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high school electives

Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses

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

By the time you reach the high school years, you have some general ideas of how to plan them. Check out my how to homeschool high school page for awesome tips.

Today, in sharing homeschooling high school, I’m giving you a few detailed pointers for curriculum, credits, and courses to steer you in the right direction.

Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses

First, look at 3 things I wished I would’ve known before I started.

ONE/ In the beginning, it’s not necessary to plan all four years.

It’s just not necessary because a lot will change. Your teen will mature and may change the direction of his education or career as he approaches adulthood. Give him some wiggle room.

Have a plan so you can give your teen goals, but analyze each year. Having a framework of courses is much better.

HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND COURSES

I appreciated reading How to Homeschool 9th and 10th Grades: Simple Steps for Starting Strong to help me stay focused on the start of high school.

Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School was a book I read early on.

After reading it, I designed a framework and understood that the three Rs are the foundation of any well-laid out high school course.

Look where I share the nitty gritty of that here in my post Homeschool High School The Must Cover Subjects Part 1 and Homeschool High School The Must Cover Subjects Part 2.

Two/ Also, I wished I would have used middle school to help my first high school teen explore more subjects he wanted to.

With my second high school son, I was prepared to let him explore more elective type courses in middle school and getting some of the basic math out of the way.

Middle school gives a budding teen time to explore subjects he is interested in. Take advantage of this time to have some fun.

THREE/ Additionally, I didn’t learn until later was to explore more career options and not just focus on academics. After all, your kid is not attending college for life. It’s preparation for life and a career. (well hopefully).

Careers matter and high school is the time to explore careers.

Reading Career Exploration: for homeschool high school students and What Color Is Your Parachute? for Teens, Third Edition: Discover Yourself, Design Your Future, and Plan for Your Dream Job are two books that are real helpful for your teen.

EXPLORING HIGH SCHOOL COURSES

Something else I didn’t appreciate with my first high school teen is the power to be flexible with courses and course descriptions.

I couldn’t think past simply putting English, Math or Science on my first transcript.

Looking back, I know when preparing transcripts that you want to follow some traditional guidelines and keep general course names on the transcript. So those general descriptions were correct.

However, I need to describe the courses specifically.

Just to illustrate, I put Performing Arts on my first two boys’ transcript.

My older two boys took ballroom dancing, but Performing Arts is the general description to put on the transcript.

I had to come up with a description of ballroom dancing and I started by looking first at the website where my boys took lessons to give me an idea of how to word what they learned.

I put this:

This beginner course is an introduction to the fundamentals of basic dance. In each dance class, students will be expected to participate in warm-ups and learn the techniques of the Waltz and other traditional dances like the Mambo, Salsa and Swing. Along with learning choreography and dance history, this course culminates in a Spring concert performance.

It wasn’t bad for my first description, but like anything that is a first, it wasn’t exactly comprehensive or correct in a sense.

Since then, I learned that I needed to add my grading scale, what books we used, and how I was going to assign credit.

It’s harder to go back and add these things later, but not impossible.

The bottom line is to keep the course name on the transcript general and make your course descriptive detailed on a separate page to produce it if needed.

EASILY WRITING COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Arranging wording to describe your teen course takes practice, but look at these places to help you.

  • An obvious place to is the website where you purchased the curriculum and I find the descriptions super helpful in my course descriptions.
  • In addition, also look at high school course names and descriptions on public school websites. I look for course descriptions similar to the courses that my sons will be doing. This usually gives me some wording
  • Another place I’ve found descriptions in a nutshell is on Amazon. Amazon is great for giving book descriptions and with a few tweaks of adding how I assign credits and grades, a book description can easily turn course description.
  • Too, when I didn’t feel like I got a good overview of a course because some descriptions lacked, I would glance at the table of contents to help me word the description of the course.

HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT CONUNDRUM

It can be overwhelming for even the most organized teen and parent when understanding credits, but I like to keep things simple.

It’s been my experience that some families assign a 30 minute class the equal of a 45 minute class because of the intensity of homeschooling and give the student one credit for a rigorous course like literature or math.

You decide how to gauge your credits and the work ethic of your student.

