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I'm planning on homeschooling my son using CTC next year due to focusing issues in a classroom with 30 other children. My other two children are still going to be attending public school. Do you think I will still be able to keep up with the curriculum if we take all the same holidays off as the public school? They get all the federal holidays off including 2 weeks of Christmas vacation and a week of spring break.

I believe (correct me if I'm wrong ladies) that CTC is only planned as a 4-day a week curriculum. I don't know how many full days it includes, but I would imagine you would easily get all of the days off, especially if you went ahead and schooled 5 days the weeks that your other children have 5 days of school.

Melissa is correct-CTC is planned for 4 days a week, for 35 weeks. If you wanted to get done in less than 35 weeks, you could do it 5 days a week, or you could just keep the 4-day week and finish it during the summer or after summer break.

Hi Jodee, and welcome to the HOD Board! You've already had good answers to your question. I'll just add that a typical ps school year is around 175 days, and CTC has plans for 140 days, so you should be just fine having your ds take the same days off as the ps does. CTC takes 5 days of work and condenses it into 4 days, so you have a day off each week. We have loved this! I hope you enjoy CTC as much as we did, and I look forward to getting to know you here!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you ladies. I've been praying and searching for a curriculum for weeks now and the Lord keeps sending me back to HOD. When I think about homeschooling a 6th grader for the first time I get terrified! Reading about this curriculum and seeing all the wonderful pictures gives me encouragement. My3sons, thank you for posting all those wonderful pictures. It really gives me a visual picture of some of the great projects my son may be doing. My ds is the same age as your ds. I assume ds means dear son right? My ds has been asking me to home school him for a while now, but we have such wonderful elementary schools where I live. He was blessed with some wonderful teachers. Looking forward to getting to know you too!

Welcome to the HOD Board! We're glad to have you here!

We look forward to getting to know you better as we travel the HOD path together.

Blessings,
Carrie

jodee wrote:...I've been praying and searching for a curriculum for weeks now and the Lord keeps sending me back to HOD. When I think about homeschooling a 6th grader for the first time I get terrified!...

God is so faithful, and I love reading you've been praying for guidance as you search for curriculum, Jodee! I know what you mean about being terrified. I used to feel that way about high school too (but now am feeling better since Carrie decided to write high school HOD curriculum). I still get the butterflies - not the good ones - when I think of high school sometimes. But, I used to feel that way about middle school, and now here I am teaching it, and it's going great. One day at a time, right?

jodee wrote:Reading about this curriculum and seeing all the wonderful pictures gives me encouragement. My3sons, thank you for posting all those wonderful pictures. It really gives me a visual picture of some of the great projects my son may be doing. My ds is the same age as your ds. I assume ds means dear son right? ...

I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures. I am such a visual person too, and it is my hope and prayer that by taking pictures and doing the weekly check-in each week, I can both celebrate our homeschooling moments, as well as give other moms a chance to see what HOD looks like in motion. I wondered what "ds" is for the longest time too, and you are right, it means "dear son". If there are any other shortened terms you are wondering about, just be sure to ask away. It is sometimes like learning a different language!

jodee wrote:...My ds has been asking me to home school him for a while now, but we have such wonderful elementary schools where I live. He was blessed with some wonderful teachers. Looking forward to getting to know you too!

I think that is so neat that your ds has been asking you to homeschool him, and I think you will love the heart to heart moments HOD gives us with our sons. Our oldest sons are about the same age, and I feel so close to him. I know this is a time many dc pull away from their parents, but for my ds and me, it has been a time to keep on growing closer. Sure, we have our spats about this or that from time to time, but overall, we are enjoying our time together so much. I'm so glad you are going to homeschool, and I think you'll enjoy HOD just as much as we have!

In Christ,
Julie