Welcome back to my annual Homeschool Curriculum Choices series where I post all of the books and resources we will be using for this new school year.
Since I am posting about 5 children this year (!), it is taking me quite awhile to create the posts. So please forgive my slow pace in sharing our new school year!
This year – 2022-2023 – will be my most challenging homeschool year yet as a teacher. My oldest is in 12th grade and my youngest is in Kindergarten!
Talk about a wild ride of learning!
I will be soaking in both levels of those extremes, as I know that these mothering years are oh so fleeting.
We are already in our 5th week of homeschool, and I am working diligently to smooth out all of the bumpy spots, of which there are many. I am nothing if not a realistic person, so I know that there will probably be bumpy spots the whole year just due to the fact that there are 5 of them and only one of me!
Let’s take a look at what my 12th grade son is learning this year! I am so excited for him, as these are subjects he will love. He is the life-long learner type and enjoys pondering large ideas and thoughts. These choices will reflect that!
I teach my children classically, and my oldest boy is bearing the fruit of that method of learning. I couldn’t be more thrilled to watch him grow as a person, a citizen, and most importantly, a child of God.
Read more: How I Educate Myself as a Classical Homeschool Mom
My 12th grader is doing several classes with me here at home, and several classes using Memoria Press Online Academy. My children have taken a multitude of classes with MPOA over the years, and I cannot tell you how pleased I am with the content they have learned.
It feels like homeschooling is a financial sacrifice at every turn, however, the Return on Investment with those MPOA classes has been immense!
Browse through all of the homeschool curriculum posts here at Mama’s Learning Corner.
Mama’s Learning Corner uses affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Aside from my affiliate links, I’m not presently affiliated with Memoria Press, BJU, or any other curriculum provider in any way. I’m just a very grateful and satisfied homeschool mama!
12th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices on You Tube
If you would rather watch the video about our 12th grade homeschool, you can watch that video here:
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12th Grade Math
My son took Pre-Calculus in 11th Grade, so the next step for him would be Calculus. As I mention in my 12th grade curriculum video, that would have been just too much for this non-STEM child. Yes, he could certainly do Calculus and do well, but he would have to work hard for that class.
As you see in the curriculum in this post, he is going to be working plenty hard and I decided to let his math be a lighter year.
I am tickled with this choice so far! My son is working through portions of BJU Consumer Math, and this is a great fit for him.
We are skipping the algebra-type portions of the curriculum and working through all of the ‘real life’ material – insurance, buying a home or car, interest, taxes, etc. This will take us through 2/3 of the year, and I will probably add a short Personal Finance course at the end of the year.
Adulting math. Yes. 👍
12th Grade World History
I mentioned in my daughter’s 10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum post that I am combining my 12th grade son and 10th grade girl for World History. It is going beautifully so far! The competition is just enough to add some extra spice to the class.
They complete their reading assignments and questions, we have class a couple of times each week, and we enjoy much discussion. As the Homeschool Mama, this is one of my favorite classes this year!
We are using the BJU World History Homeschool Set, which includes the text in addition to the Student Activities workbook and the Test packet. I love the survey of information, which seems to be at a just-right level for both my 10th and 12th graders. I also like that this is from a Christian perspective and shows how God is woven throughout all of history.
While my children know and understand this of course, I love that we have curriculum available that reinforces and reminds us of this Truth.
12th Grade Literature
I am also able to combine my older two children for most of our Literature studies this year, and that too has been working out so well! We are finishing up Hamlet as I type this post, and then we will be moving on to the next selection.
Together, my children and I will be reading various selections from Memoria Press, including the Teacher’s Guides and Student Workbooks: Hamlet, A Tale of Two Cities, and selections from The British Tradition II: Poetry & Prose from the Elizabethan to the Neoclassical Age (1485-1784 A.D.).
Then my daughter will split off for some American Literature selections, and my son and I will spend the last portion of the year reading through Anna Karenina using the Anna Karenina Set from Memoria Press.
As I mentioned in his 12th grade Curriculum video, I am pretty intimidated by this work, but I will press on! We will read through the text together, and he will complete the work as assigned in the Memoria Press Literature Guide.
12th Grade City of God
My son and I are also tackling Augustine’s City of God using the set from Memoria Press. Yes – another selection that I am feeling a little intimidated by! We have gotten a great start with City of God, and the discussions are already so rich and deep with this text.