In addition, you decide to give credit if a curriculum is 70% or 80% complete. Some homeschoolers give credit if it’s 80% complete, others less.

Look at my detailed post here for Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School. It gives a detailed explanation for credits.

Also, I have free forms and show you how to expand the use of a transcript here at my detailed post Homeschool High School Transcripts – Anything But Typical.

Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses

You and I know that there is no one right to plan high school. But breaking high school down into manageable chunks keeps the process from being overwhelming.

Begin with a framework of the three Rs in high school, fold in accurate course descriptions as you can, be flexible, keep reading about how to grade and assign credit.

Before you know it, you’ll be a pro for your child – which is what really matters.

You will also love my other tips I have for homeschooling high school below:

Homeschooling High School Curriculum, Credits, and Courses @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. In sharing homeschooling high school, I'm giving you a few detailed pointers for curriculum, credits, and courses to steer you in the right direction. Click here to grab these super detailed helpful pointers!
Homeschooling High School Curriculum, Credits, and Courses @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Hugs and love ya. You got this!

What You Must Know to Teach High School Unit Studies

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

Until my sons reached high school, I didn’t know if my unit study approach would meld with tracking credits and courses. Check out my how to homeschool high school page for awesome tips.

Also, there didn’t really seem an abundance of prepared high school unit studies.

Between determining if unit studies were a good fit for high school and understanding record keeping, it was a lot to wrap my mind around.

Until my sons reached high school, I didn't know if my unit study approach would meld with tracking credits and courses. Also, there didn't really seem an abundance of prepared high school unit studies. Click here to read these 3 must know tips!

Sorting out myths from truth, I hope these 3 tips will help you to easily homeschool high school with unit studies. Or at least give you a beginning place.

3 Tips for Teaching High School Unit Studies

ONE/ Understand first that high school is just a continuation of the lowers grades – really!

Yes, it’s true that you’ll need to track credits and courses, but before stressing out about them, plan high school subjects like you’ve done in the lower grades.

That’s right. Begin with what you know.

In my article How to Choose the BEST Homeschool Lesson Planning Pages for THIS Year, I not only give you tips on how to do that, but each lesson plan form lists subjects by general categories; math, language arts, science, history and electives are the framework of well-rounded out high school courses.

It’s not hard to plan when you understand that you’re covering the same basic subjects albeit in more depth analyzing views instead of just a question answer format like your child did in younger grades.

TWO/ Look for resources which teach 2:1 or two-fer resources.

A two-fer resource is another secret tip to homeschooling teens.

Using a resource which teaches two subjects is vital when your child enters high school.

You don’t want your time wasted and neither do teens.

More important though is the reason that unit studies rocked in the younger grades is the same reason which holds true for high school.

Learning makes more sense when subjects are tied together instead of studied as separate subjects. Additionally, unit studies have always been a research-based approach.

This is a skill which is needed on into adulthood.

Living Books for Unit Studies

Resist giving up your unit study approach because it may require a bit more time to put together.

Sure, it’s easy to assign a text book and move on, but you and I know that high school is just hard sometimes. It’s a challenge to plan but still doable.

Begin again with something you know. Look at these things you may already know how and are doing with your kids in the younger grades.

  • Reading history living books and having your child choose writing topics based on history.
  • Reading science living books and choosing writing topics based on science.
  • Reading math living books and having your child choose writing topics based on math.

Now that you understand that high school courses fall into general categories and understand to look for two-fer resources, here are some examples of how to put it together.

We love the book Undaunted Courage.

Just a side note here.

When I look at a book which can serve as a springboard for high school unit studies, I note 3 things:

  • that it’s a living book,
  • that it’s high school level so that I can legally note on my high school transcript that it’s a high school level resource,
  • and I mull over how hard it will be to add external resources to enrich the study.

Not only is your teen covering part of his credit toward history when reading Undaunted Courage , but he is covering credits for literature too. Writing is part of a literature credit.

So your teen is covering 2–3 subjects at once depending on what credits you’ve lined out for the year.

Because covering literature in high school means more than just reading, you’ll want to have a variety of resources for analyzing literature and for guiding your teen how to write well.

A literature-based unit study which has a history setting has been the easiest to start off with at the high school level.

