Frustrated, Need Some Help

[4BzyBees]

Hello Ladies! I have enjoyed reading, and it's great to see how much help you give! So, I was wondering if I could have some help?! I don't know all the "codes" so bear with me! My hubby & I are the proud parents of 4 beautiful healthy children: Son 5 1/2, Daughter 3 1/2, Daughter 1 1/2 & Daughter 11 months. Yes, my last two are ten and half months apart! So things are constantly busy over here.

I am frustrated right now with school, frustrated with trying to "do it all" and trying to decide what to do for the fall. Right now we are sort of doing our own thing for Kindergarten, after some burn out I refocused on Math & Phonics, stripped away the other stuff (we read A LOT of science books from the library so I feel okay without a "program" and he's 5). We switched to the Singapore K series this January, love it & he is enjoying it and catching on. I ditched our Phonics program bcs. it didn't seem to click for my Son and we are using the "ordinary guide" w/much better "results." I struggle w/having patience with him while sitting on the couch and working through his phonics. He can read, I know he can, but he seems to like fiddling, guessing and making up cute stories (which is why we switched programs he was using the pics in books as a crutch and not really reading the words). I try to remember that I already know how to read, it will be easier for me, he's learning so it's not necessarily easy. We have the preschool Little Hands book, which I am using with my middle 2 daughters (really light nothing too serious), they LOVE the alphabet songs (B was a big hit) and making/coloring number sheets. I want to use Hearts/Dakota in Fall, but which book do I use with him? (I'll go back over or finish the preschool with the girls). My husband (who teaches 8th grade U.S. History) and I are tempted to do our own thing for 1st grade, just focus on the Math, Phonics, keep reading science books, and then he and I are working on creating a U.S. States Unit for our kids that would be our history for the year/semester. But at the same time I feel like I want a little more structure? But am I am obsessing about it too much? Overly worrying? I have realized that our focus got out of wack over the holidays and we do need to go back to a morning Bible read. I think that would give us some cuddle time and be a good start to the day. It is hard with so many little ones to spend time with everyone (i was inspired to carve out a set time with my one year old am & pm from other posts), get housework done, and my body is still adjusting to having had two so close.

Sorry this is rather long! I guess I just needed to "vent." I could use some input on what to do for the fall. Create my own or use Dakota? Or something else? With a lot of little ones, I feel creating my own is a good recipe for disaster! We love books, we like to do crafts and I think ten years from now I will wish I spent more time with them when they were so little. I don't want hours of table work either.

[my3sons]

Hi there, and welcome to the HOD Board! Thanks for explaining about your dc. I am thinking that a happy medium for you would be to have the nice structure of HOD, but leave 1 day a week for your own twist on things. So, you could do Little Hearts for His Glory (LHFHG) 4 days a week, and explore your own history, crafts, etc. on the fifth day. This would leave you feeling you had all of your bases covered, but still knowing you had that other day to do whatever else you wanted. LHFHG is super time conscious, and takes only about 1 1/2 hours a day to do, so you'd still have plenty of time to do the 20-30 minutes of Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH) with your dd's. I would feel much better kicking around more specifics of placement with you if you checked out the placement chart though, and gave just a general idea about where your ds would place? The placement chart is short and accurate, so if you get a minute to look closely at especially the first page of it and share about your ds, that would be super! Then, I'll definitely chime in with any placement thoughts, and I know other ladies will be glad to chat about it too. Here's a link to the chart:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Looking forward to getting to know you!
In Christ,
Julie

[countrymom]

As I read your post I can so sense your feeling of being overwhelmed. I can't think of a better homeschooling plan for "overwhelmed" than HOD. You could do LHFHG and just plug away at those boxes. It is so easy! If he is done with K math, you can use 1A & 1B with Little Hearts. The reading will come, I think at that age it is natural for them to fidget and have a short attention span. My son (turns 5 in March) has always had a GOOD attention span and is able to stay with a task (will draw for an hour), yet he cannot sit still for reading. We are working our way through The Reading Lesson and it is working. I only do 2 pages a day, and repeat if necessary the next day (we often repeat). I had tried several other things prior and this seems to be working the best for us. There are so many skills woven into the wonderful curriculum, yet it does not take that long and there is really no reason to enhance unless you really wish to. I think that would go nicely with your schedule and give you that Bible and craft time you mentioned. As one who has tried "my own thing", I guess that is the direction I would lean. I loved to create and would have a blast putting together my own curriculum, but I just don't have the time. I am sorry you are feeling frustrated, it is hard with little ones. Hang in there and we will pray for you.

[mamayi]

Hello - I am new to posting on here as well even though this is our third year with HOD. I have found the encouragement and advice on these boards to be immeasurable!
Just wanted to share our experience so that maybe it will help you. We ended up spreading out LHFHG for a year and a half (started in Jan '08 and finished in May '09) for my oldest son and considered that time to be Kindergarden and first grade. He was just not ready to start when he turned 5 in July '08 so we waited six months. He was also a fidgety one as well and too much pressure to "sit still and learn" just ruined the day for us. (we do have discipline in our house though! ) We just focused on the basics of LHFHG with phonics and math and since I also had two other little girls at the time we did a lot of crafts and puzzles and just playing. It seemed that right after he turned six a light when on in his brain and he was able to do so much more. He finished the last 10 lessons of the Reading Lesson in a month and hasn't slowed down since.
I guess I share this (and as you read other people's experiences) to show that there is no one 'perfect' or 'right' way to homeschool. I DO know that HOD is so easy to use and I never worry if I have "covered it all".
I hope this helps in some way.
Praying that God will show you His way.

[4BzyBees]

Thanks Ladies for the calming words. It was an especially crazy day with my hubby coming home late, little ice pellets bouncing off my deck, and sickies. Julie, looking at the placement chart here's a bit about my ds: He will be 6 coming up in April, we are in the midst of phonics instruction (starting blends next week) and at this stage of the game he can do some reading on his own, but still wants me to do the bulk of the reading. Handwriting was a struggle for him. He wants everything to be PERFECT, so as we neared the holidays, handwriting got pushed aside bcs. I knew how frustrating it was for him. This was another reason for switching phonics programs, it was too much seat work and handwriting. He does a LOT of copy work on his own, making titles for his drawings, copying the bulletin during service, and esp. loves to write his full name and the names of other people. So I would say he has a good grasp of writing letters, although some give him trouble like "S" and "M" etc. I am not sure about Grammar, I have been focusing on his reading skills and of course gently correcting throughout the day when something crops up. We are currently in Singapore's Earlybird Book A, quite a bit of it is review (we were using Saxon K), but I don't mind and I think we will be finishing that up end Feb. or March. Having been home schooled K-12, I am NOT afraid of slowing down, speeding up, or going through the summer when necessary. I do think he will be ready for the Singapore Primary 1A in the fall. We do a ton of reading, esp. science books (we recently purchased the Kingfisher First Ency. Human Body & are working on a light overview of bones, etc. w/ some other science-y books) and I love the Rookie Reader Biographies on Pochontas & Lewis/Clark. Anyways, hope that helps. It is nice to hear/read abt. how others are using the HOD w/multiple ages! Thanks for the encouragement and prayers. Hugs.

[jenntracy]

Ahh! it is tricky with young ones. i have 6 yr old , almost 5 yr old and almost 2 yr old.
the middle daughter is finally learning she needs to play with her little sis while i do some lessons with the oldest (son).

We had done the Little hands program with each of the first 2 children from 3 1/2 yr to 4 1/2 yrs . btwn 4 1/2 and 5 yrs they would do a little bit of stuff here and there, but basically they had a break.

my son started at 5 and we have spread our Little Hearts for His Glory. We were doing the right side last year and this year we added the left side in fall. and are just continuing on with next level Math and doing emerging reader. so we use just a little in the Beyond guide. We are reading a new book for storytime since we finished the ones in the LHFHG guide. i didn't want to get into Beyond for that yet.
so currently he is 6yrs old (turns 7 in October).

He is fidgety too.. lots of times i let him play with his cars, blocks, legos , etc. as long as he is'n't making noises . if he isnt paying attention, they go up. it really works while i read to him. i have made a little chart for him with each subject and the Day number (not day of the week) so that he can mark it with a dry erase marker when each is done.( it is laminated but you could use a page protector sheet). He really likes this. i have one for myself too. we are both "checkers".
WE try to get most of our work done in the morning.

I think with my daughter we will probably just start the whole program in the fall (LHFHG). she will be 5 1/2 when she starts where as my son was 5 yr old and that is why we spread it out. just wasn't ready for that History side right away.

it is hard right now because it is so nice outside. we are in North Florida. WE are still cold but not as cold as others and not snow. in sthe summer (and even some of spring) we are inside alot because it is just too humid and hot outside. so we are enjoying th nice weather and all the nature that comes to visit in the winter.

we took off from Thanksgiving til New years. and it worked out great!

I hope that helps a little.
i understand frustration and just now I am beginning to feel like we have some sort of groove.

Jenn D.

[my3sons]

Thanks so much for the details about your ds. That really does help! I'm glad to hear you are flexible in pacing, as this was something I had to learn to be. I think there are 2 good options for your ds. Option 1 would be to have him do LHFHG. This would give him a chance to grow in his writing as he'd be doing a handwriting book and working on fine motor skills with either Do It Carefully/Finding the Answers or Thinking Skills Grade 1. It would also give him time to really focus on his phonics.

Option 2 would be to have him do Beyond Little Hearts. He would be doing some copywork (a few lines each day) and gentle grammar lessons 1 x a week. He's also be listening to longer Storytime books, as well as longer history/science readings. Hands-on math activities are planned in the Beyond guide for Singapore Math 1A/1B, and there is spelling instruction as well. If you did Beyond, I'd slow it down and do it half-speed for awhile, doing the left side of the plans one day, the right side of the plans the next day, but doing phonics daily. I would not want your ds to get to Bigger Hearts too early, which is a program for ages 7-9, as that program has daily grammar and quite a bit more writing - hence the idea to slow Beyond down if you choose that option.

With either LHFHG or Beyond, you can do school 4 days a week if desired, go half-speed, etc. The programs are extremely flexible. We've done just about every pacing possible and enjoyed each of them as they were the right pacing for our different children.

So, I'm hoping the above description of both of the programs will help you know which would be a better fit for your ds. I think it would also be very helpful to take a look at the first week of each of the guides and see which seems to fit your ds best - even printing them off is quite helpful. Here is a link to each of those:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/little ... t-week.pdf
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/beyond ... t-week.pdf

So, I'd love to hear what you are thinking after you've had a chance to ponder this. HTH! For what it's worth, both LHFHG and Beyond are awesome, so you really can't go wrong!

In Christ,
Julie

[4BzyBees]

Thanks, I will def chew on it some more, I am almost considering just lying low another year & then starting 2nd grade w/Ds (& K w/Dd) a little stronger & more "structure." I know there have been previous posts on going slower in the HD books, but I am not sure I understand completely....how exactly do you spread out a book 2 years??? And if I use all the books where will we eventually end up ("grade"/age wise)??? Thanks again ladies for your help and support. There are so many things I like abt. HD -- esp. shopping around, there are some pretty expensive curriculm choices out there!

[mariaw]

I just want to encourage you--I have 4 kids, and I remember those days well when my oldest was in K. Things will change DRAMATICALLY as your kids mature and get older. My oldest is nearly 9 now, and those frustrating days like you described are a distant memory for her. Now, my 2nd is a son, he is nearly 7. We still deal with the "figities" a little bit (not nearly as much as before though), but things are definitely getting easier. 5-1/2 year old boys are a bundle of energy (I have one of those too right now), but your homeschool will not always be like this.

I will say, I've used SEVERAL curriculums (mostly with my daughter), but this is the first one that I've seen the real "boy appeal." Not only is it short and to the point, but the crafts and activities aren't as "feminine" all the time like I've seen with other programs. My daughter loves them, but my boys do as well. Especially in LHFHG, they are up and moving throughout the school time.

Regardless of which curriculum you decide to use, it will be such an exciting time as you see your oldest start to mature. Not only that, but you as a teacher will only get better year after year! Blessings to you!!

[my3sons]

Thanks, I will def chew on it some more, I am almost considering just lying low another year & then starting 2nd grade w/Ds (& K w/Dd) a little stronger & more "structure." I know there have been previous posts on going slower in the HD books, but I am not sure I understand completely....how exactly do you spread out a book 2 years??? And if I use all the books where will we eventually end up ("grade"/age wise)??? Thanks again ladies for your help and support. There are so many things I like abt. HD -- esp. shopping around, there are some pretty expensive curriculm choices out there!

Half-speed is when you take 2 years to go through an HOD guide. Typically, moms do the left side of the plans one day, and the right side of the plans the next day. It's a good idea to do phonics daily though. Or, you can go half-speed by just looking at the 2 page boxes of daily plans, and choosing half of the boxes to do one day, and the other half to do the next day. We've found it's nice to keep the left side of the plans intact if possible though, as all of it links so nicely together and to the history theme.

If you'd like lying low another year, I'd encourage you to try the half-speed option, as it feels like lying low anyway, yet begins to progress dc systematically through a guide and gets them learning all of those skills they need to know in very manageable bite-sized chunks. Also, when we've done half-speed with guides (which I've done with portions of LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, and BHFHG with different dc), it helps us ease into things in such a nice way. My favorite thing about it is I get a lot of wiggle room in how I pace the subsequent years because I have kept moving forward (even if it's at a slower pace), and I don't ever get behind. Just some food for thought! HOD is awesome curriculum, so any speed is great!

In Christ,
Julie

[4BzyBees]

Thanks again Julie! I have printed off the links u sent me. Doing a LOT of praying and just letting everything simmer in my mind, blending of suggestions and thoughts. I "stumbled" on this verse, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord," and that has brought peace. Tonight I go to my first Homeschool Meeting at our local library...should be fun to meet a few of the other homeschoolers in the area and to get even more ideas! Doorprize too.

[my3sons]

Have fun at your meeting, and that is an excellent verse to ponder! Praying for clarity for you. Just know HOD is an awesome choice!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

4BzyBees,

I just wanted to pop-in and welcome you to the HOD Board too! The ladies are doing a terrific job of talking through some possible options with you. If you have other questions, feel free to ask away. The ladies are so gracious about helping one another!

Blessings,
Carrie