable, I updated it and added it to my planner and a few years I wrote my thoughts right on it.

No-Fail Homeschool High School Tricks

Look at these 3 easy tips to remember too as you kick off the high school years.

  • Though you may start off doing most of the planning, your teen needs to be involved more so now in the planning. It’s not that he will have so much feedback about what to do, but you are training him to see this as his responsibility.
  • Also, remember when you include another person, it means you need to be flexible and not insist on everything you want for high school. You are molding your teen to be a unique individual, not a miniature you. (I know, hard to remember because you are spectacularly awesome and they are part of you, but you want your teen to find their awesome, unique self.)
  • Don’t go overboard and step back from all supervising. There comes a point when you feel like you don’t recognize your child and that is because they look like a grown man or woman walking around in your house. They may be pretty independent by now too. Remember, they are not grown yet and more than ever now needs your supervision more closely.

Focus on the end because it comes faster than you want it to and you’ll be planning an awesome graduation party. Read my 10 days of How to Plan a Graduation Party.

MORE HOW TO HOMESCHOOL HIGH SCHOOL RESOURCES

Now, how to grab the freebie. It’s a subscriber freebie.

HOW TO GET THE FREE HIGH SCHOOL PLANNING SHEET

That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.

1) CLICK HERE ON THIS LINK TO SIGN UP ON MY EMAIL LIST & TO GET THIS FREEBIE.

2) Grab the freebie instantly.

3) Last, look for all my emails in your inbox. Glad to have you following me!

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Free Homeschool High School Planning Form @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

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How to Teach Science Through A Story – Middle & High School

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When you teach science through a story that is powerful. Using storytelling as a powerful teacher is not a new concept to homeschoolers. Also, look at my page Homeschool Middle School,  How to Homeschool High School and How to Choose the Right Homeschool High School Science pages for more fun tips.

Not only do we love reading stories but we understand their power to captivate and convince readers.

How to Teach Science Through A Story - Middle & High School

I stalked the mailman waiting for these books from Beautiful Feet Books. I was given this product free, and I was compensated for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off or that a company will receive a glowing review. I don’t roll that way. ALL opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. When I do accept a product it’s because I’m giddy to tell you about it. Read my full disclosure here. Now on to the fun stuff!

However, until I started using Beautiful Feet Books I wasn’t so confident that teaching science through a story or through biographies would benefit my kids all the way through to high school.

First, I need to back up and explain what curriculum we’ve been poring over.

For the past couple of months, it has been a delight to use the History of Science. (update: This curriculum has now been retired but the approach is timeless.) I leave my thoughts here for you.

I knew it was geared toward the 3rd to 7th grade level.

But we were over the top excited to ditch the science textbook and learn the history of science through living literature.

Besides, science biographies can be used for older kids.

History of Science Living Literature

In addition, I had already figured out that my worksheet approach, as academic and bookish as it sounds, didn’t work because my boys retained lessons better using a learn-by-doing approach.

Next, early on in my homeschooling journey, I had stumbled upon Early American History with my then first kindergartner.

After using it with him, I learned that other equally important elements which stir a child’s thinking are living literature and absorbing history through a story.

There has not been a more enriching way to teach him or my other sons to high school than a literature-based approach.

What I’m saying is that storytelling, learning-by-doing, and living literature are inextricably linked.

Using those same elements while teaching science are the same ones used in teaching the History of Science and used for teaching an older child.

7 Creative Ways to Adapt Curriculum for Older Homeschooled Kids

Learning how to adapt a multiple age curriculum for upper grades can be challenging, but look at some ways I did this with the features of History of Science.

They are the same tips I used with my sons all the way through middle school and into high school.

