How does this look for 9th grade?

[Mommy Jen]

My 13 year old daughter is in 8th grade this year. She's using History Odyssey Modern Times, AoPS Counting & Probability, Cornerstone Curriculum Starting Points, CLE LA 8 and BJUP Phyical Science with DIVE. She also is in 2 Ballet Classes, Gymnastics, Choir, an Art Class, is in the band class at ps (flute), takes Piano Lessons and has a tutor for French (there's a small group of her+ 3 other kids).

 

This is our plans for the fall (subject to change! :tongue_smilie:)..

Classics in Literature- (1)

Sonlight Core 200 Language Arts- I still have to look at this to see if it needs to be supplemented with anything at all, Any opinions?

Geometry- (1)

AoPS Introduction to Geometry

Church History- (1)

Sonlight Core 200

Defending your Faith- (1)

Sonlight Core 200 Bible and a Class at our Church "Defending your Faith" for Teens

AP World History- (1)

Co-op/Online Class- I thought she'd do Human Geography but the class was full but this might line up well with the Church History.

AP Enviormental Science- (1)

Co-op/Online Class- It's not the normal sequence of Biology, but dd isn't sciency and she wanted to take another AP class.

Band- (1)

Public School Class

French IV- (1)

Class with tutor- This will be her 4th year of French with the Tutor, so I figured that's what I should count it as to imply she's taken French for 3 years prior?

Health- (.5)

ACE, First Aid/CPR Class and Nutrition Class- I think she'll do this over the summer, is that okay?

Personal Fitness- (.5)

Yoga Class and Working out at the gym.- She's doing Yoga over the summer (an instructor is coming to work with the gymnasists) and she works out anyways.

Music Appreciation- (.5)

Co-op Class

 

She will also continue with Ballet, Gymnastics and Piano Lessons. She wants to go to Juilliard. :svengo:I want to help her reach that goal. How does this look for her Freshman year?

Edited March 10, 2012 by Mommy Jen

[Kareni]

My understanding is that AP World History is one of the more challenging APs. Given that and the fact that she will be also be taking AP Environmental Science, I think I would be leery of adding an additional credit of history to your daughter's schedule.

 

Is your daughter currently using a French III text? If not, I would do some research to ensure that the material she will be covering next year will truly be French IV.

 

It does look like a challenging schedule especially when one considers the addition of Ballet, Gymnastics and Piano Lessons. Only you and she know her capabilities.

 

One more thought -- given that she is doing Ballet and Gymnastics, is a Personal Fitness class really necessary?

 

Welcome to high school planning!

Regards,

Kareni

[jibaker103]

That's a total of 9.5 credits plus a bunch of extracurricular activities which will require time for practice. Most high school students attempt anywhere from 6 to 8 credits per year. Speaking from experience the 9th grade year is a time where you and your student will be assessing what works and doesn't and making adjustments. I would only expect to complete 6 or 7 credits.

[SuperDad]

Classics in Literature- (1)

Sonlight Core 200 Language Arts- I still have to look at this to see if it needs to be supplemented with anything at all, Any opinions?

Geometry- (1)

AoPS Introduction to Geometry

Church History- (1)

Sonlight Core 200

Defending your Faith- (1)

Sonlight Core 200 Bible and a Class at our Church "Defending your Faith" for Teens

AP World History- (1)

Co-op/Online Class- I thought she'd do Human Geography but the class was full but this might line up well with the Church History.

AP Enviormental Science- (1)

Co-op/Online Class- It's not the normal sequence of Biology, but dd isn't sciency and she wanted to take another AP class.

Band- (1)

Public School Class

French IV- (1)

Class with tutor- This will be her 4th year of French with the Tutor, so I figured that's what I should count it as to imply she's taken French for 3 years prior?

Health- (.5)

ACE, First Aid/CPR Class and Nutrition Class- I think she'll do this over the summer, is that okay?

Personal Fitness- (.5)

Yoga Class and Working out at the gym.- She's doing Yoga over the summer (an instructor is coming to work with the gymnasists) and she works out anyways.

