Placement Help LHFHG or Beyond

[alhempel]

I am new to HOD and plan on using Resurrection to Revolution with a 6th grader and with extensions for and 8th grader. I am pretty set on this decision as we did American History last year and they are excited about this time period. I also have a 9th grader who we are unsure of what we are doing yet and a 15 month old. With that in mind I also have an advanced, eager 5 year old and reluctant 7 year old who dislikes the idea of school. My seven year old is reading but relies on Mom and big brothers a lot to sit and listen to him. Although he knows the basic rules to spelling and decoding for his age, he is not confident at all in his abilities. He will do 2nd grade Language Arts and Math. My five year old did kindergarten as a 4 year old with ease. She knows her letters, phonics sounds, numbers to 100, at least 25 sight words, and the basics of decoding and blending. She can write simple words on her own and constantly has chapter books in her hands just reading the words she can figure out. She will do 1st grade Language Arts and Kindergarten math. I have gone back forth with their placement. 5 year old in LHFHG and 7 year old in Beyond or group them together in one of those. If grouping, which one would be best. I would appreciate any help.

[hs.mama07]

Hi and welcome to HOD!! Not sure I'll be much help, just wanted to stop in and say hello. Have you looked at the placement chart yet? It can be a big help deciding where kids fit best. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php I'm sure some of the other ladies will chime in as they wrap up weekend activities. Hope you enjoy HOD!!

[StephanieU]

I have a 5yo in the same situation as you, although she is my oldest. I had asked the same question, and their guidance led us to pick LHFHG. The read-a-louds are the big difference. In Beyond, they are more chapter books with fewer pictures, something I am not sure my daughter would love. Also, I decided I didn't want to pressure her. I already push her hard in phonics and math, so I didn't want to over do it. But, your situation is a little different. I agree that looking at the placement chart for the 7yo to put him in the best spot. Beyond takes about 2 hours and LHFHG takes about 1.5. Both of these seem to be pretty parent-intense, unlike older guides. For me it would depend on how much time you think you will have, and if the 7yo would be best alone or with the 5yo.

[my3sons]

I agree with both these lovely ladies that responded already - checking out the placement chart is important and gives the best placement usually - and LHFHG would probably be better for your duo than Beyond if combining. It is better to beef up than tweak down, and both are in the LHFHG target age range. Please do share your findings from the placement chart with us. We'll have more to say to help in more detail then! I think you will love HOD. It has been a blessing in our home for a decade. Can't wait for you to start!

In Christ,
Julie

[alhempel]

Looking at the placement chart. My 7 year old son fits pretty well with the skills in Bigger. I went with Beyond because I want to take the year to help him love learning, build his confidence, and not push him. The last month of our school year, I put aside all our textbooks but math and language arts and did literature studies and some lapbooking with the two little ones. It was the first time my son enjoyed some aspect of school. So I know he can love to learn and feel HOD will be a great fit for us. My 5 year old daughter fits with the skills in Beyond except for her age. Somewhere on here I read that you don't want to push them into an age range older for them and am feeling she should do LHFHG. I just don't know if LHFHG is enough for my son or how to make it so until I get it in my hands. I don't mind keeping them separate if that's what is best for them, but also really love the idea of teaching them together. So I am torn. Is LHFHG enough for him?

[MomtoJGJE]

I cannot imagine doing Bigger with a child who is reluctant and unsure. It's a pretty meaty guide even if they've done Beyond in it's entirety... especially coming from something completely different.

I'd combine them for LHFHG because you said he's reluctant, and she's only 5 even if she loves school. It would be a really sweet day that would foster a great love of learning. You could put them in whatever level math, reading, and LA you want to. Do you already use a math and LA curriculum? A different curriculum will probably add extra time to your day. If you are going to use HOD's suggestions (R&S for English and Singapore for Math) and haven't used them before, my kids consistently score a grade ahead of what the level says on the books. So like R&S2 is equivalent to 3rd grade and Singapore 1A is end of first grade/beginning second. So I'd suggest if you combine them in LHFHG to get the Beyond guide to use for math and LA for your 7yo.