For example, I find it a challenge to round out a history book with literature analysis than a great book suited for literature analysis.

How to Put Together High School Unit Studies

It’s been easier to add history and science of a time period to a great read.

One super helpful resource we only discovered this year and that is the Thrift Study Editions by Dover. 

Not only are the books for high school level, but each one comes with a study guide in the back. 

For example, while reading A Tale of Two Cities, we studied about the culture of France and England and learned about the issues of the French Revolution.

With a resource like that, doing unit studies are a cinch at the high school level. This brings me to the third point you want to know.

THREE/ Fill your teacher nook with specialized how-two books for you and your teen.

Tackling how to teach a subject with out a curriculum can be daunting, but you can go from research to reward if you choose specialized teaching books.

Here are a few of my favorite resources. You don’t need all of them, but I’ve used them at one time or another to round out our unit studies.

Literature Unit Studies

  • The Design-A-Study series are timeless. This series of books about science, history, and composition gives an overview of what to cover in each grade.  Instead of giving you subjects, it’s helpful because it gives you the big picture of what your child needs to know from K-12. A resource like this is especially helpful if you want to cover a skill or topic that your highschooler may have struggled with in the earlier grades.
  • Warriner’s English Complete Course. This set of books have been around for years and helps to hone writing. Christine Miller of Classical Christian said, “This excellent reference can be used throughout all three years of the dialectic to teach writing. It thoroughly covers grammar in detail, which provides a nice review for those children that need it, or for those children that missed some grammar instruction in the grammar stage. It also covers writing in detail, with a complete section on writing mechanics, usage, writing correct and clear sentences, paragraphs, and papers, the research paper, using references, and even public speaking.” Read the rest of her review here. Before we started using Rod and Staff high school levels, we used Warriner’s. Rod and Staff’s Communicating Effectively I liked one year because I felt like it was more streamlined. It helps to.understand that I used Rod and Staff in the younger grades and their grammar is very rigorous and by 8th grade formal grammar is completed. When you click the link above you can see the sample of their English and what is covered in the high school years.
  • Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School. Don’t get overwhelmed by this book. There is no need to have to read all of it. Focus only on the grade level for this year. Having a handy reference like this will guide you to subjects for each grade.

In an upcoming post, I’ll show you how I plan credits now that you can see how easy it is to satisfy two to three subjects using carefully selected resources.

What You Must Know to Teach High School Unit Studies. Click here to grab the tips!

Also, check out Diving into Homeschool Unit Studies: The Dos and Don’ts and 10 Days of Diving Into Unit Studies by Creating a Unit Study Together and Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School.

Hugs and love ya,

How To Teach Homeschool Art Like a Pro (When You’re Not)

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

I was given this product free from Atelier Homeschool Art and I was compensated for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off.  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!

Knowing that it requires both skill and creativity to be a successful artist, I’ve spent years looking for a homeschool art curriculum which teaches both concepts. There is a reason I’m using Atelier Homeschool Art again this year. It teaches both concepts easily to a novice student and teacher.

Atelier Homeschool Art is video-based teaching. So it not only frees up my time to teach, but it also gives me teaching tips in the parent/teacher’s manual.

I like to be selectively controlling when teaching art. What I mean is that at certain times, I want to learn alongside my son while teaching him. Other times, when I have minimal to no teacher prep time, I want art lessons laid out so that it’s pick up and go.

Before I go on I just have to let you know one important thing and that is you don’t want to miss the SWEET surprise at the end of this post!

Kids Art Lessons

Teaching homeschool art use to be a subject that intimidated me.

(Creative expression can be learned by following a model.)

When I first started homeschooling, I was lopsided in my teaching. I was overly focused on skill subjects or the three Rs. Little did I understand that art feeds a child’s mind and that a creative imagination is the beginning to a lifelong love of learning anything.

Let me back up though because I want you to understand how Atelier Homeschool Art is laid out.

Homeschool Art Lessons

Look at these quick facts about how Atelier Homeschool Art makes it easy for me to teach art.

