Top 10 Homeschool HIGH SCHOOL Curriculum Picks (All-in-One Picks)
What if I told you that there are top-rated curriculums that can make homeschooling not just effective but also enjoyable for both you and your child? Well, in this post, I'll reveal 10 of the best homeschool high school curriculum choices.
To narrow down these choices, I've scoured homeschool Facebook groups and read about 300 comments just on the best high school homeschool curriculum picks.
And to clarify, in this article, I won't be talking about accredited programs but unaccredited programs.
The significant differences, if you're wondering, is price and third-party certification.
I'm doing another post soon on online schools (accredited homeschool programs), which you should also check out, especially if you want to get college credits or a homeschool diploma from an accredited school.
(If you can't wait, a few good picks for accredited (online school) options are Liberty University, Abeka, and Ignite Christian Academy.)
Also, some moms want to do high school in an eclectic way.
If so, you'll want to choose the 'BEST of' subjects from each category (I will have articles on these in my blog shortly).
But this post will focus on all-in-one (complete all-subject) high school programs.
This post contains affiliate links.
Masterbooks
What program is an excellent compromise between affordable and quality homeschool curriculum?
Sometimes, when looking for a product, you don't always want to go straight to the dollar store.
But then, you don't always want to go to Bloomingdale's to get the most expensive item.
And with a homeschool curriculum, I've found somewhere in the middle tends to provide an excellent education for a reasonable price.
Masterbooks (pictured below) is a program that fits into this category.
People love this gospel-centered homeschool curriculum, which provides high-quality physical workbooks.
It teaches using a Charlotte Mason-inspired method.
The Masterbooks curriculum is open-and-go, and lessons are written in a conversational style as if the teacher were talking right to your child.
They also offer simple, short, self-paced videos at their MasterBooks Academy for some subjects and grades, but they're definitely not complete at this stage.
The 9th grade curriculum will only cost $290-360; Grade 11 is $350, but you'll also want to buy electives.
If you want to purchase their videos, you can expect to pay between $35 and $75 per video course.
All up, it's a pretty affordable and well-loved curriculum.
BJU Press Homeschool
But as one of my astute viewers commented, affordability is subjective.
The Masterbooks program is expensive compared to Easy Peasy All-in-One (a free high school curriculum) but is pretty cheap compared to BJU Press.
BJU Press, the curriculum I use with my kids, is another well-loved open-and-go high school program.
It gets rave reviews just about everywhere.
BJU Press Homeschool is a gospel-centered Christian program known for its video lessons, which work seamlessly with textbooks and workbooks and are high-quality, well-thought-out, entertaining productions.
BJU (pictured above) is such an effortless program for high schoolers to use.
If you're a working homeschool parent, you can easily work in the background while your high schooler independently runs their own education.
Compared to Masterbooks, BJU Press Homeschool provides a more robust education.
It will more than prepare children for a college-level program.
In terms of price, Grade 9 video lessons will cost $1,049 (pictured specifically above).
Grade 12 costs the same.
However, you may also want to purchase electives for high school, which will cost an extra $89 to $208.
I really like this program because it's like your child gets to do a private Christian school curriculum in your lounge room without you running any of the lessons.
You can't go wrong with this program.
Journey Homeschool Academy
There is another homeschool curriculum that I've never talked about on this channel.
I found it because the moms on the Facebook forum were absolutely delighted about this one.
This program doesn't offer all high school subjects, but it does offer biology, chemistry, physics, physical science, astronomy, and the Bible.
And they're particularly well known for being excellent at homeschool high school science courses.
What high school curriculum am I talking about?
Journey Homeschool Academy (pictured above).
Journey Homeschool Academy offers video-based lessons and hands-on activities for all grades and is a great option for families with multiple children.
That's because they tier their pricing, making it cheaper for every subsequent student.
If you have two children, you get the second for 50% off for the second child if they enroll in the same course.
If you have three children enrolling, it's 75% off for the third child.
With this program, you purchase courses separately.
For instance, their Biology bundle costs $279.
To give you an idea, this bundle includes:
weekly video lessons, lab video instructions, and research questions,
quizzes,
downloadable lesson outlines, notes, and lab guide,
recommended reading assignments,
and a certificate of completion for high school credits.
Their chemistry, Astronomy, and other science courses cost the same, except for their Bible course, which is only $179.
Elementary students get lifetime access to their courses.
However, middle and high schoolers have limited time access (one year) from the start date of their course.
As I said, Journey Homeschool is very popular and recommended by many parents on the forums.
If you have kids who aren't that 'into' science, this course will definitely interest them.
I'll leave it linked below so you can check it out.
Monarch
But let's say you're thinking, 'That's too Bloomingdale's for me. Show me some Walmart, Bec."
Then you have to look into Monarch.
Monarch is an online homeschool curriculum created by Alpha Omega Publications (they also provide Lifepac, Weaver, and Horizons).
But Monarch is a subscription-based, all-online (no workbooks in sight) Christian program covering all subjects from Grade 3 to Grade 12.
