"Required" Sciences?

[DragonFaerie]

I'm trying to plan high school for DD next year and for DS in the next couple of years.  Both of them like science okay, but they like sciences that are somewhat out of the norm.  For example, DD really wants to take biology, anatomy and physiology, and some form of zoology and/or marine sciences.  Obviously she wouldn't have time enough to do all of that AND the usual chemistry, physics, etc.  Is it okay to let her focus on sciences that match her interests?  Or would I be doing her a disservice not making her take chemistry and physics?  When DS gets there, he would really rather focus on various types of engineering and physics and has little to no interest in biology.  Should I force him into chemistry and biology?  Or let him follow his interests?    What do you guys do?

[Sunshine State Sue]

Ds took 3 semesters of science at CC.  CC had many, many options for science.

 

I checked with a variety of schools - large state university, well respected private LAC, private STEM school, local private LAC.  The STEM school strongly suggested chemistry and physics.  The others did not care.  I suggest you check with colleges your child might be interested in.

 

I was traumatized by HS Biology - my last science class ever.  I asked on these boards how necessary Biology was.  Many people suggested that it was good to have just in order to know something about the human body.

 

If it were my child, and I knew my child was definitely not headed to STEM, I would be very open to following their interests.

 

HTH!

[kiana]

A few schools require at least one life and at least one physical science. But honestly, this is something that could be put off until later -- if (as a senior) your student really wants to go to a school that requires a life science and they've done nothing but physical, a one-semester CC biology course would satisfy that requirement.

[MorningGlory]

Do you have to follow state graduation requirements in your state? I would check into that to help you make your decision. If you don't, then you have more freedom to follow your student's interests. You may also look at admission requirements for any college/university that your kids may be interested in attending...just to get some ideas.

 

Our state requires biology. Then either chemistry OR physics. And then a 3rd lab science of the student's choice. 

 

Honestly, if your daughter plans to pursue a biological field, she will *need* chemistry. And if your son plans to pursue an engineering field, he will probably have to take chemistry in college, so it may be beneficial to have some background in it. 

[MarkT]

I would learn what your State U minimum standards are and use that as a guide-line. Here in AZ all the public high schools have that clearly presented on their websites.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Honestly, if your daughter plans to pursue a biological field, she will *need* chemistry. And if your son plans to pursue an engineering field, he will probably have to take chemistry in college, so it may be beneficial to have some background in it.

This is the reason we decided to do chemistry early in high school. Having a basic foundation in chemistry allows her to study and understand her preferred sciences in greater depth.

[DragonFaerie]

Thanks, y'all.  I don't think my state has any specific requirements for homeschool graduation courses, but I will definitely look into the colleges. 

[KarenNC]

I was traumatized by HS Biology - my last science class ever.  I asked on these boards how necessary Biology was.  Many people suggested that it was good to have just in order to know something about the human body.

 

My daughter is doing an online honors bio class through the local high school and I was surprised to see that they don't cover body systems at all and do a lot more ecology/environmental science as part of it than I would have expected. No dissection, either.

[foxbridgeacademy]

One of our State Universities requires:  

• 6 credits (semesters) of sciences, including at least 4 credits of laboratory sciences: biology, chemistry, or physics

: But it doesn't say those only are allowed to count as Lab Sciences. 

 

One of Our other Universities does require Chemistry but it is a STEM focused school.

[DragonFaerie]

One of our State Universities requires:  

• 6 credits (semesters) of sciences, including at least 4 credits of laboratory sciences: biology, chemistry, or physics

: But it doesn't say those only are allowed to count as Lab Sciences. 

 

One of Our other Universities does require Chemistry but it is a STEM focused school.

 

This would work fine for both my kids because DS wants physics and DD wants bio.  As both kids plan to dual enroll in 10th or 11th grade, I'm thinking maybe they could take their interest-based science classes early and then do the more mainstream stuff in CC.