  • They offer 8 levels and because the levels overlap several ages it gives me more wiggle room when I had to choose a skill level.
  • The subscription is a full year of visual art lessons which you get for 3 years. More on that in a minute. However, there is no need to plan when lessons are ready for the year.
  • It is also a family subscription. I wouldn’t be wrong in saying you could use it for all of your kids but the subscription allows you to learn art too. It’s not just for multiple ages of children, but mom and dad can join in on the fun because the program is not baby-ish. The teaching and material are top-notch produced.
  • Not only is the art program offered online, but the DVD program is the same content. Let’s face it. There are still some places that don’t have a fast internet connection and there is no need to have to settle for mediocre art curriculum. I do love that Tiny can use his iPad and then I can look at his lessons on my laptop.
  • Another super help to me is that they offer art kits for just about 80% of the lessons. No need to guess which products you need. However, I also like the fact that prior to each lesson you are given a list for supplies. Why is this important to me? In teaching children to be independent, they need to receive proper instruction. If we don’t have art supplies in the house for the next lesson, Tiny needs to review ahead to let me know what supplies he needs. Yes, I love that Atelier Homeschool Art teaches independence even in art study. It’s Tiny job to gather his supplies and be ready for the next art lesson.
  • I mentioned that art is about having skill and creativity. Some kids have natural talent in that area and some need a model to follow. Either way, those skills can be taught or reinforced which is why the scope and sequence is important to me. We are working on Level 8 this year and look at what we’re learning. Students will build and develop a foundation of skills by learning and working through the essential elements and principles of art including: line, color, space, shape, texture, pattern, and balance. Level 8 also includes art-history, media exploration, creative self-expression, cultural appreciation, and much more.
  • It is a well-rounded art curriculum and allows plenty of time for free expression.
  • Then something else that really helped me as a beginner when teaching art is learning insider’s tips and tricks of the trade. I left the penciled grid lines on the beautiful art above that Tiny did while learning about Michelangelo. I wanted you to see that trick. Not only did he learn art history but he learned pro tips like making a grid line on his page when doing really larger pieces of art. It may seem like a small thing if you’re experienced at art, but if you’re like me, you appreciate all the seemingly insignificant, but important pro tips. Too, it makes Tiny really proud of his work instead of ending up with a small scale picture that he worked so hard on, but that only takes up about 1/4 of the page.
  • It helps us to look at art through the eyes of an artist. Tiny tends to be more like me in expecting perfection of himself. Sad, but true that the kid got that quality from me. This means we need more encouragement to let go of that expectation, but we still want to have guidance and drawing aids. That is another huge benefit of each lesson. Not only are teacher instructions included, but drawing aids are made available for download. We also appreciated the visuals used in each class as the art instructor explains what she sees in concrete objects. Again, helping us to see art through her eyes.
  • Although I mentioned the teacher’s guide, it’s important for you to know that not all teacher’s guides are designed equally. I have a high standard for a teacher’s guide and especially for one about a subject that I’m not an expert at teaching. This teacher’s guides exceeds my expectations because of the content and helpful how-tos. The teacher’s guide is 184 pages. It includes background information on how to teach art and how to grade it. It has a scope and sequence along with a glossary of terms and objectives. It is truly comprehensive.

Teaching Art While at the Museum

However, there is one more benefit that really sets this curriculum apart and that is the digital art prints along with the Art Print Guide.

It is already comprehensive but this nifty feature just makes it overflowing with ideas on how to incorporate art into every day life.

Make visiting an art museum come alive when you discuss the series of 10 digital prints. We have started a notebook with these prints and are covering them slowly since the guide has questions (with answers) along with activities to extend learning.

Each print has artist background information along with information about the artwork.

This could easily count as a fine art credit for a middle or high school student or half-credit depending on how comprehensive you want it to be.

Having multiple options when buying is appealing to me.

Included with each family package for the online Great Art Appreciation Program are 10 Great Masters Art Images and the Discussion Guides.

But if you choose the enrichment option, you get at least 90 artworks.

The enriched family package option also includes the Great Masters Virtual Museum. This virtual museum contains at least 90 artworks displayed in 7 galleries, along with discussion guides for each artwork. It is designed for those families who wish to include an enriched art appreciation and art history component with their studio art lessons.

Teaching homeschool art use to be a subject that intimidated me. I didn’t give up trying to teach it because I feel so much emphasis is always give on academics and not enough time to power up a child’s creativity. Look at easy it can be to teach homeschool art. Click here to read the tips!

