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I have been looking at HOD for awhile now. I have two kids. My son just turned 13. He reads we'll but doesn't enjoy reading. He can narrate almost word for word. He still enjoys being read to. He is a horrible speller but this is mainly my fault because of my lack in doing this consistently. Language arts is also something he is behind in. I am thinking of starting him with creation to Christ. I would love to know anyone's opinion on this. He hates to write. As in it usually ends in crying. We try to do as much orally as possible. He is getting better about this. He is excellent in math and is doing Life of Fred fractions with no help from me.

Now my daughter will soon be 9. She is a very good reader and enjoys writing. She is also very good in math and is doing Life of Fred. She needs a lot of work on narrating. She gets frustrated and and has trouble rwlling me even one thing we read about. This is for things I read aloud. Any book she reads she can pretty much retell it word for word. I am considering Bigger Hearts for her.

Also what is the minimum I need to buy for each one? I'm confused with what to buy. I also think I would like the Drawn into Heart of reading with both of Them.

Sorry so long winded. Thank you in advance.

Welcome to the HOD Board! Thanks for sharing about each of your dc - that really helps! We did CTC a few years back and enjoyed it very much. In reading your comments here, I am wondering if you think ds will be able to comfortably read the titles in CTC's economy package independently? And how about the Science titles? In CTC, the intention is for the child to read these 2 sets of resources independently, and if he will be wanting you to read that aloud to him, the day will become quite long for both of you - there is a good possibility you may go hoarse. The Storytime titles are read aloud by the parents usually, so you'd be sharing the history reading this way - him reading the independent history and you reading the Storytime read aloud history. He would also read his science, but those are smaller segments of reading. So, to double-check if he's ready for the reading in CTC, here is a link to each of those sets of books...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/hearts-for ... ckages.php

As far as the writing, dc write in the student notebook for a good portion of their writing. Here is an example of the CTC Student Notebooking pages he'd be writing on...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/CTCSam ... teBook.pdf

My oldest ds was not a natural when it came to spelling well either - and HOD has helped him (slowly through the years) become a very good speller! I am a huge proponent of dictation and copywork done HOD style now. It really turned my ds around. I think your ds will make gains too!

If you are thinking CTC is a good fit, great! If you are thinking it may be too much to start with, Preparing Hearts for His Glory along with extensions would be good too!

For your dd, Bigger Hearts sounds good! It helps teach dc oral narration skills, and I think this is important to have somewhat in place before beginning written narrations (which are started in PHFHG). Here is a link to the first week of plans of Bigger Hearts...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/BHFHG-first-week.pdf

I always think of Bigger Hearts as my launching year for my dc - I partner alongside them teaching many important skills in Bigger Hearts, and then all of that time spent working together pays off the whole rest of the way through the guides, as the foundations of the skills are taught well.

I hope something here helps, but what are your thoughts about all this? I'd love to know! We've enjoyed HOD so much. It really has been an incredible blessing in our home. I think it will be in yours too.

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you so much for the response. You bring up some great points. I looked at the books and I need clarification. The books in the economy pack are to be read by the student alone? Is that for each level or just starting at C to C? He can read those books but would he? I doubt it. My other Hesitancy is if I start him in preparing will he be able to finish enough packages? I don't really care about grade level and all that but I want to make sure we won't be leaving out important things he will need. So i guess I am asking which would be better? To challenge him or let it be a little easier just starting out with! HOD. I want him to enjoy school and learning. I did see Carry on Mr Bowdich and he read that a few months ago for school.

I am going to go with bigger for Bella. Along with the reading.

For Griffin what reading level do u recommend? I guess I can just look and see when I get the book.

Thank you again for your help. I'm excited to get this decision made and books ordered.

In Preparing and CTC the science is read independently by the student. In Preparing the self study deluxe history is read independently by the student. In Preparing and CTC the basic package is read aloud. There is a basic self study extension in Preparing and CTC that is a harder reading level that can be read by student or teacher and can be read in addition to or instead of basic package. The economy history in Preparing is read aloud. In CTC the history economy is read independently.
My ds did Preparing last year when 8 but he was not ready for CTC so I did a self created filler from materials I have had since homeschooling in 2000. My ds needed more writing skills to complete writing in CTC. It has taken 11 weeks but now he is ready. My ds reading was adequate for CTC reading but a great change from last year is that he is now reading silently rather than outloud which has made reading so much easier. My ds has grown into enjoying the history reading because he prefers science and is not interested in learning dates, names, etc of history. Some of the independent history reading "books"in CTC are CDs.
I see your ds has read one of the books in CTC basic package classic boys that is from 1 of 3 choices that would actually be read by you. The DITHOR selections are read by student and also include writing and responding to questions about character of main character and Bible stories.
HTH Tammy

I've/been reading more posts on this forum and I see a few people have used Bigger with two children similar in ages to mine. Would that be an easier/better choice for me?

Lovinglearningathome wrote:...He can read those books but would he?...

I think so - the CTC history books provide amazing reading material! My ds enjoyed them so much. Has your ds read Charlotte Mason style, narrative books in the past? It is an acquired taste, but once you have it, books of lesser quality don't appeal. They were all good, but some of our very favorites in CTC were "Story of the Ancient World", "Ancient Rome", "A Child's Geography", "The Golden Bull", "Boy of the Pyramids", "God King", and "Traveling the Way". "Draw and Write Through History" helped my ds learn how to draw what he had learned step-by-step, and the pictures were so neat and fitting with what he'd read. The audio "What in the World?" by Diana Waring made it feel like we had our own special tour guide for the ancients - she is inspiring! This is the best treatment of the Ancients I've seen, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. CTC's materials are definitely engaging enough - the real question is whether ds is ready for the reading level required to read these on his own? This is a biggie. Here is a link to an excerpt from "Story of the Ancient World", which is one of the more difficult books dc read in CTC. You may want to have your ds try to read it and see if he can narrate back what he read...
http://www.nothingnewpress.com/guerber/ancient26-27.pdf

Also, is he ready for the writing in CTC? If he is, then he should do CTC. Proper placement is important. There is a HUGE difference between CTC and Bigger Hearts. Where do you feel he places best?

Lovinglearningathome wrote:My other Hesitancy is if I start him in preparing will he be able to finish enough packages? I don't really care about grade level and all that but I want to make sure we won't be leaving out important things he will need. So i guess I am asking which would be better? To challenge him or let it be a little easier just starting out with! HOD. I want him to enjoy school and learning...

Meeting him where he is at and starting him there will be the best way to move him forward in his learning. There are families doing CTC - Missions to Modern Marvels for high school. HOD's programs are meaty, and there are so many paths are possible and good with HOD. I'd ponder where your ds truly places best skillwise and go with that placement. It will give him that enjoyment and love of learning you are wanting, and it will make your year as his teacher so fulfilling too. I think whether you challenge him or make it a little easier depends on his personality. How does he do with a challenge - does he thrive in it or does it weigh heavily on his spirit? I'd go back to the placement chart one more time, have ds read the "Story of the Ancient World" sample, look through the first week of plans of both CTC and PHFHG, and then place him where you think he fits best. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you so much. I will have him read this and then decide.
Also, is it doable to use the library instead of purchasing all the books? If I am going to be buying two different levels I won't be able to get everything right now.

I really appreciate all of your guys help. God bless.