Yet Another 9th grade feedback request

[AEC]

'tis the season, apparently.

Planning for 9th grade - our first year of HS - and feeling a smidge nervous.

DS is reasonably bright and diligent, but also gets overwhelmed sometimes.  He really likes to know what to expect, so programs that are predictable with consistent requirements work well.  He has no idea what he wants to do (he's honestly concerned he's going to live in our basement forever).

 

 

Chem (Chang General Chem.)

Alg2 (AoPS Intermediate Alg + AoPS NT)

History (HotMW)

English (undecided - it's time to get him into an outside program, but we haven't picked one yet.)

German (Potter school German I?  he's been doing RS german, and I'm unconvinced it's actually been useful)

 

 

That's only 5, though...and I'm seeing discussion that kids are more typically doing 6 or 7+??

Does that include PE (he swims year-round) or things like music lessons?

What else would you add?

 

 

[Lilaclady]

It typically will include electives- generally what ever the student wants to study that interests them. Some might also do PE, nutrition, health and art to try and get those out of the way.

Some popular electives include computer science, drama, theater, music, etc. it is generally a good idea to look at the minimum graduation requirements for your state. For ours it is 24 , then look at the profile for incoming students at some of the schools your child is likely to attend or a relatively good school around and aim for that.

[...................]

NO advice because I too am FREAKING OUT about my son entering 9th grade...!!! :gnorsi:

[Luckymama]

Well, you could count the AoPS materials as separate courses, with 1.0 credit for the Algebra 2 (Intermediate Alg book) and 0.5 credit for Intro to Number Theory. I did ;)

 

Dd so far has no traditional, non-academic electives on her transcript (gym, health, art, music, etc). All of her "electives" are extra academic courses she wanted to study.

[Lori D.]

You've got an advanced/rigorous line-up (Chemistry and Algebra 2) for 9th; I think you are fine with 5 academic credits -- plus 0.5-1.0 credit of PE (for the year-round swimming) -- which makes a total of 5.5 or 6 credits. Keeping streamlined means you will be able to do those advanced credits WELL, and it will give your student breathing room to make the transition into high school smooth, not stressful. :)

 

The only thing you might consider is adding 0.25-0.50 credit of something lighter -- an elective or fine arts type of credit -- that your student would *enjoy* or would allow them to explore a personal interest. :)

 

Or, use 9th grade to try out an extracurricular activity or two. Here are some threads with ideas:

Low income people and extracurriculars

Finding extra-curricular

What extracurricular activities for the high school years?

What kinds of extra activities for high schoolers?

DS is so, so lonely

"Once your child hits middle school, does this mean all the "fun" stuff stops?" -- ideas on enjoyable academics

 

Enjoy your plunge into high school -- come on in, the water's fine! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited February 6, 2016 by Lori D.

[DebbS]

The AOPS Algebra II and Number Theory are 1 and 1/2 years of math so I wouldn't hesitate to give an additional semester of math credit for the NT.  To  get up to 6 credits, you might want to use swimming as a PE course at 1/2 credit for one year. The remainder of the years, I would use it as an extra-curricular. 

 

For music, it really depends how much time he spends on it and at what level of difficulty. My dd is going to be a voice major in college, thus her music credits were quite extensive and involved not just singing & performance but also theory and piano. Music is a regular high school course and credits in the arts are usually required so it wouldn't be unusual to have some music credit on his transcript even if that isn't his focus. You can spread credits for this kind of course across multiple years and just list the course in the year that it's completed. For highschool, 120 to 180 hours of work is considered a one year course or one credit.

 

Overall, I think you've got a great plan for 9th grade. The best advice that I can give you moving forward is to make sure that you mix some easy and fun courses in throughout the next four years.  1/2 credit courses that require 60 hours of work are completely acceptable for electives. The core courses usually weigh in at the 150 to 180 hours of work range. And if your child works at a faster rate than average, it'll take him less time. That's okay too!