New here. Need help with placement.

[Seashell517]

Hi everyone. Well I've been stalking this message board for weeks since the Lord has been moving me to switch our curriculum to HOD. I'm just having some trouble placing my DS. He will be 11 in July. I also have a 7 year old DD who easily places in bigger and a 3 yo DS who has started LHTH and he's loving it! And we have a 5 month old DS too:). When I look at the placement chart I can answer yes to everything in preparing except cursive writing. Based on this should I just have him do bigger with extensions? It would be easier on me to have him with my DD but I also want to make sure he's in the right program. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks so much! I'm very excited about being a HOD homeschooler.

[blessedmomof4]

Hi, if your 11 year old places in every part of Preparing except cursive, you should use Preparing. I had the same situation with one of my daughters at the time she was ready for Preparing but had not mastered cursive. I simply added the book Cheerful Cursive (from Bigger) and had her do one lesson a day. For any written assignments in Preparing that specified being done in cursive, I simply allowed her to do them in print until she had learned more cursive (about halfway through the school year she began using cursive in her written work). On the other hand, if you would rather combine, you can use Bigger for both and have your older child use extensions, including the follow-up activities that are in the appendix of Bigger. It depends on whether you feel your children will work well together or not. For me, even though my children are close in age and even ability, they are very far apart in maturity and personality, so combining was not the best way to go. Hope that helps

[Seashell517]

Thanks for your help. They do work well together but part of me is thinking that at his age he may need his own "thing". Has anyone seen a difference for the better when kids have their own work to be responsible for that is different than their siblings? I like your options for writing. That's a good idea. Oh. Another part of my decision is that he really wants to learn American history. Is it possible to do preparing but have him contribute to the history portion of bigger or would that be too much?
Thanks!

[my3sons]

...Has anyone seen a difference for the better when kids have their own work to be responsible for that is different than their siblings?...

I have! I have! I need a 'waving hand' smilie! Starting around 10 yo, especially, I saw my older ds wanting to be seen as more grown up than his siblings, and this feeling has manifested through the years as he is 12 turning 13 yo now. I can imagine a revolt if I had him doing the same thing as his 9 yo brother right now - not an all out war revolt - but the silent, something is brewing under the surface type of conflict. Now, if he placed the same place as 9 yo brother according to the placement chart, that would be a different story. But he doesn't. And neither does your 11 yo. I say let that ds soar!

11 yo's want to take on more responsibility. Be more adult. Feel 'older'. And the easiest, most enjoyable, least painful way I have found to do this is let them do different things in school. Usually, 11 yo's can read their own history and science material, barring any special circumstances. I think it is important to let them do this. It helps them feel 'all grown up', and it lets them grow in their academics too. What we read ourselves, we remember better. We have found this to be true with our sons. If an older sibling who is able to do his own reading (or even a portion of his own reading) in history and science is combined with a younger sibling who can't, the parent is forced to do the reading aloud. While we as parents may enjoy this, it is taking away the chance for our older dc to mature in their learning, to take on this important responsibility gradually on their own.

My oldest ds has loved transitioning into a young man who is more responsible for his learning. He feels good about it. He has risen to the challenge and grown in the process. The way HOD gently encourages and supports this transition has been such a support to me as a mom! I can see my oldest ds and I would have butt heads over this transition otherwise. I would have been reading to him forever simply because I like to read... not to mention I enjoy the books myself. BUT, the fact is, HE needed to take on this responsibility, to feel capable, to become more of a key player in his education. He LOVES setting up his day. Independent boxes in HOD let him do this successfully. He likes to plan it out - figure out how HE wants his day to flow, and then I set up my part and we're good to go. Our meeting times are so fulfilling for both of us now. He likes to take the lead. I like to let him. It truly is such a blessing to see him thriving with being more in the driver's seat of his learning! All of this would not be possible if I had him combined with a younger sibling in a guide far beneath where he truly placed.

I think your 11 yo would LOVE PHFHG! I think you would too. Are you sure about the 7 yo's placement in BHFHG? Just checking. Our oldest ds did BHFHG at 7 yo and thrived. Our next ds needed longer in it. Here's a link to check out the writing in BHFHG...
Amount of writing in BHFHG:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3005
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1516&p=11829

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about American history. It's coming around again for 11 yo later. I'd not have him try to do BHFHG along with PHFHG. I'd let them each have their own special thing - I think you will all enjoy it - but what are your thoughts? HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Seashell517]

