Wondering how to create a curriculum for middle or high school home schoolers? Here's a step-by-step approach.
Here's what you'll learn in this article:
- How to create a home school curriculum for middle and high school students.
- Three steps to get started with creating a middle or high school home school curriculum.
- Answers to common questions about creating a curriculum for home school.
- Key takeaways to build an engaging home school curriculum for your middle or high school student.
- Resources to learn more about making the most of your family's home school experience.
Creating a Home School Curriculum for Middle and High School Students Doesn’t Have to Be Stressful
Home school is what you make it. At a minimum, you need a yearly supply of lessons--or a curriculum--to ensure that your children meet the minimum educational requirements in your state. Ideally, however, you will want to follow a curriculum that ensures your children have the opportunity to experience the joy of learning.
In Western culture, there is a lot of emphasis on the education of younger children--with many more educational shows and events tailored to preschool and elementary school students than those who are in middle and high school. As children enter middle and high school, a lot of these types of resources simply go away. Even with the Montessori method, the specified curriculum ends at upper elementary (grades 4th through 6th). Additionally, as educational materials increase in complexity, the quality of these resources becomes more important, but it can also be harder to judge.
With this in mind, many home school parents and caregivers find themselves wanting to create their own curriculum for the middle and high school grades. However, many also find this stressful; and, in many cases, they don't know where to begin.
3 Steps for Creating a Curriculum for Middle and High School Homeschooling
So, if you want to build your own curriculum, where do you start? Here are three steps you can take to reduce the stress of creating a home school curriculum for middle and high school students:
1. Build from Your State's Minimum Requirements
Knowing your state's educational requirements is a great starting point when you are choosing curriculum materials for home school. Even if you opted for a different option in your state (e.g., registering through a home school association), knowing the state grade-level educational requirements can help you assess the rigor of resources and adjust for your child’s needs.
As with starting home school, you’ll want to find your state’s requirements via its .gov website. You can search for “what middle (or high) school education requirements does X state use” to determine if it is the Common Core or some other standard of learning.
On your state’s website, you should be able to find information about its specific educational requirements--from subjects to expectations about preparing for life after graduation. These requirements are often (though not always) presented as PDFs of expected learning proficiencies for specified curriculums. Bookmark relevant pages, save files, and/or make a list of your state’s expectations--whichever makes the most sense for you.
2. Do Your Research Online
With knowledge of your state education requirements for middle and high school students, you can start searching for curriculum materials that cover the basics and meet your home school curriculum needs. As you search for materials, consider your budget and the level of rigor you want to pursue with your children's homeschooling.
If you want other options than your state’s curriculum materials (or they aren’t specified), start by searching private middle and high schools to learn what curriculum materials they use. They will often list the materials on their website or even include a syllabus of their approach to each course. You can also email them and ask what materials they use for specific grades.
One budget friendly option that is highly rigorous is to leverage the Open Textbook Library where you can freely download textbooks in a variety of subjects. While these are typically college level textbooks, you can adapt the material to fit with your child’s needs by varying the level of depth in which your child engages with the material.
Other options to consider are third-party resources like Khan Academy and Outschool. These can give your child varied ways of engaging with the subject material they cover. Khan Academy is entirely free and largely covers the minimum educational requirements, with a growing number of subjects each year. Outschool is much more varied and variable in quality since you have to select a teacher in the topic who may or may not be a fit for your homeschooling goals and needs. Outschool is also a paid resource, but it is a great option as children advance or need more help in certain subjects.
Leveraging your state education requirements, private middle and high school curriculum approaches, and available resources, you will be well equipped to create a middle and high school home school curriculum.
3. Assemble Your Home School Curriculum
After doing your research, you will likely have more curriculum options and material than you need. This is a good thing! You will have the flexibility to try some approaches and have back-ups if one approach isn’t working.
Start with a list of the subjects that you intend to teach for home school. Then, list the resource options that you found in priority of what seems like the best fit. Add notes next to these options about features that are important to you. For example, maybe you found a physics curriculum, but it is expensive. If it is too expensive, you will want to be sure that you look for alternatives before you need to give your first physics lesson to your middle or high school homeschoolers.
With the subjects and material options laid out in front of you, what patterns emerge? How can you take advantage of the resources that are available to you? For example, maybe the physics curriculum will fit the budget because you can use library books for literature and composition. Make your selections and start gathering the materials to create your middle or high school curriculum for home school.
FAQs: Creating a Middle or High School Home School Without Stress
What if I want to teach my child non-traditional subjects?
While choosing to home school affords a lot of flexibility in what you teach, remember that your children will only increasingly continue to be among peers who likely went to traditional school. Given that this is the case, you will likely want to opt for a balanced approach when creating a middle and high school home school curriculum. There is enough space to cover minimum state educational requirements and include tailored curriculums that cover non-traditional subjects as well.
What if my high schooler needs more than I can provide?
Traditional schools can offer various advanced placement courses. Your home schooler can also study these subjects and self-register for the exam. Similarly, you can research the merits of registering for certain courses at a local community college or university. Another option could be finding a tutor in a specific subject.
What if the curriculum I selected isn’t working?
Home school is a great option because there is no requirement to use a single curriculum or approach to learning. You can tailor both of these to your child's needs. If the curriculum you initially selected for a subject isn’t a fit, consider why. Is it too difficult? Too easy? Too boring? Work with your child to gather feedback. Then, return to your research from step two above and look for an alternate curriculum option that is a better fit based on your child's individual circumstances.
Key Takeaways
- Creating a home school curriculum can feel stressful. At the middle and high school levels, curriculum materials become more varied, so do your research using trusted sources.
- Account for state educational requirement. Even if you aren’t following your state educational requirements exclusively, they will give you a baseline to start building your own middle and high school curriculum.
- Research materials and resources. Use trusted sources to find curriculum options. There are plenty of free and low-cost options available.
- Create a tailored curriculum. Leverage the variety of quality resources available to design a curriculum that meets the learning needs of your middle and high school homeschooler.
Where to Learn More
If you would like more information about building home school lessons and experiences, consider becoming a member of Crush Home School. With our membership plan, you get monthly guidance delivered to your inbox with downloadable resources and much more. Learn more about becoming a Crush Home School member.