100 Ideas for Electives Your Homeschooler Will Love
Homeschooling high school can be intimidating. Between transcripts and grading and advanced math, it can feel more “school-like” than your elementary years. But there’s one area where high school can be even more fun than the early years, and that’s the category of high school electives.
Electives are an amazing opportunity to allow your high school student to lean into any areas of interest they have and explore new subjects that pique their interest enough to invite further exploration.
I’ve got a big list for you today—100 high school elective ideas to consider for your homeschooled high schooler.
And…I’m giving you a free download with the entire list for easy reference. Keep reading to find out how you can get the free list of high school electives!
Core Subject Electives
If your student has an interest in literature, science, or history, add additional courses in specific subject areas as electives. Here are some possibilities for core subject electives.
Science Electives
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Astronomy
- Botany
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Geology
- Marine Biology
- Meteorology
- Oceanography
- Robotics
- Veterinary Science
- Zoology
Language Arts Electives
- Creative Writing
- Biographies of Historical Figures
- Literature and Film
- Medieval Literature
- Poetry
- Science Fiction Literature
- Scriptwriting
- Shakespeare
Social Studies Electives
- Early Childhood Education
- Economics
- Human Development
- Philosophy
- Political Science
- Psychology
- Sociology
- World Cultures
- World Religions
Extracurricular Electives
If your high school student is engaged in extracurricular activities that take up a significant chunk of time, you may wish to count this as an elective. A general rule of thumb is 60 hours of work completed equals a 1/2 credit, 120 hours equals a full credit hour. When deciding whether you want to designate these as extracurricular activities or elective credits, consider whether your child is participating in the activity for many years (extracurricular), or for a shorter period of time more in line with a school class (elective credit).
- Animal Care (4-H, equestrian, dog training)
- Chess
- Dance
- Martial Arts
- Music (choir, musical instruments, music history)
- Science competitions
- Spelling Bees
- Sports
- Theater
- Volunteer Work
- YouTube Channel (business management, marketing, social media)
Unique Areas of Interest
Finally, almost anything can be made into an elective credit. Look through the suggestions below to see if any of these high school elective ideas generate interest from your high schooler.
- Accounting
- Agriculture
- Animation
- App Design
- Archaeology
- Architecture
- Art (drawing, painting, pottery, sculpture)
- Art History
- Auto Mechanics
- Bible
- Cake Decorating
- Career Exploration
- Carpentry
- Coding/Web Programming
- Comedy Writing
- Computer Science
- Construction
- Copywriting
- Cosmetology
- Creative Lettering
- Culinary Arts
- Drafting
- Emergency Preparedness/Survival
- Engineering
- Entrepreneurship
- Ethics
- Event Planning
- Exercise Science
- Fashion Design
- Fiber Arts (crochet, knitting)
- Filmmaking
- Financial Literacy
- Fire Science
- Forensics
- Graphic Design
- Greek Mythology
- Horticulture
- Interior Design
- Jewelry Making
- Journalism
- Landscape Design
- Latin
- Marketing
- Metalworking
- Nutrition
- Photography (portraits, landscape, food, fashion, etc.)
- Printmaking/Screenprinting
- Public Policy
- Public Speaking
- Self-Defense
- Study Skills
- Technology (spreadsheet, word processing, database, project management, photo editing)
- Textile Arts
- Typing
- Video Game Design
- Video Production
- Web Design
- Welding
- Women in History
- Woodworking
Visit my printables library to download the free list of 100 high school elective ideas.
High School Electives for Homeschoolers
Regardless of what career or college path your high school student intends to take, high school electives are a wonderful opportunity to explore new interests, deepen their knowledge in areas they enjoy
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100 High School Electives for Homeschoolers
