Want to do HOD, but have a few concerns

[LynnH]

I am going to homeschool my ds for the first time next year. He will be 10 and in the 5th grade. I posted once before about him. He has mild Cerebral Palsy that affects his hands and therefore his writing abilities. He does type, but still needs work on improving his speed with that. I really want to do either Preparing or HFHTT, but I have a few concerns.

1. I live in a state(OH) that requires either standardized testing or a portfolio. My concern is that 5th graders here study US history and if he doesn't do that I am afraid it will affect his testing or that someone reviewing his portfolio will want to see that he studied US history.

2. I keep reading on the boards that there is a significant amount of writing in the programs and I am afraid it would be too much for him. I don't know much about how dictation is done. Is it feasible, and as beneficial if he types the dictation instead or writing it?

3. I know Rod and Staff would completely overwhelm him because he hasn't had much grammar at all, so I plan on doing Easy Grammar with him. It looks like that would be ok to use, am I right?

[MainelyJen]

I think that Preparing would be a great level to start with for him. I understand your concern about standardized testing and portfolios. I would suggest that you go the portfolio route for him. Many homeschool support groups offer a portfolio review opportunity through a certified teacher. My state homeschool organization offers a portfolio review for a small fee (maybe $25?); you simply mail them the portfolio and it is returned with a certified letter of progress. If you do decide to go the standardized testing route, I suggest ordering the CAT through Seton Home Study. Maybe someone else can jump in and correct me here, but I'm thinking at the 5th grade level the CAT doesn't even cover history? Oh, here we go. . .look here http://www.setonhome.org/testing/content.php#Fourth for what the tests cover. These meet our state requirements (not sure about your state) and they cover language arts and math only. Either way, it won't matter if you are doing US history of World. And with HOD, you actually have pages to show in a portfolio if you prefer that to testing!

As for the dictation, I think typing is a good solution for the dictation used for spelling. If a written narration is suggested in the plans for subject areas such as Bible, history, science and so on, he could also type these or give you an oral narration which you could either write by hand or type. Depending on how much typing he can handle, you might also act as his scribe for his notebooking pages.

I haven't used Easy Grammar. I'm wondering how much writing is involved? Can it be done orally for the most part? Another thought is to go down a level in Rod & Staff and do most orally or with you writing on a whiteboard. Carrie suggests this accommodation in the intro pages of Preparing in order to keep lesson time for grammar short anyway.

I think HOD might be a good choice for you, as it guides you with discussion questions and is so full of good reading. I think it would be easier to make adjustments to a program like this than to an entirely worktext driven program.

[deltagal]

Hi Lynn,

Welcome to HOD. Just a few thoughts on some of your questions. Yes, you can type the writing assignments, including the dictation. My son does quite a bit of his assignments on the keyboard, EXCEPT the ones where

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really want him to work on his handwriting. In your case - he can type. Easy switch. And yes you could use Easy Grammar, but honestly I find Rod and Staff much easier to use than Easy Grammar. The rote work of Easy Grammar was mind numbing for my guy and he just never got it. With Rod and Staff you literally can have a conversation with your son and work on grammar. It is so smooth, easy and effective. I think you both would be very happy with it. Again, you can do quite a bit orally, you can use the white board and he can type the work you want him to do as a written assignment. No worksheets like you would have with Easy Grammar. I'm just thinking about placement. I think Rod and Staff 3 would be right. You could always slow it down or speed it up, depending on your needs. Finally, regarding your son's testing. Check with other homeschoolers in your state to see if that has been an issue, but I seriously doubt that it has. If you already know who you might use to do your portfolio check with them to see if they are gong to be looking for that. Depending on what starndardized test you use, history may or may not be an issue. Up to this point none of our testing instruments or portofolio evaluations have been concerned with history knowledge. Again, welcome.

[eazbnsmom]

Hi Lynn,

Welcome! I just wanted to mention that Preparing does cover American History towards the end of the year, so if you go with Preparing you should be fine. I know PA laws don't have a specific year (maybe in the public school) in which children study American History as long as it is studied at some point during Elementary school. So if you have already done American History you should be fine. I can't imagine Ohio being more strict in it's homeschool laws than PA (we have to do Portfolio every year and testing in 3rd, 5th, & 8th +++ other requirements), but double check your homeschool laws (see HSLDA) to make sure.

Another thing you can do is if your son is a good reader is to have him read interesting books about American history in his free time or listen to books on tape. I think books by Betsy Maestro would cover an overview nicely w/o adding a lot of extra. They are colorful and about 50 pages long and should be available through your library (I think there are about 8 of them). Of course you can also use Amercian History books for your DITHOR section. Just some thoughts.

Praying the Lord will give you guidance.

[LynnH]

Thank you so much for your replys. Our laws don't require US history at a certain grade either, just that it is covered. The problem is they have done a little in school, but not a lot. They are studying the history of Ohio now so he gets some, but it is limited.
He hasn't always tested the best, but I think some of it is how he has to take standardized testing. He gets a scribe, but it is someone he doesn't know who sits there and waits for him to tell her which bubbles to color in. He is a kid that wants nothing more than to please and is very sensitive and hates to make people wait on him. I think therefore he hurries through his testing. If we do go the standardized testing route then I would use a test that I could administer and be his scribe. I am pretty sure I can do that with the CAT. I do have teacher friends from church who would be willing to review his portfolio so that is still an option.

