heartofdakota.com

My friend uses your program and it is frequently discussed and recommended on the WTM forums. The problem is that I looked at the scope and sequence and have no idea where to place my daughter. If I tell you all her abilities without telling you her age, you would probably place her in Preparing, but based on her age, she should be in Beyond in the fall. I can tell from looking at the samples that the math from Beyond is much too easy for her. She is 5.5 (6 in August) and currently reading and comprehending at a 4th and 5th grade level. She is working through Singapore 2nd grade and is writing narrations and paragraphs. Where do you recommend placing a child like that? Or is HOD not a good fit for her? Thank you for your advice.

Rather than scope and sequence start with the ability placement chart. That is much easier to figure out!
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

My daughter is in 2nd grade (7) and also a very high-level reader (4th-5th grade like yours!) She is using Bigger this year and it has been a perfect fit. Preparing might be a bit much without going through Bigger first. There are a lot of foundation skills in this guide.

I would also recommend Bigger for your daughter with singapore 3A/3B. I think Beyond would not be challenging enough, however Bigger will prepare her for future guides.

My oldest ds was reading Little House on the Prairie books when he was almost 6 yo, and he could write just as well (though not with perfect spelling ). He is currently doing MTMM for his seventh grade year. He is doing well, but it is challenging aplenty. If I were you, looking ahead, I'd not go higher than Beyond Little Hearts. You can always choose Drawn into the Heart of Reading to challenge her nicely in LA, and math is easy to choose any level that fits. From what you've shared so far, I think doing Beyond as your core program, using DITHOR 2/3 with whatever books you choose, using the Spelling List 2 from the back of Beyond, and possibly adding R & S English 2 for a challenge would be a good idea. When you get the chance to share your findings from checking out the placement chart, I'd love to help with more fine-tuned advice though! I just wanted to share that the content gets more and more mature, and the skills get harder and harder - HOD has challenged my ds who was a very early reader and writer all through the years, and he has been on the very youngest of the target age range for each guide always. If I'd gone any higher, we'd not have had all the awesome, timely Biblical helps and Godly character helps along the way at just the right time. We'd also have had a lot less time to enjoy discussions, laugh together, and truly enjoy this homeschooling journey to its fullest. I would love all of those things for you and your dd!

In Christ,
Julie

Agreed. Even though it sounds like she has learned a lot and has a lot of LA skills, one thing I can tell you is that each guide goes up quickly in the amount of work and what is expected of the child in terms of attention span, independence, and diligence. Don't push your DD too hard in this too young. She may race through Beyond, it sounds like she is more than capable of doing the work in it, but the amount of work in Bigger is part of the challenge for a child moving up into that. When my DD switched from Beyond to Bigger our school day went from about 2 hours to 3.5 hours. That's 3.5 hours of serious work, not like in a school setting where the hours include breaks, lunch, recess.

So to give you and your sweet girl some time to work up to the amount of work in Bigger, you may want to start with Beyond, and then accelerate it if it seems like your DD is going quickly and its too easy for her. But if you add in the challenge of DITHR, extension books either for her to read or you to read to her, perhaps the math and spelling/dictation from Bigger and/or R&S 2 also, that should be more than challenge enough.

Blessings to you making this decision!

What has been your homeschooling... approach... so to speak? HOD is very Charolotte Mason. You'l be reading smaller parts of history books than you're use to (perhaps) BUT with HOD you will be adding memory enhancing activities. It is not about speeding through books. Your daughter would liky get a lot out of Beyond. And at 5.5.... well, all those activities and the stories and all things Beyond HOD is going to appeal to her age. I have been just soooo happy with what my son has learned and he thinks HOD is AWESOME. He loves school! I mean, he really loves it. My heart has been just overwhelmed with joy. The activities planned into LHFHG have been a huge part of that. Just the books on their own would NOT have the same effect. There is more to Beyond than what you can see in the catalog.

You can quite easily adjust the math level and the reading level to fit her, like Julie suggested. I honestly think the older guides would overwhelm her... and might (might) turn your year into something unenjoyable... too much. ??? Carrie knows what children like, I am convinced at that. Haha. The target age range really works! And she has purposely made the guides EASY to adjust to different math and reading levels.

NOT PREPARING!

Yes...I am opinionated, but I am really very nice.

I would go with Bigger without a doubt. You can set her up for reading and math at any level you want and go at her pace. She might enjoy Drawn Into the Heart Of Reading.

Preparing is a HUGE LEAP from Bigger. Plus Bigger is a fun guide, and I wouldn't want you to miss it! You have plenty of time for all the guides with her being so young. So, sit back. Relax. And enjoy the wonderful ride that is HOD.

Thank you, everyone for your suggestions. Our schooling approach has been eclectic. We have been doing a mix of Classical Conversation and Well Trained Mind. She has sped ahead on her own. We currently do about 3.5 hours of school, but a good hour of that is me reading aloud to her from living science books and from The Story of the World. I am tired of doing my own planning and really want something open and go. Based on the catalog and my DD I feel Bigger would be a better fit for sure than Beyond. I do agree now that Preparing would be too much. I will get to do Beyond eventually with my son. Actually, I will be getting Little Hearts for him. I am looking forward to trying HOD!