[foxbridgeacademy]

This would work fine for both my kids because DS wants physics and DD wants bio.  As both kids plan to dual enroll in 10th or 11th grade, I'm thinking maybe they could take their interest-based science classes early and then do the more mainstream stuff in CC.

That's what I would do. 

[Guest2]

Our state requires the big three for high school , but home schools are private schools here and do not have to follow the plan. State U requires big three for admission. Another thing to consider is that most majors(non stem) at our state university require a two semester bio or chem sequence . I wouldn't want my students' first brush with the subject to be at University , but you have a different student, so that may work for you.

 

***edited to add... I would however consider those great classes the OP mentioned as wonderful electives. I do think I would have my students prepare for the college requirements/ knowlege , but encourage learning in their interests. It is homeschool after all.

[Mom22ns]

I'll chime in to say that she can certainly start with Biology followed by A&P. Maybe by the end of her sophomore year she'll have some idea where she wants to go to college and so she can check their requirements before making decisions about the last two years. Most colleges we've looked at have had a requirement including 3 credits made up of both physical and life sciences. Which ones have either not been specified or a variety of choices given, so Chemistry or Physics would have worked.

 

I would suggest she take Chemistry along with all of the Bio-related sciences, because it is so necessary to have an understanding of Chemistry for Biology. I have a Biology related degree and had to have 4 semesters of Chemistry in college as opposed to 1 semester of non-majors level Physics. A weakness in Physics isn't terribly important for someone interested in Biology unless they are interested in an area like Physical Therapy or Exercise Science, both of which require more study of the physics of movement.

[bettyandbob]

My online school has accredidations across multiple states and we get transcripts from everywhere. Biology seems to almost universal in high school graduation requirements.

 

For college admission, not all school require specific science courses, but when I was touring colleges with dd this question was asked at more than one school. The schools where people asked about high school science the admissions personnel responded by saying they expect to see biology, chemistry and physics on the high school transcript. If you don't have those courses it doesn't mean you won't be admitted, but you do need to take that into consideration as part of planning.

 

Additionally, an understanding of chemistry is important to biology. If your dd is wanting to take more advanced biology courses she should have the chemistry background. If she decides to pursue biology in college she will likely have 4 semesters of chemistry required. It would definitely make that first college chemistry course more difficult if she had no background in chemistry going in.

 

Likewise, chemistry and physics have a relationship, so chemistry would probably be good for your ds.

 

I'd probably design a high school program with the three courses. You can choose easier texts based on how much focus your dc want to put into the courses. You dc are a couple years apart, so likely will be taking classes at different times. It does mean they may not get all the electives they want in high school. You have to make choices. And they need to learn how to make choices. Would getting in all the science electives meaning taking out or changing the depth of some history courses. How much foreign language will they pursue. Etc.

[Orthodox6]

Stifling my annoyed groans of remembrance as I post this . . .  If there is even a 1/1,000,000 chance that your child will take chemistry in college, please, please make sure that she or he has taken high school chemistry. 

 

My mother dealt me an unfair hand of cards when, for my junior year of high school, she overruled my wishes and forced me to take one semester of typing and one semester of sewing instead of taking chemistry.  I already touch-typed at over 100 words per minute (accurately).  I already knew how to sew.  (Couldn't stand the activity, but she forced me to learn how, beginning at age five.) 

 

As a result, my high school science consisted of:  honors biology (for today, it would be AP), physiology (one semester), and physics (credit for the "regular" class; I audited the honors class just for enjoyment).  When I went to college and had to take chemistry, during the first week, the professor dashed through most of what the other students had learned during their high school year of chemistry.  (At least, that is what my friends were saying.)  That cliched "snowball in the heat zone" stood a better chance of survival than did I in that chemistry class at Duke.  I am not ashamed of the inevitable "F" that I received, for I had not received any preparation during high school.  In fact, I was ridiculously pleased as could be when I made a "C+" in the first semester of college calculus -- because I had high school math only through Algebra 2 and trigonometry.  No pre-calculus at all. 

 

Don't short-change a high school student.  These are the years to be exposed to many subjects.  One cannot know how life will unfold in later years.

