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I have a 14 yo DS who will be going into the 9th grade this fall. He has never used HOD but I was wondering, is HOD something that I could start with him in 9th grade and use through high school? He has never done anything like HOD and is a worksheet kind of guy. Knowing this, would I be crazy to switch him to HOD if it is even possible? And if I wouldn't be crazy, where would I need to start him? Thanks for the help and input.

Well you want to start by looking at the placement chart here:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php
You need to see where his skills fall on the chart to get a baseline idea of where he would fall.

netpea wrote:Well you want to start by looking at the placement chart here:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php
You need to see where his skills fall on the chart to get a baseline idea of where he would fall.

OK, I did this and think he would start with Revival to Revolution. So, knowing this would I be crazy for starting his High School years with something total different? And if I didn't use the English, Science, and math recommended about how long would the day take?

glperky wrote:OK, I did this and think he would start with Revival to Revolution. So, knowing this would I be crazy for starting his High School years with something total different? And if I didn't use the English, Science, and math recommended about how long would the day take?

As far as the length of day goes, if you change out the recommended programs, you may be adding more time, I do not know for sure. Since you are looking at 9th grade, you will want to check with Carrie or Julie on how to make the program high school credit worthy. My kids are younger so I haven't had to look into that yet. I'm sure the ladies with more experience will chime in. Everyone here loves to help.

Bump

netpea wrote:Bump

Thanks for the "bump."

I don't know about making it credit worthy, ethier, but there is a sticky thread near the top of the main board on beefing up a program for JR/Sr high. Did you check that out?

As far as switching to HOD for high school from a different approach-no, I don't think it's a crazy idea!

Our situation is not quite the same as this will be our 3rd year with HOD, but we did come to it pretty late for my 14YO DS. I started him (7th) in Preparing as I was trying to combine children. This was way too easy, so I moved him up to RTR this year (8th). (both with extensions). Next year he will do Rev2Rev with extension for 9th grade. He has already done physical science (Apologia) so we are going to move on the Apologia Biology instead. He is currently working on the first year of VideoText Algebra, so we will just continue with year two of that next year. I also added in first year Spanish and some Progeny Press literature guides. He will only be up to R&S 6 next year, but we will go through it full-speed so that we can still do Book 7 and 8 in high school.

As far as jumping in being new to HOD, depending on your past experience with narrating, notebooking, and dictation, these skills may take a little bit to develop, but I wouldn't worry. He will pick it up quickly. I think anyone new to HOD (starting on a later guide) would be wise to go slow the first couple weeks. Even if you only get half of a "day" done each day for the first few weeks. It takes a little for the kids to get the hang of how to use the guide and what it is expecting. Once they get used to it, they will move through the lessons much more quickly. Don't be discouraged if your first few days, you feel like you barely get anything accomplished. Don't push him, and let him get used to the new curriculum.

I really think he will love it! Most kids who switch to HOD later after being in PS or using a different curriculum find HOD very refreshing and find the lessons interesting. I think they retain more than they do with more traditional curricula where you just memorize information and move on. Just my 2 cents.

MicheleW wrote:Our situation is not quite the same as this will be our 3rd year with HOD, but we did come to it pretty late for my 14YO DS. I started him (7th) in Preparing as I was trying to combine children. This was way too easy, so I moved him up to RTR this year (8th). (both with extensions). Next year he will do Rev2Rev with extension for 9th grade. He has already done physical science (Apologia) so we are going to move on the Apologia Biology instead. He is currently working on the first year of VideoText Algebra, so we will just continue with year two of that next year. I also added in first year Spanish and some Progeny Press literature guides. He will only be up to R&S 6 next year, but we will go through it full-speed so that we can still do Book 7 and 8 in high school.

As far as jumping in being new to HOD, depending on your past experience with narrating, notebooking, and dictation, these skills may take a little bit to develop, but I wouldn't worry. He will pick it up quickly. I think anyone new to HOD (starting on a later guide) would be wise to go slow the first couple weeks. Even if you only get half of a "day" done each day for the first few weeks. It takes a little for the kids to get the hang of how to use the guide and what it is expecting. Once they get used to it, they will move through the lessons much more quickly. Don't be discouraged if your first few days, you feel like you barely get anything accomplished. Don't push him, and let him get used to the new curriculum.

I really think he will love it! Most kids who switch to HOD later after being in PS or using a different curriculum find HOD very refreshing and find the lessons interesting. I think they retain more than they do with more traditional curricula where you just memorize information and move on. Just my 2 cents.

Thank you for this Michele.

Can you tell me about how long your child "schools" each day?

As far as narrating, notebooking and dictation, my DS really has no experience with these. That's one of the main things that scares me away from switching him, however, I think developing these things would really benefit him in college. Any thoughts on this?

I am using Rev to Rev with a 14 year old, and she had been in public school for a year and a half. There is definitely a "learning curve" in getting accustomed to the "HOD way" of doing things, but don't let that frighten you. You may just have to spend some time alongside him at the beginning, even with the parts of the daily lessons that are marked "I" for independent and "S" for semi-independent, until he gets the hang of things. You can make Rev to Rev credit-worthy for 9th grade by using the advanced science option and adding the history extension package. You can also use DITHOR 6/7/8 (both the teacher manual and student book are necessary to use this program) for literature instruction for a 9th grader as long as you substitute 9th-grade appropriate books for your genre selections.
I agree that the skills taught in HOD are great prep for college. Many of the thinking skills naturally woven into the Charlotte Mason-inspired approach I have found necessary in the college courses which I am now taking, and indeed what I am teaching my girls is helping ME.
I would advise you, once you have your HOD guide in hand, to read the introduction and appendix thoroughly, so that you have a handle on how to do things, and refer back to them often The dictation passages and instructions, as well as the extension schedule and instructions and math schedule and poetry selections are all found in the appendix. Hope that helps!
PS-we use the HOD recommendations for language arts and a different math, and the school day averages 5 to 5 1/2 hours for dd age 14.

Thanks for your help and replies.