74Heaven Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 What would they be? For my rising 9th grader, I am considering: Latin 3 Spanish 2 Alg. 2 World History OR Geography Writing/Literature (1 sem each) Physical Science OR Spanish 2 Alg 2 U.S. History Writing/Literature Physical Science Physical Education/Health I feel we always overdo academics by 1 or more classes especially *after* we add in extracurriculars. We usually end up with 7 or 8? So I am trying to limit ourselves to just 6 classes next year? Wonder how you all would do this? Lisa j, mom to 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 What would they be? For my rising 9th grader, I am considering: Latin 3 Spanish 2 Alg. 2 World History OR Geography Writing/Literature (1 sem each) Physical Science OR Spanish 2 Alg 2 U.S. History Writing/Literature Physical Science Physical Education/Health I feel we always overdo academics by 1 or more classes especially *after* we add in extracurriculars. We usually end up with 7 or 8? So I am trying to limit ourselves to just 6 classes next year? Wonder how you all would do this? Lisa j, mom to 5 I would pick the first sequence (maybe use the other history; I do not know what your four year plan for social sciences is) Physical activity is something we incorporate into our lifestyle, enough to award a half credit each year without making it "school". Health education is something I consider a life skill that gets acquired along the way. I always plan for five core subjects: math, science, english, history, foreign language. We have a few ongoing electives (art history, music history, German and computers) on which we work over all four years and for which I will award cumulative credit. More subjects simply happen when DD doubles up on math, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) For reference, Calvin is at an IB school and they have six columns of subjects they have to choose from (I might have the columns in the wrong order): Column one: native language and literature Column two: foreign language Column three: history, geography or economics Column four: maths Column five: biology, chemistry or physics Column six: art, drama, music or another chance to take something from another column They also do a theory of knowledge class, PE, volunteering, an extracurricular artistic endeavour and an extended essay. This curriculum is for the last two years of school. From age 14-16 they actually do many more subjects, but as you were asking about six.... Laura Edited March 15, 2012 by Laura Corin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would pick the first sequence (maybe use the other history; I do not know what your four year plan for social sciences is)Physical activity is something we incorporate into our lifestyle, enough to award a half credit each year without making it "school". Health education is something I consider a life skill that gets acquired along the way. I always plan for five core subjects: math, science, english, history, foreign language. We have a few ongoing electives (art history, music history, German and computers) on which we work over all four years and for which I will award cumulative credit. More subjects simply happen when DD doubles up on math, for example. :iagree: I would not drop Latin for PE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
at the beach Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 What would they be? For my rising 9th grader, I am considering: Latin 3 Spanish 2 Alg. 2 World History OR Geography Writing/Literature (1 sem each) Physical Science OR Spanish 2 Alg 2 U.S. History Writing/Literature Physical Science Physical Education/Health I feel we always overdo academics by 1 or more classes especially *after* we add in extracurriculars. We usually end up with 7 or 8? So I am trying to limit ourselves to just 6 classes next year? Wonder how you all would do this? Lisa j, mom to 5 The biggest difference I see in your schedule is one foreign language or two. I'd only do two if my child really wanted to. Foreign language takes a lot of time here. Cutting back to one foreign language would allow your child more time to focus on other subject areas or things your child is interested in and you probably wouldn't feel so much like you are overdoing academics. If you decide to continue with only one foreign language next year, I'd let my child choose between Latin and Spanish. I'd also allow my child to choose the social studies credit for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in MA Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 We've done basically what you've listed: Latin, Greek, math, history, lit/english and science. Because they need some fine arts credits by the end of high school, what I've done is made Greek just 3/4 of a year, with 1/4 devoted to fine arts (music and art) each year. Thus, by the end of four years, there's a full year for fine arts. What that means in practical terms is we spend a bit less time on Greek and periodically do an intensive week of fine arts (usually the week after vacations when it's hard to get back up to speed.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would do it this way, which is a combination of your the choices you listed: Spanish 2 Alg. 2 World History OR Geography Writing/Literature (1 sem each) Physical Science Physical Education/Health I would not do Latin 3 AND Spanish 2. Doing both would be overkill, IMO. I would also suggest combining writing & literature over the two semesters, rather than doing them separately, unless you're planning to cover writing skills rather than actually having him do compositions (which are usually done as responses to literature). Physical education is not an academic subject (maybe Health is?) so this is actually a light schedule for 9th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I would stay with Latin for another year, but know that Latin 3 can be very rigorous than the other years, depending on what you are using. It appears to be mostly review, but if you use an online school prepare for even more time to be spent on it. What are you using? Definitely check out the time for Latin 3. If your dc can get at least a silver on the Latin 5 national exam, a full scholarship will be easy to come by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) While 7 or 8 subjects may have been too much in the elementary and junior high grades, you may find that they are able to do more in high school. Personally, I wouldn't limit them to only 6 just because more was too much in the past. They may surprise you and enjoy the diversity that comes with a variety of electives. :) Then again, we tend to go too far the other way. Edited March 15, 2012 by Teachin'Mine typp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 What would they be? For my rising 9th grader, I am considering: Latin 3 Spanish 2 Alg. 2 World History OR Geography Writing/Literature (1 sem each) Physical Science Personally, I would stick with schedule 1, and probably add in a 1/2 credit of health spread out over the year. If you need the PE credit, I'd suggest having the dc do that over the summer mostly. As others have said, unless your dc needs heavy writing instruction, then I would do a combo writing/lit over the entire year. Read some excellent books and then have the child write paper(s) about them. