Course Proposals

Course Planning for the upcoming year begins in earnest in January, but you can start thinking now about what classes your students would be interested in taking!

Calendar

Course Archives

If you’re looking for ideas, you and your students can peruse our co-op’s Course History to see what’s been offered in the past. You can suggest an exact repeat of a course that has been offered before or use a prior course for inspiration to imagine something new. Original ideas are always welcome.

Course History

Finding Instructors

Courses can’t happen without instructors, so please also start thinking about who might teach the courses you want to see on our co-op’s schedule. Talk to our current instructors about what they might be interested in teaching.

Instructors

Teaching at PHS

If YOU are interested in teaching a course, read through our Information for Instructors page. Even current and returning instructors should peruse that page prior to submitting proposals for the coming academic year as our co-op’s policies evolve over time in response to changing circumstances and feedback from our co-op’s members and instructors.

Information for Instructors

All Member Brainstorming Session

Our co-op will hold its lunchtime Brainstorming Session for current members on the third week of Spring Semester. This will most likely be held in the Fellowship Hall but we can meet outside on the East Lawn if it’s warm and dry enough.

This meeting will also need two volunteers — a host and a scribe. The host’s responsibility is to facilitate the conversation while the scribe’s role is to faithfully transcribe all the suggestions made. In the past, the host has also taken responsibility for posting Forum reminders about the upcoming gathering.

Sign Up

Course Proposal Form

Of course, members and instructors may submit their ideas anytime using our co-op’s online Course Proposal Form.

Course Proposals

Course Planning Goals

It is rare that all of these goals can be met as the primary determinants of our co-op’s schedule are instructor availability followed by classroom availability.

1. Honoring the preferences of our returning students and their parents, guardians, and caregivers as expressed in the course interest survey.

2. Retaining existing families.

3. Attracting new families.

4. Retaining high-quality instructors.

5. Recruiting high-quality instructors.

6. Offering unique and interesting classes.

7. Creating a balanced course schedule.

   • Offering a wide variety of subjects.

     • arts

       • visual arts / fine arts (drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.)

       • applied arts (fiber arts, maker arts, etc.)

       • performing arts (music, dance, theater, etc.)

     • engineering and technology (aerospace, computer, electronic, marine, mechanical, structural, etc.)

     • English language arts (composition, literature, speaking, etc.)

     • humanities (anthropology, classics, history, linguistics, philosophy, religious studies, etc.)

     • life skills (cooking, bike repair, adulting, etc.)

     • mathematics — applied or small-group

     • physical education (fencing, dance)

     • sciences — lab-based (biology, chemistry, physics, multi-disciplinary, etc.)

     • social sciences (archaeology, civics, economics, gender studies, geography, law, media studies, political science, psychology, sociology, etc.)

     • world languages (ASL, Japanese, Spanish, French, etc.)

   • Offering at least one option for all age groups each class period.

     • high school (ages 14–19 or 9th–12th grades)

     • secondary school (ages 12–19 or 7th–12th grades)

     • middle school (ages 10–14 or 5th–8th grades)

     • double digits (ages 10–19 or 5th–12 grades) — classes that genuinely appeal to and can actually work for a wide age range

   • Offering a hands-on middle school (or double digit) option each class period.

Three-Year Science Rotation (An Idealized Plan)

High School Chemistry

Middle School Physics

Elective Biology

High School Biology

Middle School Chemistry

Elective Physics

High School Physics

Middle School Biology

Elective Chemistry

• Science electives would be whatever other courses the instructor would like to teach and doesn’t necessarily have to be science.

• The point of including science electives is so that these important instructors offer a course every semester so we don’t lose them.

• Looking at past offerings, electives could be Biomechanics, Principles of LEGO Design, Genetics, Environment Science, Phenology, Nature Journaling, Geology, Climate Change Science, Anatomy, and more.

Support Planet Homeschool

PHS is a Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit and your donation may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes.

Support PHS

Contact our co-op’s Lead Volunteers at PlanetHomeschoolMN@gmail.com.