Homeschool Curriculum for 9th Grade: What We Chose & Why

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Inside: Planning a homeschool curriculum for 9th grade can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. In this post, I’m sharing our complete high school level curriculum choices—from math and science to world geography, German, and even light SAT prep. These are the online courses, core subjects, and electives we picked for the entire year, with a focus on balance, independent learning, and preparing for a strong high school transcript.

High school. Just saying it out loud feels different, doesn’t it? I’ll be honest… stepping into 9th grade with my only child stretched me a bit out of my comfort zone. I think that’s a fear many homeschool parents share: Am I really equipped to guide my teen through high school at home?

Here’s the thing though, homeschooling doesn’t have to mean every subject happens at your kitchen table. Outsourcing some classes, especially for the tougher high school years, is still very much homeschooling. In fact, it’s often the smartest way to make sure our kids get the support and depth they need.

For many ninth graders, that first high school year feels like the heaviest. As a homeschool parent, you suddenly need to balance core subjects, high school transcripts, and planning for the entire year.

So today I’m sharing our full homeschool curriculum for 9th grade; the online classes, electives, and resources we carefully picked to balance rigor with sanity. Some of these we’ve used for years, others are brand new to us. And yes, I’ll be linking the reviews I’ve already written so you can take a deeper look.

Pin this image to read the article later. 📌

🎥 Watch Our Full 9th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Walkthrough

If you prefer video over reading, I recorded a complete breakdown of our homeschool curriculum for 9th grade. In this video, I go subject by subjectto show you exactly what we picked, why we chose it, and how it fits into Marc’s long-term STEM goals.

I also share the alternatives we’ve tried, what didn’t work for us this year, and where we pivoted. So if you’re planning your own 9th grade homeschool curriculum choices, or just want a peek into how we’re handling high school, this video is a great place to start.

👉 Hit play below, or keep scrolling to read the full post with links, notes, and detailed reviews.

1. High School Math Curriculum: Mr. D Math Precalculus Honors

Math was the one subject where I picked the comfort-zone-busting route early on, and oh, am I glad I did. We’ve been doing Mr. D Math since pre-algebra (when Marc was in 6th grade), and this year it’s Precalculus Honors (and yep, Calculus is next). Mr D Math is fully accredited by WASC, which, let’s be honest, makes me feel better. (As a note, we homeschool through a Cognia-accredited school, Bridgeway Academy, so we are covered transcript-wise).

What I adore? The videos are short and funny, there’s no busywork, and the way he has kids correct their own work. Mr. D’s idea is that if you fix your own mistakes, it sticks better, and I can’t argue with that. There are printable worksheets, then self‑graded quizzes, semester exams, and for the honors sections, students submit written responses graded by TAs with actual feedback (not just “good job”).

Bonus: they’ve added gamification, which means Marc collects badges and points as he goes. It’s not over‑the‑top, but when he sees progress in a fun, visual way, he leans in a little more, so I’m all for it. Oh, and there are extra‑help sessions too if you need them. We haven’t needed any so far, but the comfort of knowing he could pop into a live help session a couple of times a week is reassuring.

Just a note, Mr. D Math has made it to our Top favorite homeschool curriculum. We love it that much!

Mr. D Math lets students work at their own pace, while still pushing them toward the highest level—Calculus—by the end of their homeschool high school journey.

2. Language Arts High School Curriculum: Aim Academy’s Literature and Composition 8/9

This year for 9th grade, I decided not to go our usual route of piecing together SSS (Structure and Style for Students) for writing plus Fix‑It! Grammar plus a random literature (just couldn’t emotionally hold that many spectrums of English, and none of the literature curricula we tried so far impressed me anyway).
(We WILL get back to IEW, I just have a very demanding and busy year ahead, and I know I can’t take on more than an all-in-one curriculum for LA now).

Instead, I went for an all‑in‑one solution: Aim Academy’s Literature and Composition 8/9. It’s live, Canvas‑based, and promises Socratic-style discussions.

Okay, confession time—I underestimated this one a bit at first. It’s… a little busier than I thought, but probably exactly what Marc needs to stretch into executive function territory (which we’re working on actively with his new student planner, too).

Here’s what it looks like in practice:

• Weekly assignments in vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, and annotation.
• One live Zoom class per week plus smaller video lessons and quizzes throughout the week.
• A digital vocabulary notebook (two words per week), literary analysis terms, and steady practice through short assignments.