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 While 7 or 8 subjects may have been too much in the elementary and junior high grades' date=' you may find that they are able to do more in high school. Personally, I wouldn't limit them to only 6 just because more was too much in the past. .[/quote'] The main reason I limit our subjects is because I am concerned about the length of the school day. 8 subjects for credit means 8 hours of work each day: starting at 8 and finishing at 4pm if the student does not take a single break to eat. Add in realistic breaks, and it's 5pm. Which leaves very little time for extracurriculars, and none for unstructured down time which I find important for teens. The only way to cut time would be to compromise academic quality and do "fluff". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 My dd's school day isn't fluffy, but it is long. :) Admittedly, if she had a stable to work at and a horse to ride, she'd be opting for fewer courses too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Well, whatever specific topic you choose, it looks with either option above you have: 1 credit = English 1 credit = Math 1 credit = Science 1 credit = Social Studies 1 credit = Foreign Language It is that 6th credit you are considering to be either a second language, or PE/Health. Personally, especially since this is the first year of high school, I would be inclined to ask the student what he/she would *enjoy* and use that 6th credit for an elective -- fine arts, computer, or whatever the student would *enjoy*, to help lighten the load of entering high school and that Algebra 2. But that's just me. :) A side note about PE -- you can spread out your PE over a year, and then usually get your PE done after school hours, on weekends, and over the summer -- as long as you haven't loaded yourself with too many extracurriculars that eat up those hours. BEST of luck, whatever you decide! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Two foreign languages would not have worked well for us. I would have done it ONLY if my children really, really wanted to. I'd probably do something like this: Spanish 2 Alg. 2 World History Writing/Literature (1 sem each) Physical Science Then I'd pick two semester courses, such as: Health, Computer, Art, Music, Geography I'd do PE over the summer or throughout the year during "free" time. (Still counting it as credit, but not necessarily setting aside a structured time for it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Here's my 9th grader's schedule for next year... Discrete Math (AoPS books between alg 2 this year and pre-calc in 10th) Chemistry Latin 4 World History (pre-history-1500) Literature (including some Biblical literacy) Modern Language 1 (lol – still debating which) He'll also be at ballet about 14-22 hours per week, where he will take History of Dance: Modern. Since he'll have weekly readings and homework for that, I'll add in a bit of extra reading if necessary and give him an elective credit for it as a 7th course. I'll also assign a PE credit for dance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I pick the second one. It looks more balanced and doable. Also, I like doing US history in 9th grade, especially if you've just done a big rotation of world in middle school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Heaven Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Thanks for all the thoughts and responses. Very helpful. A few more details... This is my third high schooler and the least capable of getting thru her academics in a reasonable time frame. I tend towards rigorous academics and it becomes too much! I don't mind a "lighter" schedule because we plan to meet the requirements of (more selective) Christian private colleges. Regentrude, we have problems keeping the length of school day reasonable too. Re: PE We can "cover" PE outside of school but I thought I'd possibly put her on a year round swim team which would would be 5-8 hours a week and it we do that, I know I need to lighten the academic load. We commute a lot (live out of town) and have activities 2-3 nights a week minimum. Bible Club is one of them. Re: Health. I skipped "health" with my oldest (we did Anat/Phy, First Aid and a few Christian books) and regretted it. I did a health curric (Teen-Aid) with my second born and it was a great mom/daughter bonding / talking about life thing. This 3rd born is asking lots of related questions, so I think this would be a good time to talk about life and all that stuff. Re: Lit/Writing - we are considering a Literature/Essay/Research writing year... lots of cross-curric writing & lots of practice (Her grammar is very strong; her writing needs practice) My daughter wants to do Latin 3 (our Latin pace is not too rigorous, so we are not sure of the curric. (Probably finishing Henle Year 1 next year). I would love for her to do Latin 3. My secondborn daughter is nearly fluent in Spanish and and so thirdborn dtr wants to follow in her footsteps and continue in Spanish as well. As to online Latin and Latin 3 being more rigorous, thanks for the warning. We are considering online and I would have been blindsided. If I let my rising 9th grader (language arts oriented daughter) choose, it would be: Span 2 Latin 3 World Geog (I asked her pick of the 3 hist/geog options) (I think we need Lit/Writing here) Alg. 2 (well if I make her do math LOL) Physical Science (this is a have-to) (Swim Team) PE/Health We may be able to join our local youth Toastmasters Club. I like the idea of doing somethings 3/4th of the year and then 1/4 at the end. That is a nice way to sample some subjects or have our horizons expanded. I'll be rereading and thinking about all your comments! THanks, Lisaj, mom to 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 The main reason I limit our subjects is because I am concerned about the length of the school day. 8 subjects for credit means 8 hours of work each day: starting at 8 and finishing at 4pm if the student does not take a single break to eat. Add in