Would anyone with dc who have finished high school share some thoughts with me?

[Kfamily]

I'm sorry, I'm full of questions today!

 

I have college and high school on my mind today. It is weighing heavily on my heart. My dd will be a 9th grader this fall and I really want to do this well.

 

I'm so torn between setting up a high school sequence that will be what is needed in society today to succeed and what will be a truly enriching life experience for her. And yes, for my dd, subjects such as Algebra, Chemistry,etc will be only approached as necessary and not one from which she will derive much joy. She would love nothing less than to spend the next 4 years reading literature, history and art, studying art, learning many,many different languages (Gaelic, Anglo-saxon and Welsh along with her Latin and French) and throw in lots of creative writing and she would be perfectly content. I don't think my dd needs to attend an ivy league school or that one would even be a good fit for her. I could see her attending a lovely liberal arts college or a smaller but beautiful school with a focus on classical studies. I don't want to close any doors for her. Children change over the years so I would not want to assume anything at this point.

 

If our sequence included the bare minimum of what colleges want to see so that we could then use the remaining time to allow her to follow her interests, would this be the solution?

How do we even fit all of this into 4 years?

 

Would anyone here be willing to share their high school sequence?

 

My dd does not test well (so far) and I'm concerned that as a homeschooler so much of my dd's application will rest on test scores. How can I balance this in case her scores are not high enough?

 

Thanks for listening!

[AnitaMcC]

This is what I did/doing for my twins. They are in 10th grade now.

 

I will list Dd's plan, Ds is similar, but heavier on math (algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, precalculus, calculus) and science (chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy, geology, environmental).

 

Dd high school plan (she wants to major in music):

English (English 9, English 10, Honors Composition, 1/2 credit World Literature, 1/2 credit Poetry, Senior English, 1/2 credit Speech).

Social Studies (World History to 1500, Honors World History since 1500, U.S. History, 1/2 credit U.S. Government, 1/2 credit Consumer Education/Economics).

Math (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Precalculus)

Science (Integrated Science I: Physics and Astronomy, Integrated Science II: Chemistry and Geology, Integrated Science III: Life Science/Biology).

 

P.E./Health/Life Skills/Drivers Education: 4 credits total

 

6 credits of Music Electives (Music Fundamentals, Music Appreciation/History, 2 credits Music Application, World Music, Music Counterpoint/Composition).

 

1 credit of Chinese/Kung Fu history

1 credit of Chinese

 

Dd may graduate end of 11th grade and the above is what she will have done by then or she may do 12th grade/dual credit.

[Jane in NC]

Let me tell you about my sweet pea, I mean fine young man, who is studying archaeology with a concentration in classics at a fine LAC.

 

He started out with the idea that he wanted to be an electrical engineer. So we began 8th grade thinking that he'd follow a heavy math/science path. He has always loved history and enjoyed reading. So it was no surprise that he had his personal reckoning one day and announced that he was going to be an archaeologist.

 

Quite honestly, following the WTM prepares students well for almost any path. Even if he had continued his desire to be an engineer, I would have stuck with the chronological history/literature as TWTM lays it out. He studied Latin throughout school and added a couple years of French. We used the CC for some science classes because of labs. One of the mothers who posts on these boards regularly has a daughter who is a classics major. She studied geology as her CC as a dual enrollment student.

 

Homeschooling allows you to consider options. Mean Math Mom (that would be me) decided that her son would take the Calculus AP exam but, again, there are options. Some students leaning toward the humanities take AP Statistics (Pennsylvania Homeschoolers has a teacher who is highly praised). A sufficiently high score may allow your daughter to check off the math box in college while satisfying one of those high school requirements.

 

My son was able to do a meaningful senior project in an area of interest. Your daughter will be so interesting to college admissions people if she pursues some of the language studies you list.

 

How exciting for you! Enjoy the journey!

 

Jane

[SheWhoWaits]

One thing you learn when your children become adults is that they may go in a completely different direction than you expect. The week before my ds turned 18 he announced that he was moving out. He went "walkabout" and eventually ended up living downtown with friends. I always assumed he'd go to college right after high school, but he didn't. He didn't want to rack up the debt. So he is working at a grocery store deli and saving for college. We did a lot of dual enrollment when he was home, so he is only 9 credits away from an associate's degree, but not currently attending. He is also planning to get married in a couple of years and hopes to move to Russia with his (will be then) wife to teach English.

 

I required him to take certain classes (math up to precalculus, 3 science classes, history of God's kingdom, American history, Latin). Beyond that, he followed his own interests. He took lots of English classes, sociology, psychology (2 classes), Russian (2 years), Chinese (2 years). I don't remember off the top of my head what else.

 

My point is, you never know what your kids will end up doing, but if you let them follow their interests (within reason--colleges will expect certain things that your kids wouldn't take if left to their own choices), they will probably find their passion (languages for my son) and be well prepared to major in that in college.