Music Appreciation- (.5)

Co-op Class

 

She will also continue with Ballet, Gymnastics and Piano Lessons.

 

I agree with the other posters... you know your daughter best. That being said, this load looks a bit much to me. As for decreasing the course load... here are my suggestions; please feel absolutely free to take them with a mountain of salt.

 

Instead of Church History AND "Defending Your Faith" (I agree with the other poster the Christian Apologetics sounds better IMHO), could you choose just one Christianity/Bible course?

 

I've also heard that AP World History is tough exam; maybe your dd should just stick with AP Env Sci this year and do none-AP World History (?).

 

What with band/piano/choir this year, and band next year, would it be possible to drop the Music Appreciation class?

 

As for Personal Fitness... is your dd doing anything "extra" to get the credit, or are you just awarding it to her by default due to her high level of physical activity? If it's the former, what are you expecting of her? Could this be decreased?

 

Will she be studying French at the level of a level-4 high school class (if that makes any sense?). I guess what I'm trying to say is, you should name the French course by what class level she'd be in if she were in a B&M school, so don't call it French IV just because it's her fourth year of lessons. Like what Kareni said.

 

I hope this helps a bit... (if not, feel free to disregard it). Please do update and tell us what (if any) changes you've made. Best of luck!

[Mommy Jen]

I was thinking it seemed like a lot too but I'm really not sure what she would drop. She wants to take 2 AP classes, She doesn't want to stop French or PS Band, What I'm counting as Personal Fitness she'd be doing anyways, she needs to do a health credit and she has to do history, english and math. :tongue_smilie: She doesn't have to do the class at our church but it's only 1 night a week (sunday) and she said she wants to. Same with the Music Appreciation class. She's already doing the stuff for Personal Fitness this summer and I was thinking she could do Health over the summer too.

 

So I'm really not sure She's doing a lot now too, I think it's just her personality. She wants to do everything.:001_huh:

 

ETA: Looked at dd's textbook she's currently doing a French 2 Highschool level book, so next year I'll count it as French III.

Edited March 11, 2012 by Mommy Jen

[HeatherInWI]

To me, it sounds exhausting! AP courses really take a lot of work (at least if a score of 4 or 5 is the goal), so unless your daughter already knows the subjects well, or is PG (Profoundly Gifted), she may not have time to breathe. If she really wants to do two AP courses, I'd agree with the others that one religion course would probably be enough. If, however, she really desires to and has the ability to fill every moment with education, then go for it. You and she know best!

[MtnTeaching]

Speaking for our family, we have learned a big lesson this year... we scheduled WAAYYY too much for 9th grade.

 

There are so many cool things to do out there, sometimes it is hard to choose. Reading this board and all of the things everyone was doing to get their kid into the "right" college led me to put a lot into my ds's schedule and to push him hard. It has been crazy and I am watching him burnout in 9th grade.

 

If I had it to do over again, I would not do this. Ds will have 9.5 credits when he gets through this year (far, far into the summer).

 

You know your dd best, but my goal for next year will be to bring some sanity and interest-driven learning back into my son's life. 9th grade is a big transition year anyway. My advice would be to try hard to keep life balanced for your child next year. 9th has also been a pretty hormone-driven year.

[smdgl]

Just my .02, but I think it's important for kids to have time to breathe and ponder and still be kids.

[tjarnold]

 

She will also continue with Ballet, Gymnastics and Piano Lessons. She wants to go to Juilliard. :svengo:I want to help her reach that goal. How does this look for her Freshman year?

 

Does she want to go to Juilliard for music or dance? This is an important factor in what you put into the schedule.

 

Tiffany

[Mommy Jen]

Does she want to go to Juilliard for music or dance? This is an important factor in what you put into the schedule.

 

Tiffany

She doesn't know yet. She has a huge passion for both, but it would help if she picked one. ;) I'm not sure what kind of electives she would take for dance though besides her dance classes.

