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I am becoming more and more confused and worried about where to place my kids in the fall. We will be new to HOD and this style of learning. It will be our 4th year of homeschooling. We are coming from a wide assortment of curriculum. Our first year we used Landmark and ABeka Math. Year 2 we used Horizons Math, Saxon Math, A Beka History and ACE Paces. This year we are using AOP Lifepacs for History, Science and Language Arts, Saxon Math, Apologia Science and not much else. I guess i am worried about the literature and dictation with the HOD and my kids having a hard time adjusting. I am also worried about choosing a curriculum that may be too easy or too hard. UGH. My son will be 14(may) and 9th grade. My daughter will be 10(may) and 5th grade. help!!

How about a bit more information How much writing are they each doing currently? The math is flexible...you can do whatever program you prefer, however for ease, it is nice to use whatever is scheduled Is your ds going to be ready for a 61/2 hour day, or will he need to work up to that? As you are planning, do you know what his graduation requirements are? I really think you will find such peace and satisfaction with HOD once you do have them well placed. I'm thinking you may want to start in Preparing for dd, using DITHOR to get some literature going. And you could do RtR through World History with a few adjustments for highschool, or start slowly and early with World Geography, continuing through the highschool guides. It really depends on how much work he can do while retaining and really absorbing the knowledge without frustration. Cramming only leads to burnout Grace and peace to you as you work through this

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15156&p=106798&hili ... re#p106798 This was an interesting thread on using MTMM for highschool. Carrie has some great advice

Both do little writing as of now unless it is covered in their Lifepac books. Why RTR and not MTMM for 14 yr old?? Would CTC be too hard for daughter?? If I do Preparing with 10 yr old do I have to get extensions?? We plan to continue Saxon 6/5 with 10 yr old and Algebra 1 with 14 yr old. May also try Teaching Textbooks 5 & Alg 1.
They are doing Saxon 5/4 and Algebra 1/2 right now.

Here is one good option for the 14yo for a high school path:
9th grade - Rev2Rev as written with Rod and Staff 5 English and the advanced science. Add in government either using resources listed under Beefing Up for High School or what Carrie plans for the new guide coming out.
10th grade - MtMM as written with Rod and Staff 6 English, your choice of chemistry curriculum, and economics added similar to government in Rev2Rev
11th grade - WG as written. You may want to consider changing the science out depending on career/college paths. Otherwise, the only change I would consider is foreign language (again, depending on requirements for graduation/college).
12th grade - WH as written. The only change would be foreign language again. The science is biology.

For 9th and 10th grades, I would probably just do DITHOR with high school level literature. Carrie has listed these in a few places. Depending on graduation/college requirements, you might make one year British literature and one year American literature, covering 4-5 books a year and all 9 genres over the two years.
As for extensions, I don't know if I would start with them. I would probably lean towards not doing them in the beginning, adding them in as just reading if desired. If your child is ready for more of a challenge after a while, you can add in the assignments with them.

thanks Stephanie. So glad there are ladies on here to help me.

Right now we are doing the following:
DD age 9, 4th grade
Science - AOP Lifepacs
Language Arts - AOP Lifepacs
Reading - Spectrum 4
Math - Saxon 5/4
History - AOP Lifepacs
Health - ABeka 1/2 year

DS age 13, 8th grade
Science - Apologia Physical Science
LA & History - AOP Lifepacs
Math - Saxon Algebra 1/2
Computer - AOP Lifepacs 1/2 year
Health - ABeka 1/2 year

we spend about 3-4 hours 5 days a week with many breaks. working independently works for them with not a lot of literature based study. They both love to read and they place well above their grade according to acheivement tests yearly. I just don't want to make a mistake in placing them.

It seems that Preparing would be great for your 10 year old. You would not need to do extensions with her. She is in the age range for the guide. You could always start it later if you feel that more is needed. They read the extensions by themselves, so if she isn't a great reader that wouldn't be something to look at now for sure.
Preparing is a great year, great books and very fun. It is a great way to introduce your child to the Charlotte Mason way of doing things and will prepare her to be successful in the later guides.

I'm not sure about the older one. The placement chart would help with that, but I don't think I would start the high school guide with him since he is new to the CM way of learning.

Don't worry, you will find the right placement, it can just take a bit of time. Everyone here is so helpful and you can call HOD and they are wonderful as well.

thanks Gwenny. I think I will use Preparing for my 10 yr old. I do believe it would be a great fit for her.
now for the 14 yr old. I think I will check into MTMM or even REV to Rev w/extensions. ugh.

The reason for Rev to Rev and MTMM is to cover all of American History, rather than just the modern period. Don't worry that it is not a highschool guide...it was and is still used for highschool, and will be what one of my own ds will use. The books are very good, and as Stephanie said, using DITHOR with some of the books Carrie suggests, as well as adding to the economics in MTMM and government for Rev to Rev, he will be set. If they are reading really well, pick higher level books for DITHOR I would call or email HOD for more help...they are so gracious to talk you through this In addition, if your son is doing really well in math, the Foresters algebra is a very solid course if you wanted to go with HOD recommendations.

Welcome to the HOD Board, ms13! I see you have multiple posts about placement - placement IS important, so it is a good idea to ponder it carefully! I do want to encourage you that by taking a week or two to work though placement, giving the most information you can specifically about each of your dc here on the board, giving the ladies time to respond, and then praying about your decision all will work to help you have a sense of joy and peace about the upcoming year! So, the ladies have some super thoughts already on placement, based on what you have shared about your kiddos. Digging deeper, could you please check out the placement chart, the first page especially, and comment specifically on reading, writing, grammar, and math for each of your dc? Specifically for your 14 yo ds...

