NEED help: Placement and financial issues/questions?

[mombyHisgrace]

Hi everyone,

So I have 2 dc. My dd is a 10 yr old 4th grader and my ds is a 12 yr old 7th grader (working more on a 6th grade level). After looking at the placement chart, I believe my ds would place nicely in CTC and dd in Preparing. With the exception of them both being behind in math, LA and cursive writing. But I don't think that will be a problem? Problem is FINANCES. My husband is between jobs right now and as much as I would love to have them do these two seperate guides, I just can't afford them right now . Last year, my dc were doing strictly textbook work (still are) and they are B.O.R.E.D! Not to mention, I really want/NEED a curriculum that is Christ centered and help them grow a love for God's word!

SO.... questions are: if I combine them to save money, will preparing be too young for a child my ds's age? I want him to enjoy learning, but also want to challenge him. I know I can do the extensions with him, but would thar be too much reading for a child that currently doesn't read A
WHOLE LOT?

Lastly, my daughter really WANTS to do preparing. She wants to read grandpa's box LOL. I have heard so many wonderful things about preparing and really think she will ENJOY IT MORE than bigger. HOWEVER, I do have the Bigger guide and some of the books for bigger here. I am just not sure if she'll enjoy it the same :-/. Personally, I had a hard time getting into the history book with Bigger. What would u do?

Thanks!

[MelInKansas]

Preparing with extensions COULD work if they place in Preparing and CTC anyway. Math and LA can somewhat be done on the child's level. There is more writing and composition done by the child in each successive level but grammar, math, dictation can easily be customized.

The thing is for CTC he would be reading his history and doing a lot more on his own. I suppose since both of your children are a bit older you could have them read it on their own even though the guide isn't planned that way. They could do more of it independently. Although the reading level for those books is more for read-aloud than for the child to read.

I know they offer payment plans or you could buy part now and gradually keep buying it as you go along. If you call HOD they will work with you. It's well worth it! Plus if you bought Preparing and CTC then you'd only be buying consumables for the younger as she goes up. That makes it a lot easier to deal with (I am in this now, I just buy consumables and maybe a few extras for my younger kids and then the whole program for the oldest.

[Nealewill]

I was going to recommend the same. If you plan to combine them, I would probably combine them in Preparing and have the older child read the extensions. If not, then I would have the older child complete CTC on his own and then have the younger child complete Bigger with the extensions. I am not sure how far you got with Bigger but I can honestly say, now that we are a little bit farther in, we are reading more at a time and my son really likes that. With the age of your dd, you could easily have her do all of the reading on her own. I would only do Bigger and CTC if you want to keep them separate. The only thing I would be a little bit worried about with your son is that the science might not be enough for a 7th grader. I think the history would probably be fine, but you may want to have him do a different science. That is JMHO though. I guess I should add - I would probably have him complete the physical science kit from Rev to Rev. You could get the older level and then he would just do that 5 days week. It is 180 lessons and this way you wouldn't need to buy a different guide. Plus, this would give your 2 kids a little bit of separations but not a total separation. Also - they have payment plans. So I would inquire about that as well.

[StephanieU]

Since it sounds like a payment plan might be necessary, I would call HOD on Monday and talk to someone. THey can get the details on each child and give you the best option for placement in your budget.

[mombyHisgrace]

Thank you ladies! So, the Apologia science programs r too young for a 12 yr old 6th or 7th grader? I did not know that.

I read about the pymt plan option. But I wasn't sure if it was offered to families currently unemployed? It may not give a confidence or assurance of our ability to keep the monthly pymt commitment. I will look into it more.

My friend just got finished doing Bigger with extensions with her son. And she said the amount of reading each day was soooooo MUCH! Her son, though older, dreaded it. I didn't want to put that on my dd. Hmm... desicions... Thanks for all the suggestions!

[8arrows]

I would combine them in Preparing (extensions for the older) and use a different science for you older (There is no Apologia science in this level.) Preparing is a fun-filled year!

[mombyHisgrace]

Ok, thank you!

[mombyHisgrace]

I think my dd can be properly placed in both Bigger and preparing, so she is the easy one.

If I chose Preparing with Extensions for my ds (which as I understand it, is a lot of reading), would he still need to do the DITHOR program? What about the deluxe books for independent reading? Would all of that be too much reading/too time consuming?

And I did look at the sample days for preparing and CTC, and I have to say the dialogue and questions seemed to be too "young" for my ds. But maybe this is one of those things I won't really know til I just try....

Lastly, any suggestions for an age appropriate science program if I went with preparing for him? (In addition to the kit in rev to rev? ) CTC uses the apologia science so I am assuming that would be fine for his age/grade if I went that route? ...

Thanks so much again...

[Nealewill]

Yes, he would do the extensions, deluxe books for independent reading (this is where his note booking skills are worked on) and the DITHOR - that is literature study only. You would probably want to do level 4/5 or 6/7/8 with him here.

As for science for DS, since he is 7th grade, I would say you "could" do it but I think you would be much happier doing the science for either R2R or Rev to Rev. I think the animals book is absolutely fascinating, but at his age, he probably won't feel particularly challenged (JMHO). I think that doing the other sciences will put him much or grade level target and he will enjoy it more. Again - JMHO.

[mombyHisgrace]

Ok, thank you so much!

Actually, my ds is "registered" as 6th grade. So I am really considering this his 6th grade year. Even though technically if he was in PS he'd be 7th grade for his age.

So with that said, do u think the science in CTC would still be not challenging enough for a 6th grader? The science in R2R uses the Apologia astronomy. Do u think that's more fun and challenging than the zoology book? I did ask him if he wanted to learn about animals or planets and he chose planets lol. But I was reading the reviews on amazon for the zoology book and so many people loved it, even a few 12 yr olds. So it does confuse me. I actually have the astronomy book here. Started it with my dc several yrs ago and the reading seemed too challenging for them at the time, almost boring. So I decided to shelf it for a few yrs.

If I chose the science in Rev2Rev for CTC, what would he use when he gets to that guide? And would I have to purchase the other books in the science pack or even the guide itself to do the science? Sorry for all the additional questions :-/...

[StephanieU]

If you are using CtC for 6th grade, then it should be okay as written. The extensions would be up to you. Most people use CtC (as written) for 4th, 5th, or 6th grade. Then they use the extensions for 6th, 7th, and 8th graders, depending on reading level, maturity, etc. The science in CtC should be fine. Preparing science would probably be too light for a 6th/7th grader, but not CtC. The less you can modify the guides, the better. If you modify now, you will have to continue to modify, which can be a challenge.
Also note that the science in CtC is also human anatomy and medicine. It is definitely fine for a middle school student with the variety of topics covered.

[MomtoJGJE]

If he's doing CTC then it would be plenty... I would imagine even for a 7th grader, but I'm not 100% sure on that. However with Preparing, I would think you'd at least need to add in some extra reading from the library or something for the science. I don't think I'd do the science from a future guide because it gets meatier in CTC and up.

[mombyHisgrace]

Ok, thank u for all your help ladies! I appreciate it!

[Nealewill]

yes - I meant to reply earlier, for the 6th grader I think the science is plenty for CTC.