Mine aren’t twIns but I have a S26 who is also balancing the athletics and music at a similar private school, and an S28 who hopes to get recruited.
S26 coaches special Olympics on Sunday morning. He loves it. S28 volunteers at a small home for elderly low income women. He loves his bonus grandmas and there is always something that needs doing and they are happy to work around his schedule.
Lately I am doing a lot of nagging about summer plans. I am lobbying for the Summer PE class and losing. No current plans for a job, but 3 weeks of volunteering at a day camp, and taking an elective online. One week at an in-state U for summer camp. Overall, hopefully a low-key, restful summer. What do your kids have planned?
I’m also curious about schedules for sophmore year. Have your kids registered for classes yet? I always love reading about the wide variety of classes available across the country. Our LPS is pretty traditional and is also running behind this year. Students submitted requests but no online scheduling yet. I think it will look like:
English
Chemistry
APUSH or regular USHistory
AP Precalc
French
Band
Nearly all of the college bound sophmores will take APUSH and it’s usually the only AP option-take it or leave it. I am also certain that if forced to choose, my student will take AP Precalc.
Lots of nagging around here about summer plans as well! S28 is very politically motivated. He recently joined a local community action group and will be volunteering with them this summer. But he had a call with them the other day and it seems super disorganized…still not sure exactly what he will be doing or how many hours.
He is also helping to plan a big national conference for a special interest group he is in, not sure how much time that will take. And then one week of a pre-college camp at the big state university just for fun, to get a feel for what it’s like to live in a dorm and go to classes. First kid so he has no frame of reference!
I wouldn’t mind him getting a job, the local senior center hires teens to serve meals. Even once a week would be good for him.
He’s at a small private school that doesn’t offer AP or honors classes. Sophomore year will be English, Chemistry, Pre-Calc, World History, Spanish III, and then a bunch of electives depending on what he gets - Astronomy, Graphic Design, PE are likely.
Overall, college is still a very foreign concept to him…and I don’t know how or when there is a shift where he will get interested about it or care about making a plan. When I bring up college now, it’s crickets. So I’m laying low, it will happen when he’s ready I suppose. I also think a gap year is very likely. He has ADHD and has always been young for his age. He could use another year of maturing.
My kid is planning on working on a landscaping crew for a small company owned by a relative. It’s a great fit, because he’s a kid who loves hard exercise, sunshine, and teamwork. He also is enjoying telling people that his summer plan is to be a “nepo baby”.
He’s also got a lot of sports stuff planned, two weeks of engineering type camp, and we’ll go to the beach for a week with extended family.
As far as classes, he doesn’t have a lot of choices at his school.
He’ll take English, and history which are both offered on one level and required. He’ll take the more advanced of the two levels of chemistry, and the next level of Spanish, and math.
Which leaves one elective. I think he put technical theater, advanced drawing, as his top choices. But some of it will depend on how the schedule shakes out.
He’ll also have a PE type elective each season, but those choices are made later.
Those sounds like great summer plans! I love when kids are engaged in politics and have things they are passionate about.
@kenzoDDS I am impressed with the community engagement, both activism and planning for a conference are great experiences.
@Sportsball my S30 would love a summer of hard labor and telling people he’s a nepo baby.
Technical theater sounds very interesting and I wish our HS had PE electives. It’s generic PE 9 for freshman year and names like lifetime fitness for upperclassmen but the same activities in class.
S28 asked about touring colleges so we’ll see a few this summer, probably one LAC and one public regional campus. It’s way early but with a S24 sibling college has been a frequent dinner topic in our household for a while.
I love how they do PE at his school. It’s not a graded class, it’s pass/fail and not in their GPA. You have to pick something each trimester, which could be a JV or varsity sport, or an intramural, or workout in the gym, or an exercise class. There are options before school, or during the school day, or after school.
S28 played varsity soccer in the fall. He works out every morning, because I but he decided he wanted to try dance, and he loved it enough that he’s taking it again this trimester.
We are having a lot of conversations about college because my nepo baby is the type who has opinions on everything, and he keeps tagging along on his brother’s tours. I know much more about what he thinks about college than I know about what S26 thinks.
The younger sibs definitely have insight sooner than others! I’m the youngest of four and recall paging dreamily through the Princeton review guide of top colleges at age 11 because it had been such a hot topic in our house for over a decade.
I think day camp is a great job, paid or not. S26 loved his volunteer day camp job the summer after 9th grade.
My S28 will be living his best life sleeping in, working out, playing his sport all summer long. We will be “forcing” him to become a competent driver so our days of being a parent Uber can come to an end. His sport is actually the most active in the summer( his sport mostly recruits from club ) and the summer is the prime season. We seem to travel most weekends for tournaments:(
Next year he has:
Some sort of religion class
H French
H Math
H chemistry
AP seminar
H western Civilization
Broadcasting and Journalism
S28 will be helping with VBS, traveling with us to Orlando, and taking driver’s ed this summer.
Next year his classes will be
Bible
Health and Fitness
Honors Bio/Chem (the school did a weird thing a couple years ago where they take one semester of each freshmen and then sophomore year. They’re switching back next year but that doesn’t help my S)
Spanish 2
Honors PreCalc
English
Government
PTLW Engineering
Graphic design
My S28 has said he will not take any more AP or Honors courses. His dream school is LSU and he doesnt think it matters having all those on your resume if you dont care about going to the Honors College. Such a difference from my D25, who we had to ask to cut down on the APs and Honors because she was overburdening herself. But seeing that she hated her high school experience, I think maybe my son is onto something!
One thing to consider and look at closely is the AP policy at the school. Many schools determine seniority by number of credits completed. At those schools kids with lots of AP credits have an advantage on things from course selection to housing. AP credits can also allow a lesser load during the semester, which can be useful as well.
So ready for summer break!
This summer S28 is swimming a lot and coaching for a local swim team. Goals are for the most part – relax, take a break, have time with friends, and practice driving. We’re taking a few trips too.
Next year seems difficult (it’s just how things lined up in sequencing) so I’m hoping he’ll work ahead in math a bit to lessen the load first semester during swim season. The music electives are easier classes that provide some balance, at least.
Soph:
English II
AP World History
Chemistry
AP Computer Science
AP Spanish
DE Calc III + Differential Equations
Advanced Orchestra
Music Theory or PE
Not many surprises this year. Academics he’s doing well. Some other EC/academic opportunities have been limited by how much time he spends swimming, but it feels like the right call for him. We’re trying not to overthink it! Kid is happy and working hard.
How is everyone’s summer going? I feel like ours is ending, and also like it just began.
Hi everyone! I joined CC a year ago and this is my first post on CC! With sophomore year starting, D28 is finally acting with more intention WRT to college. 
D28 spent the summer doing sports, hanging with friends, and “resting.” She wanted to do a camp CIT program but applied too late. It will definitely be on her radar next year, in addition to getting a PT job and maybe some shadow days.
Her school gives students a lot of flexibility in their schedules, including doubling up on courses. There is a 5% chance she adjusts her schedule after school starts but this is what it is shaping up to be at her HS which has a medical focus:
Latin II
Chemistry (Honors)
AP Bio
AP Human Geography
Geometry
U.S. History
English
PLTW Human Body
Welcome!
That’s quite a schedule! She will be well prepared.