Hi folks,

I read with interest the various points to ponder about redesign vs classic for year 4. I too would like help deciding what we'll be doing for our middle son.

Here's some background info:
We just bought Redesigned Yr 2 (DS said he wants to study the middle ages), and I love the way it all looks, but I'm still in the reading, prepping, and planning stage. I managed to get Units 1 and 2 into binders, the SAP's and maps for unit 1 printed off, and am waiting for units 3 & 4 to arrive, as well as whatever books we'll actually use for our studies (after I choose and order them, of course).

This boy is 13, and intellectually just beginning to be able to reason from cause to effect. Puberty really hasn't kicked in yet. He only just learned to read last year so I figure I'll have to help him with the D books but have him read the UG books on his own. Essentially, I'm planning to teeter totter through unit 1 with both dialectic and upper grammar choices. Because we spent so much time remediating his dyslexia and auditory processing issues, we never did any history and very little other than literacy with him. Since he's 13 and going into what would technically be 8th grade, we want to help him get up to speed as quickly as we can without overwhelming him. We will probably have him do writing at the lower end of the spectrum, also in order to bring him up to where he should be. He wants to graduate high school at the same time as his buddies, so we really do want to help him make major strides in the quality and quantity of work he can do.

I chose TOG Yr 2 because he wants to study the middle ages. What do you think we should do next, in order to plan out a high school plan for him? Should I plan on doing units 1 and 2, maybe u 3 too, this coming term, and then go into yr 3 for 9th and 10th grades? That would have us doing yr 4 in 11th grade, and then give us time to come back to yr 1 for senior year. Does that sound all right? Or should I plan on doing TOG yr 2 over the course of two years, then go into Sonlight's Core 100 for US in-depth for 10th grade, then come back and do TOG yr 1? ARGGHHH! I don't know what to do! All I know is that I love the looks of TOG, I like how the difference between the levels is right there in black and white (and color) for me. I love the book choices, and I love the way it's pretty similar to the kinds of things I've been writing up on my own all these years!(Meaning, it's familiar, even though it's brand new to us ... does that make any sense at all?!)

Can you help me make some concrete plans for this particular boy? Unfortunately, the ages and stages of our other children don't factor into this at all. My 16, nearly 17 yos, will be a senior next term. He's doing SL Core 400, for sure (I found it for such a deal!) and he really doesn't have any clue what went on in our nation between the wars, you know, policy things, so this will be a good choice for him. I'm completely doing things outside of what I have always counseled moms to do -- I'm having two kids in totally different programs, studying two completely different time periods. What am I thinking?!?!?! Factor into all of this is the fact that our littlest one is 3 and a major bundle of energy. He wants to learn too, so I'll need to either tether him to my chair like the old dames did in Colonial America, or I'll need to spend focused time with him too, doing what, who knows!

Wow, am I ever in a dither from all the things that I'm going to be doing wrong this coming year, yet I really do have peace with the choice, I just want to have an idea of what to do after this with this specific boy.

Blessings to each of you as you contemplate our situation,
Chris in NE PA