TOG users- looking for advice about placing my child

[pjssully]

Hi, I have a Junior who will be using TOG year 3 next year and then Year 4 the following year to earn her American History credit. She will be doing the online history discussion and I will be doing the Lit. portion of it. I am at peace with this decision.

Enter in my second child.....she is 13, almost 14 and really should be going into high school next year. We are giving her another year before official high school because she has had some learning and psychological issues over the years. I just can't decide if TOG will be a good fit for her. She likes to read, and has a good vocabulary. But she struggles with motivation, and has "sick" days where she has headahces or emotions that ` interfere with her ability to concentrate. My fear is she would get "behind" and I would end up with two kids on different weeks. How can I tell if she will be able to handle TOG for high school? Would she have to do all the rhetoric reading to get the high school credit? Or would she be better off in a different program where she can work more at her own pace?

Just looking for any feedback

Thanks

[Candid]

If she is in theory doing 8th grade next year, I'd suggest begin with D level materials. Maybe add on some of the books both from history and lit that you think my interest you. In Year 3 the D level students read some real works of literature (as opposed to historical fiction) so you could blend.

 

I'd be cautious on the psychological issues front beginning with Year 3. There are works that are either odd or tough or both. The Scarlet Letter, Crime and Punishment, Heart of Darkness jump to mind, but there are likely others. Year 4 continues.

[Renaissance Mom]

I agree with Candid. There is no reason for your younger child to "fall behind" because you can simply dial back assignments and expectations as you go. I wouldn't leap into R right away anyhow. The D level books for both yrs 3 and 4 are excellent -- there is more than enough content in the history books even if she stuck with D readings for both years. You could pick and choose accountability and thinking questions between D and R levels and tailor your discussions to her work. You can control how much she has to tackle so that she can keep pace with your older student on history topics at least. For lit, I always let the individual title dictate how long we spend on it anyhow. Sometimes it is exactly the way it is scheduled in Tapestry. Sometimes not. It all balances out throughout the year. So if your younger dd needs a little more time on one work, give it to her and maybe skip the next one. Tapestry will drive you nuts if you try and do everything at every level just as written. I know. I tried and barely lived to tell the tale! Needless to say, I'm in "recovery" and give myself permission to chop, cut, change, and adapt at will.

 

[Pamela in VA]

TOTALLY agreeing with others. We used TOG 3 at a D-level for my two (dd 8th/ds 9th) last year and it was more than enough. We did transition into R this year for 9th/10th and are doing an online co-op (not through Lampstand, but w/TOG). The literature list is trimmed and we don't require all the SAP questions. Dc have still been able to have very good discussions during co-op and I don't think they have missed out on anything. You know your child and can tailor it the way she needs it.

 

Good luck!