teachermom2834 Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 My 14 yo dd is starting at private high school in a month. I’ve posted all over the boards about this big family change. Haha…I homeschooled 19 years and graduated three from my homeschool so this is very new. Right now I am learning to let go of control of the schedule. My dd didn’t have the standard testing other kids had and didn’t have recommendations or grades from anything they would recognize for placement. I didn’t even bother try to be her guidance counselor like I would have for college. I just left a lot of her application blank and figured I’d let it ride on the placement test they give and let the chips fall where they fall. She had never done any testing so I didn’t even know if she should be in honors classes so I hardly felt like arguing with anyone about it. I spoke to someone at the open house about placement and she said they will go by their placement test and parental input for homeschoolers but they generally advise only one honors class for homeschoolers while they adjust. Whatever. They never asked me for input and I didn’t volunteer it. I figured I’d wait and see. Well I checked into my parent portal and her schedule is there and she is in all honors classes and AP Human Geography (which they said is new this year and they were going to try it with a select group). So much for one honors class for homeschoolers while they adjust. So. OK…here we go…I haven’t told her yet because I’m assuming the schedule isn’t final until they notify us of it and could still be a work in progress. But she is going to be half stressed out and half excited. She’s going to have a mini freak out when she sees it but if she wasn’t in honors she would probably be annoyed. So this is us learning to roll with institutional school. Really no point to this post except to process my feelings. No one irl wants to hear about my kid and her honors classes. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 Maybe it will work out better because the honours classes will be smaller, and she’ll be wble to adjust within a smaller group? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted July 9, 2022 Author Share Posted July 9, 2022 I definitely think it will be better for her academically and socially. And we are ready to help her over any rough patches getting going. I really think if she got scared and balked at it and we got her moved out of a couple in a month in she would regret it. She’s pretty driven and I know she would end up thinking she could have done it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amiesmom Posted July 9, 2022 Share Posted July 9, 2022 My DD was homeschooled until 8th grade and then went into all honors classes and high school has been all honors or AP classes. She likes it because she's with the same 75 or so kids out of the 500+ in her grade, so she gets to know people better. Also our non-honors/AP classes are really basic, worksheets, busy work, things like that drive DD nuts. She took AP Human Geo. as a freshman and it was her favorite class. Really the hardest part of high school for her is keeping up with all these classes while doing band as well. We had no idea it was a 20 hour a week commitment, but of course she loves band and won't drop it. 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneezyone Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 DS is also starting the fall with honors ELA, math, science, marching band, concert band, and AP Human Geo. That's truly an easy class for students who have solid history/ELA/memorization skills. I'm sure your kiddo will be fine. These are big transitions tho. Best of luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) Same here. Mine was all in honors and two APs. He thought everything was so easy, he slept through most of the year and got straight A's. It's better to start in honors and if it's too much, drop down. It's impossible to step up, at least in our school. I will say there was a steep learning curve on figuring out different online platforms the school uses. So I would pay attention the first week or two to make sure she got stuff figured out. Edited July 10, 2022 by Roadrunner 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree Frog Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 My dd chose to limit her honors courses when she returned to school in 9th grade. After about a week, she changed her schedule to include as many honors classes as possible. The regular classes weren't challenging, but the biggest issue for dd was that the students in the classes didn't take learning seriously. The teacher couldn't teach because the students wouldn't listen, so dd couldn't hear the teacher to learn. This was in one of the best public schools in the area. DD loved her honors classes in part because she was with like minded students who were interested in the topics and wanted to learn. AP Human Geography is supposed to be one of the easier AP's to take. It's a good one to start with. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted July 27, 2022 Share Posted July 27, 2022 On 7/9/2022 at 5:08 PM, amiesmom said: My DD was homeschooled until 8th grade and then went into all honors classes and high school has been all honors or AP classes. She likes it because she's with the same 75 or so kids out of the 500+ in her grade, so she gets to know people better. Also our non-honors/AP classes are really basic, worksheets, busy work, things like that drive DD nuts. She took AP Human Geo. as a freshman and it was her favorite class. Really the hardest part of high school for her is keeping up with all these classes while doing band as well. We had no idea it was a 20 hour a week commitment, but of course she loves band and won't drop it. Yes. We too have discovered Band is a bigger commitment than when I was in school. My son took it last year (as a freshman) and decided to drop it this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted July 27, 2022 Author Share Posted July 27, 2022 She starts in 9 days...she is getting nervous but we have been talking about this for so dang long I'm ready to just jump in and get this thing rolling! She's got the uniform and the laptop and her schedule. She got all the right classes and her first choice elective. She's had a great summer and tried some new activities that built confidence...let's just do this. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom_to3 Posted July 29, 2022 Share Posted July 29, 2022 I am sure it will go well - and it will be so exciting for her and you! (20 hours band is insane! Why do activities take sooo much time these days? I think I know the answer, but still...