[tjarnold]

She doesn't know yet. She has a huge passion for both, but it would help if she picked one. ;) I'm not sure what kind of electives she would take for dance though besides her dance classes.

 

You're right: she needs to pick one. It may be hard, but she's drastically decreasing her odds of getting in by not pouring all her efforts into one specialty. It's not so much about the electives as about the main concentration (one instrument or dance). As a professional musician and teacher who attended a very selective conservatory, I can tell you she shouldn't wait to choose. Juilliard is almost certainly more difficult to get into than Harvard or Yale at this point. If that's her goal, she'll also need to find a mentor/teacher who knows what it will take to get her there.

 

I hope this is helpful, rather than discouraging. Please let me know if I can help in any other way.

 

Tiffany

[Mommy Jen]

You're right: she needs to pick one. It may be hard, but she's drastically decreasing her odds of getting in by not pouring all her efforts into one specialty. It's not so much about the electives as about the main concentration (one instrument or dance). As a professional musician and teacher who attended a very selective conservatory, I can tell you she shouldn't wait to choose. Juilliard is almost certainly more difficult to get into than Harvard or Yale at this point. If that's her goal, she'll also need to find a mentor/teacher who knows what it will take to get her there.

 

I hope this is helpful, rather than discouraging. Please let me know if I can help in any other way.

 

Tiffany

Thank you for posting this! I'm showing it to my dd. I've been telling her she should focus on one but she doesn't listen to me. :glare: Maybe this will help her realize she needs to pick one and it's not just me nagging her. I think she'll end up choosing dance but I'm not really sure.

[elegantlion]

I agree with the others, it's too much. I would schedule out the hours these subjects would take, including how much time she'll need to attempt Julliard.

Perhaps when she sees how much time each of these classes will take, she'll rethink trying to do it all in 9th grade.

[Trilliums]

I was thinking it seemed like a lot too but I'm really not sure what she would drop. She wants to take 2 AP classes, She doesn't want to stop French or PS Band, What I'm counting as Personal Fitness she'd be doing anyways, she needs to do a health credit and she has to do history, english and math. :tongue_smilie: She doesn't have to do the class at our church but it's only 1 night a week (sunday) and she said she wants to. Same with the Music Appreciation class.

 

Were you planning on assigning 1 credit for classes meeting once a week?

Id think they could be combined into smaller elective credits--quarter credits even.

[amsunshine]

Thank you for posting this! I'm showing it to my dd. I've been telling her she should focus on one but she doesn't listen to me. :glare: Maybe this will help her realize she needs to pick one and it's not just me nagging her. I think she'll end up choosing dance but I'm not really sure.

 

If she wants to pursue dance, particularly ballet, she needs to be taking much more than two classes per week (at her age, and from here on out). Also, make sure she is taking her classes from a truly pre-professional school. I'm concerned that she is only taking two classes per week and is considering pursuit of a dance career. Two classes per week is not nearly enough for her to be truly competitive in ballet.

[Brindee]

I agree with the others, it's too much. I would schedule out the hours these subjects would take, including how much time she'll need to attempt Julliard.

Perhaps when she sees how much time each of these classes will take, she'll rethink trying to do it all in 9th grade.

:iagree: It may, indeed, be fun/iinteresting for her to do these classes. But if she spreads herself too thin, with too many classes, she won't be able to give her best! If she had a couple less credits, and really did her best at what she picks, she'd tend to get better grades, and be able to put the time/hours needed into her dance or music!

 

Were you planning on assigning 1 credit for classes meeting once a week?

Id think they could be combined into smaller elective credits--quarter credits even.

I was wondering this also. Once a week does not add up to 1 whole credit. Edited March 11, 2012 by Brindee

[Teachin'Mine]

Is she good enough in either ballet or piano to be thinking of Juliard? Are either of her teachers encouraging her to take more classes and put in more time? Where did she get the idea for going there - does she realize how much work it is? If she's really got the talent and the drive and is willing to sacrifice everything else for that goal, then that's what she'll probably need to do. In that case, academics would need to take a bit of a back seat to the time needing to be devoted to dance or music.

