Community college classes begin again

Tomorrow is an important day here at our house. Our homeschooled 16 year old son begins his spring semester at the local community college. He's taking 2 courses this semester but fills the rest of his days with piano lessons, 1st Robotics, chores, improving his computer skills, sleeping, working and basic puttering. Winter is a slow time for us since we live on a mountain top and basically hibernate from January to March.

Why only two classes a semester at the community college? We don't want to overload him (travel, homework, scheduling) and we pay for each of his courses out of pocket as not to burden him with student loan debt by the time he is 21. Besides, traveling in the dead of winter is a nightmare here in Vermont, especially when snow storms or blizzards hit. It isn't worth risking our car or lives just to race off to classes everyday. By choosing only two classes a semester we zero in on the classes which will be most beneficial to him. We did the same for our daughter who is now 21. She began taking college classes at age 15.

What we save on room and board, by having our son attend the local community college, helps pay for classes, thus keeping us debt free. It may take longer for obtaining a degree but at 16 he has a head start compared to students still wallowing in public school waiting to graduate.

Another benefit of our son's participation at the community college is he'll be learning in an environment of multi-age students with varied backgrounds and goals. This helps with class discussions because opinions will be as varied as the students, and he'll hear opinions from students who have lived life before returning to the classroom.