They offer an enormous range of electives and follow a pretty traditional way of education.
With this one, kids can run their own education.
However, Monarch can be a little dry sometimes and isn't as engaging as BJU Press and Masterbooks.
However, I'm rather impressed with their range of electives.
How much can you expect to pay for this one?
Firstly, you need to purchase their 'Full Access Subscription,' which costs $43 per month or $430 per year.
A Full Access Subscription will let you access anything deemed as a CORE subject.
If you want to do electives, you'll have to add an extra $11 a month or $110 a year.
Although Monarch hasn't been around long, Alpha Omega Publications has.
It's well know and trusted.
Abeka
Another curriculum whose name is synonymous with homeschool curriculum is Abeka (pictured above).
Abeka has been around for more than 50 years.
I did their curriculum when I was homeschooling 30 years ago!
Abeka is similar to BJU Press Homeschool (see the comparison video of them below).
It offers a blended learning approach (online video lessons and physical workbooks).
They are known for producing a rigorous curriculum and are well-loved by many people.
Abeka offers a spiral curriculum, which means you cover a curriculum in detail and then come back to it and cover it in even more detail later.
The Abeka program relies on repetition as a primary teaching method.
Repetition and memorization can be great if you're willing to skip the work if your child knows it (at this point, it would be what's called 'busywork').
But otherwise, teens may end up doing a lot of busywork which can be frustrating for some students.
For a homeschool curriculum, Abeka is approaching Bloomingdale's with a price tag of $1,700 for its Grade 9 video lessons plus workbooks.
But this price includes an elective.
Grade 12 costs the same.
BJU Press and Abeka are both five-star courses.
Compass Classroom
But, $1,700 could be way out of reach for some families.
And other families might want a more Classical, Charlotte Mason-y approach.
Enter Compass Classroom.
I love this program.
As an adult, I've used their high school courses myself.
I did their Latin, Vocab Show, and Modern Parables series.
To quickly describe their program, it's closest to Monarch, but the curriculum injects much more fun and entertainment into the scene.
Compass Classroom is a gospel-centered Christian homeschool curriculum that offers an entirely online course.
They have a classical education feel to courses, offering Latin, Spanish, and most core subjects (except math).
They also include courses for parents in their subscription that show you how to teach your child to homeschool effectively.
Compass is known for its excellent homeschool history curriculum lectures.
They also have a truckload of interesting electives your kids can do. I’ve covered a few of them in the video embedded below.
Classical education, if you don't know, is also renowned for its focus on developing tools for learning properly, logical thinking skills, and great rhetorical (or speaking) abilities.
You can also enroll your teen in LIVE classes.
These can be even more engaging than pre-recorded lessons, but they tend to be pricier.
And this is what you get with Compass.
When my children are older, we'll definitely be jumping into Compass Classroom.
In terms of price, this one is very affordable, especially for the quality video lessons it offers.
You can buy courses individually for lifetime access or get their basic subscription for 45 per month or 450 per year.
They also have a silver and gold plan, which includes grading for all courses, guidance, instruction, and discussion community groups.
All their workbook material is free for subscribers and purchasers.
You can print it out easily from a PDF file.
Or you can buy the workbooks in hardcopy editions for an extra fee.
Now, while Monarch offers a subscription per child, Compass Classroom will let all your kids use its curriculum for the same price.
So, if you have more than one high schooler, this becomes the most affordable homeschool curriculum on my list, bar the free one I'll talk about later.
You'll definitely want to check this one out if you have a high school homeschooler.
Classical Conversations
But what if you want to get more social in your homeschool?
You want your kids to be able to bounce ideas off their peers or teachers, but you also want to keep the homeschool feel.
Well then, you should consider Classical Conversations.
As its name suggests, Classical Conversations is a classical education program that teaches homeschoolers in the community.
Some people think it's a homeschool co-op.
But it's not.
It's actually a multi-million-dollar educational business.
High schoolers can join the Classical Conversations Challenge program for Grades 12+, which offers small, in-person classes multiple times a week.
These cover Science Fair, Mock Trial, Debate, Protocol, Poetry Cafe, Senior Thesis.
From the reviews I've seen, CC gets mixed reviews.
Because it's such a social program (in high school, you're often attending in-person three times a week), it can be hard for introverted moms to 'take' to it.
It's also a rigorous curriculum, so its pace can be intense for some.
But for others, it's the perfect fit - yes, I'm looking at you extroverts out there.
In terms of price, you can expect to pay around $1,700, which can be a little bit like Bloomingdale's for some moms.
And you'll have to pay that price (bar a slight discount) for subsequent high schoolers who attend the program.
But if you have three children, this could add up to over $5,000 a year!
Maybe you can't afford that, and you're like, 'Bec, just give me a really good deal.'
Schoolhouse Teachers
Okay, I'm ready for you.
I've got you covered with Schoolhouse Teachers.
Schoolhouse Teachers is an online homeschool curriculum where you can cover your whole family, regardless of their grade.
