New to HOD and seeking help regarding Bigger or Preparing

[juliegmom]

Hello New Friends!

I am enjoying my first year homeschooling my 2nd grade daughter. We are currently using MFW Adventures, but I am seriously considering HOD for next year. I've been all over the WTM and HOD forums reading reviews and love what I see. I also love the book selections in the HOD packages. I want a curriculum rich in literature and we are having trouble implementing the "book basket" for MFW. We live overseas so access to a good library is an issue.

I'm hoping you can help me to determine the best placment for my daughter. She will be 8 in May. She is reading above grade level and is currently working in Rod and Staff Preparing to Build which has yet to cover new material with it. At the end of 1st grade she was reading accurately and comprehending at an end of 3rd grade reading level. Could you offer any assistance in helping me determine whether Bigger or Preparing would be a better fit for her? I'd like to see her challenged a bit more, but don't want to destroy her love of learning. She is an eager learner and loves history and science. She is currently covering American History with Adventures, but my main concern is selecting the right placement for her academically even if it means that we may have to duplicate some topics. Can you offer any suggestions of ways that I can help determine the best placement for her? Combining ages is not an issue since her siblings are in high school. She loves notebooking, but writing and narration are not her strong subjects. This is new to her this year so we will continue to work on this skill.

I'm excited to hear back from you all and am looking forward to learning more about HOD! I am so thankful that we have so many wonderful, Christ-centered choices when it comes to educating our children.

[mom23]

Welcome to HOD! You've come to a great place to get some really helpful advice, the ladies on here are super thourough and helpful...I only wish I'd had the wisdom to really ask about placement on here before I ordered!

One of the differences between these two guides is the amount of independent work. Is your daughter ready for taking on some of her own work, with you following up later to discuss or look over it? As with other areas in the Preparing guide, this can be grown into, it doesn't mean that she's already doing these things perfectly, but that will be what you're working toward in the Preparing guide.

You also mentioned narraions and writing not being strengths...those are a couple of things that might make me lean more toward Bigger, although again, they are areas that you could work harder at the beginning of Preparing to build those things up if she's really placing there. Ideally, though, Bigger should work to give her more confidence and skills in these areas so that Preparing should come a little easier.

Did you look at the placement chart? http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php I encourage you to print it off and actually circle the boxes that best fit her. Just getting that visual format will be able to give you a better overall picture as to where she's placing. Let us know from there which areas look to you like a bigger fit for Bigger or Preparing. I'm sure others will chime in soon to give you further direction! Happy searching! I'm sure you'll love HOD as much as we do!

[holdinon]

I would definitely take a good look at the placement chart (especially the first page) first if you haven't already. If it is borderline, my personal opinion is to go with Bigger, especially being new to HOD. Eight is the youngest recommended age for Preparing, and that is generally for those who have come up through the previous HOD guides as a 6 and 7 year old, so Preparing may be a bit of a stretch. On the other hand, I am coming from the prospective of schooling multiple kiddos out of multiple guides (and individual time is at a premium). You mentioned your other kids are high school. If they are very independent and you have more time to really hone in on those "borderline" skills with dd, it could work to go with Preparing.


Placement is truly key . If after looking at the placement chart, you are still torn, here is a good post by Julie (my3sons) about the differences in the writing between the two programs (which is the biggest difference besides the amount of independence): viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12851&p=92640&hilit ... ing#p92640 . That may help you decide.

By the way....welcome to HOD!
Ang

[abrightmom]

While I agree on the Bigger placement I wonder when you intend to begin HOD. Kids can progress so much in half a school year. If you are looking ahead to next school year, after your daughter turns 8, you may want to wait until you are nearing the end of the current school year to assess her placement.

Bigger is a great third grade year. Oh, and you can run Rod and Staff English 3 with Bigger.

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board! Well, the ladies have just done a super job already of mentioning all that has come to mind for me too! Now, I am wondering what your thoughts are after reading their wise thoughts? Sometimes more comes to mind that you want to share, and then we can all chime in more! I'd love to hear your ideas when you get a chance, and then we'll all help more. This board is full of gracious, encouraging ladies like the ones who shared here already. We like to help - you've come to a good place!