Hands-down this is by far the best homeschool art program I’ve used and I’m PROUD that Atelier Homeschool Art is part of our curriculum!

updated products facts at a glance

How to Purchase It.

►Product Name: Atelier Online – Level 8 (ages 12-16) Levels 1 through 8 are available, which can be used for ages 4 to 16.
►Website: Atelier Homeschool Art
►Try it for Free: Click here for free sample lessons.
►About the product: All Atelier art lessons are presented on video, and reinforced by lesson plans. Not only are the videos a rich source of creative ideas and inspiration, it also clarifies the objectives, materials, techniques and procedures of each lesson. Abundant instructional coverage, as well as that of students in a virtual art class performing the lesson and displaying their finished artwork, consistently produces exceptional student results and learning, regardless of the art background of the parent-teacher.
►Formats: This program is not only available online, but the same materials can be purchased in dvd format too.
►Type of product: Online video-based.
►Art Supply Kits: We had many of these art materials, but did have to purchase some of them. If you’re like me and want things easily laid out, then you may like the Atelier Art Supply Kit which includes approximately 80% of the supplies needed for a complete level.
►Price: 140.00 for each grade level BUT that is for 3 years. Did you think I would forget to tell you about this? Why is it for 3 years? Because Atelier Homeschool Art knows that to truly master skills it takes years.

So to find the true cost. Divide 140.00 by 36 months (3 years) and that equals $3.88 per month. What a value for beautiful art curriculum.

Like I mentioned before, each lesson has drawing aids. Last year, Tiny picked one drawing aid to work on one skill and this year Tiny chose a completely different drawing aid. However, he is still working on improving the same concept in align with his maturity level.

But if you have a stricter budget that you need to stay in, you’ll love their newest option to buy. You can buy just individual modules.

You’ll love these other tips!

High School Elective:Peek at Principles and Precepts of Economics

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

High School Elective. A Peek at Principles and Precepts of Economics Homeschool High School Curriculum @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus
I was given this product for free and I was paid for my time. However, paid for my time does not mean paid off. All opinions are my own and for sure I will always tell you what is on my mind. Not every product will get a positive review. Too, because I carefully sort through numerous offers for reviews,  it usually means that I’m giddy about the product when I do accept it. Read my full disclosure here.

After just graduating high school, one of my most memorable adventures was staying with friends who lived in Belize. They had just purchased a house and planted trees, which produced the most delicious avocados and mangoes. When night came though, they would have to guard their new orchard as some of the Belizeans would jump the fence and raid their fruit. One local man justified the actions of his fellow countrymen by saying, “The fruit was for the whole of we.” Knowing the history of British influence on the dialect, we all understood the meaning of his reply. Whatever work you did in that country was to benefit the whole country. My friends and I got schooled that night about economics from one local view which was very different than what I learned about high school economics. Economics is about learning the history of what shaped people to think about their system of trading. So I was thrilled when I had the chance to teach my high school teen about economics using Principles and Precepts of Economics from Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum. 

When I learned that Principles and Precepts of Economics course is taught through history, I was hooked. Isn’t that what really affects how people from different countries view the economy? The past history and the present and future goals of a country shape today’s modern world. Look here at the scope and sequence of what each book covers so you can get an overview.

Understanding economics then at the high school level needs to begin with the ideas of the founding fathers and Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum (PAC) has done a solid job in presenting a foundation for a country’s trading system while presenting both good and bad ideas.

The course has three components: three soft-cover texts (chapters), three student activity books and a teacher resource book, which we put in a binder for ease of use.

The ease of use for PAC is one of its strongest features for a homeschooled home school teen | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Look at the 15 topics that come in each chapter (soft-cover text) so you can see the key teaching points and how Principles and Precepts of Economics unfolds.

