Our days will be too long in WG

[Mumkins]

We'll be doing WG in the fall. Grade 9 has 8 credits here. So, I was just going to switch out Spanish for French and make it a whole credit and add 1 credit of Canadian geography. A problem I'm running into is credits are 110 hours. Much shorter than an HOD credit. WG alone takes 6 1/2 hours as scheduled. Now, add in 2 more classes a day and it's a looking day. 8 hours of school. I added in 2 15 minute breaks and one 45 minute break. I know she's looking forward to a 4 day school week, but, I might have to just put a morning of French and an afternoon of Canadian geography on day 5. I'm trying to figure out if I can maybe extend 1/2 credits a little to make them whole as ours are so much shorter. I feel like we'll be doing a lot more than required for each credit. I guess, including homework, most kids would probably do 8 a day hours of school in the public system, right? It just seems like such a long day to start at 8:15 and be done at 5:30.

[MelInKansas]

Yes, definitely consider the fact that if your child was going to a public high school, they would spend 8 hours a day in class and then come home with about 2 hours of homework a day as well. Even though I feel like HOD is rigorous, and sometimes the days feel long (even in CTC), I have to remember that my child doesn't have any homework. When school is done, it's done. And I have also found that as you get into the guide and used to the routine of it it can be shorter than what they have allotted. I love those days that just clip along and end early! Of course that depends on each child's reading speed and ability to complete the assignments quickly. My DD is a fast reader, and her comprehension and retention using HOD has improved greatly so she usually doesn't need to go back for any more information.

[StephanieU]

If you feel you need to cut something, you could skip some of the living library, as that isn't included in the credit count.
As for how long a day is for a "normal" high schooler, the ones in our areas are 7 hours total (7:30-2:30). That is 7 classes with a 30 minute lunch. I would consider HOD honors level, so I would bet those students have 1-2 hours of homework a day. So, I don't think 8 hours of school work is terrible.

[Mumkins]

Our schools here have four 75 minute classes a day and a 75 minute lunch break. So, much shorter, but an hour or 2 or more of homework would be normal. Plus, the entire extra day of school. Full credit courses were only 1 semester too. It just seems like such a long day. But when you add in the extra day and the homework, it's not so bad.

[Tidbits of Learning]

I think it does depend on where you are how long classes are normally scheduled and what constitutes a credit. Here they do block scheduling with 4-90 min. classes a semester for a full credit. They get 8 credits a year. Yours sounds similar with 75 min. classes for full credits. I would look at how many credits my student needs and plan accordingly. I might would take the 2 extra classes and split them over the 2 semesters. Say French 1 semester for a full credit and do the 75 min. classes and the Canadian Geography the 2nd semester with 75 min. classes. That way you aren't tacking too much onto WG. Do you need both Spanish and French? If not, I would drop the Spanish. Dropping Spanish and blocking one class one semester and the other the 2nd should keep the day from being too long. If you make the French and Geo a 75 min. class (5 days a week) each semester for 18 weeks it equals 110 hours. It would make it 6 hours from HOD and 1 1/4 hours for French and Canadian Geo each semester that would make 7 1/4 hour days-4 days a week and a 75 min. class on Fridays.
Anyway, just a thought on how you could do them without making it 8+ hours a day.

[Mumkins]

Thank you! That's a great idea. We aren't planning on Spanish. I don't have my geography yet and I'm not sure what French will be like, but, I'll definetly look into splitting them.