You have to ask yourself what it is that you like about HOD. I have heard many say that they love the book selections from HOD. If it is the book selections that you like, then you can easily add those books to your book basket. HTH:001_smile:

Karen, Thank you so much for comparing the two. You have really confirmed to me that ctc is the right level to place him in. As I said before, I would rather add the extentions if needed then having him frustrated in rtr. After all the great advice , I feel very confident to go ahead and order ctc. I'm trying to hold out for a used copy, but I can't wait to get my hands on the teachers manuel!:D

Thank you! It's very helpful to know that the 4 day week can be done realistically. It frees us up to join a coop.:D

I have researched this on the HOD forum, and it does look like a great plan. The reasons that I didn't go this route is that I think that my 15 yr. old would like his own independant program, and I really needed everything planned out for me. I also just purchased MFW Ancients, so no looking back now!:lol: But thank you for the advice. I may go that route with my younger son if HOD doesn't have a hs currr. when he gets there.

Birchbark, I forgot to ask you one more question. Can ctc realistically be done within a 4 day schedule? I'm debating joing a coop ,but if I truely need 5 days to complete a week of ctc I may not join. Decisions,decisions:D

I agree with you that starting with ctc will give him a chance to get used to the Charlotte Mason style writing ( dictation,copywork). I would rather add the extentions to ctc if I needed to, rather than having him discouraged in rtr if it is too difficult. When I looked at the samples for rtr it looked like it required much more reading then ctc. Is this correct? My son reads well but he doesn't enjoy it. One of my goals this year is to gently instill a love of reading in him. I loved your description of HOD where you listed all of the positives. :001_smile:You are very encouraging! I am also looking forward to strong bible, poetry, art ete... It looks like a wonderful program. Another benefit of ctc is that I wanted to have my son study ancients. My highschool student will also be studying ancients using MFW . Different programs, but it's nice to have them both in the same time period. I just wanted to make sure that I am placing him correctly in ctc because he falls between the two levels . Thank you so much for your advice.:D

Emily, You and I are in the same boat! I am using HOD for my younger son, and I also have a 15 yr. old that I wanted to use it with. After researching the HOD forum, and trying to put together a plan to use it with my 15 yr. old, I have decided to use MFW Ancients. I feel much more confident going this route for my hs. student. Hopefully HOD will have highschool levels in time for my younger son. If not ,MFW Ancients looks awesome!:001_smile:

Karen, I will be using HOD with my son this fall. I am new to HOD and I am so encouraged by all the great reviews. I was wondering if you could compare the writing and reading skills between ctc and rtr for me. You see, my son places between the two levels. Does rtr have ALOT more reading then ctc. Is the dictation much more difficult in rtr then it is in ctc. If you can compare the two levels for me you would really be helping me out. Thank you!:D

I am planning on using HOD CTC in the fall with my soon to be 6th grade son. I am sooooo excited! I haven't bought anything yet, and it is driving me crazy! I am looking to buy used if I can, so I've been searching ebay and all the boards. I wish I would have found this years ago. My son looked at the samples and he loves it too!:D

Julie, Thank you for the recommendation, but my son needs a good review of the basic operations. You see, he went to school for the first time this year and is finishing up algebra 1 with a B+. He had a weak foundation before going on to algebra, and really needed a good year of prealg. instead. The school didn't offer pre. alg for 9th graders only alg. 1, so that's where they placed him( against my better judgement). The problem is that the school has allowed him to use a calculator, and he has told me that he doesn't know how to solve problems without a calculator. He can solve equations because he has all the steps memorized, but he can't do the basic math( fractions, decimals ete...) without a calculator. So I am planning on using the Key To books ,not to teach algebra ,but to cement all the basic math that he is weak in. I am planning on homeschooling him again this fall ,so I am trying to fill any gaps over the summer so that I can give him a placement test for next year. Math Relief looks like it may be a good option for algebra after he reviews the basics. Thank you for taking the time to post. I appreciate everyones good advice.:001_smile:

Yes, it is nice to have a plan! I feel very confident that the Key To books are going to be a good project for the summer. Almost everyone here has told me that they would fit the bill for filling in those holes. I am thrilled to hear that it is realistic to complete them over the summer. I would like to thank all of you who took the time to respond. You have been a tremendous help to me.:D God bless you.

