Our kids have always had AP homework in the summer. However this year DS17 does not have AP homework in Computer Science. My older son did. I think in this case they may be changing teachers so perhaps the new teacher hasn’t been hired yet and so they didn’t give any homework. DS19 doesn’t have summer homework in AP World. DS17 did and the same teachers are teaching it again. However they are going to do what they were supposed to do over the summer in the first 3 days of class so I’m thinking that maybe not all the kids did it over the summer in years past so they figured they might as well wait until school starts.
I for one think summer homework is nuts anyway. They have enough time during the school year to teach the stuff.
@MichiganGeorgia I think summer homework for AP classes makes sense in districts that start in mid-September because there’s less time to complete the curriculum. That said, I’m glad my district doesn’t assign any except for AP Lit and sometimes Lang.
I agree @MichiganGeorgia . My oldest son never had summer homework and managed to get all 5s and one 4 on his AP exams. Personally, I think that it adds to student burnout.
@eandesmom, Guns, Germs, and Steel is a great read, and Diamond is a terrific writer. I know the audio book is pretty good too–your child could read it AND listen to it over the summer.
@collegeandi as far as course selection goes, it's about balance I think. Having the right classes/tracks for the kinds of colleges you are likely to target but also managing workload. Each kid is very different in that area and there is no one right path. If she is going to be stressed, I would re-evaluate. We may re-evaluate S19's load, although changing registration is not always possible at our school. In his case it is less about the load being academically too difficult but far more out of his deliberate inability to organize his time effectively.
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Thank you @eandesmom, I will talk to the GC about re-scheduling if things get out of control for D though there is not much of wiggle room left. I don’t suppose she will stumble academically as she has been performing grade+3 levels consistently; but again one never knows! This is our very first experience with AP courses and the school picture for those is not very encouraging.
For CS/coding, D did some courses on couresera during summer of 7th and then again at 8th. It has helped her a lot building foundation to intermediate understanding of coding. We helped her a little in the beginning though.
S has to read Lord of the Flies for Honors English which is interesting as that was an assigned text for Honors English 8 in his middle school which is a main feeder for the HS. I think they are aware of that though as there is a disclaimer on there about how it can be very valuable to re-read a book. He also has to complete a very lengthy and detailed double entry journal on it finding all sorts of literary devices.
For AP World he also has a sizable packet to complete.
S17 got Lord of the Flies a couple years ago during class.
9th grade was The Alchemist which I also liked.
We also got Into the Wild last year, with a bit of controversial interpretation. The boys watched the film in class, I think.
Most of fall syllabi are on-line for us, so I went binge Amazon used book shopping. I do that every year. Books are arriving one by one. Our mail lady must be wondering why so many small boxes. Now is better time to buy used books and texts than in September.
That is nice. During middle school, all the texts including 7-8 various novels, books for English were loaned to the students and returned at the end of year. The school library managed the loan and fines for unreturned books. In high school we have to buy everything. We are in a small school and students take various classes, standard, honors, AP, so it is difficult to anticipate how many students will take which classes.
We had been asking D19 for several weeks, since the end of winter, really, to come up with ideas for what to do this summer besides lurk in her room watching videos … crickets …
…and so last week we volunteered her for the local playhouse’s children’s production of Sleeping Beauty. She’s assistant stage manager (to a 12YO- lol!) and wrangling a couple of dozen elementary kids. There are 23 performances (!). Rehearsal five days a week. She’s not a happy camper. I have zero sympathy. And it’ll count toward her community service requirement for graduation.
@payn4ward that is a drag. For summer reading we do have to find it at the library or buy it but for the school year, the school provides anything, for any type of class that is needed. There are optional supplements available such as AP study guides but the only time I have to pay for anything is if the kids lose it and we have a fine!
S19 is going to work as a counselor for 2 weeks this summer. YAY! He will NOT be sitting on the couch for weeks on end. 4 weeks covered now, all related to scouts, + a cousin here from Germany for a month and 2 sets of relative visits outside of that.
I am not sure if it will count or not for community service but I think it will. Need to confirm.
My S19 will be likely be spending a fair amount of time lurking in his room watching videos.
He has half day strings (double bass) camp for 3 weeks, one week at sleepaway camp (he can’t be a CIT until he’s a rising senior!) and will be traveling with us to drop D16 off at college in August. I was going to have him take a required economics/personal finance class online, but the final is happening when he’s in WV for camp so that’s not going to work. Maybe next year.
I might look for an online coding course since he’s always in front of his computer anyway, but the ones that claim to be for “kids and teens” look like they are really just for “young kids.” - recommendations are welcome!
I’d like him to learn enough to take AP Computer Science without having to take the regular computer science class first (doesn’t matter for next year because he has PE, French and orchestra taking up space - he is so ready to have no PE or foreign language junior year!)
Finals start on Friday here. As usual, S19 is unconcerned, lol. He said they reviewed in class, so why would he study. I wish he could muster up just the tiniest amount of grade anxiety, but he seems equally happy with As and Bs.
@collegeandi I am sure she will be fine. What does her course load look like? It’s difficult at our school to take more than one AP course as a sophomore. Not impossible but it requires creativity and it may or may not be the best hting for a child
@eh1234 that is our reasoning as well with an online class, specifically for AP CS (C I think). If you find something let me know!
Our finals are primarily this week although some freshman and sophomore classes will have them next. Seniors are done on Friday so for all practical purposes, so are the Juniors!
@eh1234 , let us know if you find a good comp sci online course? Our S19 will be taking AP Computer Sci in the fall as well. We were told he needs no prior experience but he’s still got a little time on his hands this summer and it might be good for him to dip his toes into a little coding.
As for summer reading, just one book for English 2 H required. Fahrenheit 451.
@eandesmom, she is taking up Eng-H, AP Chem, AP CS, PreCalc -H, PE and Spanish 3-4. She works part time and holds 3 chair positions form her 5 ECs apart from volunteering.
@collegeandi , that’s our son’s schedule almost exactly! He will have these classes plus an honors drawing class. I think you just need to know up front how many hours your daughter’s ECs take per week and see if you can ask around and find out about the homework load with her classes. We know pre-calc is a consistent 45-60 min per night, AP Comp Sci apparently doesn’t give too much homework, English H should be another 60-90 min per night and AP Chem the same. He should be able to get his French 3 H homework done in study hall each day. Homework over the weekend can be brutal too. Obviously, each school district is different on the homework load.
For us, our son will run XC in the fall which meets after school until 5:30. He’ll head home for dinner and we expect he will be doing homework until 11:00 or so on average. It’s rough but these are the classes he belongs in so it’s a go. After XC is over, he only runs until 4:00 each day but will have art class after that some days and will volunteer on others as well as on weekends. He will have very few days when homework starts before 6:00.
We are in a small school and students take various classes, standard, honors, AP, so it is difficult to anticipate how many students will take which classes.