 15 TOPICS STUDIED IN EACH SOFT BOUND (Chapter) TEXT BOOK.
Chapter 1

►Introduction to Economics
1. Defining Economics
2. An Economy Based on Biblical Principles
3. A Bad Experiment
4. Economics and the American Colonies
5. Tyranny of the Crown
►From Revolution to Prosperity
1. Liberty or Death!
2. War!
3. The Constitution and Bill of Rights
4. Land of Opportunity
5. Prosperity vs New Ideologies
►Modern Economic Issues in America
1. The Progressives
2. Change Comes
3. New Economies Part I
4. New Economies Part II
5. Return to Greatness

Chapter 2

►The Early Years – Seeds of Economic Liberty
1. Fleeing Tyranny in England
2. An Economy Based on Biblical Principles
3. A Bad Experiment
4. Economics and the American Colonies
5. Tyranny of the Crown
►From Revolution to Prosperity
1. Liberty or Death!
2. War!
3. The Constitution and Bill of Rights
4. Land of Opportunity
5. Prosperity vs. New Ideologies
►Modern Economic Issues in America
1. The Progressives
2. Change Comes
3. New Economics Part I
4. New Economics Part II
5. Return to Greatness

Chapter 3

►Family Economics
1. Budgets
2. Banking
3. Insurance
4. Investing
5. Government Considerations
►Starting a Small Business
1. Freedom vs. Punching a Clock
2. Personal Interest + Demand = Profit
3. Resources (Help Is Available)
4. Profit and Loss
5. Use It Wisely
►Education and Economic
1. Considerations
2. College
3. Trade Schools
4. Military Service
5. Other Options

As you can see the Chapter 2 book builds on the history of Chapter 1. The Chapter 3 book we really liked too because it gave practical value to learning economics. For example, Mr. Awesome and I had to make some decisions about a 401K in his upcoming job. After covering Chapter 3, Tiny knew what we were talking about because he really liked the sections about family economics and business ownership.

Let me back up first though because Chapter 1 is a fast and surprisingly comprehensive overview of world history including some religious views and some about the background of the Bible.

This was unexpected by us at first because I’ve used curriculum from PAC before and prefer to add in our own worldview. It is easily done by this curriculum.

Too, we understood the context in which those ideas were being introduced. For example, to understand capitalism is to view it through the eyes of the founding fathers. It was based on individual liberty and belief in inalienable rights bestowed by a Creator.

Through the course it was clear that principles, precepts and different theories were going to be introduced. At this age, I’m wanting to be sure Tiny is introduced to other worldviews.

Chapter 1 covers from Ancient history, including Rome to the Awakening to the Middle Ages. As each world power is introduced, vocabulary words and ideologies are explained.

The layout of the book is what makes the books so easy for a middle or high school student to do independently.

Look below at one 2 page layout.

Self-teaching is promoted because everything the student needs to learn is right on the page without researching a lot of external resources.Vocabulary words are clearly defined through simple, but not busy illustrations which makes the teaching points or message memorable.

Another feature Tiny really enjoyed was the use of video throughout the book.

If you don’t know what QR codes are, I know your teen probably does. That was another unexpected very useful interactive tool we liked.

How to Easily Teach High School Economics

You can download the free QR reader scanner here at iTunes. Note this one is for an iPhone. You can also get one for an iPad which we already had downloaded.

Look at these easy directions below.

High School Elective. A Peek at Principles and Precepts of Economics Homeschool High using QR codes | Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Find the QR code links in the books, use your device to scan the code (tell your teen to clean his screen for the fifteenth time, okay, okay) and then wait for the video to load on your device.This video was one learning about different types of business structures and it was my business-minded teen’s very favorite.

10 Things You Should Know About Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum

Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum (PAC) may be a good fit for your family:

►If your high school student prefers to work independently.
►If your middle school student is ready for high school level work.
►If, like me, you need to keep up with high school credit then this is one-half credit (.5) or semester long program.
►If you have a middle school or high school teen that loves history, then he’ll appreciate covering economics from a history slant.
►If you want to use this as an elective or a required course in social studies.
►If you don’t want to use an online high school. Simply choose which subjects you want your child to do and form your syllabus. Grade and track your child’s grades.
►If your teen gets easily overwhelmed with all the clutter in digital only formats, then the clean and simple black and white illustrations keeps the points being taught straightforward and challenging but clear.
►If you want something affordable and prefer to use consumable products.
►If your teen prefers activities like fill in the blank, matching concepts, marking answers true and false and circling the correct answer.
►If you want to still feed your teen’s mind with character building concepts, he’ll savor the tiny nuggets of motivational sayings or Life Principles at the end of each section.

