<p>AP Chinese...yikes...</p>
<p>hope he doesn't commit suicide by the time he graduates...</p>
<p>This is my opinion, but...
9th- AP Bio, AP World History, AP Env Science, AP Human Geo
10th- AP Chem, AP Euro Hist, AP Art Hist, AP English Language
11th- AP Calc AB OR AP Physics B, AP US Hist, AP English Lit, AP (Comp?) Gov
12th- AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, AP Latin OR AP Chinese</p>
<p>Boy...this board is great!!! When you are homeschooled, you can be so isolated...no one to run these things by.</p>
<p>My son is in 8th grade this year (I said that at the beginning, but thought I would say it again) but a very old 8th grade (15 yrs old--weird cut-off dates when we started). Our schedule has to accomodate the fact that he plans to spend 12th grade as a full year Rotary Exchange student in China. AP classes will not be available there (I am not sure how we will do the testing) so everything will have to be very self study, without the support he can get in the states. AP Chinese will be added at that time, so that is a given.</p>
<p>After reading through the threads, checking out some AP prep books, and talking to more people, we changed to this schedule...how does it look??</p>
<p>8th Grade (this year):<br>
AP Psychology (via Kentucky Virtual High School)
AP Environmental Science (also via Kentucky Virtual High School)
he qualified for both classes and got a full scholarship...they start as one semester classes on Monday.</p>
<p>9th Grade:
AP Biology (online course or course at the local college/university---he wants science in person)
AP Human Geography (probably self-study...I have heard this is quite easy)
AP Economics (online class through Pennsylvania Homeschoolers)</p>
<p>10th Grade:
AP Language (online class using EPGY)
AP Chemistry (again online or at local college/community)
AP World History (online course)
AP Euro History (self-study...along with world history)
AP Art History (online or at a local college/university)</p>
<p>11th Grade:
AP Calc (using EPGY--Stanford's online class)
AP Literature (this is an online class, he will have taken 4 classes prior to this to prepare...he can't take it any earlier and can't take it in China)
AP Physics B (online through EPGY)
AP US History (online class)
AP US Government (online class)</p>
<p>12th Grade:
AP Chinese (He will be in China and after taking it for 4 years prior to the visit, this should not be a problem)
AP Calc BC (this is a course he should be able to take in China)
AP Stats (this course will be self-study)
AP Comparative Government (this would be self-study)</p>
<p>I haven't put Physics C on the list....I am not sure that is something he could self study or take in China...if he can, he would take it in 12th grade</p>
<p>I think we will probably skip the Latin AP test...he enjoys Latin, but really does not have the time to put into it to do well on an AP test. Right now he does not plan on majoring in Classics and I think he could just take a placement test where he goes to college if he wanted to keep taking classes there.</p>
<p>I really want him to take the US Government class and the US History class the same year, since material will overlap. also, the great books seminar he attends will be reading and discussing all primary material from us government that year.</p>
<p>I want him to take World History, Euro History and Art History the same year, because of the overlap of information on it...if it isn't too much.</p>
<p>This semester will really tell the tale...if he does well with AP Environmental Science and AP Psychology, we will know we can forge ahead. If he has trouble, we will rethink his plans.</p>
<p>Anymore suggestions?? I am finding your comments very helpful. I can hardly wait for my son to get back from Chicago to get him on the board, he will enjoy the conversations.</p>
<p>Believe me...the Chinese is his idea. he is on his second year, using a private tutor (a professor's wife) using university material. He loves anything Asian! He also wants to take Japanese, but we have advised him to concentrate on one language at a time (he also does Latin, but not the time commitment as his other courses...for transcript purposes we will probably only give him 1 semester credit each year, depending on how much he covers)</p>
<p>One nice thing about homeschooling, you can really use your time efficiently and you don't have to take every course twice...no honors world history, then AP world history, etc. so I think he will do alright...we can always readjust!</p>
<p>He should definitely be able to handle Physics C senior year considering he'll have had physics and calculus before. The schedule looks great. :)</p>
<p>I would suggest that you teach your son regular chemistry before AP Chem. Im a 10th grader taking ap chem right now and i think its pretty easy, i have an A in the class now, but i do have a really good teacher. My teacher says to take AP Bio before Ap Chem if you didnt understand regular chemistry
Thats also a pretty hard load for a kid, good luck with it</p>
<p>I think your plan looks much better.</p>
<p>Is that just a schedule of AP Classes? As in, are there other classes that your son is going to take? Beause it seems odd that he doesn't take a math in 8, 9 , 10 and starts AP Calc in 11.</p>
<p>What is your son planning to do during his summers?</p>
<p>davidrune: yes, that is just the AP schedule. so far, this is what we are thinking for non-AP classes:</p>
<p>9th:
Euclidean Geometry, Chinese II, Latin II, Great Books III, British Literature, Advanced Composition</p>
<p>10th:
Trig/Pre-calc, Chinese III, Latin III, Great Books IV, American Literature</p>
<p>11th:
Calculus I, Chinese IV, Latin IV, Great Books V, </p>
<p>12th:
Chinese History, Chinese Culture, East Asian Religions</p>
<p>Tokenadult:</p>
<p>He has tons of different ideas for the summer. So far on his list for the High School years is: TASS, TASP, Stanford Summer Philosophy Institute, Civil Air Patrol Activities (Cadet Officer's School, Space Command, Advanced Technology Academy, Civic Leadership Academy, International Air Cadet Exchange), Emory Theological Program, Boy Scout High Adventure Trips, Volunteer Programs, NASA Sharp.</p>
<p>any other ideas are welcome</p>
<p>One thing i would recommend is to not have him take regular calc 1 and AP calc at the same time. To me, it really seems like an overlap and he'll hate doing 1 of the 2 classes because its the same material, but thats just my thought.</p>
<p>OMG, AP Chemistry in the 9th grade? That's craziness, but w/e. I'm taking it next year with AP Physics though (I'm a sophomore). At our school, you can take AP Stat with AP Calculus.</p>
<p>well, after all the comments, i am not going to have him take AP Chem in 9th grade...he will take that in 10th grade and we will do AP biology in 9th.</p>
<p>From what I have read here and on other posts, it seems to be that the hardest AP tests are: US History, AP Chem, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C and AP Latin (either one)</p>
<p>The easiest are: AP Psych, AP Environmental Science, AP Comparative Governement, AP Human Geography, AP Stats</p>
<p>Does that sound right??</p>
<p>Hsmomstef ~ We follow similar philosophy to yours in homeschooling. My S had this schedule:</p>
<p>9th: Calc BC, Physics C (both of them), US Gov't.
