heartofdakota.com

Hello everyone!
I'm hoping someone will help me. We are new to HOD. I need to be 'led by the hand' so to speak with this new endeavor of homeschooling especially with my son who will be in 9th grade this year. Ahhhhh!! I'm feeling so overwhelmed. I feel he can do the new guide Hearts for Him through High School: World Geography. I also like the World Geo because everything is practically all spelled out for me with the high school credits. At the same time, I'm wondering if I should use MTMM because it's my son's first year out of public school using HOD. He is a strong reader, but struggles some with putting his thoughts on paper, grammar, and sentence diagramming. if I were to use MTMM....how would I beef up the history and literature to count for high school credit? Should I teach him both Algebra 1 and Economics? I'm so confused and experiencing some anxiety about homeschooling my high schooler....Help if anyone can....thanks!!
DS MTMM or World Geo
DS 9 Bigger
DS 6 LHFHG

Have you seen this post yet? It might have all of the answers you need:
search.php?keywords=mtmm&t=6571&sf=msgonly

It has the three options for beefing up MtMM for 9th grade.

streetsacademy...why are you deciding to not use the new high school Geo guide if you feel your dc can handle it? Just wondering.

Whether you plan on homeschooling through high school or returning to public/private school, you may want to consider using the High School Geography program with your son. Most states require 1 credit geography, 1 credit world history and 2 credits American history (in that order) to meet history requirements. Also, most states require biology, chemistry and physics, with the remaining credit being integrated physics and chemistry prior to biology (for recommended graduation program) or an AP class (for accelerated program). Doing the geography program will get you on the right path for graduation. Your son is a strong reader, so you can stick with Carrie's plan for BJU Literature. You could just substitute something different for grammar and composition. The Rod and Staff book for the Geo guide starts out with a lot of review and is stretched out over 2 years. It would not be too difficult to just use that if you plan on helping him. I wouldn't recommend that path if he would do it independently. I am not familiar with the writing that Carrie is using for this guide - I'm waiting to get it in the mail tomorrow (woo-hoo!!). I taught college prep writing to homeschoolers for years and have used many different curriculum. I prefer Institute for Excellence in Writing (Intensive C for high schoolers) for writers who struggle a bit. It's a little tedious for those who are naturally creative and free-flowing with words, although it does seem to help those writers organize their thoughts. However, for inexperienced writers who have a hard time getting anything on that blank page, it's great. My oldest son, truth be told, was a horrible writer. I am proud to say he is now a college junior with a 4.0 gpa writing 9-12 page papers with ease. I owe this to years of Institute for Excellence in Writing. He still uses the outline techniques he learned in the middle school program! That said, I've found that anything Carrie picks is excellent. I've used exactly what she recommends for my 13 yr old (starting geo in a few weeks) for 5 years and could not be more pleased. I only wish it had been around for my oldest!
I am praying for you and that decision you have in front of you. I know sometimes we stress so much on these things, but please know that God will bless your decision to bring your children up in His way. In the long run, He's not looking at which writing curriculum you use, he's counting your faith in Him to homeschool as righteous to you (Rom 4). All blessings this year!!

It sounds too me like you REALLY want to do the Geo guide, but are afraid to.

If I'm right then why not do the Geo guide? Start slow. Just plan to take 2 weeks to cover the first week and if you need to make adjustments you can. You can always downscale the Geo guide a bit. It looks great, but I think there's room to scale back if need be. Just track time spent. Have your son complete a log of hours in subject areas. I think you'll have more peace of mind knowing you are "on track" with a high school guide then second-guessing yourself with the MTMM guide. And that, my friend, is the secret to homeschooling - peace of mind!

(Not that the MTMM guide wouldn't be a great choice. I'm using that with my 14 yo. : )

Just my thoughts. And welcome to homeschooling.

Thanks Jennvious for your words of encouragement. I am not the OP...however I did soak in what you said. It has helped me make my decision to use Geo guide for my dc.