realistic breaks, and it's 5pm. I actually find that average 7-8 hours of academic work a day is pretty much a commonplace in a college prep education. If you leave out all the fluff that goes on in schools and count about 4 hours of actual work at school, you still get another 3-4 hours, when averaged daily homework and weekend studies. This is a generous estimate. Some of the accomplished and ambitious kids we know put in more hours of work outside school hours (in homework, required readings, etc.) than some relaxed homeschoolers I knew did for the totality of school. And these are GOOD students, it is not remedial / catch up work they do outside school - but keeping up with regular requirements, plus some "above and beyond" in their academic interests. NOT my preference when it gets crazy - and there are places where it gets crazy to the point of being a toxic environment for a young person - but if we are talking "only" about a loose work week, all things considered, I think that can be reasonable, in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I actually find that average 7-8 hours of academic work a day is pretty much a commonplace in a college prep education. If you leave out all the fluff that goes on in schools and count about 4 hours of actual work at school, you still get another 3-4 hours, when averaged daily homework and weekend studies. This is a generous estimate.. I guess I am heavily influenced by memories of my own education at a German college prep high school which I consider better than the one delivered by most public high schools here. It prepared me for intro courses at the university that were much harder than what we teach our incoming students. (If I can just give my kids the same level of education, I'll be satisfied.) Yet I was home at 3pm each afternoon (6, maximum 7 class periods) and done for the day. What homework there was, I did on the bus and in breaks between periods. I had all the time to pursue my interests, read widely, make music, hang out with friends and discuss the world, go to concerts and the theatre several times a week, write poetry and, yes, work through extra math books just for fun. I see all the valuable things that happen in a teens unstructured, unregulated time and I want to carefully balance them against the push for more school work. Of course it would be possible to spend more time on school and get more "done", but for us this would upset the balance. Of course, every family's priorities are different. I just wanted to comment because based on my experience I do not find a long school day necessary for academic success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 You were literally done after school? I was not in a homework-heavy school either, which was wonderful, but there was always a certain amount of readings to do, a translation or two (not that you had to do it and hand in, but you had to know it for the next period), and school was lectures and examinations, very little revision / exam prep. So, by extension, even if we were done early, there was still work to do (theoretically, as I often did not do it ;)). My eldest is in a French prep school and the amount of classical homework is much lesser than what the American prep schools students have, but she is still not done with school when she exits the building. She still has a lot of time, which she uses for music, Jewish stuff, reading, etc. - but the school definitely takes some of the "free" time. I imagine that if she were not advanced, she would have to pull in some actual regular effort in it, outside school hours, every day. Right now her only "real" challenge is French, but for a child without her background, I can easily see potential long hours of study. Thus my observation. (Ontopic, if I had to do only 6 subjects in the typical US scheme, I would do language and letters 1, language and letters 2, math, history, science, and something in the realm of worldview / philosophy.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 You were literally done after school? I was not in a homework-heavy school either, which was wonderful, but there was always a certain amount of readings to do, a translation or two (not that you had to do it and hand in, but you had to know it for the next period), and school was lectures and examinations, very little revision / exam prep. So, by extension, even if we were done early, there was still work to do (theoretically, as I often did not do it ;)). Most of my homework I started in class and did during the next class period. I had a 30-45 minute ride with public transportation to and from school which was perfect for reading, reviewing vocabulary, language exercises or math (Essays I did write at home). Never had to do much exam prep, except for the last year finals. So yes, I hardly ever had homework left for home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Heaven Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) Just a quick length-of-school-day comment. We get up at 6am, do 1 hour of get ready/breakfast/chore time. Then we exercise for an hour. Then we have about 20min break (i.e. shower, water break, clothes change?) before starting school at 8:30am-ish. Then we do 6-1/2 hours of school (6 1-hour classes and 30 min reading aloud) and 1/2 hour of lunch and 2 15min breaks. Starting our day at 6 am, school ends at 4pm. (& due to ADHD and "character training" opptys, this daughter will have 1+ to 2+ hours of homework after that. And we still have dinner prep, dinner and activities 2-3 nights a week. So for us, a 6-subject high school day, plus real life is *10* hours from start to finish :-). I've tried diff. schedules and I don't know? It seems too much and it is very stressful. Lisaj Edited March 19, 2012 by 74Heaven aaack and addition error, 6a to 4p is 10 hours :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 You need to find out the realistic balance that works for you and your family. You know your limits, in terms of mental and physical stamina / time constraints / interests and long term plans / other life concerns and duties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74Heaven Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Thanks, Ester Maria. It sure is hard for me (us) to find the right mix of academics/reality/workload. It is wonderful though, that as homeschoolers, we can adjust as needed. But it is always a challenge to find balance. As an older mom (50yo pretty soon), my own energy mental & physical energy/stamina levels are much different than when I started this journey in 1996. Lisa j, mom to 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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