How to Teach Science Through A Story - Middle & High School
  • With a yearlong program geared toward 3rd to 7th grade, there is a lot of room to allow exploring topics in more depth. Using a yearlong program is key.
  • Even though the biographies are geared toward a lower reading level, they are likable by an older child. Many essay points can be gleaned from each biography. For example, previous to studying this curriculum, we hadn’t researched much about George Washington Carver. Reading about this American Pioneer and his many uses of peanuts made for a fun rabbit trail or research project. Even though your younger kids can join in the project to list the many uses of peanuts, I had Tiny delve deeper into this since it piqued his interest. I required that he explain the history of the peanut. I had questions like what is the history of the peanut, why was Carver encouraging farmers during the American Civil War to break away from cultivating just cotton, and explain the growing process of the peanut. For example, he had to know that it wasn’t a peanut at all but a seed and understand that the boll weevil could devastate cotton crops.
  • Another fascinating point to glean from the History of Science is understanding and seeing science through the eyes of great scientists. We use this concept for history all the time. We want to learn history through the eyes of a character who lived in a particular time period. Learning science through biographies of Archimedes, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, George Washington Carver, Wright Brothers and Albert Einstein keeps kids equally inspired to learn about the wonders of science instead of dry, boring facts.
How to Teach Science Through A Story - Middle & High School
  • In addition, with many notebook pages, vocabulary words, and hands-on ideas the study guide is just that. It’s a springboard for you to use and add your own ideas.A guide on the other hand gives me a nudge or jump to another teaching concept that my son is interested in.
  • After I abandoned my wrong and stereotypical view that hands-on learning means no learning at all, I’ve been touting for years how hands-on learning needs to be used through to high school. The best books have been culled through and selected for easy hands-on activity that can be used for a variety of ages. Not only did we start our science portfolio notebook, but we did many hands-on learning activities like this one Day 4. Ancient Greece (Hands-on Science) 3 EASY Activities, ice cutting, and writing the Greek alphabet.
How to Teach Science Through A Story - Middle & High School
  • One more fun way to engage older kids through a story is to let them learn through a timeline. A timeline is a visual and natural way to learn. Kids can race ahead and place figures on a timeline while they read about scientific discoveries, events, and biographies. This is another key benefit to this curriculum. The timeline can stand on its own. It can be used completely separate. Instead of quickly placing the key events or scientists in order, challenge your older kids to learn about them before seeing the dates. Which significant event happened first, next and so on? Your middle school kids can memorize the events in order. It’ll give your kids foundational pegs as they fill in with more information with each time period.
  • Another tip that makes this curriculum especially useful to me is that it has scientists from different time periods. It’s organized into 3 parts that coincide with history, which are Ancient Scientists, Medieval & Renaissance Scientists, and Modern Scientists. I can easily add one section in depth this year and come back to this resource another year to focus on a different time period.
  • One last tip I do is to completely turn the teaching guide and everything over to my older kid. When you’re finished with the younger kids, let your middle or high school kid work through the lessons at their pace or at their will. For example, Tiny skipped all over the place when it came to reading and what interested him. That is such a liberating feeling for any learner and it’s the way to encourage independent learning. A lot of Beautiful Feet Books curriculum can be used that way, which is why I’ve been a user for a long time and couldn’t be more pleased.

The last thing I know you want to know about is whether it’s Christian or secular. I guess that depends on your definition of those two concepts.

It’s easier to tell you that it’s very friendly toward both type of views which I appreciate.

10 Resources to Teach Science Through a Story

Books of any level can be read and used in depth to create a science curriculum. Adding hands-on resources like a timeline and activities help too.

While it has some parts that ask your child to write a Bible verse, you can leave it, use it, or add your own. That part shows they support a Christian view.

However, their goal with their curriculum is to leave it up to you as the parent to add your worldview.

Using storytelling as a powerful teacher is not a new concept to homeschoolers. Not only do we love reading stories but we understand their power to captivate and convince readers. However, until I wasn’t so confident that teaching science through stories works for all ages of my kids. Click here to read 7 creative ways to teach older kids!

I can say it’s more easily done with this curriculum than many I use which saturate their curriculum with their Christian or secular worldview and makes it almost impossible to tweak.

If you’re wanting to use curriculum that teaches science through storytelling with a focus on hands-on learning by using a part unit study approach and part Charlotte Mason, you’ll love this curriculum like I do.

Read about the other curriculum I’ve used here at Early American and World History which is not available anymore, but it is now two separate levels and revamped, the Medieval History Sr. High levels and Medieval Intermediate Pack.

How to Purchase It.

►Product Name: History of Science
►Website: Beautiful Feet Books – BFBooks
► Don’t Miss: The Getting Started page. It’s been such a helpful guide for me through the years.
►Type of product: These is a physical product but the study guide is available as a digital download too. From their site: Our newly revised and updated History of Science is a popular and exciting read-aloud approach to the study of science! Rebecca’s course uses biographies to tell the life stories of famous scientists like Archimedes, Galileo, Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, George Washington Carver, Einstein, and others as well as hands-on experiments to prove the scientists’ theories and test their discoveries. An enriching way to introduce biology, chemistry, and physics. For grades 3-7, this one-year study will cover basic scientific principles and the history of scientific study beginning in ancient Greece and continuing through the 1990s. Contains 85 lessons, dozens of experiments, lab reports, and much more.

When a Homeschooled Sophomore Struggles

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When a homeschooled sophomore struggles was my reality check at this grade when my first high school teen was unsure of his goals. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School for more tips.

What is it about the second year in high school that makes a homeschooled sophomore struggle?

Mr. Senior 2013 was a sophomore who struggled. When Mr. Awesome 2015 was a sophomore we were bouncing along just fine or so I thought. He too had the sophomore tussle.

When a Homeschooled Sophomore Struggles

Looking back now, I see with both of my older sons that there was just an itch in the sophomore year that they both had to get past.

I learned a few things about helping them past this middle hump in their high school years.

