Homeschooling High School - 100 Ideas for High School Electives ---

Summary:  High school homeschool electives are such an important part of the homeschool high school journey.  Homeschool high school electives help to build up your teen's college application while allowing them to follow their interests and discover their strengths.  Leadership, homeschool sports, 4H, and many more elective ideas are included here, 100 of them.  


There is so much more to homeschooling high school than just core studies.  One of the main reasons that we homeschooled all the way was to foster our daughter’s interests and grow her gifts.  And as she approached high school, they became her high school electives.

Having the time to delve deeply into my teen’s interests was priceless.  I encouraged her to explore her to try out different activities throughout her homeschool years.  Isn't that what homeschooling is about anyway? 

High School electives also brought the fun into our homeschool.  My favorite one was her irish stepdancing class, where my hubby and I got to watch them all perform each year on St. Patrick’s Day.  What are your teens interested in?  Where do their gifts lay? 

Here are 100 ideas to consider for high school electives and high school activities.  I hope this list gives you ideas for your teen.  Many high school activities as many can be made into high school electives.  Don't miss the giveaway at the end of this post.

100 High School Electives and Activities

Animal Care – Help with family’s animals, assist at the Humane Society, do an animal project 4H, compete at a state fair.  This can easily be made into an elective.

Athletics – Are your teens interested in sports?  Many Parks Department have leagues and classes, as does the YMCA, etc.  Some public schools allow homeschoolers to join in their sports activities as well. –States that offer this option include Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.  For more information, HSLDA has a link here – http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/Issues/E/Equal_Access.pdf. 

Parks Department Leagues, YMCA, etc.

Archeology – Take a course at the community college, or make your own.

Art  -- We did classes at our Parks Dept.  The YMCA offers them as well.  My friend’s teen enjoyed Artistic Pursuits from www.christianbook.com.  

         --  Ultimate List of Favorite High School Art Resources by the Hodgepodge Mom, and it includes a year long high school course in Art Journaling

Art Appreciation

Automotive Repair

Bible Quiz – link - http://bq.ag.org/  This program- offer competitions at the district, regional and national levels in bible memorization skills.  My daughter’s friend competed locally, then had the honor of doing it on the national level, and she enjoyed it very much. 

Blogging – Set up a blog for your teen, or have them set it up themselves.  What a great way to get your teen writing!

Book Club – Attend your local library’s club, or make your own.

Botany – Eva Varga has a great course in botany here - Botany - Plenty O'Plants - EvaVarga 

Boy Scouts – Earning badges, and progressing in boy scouts, such as eagle scouts, is a great activity for leadership development www.scouting.org  

Business Management – This could include running an etsy shop, taking a course, or making your own.

Business Math

Career Exploration – This can be an elective for high school credit.  Some ideas for this include interviewing family members and friends re their careers, doing online research into careers of interest, arranging to visit a site of interest. 7 Sisters offers a complete course in Career Exploration Curriculum Bundle, highly recommended.

Car repair – Learn along side dad, help with car repairs, take a class, etc.

Carpentry

Ceramics - Our parks dept. offered great classes in ceramics, which my teen enjoyed since middle school.

Chalk Pastels - Make your own fine arts course with Tricia Hodges's Art for All Ages Chalk Art Bundle.



American Landmarks Chalk Art - This chalk art book is more advanced, ideal for high schoolers, and it can pair very well with your American History studies.  A great way to complete a fine arts elective credit as well!

Cheer - Cheer classes and or competitions   

Child Development –  The 7 Sisters offer a complete course in Early Childhood Education.   Assisting in a church nursery, babysitting, helping in a co-op class, or helping with younger siblings over time can all contribute to the learing. 

Choir

Coding

College Planner - Give your teen credit for preparing for ACT/SAT testing!  All of these activities can count as high school credit!  Make it a course.

Comparative Religions

Computer Studies – Online, Programming, Web Design, etc.  Making a website, and blogging can count as web design.

Composer Study

Cooking

CPR-First Aid

Crafting

Creative Writing – We did this as one of our favorite high school electives.  I am a writer, so I taught my daughter the basics, then we made our own homemade course with NaNovWriMo.  I just share that as a reminder that you can teach your skills and hobbies to your child and make your own electives!  

