Does Resurrection to Reformation go along w/ MFW RtR?

[Gods servant]

What did you do this year? That might help us be more specific.

My oldest dd 14yo, 9th Grade is doing:
All of HOD Geography (including Logic, Writing and R&S Grammar), except the Foreign Lang. and Science part - the reading is very easy for her, oral narrations and story telling is her forte, but we have had to work on her written narrations because she is too wordy (sentence structure and grammar is excellent though) and doesn't like to write things down, but she is really improving, SWR Spelling, Videotext Algebra (she is still struggling to be consistent with Math - it's easy for her, but it takes discipline and she'd rather create, or read stories and draw), supposed to have been doing Exploration Education independently (we bought that for her and oldest son to do two years ago), Latin I online with FPE, German at co-op, Piano, Guitar, Violin Ensemble, Worship Dance and Musical Theater classes at co-op, Praise Team for the H.S. at Church

My oldest ds 11yo, 5th/6th Grade:
HOD Preparing (except Singapore) w/ Extension (but he hasn't been very consistent in reading these) - including R&S Grammar, RS Math Level C-D (I have all the Singapores, but he struggles to work alone, so we've set those aside), DITHR (but many times I find that he has only read about two pages, or a small portion of what was assigned each day) and also reading BJU 3 - 4 Readers out loud to us sometimes, SWR Spelling, IEW Writing U.S. Hist. at co-op, Spanish at co-op, Heart for the Nations - Missions & World Religions at co-op, did do Apologia Land Animals first semester at co-op, but then we gave it up so he could be in the Musical Theater class this semester (he loves acting and is a gifted singer), Drama/Acting last Fall at co-op, Guitar at co-op, Piano

8 yo dd:
HOD Little Hearts Hist. (economy) w/ younger brother, HOD Spelling List 2, Emerging Readers independently or read to siblings, BJUP 1-2 Reading Program w/ Mommy, HOD Little Hearts Science (basic), RS Math Level B (w/ brother), R.A. for each genre to go w/ older brother's DITHR that I put together from HOD and Sonlight books I already had, Spanish at co-op, IEW Bible Heroes at co-op, Hands-on Science at co-op Spring, Art at co-op in Fall, Acting in Fall, Piano

6 yo ds:
HOD Little Hearts Hist. (economy) w/ sister, HOD Spelling List 1, flying through BJUP K Reading w/ Mommy (will probably start BJUP 1 Reading over summer and finish BJUP 2 next year), HOD Little Hearts Science (basic), RS Math Level B (w/ sister), R.A. (same as older sister) for each genre to go w/ older brother's DITHR, 1st Grade Geography at co-op, Hands-on Science at co-op Spring, Art at co-op in Fall, Violin at co-op, Piano

The only other activity we have been involved with this year during the day hours was a P.E. Class once a week, which they are presently doing Track and Field with a Meet coming up in April.

Let me know what your thoughts might be. Thank you so much for the time you've already graciously spent to help me out. I know it is a sacrifice.

[mothermayi?]

After seeing all that you are doing, adding MFW would probably not be a good idea. Honestly, I got tired just from reading everything they are doing . They are doing a tremendous amount of work.

[Gods servant]

I think the above sounds fairly reasonable. I would not do both DITHOR and BJU readers, and I would choose either SWS or HOD dictation. I would not do the economics class because if you keep going with HOD, you will hit that in 2 more years.

Although HOD is wonderful, I would be careful about making your older child listen in on the guides she missed. The new World History guide will be plenty on its own.

I also understand needing to be on the same page in history. That may be a personality thing, but I can struggle with that as well. Since you already have MFW RTR, what if you just did the SOTW 2 from there with the youngers. ( I only say this because you are not considering an HOD guide for them anyway.) I would encourage written narrations at their levels so that when you are ready to put them in an HOD program, they would be ready. The next year you could put the 13 year old in Rev to Rev and the younger two in Bigger with extensions for the 10 year old and all be on the same history page. By the year after that, you will probably feel comfortable to keep going with Preparing and MTMM even though they are not the same history time period.

Thanks so much 8arrows. I think I will try to cancel his Economics class tomorrow. What you said makes a lot of sense. Thank you also for your honesty about having my oldest sit in. I will need to really think about that. I definitely see your point.

I didn't realize that Bigger was the same history as RevtoRev. That is good to know. My youngers are doing Beyond this year.

