Homeschool-wise, January was a very busy, but fairly uneventful month. Other than Kelly’s last Western Civilization I CLEP test, there was nothing more than nose-to-the-grindstone studying intermixed with bad weather. On a sad note, Lorena has been helping our homeschooling next door neighbors pack boxes and move to a new (much bigger) house. So Kelly’s dear friend Jenna and all the rest will be gone but not forgotten on Friday. Our next big event for which there is really not much we can do to prepare is the annual ACT test at St. Augustine College this Friday. Kelly’s next CLEP test is Western Civilization II test in March if she does OK on her practice tests and feels comfortable with being able to pass. Also, this month, Lorena will try to find out what it will take to get Kelly enrolled in Wake Tech Community College for next fall. We think we will probably sign her up for Calculus I and Biology II (with lab), but will have to check with the school to see if we can get her in.
Lynn
Great job! You’ve accomplished so much! I know you are sad to see your neighbors move. That’s hard. Especially that they were homeschoolers too and the kids had become friends.
Thanks Lynn. We were very sad to see our kids go, but we are kind of getting to the end of our homeschool now, so the kids will have a new group of friends when they start classes at Wake next fall. I am realizing we are getting to the end of our homeschool efforts and this whole thing of transitioning out of homeschool is a little sad for us.
Ruthie
Are the kids going to go full time in the Fall or will they have a mixture of homeschool classes and college classes?
We have found that transitioning straight from homeschool to full time college can be overwhelming for a student. The pace, the “school” time management skills needed because they will no longer have that “grace” given to them, etc… can prove to catch them off guard. The first 2-3 weeks for Emma last semester were a ‘sink or swim’ scenerio. She caught on quickly, but I can see that it would have done her much good to have taken 1 or 2 classes a semester during her senior year in HS. Perhaps even her junior year. Especially a math or science, or the College Composition course if your student is up to that level while in HS. She learned alot last semester and went into her second full-time semester with much less trouble. For this reason, we have put together a tentative plan for Mattisse to get some early experience, or perhaps a ‘wake-up’ call, at the CC. Mattisse is taking a voice class this semester with Emma at our local CC. Fall ’10 she will take Chemistry and a second semester of voice. Spring ’10 we are thinking about having her take a math class, Pre-Cal or Calculus depending upon where she is, and perhaps knock off her first year of French. Then in her senior year she will continue with French and I am hoping to have her take the College Composition class with the same professor Emma took…she was so good. Haven’t projected into Spring of senior year.
WOW! That was good to hammer out on YOUR blog! haha Thanks for the space and freedom to do so.
What a great comment Ruthie! I do exactly the same thing as you… if I write it down, it give me time to think about it and I come up with a better plan. The scenario we are looking at might be a little intense based on your input here. I need to think of a way to mitigate that SHOCK effect. She needs to take math right from the very beginning if she is going to meet her goals, so maybe I ought to find a way to get her through a traditional math class before she starts full time. Thanks for the great comments. It is always great to hear what your kids are doing.
Ruthie
Start that process very early so that you are not caught off guard….and to make sure that you know what ‘priority’ she is and the date she is able to sign up. Math and science classes fill up quickly! Our community college requires that “Advanced Education” students write a letter explaining their reasons for wanting to take the classes they want to sign up for and to discuss their educational goals…they may even requre an audience with the Dean if the student is under 16 years of age.