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Hi, my DS is 10 and next school year he will be 11 and we will be doing Australian history. The following year he will be in CTC (so 12 years old then), then in RTR when he is 13. Do you think it would be appropriate to go through From Boy to Man and other related books any earlier then twelve and a half going on thirteen? He is my eldest. I am happy with everything else as far as the guide sequences and skill levels.
(In the back of my mind I am wondering if I just wait and see if his body starts to make changes before that time, then just purchase the books when that happens even if I don't get to do them "with " the guide.)

Thank you for asking this, as this has been in the back of my mind also. My DD is almost 9. She is very curious about matters of relationship between men and women and things like that (typical girl I suppose). I don't think I will look into the resources about growing into a woman quite yet, but I think definitely by 10.5 or 11. I also just read some materials from Focus on the Family that really helped me think about how we have already been presenting these topics to our daughter (or not presenting them). See, I feel very strongly that I don't want my children to think this is a taboo or dirty topic, but that in God's design it is beautiful and it is something we can talk about any time, not just at a special time when Mommy has prayed and feels very brave. I think it's better to try to talk through it before hormones start to kick in rather than while they are kicking in. If they are an inquisitive person and at all in tune to others around them, I think they've probably already got to be thinking about it.

So my 2c in your situation would be get the materials, read them yourself, and then decide when to approach it because I think 12 would be on the late side. Others may disagree. I plan to try to pre-read some stuff, and I think even if I just read through the materials myself it may help me in everyday conversation to try and start talking about this. In my family growing up I never heard 2 words from my parents about this and it was definitely something I never would have dreamed about talking to them about.

The guide that is scheduled in is for ages 10-12, so I would think that even now would be okay to use it. My son was on the upper end of the guide (12) when we did it and he actually told me, "Oh, Mom, we already talk about all this." SIGH.

We have always had open communication about this area, but In retrospect, I wish I would have used the book when he was slightly younger....

And I am thinking that you could always use From Boy to Man with the study of Australian history in the coming year if you wanted.

I think it is fine to do those books when you think they are ready.

My oldest son, age 9, is already beginning to go through an early adolescence, and my younger son asking a lot of questions.
So, it looks like we will be doing something like this soon . . .

I used From Girl to Woman with my dd when she was 10, in Preparing. She had been very curious about things and reading that book was a perfect way to satisfy her curiosity without giving her information that was too detailed for her age. She loved the book-it was her favorite time of the school day; it made her feel very grown up to understand all that being a woman was going to mean.

Now I have a 9 yo son; and he honestly is not showing much readiness for this topic yet. I'm not sure he'll be there by the time he's 10. I really just think it depends on each child and their development, but don't hesitate to do it before the intended guide if your child needs it before then!