Need help planning for 9th grade. Carrie or Julie?

[Bramble74]

Hi!
My 13 yo son is finishing up Res to Ref. This was his first HOD guide since Beyond. We're so glad to be back! He has done Res to Ref without the extensions. He is using the physical science from Rev to Rev. We did not keep up with the IEW Middles Ages writing. (Failure on my part!) He has not had much for formal writing at all.

He will be 14 yo in August, and we want 2017/18 to be his freshman year. I would like him to use Rev to Rev. I love HOD's open and go feature, and so when I consider the things we will need to modify, I start to panic a bit that it won't get done. Would I be better to go into WG, so we could keep the open and go aspect?

If using Rev to Rev, these are my questions...
Am I understanding correctly from other threads that he would not need to do storytime, but would do the reading about history books, independent history study, and extensions? And that is one credit?
We should add to the government study and knock out that needed credit?
What to do for English, including literature, grammar, and composition, for the next 4 years? This is where we have been weakest in formal instruction. I am pleased with his narrations in Res to Ref. He had one time through Jr. Analytic Grammar and also their Mechanics program. We have done nothing formally for literature, and I am not interested in DITHOR. I have purchased it and sold it twice. :/
Is there any good reason to do MTMM science, or should I just have him do the science scheduled in WG? I don't want to put him "behind" on high school science. If doing MTMM science, what would the next four years look like for science?

Thank you for any assistance in thinking this through.

Bramble74
Mama to:
15 yo using various material
13 yo in Res to Ref
11 yo in Res to Ref
9 yo in BHFHG
7 yo in LHFHG
5 yo In LHFHG
1 yo

[Bramble74]

Also, are the sciences you chose for high school all sufficient enough for a student considering an engineering degree in college?

[Carrie]

Bramble,

If you are finding RTR to be a good fit for your son, then it may be wise to move into Rev2Rev for his 9th grade year. Since he hasn't had much in the way of formal writing instruction or formal literature instruction, I would typically lean toward doing what is within Rev2Rev for those areas along with DITHR Level 7/8 Book Pack. However, from what you've shared thus far, it is seeming that a more independent type program may be needed in those areas for the time being. With that in mind, you could definitely borrow the literature and writing from the World Geography guide to use with Rev2Rev. Both may be a challenge, but they would be more independent and be on grade level for high school. If the literature looked too overwhelming in the World Geography guide, you could potentially do just the BJU lit. text without the novels or do just the novels with DITHR 6/7/8 without the BJU lit. text. Either option would downsize how heavy the literature is but still keep your son moving forward in this needed area.

For grammar, I would do English 5 all in one year as planned in Rev2Rev. English 5 is a key year in Rod and Staff and will cover his bases well in this area. Even if you stall out and need to take more than one year to do English 5, it is good to keep going on through it until you finish it. It is a terrific level of Rod and Staff. We will definitely want to follow-up with English 6 after that!

You can omit the storytime and do the Extension books instead in Rev2Rev for high school. If the reading in the Extension Pack looks too heavy, he could instead do the Storytime books rather than the Extension package. He could look at both sets to see which appeals more.

For science, since you have already done the science in Rev2Rev this year, you could consider doing the IPC from the World Geography guide for science as well. This would be a good first year of high school science for your son. If he is headed toward a science degree, he should follow the science path of the high school guides. He could consider doing Physics instead of the Astronomy and Geology for his senior year if desired. But, you will know much more about his interests for college once you get to his senior year.

You could hold off on doing government for now, as getting formal literature and writing in will be much more important for his first year of high school. If he is college-bound we have to make the lit/comp/grammar a primary focus this year. We can always address the government part later, adding it in his junior or senior year.

I would also consider adding the Spanish from World Geography to his day to get him started on needed foreign language. Getting Started with Spanish is short and sweet and an easy way to begin that credit.

So, his credits would be as follows:
1 credit in U.S. History I
1 credit in Fundamentals of Literature/Composition
1 credit in Integrated Physics and Chemistry with Lab
1 credit in Math (Algebra I hopefully)
1/2 credit in Spanish I
1/2 credit in Bible (if you add additional free time Bible reading to the Rev2Rev plans or sub this out with World Geography's Bible. The World Geography Bible is worth 1 credit but will quite a bit more intensive. If he liked the Bible in RTR, I would probably stay with the Bible as written in Rev2Rev.)
1/2 credit in Fine Arts: Music Appreciation

Blessings,
Carrie

[Bramble74]

Thank you so much, Carrie! I truly appreciate your time and response. I do already own WG guide, BJU lit, and the science (all purchased for my older son), so this will be perfect.