Reddit reviews Health, Making Life Choices, Student Edition (NTC: HLTH MAK LIFE CHOICE REG)

First off, if you are planning on going to college (and you aren't trying to build a high school resume that will launch you straight into 4-year programs at high-end universities), then take a deep breath and understand that graduating and dropping out make zero difference post-education if you have a college degree. You literally cannot mess up high school so badly that it overshadows college achievement.

There are two directions to go with college preparation. First off, understand that success at the college level doesn't involve what classes you have or have not taken, but rather how well you study, learn, write, read, and test. Taking calculus in high school doesn't make you a better college student than someone who has only taken trig; it just means you have one more math class under your belt. Math/logic and language arts are the bread and butter tools you need to succeed in college, as it's the fundamentals that really trip us up in college (where teachers don't have time to address a lack of fundamentals):

• However far you go with math, make sure you know it and are comfortable. Khan Academy is great for this, and you can pop yourself into used bookstores or onto Amazon and get cheap (less than $5) textbooks to give you different perspective on that stuff. The easiest "structured program" is Saxon mathbooks IMO, especially if you are self-teaching. Build yourself the most basic structure, and make a deal with yourself to make further study a hobby.
  
• Writing programs are everywhere. I really like one called Total Language Plus, designed around classic literature. The internet is also a great place to get feedback.
  
  Knowing how to read, write, and perform math logic are the most important aspects of pretty much every undergraduate degree program. If you can follow math concepts, and if you can write about what you read clearly while staying on topic, you are set to succeed. Knowing how to learn is a blank canvas that will allow you to learn anything; knowing stuff won't matter if you don't have the tools to learn further.
  
  Second, if you want to get accepted to big name universities right out of high school, then your best bet is going to be SAT prep. Which, incidentally, is math and language arts. A high SAT score will overshadow everything else, and a low one will undermine whatever academic resume you could put together. Plenty of prep material exists here as well. The bottom line is that knowing how to learn is all about the basics of reading, writing, and understanding math logic.
  
  >I'm trying to find secular sources for things like social studies, but I'm not sure which sources are reliable.
  
  I was raised super conservative christian homeschooler. I'm not that way with my kids. That said, there are lots of Christian-leaning programs that work really well for secular purposes as long as you aren't trying to learn about evolution, dinosaurs, or the big bang. If you want a self-contained program that meets requirements, I suggest Alpha Omega's LifePac curriculum - it's structured so you don't have to do any work, and it requires very little daily time commitment to finish, meaning you have lots of room to supplement with whatever other sources you want to use. If you should stumble into lessons on how to be a better Christian, just skip over it, and recognize that those kinds of programs are accredited because they manage to teach everything you need for a secular education.
  
  Another route: college textbooks. They are focused, condensed, and they give you great prep for the work you will be expected to do in college. They can work for math, science, history, english, and other subjects if you feel you want/need them.
  
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  If you want structure, start with state graduation requirements. You can find the state you live in, or will live in, or just browse through them and try and build something robust enough to graduate you in any state. Alabama is at the top there, so I'm gonna go through what it says to give you an idea of how that translates to work:
  
  
• 4 units of english and social studies. A unit is a year, so you do four years of those. Usually (although not mentioned there specifically), at least one english unit is composition (writing). Lots of high school composition programs exist, and religious slant isn't going to matter as long as they are designed to improve comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills. On a personal note, I believe that a student should do at least a half year (and preferably a whole year) of poetry study.
  
• 4 units of science, including one unit of biology and a physical science. I believe there is a national requirement involving biology, chemistry, or physics - you need at least one of them, and I'd personally suggest a cursory understanding in all of them. Science is experiment-driven, so if you don't have access to or a budget for experimentation, then Youtube is your friend - observe. Science is also a great place to use a college textbook, as they get right to the point.
  
• 4 units of math, including Algebra 1 and Geometry. Going to recommend Saxon math books again, easy to find used and great for self study. College textbooks can also work at this point.
  
• 1.5 units of PE, including 1 unit of PE and .5 unit of health study. Here's McGraw-Hill's current curriculum offering for health studies on Amazon. Incidentally, used textbooks on Amazon are cheap as long as they are older editions, and Amazon reviews are a great (if not the best) place to get feedback from people using these books to learn and/or teach - including homeschoolers.
  
• Foreign language: 2 units. You could find a curriculum in a book, or use software. You can also just google DuoLingo curriculum or lesson plans, and go that way.
  
• 3.5 units of electives. Here's a list, although if you are concerned about state requirements then you need to find lists for your state. Lots of homeschool elective curriculum exists, so find the topics you want to learn and google for those specific programs.
  
• .5 units computer applications. Any class involving computers as tools will work. I personally suggest Code Academy as it's free, fun, and interactive, but that is computer programming specifically which is not for everyone.
  
• Minimum 24 units total. So far, we've listed 23.5 specific units above, meaning you'd need one more half-year of something to meet unit requirements.
  
  So a sample single year could look like:
  
  
• English Composition (Total Language Plus, 3-5 of those books per year, and I'd argue that your first one should be from their Grade 9-11 section just to get you up to speed - Animal Farm is a great read)
  
• Social Studies (find a curriculum that seems robust like Alpha Omega; supplement with world or US history (college textbooks are cheap/easy))
  
• Biology
  
• Algebra I (Saxon Math, unless you find a program you like more)
  
• P.E. (don't need curriculum; just schedule and track regular physical activity)
  
• Health Studies (six months) and then Computer-Related Learning (six months)
  
• Foreign Language (Duo Lingo)
  
• Electives (how many you do depends on how many you've done already - one per year is enough throughout high school)
  
  Ask follow up questions, get follow up answers. I'm here to help.