 

If she's not in the top 2 percent, or thereabouts, of the ballet or piano students, I'd probably be encouraging her to consider schools with excellent dance and music programs, but which are also strong in academics. I'd be encouraging her to pick a major which could lead to a good career, and then have the music and dance on the side or major in either music or dance and have a minor in education or something like that. Juliard is a great goal, but it's like the olympics of the performing arts.

 

If she decides that she doesn't want to devote four or more hours a day to dance or music and wants strong academics, then I don't think her schedule is so unreasonable. You might want to consider trading World History AP for World Geography AP as that's considered to be one of the easier AP tests, and IMO it helps to know geography before studying the history. Personally, I don't think 9.5 credits is unreasonable, unless she's really going to do what's needed to put Juliard on the map. But as others have said, you need to evaluate whether the credit amounts are accurate based on the time which will be given to the course - so that number may be lower.

 

I'd do some googling together with your daughter finding information on Juliard students and what their high school studies were like - both in their areas of performance and academics. Let her read their stories of what it took for them to get accepted there. See if that's even what she really wants and is willing to do.

 

Hope some of that helps, but feel free to disregard all of it as it's only my 2 cents. :)

 

ETA: Just did some quick googling. The admission rate is 7% - the same as Harvard. In 2010, 109 students graduated with a bachelor's degree.

Edited March 11, 2012 by Teachin'Mine

[Mommyfaithe]

Just looking at this made my brain hurt, but if it works for you & dd....more power to you.

 

I would choose ONE history.....and maybe save AP level for 10th or 11th grade, but then again...you know your dd and what she is capable of doing.

My kids would NOT be able to handle such a rigid schedule, but then again, my kids are not interested in going to Julliard:D

 

Good luck, and enjoy HS.

 

Faithe

[ktgrok]

I think Sonlight Core 200 AND AP World History is too much. Drop one or the other.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

My 13 year old daughter is in 8th grade this year. She's using History Odyssey Modern Times, AoPS Counting & Probability, Cornerstone Curriculum Starting Points, CLE LA 8 and BJUP Phyical Science with DIVE. She also is in 2 Ballet Classes, Gymnastics, Choir, an Art Class, is in the band class at ps (flute), takes Piano Lessons and has a tutor for French (there's a small group of her+ 3 other kids).

 

This is our plans for the fall (subject to change! :tongue_smilie:)..

Classics in Literature- (1)

Sonlight Core 200 Language Arts- I still have to look at this to see if it needs to be supplemented with anything at all, Any opinions?

Geometry- (1)

AoPS Introduction to Geometry

Church History- (1)

Sonlight Core 200

Defending your Faith- (1)

Sonlight Core 200 Bible and a Class at our Church "Defending your Faith" for Teens

AP World History- (1)

Co-op/Online Class- I thought she'd do Human Geography but the class was full but this might line up well with the Church History.

AP Enviormental Science- (1)

Co-op/Online Class- It's not the normal sequence of Biology, but dd isn't sciency and she wanted to take another AP class.

Band- (1)

Public School Class

French IV- (1)

Class with tutor- This will be her 4th year of French with the Tutor, so I figured that's what I should count it as to imply she's taken French for 3 years prior?

Health- (.5)

ACE, First Aid/CPR Class and Nutrition Class- I think she'll do this over the summer, is that okay?

Personal Fitness- (.5)

Yoga Class and Working out at the gym.- She's doing Yoga over the summer (an instructor is coming to work with the gymnasists) and she works out anyways.

Music Appreciation- (.5)

Co-op Class

 

She will also continue with Ballet, Gymnastics and Piano Lessons. She wants to go to Juilliard. :svengo:I want to help her reach that goal. How does this look for her Freshman year?

 

Is the coop AP class one that is on the level of a prep class for students already doing world history or human geography at home with another curriculum, or is it a full blown course with several hours of instruction time and homework? Is the goal to find a course that matches up well with her Sonlight studies (current or previous)?