One Year Novel

Another way to go is to use One Year Adventure Novel – www.oneyearnovel.com, or pick another resource such as Learn to Write the Novel Way from www.christianbook.com. This can also become an English credit.  Creative writing is a great way to build up your teen’s confidence in putting words on paper.   It’s fun, too.

Dance – My daughter enjoyed studying irish dance at a local dance studio for many years. There are many kinds of dance to consider, ballet, jazz, liturgical, etc.  We started out with parks dept classes in preballet.  What fun I had watching my little one learn to dance!

Desktop Publishing

Early Childhood Education 




Vicki Tillman from 7 Sisters - Early Childhood Education elective course.  Add power to the homeschool transcript, prepare to be a good homeschooling parent, and provide enriching career exploration, while doing this course, which is FUN!

Fashion

Financial Management

Fine Arts - My friend used this program by a veteran homeschooler Harmony Fine Arts 

Fitness Coaching 

4H - www.4-h.org/  They offer a variety of activities to develop kids and teens’s citizenship, leadership, responsibility and life skills.  My daughter participated in their annual competitions at our state fair each year, and enjoyed photography, art, knitting, baking, and more.  This gave her outside feedback on her projects, which was priceless.  Find a local 4H club here - http://www.4-h.org/get-involved/find-4-h-clubs-camps-programs/.

Furniture Refinishing

Gardening – Building a veggie garden, studying gardening online, planning a flower garden, helping with garden maintenance at home can all count.

Geology

Girls Scouts – www.girlscouts.org/

Graphic Design

Gymnastics – My daughter took lessons at our local gymnastics center. This was a great way for her to build strength and it also showed perseverance on the high school transcript, as she did this over a number of years. (Usually you would only include the high school activities on the college application.)

Hand Arts

Health

Home Economics – Cooking dinner once a week could become a ½ or full credit in home economics, depending on whether it was done for one semester or a year.  Making a recipe notebook, trying out new recipes, etc.  Lots of potential for homemade courses here.

Homeschool Scouts – www.homeschoolscouting.com To find a listing of homeschool troops, click here – www.homeschoolscouting.com/homeschool-troops.

Homeschool Sports Network –  http://www.hspn.net/homeschool-sports.asp.  To find a homeschool sports program in your area, check out this website, which has a list of states that offer sports around the country.

Horticulture

Interior Decorating

Itsy Shop

Jewelry Making

Journalism

Landscaping

Leadership Activities

1. Youth and Government is a hands on way of learning about state government, gaining speech and debate skills at the same time.  They meet in small groups, as delegations, then compete in district events, while learning about state government and how a bill becomes a law.  Meanwhile they practice debate skills, leading up to the statewide Youth Mock Legislature.  All the teens gather together at the youth legislator and enact the roles of legislators and vote on mock bills, written by the teens themselves.  This program is available in 33 states across the country, and is sponsored by the YMCA.  They even elect their own youth governor each year! 

2. TeenPack Leadership Schools – www.teenpact.com This is another well established leadership program which provides groups and workshops that equip teens to become leaders in politics, society and citizenship.  They offer state classes, four day classes and a national convention, too. Their classes are held in 41 states at their state capitals.  Many of my teen’s homeschool friends participated in these events and learned a lot there. They looked forward to it every year.  To register for a state class click here - https://teenpact.com/events/

3.  Counselor-in-Training Programs – The girl scouts, boy scouts and camp fire programs all offer counselor training to teens.  Then they assist in summer day camps for younger kids.

4.  Volunteering – Help at a food bank as a family, volunteer at a pet hospital, or the Humane Society, assist at a library as a volunteer page, help to lead a class at co-op, etc.  By recording your teen’s hours, volunteering can be made into a homemade elective course.  

5.  Parks Department’s Teen Board – Many parks departments have youth teen boards, who meet regularly to plan activities for younger kids, and that is a way to learn leadership skills.

