In the Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Teens, Chapter 12, I write about the necessity of laying out a tentative schedule of coursework and tasks for high school at the beginning of 8th grade. That’s for those of you with foresight. ( I didn’t gain that until my third child.)
The benefit of the plan is to make sure everything important gets done and that you distribute the tasks in a way that minimizes overloading the teen’s schedule. ( The senior year, for instance, needs to have time for filling out college applications and making the college decision.)
I’ve uploaded the Four Year Planning Grid and an example with pre-labeled tiles you can move around in your quest for the best workable schedule: Four+Year+Plan+Movable_Tiles. These are Word documents.
I include the extra year ( +1) because when you work backwards from the most competitive next step your teen will possibly take following high school graduation, you’ll find some things need to be done by the end of 8th grade, too.
I’ve also created a High School Checklist that includes desirable coursework and activities you might want to consider.