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malam Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 How is it so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted August 8, 2022 Author Share Posted August 8, 2022 After two days (one orientation and one real day) it is great! She loves it. She thinks all her teachers are brilliant and so nice and everything is going to be so exciting 😊 We’ll see how long the honeymoon lasts but it is much better than if she was coming home crying! 8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 On 7/29/2022 at 3:32 PM, Mom_to3 said: I am sure it will go well - and it will be so exciting for her and you! (20 hours band is insane! Why do activities take sooo much time these days? I think I know the answer, but still...) No school activity should require that. I can see 10 for certain elite level sports but any more than that should not be permitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 4 hours ago, kiwik said: No school activity should require that. I can see 10 for certain elite level sports but any more than that should not be permitted. Even when I was in school a million years ago, marching band took way more than 10 hours a week. One of my sons was in track and cross country all throughout high school and it was a huge time commitment. At least 15-20 hours a week between practices and meets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Kassia said: Even when I was in school a million years ago, marching band took way more than 10 hours a week. One of my sons was in track and cross country all throughout high school and it was a huge time commitment. At least 15-20 hours a week between practices and meets. Marching Band is a very US thing so we don't have it. I suppose there are sports where the practice every day. I don't know anyone who does one but I have heard of it. But if you do 40 to 50 hours school and homework plus 20 hours of an activity where to you fit in a part time job so you can save for university or just hang out and relax? It just doesn't sound healthy. Edited September 29, 2022 by kiwik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 @kiwikmy ds didn't have a part time job due to the commitment to sports. I did for a while when I was in band but couldn't do both. His best friends were in cross country/track so they hung out during practice, meets, travel, etc. Same with me - my best friends were in band (and I'm still friends with many of them to this day). But it's definitely hard to juggle it all and some kids obviously need to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenecho Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 On 8/8/2022 at 3:23 PM, teachermom2834 said: After two days (one orientation and one real day) it is great! She loves it. She thinks all her teachers are brilliant and so nice and everything is going to be so exciting 😊 We’ll see how long the honeymoon lasts but it is much better than if she was coming home crying! So, did the honeymoon last? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted January 19, 2023 Author Share Posted January 19, 2023 16 hours ago, goldenecho said: So, did the honeymoon last? Yeah she is really happy. She is doing very well in her classes and enjoying them. Still likes all her teachers and has made friends. Participating in theatre, mock trial, service projects, etc. Social adjustment was far smoother than I expected. She wrote us a Christmas card thanking us and telling us how happy she is. (I did still spend part of break jokingly/not jokingly trying to talk her into coming back home). Mom gripes - the classes are just too easy. I won’t say she isn’t learning anything because there are some classes where she is definitely learning different things than should would have learned at home that are useful and enriching. And her extracurriculars are enriching and that is really why she is there. But there are some academic classes that she just isn’t doing much of anything and others that she is learning but the bar for a good grade is set just so so low. I knew this might be the case but I would have loved to be wrong. But I don’t dwell on it. Overall this is the right choice for her. Other mom gripe- a boy. Ack! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenecho Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 5 hours ago, teachermom2834 said: Other mom gripe- a boy. Ack! LOL!! But really, that's great! Glad to hear she's still loving it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malam Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 (edited) On 1/19/2023 at 3:56 PM, teachermom2834 said: I did still spend part of break jokingly/not jokingly trying to talk her into coming back home Is she at a boarding school? Also, which activities did she do over the summer to build her confidence? Edited January 24, 2023 by Malam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted January 24, 2023 Author Share Posted January 24, 2023 2 minutes ago, Malam said: Is she at a boarding school? Also, which activities did she do over the summer to build her confidence? Oh no…I just mean coming back to homeschooling. I miss having her home all the time and I miss some of the things my older kids were able to do homeschooling high school. My dd has always been pretty forward. She jumps into things without really worrying about knowing all the details or who else will be there, etc. This past summer she went to a theatre camp she really had very little info about and didn’t know anyone but she just jumped in. She also volunteered as a youth leader at a church camp she had never even attended and became a volunteer at the local zoo which basically involved making little presentations and playing educational games with visitors. So those things built her confidence for sure but she had a fair amount to start with that she just was willing to sign up for things without really knowing anyone or how it would go. She is just kind of a go-getter by nature and I’ve tried to just back her up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eve0806 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Цhen I took my daughter to school, I held her tightly by the arm and simply said, be yourself, defend your principles and know that you can do anything in the world, find friends and be attentive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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