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Well, I think we are about ready to take the plunge and order CTC for my current 5th grader who has always attended public school. He and I are both excited to begin the homeschool journey together next year. I just want to be sure I'm understanding the various sets of reading books correctly.

1. I need to choose which "Basic pkg." to use for the storytime. IF I have him do the extention, then we should choose the Boy Interest set so we're not overloaded with the ancient time period?
2. I need to choose whether or not to use the "Extention pkg." -- this would just mean extra independent reading & narration? (he's an advanced and avid reader, so I'm leaning toward doing this).
3. I need to choose a set of books for him to use for DITHOR. I can choose from the book sets suggested or choose other books to fit the 9 genres?

Do I have all that right? Thanks for helping me walk through this!

Trudy

troodlesn wrote:Well, I think we are about ready to take the plunge and order CTC for my current 5th grader who has always attended public school. He and I are both excited to begin the homeschool journey together next year. I just want to be sure I'm understanding the various sets of reading books correctly.

1. I need to choose which "Basic pkg." to use for the storytime. IF I have him do the extention, then we should choose the Boy Interest set so we're not overloaded with the ancient time period?
2. I need to choose whether or not to use the "Extention pkg." -- this would just mean extra independent reading & narration? (he's an advanced and avid reader, so I'm leaning toward doing this).
3. I need to choose a set of books for him to use for DITHOR. I can choose from the book sets suggested or choose other books to fit the 9 genres?

Do I have all that right? Thanks for helping me walk through this!

Trudy

Hi Trudy!

For Storytime (Basic Pkg) you can choose one of 3 options; 1) the Boy Interest, 2) I doubt the Girl Interest, or 3) the History Interest.

The Extension package is for 6th and up or for really advanced students. If this is your first year homeschooling, I would not have your child do the Extension package. CTC is very full on it's own and for grade 5, it's unneccessary, and you'll have a ps vs hs learning curve. If you find you need this later, then buy it.

And Dithor package. Choose which level 5/6 or 6/7; boy/girl/or classic package from the Dithor book packages. You may choose from the packages listed or choose your own books to make sure you have one in his reading level for each genre.

Ann

Thanks so much, Ann. I should have been more clear on my ds' grade - he'll be using CTC for 6th grade in the fall. Yes, it is definitely going to be a big shift for both of us since hs will be new, but thankfully, we're both looking forward to it. I had thought it would be good to have the extension books ready since he's such an avid reader, but then again, I can always add them later if we feel he needs more. Thanks for your insight. Once we figure out which book sets we want, we'll be ready to order!

My ds is excited enough that he actually asked if we could start hs in the summer - I was shocked!

One of the things that has drawn me to HOD is the encouraging atmosphere of this board. I have a feeling I'll be needing it as we experience the ups & downs of our first hs year.

Thanks again,
Trudy

Trudy... I usually take the first two weeks of school...start early so I can start slow. Doing half the week in two weeks. It helps to see the flow of the program without stressing. If you did this you could see whether you need or want the extensions. If he's 6th, you may want them. But just because there's a package, it doesn't mean you have to use them all so remember that.

How fun! It looks like he's excited! That's half the battle.

That is such a good idea - I can definitely do that! Love it!

Thanks again!