 

I've looked at AP World History study guides in the past. They cover a lot that isn't explicitly covered in the Sonlight core. I'm not trying to bash the Sonlight core, which does look like it has good stuff. I'm just wondering if the focus of the two courses (World History and the Sonlight Core) are too divergent.

 

On the other hand, if she's done other Sonlight cores or other studies of world history, then perhaps she has a solid foundation to build on. It might be worth looking at an AP study guide to see the type of questions she would need to handle at the exam and to see what sort of essay questions show up.

 

I'm another voice for not labeling French as French 4. Not only do you run the risk of having people wonder if the transcript is inflated, but you would run into the issue of her needing to take French 5 or an AP French course sophomore year.

 

You might consider even labeling it as French 2 (or reserving the right to relabel it downward when you write the transcript in a couple years). That would let her do two years in her high school time, with French 2 and French 3 as the course descriptions. I would hesitate to put French 4 or 5 as the upper level course title on a transcript without planning on having a corroborating exam score (SAT subject test or AP or something from a French language institute {is Alliance Francaise the group I'm thinking of here?}.

 

Not just because there is an issue of course/grade inflation, but because I think it might look odd to have done that much language study without taking the opportunity to get a strong SAT subject test or AP exam score in a strong subject.

 

On the other hand, you don't have to make a binding decision on course names right now. But in any event I wouldn't label it as higher than her text will support. (IMHO, a 4th year course for a language should include a good amount of reading in the language short books or newspaper/magazine articles and an ability to have an involved conversation.)

 

FWIW, it might help if you sketch out the whole scope and sequence of high school and then compare it to a few universities that might be of interest. Not only for performance, but for 2-3 other possible paths. That will help you see if something is missing.

 

BTW, there have been some interesting threads about life as a performance major. I think it was FaithManor who posted extensively about life as a piano performance major. (To my eyes, it makes life at a military academy seem low key.)

[brandigirl]

Alrighty before I begin this look post I am sorry if it is messy but I am only stopping for a minute because I am doing AP Chemistry work right now. First of hello and i think your daughter has a lot of Spunk for doing this. Now the warning my 9th grade year was so terrible academically I did not adjust to the changes well at all (went from ps to online school, bought a motorhome sold the house and moved dross country to begin traveling, all ps friends completely ignored me and my online school is not very helpful its more like learn or drown). Anyway I took AP World History and it has taking me a little over a year to complete due to (big family problem, computer crashed and lost 50% worth of the class making me literally re do it, problems with the teacher and a very bad internet not allowing me to submit things for weeks at a time) I am actually still finishing up the course but I am have been doing the 10th grade stuff for some time.I will give you a glimpse of my schedule which I have been told will be good enough for Stanford ( I am not sure though)

 

9th

 

Honors Bio

Honors English 1

AP World History

Geometry

Spanish 2

Digital Media

 

 

10th

 

AP English Language

AP European History

AP Environmental Science

AP Chemistry

Algebra 2

Spanish 3

 

11th

 

AP Biology

AP US History

Physics

AP Literature

Pre Calc or Calculas depending on if I can finish pre calc this summer

AP Statistics

Spanish 4

self study:

AP Psych

 

 

12th

 

AP Human Geo

AP Calc

AP Physics

Dual Enroll English Class

AP Spanish

AP

 

Now that schedule is what I plan to take with a few tweaks but I think your daughter will be fine. I reccomend her getting the Princeton AP World Review book from the beggining and reviewing it the WHOLE year it will help a lot. She should take AP French next year and then she will have a free spot to fill with either music or dance.I think AP Enviro though is not a good choice though because that is seen as an "extra" I think she should go with Bio Honors could she take AP Music Theory and AP Art History as a later time? I am taking AP Enviro and its pretty easy because most of it is common sense but I have heard the exam is a bit intense. So I guess she could do it if she starts up with a normal science sequence. AP World included a lot of info on religion I mean a lot! She need to have EC's you need to make her look diverse but not spread thin could she a job teaching kiddies to dance? That would look good she needs to choose music or dance because I can not help you much if I do not know that it would change my whole answer.

