Teresa in TX wrote:I was looking at our guide for World history and noticed in the back a listening log and a log that showed plays/concerts attended. I don't think this was in the AHL book, though I haven't pulled it out to see.
Nope. Fine Arts is in the WHL manual, but not AHL.
Anyway, dd has taken 8 years of piano and practices A LOT...A LOT!! Can any of those hours of practice go toward the fine arts? I really should know this by now.
Where I live, it would NOT count in any year prior to 9th grade. Try to make a log of the piano practice/lessons from 9th grade and forward and count those toward the credit.
Second thing, is it possible to take the one credit for fine arts and stretch it over the entire high school period? I seriously don't see us doing 4 hours per week on fine arts in a year, but I very easily see us doing 1 hour, or a little more, per week.
yes. Where I live, that is commonly done.
Third thing, she has the opportunity to be involved in a play this year. Would that count towards fine arts?
Count it Baby!
Fourth thing, she is practicing and preparing for a talent show coming up which she will play the piano and sing with a group. Would that count towards this?
you can. I probably would log it too.
I was wondering if I could pull something together like have her listen to 30 minutes of music with her brothers per week for their own music in the lower grades, then count an hour of her piano practice as well? I know that last year she spent a lot of time listening to Scott Joplin music while trying to make some decisions on pieces of his to play. I have no earthly idea how much time, but it was quite a bit. I think I could easily give her 5 or 6 hours.
Please don't ask me why I didn't look into the fine arts credits before now. I have no clue!!

I think there are a couple of things like this that I haven't approached because I have forgotten. Now to remember the things I've forgotten to remember.

I have one friend who logged hours over 3 years of high school and was pushing it hard at end of the senior year to have those last 10 hours of listening to music. His parents told him "you have to finish this course before you get your diploma". So, he listened to a lot of those CD's from the 5 year cycle on a road trip. I told him he should listen to Joshua Bell b/c when he got to college "chicks would dig it". LOL. I was just trying to motivate him to finish his work. LOL LOL LOL LOL
So, take a relaxed approach on it. Do you want to have one semester or one year on the transcript? Will it matter to the college (probably not unless she goes into art/music study?) In my state, they want to see 1 year credit of performing/fine arts. So we plan to log the hours over 3-4 years. This year, my oldest will count her ballet class in the log, as well as attending any concerts, performances, recitals of friends, and as well as participation in the youth "choir" at church on occasion.
Then, we'll go back and listen a bit to those CD's and DVD from 5 year cycle.
We're thinking of doing some art work over the time.
So, our Fine Arts credit will be more along the lines of "performance and appreciation in a range of fine arts". Not sure exactly what I will name it on transcript. But if it takes 3-4 years to earn the hours, it will count.
Our umbrella school calls all sorts of things in this category of Fine ARts:
art history (why not do God and the history of Art again in high school?
commercial art
DRAFTING (MFW offers a 1/4 credit in drafting, so you could use that as part of it?)
photography
general music
music history
dance
vocals
music theory
theater
visual arts
So think along those lines. It doesn't have to be exactly all listening and logging. Be creative and enjoy it over the years.
-crystal