Our neighbors use Rod and Staff so I will borrow her R & S 3 book and let my ds look at it and see what he thinks. He can do writing if it is fill in the blanks or just a few sentences at a time. That is one of the reasons he wants to be homeschooled, because he wants to be able to take his time and not feel pressured. Preparing does look like something that would really suit him. I am just nervous that I won't teach him the "right things" even though I know that there really aren't any "right things" as long as I can bring back his love of learning.

[inHistiming]

I'm going to suggest something a little different, so if you don't like it feel free to disregard...I won't mind.

I have been using Bigger...this year with my 5th and 3rd grade students. There is an extension pack available to 'beef up' the history and science so we added that. It has worked wonderfully. The reason we did this was because I wanted to combine the older two, as I have a 5 yo and a baby due next month. I thought it would be easier. You may want to check Bigger..out on the web site. Here is the link:

http://heartofdakota.com/bigger-hearts.php

It covers American History biographically and my kids and I have really loved it. If you really want to add more Am. History that would be a way to do it. Otherwise, Preparing Hearts...could be a good fit for your ds.

Have you looked at the placement chart? Here is that link too. It's been very helpful in finding the right fit for our (we on the boards) children.

http://heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

[LynnH]

I have looked at Bigger, but I think even with beefing it up it might be too easy for him. I also want to be able to do as much of the Hearts through time cycle as I can. As it is I will fall one year short if I do Preparing next year.

One more just general question. Right now reading is not his favorite thing to do. What I have found with him is that he loves stuff that he can relate to and that makes things seem real for him. He really liked the Biography unit they just finished in school. He is a relationship oriented kid and that transfers to reading. I am hoping that tying reading in with history and with the bible (which he loves studying) will make him enjoy reading more. Has anyone seen their reluctant readers become more excited with reading by doing this program?

[my3sons]

Hi Lynn! I am doing PHFHG now, and I think it would work well for your ds - even with the concerns you've expressed. Other than the dictation (which is only a few sentences usually), the writing is done on a rotating basis - usually only a few sentences at a time, with the exception of the written narration and the creative writing for the poetry. He could type the written narration, and you could write his poetry for him - he may like to record himself reading his poetry, my ds has enjoyed that, and it would be a more verbal way to do it. As far as the things that are written, you could easily just type the few sentences at the top of the page (I am thinking of notebooking), and then have him do the other portions of it. You could do a lot of R & S orally and the rest on marker board with you doing the writing - we do that (with a very minimal amount of writing).

I think your ds is going to LOVE the books that are used in PHFHG. My ds is eating them up! Many are biographical - and fit the description of the books you said he enjoys. If you are planning on doing DITHOR, you could start with the genre biography and have him help pick the books (if he'd like that). For the DITHOR student book, you could get a lot out of it by just talking through what is there, as opposed to writing for it. I think you will find that PHFHG is a wonderful program - and I don't think writing will be a barrier to him getting a TON of enjoyment and learning form it!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Lynn,

I would lean toward having your son do Preparing Hearts too. The one year overview of world history really helps cement the flow of history. The skills in Preparing will also really help your son be prepared for the guides to follow it. From our perspective at HOD, it's more important to get the right placement than it is to finish the 4 year cycle. You could use the Deluxe Package books (with the exception of the Draw and Write Through History) or use the Extension Pack books, if those are more at his level.

English 3 and 4 are both scheduled within Preparing Hearts as well as 3 levels of dictation passages in the Appendix for spelling. There is much to enjoy in Preparing Hearts! The science is from very living books and has experiments that tie in with the readings, as well as notebooking, orally narrating (or retelling what was read), and answering questions weekly.

If you get a chance, I'd love to have you take one more good look at the placement chart and tell me where you think your son places (all history cycles options aside). The placement chart is really accurate! Here's that link: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Blessings,
Carrie

[LynnH]

Carrie,
Thanks so much for responding. I did take a closer look at the placement chart and he does fit squarely into Preparing. I borrowed my neighbors R & S 4 book and he could do it, but I am still not sure if it is right for him or not. I have also considered Growing with Grammar. The only thing on the chart he struggles with is the cursive, although cursive writing is easier than manuscript for him. He has asked to work on his cursive this summer.
Lynn

[Carrie]

Lynn,

I'm glad to hear that you can see a clear placement on the chart. I was really feeling that Preparing would be the best placement for him too. With the cursive writing, whichever program you end up using, just take your time. With cursive, slow and steady practice (a little each day) really does work. Think of it as a marathon and not a sprint.
Also, one well-formed letter is better than tiring rows of messy, messy letters.

With grammar, when you're looking at Rod and Staff vs. Growing with Grammar really focus on which program would work best orally. We truly find that we can do almost all of Rod and Staff orally, and I usually only assign one small section to be done independently on paper. We also use the white board for diagramming.

As far as HOD goes, our goal is for kiddos to get through Rod and Staff 6, if possible, by the time they finish grade 8. So, you could easily take 2 years to cover Rod and Staff 4, and then ramp up to doing it daily once you get to 5 and 6. Just something to consider.

Blessings,
Carrie