[Sunshine State Sue]

Oy.  The pp reminded me of my first quarter at college.  HS biology was the last science class I ever took.  I had no HS chemistry or physics.  When I got into my first college physics class (likely calculus based - I took calculus in HS), I realized very quickly that I was in over my head.  I dropped the class, changed my major, and the rest is history.  Yes, I was very unprepared.

 

So, I agree that if your dc are going to see biology, chemistry, or physics in college, it would be best to be exposed first in high school.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Stifling my annoyed groans of remembrance as I post this . . .  If there is even a 1/1,000,000 chance that your child will take chemistry in college, please, please make sure that she or he has taken high school chemistry. 

 

My mother dealt me an unfair hand of cards when, for my junior year of high school, she overruled my wishes and forced me to take one semester of typing and one semester of sewing instead of taking chemistry.  I already touch-typed at over 100 words per minute (accurately).  I already knew how to sew.  (Couldn't stand the activity, but she forced me to learn how, beginning at age five.) 

 

As a result, my high school science consisted of:  honors biology (for today, it would be AP), physiology (one semester), and physics (credit for the "regular" class; I audited the honors class just for enjoyment).  When I went to college and had to take chemistry, during the first week, the professor dashed through most of what the other students had learned during their high school year of chemistry.  (At least, that is what my friends were saying.)  That cliched "snowball in the heat zone" stood a better chance of survival than did I in that chemistry class at Duke.  I am not ashamed of the inevitable "F" that I received, for I had not received any preparation during high school.  In fact, I was ridiculously pleased as could be when I made a "C+" in the first semester of college calculus -- because I had high school math only through Algebra 2 and trigonometry.  No pre-calculus at all. 

 

Don't short-change a high school student.  These are the years to be exposed to many subjects.  One cannot know how life will unfold in later years.

 

I had a similar experience at a parochial high school - all the girls had to take home ec and typing, but the biology teacher had to give us a study hall one day a week so he could read ahead in the book.  I don't even think chemistry and physics were an option.  maybe they were, but I wasn't motivated to take them given the experience in biology.  I had Earth Science in 9th grade and Biology in 10th grade and I'm pretty sure that was it in high school.  There were so many paths I know now I would have loved to follow had I been better prepared.

[FaithManor]

Required in our house are biology, chemistry, and physics. Always. The basic information provided in high school level work is just necessary to the understanding and digestion of everything from basic instructions given you by your physician, to choosing medical options, to differentiating between junk science and real science, to the engineering of safety systems for your car, to ....well, just so much that can affect our daily life as well as local, state, and federal issues. If you are going to be against fracking coming to your area, or the nuclear power plant, or whatever, or pro these things, it should be based on understanding the fundamentals. Also having that base, means options are not limited in the future for lack of sure footing to build on in terms of future self-education, college, trade school training, etc.

 

Beyond that, my kids have studied Zoology, Marine Biology, Astronomy, Geology, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Botany, and Anatomy and Physiology. Usually we use 100 or 200 level college texts for these coupled with Great Courses Lectures or MIT Opencourseware resources.

 

The one thing we've been very concerned about was not limiting our kids' futures based on skipping foundational subject material. It gets done around here a lot in homeschooling families, particularly in math, science, and foreign language, because those are more difficult to teach at home or outsource, but it comes home to roost like the young lady in our church who just turned 18 and was graduated from her homeschool hoping to pursue nursing. She never had anything that amounts to high school science and her parents only made her do accounting and consumer math at home. As it turns out, she needed three lab based sciences in the core, and math through pre-calc in order to get into any of the area nursing programs, and merit aid meant also needing two years of foreign language. She is going to begin at a CC making up for all of this but we are talking about paying a high price for algebra 1 and 2, geometry (which could possibly be integrated into the two semesters of college algebra though I'm not certain on this), pre-calc, 90 level science class to prep for college biology because without any high school sciences, they were not willing to stick her into introductory biology, and at her parents' income level, no financial aid, so she's paying $300.00+ out of county/district per credit hour (nearly $1000.00 per class) for all of it, and then she'll have to apply to admission to pre-nursing after that either ADN or BSRN. None of it will count towards graduation and due to the succession of maths, will take three semesters to complete before she can apply. That makes her ADN a three year degree instead of two, five for the BSRN, and due to the stilted start, merit aid unlikely when she heads to the four year college.

