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I'm mulling about my HOD choices for next year. Our homeschool convention is coming soon . . . in April, so I like to have a general idea by then for purchases. Presently, I am doing Preparing with my 3rd and 6th grade (girls). At the rate I'm going, I won't be able to get to the upcoming HOD American guides with my 6th grader before high school. As it stands now, I might not be homeschooling her for high school anyway. Our schedule would look like this . . . 7th grade - CTC, 8th grade - Reformation, 9th grade - American, 10th grade - American. I've been giving some thought to skipping the CTC guide and just jumping into the Reformation, so my oldest can get back into the American history by 8th grade and possibly 9th grade. Just curious if anyone has any thoughts about this. It appears that CTC covers a lot of the same from Preparing . . . Phoenicians, etc. Both of my kids could easily bump up on the placement chart, but I'm not even sure how important it even is to cover American history by middle school. The last time we had American History though was with the Bigger program. My oldest did do most of the Mystery of History I two years ago which covers a lot of Christ to Creation, but by 3rd grader hasn't cover it.

Any words of wisdom would be greatly treasured!

Kristi,

Since I'm thinking your kiddos would be 9 and 11, I'm leaning toward CTC as being a better placement based on their age (as RTR is for ages 10-12 with extensions for ages 13-14). Part of my reasoning is dependent on your combining your kiddos. While your 11 could likely fit into RTR, if she places there on the placement chart, your 9 year old will find RTR to be a big jump up from Preparing Hearts (in independence and maturity).

Another thing to consider is that if you bumped your then 9 year old up to RTR, I'm not sure how much she'd get out the longer, more in-depth readings. MOH III is much more difficult than MOH I and it's mainly intended for kiddos in grades 5-8. Another thing to think about is that you'd be reading aloud some pretty long readings in RTR that we are scheduling for the student to read independently within our plans. While you can certainly read the history readings aloud if you choose, using them differently than planned in RTR will add time to your day in both history and science. You'd likely need to read these areas aloud, as your 9 year old probably wouldn't be able to do the readings on her own.

These are a few things to ponder as you think over your best placement for your sweeties next year. I always tend to err on the side of making sure the youngers are getting what they need and beefing up for the olders. Otherwise, the youngers tend to get pulled along over quite a few years and often can end up struggling with their skills in the long run. Over time, I have slowly come to terms with the fact that completing the history cycle is not as important as making sure your kiddos are correctly placed skill-wise. However, you'll know better than I will what best meets your family goals. On a sidenote, your older daughter will get a full-blown year of American history in high school, so it isn't as if she'll never have that good dose of American history coming (should you choose to stay the course and do CTC next year).

I'd likely reassess if I were you, once the placement chart is updated to reflect the skills needed to be successful in RTR. That will give you the best idea of how successful your kiddos would be in jumping to that program. The updates should be up in February for RTR. Looking over the packages for RTR will also really help you get a feel for the level of material in the program. The packages are coming in Feb. too.

Just some food for thought.

Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie,
You are amazing that you take the time to give one on one replies! I guess I need to update my kids' ages. By the start of next school year 2010-2011, my kids would be 10 years old (4th grade) and 12 years old (7th grade). That would put them both in the RTR age bracket. My younger one actually reads books older than her grade level. It's my 7th grader that really operates better at a grade level below. I will be sure and keep a look out for the updated placement chart. Also, I will be at the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention in April which I noticed you will be at, so it'll give me a chance to look at CTC in more detail and talk to you personally.

Thank you for your insight!

Kristi