  • The sophomore year is a time to re-plan.

Part of the problem in the sophomore year was that what we started using for curriculum in the freshman year was not a good match now for both of my boys.

For example, Mr. Senior 2013 wanted to be introduced to Mandarin Chinese, He was not interested in Spanish that I so hoped he would lap up.

When a Homeschooled Sophomore Struggles

Mr. Awesome 2015 wasn’t interested in any foreign language study at all, but wanted more focus on computers.

Adjusting to fit their growing academic strengths was a must.

When a Homeschooled Sophomore Struggles

Letting go of what I had planned for all four years was necessary because they were coming into their own persons.

  • They wrestled with the slump of hormones.

Some days they were on top of the world, other days they felt overwhelmed.

Boys and girls both deal with not only the changes in the brain, but with their body needing more rest.

I was surprised at how much sleep they needed, but also equally surprised that they could go through their day pretty quickly and focus when they had to.

Listening to them when they talked to me about their stress of getting their work done for the day, I had to decipher when they just felt the pressure of pending adulthood and when they really needed input on switching around their day.

  • Adding extra curricular activities had to be analyzed.

At first, I thought the solution was to let go of things they enjoyed like ball room dancing and piano.

However, I am glad I didn’t so easily cave when they told me they were overwhelmed.

Isolating the problem wasn’t easy either because sometimes they weren’t quite sure what didn’t feel right.

The solution wasn’t limiting their physical activity or the social interaction.

Activities with other teens wasn’t something they didn’t just look forward to, but was a huge motivator in the week for getting their school done.

Balance was not easy because academics are such a heavy load in high school, but paramount to a sophomore too is a change of pace for the week and something to look forward to each week.

I realized that some of the math that Mr. Senior 2013 was doing, he was flying through and so he cut back some of the lessons to move  on to something more challenging.

Conversation with a Homeschooled Teen is An Art

  • I wasn’t having no stranger in my house.

As your teen starts driving, having a job and spending more time away from you, which too is normal and preparation for adulthood, that is the time they need you the most.

Talking with my frustrated teens took not only patience, but it seemed like some decoding prowess on my part.

Meaningful conversations were the only way I knew that something was or was not working.

For example, Mr. Senior 2013 liked having the options to switch out curriculum mid-year and lounge around in his learning. On the other hand Mr. Awesome 2015 needed a clear cut plan because his plan was to finish as fast as he could get through high school.

Not having the choices to switch mid-year stressed Mr. Senior 2013. Too many academic choices with no clear cut end in sight was a stress inducer for Mr. Awesome 2015.

Try to figure that one out over a year or two.

Homeschool High School

I eventually figured out their budding personalities. It changed in the sophomore years.

Struggling for us seems easier to take at times than it does for our children. And to us, our teens still feel like little children. But I learned that when my teens coped with struggles it was part of the metamorphosis into adulthood.

They come out of a struggle with coping ability. And the best thing of all is that they come out with a better understanding of who they are, which serves them well into adulthood.

Are you struggling with a homeschooled tenth grader this year?

When a Homeschooled Sophomore Struggles

Lastly, I hope these tips help you to not let them give up so easily. And don’t return to public school and don’t give up things they have a passion for either.

Read more tips below:

When a Homeschooled Sophomore Struggles @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Ten Best Tech Gifts for Teen Boys

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Today I rounded up ten best tech gifts for teen boys.

I love to buy gifts for my boys. But when it comes to techie things, I sometimes have them meet me halfway money wise.

I’ve learned when they put a few bucks in of their own money, tech things get taken care of better. But then other times I prefer to jump out there and gift them with something really special.

Ten Best Tech Gifts for Teen Boys

So here is the list of things my boys love, some they have and others are still on their wish list.

ONE/ ASTRO Gaming A50 Wireless Dolby Gaming Headset

TWO/ Gaming Earbuds Wired

My boys have these earbuds and like this brand. They seem to hold up better than others.

MORE GIFT LIST IDEAS

First, look at these other gift lists for more unique ideas.

Unique Teen Boy Gifts

This is the microphone that Mr. Awesome uses for gaming. For the money, it’s a great value and he has really liked it.

THREE/ Blue Microphones Snowball

FOUR/ Predator Mini Helicopter Drone

FIVE/ Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

These bluetooth speakers we took with us to South America and really like the quality and the small size.

SEVEN/ Swiss Gear Swissgear Laptop Notebook Outdoor Backpack

This is one of the laptop backpacks the boys used when we traveling because it can fit a larger laptop.

EIGHT/ 7 Button LED Gaming Mouse

NINE/ Wireless Color Photo Printer

This photo printer is something I wish they wanted more so it would give me a chance to use it too.

This is the tablet that Mr. Senior has and has used for a few years. He really likes the simplicity of it.