 

It's cheaper to do it in high school either through homeschooling by parent, outsourcing to a tutor, or DE which is cheaper per credit hour than the traditional route.

 

Additionally, introductory biology is kind of a go-to general education class at a lot of colleges. It has a fair amount of memorization...so much vocabulary. Having exposure in high school really, really helps with that.

[Gratia271]

Some form of Bio, Chem and Physics are required here, regardless of "interest."  I don't want my kids to be limited in options down the road because they were absolutely sure at that time they'd never be interested in "x" topic that they later develop interest in.  I require them to have enough exposure to the major sciences so that they can at least have a reasonable basis for their opinion about what they like/don't like.  Advanced studies/course work are negotiable.

[bluedarling]

 I don't think its necessary to require all 3 of every child...the public schools here only require biology and one additional, so most local colleges are not going to expect all three.  I think requiring biology and letting the other sciences fit their interests is fine.  I am requiring chemistry as well, but then my kids are all planning science or science-like careers where chem will be needed. 

 

dd14 will take vet science instead of physics.

[DragonFaerie]

 

 

Beyond that, my kids have studied Zoology, Marine Biology, Astronomy, Geology, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Botany, and Anatomy and Physiology. Usually we use 100 or 200 level college texts for these coupled with Great Courses Lectures or MIT Opencourseware resources.

 

 

How in the world did they have time to study that many sciences?  There are only four years of high school, thus four sciences.  I thought.  Did they not do something else in favor of doing extra sciences?

[swimmermom3]

I am curious as to why a student that is interested in science couldn't have more than 4 credits towards science?

 

If I took a basic formula:

 

4 years English

4 years math

4 years science with new rotation: Conceptual Physics, chemistry, biology, and an AP or whatever else floats your boat, AP Physics

4 years foreign language

4 years social sciences

 

That's 20 credits. Most kids graduate with around 24. That's a couple of electives or even pull one of the social sciences and make it a science.

 

Your children are still young enough for you not to be 100% sure that the college of their choice won't require the Big 3.

 

 

[FaithManor]

I am curious as to why a student that is interested in science couldn't have more than 4 credits towards science?

 

If I took a basic formula:

 

4 years English

4 years math

4 years science with new rotation: Conceptual Physics, chemistry, biology, and an AP or whatever else floats your boat, AP Physics

4 years foreign language

4 years social sciences

 

That's 20 credits. Most kids graduate with around 24. That's a couple of electives or even pull one of the social sciences and make it a science.

 

Your children are still young enough for you not to be 100% sure that the college of their choice won't require the Big 3.

DD had biology, chemistry, advanced chemistry (she used our college text books, sat the AP on a whim, and got a 5), physics, anatomy and physiology, and astronomy. Six credits of science. Essentially, instead of taking humanities electives, she took science. I know several PS students here who graduate with extra science. It's normal for the ones hoping to go into a STEM major.

 

All of mine will have five science, and youngest will have six with his robotics engineering and aerospace. Our dear friend, Mr. R teaches at a PS in our county and mentors a TARC team for his school. He has an Introduction to Aerospace Engineering class every other year for juniors and seniors in addition to teaching AP Physics, regular physics, and regular chemistry. His school also offers honors biology (though not AP), botany, agricultural science, health science, and an intro to medical technology class. So kids that like science can take two sciences per year if they wanted to do so, and for band students, the way it is scheduled, aerospace engineering, ag science, and botany are offered either zero hour - 7:05 a.m to 8 a.m. or after school 2:45 to 3:35 if memory serves. This way they can still get in fine arts as well since the new Michigan Merit Curriculum requires a year of either performance or art class.