Thanks Julie. By the way, I was just reading your blog yesterday. Love your chore charts:). Okay. Back to placement. Well my dd skills wise places in bigger but I'm not so sure based on maturity. I said 7 because she's about to turn 7 so she's still on the younger side. Would it be better to start her out in beyond? I guess I'm just having a hard time with my confidence. With my 3 year old in lhth and a 5 month old I'm scared I'll get in over my head with 3 guides yet people on here are handling way more than that. I don't know how you do it! You're super women! My ds almost 11 is reading at a high school level but he is way behind in writing and in math he will be at Singapore 2b level. I'm going to try to get him through it this summer so we can start the school year at 3a. We've been doing an eclectic sort of unschooly type of thing here and I feel like I've done him a real disservice by not teaching him more of the basic skills. He's a super smart kid though and picks up really fast. I have r&s 2 and 3 and he's half way through 2 right now. He zipped through the first half in a month. This was another one I was going to work on this summer. He's never done dictation. His spelling is okay but every once in a while he will exchange his d or b. So based on this, is preparing still a fit with working on writing and cursive as we go? Or would bigger work and maybe I move my daughter to beyond. That way they still have their own "thing". Oh. I'm so confused:). I guess I'll just really need to commit this to prayer but any help from your experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
Shelly

[my3sons]

Thanks for getting back to me and sharing your thoughts, Shelly! That really does help so much! I think PHFHG for your ds and Beyond for your dd would be a great placement. Your ds is a great reader, and PHFHG will have him reading his own science, and a portion of his own history. It will also help guide him in his written narrations and dictation nicely. I think you have a great plan in place to work through Singapore 2B and R & S English 2 this summer. Then, when you start PHFHG, he'll be in R & S English 3 and Singapore Math 3A - perfecto! PHFHG is an amazing guide to teach, and it is a great place to start your ds. Likewise, Beyond will be a nice fit for your almost 7 yo. I think you will enjoy letting your ds begin to take the guide and use it as a student planner for his "I" independent boxes, and he will feel so capable as he follows his directions for those few boxes. Likewise, while he is working on his independent boxes, you can be working with your Beyond dd. Each of your 2 older dc can take a playtime with your 3 yo too - possibly during 5 mo old's nap? Then, while one is playing with the 3 yo, you can teach the other, and vice versa. I bet you will find your 11 yo can clip along and do a good portion of PHFHG at his own pace once he gets in a routine order of doing things, with you doing the follow-ups and just working on some key areas with him. Your dd's Beyond will only take her around 2 hours or so to do, and she will be able to do that well as she fits easily into that placement. What are your thoughts though? Oh, and I am definitely not superwoman! But I do have HOD on my side, and I do have each of my kiddos in guides they can do, and those two things make the world of difference! Keep your confidence up - you are a good mama - and you are going to love your days with HOD! I depend on HOD getting me through this homeschooling journey from start to finish - you can too.

In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

A few other thoughts - you could just do 1 Storytime with your 2 dc, and that would be fine! We suggest that routinely for moms doing multiple HOD guides. PHFHG's Storytime is linked to the history, and Beyond's is based on genre (1 adventure, 1 historical fiction, 1 biography, etc.). You could just pick 1 of them and do them with both kiddos. Also, you could transition 11 yo ds into taking over a portion of his Reading about History box as well. I think you may want to start the year with you reading it, to get him into the routine of things, but because he is going to be 11 yo and is a great reader, it would be just fine to slowly have him take over a portion or all of the Reading about History box. A compromise may be to set the timer for 10 minutes and have you read PHFHG's Reading about History reading until it rings - then your ds could finish what was left on his own. Charlotte Mason advocated that dc around 10 yo should take over their history/science readings as able, as this improves comprehension and retention. HOD adheres to this philosophy, so I just thought I'd share those ideas with you too as ds is a great reader and within that age bracket too! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[Seashell517]

Thanks Julie. The more I thought about it last night the more I thought that beyond and phfhg were the way to go. I think my ds is ready for a challenge as I haven't really put much on his plate. I really feel that if he has ownership of his education that he will rise to the challenge and for his age phfhg will do that. Bigger looks fun too but I really want him to be in the right program. So I think I've made up my mind:). Beyond and phfhg it is:). I feel really good about that decision. He's such a good boy and he's very mature for his age so it will be a good fit. Thank you for your encouragement. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength! We can do it!

God bless!
Shelly

[Seashell517]

Oh. One more question... Which dithor student book should I get for him? 2/3 or 4/5. I've looked at the samples and I think he could do either one. Which book pack do you think?

Thx!

[my3sons]

HOORAY! I love a good plan coming together. I think I'd do DITHOR Level 4/5 for him, and you can choose whichever book pack you think fits his abilities and interests best. Here are some links for a few different levels to consider for him...

Level 4/5 Boy Interest:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/DITHOR45-boys-pack.php

Level 5/6 Boy Interest:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/DITHOR56-boys-pack.php

HTH - have a great day!
In Christ,
Julie

[Seashell517]

Thanks Julie. That's where I was leaning but it was nice to get the confirmation from you:). Great. Your work here is done... For now:).