And if you have ten children on ONE (very affordable) MEMBERSHIP FEE.
And I promise that nobody will think I'm subjective when I say 'affordable' for this one.
Schoolhouse Teachers is a Christian homeschool curriculum that provides access to its basic Pre-K to Grade 12 curriculum programs.
They also offer the most extensive range of electives I've ever seen in a homeschool curriculum.
So, if you want to be flexible and your kids want to pick all the courses, you can do that at no extra cost.
Because no matter how many electives they choose, it won't cost extra.
Schoolhouse offers some text-based courses and some video courses with PDF workbooks.
They're even offering some interactive courses.
But how much is it?
Schoolhouse Teachers cost $30 a month or $270 a year.
Although they have sales so often, like the BOGO one they often have around July/August every year where you can get two years for one.
I'll link this one below so you can check it out.
Power Homeschool
But let's say you love the sound of Schoolhouse Teachers, but you're struggling to pinpoint your high schoolers' weaknesses and focus on them.
A program that will do this for you as a parent would be very helpful.
Power Homeschool, which provides a secular high school homeschool curriculum, uses Acellus technology to identify your student's weak areas.
It's the cheaper, unaccredited version of Acellus Academy (if you've ever heard of that).
Power Homeschool features:
video-based lessons,
interactive practice problems
videos for help with difficult concepts
reviews & tests
and more.
In terms of their pricing, it will only set you back $25 per month.
As a Christian, Power Homeschool is not for me.
I always think that the most important thing I want to teach my children about is Jesus.
I, no, I'm not talking about religion.
I'm talking about having a relationship with Jesus.
Jesus offers forgiveness of sins to anyone who believes.
He's the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
And for me, that's why I go with Christian programs.
Because they offer hope to homeschoolers.
True North Homeschool Academy
Now, the next high school homeschool curriculum I'll discuss is eyewateringly expensive - even if you are a Bloomingfields shopper!
But why would you want to get this eye-watering, expensive homeschool curriculum?
What could be a carrot big enough to excite you about paying thousands?
Firstly community.
These guys offer LIVE lessons so kids can interact with teachers and peers in real-time.
Secondly, this can be done from the comfort of your home (so you, as an introverted mom, don't have to suffer too much if you've got an extroverted child!).
Thirdly, tiny class (so your child never gets forgotten and always tops their lessons).
Fourthly, a homeschool-specific approach.
These guys are homeshcool parents who know what works best for a child.
The program I'm talking about is True North Homeschool Academy, which I'll link below if you're curious.
True North Homeschool Academy teaches from a Judeo-Christian worldview.
They use lots of teaching methods, but I can see most clearly classical, Charlotte Mason, and unit studies input.
They specialize in high school, knowing teaching various subjects can be challenging!
Many people choose them for specific subjects, especially if they have a special needs learner who needs more attention than they can provide.
For instance, they have a LIVE Executive Functioning Skills class for struggling learners like students with ADHD, ADD, and so on.
They offer a one-on-one Special Needs Academic Counseling Service if you need more.
But really, they've got you covered for all subjects in high school as an all-in-one curriculum provider.
How much is this program (I can almost feel the curiosity from here)?
Around $640 - $740 per class.
But, there is a saving grace.
You can bundle your students if you have multiple kids, effectively halving or thirding your cost levels.
They also have more affordable (elective-like) classes, around $200-390.
Easy Peasy
But let's say I've just increased your pulse rate considerably at the thought of spending so much money on a high school program.
Let me slow down the pace of your overburdened heart by speaking about Easy Peasy.
Easy Peasy is a free homeschool curriculum.
The only monetary outlay you'll need for this one is a printer and some basic stationery (which you may already have at home).
Easy Peasy provides a decent education for $0.
And it's the perfect solution if you're struggling to homeschool because of budget considerations.
They have a special website just for high school called Easy Peasy All-in-One High School.
They have a free planning tool called My EP Assignments, where you can plan your teen's homeschool high school curriculum.
You can also use this to record their progress manually.
This curriculum isn't fancy.
You're often greeted with a wall of text, which can be a little uninspiring for some parents.
But it really is a decent education and a great choice if your homeschool budget is a significant constraint.
Other Homeschool High School Curriculum Picks
When I tallied up all the votes for various high school curricula, people also mentioned the following programs.
But parents weren't as enthusiastic (didn't make a song and dance about it) like the programs I talked about above.
My Father’s World
Apologia
Tapestry of Grace
James Madison
Ambleside Online
Ember
ACE
Lifepac
HSLDA academy
Well-TrainedMind
The Good and the Beautiful
Cathy Bond Alemany
Gather Round
Memoria Press
Teaching Textbooks for Math and Notgrass for History.
Funcation Academy
Sometimes, though, it's hard to know what you're paying for in a curriculum.
How do you decide what you need or don't need in a high school curriculum?
To help you answer that question, I've made a video called $300 vs $3,000 Homeschool Curriculum: The BIG Differences.
Watch it below.