 

 

ps tell her everything will be fine oh and also her tell her she is going to meet a lot of kids who say I am taking x,y and z all proud like tell her dont feel bad if its not part of her track trust me see what those kids are saying when she is packing up for Juliard in the Fall:lol:

[regentrude]

Previous posters have already said the pertinent things.

I find the schedule very full. What concerns me more is the complete disconnect of her schedule with her goal of being a professional dancer or musician - I do not see this reflected anywhere.

There are only 24 hours in a day. While I am all in favor of an academically rigorous course of study, I am wondering why a student who interested in an artistic career chooses the hardest, most time consuming geometry course, and an AP science in 9th grade. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do not believe these are the things that give you the edge for getting into Julliard.

I would critically examine the schedule and gear it a bit more towards her career interests. I am generally not in favor of specializing during high school, but when choosing in which subjects to go above and beyond, I would consider it wise to choose the ones that have some relation with the student's career interest. Math is wonderful and important, but for a future dancer or pianist, I would go with a straight forward program and use all the saved time to invest it into music or dance to become competetive.

[1Togo]

--

Edited March 12, 2012 by 1Togo

[Ester Maria]

Very few children could combine such an academically intense schedule (the most rigorous, above and beyond math program? two APs, one of which in science, while you say she is not sciencey? two histories? French literature in French*?) with simultaneously actively working towards a goal of getting accepted into a top tier institution for the arts.

 

I am not saying those children do not exist. I am only recognizing there are very few of them who could do both successfully. In such cases something's gotta give. It is either going to be the quality of academics, either the quality of the arts college prep, either the mixture of sleep, health, nerves, and social life. As it looks now, you are sacrificing the quality of the arts, which is a trend you must reverse as soon as possible if an artistic career is her serious goal. Everybody's day has 24 hours, and even she cuts on some sleep and socializing (which I am not sure is a good idea, but it is what many children in such a situation are doing), it may not be enough. I think she needs to first of all specialize as far as her art is concerned - take ONE (music OR dance) she is going to pursue seriously, and deemphasize the other one to the level of the hobby (which is also going to solve the problem of the extracurriculars on her transcript). For that one she is going to pursue seriously, you must count with several hours daily and more on weekends if she wants to be seriously competitive.

 

Just to give you a rough idea of which parameters are still not enough - between her main instrument (12-15 hours weekly, with instruction periods), the extras of piano and voice lessons, and the theoretical component of solfeggio / harmony / whatever, my daughter typically exceeds 20 hours weekly on music. That is still what her teachers consider to be a "hobby load" and they would urge her to up the hours on her main instrument, probably even double them, if she wanted to be competitive for a select institution. She has several friends which do intend to go the professional route, and those kids have special arrangements with school which allows them some flexibility as regards attendance and exam dates (they still have to go through the exact same materials as the other kids, but they are allowed some flexibility in scheduling). That is how invested in music they are - they are getting special passes at a lycee (abroad) regarding some formalities, because there are only so many hours in a day.

Your daughter needs to choose ONE area of focus and seriously invest into it.

 

That being said, I would keep school to 7 credits (which loosely translates into 7 hours) to allow for a solid college prep education, but not to overwhelm a child who intends to go into a very specific direction. Between an English, math, science, history, foreign language and religion (since I see you are doing some kind of Christian studies there) credit - that will give you 6 credits - let her have one extracurricular. I would even be likely to spread her schoolwork over 6 days a week as opposed to 5, to allow for more continuous time on a daily basis to pursue her arts interests. I would either ditch Church History or Apologetics off your schedule (or combine them into one class, if you are adventurous for that, or cut them down to .5 credit courses each and have them take one semester each for an ultimate 1 credit), and, if she is into dance, let band be her elective, ditch health and personal fitness (put that yoga thing as an extracurricular on her transcript), so basically strip it down to basics. I would also inform myself of what constitutes standard French I-III high school load, because French IV would already be a full blown study of French literature, with grammar covered already, so you may possibly wish to rename that one.