I like the idea of just reading SOTW to the younger two. I might try that and throw in some Sonlight RA's also - perhaps to even go along with DITHR's genres w/ my older son, as well as some Sonlight Readers from Core 1-2 for my 9yo's DITHR books to read independently. That would free me up more to focus on their Reading and Math again next year. They have made huge leaps this year now that I have been able to give them more attention (no new baby and no Foster kids), but they could definitely use one more year to truly be on top of the basics. That might also give me more time to work w/ Older ds who is still struggling with his schoolwork. Thank you so much for the thoughts.

[8arrows]

Bigger and REV2REV are not exactly the same, but they both cover American history. Bigger would cover a wider time frame (overview).

My daughter needed supervision and help to keep on track with Education Exploration.

You have a lot on your plate. Just reading your list made me tired! I did notice you were doing piano and violin. I have children involved in both of those too!

If your second child did Preparing this year, RTR is a pretty big jump.
Are you set against doing Bigger, CTC, and WH (HS) next year?
Did your youngers do Little Hearts or Beyond this year? I thought it was listed as one in one place and one in another. It is also late.

[Gods servant]

Bigger and REV2REV are not exactly the same, but they both cover American history. Bigger would cover a wider time frame (overview).

My daughter needed supervision and help to keep on track with Education Exploration.

You have a lot on your plate. Just reading your list made me tired! I did notice you were doing piano and violin. I have children involved in both of those too!

If your second child did Preparing this year, RTR is a pretty big jump.
Are you set against doing Bigger, CTC, and WH (HS) next year?
Did your youngers do Little Hearts or Beyond this year? I thought it was listed as one in one place and one in another. It is also late.

Thanks for the clarification on Bigger.

It is encouraging to hear you say that you had to help your dd w/ Education Exploration. Perhaps that is just exactly what I need to start doing, or we will never finish it.

My family was very musical when I was growing up and the genes have followed suit with my children now. My husband and I met on a Praise Team at church, so I think we were destined for Music and Worship. That was what I got my BA in too.

From what you are saying about RTR, it seems to confirm again the need to stay with CTC, although then the following year my oldest dd would be doing U.S. History while everyone else was finishing up World History. I also hate to repeat something when there is so very much out there I want my kids to do. However, I think skill-wise my son is probably not ready for RTR.

And you are right about my youngers. I was looking at the HOD catalog at the time I was typing and had lots of distractions with the kids. This is our first year doing HOD, and my dc are doing Beyond, not LH. I've never even looked at LH. I'm not sure where that came from. Sorry. And I don't think I will do Bigger simply because it doesn't coincide with what my older two will be doing. I love for the kids to come in and out and listen in on each others' stories and thus make their understanding of the history they are studying more full. I wish there was a younger HOD for World History. I do like what you said about the SOTW book though, or maybe I'll just even reread "A Child's History of the World" for them next year. I did enjoy that book when I read it to my oldest daughter with Sonlight and my oldest son is hearing it this year. Then I could add in some Read Alouds from Sonlight 1 to coincide with the History as well. I think maybe I'll do "Leading Little Ones to God" from Sonlight 1 for their Devotional and perhaps "Akebu to Zapotec" to pray for other peoples. I'm not sure what Readers I could find out there for my 9yo that would coincide with her History? I know there are so many good books at that level, so perhaps she will just read good literature that doesn't go with the History. I hate for her to only have BJUP to read (as good as that is), that is why I was considering DITHR for her also. She may still need some of the Phonics Review stuff that BJUP inserts throughout their Readers and also the incremental build up of the books would be good for her. Her comprehension is great though, as well as inflection and fluidity. That is also the main reason I stated before that I was considering using DITHR and BJUP with my oldest son. He still misses words when he is reading and isn't perfectly fluent. His inflection is good and he is improving with his comprehension some, but we are trying to read lower level books to increase all of that. However, since he has been so behind in Reading, he has missed out on so many great books and I really want him to start to enjoy reading. He still can't "get into a story".

[8arrows]

I would not use the CHOW book if there is any chance that you will use Preparing for the 2 younger in the future. (I love Preparing!) I would still encourage you to pick either BJU or DITHOR. Less done well is more simplified. If I have unfinished books or plans as we near the end of the year it discourages me. I sat down and made a several year plan to see what I wanted to do with my children. If I had not done that, my middle girl would have been all over the place in history (as she could combine either with the 2 above or the 2 below). I made just a couple of alterations in my plans and can keep her combined with the younger two throughout school now. Our children cannot do everything wonderful out there. That is why HOD has been such a blessing. I can be reasonable, read great books, and give my kids a great education (without pulling teeth).