10th: Macro, Micro, Physics B, Stats, Chemistry (and a Calc BC re-take to get a 5 instead of a 4)
11th: English comp, US History, CS AB
12th: English lit, World History, French, Biology</p>
<p>He also took five courses from the community college and some online courses from EPGY (post-Calc stuff).</p>
<p>Each kid is different. Mine found six AP exams to be too many - the month of May becomes too hard with six. Given that your S is already 15, he should be able to handle to load you are planning. Be sure he develops the work habits that will support his success.</p>
<p>We find Chem much harder than Physics (so much more memorization). Stats are a distinct branch of knowledge and can be slotted in anywhere after Algebra II, in my view. Language tests should be left for last (senior year) assuming there is ongoing studying each year. For sciences, usually we needed a year to prepare for the tests: start course materials in September, finish in March, take the lab in Spring semester at the CC, and bring it all together for the test in May by reviewing for the exam from March through May.</p>
<p>A. I'd like to stress that math does not have a linear learning pattern. AP Statistics can be taken at any time. I would just flat-out take AP Calculus and skip regular calculus altogether.</p>
<p>B. Take an intro course in the fall semester, and then follow it up with a more advanced intro course (ie. a continuation). Study for the exam throughout the year.</p>
<p>C. "Politically Correct Answer" Depends on the student. "Real Answer" AP Physics C: Electromagnetism is definitely the hardest. Not questionable. I'd say start with AP Chemistry. It's not the easiest, but it does lead well into later sciences. Chemistry and Biology are quite related. In fact, AP Biology uses chemistry to explain biological phenomena. It's really not necessary to take regular high school classes and then take the AP class. If you feel your son is ready to do the AP stuff, then let him do it!</p>
<p>D. It's a different kind of easy. It's the kind where a few stupid mistakes can cost you thirty points.</p>
<p>E. Wow, that looks like a pretty good and tough schedule. AP Chinese is being considered, but right now is not available. I'm Chinese and I will warn you. Spanish is boiling water compared to Chinese. The two do not compare in terms of difficulty. Also, are you aware that Economics is two parts - Micro and Macro? Take both the same year and you pay one test fee.</p>
<p>AP Chemistry as a freshman is not insane at all. I personally feel it may be better to take Chemistry before Biology. If you study chem, you don't need a bio background. But if you study bio, it really helps to have a chem background.</p>
<p>I took AB Cal last year as a freshman and made a five. It was the only goal I had all year and I reached it. Nothing's insane.</p>
<p>It seems to me like you're making a mistake by trying to map out an entire 4-year high school schedule right now when your kid is only in 8th grade. I'm a junior right now, and my academic interests have changed dramatically from when I was in 8th grade. By the time your kid gets to 10th or 11th grade, he may not want to study any of these things at all. I personally am dropping science entirely for next year and doubling up in history, something I never would have considered at that point.</p>
<p>So my 2 suggestions would be:
-Make sure both of you are clear that this should be a flexible schedule.
-In 9th grade- and maybe 10th as well- your son take at least one class in every field (not sure if you have this already), so he can get a good sense of what he really wants to study. He can complete a reasonable diversity of topics, and then move forward with whatever he finds he is truly interested in.</p>
<p>i agree, having a 7th grade sister she is just adjusting to the more rigorous course load and is adjusting to a whole new set of friends. I'd map about the first 2 yrs and see how it goes. good luck :)</p>
<p>thanks for the reality check...we do plan on a flexible schedule, but still within reason. In order to graduate we are requiring 4 years each of math, science, literature, social studies and foreign language...so that's where most of the AP courses fall anyway. In homeschooling, you really have to think ahead (way ahead) and then rethink each year, to make sure you are still on the right track...you have no guidance counselor or set schedule to make sure prerequisites are met...so you have to think of those things.</p>
<p>We should get a good feel for what he can handle after this year's AP classes</p>