 

Typically, college bound at his school have four math, four science, two foreign language, three history/social studies required of all students and then normally choosing an elective in social studies, four English, one fine art (though often band or choir students will take it all four years), one computer class, one year of PE, and often two more electives to total 23, sometimes they manage 24 depending on scheduling all of it.

 

It's definitely doable to have more than two or three science credits.

 

Always check with your state graduation requirements because often times your state schools will require whatever the state board of education establishes for merit or college bound students. Additionally, then check out a wider variety of schools from tier 1 universities and LAC's. When they say "recommended" next so something such as "three foreign language" or "three lab based sciences" or "pre-calculus" what they mean is that they will admit students that meet the requirements, but the ones getting scholarships are the ones that also have the additional recommended coursework.

[Crimson Wife]

There are some high school physical science courses that combine chemistry and physics in a single year. I wouldn't recommend them for a student who would be studying a STEM major in college, but if your child is interested in liberal arts or social sciences, it should be fine.

 

High school biology in 8th grade is fairly common for science-loving kids.

[Orthodox6]

 

 

High school biology in 8th grade is fairly common for science-loving kids.

 

Never ceases to surprise me how much times have changed for course requirements and timing!  High school biology, in my dino-era, inflexibly was for the tenth grade.  Algebra, inflexibly was for the ninth grade.  Calculus was not even possible, unless the student took pre-calculus during the summer term prior to the twelfth grade.

 

The changes have made it difficult for me to homeschool my children, because I would not hear of the contemporary, rushed schedules for individual subjects until it was too late.  Good news is that it has made no difference, even to my science-y kids.  (which is not to imply that the "new world" is wrong)    

 

[FaithManor]

DragonFaerie, here is an idea of what the college bound students from the better of the school districts in my county are doing. Then I'll list how my kids fit the sciences into their schedules.

 

Freshman year - algebra 1 or geometry, English 1 (includes grammar, writing, and literature), American History, Biology, PE, and Music or art or health or a science elective if desired. Six classes.

 

Sophomore year - next sequence of math and English, world history, chemistry or algebra based physics, computer class since they are done with PE, music/art or foreign language. Six

 

Junior year - next math and English sequence or possibly an AP in one of those if offered in their district, advanced chem or physics or Honors biology or AP biology if offered but again, a third year of science, semester of American Government, semester of Economics, foreign language, music/art/ or other elective which can be science, social studies, or tech center.

 

Senior year - fourth math, fourth science, no social studies so this hour is an elective which could be social studies but is often science for kids considering a STEM/medical career, fourth English (any of these at this point could be Honors or AP depending on what is offered in their district and their interests or intended future career path), Music/Art/ or other elective, and foreign language plus the possibility of tech center again if desired. The loss of a required credit in social studies makes room for another elective.

 

An example of this would be a young man I know that is now a student at Kettering. He had four years of Math including AP Calculus, four years of English, three years of social studies/history, biology, chemistry, physics, AP physics, and introduction to aerospace engineering, PE, computer class, three years of foreign language, and three years of choir if memory serves...might have been two plus an art appreciation class. 24 credits - six credits per year. School day was 7:45 am to 2:45 p.m. Six classes with an hour for lunch, but students can sometimes also opt for a half hour lunch, and a 1/2 credit elective for the rest of the hour each day. It is much harder to fit in if the student goes to the tech center due to travel time. The key in terms of AP calculus was placing into geometry the freshman year instead of algebra 1.

 

My middle boy's homeschool schedule has gone like this:

 

Freshman year - geometry, English I, AP Biology (without exam though because we couldn't get it scheduled around the Team America Rocketry Challenge Finals and felt that was more important than the test) so I listed it as Honors Biology instead, American History, Latin (usually only needed to spend about 30 min. per day on it), no PE (I list sports and exercise programs in their extra curriculars because we don't bother to worry about it from a cataloging of hours and subject material covered for credit) which allowed him to take astronomy (algebra 1 based course), Art appreciation. That is seven classes, but the art appreciaton course while worthy of high school credit was not difficult and rarely took more than 30 minutes a day. A typical day was 9 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m. just depending on the length of assignments, amount of reading, whether or not he was studying for an exam or not.

