So glad to be of any help!
I could not agree with you more in your comments below! Doing a guide as is is such a help to us as homeschool moms...
Mercy wrote:...Doing a guide "as is" for this child I think is key. Time and expenses play a big role for us too. And...ease for ME of being able to feel confident as a teacher of my first high school student!...
Your comments here resonated with me as a mom of a teenage ds myself...
Mercy wrote:...Anything *I* write in may be a battle. Lol! Ahem. That is my main concern, not that he cannot handle the material...but how much trouble will I have...
I find there is no 'battle of the wills' when we are able to do a guide 'as is.'
To address your question here...
Mercy wrote:Time wise, high school is expected to be longer...either way, using extentions or the high school guide is about the same, correct?...
6 1/2 hours each day is the approximate expected time for the "World Geography" guide when doing all parts as is. 4 1/2 to 5 hours is the approximate time for the MTMM guide when doing all parts as is. Based on this, I would anticipate that the MTMM with extensions may take less time than the WG guide, depending on what you'd add to it.
Here are a few posts more specific about the time the WG will take taking into account individual boxes/skills, as well as the layout of the guide, in case that may help...
Time for Geography guide:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13551
Layout of right and left sides of Geography:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13521
8arrows found these helpful quotes from Carrie in previous threads in regard to the Basic/Ext. Packages for RevtoRev and MTMM for high school...
These two responses from Carrie are why I thought the basic package was optional if you are doing REV2REV (or MTMM) for high school:
Much of the meat of the program is in the Student Notebook, so you wouldn't want to move toward doing the Extensions in place of the Student Notebook. The guide honestly wouldn't work without the Student Notebook
Instead, we would expect a high school student to fully complete all of Rev2Rev and MTMM, and to do it well. The only part you could forego if your child is in the high school range for those guides is the Basic Package (and only if you use the Extension Package could you do this). Instead, to make the Extensions high school worthy, you will want to employ some of the follow-ups suggested in the guide for the Extension Package. These would include oral narrations, written narrations, and some additional notebooking (all of which could be filed in the main Student Notebook).
Blessings,
Carrie
Great responses here! I agree wholeheartedly. In the guides previous to high school, it is advisable to have your child listen in to the Basic Package (or read them himself/herself) and also do the Extension books if he/she is in the Extension range. However, once a child hits the formal high school years (and subjects like math, science, and literature really begin taking a huge chunk of time each day) it makes sense to keep the study of history in balance with the rest of the day.
So, the concern at that age becomes making the study of history high school worthy in depth and content and also in keeping it from overloading the child's day. At that point, the Extension Package becomes key for a high school student, and the Basic Package (while truly wonderful) becomes secondary and even optional in the balance of the day.
Blessings,
Carrie
Carrie also had this to say in general in regard to high school placement, in case this may be helpful...
Placement becomes trickier as a child gets older, because it isn't always as readily apparent where a child fits skill-wise. Maturity also begins to play more of a role in placement, as does independence, and work habits. A child heading into the high school HOD guides will also have to be committed to a longer school day. Each of these areas will play a huge role in a student's success and overall feelings about high school. So, all of these areas have to be weighed. Then, there also begins to be the state requirements and college entrance requirements to be met as students head through their high school years, so all of these areas become a part of weighing correct placement too!
So, I usually end up going back to the placement chart first to gain placement knowledge (paying the most attention to the first page of the chart) with the 3R's heavily in mind. Next, I weigh the science as kiddos are heading into the high school years. After that I begin weighing the other deciding factors: maturity, independence, work habits, commitment to longer days, and state/college requirements. Usually, by that point I have a clearer picture of what the "right" placement for that student might be. Then, I recommend bathing the decision in prayer and waiting on the Lord to see if He confirms the decision.
In the end the decision of whether to use a certain guide or not really comes down to the best placement all around. However, in placement it is very wise not to overlook maturity, work habits, independence, and commitment to a longer school day! If a student is needing extra time in any of the 3R's, I would never bump that child forward past a guide. If a student struggles or is a bit behind in math, I would definitely keep in mind then how much time math will add to a child's day as math gets harder as you go up! This additional time needed to complete math each day, would make the high school guides much longer than we intend. So, I wouldn't bump a child struggling in math forward either. I would also never bump that child forward in the sciences (as the sciences become driven by math skills in high school). If a student did not have strong, independent work habits, or a willingness to commit to longer school days, with an increased work load (then I wouldn't bump that child forward either, or you'll be dragging him/her along for years to come). If a student has health issues or family issues or commitments in many outside areas, I would make sure to balance school accordingly so that it doesn't add additional pressures that would overwhelm the student. I could go on, but you're getting the picture that placement advice is affected by so many personal factors! This makes it impossible to give pat answers.
Finally, here is Carrie's response to the question "Not finishing all the guides, will it bother you?"
...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).
Blessings,
Carrie
I hope I didn't overwhelm you with too much information here, but I thought if any of this could help as you and your dh sit down to discuss this, that it would then be worth referencing. HTH!
In Christ,
Julie
I expect this will be the case no matter what guide we choose. I intend to alter the guides a little and allow him to type many of the writing assignments, because that is a major source of trouble for him. He does great at oral narrations and the various written reports he has done throughout the past few years. I bought R&S 7 for him and there are a few topics he will need guidance with, but I think he will be fine with that. Math he is working on algebra now. He has done a lot of volunteer work in the past and is anxious to get a job. He has his sights on being a physicist, although I have to admit I am just hoping he can have the dedication to make it through high school. 