I do have to let you know about a part I didn’t agree with. Understand too that I realize at the high school senior level parents vary about how much control they want over their young adult’s content.

I still very much feel it’s my job to shape my child’s thinking and I’ve always preferred secular resources so that I can instill my own Biblical content.

One the other hand, I’ve never objected to my teens being exposed to conflicting thoughts and views because my job is to prepare my teens for other views. But I want views to stay as that, just opinions or perspectives.

The authors write on the left side column of the page:

Evolution, as it is taught today, has itself evolved since Darwin published his tome; but the book inspired collectivists to promote their theories. While the intention of this course is not to delve deeply into scientific matters, we need to examine the evolution perspective so you can see its impact on public policy, including economics and politics. (Chapter 1, page 43. Bold emphasis mine.)

Then on the right side column of the same page the authors write:

Evolution’s counterpart, creationism, or intelligent design, was (and is today) ridiculed by collectivists as unscientific, and thus unworthy of inclusion in modern science text and classrooms. However the success of capitalism is a strong argument in support of economics based on individual liberty and belief in inalienable rights bestowed by a Creator.

In reality, both evolution and creationism are unprovable, from a purely scientific standpoint. Science observation and experimentation are necessary parts of the scientific method, neither evolution or creationism can be proved scientifically. If creationism is true, nobody alive today was around to watch it happen, and if evolution is true, no one can live millions of years to observe it happening. Likewise if God created everything in the distant past, we cannot recreate that in the lab. Neither can one recreate evolution in science labs. (Chapter 1, page 43. Bold emphasis mine.)

Whether I agree or not if evolution or creationism cannot be proved scientifically, I would have preferred that the second paragraph on the second column above not be included.

I feel this would have been more in line with the authors’ intention of not delving deeply into scientific matters because I want to be the one helping my teen determine our scientific standpoint.

Overall it was an excellent course for the number of lessons covered and that part didn’t hold us back from covering the rest of the very useful and practical information.

Too, I think you’ll love how all of their courses are useful and practical to use. We’ve had an overall positive experience using them. Look at my post where we used Paradigm Accelerated World History Curriculum.

Then don’t forget to use the coupon code below for such a well-laid out course.

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►Product Name: Principles and Precepts of Economics. Full course kit which includes texts, activities and teacher’s resource kit.
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Also, check out 14 Fun and (maybe Frugal) Homeschool High School Electives, Successful Entrepreneur-3 Best Homeschooled Teen Resources and Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School.

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14 Fun and (maybe Frugal) Homeschool High School Electives

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Choosing homeschool high school electives are a fun part of your teen’s journey or at least it should be. Also, look at my page How to Homeschool High School for more tips!

Beyond the core homeschool subjects, electives allow a teen to pursue his passion.

When this time came for my oldest two, I tried to stay out of the process, but I didn’t realize that my boys actually welcomed my input.

Maybe some of this comes from my homeschooling them from the beginning.

They don’t really mind discussing things with me, but I want them to have the final say in what they chose to study.

14 Fun (and maybe Frugal) Homeschool High School Electives @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Keep in mind this part of high school is about discovery, exploring and maybe creating.

Each teen will view this time in high school differently depending on their goals.

14 Homeschool Electives

Some teens are more sports-minded, some academic-minded and yet others may be music and art-minded.

I’ve learned a lot about what I consider to be an elective and I’ve learned that you don’t have to spend a whole lot if you don’t want to.

Keep in mind though, this is high school and that means books do cost more.

So when I think about the cost of something, I think in terms of what value we get in return.

For example, if we pay and only get high school credit that is not necessarily a good deal to me.

However, if we pay for something and get some sort of certificate in addition to high school credit, then I’m all in.

The whole realm of what could be studied and discovered can be anything from art and automobile repair to woodworking and pre-med study.

Look at some of these options.

1 and 2. Home Repair and Maintenance & Woodworking.

My first son started off with Home Repair and Maintenance but switched to Beginning Woodworking.

High School Electives

Though I felt Home Repair and Maintenance was of much more value, this is again about my son choosing things that he thought interested him at the time.

