heartofdakota.com

Hi there, I am new to homeschooling and have a 4.5 yr old boy and a 6 yr old girl. It seems as if these books are grouped by age, not grade, is that true? How do I know which one to get for my pre-schooler, the LHH or the other one that is his age? When I purchase these books, does it come with a lesson plan, do I need one or do I just go day to day? I'm so excited but totally FREAKED out! lol

I need to figure out my kids learning styles but I feel like the kids need hands on to learn. Does HOD offer this?

SherinaW,

We're so glad to have you here! The ladies are so wonderful about helping that I know you will enjoy your time spent on the HOD Board! I'll just move your post over to the Main Board so more moms will see it. All new posts begin on the Main Board.

Blessings,
Carrie

First of all...remain calm! Just teasing I know how overwhelming this all is!

The first place you'll want to go is the placement chart found here: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php You can see where your kids fit with this pretty well. If you have any other questions you can e-mail or call Carrie and she is great about helping you out!

Secondly, the guides are the lesson plans. They are clear, easy to understand, and simply laid out. It is truly open and go with only a need to review briefly before beginning the lessons. HOD is a WONDERFUL balance of hands on, critical thinking, and some workbooks at all ages. You'll love it I'm not good at coming up with hands on stuff and HOD helps me fill the gap! Without these guides my poor girls would be doing workbooks probably all day! How horrible!

Welcome to HOD and I hope you enjoy your journey!
Melissa

Once you get a chance to pop back and share where your kiddos fit as individuals on the placement chart that lissiejo linked above, we'll be glad to help you more. The first page of the placement chart is the most important.

Blessings,
Carrie

Hi SherinaW, and welcome to the HOD Board! Lissiejo did a great job of pointing you in the right direction by having you check out the placement chart - she is really such an encourager and helpful lady. You are right that the guides are grouped by ages instead of grade levels. I love this! This takes into account each child's needs and moves them forward. HOD is not a "oh, your child is 6 yo, here's your box of stuff" kind of curriculum. HOD does take age into account, but it also helps us consider individual skill levels in various subject areas, whether it is a good idea to combine, how mature dc are, how independent dc are, how dc work together with siblings, size of family, life circumstances, etc. - placement considers all these things - and the result - a customized great placement for each family that isn't cookie-cutter!

So, I am eagerly anticipating hearing about each of your sweet children! The kinds of things that are helpful to tell ladies on the board are usually in regard to the first page of the placement chart. For your 4.5 yo, you would want to look at the "Little Hands to Heaven" and the "Little Hearts for His Glory" columns of the first page of the placement chart, and tell us about him. For example, in reading, is your ds "still learning letters and letter sounds", or is he "ready for phonics instruction"? For writing, is he "getting ready to write", or is he "ready to begin learning formal manuscript printing to begin to write words"? Just sharing your thoughts in regard to the first page of the placement chart will help all of us chime in with specific placement advice to get you off on the right foot!

Likewise, for your 6 yo dd, you will want to look at the LHFHG and Beyond Little Hearts... columns, and share your findings here. This may seem like a complicated process, but it really is not, and we are all here to help! It may take a little time, but I can guarantee it results in a better school year all year long than a "here's your box" kind of approach.

We have used HOD for 10 years now, and we continue to LOVE it! I am excited for you to begin homeschooling with HOD. The guides are truly open and go, with 2 page spreads that are easy to follow. They are very clear about what to do, and the plans do take into account learning styles, making sure each style is well represented. The guides make it easy on us moms - I never prepare to teach ahead, and I am using 3 guides. Please take time to share your placement chart thoughts, and all these super gracious and helpful ladies on this board will chime in to help you out! Looking forward to getting to know you here!

In Christ,
Julie

Wow ladies, thanks so much! I never rec'd email confirmation that I was getting replies on here, which I thought I would but maybe its b/c my message was moved? I'm new to forums as well.... :0) If on the computer, its almost always for work and thats it.

Thanks again for all your wonderful and kind words, as well as helping me out. I went ahead and purchased LHH and Beyond. I am trying to read the intro's and will try and start in the next couple of weeks. I'm really excited!

I'm sure once I get the hang of it, it'll be easy..

:0)