Class sizes stay small—about 15 students—which means Mrs. Natania Cook can give detailed, personal feedback. And she does. Her comments are specific and actionable, not just a quick grade. She also sends weekly wrap-ups, holds office hours, and answers emails promptly. It feels like a real classroom community, not just an online assignment board.

We’ve only been in it two weeks, but so far it feels both rigorous and doable. Marc’s first assignment was to write a newspaper article based on The Interlopers by Saki. Because it was capped at 250+ words, it wasn’t overwhelming—and he nailed it. Honestly, that success is thanks to our years with IEW, which gave him the structure and confidence to write clearly. I’m forever grateful for IEW and fully plan to return once we’re through Aim’s English 8/9 and 9/10.

For now, though? This class is exactly what we needed: well-organized, challenging without being crushing, and supportive in all the right ways.

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Aim Academy’s Literature and Composition requires steady daily work and independent learning skills, which makes it a great option for homeschool high school families who want structured online courses.

3. High School Science: Clover Valley Advanced Honors Chemistry

For science, we went with Clover Valley Advanced Honors Chemistry—and let me just say, this program is no joke. We did Mrs. Schwartz’s parent-graded Honors Chemistry last year, and it was easily one of the best homeschool science experiences we’ve had. The materials were crystal clear, the labs were engaging, and the organization made my homeschool mom heart very happy.

This year, we leveled up to her Advanced Honors Chemistry, teacher-corrected option. It’s designed to push beyond a standard honors course, introducing not only the core high school chemistry topics—stoichiometry, equilibrium, acids and bases, kinetics—but also dipping into organic chemistry and biochemistry. That makes it a strong prep if your student is headed toward STEM or even considering AP Chemistry down the line, which we are, for next year.

Here’s what I appreciate about Clover Valley:

• Video lessons for every topic — concise, clear, and easy to revisit.
• Assignments and tests for each unit. Marc submits his work, and Mrs. Schwartz sends back fast, detailed feedback.
• Labs included — though, being in Europe, we had to source our own chemicals since lab kits don’t ship easily. It took me a while to pull everything together, but now Marc has a real hands-on experience (not just virtual labs).
• Teacher accessibility — Mrs. Schwartz is quick to answer questions by email, which is such a gift when you’re tackling high-level science at home.

One thing I love is the built-in two-week window to complete each module. Each module covers two chapters, and Marc managed to finish the first two chapters in just a week. What impressed me most, though, is how Mrs. Schwartz requires students to show their work. After ten years of homeschooling, I’d never convinced Marc to write out every step. But for her? He does it—and his submissions look neat and thorough compared to what he used to hand me. If I had to name one huge plus of outsourcing, it’s this: sometimes kids rise to the occasion when it’s someone other than mom asking.

And then there are the labs. This part was a journey for us because getting a ready-made lab kit in Europe is practically impossible—and honestly, I fear customs delays and restrictions. So, we asked Mrs. Schwartz if we could build our own DIY kit. She agreed, and I spent weeks hunting down chemicals and supplies. Right now, I’ve got them organized in little zip bags, each labeled with the lab number. Some substances still need diluting to the right concentrations, and a couple are on my “still to order” list because they’re tricky to find. We were lucky with our MEL Chemistry kits which we have been using for years because we had a lot of the required chemicals in them. We haven’t started with the more difficult chemicals yet, but having everything lined up and ready feels like an accomplishment in itself.

Why we chose it: Our plan is to take AP Chemistry in 10th grade. Since it’s one of the toughest AP exams, I wanted Marc to have a full year of “pre-AP” level chemistry first. That way, he’ll walk into the official AP course already confident with the foundations. We’re still deciding which provider we’ll use for the AP year, but I’ll come back with options once I’ve narrowed them down. (Let me know in the comments if you’d like me to keep sharing the details of our high school route!)

One fun (and motivating) note: parents on forums have said their kids who completed this course went on to score well on the AP Chemistry exam, even though Clover Valley isn’t marketed as an AP prep class. The problem sets are that solid.

We’re only a couple of weeks in, but so far, the combination of strong instruction, labs, and rapid feedback makes me confident this was the right choice. High school chemistry is intimidating, but with the right teacher, it doesn’t have to be impossible.

With clear video lectures and rigorous assignments, this chemistry course gives students the kind of foundation they’ll need for advanced placement later. Marc sometimes uses extra time on weekends to review lab work.