3. Fine arts includes Ballroom Dancing. At the time it came to choose, my older two sons wanted to do some kind of sports, but we didn’t really have any homeschool sports group that were close.

I couldn’t do another hour of driving at the time.

What we did have close was an Arthur Murray studios for ballroom dancing. This is one of those things that I viewed as a two-pher.

The boys wanted to be with other teens and I wanted them to explore more fine arts.

At first, my boys said absolutely NO to ballroom dancing, but the Mr. got involved and told them to try it out.

After two lessons with hip young instructors and with other cool homeschool teens their ages, all of my boys took ballroom dancing for a few years.

I think they toned their bodies and learned a beautiful art more than they would have if they played sports and they also now agree.

4. Local programs assigning a certificate.

When my niece lived with us and was thinking about going into the medical field, I learned a lot about certificate programs.

For example, there are different levels of CPR training and it normally is offered to anybody as long as they can perform the duties.

This is one of those things I feel is not only practical to learn, but it gave her a glimpse of what it’s like if she decided to pursue something in the medical field.

Electives for Homeshooled Teens

Do you know how many certificate programs there are in every field?

Dozens as I began my search. It just takes some digging because it may or may not have a minimum age requirement. 

Also, it gives a teen has a completed certificate of completion in maybe a vocational field and a teen gets a taste of what a particular field is like. At this age, it is about exploring career options too.

5. Apprenticeship for photography.

My other niece was interested in photography and was offered to work with a local professional while learning photography.

Again, because she was going to get paid while learning a craft, this is an excellent choice for a teen. They are always looking for ways to make put some money in their pocket. This is a super two-fer and frugal.

6. Check out the local pool.

Though I wasn’t interested in my boys working at the local city pool, they are good swimmers and love the water.

Today some schools gives PE credit for working as a lifeguard, but this is certainly a doable option for a teen if he or she loved the water.

7. Weightlifting.

Yes, I know, but I have all boys and I really do love the fact that studying health, about the muscles and the body can be included in this and I did.

I didn’t really follow a course for my first son, but we did convert the garage to a weight room.

8. Create and collaborate with others for a group yearbook.

When I was with one group, they determined to do a yearbook to showcase our group’s activities for the year.

The high school teens would be the ones heading it up. If a student was interested in journalism, creative writing or art it gave them a way to use their talents.

Not only did the teens get credit for the year, but we got a unique yearbook.

I liked the fact that the teens had to follow up with homeschool moms to get information and work together to incorporate their ideas.

Electives for Teens

9. Choir.

One group that lived near us had a homeschool choir group. I had one son interested in taking choir, but it had a few too many girls for his taste. I wished it had a few other boys his age, but it was a great option.

10, 11. Foreign Language & Sign Language too.

Though foreign language courses can be costly, my boys got to use some of their Spanish when we went South America.

This is another example of how I don’t mind paying a bit more for this elective because it’s a great return in not only learning the syntax of a language, but it’s so practical as they travel.

12. Geography and history Unit study.

One of my sons also did a half of a semester learning about the country of Turkey.

Like his mom, he loves history and geography and not only did he read about it, but he learned about the culture, background, people, art and food. It was fun for him to share with our homeschool group what he learned.

13. Travel.

Yes, we intentionally moved to South America for a year and half so that my second son could receive credit for traveling and exploring other cultures.

Exploring the Amazon and trekking through mountains is the way my second son rolls.

Build Your Own Unique Homeschool High School Electives

So maybe this idea isn’t so frugal, but it sure was fantastic and he won’t easily forget what he and his brothers learned through their guided science tours in the Amazon.

Don’t forget that . .
(14.) Driver’s Education can be counted as an elective and it’s another two-pher when your kid takes this.

Most teens are ready to drive and I am here to testify that having a couple of chauffeurs in the family rocks.

My grocery shopping time has never been the  same because I rarely have to do it.

More Homeschool High School Teen Elective Resources

These are a few of the homeschool high school electives we have chosen so far. There really is no limit on the topics that your teen can choose.

Instead of focusing on the fear of how to count the hours and credit, focus on what your teen wants to learn because any topic or theme is readily available for your teen to explore.

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