[my3sons]

Hi there! I'm still unsure about placement for your ds, so I have a few quick questions in regard to placement for your ds...
Is he reading well, and if so what are some books he has read on his own comfortably lately? Does he choose to read for fun on his own?
How is his writing? How much can he write each day - sentences, short paragraphs? Is his printing solid and is he ready for cursive?
Has he had some exposure to parts of speech in grammar?
What has he been doing for a math program?
Has he had daily history, and follow-up skills after the readings?
Has he done science a few times a week along with some experiments?
Has he been orally narrating, or will this be a new skill for him?
How does he do with you reading chapter books with no pictures and a more 'mature sounding book' to him?

For your dd, how is her writing? Can she copy several sentences correctly each day? And, when does she turn 6 yo?

In general, how do the 2 of them work together? Do they work better separately? Would your ds rather have 'his own thing' to do?
How consistently are you used to doing school with them, and how much time (about) do you have each day to homeschool?

Sorry for all the questions, but every family's situation is so different. It really helps to know the details!
In Christ,
Julie

[alhempel]

We have been using Christian Light Education's reading, language arts, and math programs.

Is he reading well, and if so what are some books he has read on his own comfortably lately? Does he choose to read for fun on his own? He is unsure of his reading ability but can read, but really prefers to read to someone. He does not choose to read for fun but prefers drawing. We have a mandatory thirty minutes reading time in our house after lunch and he has been working his way through a Henry and Mudge book over the last several days with his older brother.

How is his writing? How much can he write each day - sentences, short paragraphs? Is his printing solid and is he ready for cursive? Over the past school year he has gotten to be able to draw a picture and write 4-5 sentences about it himself. He loves to create stories and will dictate several paragraph stories. His printing is solid and will start cursive this year.

Has he had some exposure to parts of speech in grammar? Understands difference between nouns and verbs. He can tell you whether he is naming something or it is doing something. Knows contractions, capital letter rules, is/are, was/were/. Can tell you whether a sentence is a question, statement, or phrase.

What has he been doing for a math program? Horizons Kindergarten followed by Christian Light Education's First grade. Does extremely well in math and on his own, multiplied in his head the other day trying to figure out how many go gurts we purchased in 6 boxes.

Has he had daily history, and follow-up skills after the readings? No formal history. Geography skills based on books we have studied. Can locate several countries and states we have studied. History of holidays. Community helpers. At eht end of the year we used Five in a Row and he loved all the activities in them.

Has he done science a few times a week along with some experiments? Love science in our family and incorporated it through FIAR and our own literature studies. Loves experiements. Will draw a picture and write out what he did in a couple sentences.

Has he been orally narrating, or will this be a new skill for him? I am unsure of exactly what oral narration is but he is quite capable of retelling stories and answering discussion questions related to stories.

How does he do with you reading chapter books with no pictures and a more 'mature sounding book' to him? We read chapter books aloud daily. Loves to listen as does 5 year old.

For your dd, how is her writing? Can she copy several sentences correctly each day? And, when does she turn 6 yo? She can write all her letters and her printing is improving but still needs practice. She carries notebooks with her all the time and writes list of words and recently began writing own sentences. She copies sentences out of books she likes. She will not turn six until March.

In general, how do the 2 of them work together? Do they work better separately? Would your ds rather have 'his own thing' to do? They do enjoy working together. DS liked having his own math and Language Arts but both couldn't wait for the time we would do Five in a Row together.

How consistently are you used to doing school with them, and how much time (about) do you have each day to homeschool? I do school daily with them Monday-Friday. I am a certified teacher who was taught to teach in the public sector after attending public schools myself. My children have been taught by me or attended the very small Christian school I taught at. We have been very textbook oriented although every year I yearned to do a more literature based program and would pour through the different curriculums out there. Upon having our last child. I made the leap to homeschool and have since been testing the waters. It is sometimes hard to break old habits and we have been doing school roughly from 8-4 with all of my children with the bulk of the work in the morning. We take a break and then finishing up in the afternoons. My younger children are typically done by lunch except ds 7 who we sometimes struggled throughout the day to accomplish anything.

Hope this helps.

[my3sons]

Thanks so much for sharing about each of your dc, and for patiently answering each of my many questions! That helps so very much! From what you have shared, I would say your ds places in Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory quite solidly, with the addition of beginning cursive handwriting as well. Your dd places quite solidly in Little Hearts for His Glory, though her writing and spelling could fit with Beyond. You have several good options here...

