- Logic: Read through the entire book over the summer. This may sound silly, but I think it’s important. If your student sits down with the TINY Logic book for Challenge I and reads through it cover to cover, she will quickly realize that this is not like Challenge B AT ALL. It’s not a huge book to lug around and it’s a lot easier to understand this time around. If attitudes towards Logic were a problem last year, this will save you a lot of heartache in Challenge I.
- Debate: Debate is hard. This is all new material for the kids (and it was for me as well!). I would make it a point to sit with your child and watch the DVDs that come in the back of the Debate Tour Guide (be sure to watch the DVD for policy debate, which is what they will work on this year). Pay attention to the flow of a debate–who talks, who responds, etc.
- Latin: Latin moves FAST this year. The first 100 exercises are due on the first day back and things move at warp speed through Christmas (it slows down quite a bit after that!). If your student doesn’t start working on those exercises fairly early, it is going to make things difficult–and starting off the year already behind is just no good for anyone. I also strongly suggest spending 5-10 minutes per day all summer reviewing rules and vocabulary. That’s what I did and it really made a massive difference in my understanding this year. I also wrote my class a Latin study guide to help them keep up with the grammar aspect, even if they fell behind on the exercises. It made a huge difference in my class and I am now offering it in my Etsy shop for others to use. If your student will struggle to do all the exercises or is ready to give up completely, this is a really great way to make sure some Latin learning still happens.
- Math: Math continues to move at your own pace. The workload is pretty heavy in Challenge I, though, so if your student is slow at getting through a math lesson, get a head start in the summer so that if they can’t get through one per day during the year, you are not super stressed out about it.
- Research: Research is a totally different thing in Challenge I. They will be reading a text and doing labs in class. There really is not much they need to do ahead of time to prep for this, but they should read the Research section of the guide to see what the expectations are. They will have a lot more homework in research than they had in A and B. Plus they will write a research paper (but not until second semester).
- Expo: There are a ton of books this semester. Getting a head start would not hurt. They may need to read it again later, or read some cliff notes as a reminder, but getting a head start on those books won’t hurt. They could even write the ANIs for the first few books to make sure they don’t forget details of the book.
- American Government: yes, that’s correct. There is a seventh strand in Challenge I. It’s sneaky, and CC doesn’t admit there are seven strands. They tuck it into Debate and pretend it’s only six. But in reality, it has its own assignments, its own class time, and its own books. To prepare for Government, I would suggest reviewing all the Cycle 3 songs. It’s helpful to have a good background going into the year. Also, put together a timeline book and have them add all the Cycle 3 songs as well as the entire timeline song. It may feel like busy work, but it will be a help in the longterm. Second semester, instead of government, the guide switches to Economics. The homework is light and the projects are fun. Most students enjoy it quite a bit!
I promise another blog post very soon on how to prepare for Challenge I as a director!
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