You Find What Works and You Do It, Part III

Part I is here.
Part II is here.

 The next question:

"What do you think you might do differently for Ramona as she enters high school?"

Actually, we're already dealing with differences -- for Betsy, who's a junior this year. (Hey, I'm suddenly reminded of a great book series.)

The main difference is that we'll take greater advantage of early enrollment at the community college than we did with Anne. Now that we've got some experience with that whole thing, we're starting a bit earlier for Betsy.

Another difference is that because Betsy and Anne have always been the best of pals and do so much together, Betsy has been able to do certain things (such as writing and directing a play) earlier than Anne did. There are advantages to being a younger sister!

Other than that, it will be very similar: extensive reading, loads of discussion, writing (Betsy has written three novels, and perpetually has numerous short stories going, but she's decidedly not a fan of essay writing), math, living our faith.

Betsy will, as Anne did, do some prep for the ACT test. If your child knows for certain that she will attend community college before transferring to a four-year institution, the ACT test isn't really a necesssity* -- by the time she transfers, her transcript will do the talking.  We decided to go ahead and have Anne take the test, however, because we didn't want to close doors prematurely, just in case she did decide to apply and/or attend somewhere else. So, the ACT scores were helpful when she applied to Benedictine, and ended up being helpful with a scholarship (though, for community college, COMPASS test scores can also be used on scholarship applications.)

And I have to admit that I'm not yet even thinking about Ramona entering high school.

I'm gonna stay in denial about that one a little longer.

Part IV is here.


* 2018 Update: This varies from college to college. Always look into the requirements of the schools your child is considering. When Anne transferred to a nearby state college, they did not require an ACT score in addition to her community college transcript. By the time Betsy transferred to the same college, an ACT score was a requirement, even if one had an associate's degree from a community college. I don't understand the reasoning behind that requirement, but there you have it.