Tumbatoo Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 What problems are we going to have? My 6th grader will finish pre Algebra in Feb if we stay on the same pace, and start Algebra. We'll probably do a high school level science too starting in Feb. I'm not too worried about math, but I'm starting to be anxious about his highschool transcript needing certain sciences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I'm following a "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it" approach-keeping records such that I could put it on a transcript, but not relabeling the grade or anything until and unless it's needed. DD10 will likely have college courses for credit before she's officially high school aged (had that discussion with her mentor yesterday). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Keep records as though your child is in high school. When your child is ready to graduate, you can decide which courses you want to have "count" and which ones will drop off the transcript. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Keep records. That's it. Enjoy the middle grades. Just because a kid is doing algebra does not mean you have to lock in on "high school level" (whatever that is supposed to mean) classes. Enjoy the freedom NOT to have to think about fitting into a mold and satisfying requirements. Do whatever science he is interested in. I would use this especially to do things off the beaten path that he might not get to in high school. If he does high school level stuff in the middle grades, he'll do college level stuff in the high school years. You have years to think about which you want to have end up on the transcript. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 The only problems if any so far (are you homeschooling through high school? we are...B&M school might be a different issue) is that we have had to think about getting some subject testing done earlier while material is still fresh in his mind. (But you have time...just keep in mind when your DS reaches precalc or so). Like others have said keep good records including course descriptions / syllabus, textbook ISBN and table of contents and if you can, save math notebooks etc (I'm not sure how important the latter is for everyone though...for us, algebra 1 happened at 8 years old with many high school level bunny trails and non-official-course related explorations concurrently from then on so I try to save every piece of paper with notable math things on them). We found it helpful for DS to take algebra-based physics right after algebra 1 because it helped him see more clearly how math was applied in physics. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbatoo Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Yes, we're planning on homeschooling through highschool. I'm at the point where I'm alternating between minor freaking out and feeling confident. I'm definitely going to beef up my record keeping this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 What problems are we going to have? My 6th grader will finish pre Algebra in Feb if we stay on the same pace, and start Algebra. We'll probably do a high school level science too starting in Feb. I'm not too worried about math, but I'm starting to be anxious about his highschool transcript needing certain sciences. Start each subject at the grade level when he is ready for it, not when he 'could' take it based on taking X now. Unless there is a strong desire for a "HS level" science class, then I would not start one at the same time as Algebra. I would let math take its natural course and continue to enjoy exposure and exploration in the sciences. I encourage you to, instead, select higher level input media--documentaries, trade books, texts, etc to supplement whatever you are using for science currently. The output required for HS level content classes should be a noticeable jump from elementary or middle school level expectations. Start Algebra when he is ready for algebra, but don't think that taking algebra should trigger him to take other subjects at the same level/intensity as before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 What problems are we going to have? My 6th grader will finish pre Algebra in Feb if we stay on the same pace, and start Algebra. We'll probably do a high school level science too starting in Feb. I'm not too worried about math, but I'm starting to be anxious about his highschool transcript needing certain sciences. Trinqueta is doing high school chemistry this year. The major skill requirements to be successful are a solid grasp of algebra and the ability to sit down and write a lab report. She's doing a normal, not honors, college prep online chem class. When she's in high school, I plan to enroll her in an AP level class. So our plan is to do regular high school bio, chem and conceptual physics in 6th, 7th and 8th grade then do AP Enviromental in 9th, AP Chem or Physics in 10th and DE biology and another science in 11th and 12th. This is similar to the plan that BASIS schools use and, so far, it's a good fit for T. She's also doing high school level Latin and Spanish and is enrolled in a regular (not honors) ancient literature course. The literature class is an excellent fit because there is still a lot of emphasis on recall questions and vocabulary with short writing assignments every week. That's not overwhelming for her but it's not boring and it gives her a sense of accomplishment. I prefer to outsource classes because it keeps both of us on track. As long as you select the level carefully by looking at the reading assignments and textbooks, you should be able to find courses that are a good fit. IME, regular, college prep level classes work well for an accelerated middle school student if they don't mind memorization and regurgitation. Most classes at this level don't require long papers or advanced mathematical reasoning. You will need to help your child with making sure they know when things are due and how to plan their work to meet the deadlines. You'll need to check in with them several times a day to make sure they are on track. Basically, they're still 12 even if they can do algebra and read The Iliad. If you keep this in mind, you both will be fine. In my area, it's very common for kids to take lots of AP courses (but not necessarily get credit-worthy scores on the tests). Our path isn't that different except that we're using the middle school years to prepare to excel in AP courses instead of being thrown in to this level after 3 years of stultifying middle school curriculum. You do have to be careful not to overschedule. Think carefully about how many hours your child can devote to school, how many hours their extracurriculars require and how much time they need to decompress. As school requirements ramp up, you may have to rethink some of your outside commitments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 When you think on it, you won't run out of science classes anymore than you will run out of math classes. The science classes will still fall into the same general categories. Assuming your child doesn't graduate early, instead of general Chemistry, your child might have Organic Chemistry to fulfill the Chemistry requirement. Electricity and Magnetism instead of general Physics. Just like Differential Equations might be one of your child's math classes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbatoo Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Start each subject at the grade level when he is ready for it, not when he 'could' take it based on taking X now. Unless there is a strong desire for a "HS level" science class, then I would not start one at the same time as Algebra. I would let math take its natural course and continue to enjoy exposure and exploration in the sciences. I encourage you to, instead, select higher level input media--documentaries, trade books, texts, etc to supplement whatever you are using for science currently. The output required for HS level content classes should be a noticeable jump from elementary or middle school level expectations. Start Algebra when he is ready for algebra, but don't think that taking algebra should trigger him to take other subjects at the same level/intensity as before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbatoo Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 This is the problem I'm having. I'm not sure what level he is with science. We used Sonlight science the past few years. They were fun, but pretty easy. I feel like its time to learn to study. I've been researching science curriculum, and middle school courses seem too basic, but I also hate to get too rigorous too soon. Sigh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 You can start on conceptual science with his algebra. These would be typically in 8th grade in my local public school. If that is not deep enough for him, you can always let him enrich his knowledge with library books and/or used AP textbooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbatoo Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Thanks! That's one I was looking at. He's wanting to study Biology, but I just don't know that he's ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Biology is a good one to do early, because it really doesn't require math. DD10 started auditing college biology classes at age 8, and while she's had to pick up some Statistics topics and improve her writing skills, she's developed them as she needs them. We skipped high school bio books and used college biology texts. Be aware that genetics and taxonomy are changing rapidly due to genetic sequencing costs having dropped, so anything published is potentially inaccurate, and a used book from a few years back is almost certainly inaccurate. You can find MOOC video lectures for most topics, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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