Have questions :) (Carrie please look!)

[momofone]

Hello everyone! I'm Tina.
I have previously taught (9 years) and I am having a hard time thinking "outside" the box. ha!
I have an almost 8 year old, 2nd grade son who would really like some variety outside of workbooks. We are presently using Pathway Readers, which he likes, with the workbooks. Abeka Language, Abeka science and Abeka social studies. We have not stayed on track with our social studies and science nor Bible (Alpha Omega Lifepacs). Also, we do like Saxon for math.

However, my son is really into science. The problem seems to be with me having this "grass is greener" syndrome of wanting something more that I just can't figure out. Sorry, this is sooo long!
I want to be more hands on a little less workbookish, but I can't get the "traditional" school out of my head!

My son is average student. He needs more help with reading comprehension, but not to the extreme. He is "boy" wiggly and frustrates easily at times. I feel like Bigger.... would be a good match, but I would love some input.
I have even considered calling a homeschool consultant, but the expense is way too much for my budget at this point.
I would love some help and suggestions from you all!
Thanks in advance!
Tina

[dale1088]

Hi Tina! Welcome! Are you wanting to start now while your ds is in second grade, or when he's ready to start 3rd? Just a question because I think he might be a little young for Bigger and you might want to consider Beyond.

I am using Bigger for 3rd grade and we love it! Placement is a tricky thing and at first I thought I made a mistake and that it was too easy (BTW - we just started in January). I put her in R&S 2 and Singapore 2A, so the first whole 1/2 of R&S we have flown through mostly orally, but it's been good review. Same with the beginning of SIngapore. Same with spelling. So I was thinking I had her placed all wrong.

BUT, now we are hitting the good stuff! Yes, the spelling lists were too easy, but not dictation - I've moved off spelling and onto dictation which takes a different skill set. My dd needs to work on attention to detail, checking her work and making corrections, and following instructions. The copywork and dictation help with that tremendously.

The great thing about HOD that I am really loving is that if I don't skip boxes, I have NO worries that we are missing anything. You can go at your own pace, and all the subject get hit - and deeply. Everyday you get Bible (which I always do first so as to put on a good heart), history, science, reading, math, grammar, etc.

Just pray through the placement part because Bigger is pretty meaty and a different way to learn than workbooks. And remember you can always keep using the math and grammar you already have, so you don't have to worry about placement with those, and the daily box in the teacher guide will help you remember to get it in your day.

Gotta run, we are off to make a wampum belt out of dyed rice! Cool, huh?

[momofone]

Amy,
Nice to meet you!
If we decide to make the switch, I was planning on Bigger for next year, which will be 3rd grade. However, that may not be a good fit???
He can read fairly well, but he is not very motivated at times.
He also needs to work on fluency. Making sentences sound like the characters in the story, is not a priority with him.

I think he would love some of the activites in the science/history and Bible. I peeked at the samples online. However, the "teacher" in me tugs toward the textbooks. I'm scared to cross over! Wondering if I'll wake up in the middle of the night and panic!

I have also spent waaay too much money on textbooks. I have lots to sell already and this is only our 2 and a half year to homeschool.
Anyway, thanks a lot of your info Amy! I will look at every post and consider everything.
Tina

[Lynnw]

Hi TIna!
I have only been using HOD a short while but wanted to say Hi and encourage you. The ladies here are SO helpful and have really great advice. I began my homeschool journey thinking I wanted a Charlotte Mason philosophy. We were enjoying great content together, but I was at a loss to implement CM well in relation to skills. So for a year or two I leaned toward more classical curricula choices. But I wasn't completely happy with that either. Now, granted I haven't been using HOD very long (just over a month), (and right now we're using Beyond, but I'm hoping to start my Ker in Little Hearts and my oldest in PHFHG in another week or so.) But I'm loving it. It has great balance. It is gentle, but complete, not deficient, imho. I was feeling torn between Bigger and Beyond because I am so drawn to some of the books used in Bigger. But on the advice of ladies here, including Carrie, I looked at the placement chart and it really helped me place my son (1st grader) in Beyond. It is a perfect fit for him. He's a bright guy, but no inclined to listen to read alouds for hours on end (like my oldest one is), so the bite size readings are perfect for him and are helping him build his listening skills.

Anyway, I don't really have any advice, but just wanted to welcome you and encourage you that you might have just found the answer to grass is greener syndrome, LOL! (I have had it too!)

Lynn

[momofone]

Nice to meet you too!
I would be torn between Beyond and Bigger. Beyond would be a good choice right now, but I'm thinking next year, possibly!
If we went this route, I might would start with Beyond and move into Bigger sometime next year, I guess??
I thought about printing out the Beyond sample and trying it for a week???? What do you all think?

You all seem like a great bunch!
Thanks!
Tina

[my3sons]

Hi Tina! If you were going to start now, I'd say go for Beyond. As far as printing off the sample week, you sure could, but I unless you have all of the resources to go with it, it will just give you a cursory look at Beyond and not a true "trial-run-through" for the whole day. The resources are simply wonderful and make everything go together! Of course printing it off and laying it side by side will give you a great feel for what the guide will be like to teach from - which is pure heaven let me tell you!

If you are going to wait to start until quite a bit later from now, I think it would be a good idea at that time to look at the placement chart again and see where you really think he fits best then. Sometimes there is huge growth in several months' time, and sometimes there is not - so that will make a difference.

I taught ps for 7 years, and I want to encourage you that once you begin HOD you will not miss the textbook approach. We obviously used textbooks in our ps too, and I think it was somewhat necessary due to the large volume of students in our classroom. BUT, I liked to try to add in some hands-on activities, projects, and experiments as well when I was teaching, because I knew that was necessary for a well-rounded education. It was always very difficult to do hands-on things and experiments in ps. I grew to dislike it quite a bit - too many dc to try to oversee!!! It honestly drove me nuts. However, I want to encourage you that activities, projects, and experiments are NOT that way in HOD. I am completely enjoying them. Doing these with several dc is sooooooo different than what it was like trying to do them with so many dc. Plus, they are planned in tiny segments that are doable, and they wrap up in a nice amount of time. No projects setting all over the house halfway done for months with HOD! Plus, they have clear objectives and understandable results. They link directly what is being learned, and they further the learning in a meaningful way. No time is wasted with HOD. It all has purpose, and it all is worth the time. HTH some!

In Christ,
Julie

[Lynnw]

Nice to meet you too!
I would be torn between Beyond and Bigger. Beyond would be a good choice right now, but I'm thinking next year, possibly!
If we went this route, I might would start with Beyond and move into Bigger sometime next year, I guess??
I thought about printing out the Beyond sample and trying it for a week???? What do you all think?

You all seem like a great bunch!
Thanks!
Tina

Another option to consider as you think about fall.... 1) the placement chart is really good at helping you figure out the level right for your son. 2) If after looking at the placement chart you felt Bigger was the better choice, you can always start at half pace for a few weeks if you need to.

I also want to echo Julie that the hands on part of HOD is very doable. I'm a "sit on the couch and read" kind of Mom - so if I can pull these off anyone can. After we started HOD my kids started calling it "fun school."

I probably sound like an advertisement, but I've been helped so much on the board, I just wanted to give back a little.

[KristenS]

Hi Tina,
I may not be of much help to you as I am new to HOD and just got our package last week. But, your post sounded like my post just 2 weeks ago. My ds will be 8 next week, and dd will be 7 in July..so 2nd and 3rd graders in the fall. We too have been using Abeka LA and Abeka math and the readers etc, but did nto focus so much on social studies. My ds seemed to really need a change from the workbook style and my sweet hubby is HS'ing them now due to us flip flopping roles as he lost his job over a year ago.
Anyhow, I started them both in beyond, because I knew my ds needed work on his writing skills and I wanted to ease him into copywork etc. Plus give them both some history with some hands on stuff. Well we got the package and could not wait to start and so far ...HOD is lovely and the kids are loving it too. My husband likes the fact that it is all laid out for him and so easy to pick up and go. Now, we do gear the right side of the book (LA, reading, Math) to their level, so ds and dd are using different math levels and readers etc. But I think it is a really nice dose of each subject for each day and we feel good about having a more rounded approach. So, next yr for their 2nd and 3rd grade year we will do Bigger, even tho we may not get to it til Jan, we will see whenever we finish Beyond since we started now. Like I said so far we are very pleased and it just seems like our days are more fulfilling with school. I think if you went with Beyond you would not be disappointed with the activities and it seems easy enough to add your own math and REading program at your sons level.
Good luck
Kristen in MI

[MamaMary]

Hi Tina, (((Welcome)))

You are getting lots of WONDERFUL advice! I just want to chime in and introduce myself. I am Mary, Mama to four boys. We are finishing up our eleventh year of homeschooling and through the years I have tried a gamut of different curriculum/materials. I desperately struggled with "Greener Grass" syndrome. I still do, but the difference is now it's not wanting to change curriculum...., it's wanting to do all the HOD programs at once

The longer I use HOD the more I love it. Everything is so balanced and being a creative personality type I sometimes struggle with that area.(balance ) HOD helps me to teach everything so that my children not only understand information the day we study it, but they HANG ONTO it and remember, through the projects, notebooking, reading. After reading through all the posts I have to say that you know your child best so if you really feel like Bigger is where you want him go for it. Just looking at your post though I also think Beyond sounds like it would be a better fit. My advice is always to go with the lower of two programs because you can never go back and do Beyond, but Bigger will still be there next year.

Whatever you chose, I can't wait to see your smiling face over on the Week In Review forum! It's a lot of fun checking in

[my3sons]

Well we got the package and could not wait to start and so far ...HOD is lovely and the kids are loving it too. My husband likes the fact that it is all laid out for him and so easy to pick up and go. Now, we do gear the right side of the book (LA, reading, Math) to their level, so ds and dd are using different math levels and readers etc. But I think it is a really nice dose of each subject for each day and we feel good about having a more rounded approach. So, next yr for their 2nd and 3rd grade year we will do Bigger, even tho we may not get to it til Jan, we will see whenever we finish Beyond since we started now. Like I said so far we are very pleased and it just seems like our days are more fulfilling with school.

Hooray, Kristen! I just had to say I'm so happy to read this, and I'm glad it's going well for dh too. My mom (and even my dad on occasion ) have taught using the HOD manuals when I've either been on extended stay in the hospital with various health concerns for our dc or been gone to book conventions - and they have done great with the teaching too! It's nice to hear your dh is doing well with it too - though it continues to be my prayer that you will be able to slip back into that role again, because I know it is your heart's desire, but in the meantime - I am praising God that things are going so well for your family!!!

In Christ,
Julie

[momofone]

Thank you all soooo much! You all are tempting me, you know that don't you!

After looking over the sample, Beyond does look like a better fit for now. Actually, I already own the science text that goes with Beyond. I told you all I had lots of curriculum that I have collected. We have done a little of the Abeka Science, but not any of the God's Wonderful Works. So I guess that would be a plus, huh?

Kristen, thanks for letting me in on your recent switch. My post does sound a lot like yours. I would probably be in the same boat for 3rd grade next year. If we started now, we would try Beyond and switch to Bigger some time in the year next year.... (Just doing a little thinking here)

I will keep looking and thinking about this. I certainly appreciate all of you wonderful ladies here responding!

Tina

[momofone]

I forgot to ask this question!
My son is ready to start cursive. He actually does pretty well with trying. HWT did not work to well for us. I discovered that he did need that dotted line to write well, go figure
Would that be possible with the Beyond book or do you all just wait until you get to Bigger?
TIA!
Tina

[Kathleen]

Hi Tina!

I just had to pop in here and welcome you. I haven't read all the replies here yet (and I'm sure you've recieved some great advice...the ladies here are great!). But, I just HAD to reply because you're ds is doing almost exactly what my 7-almost 8 yo ds was doing last year. I also had only had a "traditional" text-book background in the classroom and homeschoolers I knew. We excitedly started Bigger this year and I can tell you that it is the best thing we've ever done!

HOD is very solid academically. So, don't be worried about that. I can honestly say that we're covering everything way more consistently than we were with our textbook approach. And, it's way more fun!! My ds loves the activities in Bigger. And, I love them because they're so doable. They don't take up a ton of time, but they definitely drive home the point of the lesson. Most importantly, Bigger is keeping our focus on the Lord, and I can see my son growing spiritually as we're learning.

We used Saxon for math up until this year. For us, it seemed a bit time-consuming. Now, I was thinking that I'm going to be doing math with 3 kids...and an hour a day - each - was going to eat up too much of our time. We have been thoroughly enjoying our switch to Singapore this year. They have a free placement test on their website if you're interested. My ds placed into 2A after Saxon 2. We love the hands-on activities in the guide for math. Now, you're doing math with one, so you may not have the same concerns I did. And, any math program will work with HOD, so if you're happy, go for it! (I just had to share our experience since we were coming from the same place.)

I look forward to chatting with you more, Tina.
Kathleen

[momofone]

Nice to meet you Kathleen!

I am really thinking of ordering! However, I do have some placement questions even after looking at the chart.
I will type a separate post.
I do look forward to getting to know all you! So far, you have all been very helpful and sweet.
Blessings!
Tina

[Carrie]

Tina,

The ladies have been wonderful about helping you talk through options. It looks like you still have a few questions, so I'll do my best to chime in when I come across the new post you mentioned.

Blessings,
Carrie