For younger kids, or as alternatives I recommende checking out these (my video has more details on each):

• Pandia Press REAL Science Odyssey – for elementary
• Science Mom – for middle school
• Conceptual Academy – for high schoolers who don’t like the math part of science but like the conceptual side

4. Social Studies: Geography Curriculum for High School

We’ve never done an official geography curriculum before, mostly because there aren’t many solid options for geography alone (as you might know). Most programs combine history and geography, and I really wanted Marc to have a dedicated year of world geography before we circle back into Nomadic Professor’s U.S. history. For middle school, we’ve done BookShark literature-based history and I absolutely loved it and we might circle back to it, but this year, I really wanted to focus on geography…

I had such high hopes for FundaFunda World Geography when I enrolled Marc back in April—it felt like a light, fun way to cover geography without textbooks or tests. But after just one week, reality hit: each day was 2–3 hours of video-watching, following links, answering questions… As creative and well-thought-out as it was, it simply didn’t fit our reality with AP prep and SAT practice happening alongside. I rarely ask for refunds, but this time I had to.

So, we pivoted to Runkle’s World Geography by Brenda Runkle, and it’s been exactly what we needed. The textbook is just over 200 pages, colorful, and engaging. We have three books—the student text, teacher’s manual, and activity book—and I love that setup because it gives us everything in one place: lessons, questions, projects, and tests. That way, Marc gets a complete course without me needing to piece things together or chase down extra resources. (That said, I’d note you don’t really need the activity book unless you want to dive extra deep into every topic. The student and teacher books alone are plenty for a full credit.)

We’ve slotted geography on Fridays only, when the rest of the week’s assignments are already finished. That rhythm has worked beautifully—it doesn’t feel like an overload, and by the end of the year Marc will have a solid world geography credit under his belt.

For us, Runkle’s Geography strikes the balance I was looking for: compact, structured, and flexible enough to fit into an already full 9th grade homeschool schedule.

Unlike the world history surveys often paired with geography in middle school, Runkle’s World Geography is written at a clear high school level, making it a solid stand-alone course.

5. Elective: AP Computer Science A

Last year, Marc self-studied AP Computer Science Principles and scored a 4, which honestly blew me away considering how much of it he managed independently. This year, I wanted his AP Computer Science A course to show up as an official AP course on his transcript (read below why we had to do that), so we went with AP Homeschoolers, taught by Mrs. Rebekah Collipp.

If your kids are younger, or just starting out or if you want to encourage a love for problem solving and through extension, computer science, I recommend CodeMonkey! And if you’re looking for something for older kids or kids who are getting ready for APs in computer science, we loved using CodeHS and Khan Academy for AP CSP.

The AP Homeschoolers have a reputation for being rigorous but supportive. Several of my homeschool friends used AP Homeschoolers for English and scored 5s, so I trust the quality here.

Mrs. Collipp’s reviews mention detailed feedback, clear assignments, and a genuine passion for teaching Java—exactly the kind of teacher you hope for in a tough AP class.

Here’s what it looks like:

• Full AP alignment: syllabus approved by the College Board, so you know it covers everything for the exam.
• Heavy workload: no sugarcoating here—AP courses are intense. Students should expect consistent weekly assignments, projects, quizzes, and exams.
• Teacher interaction: Mrs. Collipp is active in discussions and feedback, and AP Homeschoolers has a strong track record of helping kids earn top scores.
• Transcript credit: since it’s an accredited provider, this course counts “officially,” which was important to me for Marc’s high school records.

To complement the course, Marc is also continuing with CodeHS Java modules on the side. He’s already working through extra practice there, partly because he enjoys coding and partly because it helps reinforce the AP concepts without feeling like extra busywork.

Why we chose it: AP Computer Science A is known as one of the more challenging APs, especially since it requires students to really master Java programming. But Marc’s goal is to pursue STEM, and I wanted him to have a strong, supported foundation before college. We’re hoping for a 5 this year—but even if he lands slightly lower, the experience and transcript credit will be worth it.

I wish I could tell you all about the inner workings of this class, but truthfully, we haven’t started yet—and even if we had, I’m not sure I’d be able to explain the content at this level. Coding has officially passed me by, and that’s okay.

What I can share is where we’re at so far: getting the software set up and completing the very first “intro” assignment. They asked the students to pick a rubber duck—you know, the classic debugging tool programmers use to explain their code step by step—and post a photo of it. Bonus points if your duck had a strong CS degree. (You gotta love the geeky humor and Marc’s basking in it).

