Move to next guide or wait until next year?

[kidsforHim]

DD 12 will be finishing Preparing in about 5 weeks. Should we start into Creation to Christ or would it be better to wait and start it next year? I was/ am inclined to just keep moving forward and not wait.

[StephanieU]

It is totally up to you.
If he is at the middle to older end of the age/grade range (9.5-10yo), then moving on makes sense.
If he is at the young end (8-9.5), then consider if there are any topical studies you want to get in that HOD doesn't cover well in the future. Are there places locally that you would like to go and make into a unit study? Do you want to do a special Easter and/or Passover study this year? Is there a topic your child is very interested in and would like to spend a month or two studying? If so, take that time!
We have started guides in April, May, June, July, August, and January. There isn't a right or wrong. Do what you think is best for your child!

[kidsforHim]

Well, she's 12. Her reasoning is, if she starts it now after we finish Preparing, she will forget what she learned or read when we pick it back up after summer vacation. We started Preparing LAST school year right about half way through the year, had summer vacation, & jumped right in this school year where we'd left off. She wasn't recalling what we'd learned when we stopped for the summer. It was a little hard for her to just jump right in the middle. Now, looking back, I suppose I should have taken some time to go back over it and try to refresh our minds on what had been happening before we stopped. Because of her age, I feel we need to start the next guide, but perhaps that wouldn't really profit us.

[my3sons]

Well, she's 12. Her reasoning is, if she starts it now after we finish Preparing, she will forget what she learned or read when we pick it back up after summer vacation. We started Preparing LAST school year right about half way through the year, had summer vacation, & jumped right in this school year where we'd left off. She wasn't recalling what we'd learned when we stopped for the summer. It was a little hard for her to just jump right in the middle. Now, looking back, I suppose I should have taken some time to go back over it and try to refresh our minds on what had been happening before we stopped. Because of her age, I feel we need to start the next guide, but perhaps that wouldn't really profit us.

Hi! I would start CTC now, and I wouldn't review what you covered in it after summer. True, she may not recall exactly what was happening when you pick it back up after summer, but exact recall is not the goal, rather steady forward movement and progress in skills, in depth of maturity, in independence, and in reading/writing levels, etc. is the overall goal. My son, Riley, often did guides from Jan. to Dec., with the summer off in the middle. He picked it back up just fine, skillwise/maturity-wise/independence-wise, etc., and he remembered enough of what he was doing in all subject areas to continue going forward from where he left off. There are a good 3 to 3 1/2 months left until summer, and I think your daughter would likely regress more if she stopped school now than she would if she started a guide now and took a summer break in the middle. CTC is a wonderful guide, and it is befitting for her age and maturity! I would dive in and start enjoying seeing your daughter take on more independence and maturity!

In Christ,
Julie

[kidsforHim]

Julie, I appreciate your thoughts! This is what I've been feeling myself but I got a little uncertain when she expressed herself so strong on the matter. I think a little part of it is, she likes the sound of having 'finished' her history for the year!

[Robbi]

My DD every year, stops for a summer break in the middle. She does a guide from Jan - Dec. It has always been fine. Maybe choose a time to stop when you are going from one history book to another, since that is a concern for her. My DD kinda likes having a break in the middle and likes starting a new guide in Jan, after a Christmas break. I like having my kids starting guides at different times!!! I actually just started my youngest in LHTH today because he has been begging to do "abc school". We'll see if I keep up with it though before this fall!

[bethelmommy]

My kids finish their guides, math books, etc... at random times throughout the year. They are all on different units and usually different days. What I do to help them celebrate that "I'm finished!" feeling is give them a few days to a week off before starting the next guide or math book. They get enough of a break from the guide or from math to have some extra free time and pursue other things, and also have time to get excited about starting the next guide or math book. I also appreciate having a few days to get the next guide ready, switch out books on the shelves, etc... This may be a compromise that will work for you and your daughter.

[kidsforHim]

UPDATE
I had intended to keep moving forward into our next guide - CtC. My mother passed away a little over a week ago. We have not finished Preparing yet. We have been gone 2 weeks & because of the nature of things, of course, we didn't even bring school along. At this point I am still numb. Likely from many nights of little sleep but also I lost my friend. My mom was my friend and one I could really confide in. How do I proceed from here, with school?........ I have 2 boys we were trying to graduate this year also.

[StephanieU]

UPDATE
I had intended to keep moving forward into our next guide - CtC. My mother passed away a little over a week ago. We have not finished Preparing yet. We have been gone 2 weeks & because of the nature of things, of course, we didn't even bring school along. At this point I am still numb. Likely from many nights of little sleep but also I lost my friend. My mom was my friend and one I could really confide in. How do I proceed from here, with school?........ I have 2 boys we were trying to graduate this year also.

If you still have 5 weeks left, I think you still have time to finish this school year without issue. Cut out things you don't feel are necessary (maybe just read a DITHOR book instead of doing DITHOR for example). Each day, just mark off what you get done and start where you stopped the next day. If that means getting only one or two boxes done some days, that is fine! You got something done, and feel proud of that!

[my3sons]

Oh, I am so sorry for your loss of your mother! I remember feeling numb at the loss of my father as well, and my heart truly goes out to you and your family! I remember actually taking comfort in the normalcy of pulling out my HOD guides and homeschooling as able during that difficult time. It got my mind off my loss for a moment and gave us all something else to concentrate on and enjoy. Moving forward, checking off boxes in PHFHG as they are completed will help your daughter finish feeling proud of her commitment to do so and better prepare her for CTC. Your daughter would be reading her own "Reading about History" in CTC anyway, so that is one more box she can do independently now. As she is 12 years old, she can also do her Storytime on her own too if able. This would just leave the follow-ups for you to do for Reading about History and Storytime. More than likely she can do her History Projects fairly independently, as well as her rotating history box (Geography, Timeline, Research, Vocabulary), as she's had all year to develop the skills for doing these well. That would just leave the correcting/follow-ups for History Projects and the rotating box. So, you can retain teaching for poetry, grammar/creative writing, math, dictation, Bible Study Days 1 and 2 (Days 3 and 4 can be independent with you just checking in with her), and DITHOR (or she can do DITHOR more independently as well, with you just correcting the Student Workbook and asking the discussion questions). That makes your day less full and keeps her moving forward in her guide and toward needed independence. If this is too much, moving forward with the time you have, checking off boxes as you complete them and just taking longer if you need to complete a day's worth of plans can be done instead. Hope this helps, and I pray you feel the Lord's love and strength carrying you through this difficult time!

Love in Christ,
Julie