heartofdakota.com

The whole better late than early idea really resonates with me - I think we tend to push reading and seatwork on kids too early. Now, some kids will do just fine and even flourish with it but many, especially boys, just need more time to develop before being developmentally ready for something so co...

Thank you SO much for your detailed response, Julie. I think you can move forward feeling like dd will just blossom this year. You can use the ERS schedule for numbers of pages to read, or you can use time (i.e. have dd read aloud to you for 15-20 minutes and stop wherever she is at the end of the t...

Another homeschool mom I know said she didn't give any grades. When the admissions guy asked she said that grades weren't an accurate reflection of her son's work because anything below about 70% meant they went over it again because the goal for them was to learn it, not merely to evaluate whether ...

Thanks, Julie,
Looks like I'm on my own then - no one's volunteered a pre-made template. Now I"ll have to decide if I modify my week/page set-up from last year/curriculum or switch to your modified monthly idea. Thanks for the suggestions!
Blessings,

I noticed that no one has replied to your post so thought I'd give what help I can. My kids aren't there yet but as a newbie to HOD I've been reading most posts and this recent one might help answer your questions, especially if you find the book that is mentioned and follow the link. http://www.hea...

I've got a 10yo DD with some reading issues (just had her assessed and there are no cognitive impairment) so I will be going somewhat tentatively as we start Preparing this year. I know her comprehension is good, especially when I read aloud, but I'm not sure where she's at when it comes to doing DI...

I am trying to figure out how to schedule DITHOR! I will be using this with my 10yo daughter, and we will be using Preparing. It is scheduled 3x a week in Preparing. The DITHOR guide says to have them finish the book in 5 days. So if I understand this correctly, they read the book for that genre in...

Can I add to the original question? My 10yo DD is going in to Preparing and is still facing some challenges with reading, and thus with spelling too. Does Preparing have instructions on spelling somewhere in it, like I assume Bigger would have? Or maybe a better question is, how do I learn how to te...

MelInKansas wrote:... you could make it a brief review pretty easily if you wish.

I think you're right. Will do.
Thanks for helping me think it through.
Blessings,

I'm still working on placement myself but I know the ladies here will want more info before making a suggestion. Go here: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php and see where your daughter places in each category. The best placement for the top section (reading, writing and grammar - an...

Is this what you meant (from that post): "I wrote out a copy of the cursive alphabet he learned last year in "Cheerful Cursive", a lower case and upper case cursive letter for each letter of the alphabet. I also hung onto the "Cheerful Cursive" book, so he can use the book and the chart I made as a ...

Rice, I don't have any extra advice but wanted to post words of hopeful encouragement. While my son is much younger than your dd, he has always struggled with just following directions and answering questions on topic. Before finding HOD, I could hardly ask him anything and he could never follow th...

Just to answer another question, I would not give a 9YO extensions in Preparing just because he likes to read and reads above grade level. The extension books are to provide advanced understanding of the history and science topics for an older child. I go back to several posts on here by Carrie say...

After Mel's reply to my post yesterday http://www.heartofdakota.com/board3/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=15407 , and reading through the FAQ's and posts by Carrie on placement, I looked at the placement chart again, applying it to each individual child. Not only am I still not sure which level to put some of...

I found it by going to the Preparing forum and then scrolling to the posted link. I think there is something like that for many of the guides on their forums for easy identification. Thank you for your quick reply. Especially this last one - I totally missed that folder yesterday. I think I looked ...