heartofdakota.com

Hello~
I am new to the HOD curriculum, but not new to home education, having been involved with it since 1989. I have six children, three of whom are already graduated; one that will graduate this spring; and two left to educate (grades 6 and 9). My youngest who is currently a 6th grader is the one I am considering for HOD for next fall. He is great on grammar, is an excellent speller, is so-so in reading comprehension, but is probably the weakest in writing. I was reading through some of the material on the HOD website, and I see two different books used for the writing: Write with the Best and Ignite Your Writing. My question is, what are the pros & cons of each? What would you all suggest for a weaker, reluctant writer who really has a hard time focusing?

Thanks for your input, it is greatly appreciated!

Welcome to the board Nebmom2six! What an accomplishment to graduate 3 (almost 4) of your dc - you are in the home stretch with your last 2 blessings. Starting with "Preparing Hearts for His Glory", every HOD guide has writing planned out within the HOD guides. The "Write with the Best" plans are part of "Creation to Christ". We enjoyed them immensely! "Igniting Your Writing" is actually not planned in any of the HOD guides, but rather as a writing component that can be added if families are only using "Drawn into the Heart of Reading". This rounds out the LA for people using a different core program than HOD. Have you had a chance to check out the placement chart? That is super helpful for accurately placing dc. Here is a link to it...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Once you get the chance to check out the placement chart, especially the first page of it, if you could then share your findings here with us, we all chime in and help with placement for your ds. Looking forward to getting to know you here!

In Christ,
Julie

My son seems to be falling into the CC category, so I am thinking that is probably the route we will take. The only concern I have is that the science. I am leaning towards using my own science and math. (I like the math we do, so feel no need to change.) I still have a few questions:
1. How long does the curriculum take to complete each day, approximately?
2. My son is bright, but sometimes has a hard time staying focused for very long, and sometimes tends to 'rush' through his work just to get done. Any tips on helping him to see how important it is to do his work thoroughly?

Thanks for your thoughts...

CTC took my ds about 4 hours to complete. This was after a few weeks of training - it took longer at first. Wyatt has used HOD from the start, so I imagine up to a month of training would be sufficient otherwise. Here is a thread with each of the suggested time allotments for each of the boxes...

CTC time it takes:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3765

If your day is going long, chances are the reasons are some of these...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6204&p=45485#p45485

Substituting things that take longer than the time allotments planned for the chosen materials for the guide will naturally make the day go longer. When making your schedule or planning your routine of the day, be sure to add in any extra time for substitutions that take longer. Likewise additions will add time, so that extra time should be added in as well. We thoroughly enjoyed doing CTC as it is written, and our HOD days were consistently 4 hours long (give or take 15-30 minutes). However, substitutions and additions are certainly possible with CTC, and each family must weigh if the extra time these may incur is worth it. HOD is very flexible, and we loved CTC - such an amazing year of growth for our ds, academically and spiritually!

As far as keeping ds on track with his work, a good schedule/routine helps, as well as a timer. The suggested time allotments always help me make my schedule. Here is my past schedule for CTC, in case anything here may be helpful (Wyatt is my ds who was doing CTC in this schedule)...


It also helped my ds to use the CTC guide as a Student Planner. He had the CTC manual in his hands as often or more often than I did. He checked off his boxes as he completed them. This is very motivating, as dc can see themselves progressing through the plans toward completion. It also helped to have a 'checkpoint' for us to meet together to go through any independent work he had done. I asked the discussion questions, used the editing tips it the Appendix for helping him correct written work, used the narration tips in the Appendix to help him correct written narration work or for guidance in improving oral narrations, and did any other noted follow-ups at that time. I always read aloud the key idea as we finish boxes, as the key ideas are an excellent summation of the lesson. Those are just a few things that have worked well for us in the upper guides - HTH! I think you will really enjoy CTC. It was such an incredible study of the ancients - I'd not do it any other way and can't wait to do it again with my other dc soon.

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks, Julie!

This is very helpful as I try to determine if this curriculum (which I LOVE on paper) is a right fit for us. My youngest son has a very different learning style than my other 5 kids, so I am trying to "picture" in my mind how this will all work out. My other kids were all very independent learners, and I am finding that my youngest is not, so I am really struggling with placement between CTC and RTR. We have always used R&S for English (currently going through grade 6), and he does well with grade 6 math, but I am not so sure he could do the Literature part very independently, at least at first, so am taking all this info in and trying things pinned down for placement.

From what you've shared, I think CTC would be a better placement than RTR for ds. It is definitely a meaty enough program. CTC's reading is already a challenge, but it is not as difficult as RTR's reading. Likewise, CTC's writing is already a challenge, but it is not as difficult as RTR's writing. CTC teaches written narrations in a more partnering way at the start of the guide, and then that tapers off to become more independent. My ds found that training to be so helpful before doing it more independently. In RTR, dc are expected to be able to do written narrations already. The amount of writing in RTR is increased, as well as the amount of reading, and as well as the level of independence. By doing CTC, your ds would have the opportunity to grow in the areas of reading, writing, and independence, while still being challenged by all of the skills taught in CTC. HOD is an incredible way to homeschool - there is so much there. The guides are rich with excellent living books, meaningful activities and varied comprehension checks, Charlotte Mason skills, solid academic progressions of necessary skills, deep discussions that build relationships (with the Lord, with each other, with others), and learning that dc are fascinated by - it really has been such a blessing for our family. Having taught 16 years myself (7 ps, 9 homeschooling) and gotten my master's in education, I have pretty much seen it, studied it, or taught it all, but HOD has been exactly what I've always wanted. I hope something here has helped as you consider your decision - you will know best, but those are just a few thoughts I had.

In Christ,
Julie