High School--Rev to Rev or Geography guide?

[Mamochka5]

Hi ladies,

Sorry to bug you again. I am just trying to figure out everything. My oldest ds is in 9th this year. He is my most academic kid of all of them. At least, so far. He did HOD with CTC and RTR. (He had a co-op last year, so he didn't do the Rev to Rev guide.) My question is, should I put him in Rev to Rev for 9th, and MTMM for 10th? Or go right into Geography and the high school cycle. My original thought was to just skip the two guides we missed and jump right into the high school guide, since the credits are all figured out, it wouldn't need tweaking, etc. (Would Rev to Rev and MTMM count as 2 years of World History if beefed up??) Any thoughts?

We would use HOD for all of his subjects, except Science and foreign language. He is taking an Honors level Physical Science class w/lab. This class requires a research paper and participation in a science fair. It makes the class a 1.5 credit class. He is also doing a Russian class online twice a week. (I may take over teaching that next semester, we will see.)

Will he be too overwhelmed with the Geography guide with this class? Or will it be beneficial, as it is teaching how to write a research paper?

Thank you,

Liz

[my3sons]

I just asked about your 9th grader on another thread, I do believe! So, I wanted to link you to the placement chart here, and have you look carefully at the World Geography guide's columns, and share your thoughts, please.
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-yo ... school.php

You can also look at the placement chart for RevtoRev and MTMM here...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

My first thought is I cannot imagine jumping a student from RTR to the World Geography guide - but who knows, maybe it was a phenomenal year of growth? You could actually do RevtoRev for 9th, MTMM for 10th - and call that American History. Then WG for 11th for World Geography, and then World History for 12th. This would cover all of your credits nicely. RevtoRev has a high school science option. MTMM is enough science when adding DVD's on the fifth day. WG would be fine, as would the WH guide for 12th. You could always do the lit/grammar from the guide above the core ds is doing if ds is needing more in that area.

Or, maybe the WG would be a good fit? You will know best, but I will say this - choose the guide ds can truly do the "I" boxes successfully independently. This will honestly result in the best year and the most learning anyway. Students doing all of a guide as it's intended provides more depth of learning than students doing only a portion of a guide with us as parents filling in to help. You will know best - but if you get the chance to share your thoughts in light of the placement chart - we'd all chime in more with more specific placement help!

In Christ,
Julie

[Mamochka5]

Hi Julie,

Thank you for responding! Going through the placement chart, I don't see a huge difference in writing requirements, as far as length of narrations, etc. unless I'm missing something. (??) It's hard to tell just from the boxes. He had an intense writing/literature analysis class outside of the home last school year and it really has improved his writing. He loves to read....and read. Grammar-wise, he has just finished Growing with Grammar 7 (which lines up fairly well in scope and sequence with Rod and Staff, but is strictly grammar, unlike R&S, which also has writing assignments).

No matter which guide we do, we won't be doing the Science boxes, as he is doing an honors Physical Science this year, and will hopefully continue with that path the next three years. I think I mentioned that he is required to do a research paper this year for that class. It will require analysis, research, and writing skills, as he will be using Physical Science to argue for creation vs. evolution. We would also not do the foreign language box, as we are doing Russian on our own. So, history, English/writing/literature, Bible, and Algebra are what we need!

My concerns with doing Rev to Rev in 9th (instead of the Geography guide) are:

1) It may require quite a bit of tweaking that will make the open and go format be lost and; therefore, make it less independent.

2) Credits. If he does Rev to Rev and MTMM and those are his American history years (instead of the upper two guides), how do I schedule in US Government, Personal Finance, Logic, and Economics? He should do US Gov. and Econ when he does US History, but I don't think he should do Gov/Econ. in 9th/10th grade. (??) Also, adding those in (as well as Logic, which will be our elective this year) would mean adding in additional subjects to an already full guide. This is my main sticking point on this. Maybe you can explain how it would work better?? The upper two US History guides will have Econ and Govt already scheduled into their time slots. Is the US History for those two years 1 credit each, or .5 each?? It's hard to plan when they aren't written yet, so I may not be making sense.

I'd still appreciate any feedback from you. Any thoughts??

Thanks!

[Mamochka5]

Or.....do MTMM for 9th as 1 credit US Geography? Then, Geo for 10th, WH for 11th, and Econ/US Govt. for 12th? My head is starting to hurt.

Thoughts?? Please?

Thanks!

[LynnH]

We are doing MTMM now and I don't see that it would count as US Geography, unless you meant US History. I would consider it more Modern US History, then 10th would be World Geography, 11th World History and 12th would be Early American History with Government and you would need to fit Economics in here or up the Economics in MTMM for that 1/2 credit.