You ladies are awesome! You have no idea how much all of you are encouraging me. I am definitely going to go ahead and order the Key To books today. I also love that they have something online,I never knew that. I know that the time it's going to take me to get him up to speed shouldn't be a main concern,but I am concerned about the highschool sequence. Could I realistically have him go through these books over the summer? If not, what would I list on his h.s transcript for math? Also, do you think the Key to books are self explanatory? Remember, I am terrible at math myself:confused:. I was asked if he had his facts down. Yes, he did at one time,but I'll probably have to have him refresh his memory. FYI I decided to do an extra year of h.s. In my mind I'm repeating 9th grade,in his mind,he's just getting an extra year of h.s. I know this sounds severe,but I was less than impressed with all of his classes this year. I also want a second chance to start h.s over the right way. I feel like we wasted an entire year. Thanks again for all your help.

I think I'm leaning towards using the Key To books. My son used them way back in elementary school and liked them. I read the post about LOF not being a good fit for this situation,but more of a fun book. So, I think Key To is my best bet so far. I also have a friend who has module A of Videotext. She said that it is pre.alg. Do you think that Videotext could be a good fit? Does anyone have any experience with this curr.? I've heard some mixed reviews as far as the review in this program and that it is better suited to more mathy type kids. My friend said that there is more review problems online and that she uses some of the quizes for the purpose of review. I also like that one module can be purchased at a time and that it starts with pre.alg. I do trust and like Saxon,especially with the video instruction that I really do need. But in the past I always thought my son would do better with a more mastery type program. I have the 8/7 book,but I know that he'll be kicking and screaming if I make him work through it over the summer.:001_huh:Either way, I think I'm definitely going to order the key to books. I'm just wondering if Videotext would have provided the pre. alg my son needs and then he could have continued with alg. What do you think? I know that I'm all over the place with what I should use,but I really can't afford to mess this up. You ladies have already been such a blessing with you r advice! Your giving me some good options to think about.

He needed the calculator to do ALL of the problems on the placement test. In his school there are 3 levels of math in 9th grade- Intermediate Alg.1,Academic Alg.1,and Honors Alg. 1. He is in the Intermediate Alg.1, but supposedly the Intermediate class uses the same curriculum at a slower pace. I think they use a Mcdougal? book. Not sure.He has had a B almost the entire year. I was very suprised by this considering his lack of a foundation. Do you know if the Key to Books are equivalent to pre-alg.? Brindee just recommended LOF.which may be an option also. My son has an English/Lit bent so LOF may be interesting to him. Thank you both for replying. I knew I came to the right place.

My 9th grade son who has been homeschooled up to this point,has spent his first year in public school. Eventhough we have an excellent school system here ,I have been very dissappointed by it(another long story),and I am planning on homeschooling him for the rest of highschool. He is very bright,but because of my inability to teach math he has struggled and has many holes in math. In the past I have used Saxon, Lials's BCM,and TT. I have always needed video instruction. I now have someone who is a math professor that has been tutoring him as needed. When I enrolled him in public school, I was very clear with the school system that he needed a good solid year of prealg. and that he was not ready for alg.1. They assured me that they would work with him and help him through alg.1 He stuggled at the beginning of the year,but very quickly took off with math(so I thought)and is now a B student. Mind you ,he only had about 3 tutoring sessions. If he were to stay in public school he would have went on to geometry. Okay,here's the problem,I gave him a Saxon Alg.1 test to see where he would place in Saxon,and he told me point blank"I can't do this.":confused: Apparently, he can solve equations,but can not solve basic math problems(decimals,fractions)w/out a calculator! I went as far back as the Saxon 7/6 placement test,and he said he forgot how to do the problems w/out a calculator! I don't know what to do. :001_huh:I'm thinking of getting him the key to books and having him work through them over the summer with the tutor. I am also looking into videotext,because the first module is pre.alg. but is it enough pre.alg ? I know that he never mastered decimals and fractions way back when. He skipped pre.alg and went right into alg.1 based on the schools recommendation because they didn't offer prealg. I feel just terrible for him,and I feel that I 've failed him miserably. Any advice is greatly appreciated.