[Gods servant]

I would not use the CHOW book if there is any chance that you will use Preparing for the 2 younger in the future. (I love Preparing!) I would still encourage you to pick either BJU or DITHOR. Less done well is more simplified. If I have unfinished books or plans as we near the end of the year it discourages me. I sat down and made a several year plan to see what I wanted to do with my children. If I had not done that, my middle girl would have been all over the place in history (as she could combine either with the 2 above or the 2 below). I made just a couple of alterations in my plans and can keep her combined with the younger two throughout school now. Our children cannot do everything wonderful out there. That is why HOD has been such a blessing. I can be reasonable, read great books, and give my kids a great education (without pulling teeth).

Thanks for the encouragement. I should sit down and write it all out. That makes sense about CHOW too. I sat down and wrote it all out every year for Sonlight and MFW, or a mixture of both, when I was using those curriculums, but then we wouldn't get through the whole curriculum so I'd have to change it again for the following year. I know for my oldest daughter I still want her to do Core 200 and Core 530 of Sonlight, but it looks like HOD may cover much of that, as it is Church History and then British Lit. I'll have to see when the HOD guides come out how much is in there.

Are you set against doing Bigger, CTC, and WH (HS) next year?

I forgot to answer about WH (HS). With that I am undecided at this point. If there could be any curriculum in the whole world written for my oldest dd, it would be HOD. It is perfect for my daughter who is such an avid reader, and it slows her down a bit to digest what she is reading. Plus it makes her put something on paper. When she does get something on paper, it is great stuff, but having the discipline to do it is another thing. She is a secret perfectionist when it comes to that area, so it takes her forever to write something down. Sketches, on the other hand, just seem to flow and oftentimes do when she is supposed to be doing other schoolwork. She loves the content of WG and what she is learning, but she is very distracted (which she now recognizes and it frustrates her very much). If I just had her read the books, that would be no problem for her and she probably would have finished her school year already by now, but she has to do more than read in High School. I even gave "playing" duties to my oldest son this year (which is sad because she loves it and is such a great role model for the other kids), so she could buckle down to concentrate, but she isn't very far in WG and there isn't much time left in the school year. I try to meet with her twice a day - the first time to check in to see what she's done so far and then to encourage her to focus on the other boxes; the second time is to go over what she has done. What happens is when it is her "turn", she says that she isn't quite ready and needs a bit more time. So I move on to someone else and then come back, only to find that she says she still needs a bit more time and she only did one thing etc. The only "classes" that she has been completing are Latin online, and her Musical ones because she has been leading Worship at church each week and also loves music. This was her first time doing a class online and she hates seeing a '0' because she didn't turn something in on time. Thankfully the teacher has been very gracious to her a few times, so she is getting a 97% in the class (all without my help, except asking her each day if she's done it). She is so gifted in languages, so next year she will do the Latin II online and then she wants to learn Greek (which FPE doesn't offer) and continue with her German (which she also won't have a teacher outside of me for after this school year). That being said, 2 languages this year was a bit much. She would do well with her homework in one, but then the other would fall behind. So we need to try to stick with only one a year I think until she can be more disciplined to do her work. She wasn't confused by the two and picked them both up quickly, but it was the homework she couldn't get done.

FPE (Freedom Project Education) is a great online homeschool resource dedicated to raising responsible American citizens in the Judeo-Christian worldview. They have one year of World History (it's for seniors, but anyone can take it) and it is taught by her same teacher that she has loved this year. It is also at 7 a.m., which I'm thinking would be really good for her because one of our other struggles is getting her out of bed. She is a night owl and is usually finishing Latin after all the other kids are in bed at night, so this would be something outside of us that would make her get up to start her day, at least two days a week. They haven't said what book(s) they will use, but I know their classes are top quality. Honestly, I know that both she and I would prefer to do HOD because I know it will be so rich for her academically and she would soak up all the books, but I've also told her that she has to show me that she can complete it and she understands that, but can't seem to do it. We'll have to see when the Guide comes out, but I am thinking at this point that she will do parts of WG, but the main History credit online. I just need to make sure that she is finishing something to get H.S. credit for it. It's so frustrating because I'd really love for her to do just HOD.

[VAmomto4]

It sounds like you may have this figured out, but I just wanted to chime in with a few thoughts.

There is SO MUCH out there that looks fun and good. But it isn't curriculum that teaches your kids. They need YOU. If you are stretched thin by using too many resources, planning, and directing everyone, then you are going to burn out. I know when I start adding things or piecing things together myself, I am too hard on my kids and I plan too much. It just sounds like in trying to simplify, you might actually be making things more complicated.

Pick what you think is best. Do it to its fullest. There is a lot of life to live once school is done.

