Would you use Extensions in this situation?

[Tree House Academy]

I have an 11 year old (August Birthday) 6th grader finishing CTC this year. We have had a wonderful year and we chose not to use extensions. However, I am second guessing myself for next year with RTR. Is there any reason to use extensions for a 7th grader if they are only 12 years old? Will they benefit him or just add more work to his schedule? He is a good worker, but can sometimes get bogged down if he feels the workload is too much. I want to challenge him but not overwhelm him. CTC as written has been perfect for him this year. Is there any reason for me to consider doing RTR with extensions next year???

[Allison TX]

Hi Rebecca. I wouldn't use the extensions in your situation. If he was breezing through CTC without much of a challenge, then I might think otherwise. But since you said CTC, as written, has been perfect, then I would try RTR as written. If you feel it's too light after a few weeks, you could always add the extensions. My ds is 12, although I consider him a 6th grader, and I feel that RTR is perfect for him as is. You do want school to be somewhat a challenge, but not so much that it becomes a frustration. Hope this helps a little.

Allison

[8arrows]

I agree with the pp. You don't want school to "bog him down". Keep it enjoyable!

[water2wine]

I would agree too. One thing you could do is let him pick a few favorites and see if you could route those to DITHR. Just a thought if you wanted to get the information. The programs are really full as written. Some of my want to do the extensions. But the programs are great as written as well.

[my3sons]

I agree with the wise advice given here. You have a good thing going - your ds had a wonderful year with CTC - hooray! He is in the target age range for RTR (ages 10-12), and I would not add the extensions (which are for ages 13-14). If you don't feel peace with this advice, I'd do 2 months of RTR, making sure he is doing all of it well, and then re-evaluate. If you feel at that point more is necessary (and I mean "necessary" in the sense that RTR as a core seems to be not enough of a challenge for him), then I'd have him either read leisurely from the Extension Package titles, with a goal to finish them sometime before the start of next school year. Or, he could just choose the titles he was interested in reading and enjoy those.

Being a 12 yo, he is not of the age where extensions are necessary, so they would only be added in a rare occurrence that more of a challenge is needed. Doing RTR with my 11 yo, though he is is a strong reader, the extensions absolutely have not been needed. It is a wonderful program and quite full as is! I guess I personally feel like it is incredibly important for my ds to be able to focus on the many skills that are new to him or are in the "practice" phase (i.e. semi-independent) within each guide. In RTR - for him, the IEW writing which teaches key word outlining and essay writing has been a needed area of focus. The core history reading is upped a notch in difficulty as well. The written narrations have been lengthened as is the material upon which he narrates. Likewise, step-by-step directions especially in the area of science have raised the level of difficulty. His Bible memorization of passages is relatively the same as last year in level of difficulty, but "Boyhood and Beyond" has recently encouraged him to add another quiet time to his day (which was optional but he chose to do ), and thus more time has been needed there. Research is a semi-independent skill, but increased in difficulty by his writing it in the form of a postcard narrative style (last year it was oral). Dictation is a level higher, and thus a level harder. I could go on, but the main thing I'm trying to say is that by giving your ds adequate time to truly focus on those new and "practice phase" skills, you will be doing him a great favor for years to come. This outweighs the benefits of the extensions IMO. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Tree House Academy]

Thank you all! I had a moment of panic there, but you are 100% correct...why fix what isn't broken?

Bryce also needs to focus more on some of the other areas (like writing), so I think we are doing just fine. Thank you all for talking me down. LOL

[arstephia]

When my dd is in CTC and RTR I am planning on adding an extension book here or there as she would be most interested. For instance in CTC, I will add the Dinosaur book because of the interest she has in that since doing Preparing. I know Twice Freed is a great book so when that is scheduled we'll do that. I will also so the audio books because we love audio books around here, but Famous Men of Rome for instance will not be something I know would not be as much of a benefit as I know it would bog down her day. So since my child is not necessarily in the extension recommendation, I am just using the extension offerings as enjoyable add-ons as we see fit to extend her interests and learning.