BakersDozen Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) I finally sat down and filled in a chart/plan for my 14yod. I admit, it made me sniffle. I was just bringing her home from the hospital, overwhelmed by this tiny UGLY newborn and now I'm preparing for PSATs and Community College??? :eek: I would love input on the plan for her next 3 years. One thing I have to plan around is the Big Trip we have been talking about for 5 years. My hope is to take at least 1 month and travel back East and through the South. This is why I do not have any science for her Junior year. She does not know what she wants to do after high school however I know she is not destined for a career in math or science. Sophomore: Math: Geometry (she has done Saxon but I want a focused Geometry year as well - I love proofs, lol) History: MFW World History Science: Chemistry English: MFW, Vocabulary for High School Students, Lightning Lit. Foreign Language: Spanish II Other: Abeka Keyboarding (.5 credit); Speech/Debate (.5 credit) Summer between Soph. and Junior year: World Geography (I'm timing this so that all my school-aged dc can do Mapping the World by Heart); possible CC class (fine arts, perhaps?) Junior: possible class in spring at CC Math: Algebra II History: U.S. (just in time for our Big Trip!) Science: none English: Vocabulary for College Students, Lightning Lit., ??? Foreign Language: Spanish III Other: not sure yet Summer between Junior and Senior year: possibly dual-enrollment class at CC Senior: 2 classes at CC Math: not sure yet History: Economics/Gov't Science: Biology English: not sure yet Foreign Language: Spanish (hopefully at CC) Other: not sure yet Thanks for taking the time to look and give input, ladies. Edited January 26, 2011 by LuvnMySvn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 (edited) I have been told several times at admissions seminars that colleges really like to see 4 years each of English, history, math, and science. Can your dd possibly use the cc class in spring of her junior year to do a science class? I know that our ps counts each semester of cc science as a full year of high school science. Edited January 26, 2011 by AngieW in Texas fixed mistake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Can your dd possibly use the cc class in spring of her junior year to do a science class. That is actually on my written plan, I just forgot to type it in my post. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Make sure your dd does TONS of writing if she is college-bound. English & history classes should be heavy on essays, short and long papers, including at least one major research paper. I would suggest that your cc class be a basic English so that she gets the citations, etc. down pat-- unless you are an ace at teaching that. Being able to write well will affect every higher level course she takes except maybe math. Did she take a science in 9th grade? Which one? I would also consider thinking in terms of semester classes for her junior year. Except for math and foreign language, they can work very well. All the high schools in this area do block scheduling, and while there are certainly "cons" in terms of math and foreign language, especially, there can be advantages, too. So I might plan your trip as a "break" and have block classes for some subjects. Science could be one of those. I agree with PP that you don't want to skip a year in science. Environmental science is a pretty easy one for nonscience majors. Conceptual physics is another possibility. If she is planning on attending a selective college, I might up the ante in math. If she's already had geometry in an integrated math program, geometry her sophomore year should be pretty easy. I would consider doing algebra 2 in the same year. That would give her a year for precalculus and statistics each. (I really prefer statistics to calculus for non-math majors. Statistics is used in all science and social science courses and just helps you interpret info in your everyday life. A very practical math.) What about health? PE? Fine arts? (Usually kids take at least one course in fine arts during high school) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Did she take a science in 9th grade? Which one? She did Apologia Physical with an outside lab supplement. I would also consider thinking in terms of semester classes for her junior year. Good idea! If she's already had geometry in an integrated math program, geometry her sophomore year should be pretty easy. I would consider doing algebra 2 in the same year. I originally had this on her plan but wasn't sure it would work. I took Alg. 1 and Geometry the same year in high school however didn't know if Alg. 2 would combine as well. Is there a text you would recommend if I have her do both of these? What about health? PE? Fine arts? (Usually kids take at least one course in fine arts during high school) Health I put in for her junior year (Abeka). PE - she takes Irish step-dancing which requires at least an hour/day of practice plus performances. Does that count? Fine arts I am debating on having her do a class during the summer at CC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 One thing I have to plan around is the Big Trip we have been talking about for 5 years. My hope is to take at least 1 month and travel back East and through the South. This is why I do not have any science for her Junior year. We did a trip just like this earlier this year. We took 6-weeks in September and October to avoid the summer crowds and heat from Boston down to Virginia. Because of that, my kids couldn't take any outside classes. Instead, I had my oldest take two online classes this year. He's taking astronomy - with labs, but the labs can be done independently at anytime throughout the year. He's also taking a writing class. We made time for him to work on these two subjects (only) on our trip and he was able to attend the class chat times or read the chat log if that wasn't possible. All of our homeschool classes were started back in July, so we could take a break for those 6-weeks (except for weekly math lessons so they didn't forget anything) and just pick up where we left off when we got home. Most Texas schools really want 4 lab-sciences, so I didn't feel that we could skip a year. He actually took biology in 8th grade, so I may count that and let him drop science his senior year, but I wasn't ready to miss a year yet just in case we change our minds. I hope you have as much fun as we did!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 She did Apologia Physical with an outside lab supplement. Good idea! I originally had this on her plan but wasn't sure it would work. I took Alg. 1 and Geometry the same year in high school however didn't know if Alg. 2 would combine as well. Is there a text you would recommend if I have her do both of these? Health I put in for her junior year (Abeka). PE - she takes Irish step-dancing which requires at least an hour/day of practice plus performances. Does that count? Fine arts I am debating on having her do a class during the summer at CC. With regard to PE, you have a choice to make: do you want to list it on her college applications as an extra-curricular? If so, you can't also count it as PE. PE requirements are often minimal--like .5 credits for two years. If the step-dancing takes up all her physical activity time, you might want to count two of her weekly practices as PE, but the rest as extra curricular. College apps actually ask how many hours each week you devoted to your extra curricular activity, so keep track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnitaMcC Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 You mention this is your Dd's high school plan but you didn't include her 9th grade. From what I have been seeing for high schools graduation: 4yrs of English 3yrs of math 3 yrs of science 3 yrs of social studies 2 yrs of fine arts/foreign langauges and then whatever electives you may want/need for individual career/education path. Colleges may want more depending on the college and major your Dd may want to get into. Some students go with 4 yrs of each subject category just to be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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