 

Sophomore year - algebra 2, English 2, Chemistry, Zoology, World History, Icelandic I. Six courses. About the same schedule. Icelandic is NOT easy, LOL!

 

Junior year (this year) - Trig/Pre-Calc, English 3, ACT prep (about 15 minutes per day) and not for credit just something he needs to work into his schedule, one semester of American Government, one semester of Economics, Geography (three quarters of world and one credit of U.S.), Physics, Icelandic II, and Aerospace engineering. Again, about the same amount of time each day. He finds Geography and Economics to be rather easy. Oh, wait...Photography. He has that as a second fine arts, and doesn't like it that much but more than he would have enjoyed art history or music appreciation. That one is only time consuming in terms of photography assignments and getting Michigan weather to cooperate for outdoor shots. So actually eight courses. But again, he is not doing AP physics and finds that he only needs about 30 minutes on that, 30 minutes on Economics, and 30 minutes on photography when the weather is cooperating...the textbook work doesn't take him very long even if he does find it boring. I wouldn't have allowed the seventh credit if it would have been overwhelming.

 

Course plan for next year - Calculus (dual enrolled), Anatomy and Physiology (taught by my MIL who is a retired nursing professor so that will not fall to me, YAY!!!), English 4, no social studies, Danish 1 possibly 2 as well if he is motivated to really cram...we couldn't find enough resources to cover a 3rd year of Icelandic or Old Norse, Ecology, Formal Logic or other elective...he has recently been waffling. Six courses. He considered the possibility of a DE history course. We'll see.

 

So his sciences end up being honors biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy and physiology, zoology, ecology, astronomy, and aerospace engineering.

 

Actually, the entire rocket team spends enough time, effort, and study to be worth a credit of aerospace engineering the local physics teachers all say so. But because it is done off school, under 4-H, and DH is not certified nor on the faculty of any of the school districts, the other team members who are homeschooled do not get credit for it. However, putting competitive rocketry team on their extra curricular lists has worked well for the seniors at college application time. As a general rule, only the team captain, and rocket booster design/propulsion specialists on the team could claim credit as these are the most time consuming aspects, and require them to cover the trigonometry and physics with DH and I every week. So P is getting credit, while C will not.

 

Homeschooling for certain has allowed us the flexibility to work in the extra sciences. But, those kids who want it and are in districts that offer it are able to work it in as well, and especially after the freshman year when an hour is freed up due to the lack of PE, or the senior year without a fourth social study course. There are online courses that also allow students to stack more coursework that they would like to take if they can handle homework load, and zero our courses. The one school that does offer aerospace engineering due to the physics teacher mentoring a team from the school, meet at 7:05 a.m.. It takes dedicated students. On the other hand, rocketry is a blast (no pun intended), and the engineering is exciting on top of which he is a really talented, very engaging teacher so he usually does not have trouble filling the class. At times, he's had four teams of 20 students. Thankfully, his school has a policy that advanced courses such as his aerospace class and AP's only require 8 enrolled students in order for them to offer the class. They try a little harder. Most of our other schools require 16 or more and in general, really like to drop advanced coursework in favor of assigning teachers more hours of remedial classes. My local district is appalling in this regard.

 

The one thing to remember about homeschooling is that while many students will take an hour to do math, many other subjects will not take an hour per day due to the lack of chaos that your local school will have everything from disciplinary problems and general unruly behavior to announcements, to teachers who grade work in class and take up valuable instructional time with that. So your student may accomplish more in 30 minutes and be on to the next subject then your local PS students will accomplish in 55 minutes, and you don't have running to the locker and making it to the next room added into that, nor are you likely to necessarily take a whole hour for lunch though your students may take snack breaks or whatever. I see a lot of STEM and medical arts oriented kids in our district that work hard and do fit in 4-6 sciences before graduation or 4-6 of whatever subject they love, but it is a lot harder for them than it is for my kids.