There are 22 books in this text, and I have paced it to last our whole school year. I didn’t want us to try to cram this into a semester, as I wanted us to have the time to think and ponder through these ideas and truths.
So far, this pace seems very doable and even delightful.
We both read the material for the week, and then have class a couple of days a week to discuss. My son completes the workbook assigned in the Memoria Press workbook and also writes bullet point summaries of each chapter to use a memory nudges.
Also, we are using the lecture series City of God from Great Courses, and that has been an excellent addition to the reading!
12th Grade Health
My son didn’t have a stellar Biology experience at the private school he attended for 9th grade, and I realized he was in dire need of a health class. He went into it dragging his feet a bit, but it is going extremely well so far! I’m super pleased with the curriculum I chose: Abeka Health in Christian Perspective.
This is the first curriculum from Abeka that I have ever used in our homeschool, and I give it a thumbs up so far. I chose this one specifically because it’s only a semester long and it hits the topics on which I wanted my son to have more exposure: body systems (cardiac, endocrine, etc.), vitamins and nutrients and how your body requires and uses those, and a hefty dose of First Aid.
He and my 10th grader will also take a CPR class this spring. In my experience, First Aid and CPR are like swimming – they are life skills that everyone needs to know and practice.
12th Grade Composition
Once again this year, my son will take composition through Memoria Press Online Academy. He is taking the final courses in the progymnasmata sequence and is enrolled in High School Composition III. It covers Classical Composition 7 (Characterization), 8 (Description) and 9 (Thesis & Law).
My son enjoys writing and sees this as a possible career option for him, so this class is a great fit to expand his writing frame of reference.
So far, so good!
➡ If you would like to know more about the Classical Composition model for writing (the progymnasmata), Memoria Press has an excellent article explaining the method itself and why it’s valuable to learn: The Before Exercises – Composition as Training in Virtue
12th Grade Henle Latin
My children are required to learn Latin in our homeschool from 3rd grade through 8th grade. Once they get to high school, I let them choose the foreign language they will study for 2+ years. My son chose Latin, so he is in translation classes now which are quite tough!
My son is taking Henle Latin III through Memoria Press Online Academy. He has taken several Latin classes with them during this high school years, and they have all been top-notch! His Latin is quite good, and he enjoys learning it.
➡ If you’re wondering Why Latin? You can take a browse through this post: Why I Teach Latin in Our Homeschool
12th Grade Economics
Next, my son will take an Economics class through Memoria Press Online Academy. His instructor is one of his favorite teachers, so I have no doubt this will be a great fit for him! My son also loves learning about current events and politics, so this class will dovetail with that beautifully.
This class is using Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics and Economics for Helen by Hilaire Belloc.
This is a one-semester class for the Fall Term.
12th Grade Classical Rhetoric
Lastly, my son is taking Classical Rhetoric through Memoria Press Online Academy. This class uses several texts:
— Rhetoric by Aristotle
— Figures of Speech by Arthur Quinn
— How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler → I mentioned in the video that I read this several summers ago and it was incredibly helpful in Educating Myself as a Classical Homeschool Mom
— Classical Rhetoric, which is the textbook/workbook by Martin Cothran
This is a one-semester class during the Spring Term, so we don’t know much about it yet!
Are you teaching 12th Grade this year? What are your children studying? I would love to read any comments, so please share!
Here’s a quickie recap of our 12th Grade curriculum choices for this year:
→ Math: BJU Consumer Math and Personal Finance – TBD
→ History: BJU World History
→ Literature: Various selections from Memoria Press – Hamlet, British Tradition II: Poetry & Prose from the Elizabethan to the Neoclassical Age (1485-1784 A.D.), A Tale of Two Cities, and Anna Karenina
→ Classical and Christian Studies: City of God Set
→ Health: Abeka Health in Christian Perspective
→ Composition: High School Composition III with MPOA
→ Latin: Henle III with MPOA
→ Economics: Economics with MPOA; Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell and Economics for Helen by Hilaire Belloc
→ Rhetoric: Classical Rhetoric with MPOA
Ashley Wright
Great read!!! Thanks for sharing such a great blog.
Sunny
How did City of God go?