 

Spread over 6 days a week, she would have about 5-6 hours of school a day (keeping in mind that band is not taking place during that time) and basically all afternoons for music and dance, so she could get in a decent prep work for her goals.

 

In the following years, I would keep the same basic scheme: English, math, ONE science, ONE history, ONE religion, foreign language (if you intend to do it all the way through - if not, more time for electives later down the road, or even for nothing when she will need to prepare more for getting in, if you will have accumulated enough credits), ONE elective - which can be connected to her goals too (so, it may not be band all years - count music as an extracurricular later, if she decides to specialize in dance, and do something else for electives). Keep it as simple as possible with a child heading into a very specific direction like that, and again I recommend to spread it over 6 days rather than 5, to allow for more time on a daily basis for dance. This should give your daughter both a reasonable academic load for a plan B (or for just a reasonable, good education ;), she sounds like a smart, ambitious student, and I agree her academics need to be strong), and enough time to dedicate in the afternoons to her specific goals.

[Create Your Ritual]

Are the AP courses done entirely online, or are these through a textbook that you are purchasing? Could you specify where you are taking your AP classes? I just wondered for my own self! ;-)

[redsquirrel]

My 6th grade son is in the youth division of a ballet company. The high school aged company members (considered professional prep level) are dancing 12 hours a week. They are also spending their summers at residential dance camps.

[brandigirl]

I take them completely online with Keystone online school :) I am thinking of testing some from PA homeschoolers though.

[Nscribe]

Having a child who loves the performing arts is special treat. Those moments when I overhear the latest song written, or see the smiles that come with finally mastering the accent for the current play are priceless. (Sometimes hearing the same few measures of a tune over and over and over while the dance steps are being mastered or the chords are being practiced can be tedious.) It is hard not to clap far too loud when you see the finished product polished and executed and know the work and effort that went into it.

Dd is also entering 9th grade next year with a passion for the performing arts. The decisions are so wrenching. If this, then not that…it is hard to compromise when doing it all has been such a great experience. For years she spent at least 15 hours a week in classes for dance, theatre and music plus conventions, competitions, pre-performance rehearsals, performances, master classes, intensives, auditions and about 5 more hours weekly practicing independently. Averaged over the school year it works out to about 28 hours a week (a part time plus job). Summers just mean more.

As much as she loves it, she looked around her at her peers in each area and accepted that if her goal is a post high school professional program or selective conservatory she would need to focus heavily in one area and abandon some academic goals. Dd realized about a year ago that was not a compromise she was willing to make. She isn’t abandoning her passions in doing so, just coming to terms with where they may take her.

As she worked through her decisions, we used this year as a trial. She carried a high school course load with the associated expectations and maintained her p-arts activities. She/We learned a lot. Some minor adjustments included: eating dinner one weekend night per/week as a family on tv trays watching the Tivo version of the two shows she likes to follow, going to bed an hour earlier, reading more in the car, not taking pet or child sitting jobs and doing less community service. We found traveling for any extended trips/vacations would be very difficult.

Dd learned that every choice impacts others, time is finite, eating well/sleeping well is mandatory and procrastination hurts. I learned to spend time in lobbies chatting less and preparing more to sort the fluff out of some subject areas.

The trial year has gone well. However, it has also made it very clear just how intense the commitment by those in a given performing arts area are. While we experimented this year, the ones who really focused have built in home studios, won awards/earned accomplishments, found agents, completed certification training in dance, added credits to their resumes and so forth.

Dd has chosen to take it one year at a time moving forward. She will take a rigorous academic load but it may be “validated†with far fewer AP/SAT II results. She will not graduate early like many of her homeschool same age friends. She will not be competitive in the arts with those who are focused. If test scores are not what she hopes, she will drop from arts activities to focus on improving them. As much pleasure as we have had over the years watching her do her things, we have had some grieving this year recognizing even dreams must be tempered at times.