In Christ,
Julie

[juliegmom]

Thank you so much, ladies! To be completely honest I'm currently in a state of flip flopping between HOD or trying MFW one more year. I really need to pray about this more. I've also decided that I need a bit of an intervention...or at least another pair of eyes looking at this with me! I've printed out samples and plan to get some insight from my husband. I have plenty of time since these plans are for next school year when my daughter will be in 3rd grade. I want a well balanced curriculum that will challenge her a bit more, but keep the learning fun. She loves literature and hands-on activities which is why we originally went with MFW. I'm concerned about several reviews I've read about the ECC year with MFW being repetitive and light. I've also read several from those who thought it was the best year. I love the idea of exploring counties and cultures, but am afraid it won't hold up to my expectations. Book basket is an issue and I'm already feeling that this year is very repetitive and light since we started our state study. My daughter continues to enjoy it and has not had any complaints so I must take that into consideration as well. I've requested a catalog from HOD to give me a better idea. Right now I'm leaning toward Bigger with extensions. However, I'm confused as to whether I should also order the deluxe girl-interest books. Would that be over kill? Do people usually order one or the other? I'm very interested in DITHOR, but will have to make some choices to fit our budet. I apologize if I spoke about MFW too much here. I realize this is the HOD forum. I just wanted to give you all a better picture of where we are this year. I think MFW is wonderful, but I'm just wondering if something else might suit us better. Thanks, again for all your invaluable input. I' m sure you haven't heard the last from me. Blessings to you!

[psreit]

Hi! I know you said you haven't made a decision yet, but you expressed concern regarding the girl interest book pack. Those books are suggestions for storytime, which is a daily part of the plans in Bigger. The reason it says optional is because you don't need to use Carrie's choices. You can choose your own books for the different genres listed. But, since you don't have access to a good library, you would want to consider getting a book pack. These are books that YOU read to your child. The CHILD reads either ER books OR uses DITHOR. You decide which of those your child would fit into. The extension books are to add to the history and science reading. They do not take the place of storytime. So, the storytime and DITHOR(or ERs) are part of the plans. The extension pack would only be used if you feel your child needs more after all the other things are in place.HTH

[my3sons]

Thanks for sharing more here! Pam did a super job of answering your questions already. Please ask more if you have them! Here is a link that may help as you decide which program is right for your family...

MFW and HOD:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1446

May the Lord help you in your decision - prayer! That is the best counsel. I will say that we love HOD. It has been a joy to teach and a delight for our dc to use! If you are interested, here are some neat thoughts about what ladies love about HOD...

Why do you “heart” HOD?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8268&p=60839#p60839

In Christ,
Julie

[juliegmom]

Thank you so much Julie and Pam! Could you please tell me what ER stands for? Are you referring to the early reader pack?

[juliegmom]

Sorry...one more question please. Would you recommend using both the extension pack and DITHOR for a third grader? I'm thinking that the extensions might provide more variety since we've covered some of these topics.

[my3sons]

The ER set is the "Emerging Reader's Set". You choose either the ER set or Drawn into the Heart of Reading (DITHOR) 2/3 for your child's reading instruction. The ERS uses these books and has oral comprehension questions written according to Bloom's Taxonomy that you ask from the Appendix of Bigger Hearts...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/emerging-reader.php

The DITHOR set uses a choice of these books and is harder than the ER Set, and follows the reading lesson plans of the DITHOR teacher's guide (which are awesome)...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/drawn-into-optional.php

The extensions are meant for advanced readers who are 10-11 year olds. They are to be read independently and have suggested follow-ups in Bigger Heart's Appendix. Here they are...
posting.php?mode=reply&f=6&t=12890

Keep asking questions - we are glad to help!
In Christ,
Julie

[juliegmom]

Thank you, Julie! So are all of the books in the HOD packages, whether it be the economy or extension, covered in DITHOR?
Have a great day! Julie

[my3sons]

I like your name, Julie! The DITHOR books are used only for reading instruction along with the DITHOR Teacher's Guide. In your Bigger Hearts guide, there is a reminder to do DITHOR each day. The other packages of books have nothing to do with DITHOR. They are a part of Bigger Heart's daily plans for other subject areas than reading. Clear as mud? So sorry if I was confusing - does this make sense now? So, basically, all the other packages are covered in Bigger Hearts plans, and the DITHOR books are used just with DITHOR for reading instruction, and there is a daily reminder to do DITHOR in the Bigger Hearts daily plans, but the detailed plans for DITHOR are in the DITHOR Teacher's Guide.

In Christ,
Julie

[psreit]

You can see the book pack option for DITHOR 2/3 by clicking on the student book down in the lower right of the Bigger package. It will bring up the different level book packs you can click on. Those too are optional. You can use those or choose your own. As Julie said, they are separate from the other book packs in the Bigger guide.