6.  PoliceExplorers – Many police departments offer this program for high schoolers.  It includes lots of volunteer opportunities and leadership training as well.  Our family friend has been involved it this program for years, and is gaining helpful experience, that may lead directly to a career in law enforcement.

7.  Speech and Debate - NCFCA – National Christian Forensics Communication Association – This is the longest standing nonprofit organization that offers speech and debate activities for homeschooled high schoolers.  They meet locally in chapters, compete regionally, and hold a national championship yearly.  Lots of my teen’s homeschool friends participated in this, and loved it.  

Life Skills

Marine Science

Marketing

Martial Arts – Many studios offer homeschool classes in martial arts.  One of my teen’s friends is a student of martial arts, and it was a great way for him to develop discipline.

Music – Music lessons, composer studies, Squilt - http://www.homegrownlearners.com/squilt/, playing in a band or orchestra, singing in a choir, performing, attending performances call all lead to a high school credit in music.  Our area had a homeschool choir available.

Music Appreciation - My friend, Tricia Hodges, from Hodgepodge used this course an recommends it 20th Century Music Appreciation Course.

Music Lessons

Nature Study  

We loved doing nature study, too.  How about one of Cindy's nature study courses, such as Incredible Creeks from Shining Dawn Books?  

Nutrition

Oceanography

Office Skills

Orchestra

Painting

Philosophy in 4 Questions - A whole credit of philosophy, by 7 Sisters, highly recommended.  No busy work, and from a Christian perspective.

Photography – I taught my daughter photography, from age 8, and we did this together for many years, and it later became a homemade elective.  There are also online courses in photography, and some parks dept’s offer classes as well.

Photo Shop

Physical Education

Plumbing

Programming

Psychology - Introduction to Psychology - A Christian Perspective - from 7 Sisters

Research Skills

Robotics

Sailing

Sea Scouts

Sewing

Shakespeare 

Would you like some resources for making your own high school English course?  Make your own course, with novels such as these, for example:

No Fear Shakespeare - Hamlet 

No Fear Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet 

These books include the original text, with a parallel translation of modern English on each page.  Having the parallel text made this learning so much better and understandable for my teen.

Sign Language

Social Media - Advertising

Sociology

Speech and/or Debate - NCFCA– National Christian Forensics Communication Association link - The longest standing nonprofit organization that offers speech and debate activities for homeschooled high schoolers.  They meet locally in chapters, compete regionally, and hold a national championship yearly.  Lots of my teen’s homeschool friends participated in this, and loved it.  They also hold short film and writing contests.

Speech 1 - Public Speaking and Practical Life Skills - by the 7 Sisters, also highly recommended.

Small Business 

Stoa – Christian Homeschool Speech and Debate – This national organization offers Speech Events, Debate Events, and Tournaments here http://www.stoausa.org/  State Organizations are here.  http://www.stoausa.org/about/stoa-state-links

Theater and Drama – Take a class, usher at a drama production, join a local community theater group.  My nephew participated in a homeschool drama program offered by his co-op.  

Video Courses - Tricia Hodges, from the Hodgepodge, has an extensive list of high school video courses in High School Homeschool Video Courses, including American History, Visual Latin, Economics and so much more!

Video Making - We made our own course in video-making, a true joy to do with my teen.  It became a one-half credit elective on her homeschool transcript and was tons of FUN!

Voice Lessons

Volunteering – Such a great way to gain experience, build up confidence, leadership skills, and to try new things.  Some places to consider – Church youth activities, church nursery, the public library, nursery room at co-op, the Humane Society, Girl Scout or Boy Scout day camp, Parks department special needs programs, mission trips, nursing homes, church camps, day care or preschool, food bank, YMCA, YWCA, etc.  

My daughter volunteered at our local library one summer, and enjoyed it.  They were already set up for volunteers there, so it was easy to set up.  Some museums are also set up to offer teen volunteering.  This led to a recommendation letter that we sent along with our college application.

Web Design

Weight Lifting

Word Processing

World Cultures

YMCA – www.ymca.com  They have a link there that will list all of the YMCAs in the US and will give you a guest pass to one to visit nearby.