What I am seeing from people that are using the World Geography guide it is a huge step up from MTMM as far as the amount of reading and for some the time required. It sounds like maybe your ds could handle the skills, but I guess you would just have to figure out if he is ready for the work load. I am guessing for my ds it will add at least 1 1/2 hours to his day from what MTMM is taking him. I would also think that the science your ds is doing would be more time intensive each day than what is scheduled in the Word Geography guide so you would need to consider that also.

[Mamochka5]

Oops! Thanks, Lynn. I did mean US History for MTMM. I think I read on here (some place) that if I did MTMM with extension readings it would be a full US History credit. Is that correct, or no?

I don't want to overwhelm my son. I was a little concerned when I read on here that the Geography day is about 7 hours. That does seem like a big jump. hmm....

Thanks!!

[Mamochka5]

Bumping for Julie or Carrie. Any thoughts? Sorry to pester....I'm very anxious to figure it out so I can order. My ds is almost out of stuff to do.

Thanks!

[my3sons]

I have not been on the board now for the past month much as our Dad has been ill, so I have not read all about the World Geography times yet. I will say we have done the WG plans for 4 days now, and Wyatt is not taking 7 hours, maybe more like 6 to 6 1/2. He is also doing the Living Library and the science lab. He is doing Foerster's Algebra 1 and the complete English with Boy Set package. He is a quick reader and succinct writer, he has done all parts of every one of HOD's previous guides, and he is also a no frills guy when it comes to discussions. Having a student that loves lengthy discussions, having a more contemplative slower paced reader/writer, or having a student that did not do HOD's previous guides (or did not do all of HOD's assigned work within guides) all could make the day longer, I believe. Here is our current schedule...


I guess maybe that's around 6 to 6 1/2 hours or so? I haven't timed it exactly. Maybe it'll get longer if science labs are longer later? Anyway, before I do a bunch of advising for your ds about making RevtoRev or MTMM work - did you get a chance to look over the WG placement chart and plans? Does it seem like he is ready for all of that? If so, I'd just have him do the WG plans.

I've been meaning to post the approximate time allotments for the WG guide. Here they are...

World Geography box: 35-45 min.
Living Library: 20-25 min.
Geography Activity: 20-25 min.
World Religions and Cultures: 20-25 min.
Foreign Language: 25-30 min. (with audio online practice included)
Logic: 20-25 min. (longer on discussion days)
R & S English/Essentials in Writing/Dictation: 30 min.
BJU Lit/Boy Set: 40-45 min.
Math: 60 min.
Bible Study: 40-50 min. (plus the devotional once weekly in addition to this as part of the Bible credit)
Science with Lab: 40-60 min.

I guess that is 7 hours (if you look at the longer times to allow for longer assignments), which means with everything for receiving credits, about 6 to 6 1/2 hours would be the shorter version for completing all work each day. We just loved the books and didn't want to miss them!

In Christ,
Julie

[Mamochka5]

Hi Julie,

Thank you for responding again! I posted this a little earlier with regards to the placement chart. I think this is what you mean?? "Going through the placement chart, I don't see a huge difference in writing requirements, as far as length of narrations, etc. unless I'm missing something. (??) It's hard to tell just from the boxes. He had an intense writing/literature analysis class outside of the home last school year and it really has improved his writing. He loves to read....and read. Grammar-wise, he has just finished Growing with Grammar 7 (which lines up fairly well in scope and sequence with Rod and Staff, but is strictly grammar, unlike R&S, which also has writing assignments).

No matter which guide we do, we won't be doing the Science boxes, as he is doing an honors Physical Science this year, and will hopefully continue with that path the next three years. I think I mentioned that he is required to do a research paper this year for that class. It will require analysis, research, and writing skills, as he will be using Physical Science to argue for creation vs. evolution. We would also not do the foreign language box, as we are doing Russian on our own. So, history, English/writing/literature, Bible, and Algebra are what we need! " We are planning to use Foerster's, as well.

Does that sound like he'd be on target for WG, even without doing the two guides after RTR? That was my original plan, but after reading about length of day, etc. on the boards, I got a little scared. But I'm thinking maybe it will work okay? Obviously doing the other guides requires more tweaking, but I'm sure it's doable.

Any thoughts on that?

I'm sorry your dad is ill. I hope he recovers quickly.

Thanks!!

[Tiffini]

Hi, Liz,
It sounds like you are really having a hard time making a decision on this! I've been there before and I know how crazy the mental back and forth makes me!

I will weigh in here with my thoughts since I believe I am the poster that said it took my dd 7 hours that you have referred to. We just finished week 4 of the WG guide! I cannot say enough good things about it. I mean, I truly, truly love the content in this Guide. I personally am learning SO much and it has grown and challenged my faith. I am especially loving the World Religions and Culture portion. Oh, how I wish I could have learned this way in high school. The Mimosa book I am reading right now is just truly astonishing and faith-growing!

Anyway, back to the topic... Some days, it does really take my dd 7 hours to complete. Some days, it is less. The length of readings and assignments do vary from day to day so that changes things. You said your son loves to read which is good as there is a lot of reading involved. If he can read and comprehend quickly and is proficient with writing (there is quite a bit involved), he should be able to keep up. Remember, too, that it is a 4 day plan, so you can spread the work of 4 days out over 5 days if you need to and that would help as well.

My dd is involved in outside activities (she goes to a barn once a week to train horses and do manual labor and she goes to another farm to help with their puppy breeding business once a week). These outside activities have challenged us as it is pretty hard to complete a full day of work and also be gone for half the day. So, if your son has things like this going on, that would be something to consider as well to know if he would do better with the lighter workload of MtMM or the heavier workload of WG. That is where the 4 day a week plan has come in so handy for us. My dd does half of a school day on each of the two days that she is out of the house. I believe that was Carrie's intention when she wrote the guide this way - to allow for the student to have time to pursue outside activities and keep up with school. I especially appreciate her genius in this regard as my dd may very well pursue animal training as a career and HOD has allowed her to be doing these intern type activities and school at the same time!

If you feel that your son is able to write 3-4 paragraph narrations fairly easily and able to read fairly long portions from many different sources daily, then I think he could handle the WG guide. Interest might be a factor as well. If he interested in understanding Christianity better and the cultures and religions of the world, then he would definitely love using this guide. If he does not have an interest in these kinds of things yet, then maybe reconsider MtMM.

I hope I did not confuse you more. These are just some of my thoughts. I feel your pain, sister!

(Julie, I am praying for your dad. I'm so sorry he is sick again.)

[Tiffini]

Oh, Liz, one more thing I forgot to mention. I do include our review time in the daily school time. This time amounts from 30 mins. to an hour, depending on the day. Also, she listens in to the MtMM read alouds that I do with my twin 8th graders each day which also adds to her school time. So, if I counted only the time she is spending on her work, it would probably be closer to the 6 to 6-1/2 hour time frame.

[Mamochka5]

Hi Julie,

Thanks for posting your schedule. That's helpful.

I've decided to go ahead and order the Geography program, rather than continue to beat my head against the wall, trying to figure out another option. - That will require the least amount of tweaking and I think my ds can handle to amount of reading and writing. (At least, I hope so!!) My ds, after I decided to order Geo, said, "Oh, I was hoping to do American History." I told him he can do it in 11th and 12th. He has been reading his sister's Notgrass American History book in his free time, so he can get his fill that way. He just likes the wars, I think. I did have him go through the book write ups used in the Geo guide and he said they look really interesting. He is excited about the DVDs (as am I.)

Thank you, Tiffini, for your post. He does have some outside activities (one being his science class that we have to drive 20 min each way to), so he will have to start earlier that day and continue when we get home. That's a good point about Fridays. The MTMM looks so good, but the Geography/Cultures guide looks excellent, too. I'm hoping the forthcoming American History guides are good and meaty. My ds has not really studies the world wars in huge depth, so he would like to do that more, too.

I have also decided to try Preparing with my 9 and 11 y.o. together and hopefully their pair well. Their personalities do not always click, so hopefully this will help that and not make it worse.

Thank you for your input. I am a pretty indecisive person by nature, I'm afraid, and tend to research everything to the point of completely confusing myself.

Thanks!

[momof2n2]

Great thread.
As I have an 8th grader doing Rev to Rev, he too will not have enough years in school to do all the guides. I expect we will have to omit WG (which kills me b/c I am a Geography nut!).

[Tiffini]

Liz,
I'm glad you made your decision! I know that is a huge relief! I think you will absolutely love the WG guide. It should arrive very shortly and you can begin!

Momof2n2,
I hate to hear that you plan to skip the WG guide. It's not just about Geography - it is so much more! We are only 4 weeks into it, and already I believe this is a pivotal year for my daughter in cementing WHAT she believes and WHY. The exposure to the world religions and comparisons to Christianity are just invaluable. And the real life stories of those who have lived in those godless religions and then come to Christ - just priceless! Even if you can't do the whole guide, I would try to read the books during the summer or fit them in somehow - that is how much I love them!

[momof2n2]

Hi Tiffani
thanks for your insight. The bottom line is we just won't have enough time to do all the guides, unless DS stays in school an extra year.
My kids (with no excuses - it is just who we are) have not been ready to start CTC at grade 5. Because of the line up of ages, baby years, etc., I've needed to combine some kids in the lower grades and perhaps they did not get that extra push along the way to BE ready by grade 5. But life is what it is, and golly... those babies have been work it. ♥ But I'm ending up trying to decide which one to eliminate when they all sound so good. It's like picking a dessert, you KWIM?

We do have time the summer before and after MTMM that I could plug in the books for reading. I'm all about reading.

Honestly, I'm not even sure what NYS says we HAVE to have. I'll look into that today. But I don't really care too much about completing what Caesar says we have to complete. I want to just prepare them for what God calls them to do.

Thanks for letting me jump in here Liz.