[Dmmetler]

Another thing is that DE lets you do two courses a year. So. If you do bio in 8th, chem in 9th, and physics in 10th, and then do four semesters of DE, that's 7 science courses on the high school transcript. Especially around here, where the state scholarship covers DE, that's not uncommon for strong science students, especially if their high school doesn't offer Higher level sciences (or if the higher level science is watered downby accepting everyone. If AP bio is the only bio class offered, and the average score at that school is under a 2, there's really no reason to NOT take the state scholarship and a bus to the community college and take Bio 1000 there.

[DragonFaerie]

Ahh... well there it is.  My kids are not particularly interested in science.  Not science as science, anyway.  DS wants to "build buildings."  He'd be happy with carpentry or construction, but I'm hoping to direct him towards structural engineering since he's good at math and at least has some interest in physics.  DD is interested in music and animals.  LOL...

 

 

DragonFaerie, here is an idea of what the college bound students from the better of the school districts in my county are doing. Then I'll list how my kids fit the sciences into their schedules.

 

Freshman year - algebra 1 or geometry, English 1 (includes grammar, writing, and literature), American History, Biology, PE, and Music or art or health or a science elective if desired. Six classes.

 

Sophomore year - next sequence of math and English, world history, chemistry or algebra based physics, computer class since they are done with PE, music/art or foreign language. Six

 

Junior year - next math and English sequence or possibly an AP in one of those if offered in their district, advanced chem or physics or Honors biology or AP biology if offered but again, a third year of science, semester of American Government, semester of Economics, foreign language, music/art/ or other elective which can be science, social studies, or tech center.

 

Senior year - fourth math, fourth science, no social studies so this hour is an elective which could be social studies but is often science for kids considering a STEM/medical career, fourth English (any of these at this point could be Honors or AP depending on what is offered in their district and their interests or intended future career path), Music/Art/ or other elective, and foreign language plus the possibility of tech center again if desired. The loss of a required credit in social studies makes room for another elective.

 

An example of this would be a young man I know that is now a student at Kettering. He had four years of Math including AP Calculus, four years of English, three years of social studies/history, biology, chemistry, physics, AP physics, and introduction to aerospace engineering, PE, computer class, three years of foreign language, and three years of choir if memory serves...might have been two plus an art appreciation class. 24 credits - six credits per year. School day was 7:45 am to 2:45 p.m. Six classes with an hour for lunch, but students can sometimes also opt for a half hour lunch, and a 1/2 credit elective for the rest of the hour each day. It is much harder to fit in if the student goes to the tech center due to travel time. The key in terms of AP calculus was placing into geometry the freshman year instead of algebra 1.

 

My middle boy's homeschool schedule has gone like this:

 

Freshman year - geometry, English I, AP Biology (without exam though because we couldn't get it scheduled around the Team America Rocketry Challenge Finals and felt that was more important than the test) so I listed it as Honors Biology instead, American History, Latin (usually only needed to spend about 30 min. per day on it), no PE (I list sports and exercise programs in their extra curriculars because we don't bother to worry about it from a cataloging of hours and subject material covered for credit) which allowed him to take astronomy (algebra 1 based course), Art appreciation. That is seven classes, but the art appreciaton course while worthy of high school credit was not difficult and rarely took more than 30 minutes a day. A typical day was 9 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m. just depending on the length of assignments, amount of reading, whether or not he was studying for an exam or not.

 

Sophomore year - algebra 2, English 2, Chemistry, Zoology, World History, Icelandic I. Six courses. About the same schedule. Icelandic is NOT easy, LOL!

