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I have been homeschooling for 6 yrs now. This will be my first time to use HOD, but I am so excited! I am almost positive I will use Creation to Christ with my 11 yr old (who will be 6th gr). It's my younger 2 I am debating about. I want to be able to use the same level with them. I have an 8 yr old son and a 6 yr old daughter. She just turned 6 and we are almost done with Kindergarten. She is a very strong reader.....She just finished up a 2nd gr A Beka reader, and for math we used Saxon 1. My son will be 9 in October, and will be 3rd gr. He is also an excellent reader, and we are just finishing up Saxon 3 math. I am stuck between Beyond and Bigger. I would really really like to use one for the both of them, but I don't want Beyond to be too easy or below his level, nor do I want Bigger to be too advanced for my 6 yr old. Since I have never used HOD before, I just don't know. Thank you in advance for your help.

Welcome to the boards! You're going to love HOD!!

As for placement I'd go with Beyond. With God you place the younger and beef up for Tue older rather than always having to par down for the younger and leaving them as.tagalongs. next year in Bigger, you'd have the extensions if your then 4th grader needed them.

So for this fall you'd do Beyond as.written with the 6yo using spelling list 1 and the math activities from.the guide and the emerging readers list in.the apendix. You'd likely want to get the Bigger Hearts guide to.do.the first.level.of dictation with the older as well as the math plans and grammar. You could add DITHOR a.couple or three times a week for the older if you desired.
next year you'd move into Bigger and have younger do.it as is with spelling list 2 and math and gtammar as is. You'd have older use the math plans.in.the appendix and do a lesson a day about 4 days per week for grammar. You'd want the preparing.hearts guide for the next dictation level. You'd do DITHOR with both of them.together. each year from this point on has extensions and three levels planned in each guide for math and.dictation. and two levels of grammar. So from.preparing up you'd be working.totally from one.guide.
Hope that makes sense for you and the extra periods font confuse you. Lol. Typing on my phone and.theperiod button is right next to.the space bar button. And we all know autocorrect has a sense.of humor so sorry in advance.if that shows. Lol

Thank you so much for replying! It is nice to talk to someone who actually knows what they are talking about! I can look at it all day, but until I actually use it, my knowledge is limited! So thank you! I was also considering using the DITHOR with my 6 yr old, but do you think she is too young? She does read very well. I teach a kids Sunday School class, and she actually reads as well as my 3rd graders, and better than some of them. Most words she can read without sounding out, unless really hard ones. Also,with my 8 yr old, we did Shurley English level 2 this year. It is quite advanced. I was debating whether to take a year off from it and do something different, because it can be time consuming. But it is so thorough, and they really know their stuff from having used it. So what is your opinion there?

And to just clarify what you were saying (to make sure I understand)....I would use the beyond for them together for History and Science, but would need the Bigger guide for dictation, grammar and math? Is that correct? and I let her take the singapore placement test, and she could start with the 1B, so is that where I should start her, or should I begin her with the 1A? and do you have any idea where my 8 yr old would start, having completed saxon 3?

Lets see.if I can answer some.questions.without too many typos.

Rod and staff is.extremely advanced..so much that finishing.level 6 by 8th grade.is not.only acceptable but advanced.compared.to public school. Finishing levels 7&8 over four years.of.high school.is.credit.worthy. it teaches diagramimg.rather than.parsing so it requires a.bit deeper thinking.than shurley and is much quicker and.simpler.format. you do most orally saving a small.portion yo.be written. Many of.us do many lessons.totally orally. I've thought my daughter wasn't.retaining until our third level this year. She's in book four and.I.realized as.I do.all.the oral.review questions from
The guide.each lesson that she answers 99% of them.correctly with ease. So it works and no meed.foe jingles.to recall. It's.just.well learned and.retained.. I'd go to rod and staff 3.

