Placement questions

[dep2125]

Hi,
We are considering switching to HOD after 5 years with MFW. I have read the placement charts, combining threads, and prayed, but I still can't decide if I am choosing the right guides! It is driving me crazy! LOL. I currently am thinking I will have ds 10 and dd 8 do Preparing, while my 6 yo dd does Beyond. My main worry is that Preparing will not be enough for my ds 10. I wonder if I should separate and let him do RtR, but I think that stems from having always taught to the oldest child in MFW. The cost of three guides is probably not going to be doable anyway right now. I have always combined the older two, but I am seeing now that dd 8 and dd 6 really need more individualized attention. Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Dena

[netpea]

If you look at the first page of the Placement chart, where does each child place. THat information will help us better advise you.

[dep2125]

Well, that is part of the problem. The older kids mostly fit in Preparing, but the grammar section throws me off. DD 6 definitely places in Beyond. The older two have been doing Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons for grammar, so they have not really had formal grammar. They can write in cursive, but still need to look at an example most of the time to form the letters. They are both independent readers and write very well. I suppose I will just go with what I was thinking since we need to get started and return if need be. Continuing to look at the catalog just makes me second guess myself too much! Thanks.

[netpea]

Grammar is easily adjusted to the right level. If you look here: http://www.rodandstaff.info/samples/english/
you can see samples of each of the levels. We have switched back and forth between HOD and MFW so I am familiar with both grammars.
My dd8 finished PLL but doesn't know the terms noun, verb, etc... She will do Bigger this year with R&S2 but we will be doing two lessons a day mostly oral. I believe she should really be in R&S3 but hasn't had any formal grammar yet. My DS11 will be in R&S4 or 5, not sure which yet, he finished PLL and was halfway through ILL. He will be in CTC.

[netpea]

I think Preparing and Beyond sound like a good fit for you. If you are worried that the 10yo will not be challenged enough, you could add the extension package for the 10yo.

[kayrenee]

I think Preparing and Beyond sound like a good fit for you. If you are worried that the 10yo will not be challenged enough, you could add the extension package for the 10yo.

Agreeing with this. I am NOT an expert at placement in HOD, but having come from MFW myself, and having given a couple different levels of HOD a try in the past, I can say with confidence that HOD RTR will be a HUGE jump for your 10yo. CTC might even be a big jump after coming from MFW... I tried that with a 10yo two years ago.

I think that Preparing is probably the right level for your 10 and 8yo's, or at least the 10yo. You can use the extension package for him, because some of the core books in the Preparing Economy package are pretty easy reading.

[dep2125]

Thanks for your advice!

kayrenee~I am worried that my 10 yo should be at that level, but is not after using MFW! However, we really enjoyed it up until this last year when we did CTG. My main reasons for switching are that I need something that is less work for me and less dependent on the library.

[my3sons]

From what you've shared, I agree that PHFHG for your 8 and 10 yo, and Beyond for your 6 yo should be a good placement. You can always have your 10 yo read the PHFHG extensions if you would like. As far as the grammar goes, R & S English 3 and 4 are scheduled in PHFHG. Diagramming is introduced in R & S English 3, in case that is helpful. HOD has a goal for dc to complete R & S English 6 by the end of Grade 8, as R & S English 7 and 8 are high school credit worthy. So, your 10 yo could really do either R & S English 3 or 4. Your 8 yo will be just fine doing R & S English 3. It sounds like they will both do well with the reading, and for the cursive, you can just write a model for them on a whiteboard at the start. We did this for our ds, and found that he only needed help with a few cursive capital letters eventually. We did PHFHG and Beyond a few years back and had a blast. I found it to be very manageable, and great fun. I bet your little one will soar with Beyond. HOD has been an incredible blessing in our home, and I pray it is in yours as well! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[dep2125]

Thank you, Julie! I do think I will do the extensions for my 10 yo ds.
I also didn't realize R&S English was so advanced--thanks for letting me know!
Blessings,
Dena

[lisaha1]

I just had to say that you and I are in twin boats! I've done MFW the last few years...and my siggy says the rest! LOL!
Lisa
Abigail 10
Joshua 8
James 6
Toby 4
Levi 2
Emma Grace 8 months

[Jessi]

I think adding the extensions is a great idea! Sometimes just taking that leap and finally making the decision is the hardest part...once it's made it tends to be less stressful.

[off2workigo]

I am doing PHFHG with an 11 year old 6th grader who scores advanced at everything on standardized testing (and only struggles in the area of accurate spelling). I, too, was worried it wouldn't be "enough". Now that I've received the program and looked it over extensively, I'm THRILLED and know it will be plenty "meaty" enough. Here are my current thoughts:

1. We do school five days a week and plan to do one day of Preparing each day, finishing up Preparing on the 140th day of school. We will get an additional 35 days of CTC in before the school year ends (by spring we should be able to afford another manual, which would lesson our begining of the school year outlay...that's good news all around). Assuming you're not going to speed up your pace due to the younger of your two children in Preparing, you can EASILY beef up the science or writing or history assignments on Friday. In fact, you could also add in another DITHOR assignment on Friday for your 10 year old. It's so much easier to "beef up" than it is to "pare down".

2. The fast, one year overview of history is VERY Christ-centered and I agree with Carrie's assertion in the catalog that it will give my daughter some "mental pegs" on which to hang all future history studies.

3. THIS is the guide that TEACHES them how to do written narrations and a few other skills that are just EXPECTED in the later guides. I didn't want her to miss this important step.

4. One of the HOD website links states that Rod & Staff English 5 is a good base for older students who haven't yet used the program. After looking it over, I believe it will be a good fit. I plan on just having her complete a R&S English 5 lesson each time an English 3 or 4 lesson is mentioned in the book.

5. I agonized over whether to start with DITHOR 6/7/8 or start in 4/5. Now that I have the 4/5 book sitting in front of me, the placement helps state that 6/7/8 builds on the skills from previous levels, and that all students should start with 2/3 or 4/5. The questions are quite open ended and can be used with ANY level of book, so we'll be using books with a 6th grade reading level with our level 4/5 DITHOR. Whenever we complete this level (DITHOR at this stage lasts more than a year), we'll move up to 6/7/8.

6. I bumped up the math to 6th grade level, obviously, and due to the flexibility of the program, decided to stick with the program we have already been using.

7. Preparing is a transition year where MORE independent work is required of students, yet they are not expected to do everything independently. There is a lot of guidance in the lesson plans each day about how to label, organize, and store work. This is a valuable skill I want my daughter to have, and because the gentle instructions come from Carrie and not from me, we're less likely to fall into "nagging mom syndrome". If it's in your plans, it's part of your schoolwork.

8. I wasn't sure whether to get the Independent History Study AND the Extensions or to get JUST the Extensions. Someone advised me that the Indep. Study had so much valuable notebooking and drawing that we wouldn't want to skip it. We listened and got both. Reading through the manual and looking at the beautiful books included and the rich activities makes me glad I did.

In fact, the only question I would have with doing Preparing with an older child is that, depending on the spelling abilities of your child, the dictation might not go to a high enough level (NOT an issue with my creative speller!). Given that I wouldn't be able to purchase a second level of plans to obtain the higher dictation, I'm pretty sure I would just have my child study and complete a short dictation passage out of one of the reading or history books she is studying. The idea is to visually affix proper spelling, verb tense, sentence structure, mechanics, and conventions in my child's mind. That should work just fine with the great literature Carrie has chosen. I wish there was an "extension" pack of dictation, similar in size to the suggested book list for DITHOR, that could be purchased ONLY with the extension pack of books for a specific manual (for example, adding $5 to the extension pack of preparing books would get you a list of dictations for level 5 & 6 without having to repurchase the manual).

I WAS worried it wasn't meaty enough for the higher level. I'm not at all worried now. I think it will be a great year of laying the foundation for not only future history studies, but also responsible independent work in the future. I'm SO glad I found HOD!!!

-Rebecca

[dep2125]

Lisa~that is too funny! What is even crazier is that my two girls are named Abby & Emma!!!

Jessi~you are SO right! Just need to make the decision and go with it!

Rebecca~Wow, your post was so helpful! I went back to look at what I was planning on getting, and now I think I need to change a bit. Along with the extension pkg for my 10 yo, I had planned on getting the Basic pkg of read-alouds instead of the Deluxe pkg. I see now that I should probably get the Deluxe for the independent self-study plans instead. Would love to get both but will have to see what the budget allows. Thanks!

[lisaha1]

Oh my! LOL! That is crazy! LOL! WE started LHFHG and I really like that it is drenched in the Word of God, and has so many more notes with questions to ask and how to guide them, but I'm struggling with wanting to combine them all! I'm thinking on Preparing for my 8 and 10 year old too.
-Lisa
Abigail (but we do call her Abby too!) 10
Joshua 8
James 6
Toby 4
Levi 2
Emma Grace 9 months today!

[my3sons]

off2workigo -

Thank you for sharing your thought process in this thread! I think that this kind of sharing, which is somewhat a manner of thinking through something on the board "out loud" is incredibly valuable for others to read. The thought process is often just as important (or even more important) as the final decision. We can all benefit from this kind of talk here on the board, and moms who are in similar situations as yours can read your thoughts and be able to ponder their homeschooling in a new way.

In Christ,
Julie