 

My other son's curriculum looks totally different. He is in 11th grade right now. I required all the same things from him as my older son (except he will take a more practical math class instead of precalc for his 4th math class), but he has taken (or will take) 2 years of photography, history of animation, photoshop, and more history classes than my older son took. He will probably be an artist, and I wouldn't be surprised if he never goes to college, beyond the community college classes he is doing dual enrollment. But, he might surprise me as much as the older one did.

[ereks mom]

Let me tell you about my sweet pea, I mean fine young man, who is studying archaeology with a concentration in classics at a fine LAC.

 

He started out with the idea that he wanted to be an electrical engineer. So we began 8th grade thinking that he'd follow a heavy math/science path. He has always loved history and enjoyed reading. So it was no surprise that he had his personal reckoning one day and announced that he was going to be an archaeologist.

 

Quite honestly, following the WTM prepares students well for almost any path. Even if he had continued his desire to be an engineer, I would have stuck with the chronological history/literature as TWTM lays it out. He studied Latin throughout school and added a couple years of French. We used the CC for some science classes because of labs. One of the mothers who posts on these boards regularly has a daughter who is a classics major. She studied geology as her CC as a dual enrollment student.

 

Homeschooling allows you to consider options. Mean Math Mom (that would be me) decided that her son would take the Calculus AP exam but, again, there are options. Some students leaning toward the humanities take AP Statistics (Pennsylvania Homeschoolers has a teacher who is highly praised). A sufficiently high score may allow your daughter to check off the math box in college while satisfying one of those high school requirements.

 

My son was able to do a meaningful senior project in an area of interest. Your daughter will be so interesting to college admissions people if she pursues some of the language studies you list.

 

How exciting for you! Enjoy the journey!

 

Jane

 

This sounds a lot like ER (ds20, currently a college senior) and me. When ER was younger (12-14ish), he was convinced that he wanted to be an engineer (robotics) and work for NASA designing space shuttle equipment and the like. So, like Jane in NC, "we began 8th grade thinking that he'd follow a heavy math/science path". We interrupted our Apologia science sequence (he did Apologia General in 6th grade & Apologia Physical in 7th grade) and in 8th grade, he did a year of Space Science & Robotics (based on a course offered at FLVS) before moving on to Apologia Biology in 9th grade. It was in about 9th or 10th grade that ER began to realize a calling into ministry--music ministry. He had taken piano and music theory since age 9, and he taught himself to play guitar (acoustic, electric, and bass). He helped form a praise band at church, in which he played piano and/or guitar and also did vocals. The praise band also traveled to other venues, where they were paid to lead camps and retreats, and ER also auditioned and was selected to be part of a statewide youth choir & orchestra that traveled to other states to perform.

 

He still loved science, however, so he continued to take Apologia science courses, and by the time he graduated (2008), he had taken almost every Apologia high school science course, including Advanced Chemistry and a little bit of Advanced Physics. In math, he took all the available high school courses plus College Algebra, which he took during his senior year. He continued to take piano and music theory, and he entered college as a music major. He had earned enough advanced placement credits to allow him to enter college as a 2nd quarter Freshman, which meant that at the end of his first semester of college, he had enough credits to be a sophomore.

 

My younger child (EK, dd16) is currently a 10th grader, and I am a bit more relaxed about her schooling than I was about her brother's. She is much less interested in science/math or even music than he was (is). Her interests include reading, writing, art (drawing, painting, graphics, photography, photo editing), and drama, so my approach is quite different for her. I know that her focus is likely to change just like her brother's did, so I am being very careful to make sure she gets plenty of science and math too, but her curriculum is not as intensive in those areas as his was. Her extracurricular activities are also quite different from his (except that she loves music too, but she sings and does.not.like.music theory--which her bother loves). She enjoys theater and drama as well as singing, and she participates in a youth theater troupe that meets once a week, periodically works in community theater productions, and she volunteers as a director's assistant with a weekly children's theater group. She also sings in a local youth choir and a mixed-ages community choir. She has no idea what she wants to do as a career, so I am trying to keep all doors open when I plan her curriculum.

Edited March 30, 2011 by ereks mom

[elegantlion]

:bigear: No advice, simply listening. I fear I'm developing this wonderfully unique creature, and I don't want to shove him back into a box for high school. Lots of thoughts running through my head lately.

[Kfamily]

Thanks so much ladies! It is so calming to read this.

 

I'm hoping that we can do a solid high school sequence and still have enough time to allow dd to follow her passions. I do know that an 8th grader, a highly idealistic one at that, has many years still to mature. I love her passion and excitement and really hope to keep those sparks alive. Thank you Jane for your support on how her unique interests can be an asset too. She will need this to balance her test scores. And who knows she may do well on her tests too. I think I will be practical and be sure that her ability to write is well-developed. She is interested in writing well and I think I can balance her test scores with well-written essays. Maybe I should also allow her to work on her speaking skills as well. This would also benefit her in that she could present herself well in interviews. Sorry, I'm thinking as I type so this may be getting disconnected. :lol:

 

Thanks again. You ladies always give me so much to consider!

[webbeccjo]

A friend of mine let her two oldest spend a lot of time doing the reading and theater and activities that they enjoyed and that enriched their lives. She graduated them at 16 and sent them to the local community college. There they took "pre-curriculum" courses that didn't count against their gpa, and transferred to a 4 year university when they were 18.

 

My oldest got to spend his high school years doing what interested him - but it just happened that what he was interested in also included math and physics. He went to community college at 18 as part of a transfer program (the cc has programs tied into several local universities) - then transferred to NC State.

 

My daughter will go to community college next year and transfer after 2 yrs as well - if I had it to do over again, I would have graduated her at 16....at the time I didn't realize that I could have.

 

I'll definitely keep that in mind as an option for my youngest (he's 13)

[vmsurbat]

Well, I have three now in or past college. Our second eldest will be graduating from a private LAC this May.

 

Let me make sure that I am understanding your question. Background: Your daughter has particular passions in the arts, literature, and languages. She also needs to fulfill a typical college-prep sequence of math, science, electives. How can you best mesh these two "streams" of studies.

 

First, there is no ONE SET of college-prep required classes. Every college has its own requirements. However, one general guideline is to use California's A-G guidelines which are the minimum admission standards for UC schools (California's top-tier universities) which can be read in detail here: http://www.ucop.edu/a-gGuide/ag/a-g/a-g_reqs.html

 

A quick summary is as follows:

 

History: One year WH, One year AH, (I thought one semester each of gov't/econ was required but didn't see it listed this time....)

Math: 3 years (Alg. 1, Geometry, Alg. 2)

Science: 2 years laboratory science

English: 4 years

Foreign Language: 2 years

Visual and Performing Arts: 1 year

College Prep Electives: 1 year (chosen from math/science/art/English/history/languages--"auto shop" won't count.....)

 

As you can see, these are very reasonable guidelines for any college-bound high schooler. I think your daughter can follow her delights with both structured course work (for credits--English, History, FL, Performing Arts) as well as for sheer pleasure (not everything has to count for "school".) Her "College Prep Electives" can come from her passions.

 

What we did was have all our children take four years of math and science even though not "required" for admission. If one takes time off (math especially, science less so), it is hard to get back into it. My son, a freshman geomatics engineering major, was well-prepared for his required math classes. My two humanities-majoring daughters either tested out of a math class or had an easy time of it. The same for science.

 

None of my children took AP tests or CLEP tests--it was never an option for us (we live overseas as missionaries). All my children received scholarships, all thrived in their respective studies, all went to different types of schools (one Ivy League, one small private liberal arts, one Large State school). I say all this to prove that there is NO ONE RIGHT WAY to "do" high school.

 

So, take a deep breath, plot out 2-3 math courses, 2-3 science courses, and you'll be more than halfway there....

 

hth,

[beachnut]

Wow, my DS sounds very similar to your daughter. He'll also be in 9th grade next year and is very artsy/music-oriented. We're scheduling a solid plan for the four core courses:

 

English*/History

Great Books I (Ancient-Medieval world history & literature)

Great Books II (Renaissance-Modern world history & literature)

AP English Lang. & Comp. (FLVS - Florida Virtual School)

AP Enlish Lit. & Comp. (FLVS OR Dual Enrollment)

American History (FLVS OR Dual Enrollment)

American Govt. (.5 credit) (FLVS OR Dual Enrollment)

Economics (.5 credit) (FLVS OR Dual Enrollment)

 

*I want to cover a lot of writing during high school (not just Great Books-related), so I'll be weaving in various writing programs & resources during high school for essay writing, creative writing, etc.

 

Science:

Biology Honors (FLVS)

Chemistry Honors (FLVS)

Physics Honors (FLVS)

Astronomy or Geology or ??? (FLVS, self-study OR Dual Enrollment)

 

Math:

Algebra 2 (FLVS)

Precalculus (FLVS)

Calculus (FLVS OR Dual Enrollment)

AP Statistics or ?? (FLVS OR Dual Enrollment)

 

Elective Possibilities:

LOTS of art (2-D, 3-D, Photoshop, web design, digital design, photography, portfolio development, art history, etc.)

Logic (at least 1 credit, maybe more)

Speech (.5 credit) (local high school OR Dual Enrollment)

??Debate (.5 credit) (local high school OR Dual Enrollment)

??Theatre (drama and/or stagecraft)

?? Music (symphonic band, music theory)

 

We're being flexible with electives because he wants to pursue art, music AND theater, and we simply can't fit in everything as an elective. So, some will be courses, while others will be hobbies or extracurricular activities. For example, he might not pursue music (as an official elective thru our local high school), but he will continue to take private lessons & perhaps seek out a homeschool/community youth orchestra. And he might just learn Web design on his own (using a book) as a summer project and if he puts in enough hours, we'll give him an elective credit.

 

It's exciting but scary, isn't it? :)