A Day in the Homeschool Life of My 12th Grader

By the time the children get into upper middle, and high school, I expect them to be able to complete the majority of their work independently.  That does not mean that I do not assist when needed, because I do.  But I do expect that they are responsible for all of their own work and managing their time.  I do not tell Chelsea how much work to do in each subject each day.  She has to be at a certain point by the end of the semester and has to figure out on her own how much she needs to complete each day to meet that deadline.  She even grades her own assignments, with the exception of papers.  I grade those.  I think by making them responsible for their own work and managing their time it will better prepare them for college and the "real world" beyond.

Chelsea's morning chores include feeding and caring for our two dogs.  She also is responsible for cat litter, dishes, and helps me prepare meals (when needed.)  She also takes care of her own laundry and is called upon to babysit from time to time.  On Fridays she is on "kitchen duty" and cleans the kitchen top to bottom.

Chelsea has her own little corner of our family room that she does her schoolwork in.  She has all of her books in a crate by the love seat and her computer and everything else she needs.  Sure is more comfy then sitting in a desk all day!

Our school day starts at 9:30.  Chelsea starts her school day with Math.  She is working on finishing up Math U See Algebra 2 by the end of the semester.  MUS DVDs do the teaching and she completes the worksheets.  If she has difficulty I (or daddy when available assist her.  Math takes her around 45 minutes to complete.

Next up is Notgrass Exploring Government.  This is a one semester course.  She works 45 min to an hour every day on her readings and assignments.  This day she had readings and a paper that she was editing.

Next up is lunch and recess.  Chelsea usually reads or listens to music during recess.  School starts back up again at 12:30.

Science is next.  Chelsea is working through Science For High School Physical Science.  This Science is a little different from most programs.  The student has a manual with questions on different topics and they have to use various sources to find the answers.  Chelsea uses the internet and also a few Creation based books that we have on.  You can read my review on this course here.  The course also includes tests and quizzes, and labs.  Chelsea spends 45 min- an hour each day on Science.

Last up is IEW SWI C.  If you have an opportunity to use one of the Student Writing Intensive courses from IEW, I highly recommend it!  They are outstanding!  Chelsea started this course over the summer because it was a review so she will complete it by the end of the semester.  The length it takes her to complete varies depending on the assignment or if it is a video day or not, but generally speaking it takes around 45 minutes per day to complete.

Our school day ends around 2 o clock.  We "do school" 4 days per week.  Since three of the courses Chelsea is taking will be finished at the end of the semester, she will be taking new courses in January.  They are: Math U See Stewardship, Classical Academic Press The Art of Poetry, and Economics For Everybody. She is also planning on completing the I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist Bible Study and British History just for fun. For extracurricular activities, Chelsea is very involved in 4 H and many areas of our church including the youth group.  She loves to sew, read, and cook.  She will be graduating in May at the age of 17 and is planning on attending a local community college for her first two years of college.

That's a "Day in the Homeschool Life of My 12th Grader."  Next week I will be featuring my Preschooler.

Happy Homeschooling!

*link to Economics For Everybody is my affiliate link.  I only form affiliate relationships with companies whose products I actually use and can recommend!

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