TEN/ Samsung Galaxy Tablet

Let’s just face it, tech gifts can be expensive especially when you have several teens. And tech items sometimes can’t keep up with fast moving technology, but a lot of these gifts last several years.

Ten Best Tech Gifts for Teen Boys @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I hope they give you some ideas for your list.

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Creative Solution for Homeschool High School When Life Happens

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I’m sharing a creative solution for homeschool high school when life happens. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School.

This made homeschooling my second high school son, Mr. Awesome, not only meaningful but one that I am really treasuring.

Although I had my reservations at first.

Let me back up first because you have to understand what happened when homeschooling high school with Mr. Senior 2013 to understand how I came up with the solution, which I am going to share in just a minute.

Creative Solution for Homeschool High School When Life Happens

When homeschooling Mr. Senior 2013, I had planned all four years.

And probably like most new homeschooling high school parents, I had a bit of over planning involved too.

Next, look at some of these resources to help you homeschool high school.

How to Homeschool High School Books & Resources

How to homeschool high school can be daunting at first. With a little help and these great resources, you’ll be a homeschool pro in no time.

You CAN still Homeschool High School!

However, though I didn’t feel like this in the beginning of my homeschool journey (that is another topic), I also didn’t want to turn the teaching reins over to somebody else.

I had not schooled this long to come to the point in my teen’s life to let somebody else make significant decisions.

Some of the best times I have had are homeschooling high school though I was terrified when we started.

I won’t be victim to the idea that somebody else can give my kids better. 

In other words, I won’t make any decision based on fear though many times I didn’t feel so brave.

Then right in the middle of high school with Mr. Senior 2013 as I mentioned in my post Should I Let My Homeschooled Teen Graduate Early, my hubby had a significant heart attack.

It was a set back for us in high school.

After we recuperated from that as a family, I realized that I had gotten behind on supervising some of the courses for Mr. Senior 2013.

However, we buried our noses in the books and he graduated on time and of course we had a huge celebration, Texas style.

The point I learned from what happened to my family was that I never wanted to be in that position again with Mr. Awesome of feeling helpless.

I also learned that instead of planning week by week with Mr. Senior 2013 (he preferred that over my 3 month suggestion of planning and I let him do it because I am teaching him to be responsible for his own methods of learning), that I could have planned out 3 months and still let Mr. Senior 2013 plan weekly.

High School Options for Teens

This would have alleviated the stress and helplessness I felt then.

However, that is water under the bridge and there is no way either my oldest son or I had any control over what happened in our lives.

Are you still with me?

I had to share all of that because it always helps me to make better decisions in our homeschool when reading advice if I understand why the choices were made.

So without giving up my control as the homeschooling high school teacher, I came up with a creative solution to high school.

I have taken at least two years homeschooling Mr. Awesome with subjects we chose together AND he is also completing an online accredited high school program with Penn Foster.

I rejected the popular notion that I had to either do it ALL myself OR give it ALL to somebody else.

The criteria for me choosing an online high school program was that it had to be basic, easy and able to be completed within about a year and half or so.

Creative Solution for Homeschool High School When Life Happens @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Penn Foster, unlike for example, Keystone High School program I knew was a much lighter high school program.

With all the upcoming doctor’s visit, recovering time and upcoming care my husband needed, I wanted to have a back up to my courses.

Too, I wanted Mr. Awesome to focus on the courses I had selected, just like I had with Mr. Senior 2013 and to be able to customize high school for him and spend that one-to-one time I had given Mr. Senior 2013.

Of course, Mr. Awesome had to be on board with this because I didn’t want him to think that I was making him repeat courses either.

Abiding Homeschool High School

In helping many homeschoolers, I was familiar with a wide variety of high school programs and knew that Penn Foster has been around for a while and prided itself on covering basics, which obviously would be a good choice if our life took another unexpected turn during Mr. Awesome’s high school years.

It has given Mr. Awesome a framework and still has allowed me to flesh in with programs like North Star Geography, some of my Bible lessons I want him to have and do our unit studies.

Thankfully, the Mr. has had as good as health as he will have living with the effects of the heart attack and Mr. Awesome has hammered through both the subjects we chose and those of Penn Foster.

It will have taken him about a year and half to finish Penn Foster but it also had some unexpected benefits of using Penn Foster that I will explain in an upcoming post.

Out of struggling, though it may be stressful to go through, I feel, always comes empowerment.

More Creative Solutions for High School Posts

I want each of my son’s homeschool high school experience to be unique and Mr. Awesome has certainly flourished with doing a combination of my subjects and ones we chose through Penn Foster.

Without giving up my goals of being able to give my second son a personal and unique high school experience, it called for creativity not compromise.

Homeschool High School

I am hoping by sharing this today, that if life throws you an unexpected curve, you will not give up but find a creative solution.

The end doesn’t always turn out as planned, sometimes it is better.

Also check out these other articles: