Getting Ready to Take the Plunge!

[RobinH118]

Hello All!

I am SO excited that I found HOD! We are currently enrolled in a virtual academy, but next school year we'll be independent homeschoolers for the first time. Until God led me to HOD, I was totally freaking out. Now I can't wait to start with HOD! I have a few questions...

First, my girls will be 7 and 10 next school year. They will be going into 2nd & 5th grade. After doing the placement chart thingy, I want to do Bigger Hearts with both of them using the extension package for the 5th grader. I'm compiling my order list, and I want to make sure I got everything. I'm going to buy the complete Bigger package with all the extras: Econ package, Econ package with science, Emerging Reader set, Cheerful Cursive, Basic package, Deluxe package, & the Extension package.

For the 5th grader I also put down DITHOR 4/5, DITHOR books package, math (after we do the placement test to see where she is), and the only thing left is the English/grammar. The virtual academy we are in now uses K12 curriculum, if anyone is familiar with that. I'm not sure what English/grammar to order for her. I think the K12 English is pretty solid, but I've never used anything else, so I don't know how it compares. She's good in grammar, but she HATES to write! I was hoping to find something that would get her turned on to writing. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Also, if I get the Singapore math workbook and teacher guide, do I also need to order the answer key? Or is there one in the teacher guide?

I'm sorry this is so long, but I want to make sure I have all the bases covered. Is there anything else I need to order? Thanks for all the helpful advice on here. I come here every night & read....

Blessings,

Robin

[my3good&perfectgifts]

Robin, I'll let someone with more experience answer your questions about placement and grammar. I just wanted to say welcome. I'm glad you are excited about using HOD. We love it at our home. It blesses us daily.

[my3sons]

[quote="RobinH118"...The virtual academy we are in now uses K12 curriculum, if anyone is familiar with that. I'm not sure what English/grammar to order for her. I think the K12 English is pretty solid, but I've never used anything else, so I don't know how it compares. She's good in grammar, but she HATES to write! I was hoping to find something that would get her turned on to writing. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Also, if I get the Singapore math workbook and teacher guide, do I also need to order the answer key? Or is there one in the teacher guide?

I'm sorry this is so long, but I want to make sure I have all the bases covered. Is there anything else I need to order? Thanks for all the helpful advice on here. I come here every night & read....

Blessings,

Robin [/quote]

Hi Robin, and welcome to the HOD Board! You've done a super job of checking out the placement chart and placing your dc, and I'm so glad you've found HOD! I think you'll love using BHFHG with your 2 dc. I used to tutor online for Alpha Omega, and HOD was such a fresh breath of air for me - I love the projects and experiments especially. Anyway, as far as R & S English, it is an awesome grammar program, which is unique because it teaches grammar with the intent to write well. So, R & S English has writing assignments in it as well. The lessons are systematic and done in manageable amounts. We do about 2/3 of R & S English orally, and the rest in a composition book. I reserve the writing lesson parts for the 1/3 of writing I require, as well as diagramming sentences. Lots of ladies do a good portion of R & S orally and love it, so I thought I'd just throw this idea out there. Here's a post where I describe how we do this:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4659&p=34269#p34269

I believe I'd start dd in R & S English 4, possibly half-speed. Then, I don't think you'd need to add a writing program (of course, you still could if you wanted to). She will also be doing some written responses to her Extension Package assignments, which are listed in a suggested rotation in the Appendix at the beginning of the Extension Pack schedule. I think that this will be more than enough and a good mix for your dd. The following year, in PHFHG, creative writing is added as well as the continued writing instruction in R & S English. Other ladies will probably have some advice as well, but it sounds like you already have an awesome plan in place, and are just to the fine tuning stage. Way to go! I'll look forward to getting to know you here!

In Christ,
Julie

[momof4girls]

Hi Robin,

I sent you a PM today, I think we may have a lot in common with VA HSing. I had a couple of things to share with you and a few ?'s to ask you, if you didn't mind getting back with me I'd love to chat through PM! Welcome to HOD! These gals are great! We are currently using LHTH for younger DD's (we love it) and still trying to decide which for our older 2 ( 11& 8 DD's ) for next fall Have a great evening!

Stacey

[Carrie]

Robin,

I just wanted to welcome you to HOD! We're glad to have you here. The ladies have done a great job of helping you. If you have other questions feel free to ask.

Blessings,
Carrie

[RobinH118]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! Okay, I still have a couple of questions...

I still haven't heard about the answer key with the Singapore math. If I buy the workbooks & teacher guide, do I also need to buy the answer key?

R & S English, is that Rod & Staff English? Does HOD sell that or do I have to find that elsewhere?

Once I figure out those things, and we figure out what math to order after the placement tests, I should be ready to go! Can't wait!!

Thanks so much!!

Robin

[Happy2bMommyof3]

Hi Robin,

Welcome to HOD! We were with the GA Vitual Academy using K-12 and I can tell you from experience that you are about to get one giant gulp of fresh air! HOD is wonderful in every way.

As far as the answer key, I wouldn't worry about it unless you may need help with the answers yourself. I just look at my child's paper and check her answers myself. Also, we usually go over the wrong ones together as opposed to me marking on her paper. I just find that she gets discouraged easily when it comes to math (which was fed by the VA we were in) and she responds better to encouraging and guided correction.

As far as the R & S English, HOD sells every book that the Guides recommend as far as I can tell. It is a very convenient one stop shop. I have shopped around before for cheaper prices, but when you include shipping from 2 or 3 places, it ends up costing more than getting it straight from HOD...the shipping is super fast too.

Hope this helps!...and again...WELCOME!

[crlacey]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! Okay, I still have a couple of questions...

I still haven't heard about the answer key with the Singapore math. If I buy the workbooks & teacher guide, do I also need to buy the answer key?

R & S English, is that Rod & Staff English? Does HOD sell that or do I have to find that elsewhere?

Once I figure out those things, and we figure out what math to order after the placement tests, I should be ready to go! Can't wait!!

Thanks so much!!

Robin

Welcome!
We use a different math, so I can't help with that question.
R & S is Rod and Staff and HOD does sell that. Basically if it's a book in the guide, than HOD carries it. So if you did the manual as written, you would be able to order everything you need from HOD.

[RobinH118]

Oh my goodness!! The more I read on this board, the more excited I am to start with HOD!! Heather, thanks for the comment about the gulp of fresh air! I am SO relieved. This year has truly been a chore getting school done with my DC thru the virtual academy! I am just SO ready for this school year to be over, and I don't want our schooling to be like that! I want every day to be a fun, learning journey... I think HOD will get us there...

Okay, so I can get R&S English thru HOD, right? Well, I've been looking thru the catalog, and I just can't find it. Can someone tell me what page it's on? Or where it is in the online store?

Thanks, Ladies! You are a true blessing to me already!!

[my3sons]

I'm getting excited for you to begin - you are almost to the fun part now! As far as R & S English, it is the tan book called "Preparing to Build" at this link to Bigger Hearts packages:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/bigger-hearts-packages.php

If you need different level(s) since you are combining, you can order them from this link separately as well:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/drawn-into ... ations.php

Have fun putting together your order, and ask more questions whenever you think of something. The "Helpful Tips on How to Order" light bulb at the top of the Bigger Hearts link I gave you above is always helpful in ordering too.

In Christ,
Julie

[Kathleen]

Hi Robin! I wanted to say welcome to HOD!

HOD sells the Singapore math workbooks and textbooks that are scheduled in the guide. Are you thinking of ordering a "teacher guide" from somewhere else? I think it was Sonlight that created their plans for Singapore and call it that? Not sure on that one. You don't need a teacher guide to use Singapore with HOD. I started using the answer key this year with level 3 to check over Grant's work, and it makes it faster for me. The answer keys have several levels per key. The one I have covers all of level 1-3 I think, and it was pretty cheap. So, if you don't want to figure the problems yourself to check them it will come in handy.

I'm only up to R&S 3, so I don't think I can help you on what level of R&S to use with your 10 yo. My guess would be maybe level 4? I know that HOD reccommends completing R&S 6 by 8th grade and then the next 2 levels of R&S are high school level. Has your oldest done much diagramming yet? I know we've been doing that in level 3...but I'm guessing that's reviewed in level 4. I think I've heard experienced moms say that level 5 is quite a step up.

Kathleen

[RobinH118]

Okay! I figured it out... the teacher guide for Singapore math was on Singapore's website, not HOD's!! Duh! Too much research all at once, I guess... So, no need for the teacher guide!

After reading all of the advice and looking thru the item descriptions better, I've figured it all out! I'm going to start kind of slow with my DD9 for math. She's just not very confident in her math skills. She almost always gets the answer correct, but she just sweats over it WAY too much. Maybe we can back track a little & build her confidence back up. That would be so wonderful. So, we'll start her with Singapore's 4A & 4B for next year. We'll probably duplicate some of the math she's already had, but I liked the way a lot of the info was presented in the Singapore samples. They had some really easy-to-understand visuals that we didn't have before. I think that might really help her.

Also going to go with the suggestion of R&S English 4. After reading the info given on the website in more detail, I think it would be a really good fit for her.

So, the waffling is over!! Yay! Now all I have to do is place my order! What a relief...

Thanks again for all the great advice and assistance!

Robin

[my3sons]

Hop on the HOD train, Robin! Be sure to ask if you have any questions about ordering, but I think it sounds like you have all of your ducks in a row. You'll have to share your box day with us, if you get the chance. We love box days here at HOD!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Robin,

It sounds like you have a great plan in place! I just wanted to mention that it is typical to back up at least an entire level (or more) within Singapore math, especially in the upper levels, if your child is new to Singapore. So, if you haven't had a chance to give your older daughter the Singapore placement test, it would be such a good idea to do so.

4A/4B may be perfect for her, or if she's struggled some with math you may find you need to back up into the 3's instead. The placement test is quite accurate, so if you've already given it to her rest assured your placement is correct. Just in case, here's the link to the placement test. Link: http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

You'd need to give the U.S. edition. I'd start by giving her 3A and so how she does. Just keep testing her until she no longer passes.

Blessings,
Carrie