Plans for Next Year

Next year, S will be graduated from homeschool high school and fully enrolled at the community college.  His goal is to audition for Berklee in December 2017.  If he gets in, that means he wouldn't start until the next fall.  We want him to get transferrable courses out of the way, to reduce costs of attending.  You can't transfer music classes but you can transfer everything else.  He's already got Composition I and II under his belt (or will have this spring).  Lately he's gotten more interested in Astronomy so he says he wants to take that at the CC.  He also loves to write, so he might take another English or Communications course.  He might want to get a college math out of the way too.  And he'll probably try to take Music Theory II, which won't transfer but will help him both with the audition and creating a transcript that shows he is very interested in music.

Of course, if he doesn't get in, he can continue with the CC classes and try again at Berklee the next time local auditions come around.  Either way, he'll be in school working towards something.  Also, now he is taking private flute lessons, but he might switch to taking them at the CC and also trying to get into an ensemble there again.

So I will be down to one homeschooler!  Fortunately she loves homeschooling and is a very self-directed person.

Plans for B - 11th grade

I wanted to teach an Ancient History and Literature course at our local co-op.  However, the odds are that that won't fly.  So if it doesn't:

Ancient history - with me watching first half of the Great Courses History of Western Civ.  I always want some kind of product other than just watching a lecture so we'll build a time line.  And I hope to supplement with some field trips.

Literature - B does not want to take the lit courses offered at the co-op either.  So I think she might take a lit/writing course from Homeschool Connections.  So far she's taken Public Speaking, Mythology and currently the Drama and the Human Spirit.  She loves Kevin O'Brien the teacher, so I bet she'd want to take another course offered by him.  If that doesn't work, something else they offer.

Math - Algebra II with her current tutor, hopefully.

Science - B does not want to take chemistry at the co-op either, but she is really excited about studying Environmental Science.  So Homeschool Connections has a recorded 1 semester class that she could follow.  I also found something called The Habitable Planet at Annenberg Learner which looks like it could work too.  She would have to do some hands on things too and maybe we could work a field trip or two in as well, for this course.  She's excited about designing her own thing.

Language - I told B she didn't have to study Latin anymore after this year.  So for language, she is thinking of doing a sign language course.  Gallaudet has an online course which looks good.

Religion/philosophy - I think we'll read Aristotle for Everybody for philosophy and continue in our Theology and Science text (which I hope to start in a month or so).

But B is very social and she needs to attend the co-op just to see her friends there.  So probably she'll take the SAT prep class which is offered one semester and a personal finance class offer the next semester.  For social stuff, she'll also have AHG, youth group and just hanging with friends.

She'll be working on her driver's license (yikes, my baby!).  I am going to require that she attend some kind of dance class for PE.  She had swing dance with the homeschool group and lots of dance when she was in The Music Man last year, but this year she really hasn't done anything.  She needs regular PE and dance is the thing she likes best.

She will continue on with voice and her voice teacher really wants her to join a choir.  Our 10:00 Sunday choir is really good, so I think she needs to start with them this coming fall.  I know they practice on Wednesday evenings.

And then she is probably going to want to be involved in the local community theater again, as she has been for the last few years.  I know they have 42nd Street this summer and she hopes to get into that.  They are also planning to put on Man of La Mancha in the fall.  That could be fun!  But B might decide to just volunteer to do make up or stuff back stage instead of being in the actual show.

So video/self design - science, history, religion/philosophy

On line - Sign Language, literature/writing

Tutor - math

Co-op - SAT prep and personal finance (hopefully this will be offered)

Voice, dance, musical theater, driver's ed, choir, youth group, AHG