Marc went all in. He got a Bambu Lab A1 Mini AMS 3D printer for his birthday this year, and he’s been learning how to use it with so much patience. So instead of buying a generic duck, he printed his own: a 3D-printed black duck modeled after the one from Kurzgesagt, his all-time favorite YouTube channel. We found the model free on Thingiverse, and the result was perfect. Honestly, it was the most “Marc” way possible to start the year—mixing coding culture with his love for STEM tinkering.

For now, though, I’m just enjoying the fact that even the silly kickoff assignment became a memory—and reinforced that this is exactly the right path for him.

6. Foreign Language: High School German 2 (CLRC)

For foreign language, Marc is continuing with High School German 2 through CLRC (Classical Learning Resource Center), taught by Frau Toledo (Frau Meahl on their website). We started with her last year in German 1, and it was such a great fit that we didn’t hesitate to re-enroll.

German 2 is another one of Marc’s core high school courses this year, and with live interaction, it balances accountability with independent learning.

Before these classes, Marc only knew basic vocabulary and a few sentences from Rosetta Stone (which by the way, served him REALLY well as a complete beginner, and I really recommend Rosetta Stone!).

CLRC took his basic knowledge of German from Rosetta Stone and took it further. That’s why they ended up in our best homeschool curriculum options.

Frau Toledo lives in Germany and teaches with a mix of immersion and practice that feels natural, not forced. Classes meet twice a week, and there are just a handful of students, which makes participation feel personal and interactive.

Here’s what I love about this class:

• No heavy textbook dependence — Frau Toledo provides the materials directly, which keeps it simple.
• Small class size — more student-teacher interaction and feedback.
• Relaxed but thorough — Marc learns a lot without feeling crushed by busywork.
• Retention that sticks — even after summer break, Marc remembered so much from last year, which tells me he’s actually internalizing the language.

Honestly, German isn’t always the easiest language to study at home, especially if you don’t have native speakers around. But CLRC has given us structure, accountability, and community. And because it’s live and interactive, Marc is motivated in a way he never was with an app.

Why German? We chose German because that’s what Marc chose when I presented him with multiple options… but I now realize it also aligns with his future STEM goals. Knowing German opens doors to top universities and research opportunities in Europe, especially in fields like chemical engineering and IT. So, while it’s “just” a high school foreign language credit on paper, for us it’s also an investment in future possibilities.

7. Extras: Light SAT Prep

On top of his official classes, Marc is doing a little SAT prep this year. Nothing heavy yet—we’ll save the full test prep grind for later in high school—but I wanted him to start getting familiar with the structure and pacing. Right now, we’re using IXL and Khan Academy for light practice. Just a couple of sessions a week is enough to build confidence without adding stress.

The reason I like to do this is simple: I don’t want Marc to ever feel crushed by prep. My approach is to start early, start lightly, and gently introduce the bigger challenges before they’re urgent. That way, when it’s time to take SAT prep seriously, he won’t be staring at a mountain of brand-new content. Instead, most of it will already feel familiar, and the focus can shift to refinement and strategy.

This is the same method we use for AP prep and even high school subjects in general: give it time, spread it out, keep the pressure low at first. It builds a strong foundation without the overwhelm—and by the time the stakes are higher, it all feels like a natural step forward rather than a sudden jump.

Starting SAT prep early helps ninth graders practice time management skills at their own pace, leaving extra time later when test pressure gets real.

Our Homeschool Curriculum for 9th Grade Wrap

Every family’s 9th grade curriculum choices will look different, but finding a great option for each subject—whether that’s daily work done at home or online courses—can make homeschool high school feel sustainable for the entire year.

Stepping into high school felt intimidating at first because I wasn’t sure if I could balance rigor, transcripts, and Marc’s STEM goals without burning us both out. But what I’ve learned is this: you don’t have to do it all at the kitchen table to be a “real” homeschooler. Outsourcing some classes, choosing supportive teachers, and pacing test prep early but gently has given us both room to breathe.

A 9th grade homeschool curriculum can be challenging, yes, but it’s also doable. And that’s exactly the balance I wanted for Marc’s first year of high school: a mix of strong academics, engaging courses, and strategies that keep the pressure low while building confidence for what’s ahead.

If you’re mapping out your own high school plan, I hope this peek at our choices reassures you that there’s no one right way to homeschool through high school. Do what works for your teen, your family, and your season—and it will count.

FAQs About Homeschool Curriculum for 9th Grade

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