Reading: You'd mentioned he is a good reader and tests high in this area. What kind of books does he read independently? Difficult, large, long chapter books? Or shorter books? Or doesn't he read much on his own at all? Can you give a few titles of books he is currently reading? Has he been reading all of his own history and science for awhile successfully?
Writing: If he sat down to write, where is his comfort level? 1 paragraph? 5 sentences? 10 sentences divided into several paragraphs? 15 sentences filling a page? Has he had any formal writing instruction, and if so, what? How many times does he write each day for school now, and about how long?
CM Skills: You'd mentioned he is not used to writing much. It sounds like he'd be new to Charlotte Mason LA skills of dictation, copywork, and oral/written narrations. Is that right?
Grammar: What has he done for grammar? Any diagramming? Any writing assignments like outlining, writing summaries, etc.?
Independent Work: It looks like ds has done a lot of independent work, but you'd mentioned he needs a lot of breaks and schools throughout the day. How does he do following multi-step directions independently?
Length of school day: Thanks for sharing this! RevtoRev will take about 5 hours to complete, and MTMM will take about 5 1/2 hours to complete.

For your dd...
Reading: Has she read her own history or science? What kind of books does she read - short chapter books, long chapter books? Can you give a few titles of books she is currently reading? Does she read well on her own?
Writing: Has she had cursive? If she sat down to write, where is her comfort level? A few sentences? 1 paragraph? 5 sentences? Has she had any formal writing instruction, and if so, what? How many times does she write each day for school now, and about how long?
CM Skills: It sounds like she'd be new to Charlotte Mason LA skills of dictation, copywork, and oral/written narrations. Is that right?
Grammar: What has she done for grammar? Any diagramming?
Independent Work: Has dd been independent in some of her work? How does she do following multi-step directions independently?
Length of school day: How long is your dd's school day now?

If you get the chance to answer some of these questions, that would help us help you so much more! The answers make clearer the placement, so we appreciate all the insight you can give us about each of your kiddos. Carrie is crazy busy right now and doesn't help personally with placement much. If you had more detail here though, I'd run it past her and get her thoughts. You may just have to be a little patient though, as she is in the midst of a ton of work right now with convention season and writing the WH and researching the AH guide and homeschooling. The ladies here are outstanding in their advice, and with more info, everyone will have more to say and more specifics that will get you on the road to loving HOD as much as we all do! I am excited to hear more about your kiddos and help with placement, so you can have an awesome year ahead of you!!!

In Christ,
Julie

My3sons: i will get back to ASAP. Thanks so much!!!

Julie, (my3sons)
Here we go:
Son - 14 (may)
**Reading: he reads above grade level long chapter books. Mostly adventure type series. He is reading through 4 books of the Hobbit series right now. He also reads Golden Compass and Percy Jackson series. He really enjoys reading.
**He has done his own History and science the past 3 years. we did apologia science together with his sister last year. He comprehends the material well and can explain it to you.
**writing: physically writing is his least favorite thing to do. He knows what to write but hates to do it. He is comfortable with 4-5 paragraphs and does about 1/2 hr daily writing besides answering the questions in each lifepac each day. He is new to CM method. yes.
**he has had a lot of diagramming in the past with Landmark and not much this year. here and there. He knows his parts of speech ok and can write a summary of a book he is reading.
**He follows directions really well and follows his daily schedule each day. He is a great thinker and retains information well.
**Science is a strong subject for him and he has done 2 yrs of Apologia (Physical Science now). He likes experiments and wants to do Chemistry next.
**Math is going well too. We use Saxon Alg 1/2 right now. May try TT next year for Alg 1.

daughter 10 (may)
Reading**above grade level reader, long chapter books and remembers what she reads. She has read Little house series, diary of wimpy kid, Anne of green gables. she likes to read chapter books about princesses and horses.
**she has read her own history and science the past 3 years with minimal help. We did the apologia science tog. last year.
Writing**she has had cursive and does real well with it. She can write a paragraph or two summarizing books she has read. 1/2 hour daily writing either cursive or answering questions in her lifepacs. she is new to CM style also.
** She has had no diagramming yet. She knows nouns, verbs and adjectives so far.
**she is independent with most of her work and follows her daily schedule each day.
** She spends about and avg of 3 hrs a day on schoolwork.

hope this helps girls. Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated.
Melissa

Ok What if you purchase the WG guide now and look through it for a bit, and see how it feels? If it seems too much right now, hold onto it for next year, and start with MTMM. This would cover modern US history, and you could then do WG, then WH, and finish with early US history. You would have the least amount of tweaking this way, only needing to add to the economics in MTMM, and possibly another 1/2 credit of foreign language. I would hate to see ds frustrated with too much, but he sounds as if he could really rise to the challenge if the content is interesting. My own almost 15yo has really impressed me by stepping up and working hard to get done what needs to be done. Early on there were some tears and frustration as he got used to the fact that he was going to be held accountable now, but there have been privileges as well MTMM is a great curriculum, and many of the readers and extension readers were loved by my ds, and now he is really being challenged in WG. I think the biggest jump between the two has been the amount of independent mental processing and opinion forming, as well as more writing.

I am leaning towards MTMM, as is, for son (14) with DITHOR 6/7/8
and Preparing, as is, for daughter (10) and DITHOR 4/5

That sounds really good As is will be such a breath off fresh air, especially as you mentioned he likes to tick off the boxes. I think you all will have fun with the learning this year. BTW, my ds really enjoyed Candy Bomber (he read it as an extension book, but it is also in the 7/8 book pack for DITHOR.