[8arrows]

There is SO MUCH out there that looks fun and good. But it isn't curriculum that teaches your kids. They need YOU. If you are stretched thin by using too many resources, planning, and directing everyone, then you are going to burn out. I know when I start adding things or piecing things together myself, I am too hard on my kids and I plan too much. It just sounds like in trying to simplify, you might actually be making things more complicated.
______

The above post contains much wisdom. It seems like your children are struggling to finish their work. I do think that may be coming from having to many resources going at once. I want to reassure you that it is OK for high schoolers to need accountability. I heard over and over at home school conferences that high schoolers could basically teach themselves. Well, perhaps some. However, most of them are going to need help, and some of them are going to need a LOT of help. That is one of the wonderful things about HOD. HOD does steer the children toward independence, but always checking on them along the way. My younger children are better able to work alone than my older ones that used another curriculum. I would encourage you to not worry about the "said" school year. If it were my daughter (and it HAS been my children in the past), I would let her know that when the HOD guide is finished, then she will move on to the next school year, whether that is in May, August, December, etc. As you have already seen, the reason the guides take longer than just reading the books is because the students are working on so many skills. Teaching our students the habit to do the parts that are not their favorites is sometimes more important than the actual school work. Can you assign one to three assignments from the guide, give her a time limit, and then check on those assignments? If she is not ready, could you assign a consequence? If she is, assign a reward? I know it is hard with youngers. I have lots of youngers. I would also not keep from assigning her time with the youngers. With my girls, it is my greater desire that they are prepared as wives and mothers than that they are academic wonders. We have had to slow down curriculum accordingly to show them that childcare, cooking, cleaning, etc. are actually MORE important. I have a college degree (which I do not use), but I was not trained to be a wife and mother (which I do every day). I realize there is a balance. (Note: All of the above are just my opinions or experiences. God made YOU her mom and you will know best!) Remember you have 4 years for high school, and many of the states do not have that difficult of graduation requirements. Even if you got three HOD high school guides done in high school instead of four, you would probably not need to add much to meet your requirements. One of the things I have really had to learn (and I am still learning and conquering slowly but surely) is to grade the assignments and check in with them frequently. Accountability is essential (yet so hard!). It may take you a while to finalize your plans for next year. That is OK. Put them before the LORD and pray, for He is truly the provider of all we need. It really sounds like you are a fun mom who provides lots of outlets for your children's gifts. You have also chosen a lot of great materials to use along the way. Your kids are going to have a great next year. It's just down to the details and final decisions!

[Gods servant]

I want to reassure you that it is OK for high schoolers to need accountability. I heard over and over at home school conferences that high schoolers could basically teach themselves. Well, perhaps some. However, most of them are going to need help, and some of them are going to need a LOT of help. That is one of the wonderful things about HOD. HOD does steer the children toward independence, but always checking on them along the way. My younger children are better able to work alone than my older ones that used another curriculum. I would encourage you to not worry about the "said" school year. If it were my daughter (and it HAS been my children in the past), I would let her know that when the HOD guide is finished, then she will move on to the next school year, whether that is in May, August, December, etc. As you have already seen, the reason the guides take longer than just reading the books is because the students are working on so many skills. Teaching our students the habit to do the parts that are not their favorites is sometimes more important than the actual school work. Can you assign one to three assignments from the guide, give her a time limit, and then check on those assignments? If she is not ready, could you assign a consequence? If she is, assign a reward? I know it is hard with youngers. I have lots of youngers. I would also not keep from assigning her time with the youngers. With my girls, it is my greater desire that they are prepared as wives and mothers than that they are academic wonders. We have had to slow down curriculum accordingly to show them that childcare, cooking, cleaning, etc. are actually MORE important. I have a college degree (which I do not use), but I was not trained to be a wife and mother (which I do every day). I realize there is a balance. (Note: All of the above are just my opinions or experiences. God made YOU her mom and you will know best!) Remember you have 4 years for high school, and many of the states do not have that difficult of graduation requirements. Even if you got three HOD high school guides done in high school instead of four, you would probably not need to add much to meet your requirements. One of the things I have really had to learn (and I am still learning and conquering slowly but surely) is to grade the assignments and check in with them frequently. Accountability is essential (yet so hard!). It may take you a while to finalize your plans for next year. That is OK. Put them before the LORD and pray, for He is truly the provider of all we need.

Thank you so much for these words of wisdom. I have been pondering them since I read it. It has really helped me regain focus. I don't have all the answers yet, but I am rethinking. I love what you said about the skill of completion being more important sometimes than the actual work. That has really made me think. As well as the reminder of what are we trying to raise our kids for in the big picture? You have been so helpful here. Thank you!