Option #1: Use Little Hearts for His Glory with the 2 of them, but add the LA and math skills from Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory for your ds. So, he would do the Spelling List 1 or 2 plans, the math plans, the LA intro to grammar on Day 5 plans, and (after completing whichever phonics/beginning reading plans you are using with him) the Emerging Reader's Set from Beyond Little Hearts, as well as a cursive handwriting program. The advantages to this are your reluctant ds would flourish, doing school for a very manageable amount of time. The two can be combined, and as a busy mom teaching a 6th grader and having a 15 mo. old as well, combining sure would be nice. Your ds would also have a year to focus on continuing to develop his reading skills. He'd also have history every day and science with experiments twice a week, which would be upped from last year, so that would be more meaty. Overall, this would be an easier year for him, but maybe that would be nice all around!

Option #2: Use Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory for your ds, and use Little Hearts for His Glory for your dd. The advantage here is they would be placed exactly. You could also slow down Little Hearts for His Glory, taking longer to go through it, but do full-speed phonics, handwriting, and math with your dd. The two would not be combined then though, which considering they are close in age, and considering you are a busy homeschool mama with other dc as well, may be more work for you than need be.

Option #3: Use Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory for your ds and your dd, but take 3 years to go through Beyond Little Hearts and Bigger Hearts, to give your younger dd time to grow in her LA reading and writing skills. So, you'd spend about 1 1/2 years working through Beyond, and about 1 1/2 years working through Bigger Hearts. This would put your dd at a better age to do Bigger Hearts and Preparing Hearts. This may be nice in the long run, but will stretch your dd at the start.

What are your thoughts on these options? I am leaning toward Option #1 or #3, because your dc are close in age, they can be combined, they work well together, and you are homeschooling other dc as well. What do you think would be a good fit? Whatever you choose, I do think you will love doing HOD with your dc! I hear ya about finding it hard to give up old ways! I too am a former ps teacher, and switching from textbooks took me some time too. I can say the past 10 years have been a growing experience for me as much as for my dc!!! I think you will learn to love to school this way. The books alone are amazing, but the heart-to-hearts, the special memories, the hands-on things I'd never probably have figured out how to do on my own, the Christ-centered focus... they all add up to some pretty neat years learning together with my kiddos with HOD! I think you will love it as much as we have!!! HTH - but what do you think about all this?

In Christ,
Julie

[alhempel]

Julie-
Thanks so much for your help. I usually jump in with my gut feeling, but I am going to take some time to ponder and pray about these options and let you know. I know they place solidly in the two different curriculums, but I would really like to try and combine them if that's what is best for them. It would be less like the two different grade levels and traditional school. I will let you know what the Lord leads us to do. Thanks again for your wisdom.
Alison

[alhempel]

Julie
Thanks for all your help. I have decided to keep them separately in LHFHG and Beyond and not combine them. As much as I wanted to combine them, I think overall it is better for them to start individually and see how it goes. Because I will have both guides, if I feel at some point combining is a good option for us, I can at that point. I was originally leaning towards combining them into Beyond and taking it slow, but I don't want to hold my son back and don't want to push my daughter too much. She is only 5 once. I want them both to love school and feel this is best for now. Maybe somewhere down the line, combining may be possible. Time will tell.
Alison

[my3sons]

I like your plan, Alison! You make a good point - since you will have both guides anyway, you will be able to really see who can do what best, and adjust as needed! HOD is incredible. I hope you and your dc enjoy it as much as we have!

In Christ,
Julie

[SCStxRN]

I don't know if it will work for you - but in my quest for the perfect HOD program.. I now own LHFHG - PHFHG.

For my 7 year old (VERY reluctant at darn near everything but getting dirty)... I use LHFHG history, science, art, and fine motor skills with BLHFHG math activities and language arts... but with letter tiles for spelling. If he were writing more - or at all, honestly - I would go with BLHFHG. But he's not. He's half way through The Reading Lesson, and he'll go into emerging readers when we're done... whenever that is.

My 10 year old - it turns out - stretches just a tad into PHFHG 1/2 speed with no extensions + cursive, because he's a boy and his handwriting remains abominable. He is enjoying it, overall. He likes having a to do list. I am having him do the last three Emerging readers, though, to get used to the HOD style of questioning before we get into DITHOR. He can read 4th/5th/even 6.0 level books.. but not well enough to then narrate and do any more than the most basic comprehension questions.