~Bona Vita~

Now homeschooling your 10th grader. . .

In 10th grade I enroll my children in an online Western Literature class through  Scholars Online.  In many respects this class has become a rite-of-passage for my kids. They look forward to it with fear and trembling. In all actuality, it is not that bad. The class offers a rigorous overview of literature covering works from the Bible through Homer and landing finally in Dante. The professor is somewhat demanding but quite effective. Due to the reading list in this class, I usually ease off my reading requirements during this year. However, my 10th grader this year is a very strong reader so I did not feel the need to ease off his reading list.

If my reading lists seem overwhelming, remember that all of my plans for the school-year are dynamic. I alter them as needed. However, consider the great gift of time that children have at this stage of life. They probably will never again have this opportunity to read large amounts of literature.  Seize the moment.

Establishing and honing writing skills continues to be of utmost importance this year. I incorporate it into history, literature and test preparation classes.  You will also notice that my children have a formal language class at this level as well. They continue to work on language mechanics throughout high school.

Geometry is the main math class this year. However, I incorporate Algebra II into the year as well. I do not prefer my children to spend an entire year on geometry alone. I believe it weakens their algebra skills. This can be detrimental when they take college entrance exams in their junior year. I believe it is best to work on geometry and Algebra II at the same time. This obviously can take 2 years but the end result is the same. The timing is the only change.

10th Grade

• Bible Study – God’s Will: God’s Best For Your Life, Bible Study Sampler, Why Pray, More Than A Carpenter
• Chemistry, with lab - Apologia
• Western Literature – Scholars Online
• Geometry and Algebra II – Teaching Textbooks (separate texts)
• Latin III – Scholars Online
• Language – A Beka
• World History, with prep for the A.P. test – A Beka supplemented with various sources and test preps
• Piano – IPFW Community Arts Academy
• Physical Education

Reading List

• Oliver Twist
• David Copperfield
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Blandings Castle and other P.G. Wodehouse favorites
• My Life and Hard Times
• Jane Eyre
• Out of the Silent Planet
• Perelandra
• That Hideous Strength
• The Best of Father Brown
• Surprised By Joy
• Till We Have Faces
• The Nine Tailors
• Heart of Darkness
• Kon Tiki

Western Literature reading list includes:

• The Aeneid
• Selection of Greek Plays
• The Iliad
• The Nibelungenlied
• The Odyssey
• The Portable Dante
• The Saga of the Volsungs
• The Song of Roland
• The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
• Edith Hamilton’s Mythology

“A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.” -  Mark Twain

Tags: books, curriculum, homeschooling

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 12th, 2008 at 9:38 am and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.