8arrows gave some great insight here! She is a mom who is making combining work beautifully for her dc. I really like her ideas and thoughts here.
I'll try to help out as well. I'll match your questions here with answers...
I have not figured out how the extension pack and DITHOR works with our older. Is that overkill on the reading? Do you do one or the other?
The extension package is to extend the history for your older child. DITHOR is the reading instruction for your child. So, they have different purposes and skills.
DITHOR needs to be done for sure, though you can start it a few months in if you would like to get into the swing of the rest of the guide first. The Extension Package should be done if your child is a good reader. The Extension Package is meant to be independent and should not add all that much time to the day. There is a rotation of follow-up activities noted at the start of the Extension Package reading schedule in the Appendix of PHFHG. If the extensions' follow-up activities prove to be too much, your dd can always just read the extensions as well. Keep in mind the DITHOR Book Packs and the Extension Package books are all outstanding, living books! Chances are, your dd won't be able to put them down anyway.
We have also have "The Logic of English," IEW, Apologia Astronomy and Botony, and TT on our schedule, so that's something to consider. My youngest has to learn cursive, so we have to fit that in.
TT fulfills dd's math area and will be just fine to do. For science, you could have dd do PHFHG's science, and on the fifth day each week do her Apologia Botany. I'd not do the Apologia Astronomy as it's scheduled in RevtoRev and has excellent living books and activities already planned and partnered with it. "The Logic of English" - well, only you can know about that. I think it might be overkill as HOD's LA is so well balanced already, and very thorough. IEW - maybe the 2 days a week when you aren't doing DITHOR, and a third day each week on the fifth day you aren't schooling? Or, just enjoy the PHFHG creative writing lessons with the poetry, and add "Igniting Your Writing 1" on the off DITHOR days. Cursive - no big deal. HTH!
Our state requires English 1-4 for high school. I've read conflicting on the board about how to credit Rev to Rev and MTMM. I 've read it can either count for 1 credit American History or Western Civ for history credit (which Western Civ wouldn't go for the history credit). But how does that work for English 1 and 2? If the two years only count for one year of history, is the same true for English? Will the new high school guides provide better for the English thing?
The reason you are reading conflicting things is because RevtoRev and MTMM are not written for the target age range of high school, but rather just with history extensions for high school. However, they are very meaty guides, and as such truly can be used for high school with some creative beefing up.
RevtoRev and MTMM can count as 1 credit American History. English credit is awarded for a balance of grammar, composition, and lit. For RevtoRev, you can certainly use DITHOR 6/7/8 for the lit part with high school titles... here is a link to help with that...
DITHOR Titles for High School:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7765&p=56997#p56997
Personally, I'd just get the next guide (World Geography) and use that Lit plan during MTMM - and I'd do that for each year after, using the next guide's plans for Lit. But, you can do something else if you'd rather. For grammar, R & S English 7 can be done over 9th and 10th grade, and R & S English 8 can be done over 11th and 12th grade. For composition, "The Exciting World of Creative Writing" (scheduled in MTMM) is already appropriate for high school. "Write with the Best 2" (scheduled in MTMM) is also high school credit worthy. The "World Geography" guide is already high school credit worthy in all areas, as will be each subsequent guide. So, you're covered!
The new high school guides account for every single credit needed - and then some - in answer to that part of your question.
If you have a high schooler, will you move to using the high school guides and not work to combine with the youngers? If so, I would do CtC in 7th grade, RtR in 8th and move into the high school stuff for my older while continuing on with Rev to Rev with my younger?
I would not skip guides if your older child is appropriately placed. Carrie had these wise words to share in regard to this on another thread...
This is a great question, because it is one that so many families will face! I just wanted to share my perspective on this important topic, as I will have experienced this very thing with my own oldest son. I find it interesting that my oldest will not have finished all of our guides. In fact, he is ahead of my writing and misses out on many of the wonderful things we have planned within our guides. Yet, he has benefitted greatly from any of the areas he has been able to use from our guides.
In looking at my next son, who is on the verge of high school right now (and will be a 9th grader this fall), I can honestly say that he has had a richer homeschool path being able to use all of the HOD guides as written. Yet, if he were only going to miss one or even several of the guides and still be able to use HOD, I think I would still say that his education was richer overall than my oldest son's has been without HOD.
This leads me to advise that it is more important to place your students where they are at skill-wise in order for them to truly be successful in HOD, rather than pondering how to fit in all of the guides. If that means leaving off some of the end guides in the HOD line-up, then it does. Their education will still be very rich, and much more balanced, then most of us probably had in our high school education. Plus, the Biblical aspect of the guides will also hopefully lead to a deeper spiritual communion with our Lord and lead to a deeper understanding of His Word (and that is benefit that cannot be measured)! This benefit will deepen from using as many of the guides as possible on your homeschool journey, but also comes from our Lord Himself (meaning there is no set amount of guides that must be completed to this end, because it is our Lord who ultimately equips us)!
This is why, from my perspective, the ending path for each family through HOD may differ. That is actually a good thing, because it means that we are truly looking at kiddos as individuals and charting their course based on their skills, needs, aspirations, and future plans. It also allows us to look at the whole child as part of the family unit and ponder the special circumstances under which he/she is functioning as part of placement. I love that!
So, while it may bother us in our head not to complete all the guides, it may be the better path for the child not to complete all the guides (which we will ultimately know and accept in our heart).
I agree with her thoughts here. So, you would just continue to move your combined duo up the guides together, but up the areas in the ways described here for your high school student.
...has anyone done CtC in 7th with Apologia General Science? It has made me realize that even if I have both boys in the same guide, I will have to do different sciences. Don't think I should put my 4th grader in General Science.
As 8arrows said, and as you are saying here, I'd not put your 4th grader in General Science. RevtoRev has high school credit worthy physical science as an advanced option with "Exploration Education," and it is amazing! I'd personally do that. For MTMM, there are easy to implement ideas here on the board for upping the science on the 5th day (I believe adding science DVD's). After that, the guides are high school credit worthy already.
I hope this has helped!
If I could say one thing, I'd say not to add, add, add things to the HOD guides - other than appropriate math - as the guides can often be customized already in virtually every area to be 'enough.' I think you will love HOD! It truly is a wonderful way to homeschool.
In Christ,
Julie
) Our state requires English 1-4 for high school. I've read conflicting on the board about how to credit Rev to Rev and MTMM. I 've read it can either count for 1 credit American History or Western Civ for history credit (which Western Civ wouldn't go for the history credit). But how does that work for English 1 and 2? If the two years only count for one year of history, is the same true for English? Will the new high school guides provide better for the English thing?