What would you do?

[micinmo]

I have a dd who turns 14 this week going into her freshman year in the fall. We just studied the 50 States and American History.(And we seem to have hit American History quite a bit.) She has asked to study ancient time periods which would be a great way to round out her education. After looking a couple of times at the new geography for High School, I don't believe she's ready for that intense level of work yet. Of course the Creation to Christ is probably too young. (Im really hoping I don't post this and then find my answer when I keep reading! )
So would like some opinions on what would be a good fit in this situation, please.

micinmo

[Molly]

Would doing the World Geography guide work at half speed? Keep her going at her pace in English, Literature and Math and do everything else at half pace. Do you think that could work? Would she be able to cope with the level of work without the intensity?

[micinmo]

Yep - just found this discussion on beefing up the lower levels:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5635

Also I think the Resurrection to Reformation will fit nicely. A good way to get acclimated with this curriculum.

[micinmo]

Now that's a great idea also. (We must have been typing at the same time, Molly)

The only thing I would be concerned about is being mentally finished with it before finishing the work, IYKWIM.

Am still pondering. Thanks, Molly, for the suggestion.

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board! In answer to your question in this post, I would place her where she places best according to the placement chart, and as hard as it is, throw out the history time period. I know, that seems tough to do, but Carrie has some wise words in regard to this at this link...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9340

When placing dc in HOD, many things are considered. Proper placement means smooth sailing for all the years ahead, and HOD is so flexible that there are multiple ways to count credits and create a complete high school transcript. So, here are a few threads to ponder in regard to choosing proper placement...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9338
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9339

With this in mind, I'd love to hear more about your dd with the first page of the placement chart in mind, as this will help us chat about the best placement possible - not only for now, but for years to come! Here is a link to the placement chart...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Once you get a chance to look it over and share your findings here, the ladies will all chime in with ideas! BTW, we have been using HOD for 12 years now, and all of the guides have been such a blessing within our homeschool journey! I think you will find HOD to be a blessing in your home as well, and thought placement takes some pondering, it is well worth the time and effort as it equals years of joy in the journey! Looking forward to getting to know you here.

In Christ,
Julie

[micinmo]

Thanks, Julie for responding. Sorry I haven't introduced myself!

My name is Michelle - my user name looks like I live in MO and we were born and raised there plus we did live there when I joined this group, but we are in IN now. We did a move two years ago to CO then, less than a year later, moved to where we are now. It took a while to get back into a good routine with school again; but having been here a full year, we're getting into a better groove finally.
My husband and I have two kids - daughter 14 and son 8. She is just finishing up (dragging through ) the Easy Peasy lessons year 7 and we're extending the Bigger Hearts over two years with our son - combining with Galloping the Globe next year.
Hope that gives a better feel for where we're coming from... also, main goals for next year with daughter is to solidify responsibility (use what know now), initiative and accountability.

As far as placements for daughter in HOD -

In age and reading - her placement would be MtMM (or new High School Geo but know she’s not quite ready for that);

writing placement is divided because we’ve been quite eclectic in our approach:
grammar and dictation are low (and I don’t know that we’d use since I haven’t seen the learning in my student with this and as a teacher it begins to feel like busywork); (I know… I would like for it to work - follow program like written - but being completely honest!)
Still haven’t convinced daughter that copywork is useful - I would place her in Rev2Rev; she sees it as busywork but when that changes, she would be placed in MtMM
She loves to write creative writing pieces and has written many of those… getting her to write other genres (especially research) would be much lower - somewhere between Res2Ref and Rev2Rev
we’re just now beginning formal writing (Res2Ref) but she’s pretty good at taking notes and book reviews (MtMM).

math placement is Res2Ref but not considering for this because we’re using a different mix of programs.

In this case, I’m taking into consideration her needs by not following a four year plan but going with the history that is lacking in her education.
And, since that is my weakest area, I need the most help there.
I am fine with beefing up language arts and lit on my own -
1. because we’re following a more natural learning style in this area, she excels in parts of this area and hasn’t had much experience in other parts. Will continue to meet her needs while loosely following the plan in any of the guides.
2. because it is one of my strengths, if I did all I wanted to in this area (albeit not linear), that’s all we would get done!
3. We probably won't use the storytime as written because she's such a voracious reader.

The other thing I'm considering as a goal for next year (and beyond) is her becoming more independent in memorization and Bible study/desiring to have that quiet time with the Lord.
Hoping to formulate a good transition year to prepare her for H4HWG and the rest of the future high school programs.

[my3sons]

Thank you for sharing about your dd! From what you have shared, I think I'd place her overall in MTMM. Her reading and writing sound like she'd be find with MTMM. Copywork is minimal and done in a more creative way (i.e. part of a notebooking assignment). Math is not in the picture. The history is excellent, and it would be a good prep year for WG next year. It would be easy to count credits. R & S English and dictation are important, but not hard to do at this age. HOD suggests doing R & S English primarily orally or on markerboard, and that has made it easy to do in our day while not sacrificing retention. There are excellent writing helps in R & S English, which is actually what I appreciate the most about it for the upper levels. Succinct, clear directions on taking notes, writing summaries, outlining, etc. have helped my ds use his grammar lessons to be a better writer in all subject areas. Dictation takes 5 minutes and helps with spelling so much. So, there's my plug for doing grammar/dictation! It sounds like you have already decided on BHFHG for ds. Hope something here helps!

In Christ,
Julie