HSLDA also has an extensive list of possible high school electives here http://www.hslda.org/highschool/Elective_Possibilities.pdf

Nothing like watching your teen as they discover and explore their special interests during the all important teen years!  

I loved doing activities and electives with my daughter.  I followed her interests, and did not load on extra electives or activities just to show them to the colleges.  

Instead, we made time for her to develop her gifts and talents as it fit into our homeschool days and our family’s schedule.

And homeschooling creatively with FUN electives helped my teen get into college! Is that where you want your teen to be heading?  It is NOT hard to do!

This post is a part of the 100 Things iHomeschool Network Blog Hop! (starting November 21st) Check out the group cash giveaway and all the other great posts there. 

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her 20 year old daughter whom she homeschooled from day one. She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, high school & college and wrote a book on college.  Betsy also offers free homeschool help and messages at BJ's Consulting. 

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Revised 2019

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Homeschooling Your Spirited Child

Summary:  Do you have a strong willed child?  Sharing how we homeschooled our daughter, following her interests.  Hope for moms who are in the trenches of raising their own.   #homeschooling #twiceexceptional 

This week my husband and I got to go watch our daughter do her Capstone speech in college. 

We had no idea how things would turn out when she was young:

SO strong willed and FULL of tons of energy!  

Always knowing everything, before she got a chance to learn it, of course.

But now, our challenging daughter who had also been a bit shy, was rocking it in her leadership program in college!  

My daughter presenting her capstone project to students and her professors.

She was in front of a large crowd, speaking with confidence.  

How did this happen?  

I had no idea that my 2e daughter would want to do that, when she was young.....

Today, I'd like to share, and look back, on how my very string willed daughter learned to channel those traits, starting with her early explorations, when she was little.

And following her interests was key to that.

Through the years, my husband and I worked to support her interests, in whatever way that we could, following her lead as far as her learning and activities.  

While learning how to nurture and guide our intense, strong willed daughter.  We found that homeschooling was the way to go for her.

Homeschooling allowed us to go at her pace, re socializing, learning, when she needed more challenge, etc, so that she could take things at her own pace.  

We could meet her needs for quiet times in ways that public school just couldn't.

And we could take wild active breaks, with gymnastics done across the living room floor most every day!  

At the same time, she could step her toe in, re social/group interactions and take her time as needed, re her shyness and her anxiety issues, too.  That was our goal.

And we didn’t know that we were growing a leader, even…that was a nice surprise…

Well, it all really started with lots of cardboard and tape.

A NOTE - My daughter just started what will soon become her summer job (as a campaign manager for a local city councilperson, who is running for re-election.

Sharing to give you all moms with strong willed kids HOPE!

Learning at home gave my daughter a supportive anchor, that allowed her to step out and explore the world, one day at a time. 

And then, returning home for quiet time with family, and for my daughter that always included our pets.

What are your children exploring these days?  It is such a pleasure to hear from you.  If you like this post, you will also probably like my pinterest board on high school.

Do you have a teen in your house?

For those of you who are considering homeschooling your teen or already doing that, you may be feeling overwhelmed with the idea of dealing with high school.  

Transcripts, GPA, assigning high school credit, etc, it can feel daunting.  And that is why many families are leery of taking on high school at home.

I want to encourage families to homeschool their teens, and get the benefits that we got doing that, for my daughter and for our family.

My guide includes over 100 high school electives and activities for your teen to browse and maybe explore.

It also has guidance for helping your teen get into college.

But this book is not just for those who are aiming towards college. 

ON AMAZON---------For more info: please click here My Book 

My friend, Vicki from 7 Sisters Homeschool has lots of helps and tips for Homeschooling Your Strong Willed Teen.

Thanks for stopping by BJ's Homeschool,

Betsy

Betsy is mom to her now college grad, whom she homeschooled through high school.  She blogs at BJ's Homeschool, about the early years, highschool, 
college, gifted/2e and wrote -Homeschooling High School with College in Mind, 2nd Edition,   She offers homeschool help through messages at BJ's Consulting,  and has had some of her articles picked up by the Huffington Post.

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