 

Junior year (this year) - Trig/Pre-Calc, English 3, ACT prep (about 15 minutes per day) and not for credit just something he needs to work into his schedule, one semester of American Government, one semester of Economics, Geography (three quarters of world and one credit of U.S.), Physics, Icelandic II, and Aerospace engineering. Again, about the same amount of time each day. He finds Geography and Economics to be rather easy. Oh, wait...Photography. He has that as a second fine arts, and doesn't like it that much but more than he would have enjoyed art history or music appreciation. That one is only time consuming in terms of photography assignments and getting Michigan weather to cooperate for outdoor shots. So actually eight courses. But again, he is not doing AP physics and finds that he only needs about 30 minutes on that, 30 minutes on Economics, and 30 minutes on photography when the weather is cooperating...the textbook work doesn't take him very long even if he does find it boring. I wouldn't have allowed the seventh credit if it would have been overwhelming.

 

Course plan for next year - Calculus (dual enrolled), Anatomy and Physiology (taught by my MIL who is a retired nursing professor so that will not fall to me, YAY!!!), English 4, no social studies, Danish 1 possibly 2 as well if he is motivated to really cram...we couldn't find enough resources to cover a 3rd year of Icelandic or Old Norse, Ecology, Formal Logic or other elective...he has recently been waffling. Six courses. He considered the possibility of a DE history course. We'll see.

 

So his sciences end up being honors biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy and physiology, zoology, ecology, astronomy, and aerospace engineering.

 

Actually, the entire rocket team spends enough time, effort, and study to be worth a credit of aerospace engineering the local physics teachers all say so. But because it is done off school, under 4-H, and DH is not certified nor on the faculty of any of the school districts, the other team members who are homeschooled do not get credit for it. However, putting competitive rocketry team on their extra curricular lists has worked well for the seniors at college application time. As a general rule, only the team captain, and rocket booster design/propulsion specialists on the team could claim credit as these are the most time consuming aspects, and require them to cover the trigonometry and physics with DH and I every week. So P is getting credit, while C will not.

 

Homeschooling for certain has allowed us the flexibility to work in the extra sciences. But, those kids who want it and are in districts that offer it are able to work it in as well, and especially after the freshman year when an hour is freed up due to the lack of PE, or the senior year without a fourth social study course. There are online courses that also allow students to stack more coursework that they would like to take if they can handle homework load, and zero our courses. The one school that does offer aerospace engineering due to the physics teacher mentoring a team from the school, meet at 7:05 a.m.. It takes dedicated students. On the other hand, rocketry is a blast (no pun intended), and the engineering is exciting on top of which he is a really talented, very engaging teacher so he usually does not have trouble filling the class. At times, he's had four teams of 20 students. Thankfully, his school has a policy that advanced courses such as his aerospace class and AP's only require 8 enrolled students in order for them to offer the class. They try a little harder. Most of our other schools require 16 or more and in general, really like to drop advanced coursework in favor of assigning teachers more hours of remedial classes. My local district is appalling in this regard.

 

The one thing to remember about homeschooling is that while many students will take an hour to do math, many other subjects will not take an hour per day due to the lack of chaos that your local school will have everything from disciplinary problems and general unruly behavior to announcements, to teachers who grade work in class and take up valuable instructional time with that. So your student may accomplish more in 30 minutes and be on to the next subject then your local PS students will accomplish in 55 minutes, and you don't have running to the locker and making it to the next room added into that, nor are you likely to necessarily take a whole hour for lunch though your students may take snack breaks or whatever. I see a lot of STEM and medical arts oriented kids in our district that work hard and do fit in 4-6 sciences before graduation or 4-6 of whatever subject they love, but it is a lot harder for them than it is for my kids.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to write all this up!  So incredibly helpful!

[Gratia271]

There are some high school physical science courses that combine chemistry and physics in a single year. I wouldn't recommend them for a student who would be studying a STEM major in college, but if your child is interested in liberal arts or social sciences, it should be fine.

 

High school biology in 8th grade is fairly common for science-loving kids.

 

Oldest DD took Bio in middle school also.  She completed pre-AP Chem and Honors Physics freshman year, not integrated but compacted so that she finished Chem in 6 months then took 4 months for Honors Physics.  Lots of options so that you can move on to higher content levels at whatever pace you can or desire to manage.