The 6yo shouldn't.do.dithor. I'd pick a boo.oartway through the emerging.readers or even.start at the begginimg. There are so many skills.taught through them.than.one.might realize and tthey are.excellent prep for dithor. Fluency, reading aloud with inflection and.feeling accurately, comprehension, analyzing and predicting.and.connecting, and so much more. It's not just books to.read.
As.for math. If she placed.in 1b you could start there but honestly I'd start in 1a and learn the Singapore.way from.the beginning. It will be easy at.first.but build.confidence. plus children in.Singapore start 1a at age 7. Its very advanced which will.become.evident in future elementary levels if you get to.them.before your child.is ready.
The 8yo should.take a placement test but.coming.from.Saxon 3, I'd start testing.at 2a. Saxon is rote memory and.Singapore.is deeply conceptual. And the methods are.very different so starting.lower and moving.faster is better than.starting.higher and.having.to.go.really slow.
tired.of all.the periods.yet? Sorry. My big thumbs don't like these.little buttons. Lol.

So you'd use everything.in.beyond.together. except use.bigger.for math, dictation, and.grammar. that means Bible, science, history, poetry, and everything else will be combined. You may also
choose to have your 8yo do one.of the cursive books from bigger or just.have both do that next year

Okay. That helps alot! I am wondering about math for my 11 yr old. She will be 6th gr. She is almost finished with Teaching Textbooks level 7. Should I stick with that and do the Pre-Algebra next year, or try Singapore, or do you have a different suggestion? She is good in math, but she has never really liked it. We started with A Beka, and by 2nd gr she loathed it.....We did Saxon for a while, I think 3rd gr and then the 5/4. then we went to Teaching Textbooks, which she liked so so much better. The level 7 has been challenging this year, but I can't even remember doing profit margins and such as that.....(it's been a long time)....So your help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Singapore might be hard.to.switch to this late. I don't.have much experience.with upper math as my oldest is in Math Mammoth 5. It is much like.Singapore but easier.yo jump into later. And.its advnaced requiring lots.of.critical thinking and mental math. So perhaps a.year of MM6, followed by Math Essentials Pre-Algebra, then on VideoText Module A which is also pre alg but digs deeper and requires.more of.the student. These are.recs I received regarding my daughters.math plan since we came to.Singapore too late for her and it wasn't working. I went tomath mammoth and.didn't know where to.go from.there. Carrie and/or Julie suggested math essentials and.VT as I posted above. Vt will be planned in.carries upper guides. Module B I think starts algebra 1 and A-frame give full algebra 1 and 2 credit. Then geometry a-f ggive credit for geometry and trig I believe. So its a program you can make the switch to and know.it can.grow with you without having.to change anymore. And it is very solid. Carrie has expressed concerns about TT from.experience as.well as.Apologia science's Jay Wilethough the format was.fantastic.. expressing.his concerns that it doesn't prepare them for high school science well enough. I personalty wasn't impressed with it after.seeing. the depth of Singapore and.math mammoth.

Just take this with a grain.of.salt. feel free.to email or call HOD or post the math question.on.the board. Carrie and Mike give great personal advice and.the ladies here are.great.to help. I'm.sure.the math would get.more attention.in.its own.post!

Hope I've been.of some.help. I have loved everything.about HOD but beyond.all the acdmeics which are incredibly solid and the great literature and book choices you can trust, the relational focus on.christ and my kids' hearts has every program.out there beat by far. Hope you're just as blessed.

okay, so now I am wondering which R&S to use with my 2 oldest.....My 5th grader has used Shurley English level 6 this year, and my 2nd grader has used the level 2 this year. I have no idea how that compares to R&S though.

jenchampion wrote:okay, so now I am wondering which R&S to use with my 2 oldest.....My 5th grader has used Shurley English level 6 this year, and my 2nd grader has used the level 2 this year. I have no idea how that compares to R&S though.

Mom2monkeys did a super job of answering your questions! For your fifth grader, R & S English 5 should be a good fit. For your second grader, you can do R & S English 2 if you want a bit of a reivew, or R & S English 3 if you want all new. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie