New to hsing and probably to HOD (sorry, long!)

[clmartz01]

Hi! My name is Crystal and I am a SAHM of 3 great kiddos. My daughter is almost 7, my son is 5 1/2, and I have a 1 year old. My daughter and son have been in ps this year (my daughter in 1st and my son in pre-k), and for many reasons, my husband and I have decided to homeschool.

I have been pouring over reviews for different curriculums for the past several months, and reading at homeschool forums, and HOD keeps being praised, so I've really been looking into it, and think we may use it. It certainly is economical and I like the approach far better then I think we would like just workbooks/textbooks.

Anyway, with all that said, I do have a few questions. Forgive me since I'm sure you've answered the same ones before.

I have been looking over the placement charts quite a bit and I'm unsure of where my daughter would fit in. She will be 7 for school and the equivalent of a 2nd grader. I'm not sure if Beyond or Bigger would be more appropriate for her. She excells in reading and, according to her teacher, reading at a high 3rd grade to 4th grade level.

She writes her own sentences, and even makes up her own short stories 'for fun!'

But I'm still unsure of where she belongs. There has been some frusteration with school in the last year and I don't want to get off to hsing on the wrong foot. I don't want her to be unhappy this year because I am pushing her too hard. Since I've never used HOD before, I really have no idea what to expect as far as the difficulty of each program.

Also, I am nervous about math with her. She gets very easily frusterated when it comes to math and I have heard conflicting things about Singapore math. I am interested in MUS but don't know how it would fit into the HOD daily plans.

And as far as phonics...do you all use "The Reading Lesson" or do you use something else? I never heard of it before. And "The Reading Lesson" (same book) is used for Little Hearts and Beyond? How does that work? ETA: Oh, and I meant to ask, has anyone used other phonics and had it work alright? I'm thinking of using ETC and then Bob Books for my son. Oh, and does anyone use HWT with HOD? Would all of those changes be a big problem?

I was also wondering if some of you that are more experienced could tell me whether or not it would be an overload trying to do two different programs, and manage my 1 yo, for our first year of hsing.

And lastly (finally!), what do I do when I get to 8th grade??? I'm always one to look ahead and it makes me nervous to start with a curriculum that I may love (that's what I've been told anyway!) and then face having to find something new when we get to the high school years. Aren't those years going to be nerve wracking enough without trying to find a new curriculum?! What have you all moved on to?

If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read through that. Hopefully next time I'll have shorter questions.

[momof2n2]

Hi Crystal,
I can't answer about doing two different programs, based on experience. I can tell you I will have two different programs next year, and a 4 and 2 year old, to boot.
I will have - son - 8 - 3rd grade - Bigger
son - 6 - 1st grade - LHFHG


I used MUS with Beyond for 2nd grade and it was fine.
I also used an alternative Language Arts program and it never impacted the left side of the pages, reading, or storytime at all. I may have missed out on a bit of overlap, but my son was certianly not hurt by it.

Welcome! I hope you enjoy it as much as we have!

[skillet04]

My son will be 7 soon and we decided to use Beyond because he is not reading on his own just yet ((although the texts/readers listed for Beyond are not babyish by any means)) and my son hates writing, he can do it but doesn't like to. I also wanted a review of addition/subtraction before moving on to mult/divi as what we were using, Ray's does.

We will be using Math Mammoth because it's table of contents goes hand in hand with Beyond's lesson plans just the same as singapore and I like you read the conflicting reviews on singapore, and don't want the headache. ((that was not meant as a put down, that's just personal preference and what my son needs...beauty of homeschooling that each family does what's right for their child, yes?))

I'm really looking forward to adding the fun into our already Charlotte Mason style of home educating. Just reading and narrating were boring my "wiggly" son to tears.

[annaz]

Hi Crystal:
I have a dd who just turned 8 and we're doing Beyond. We change "grade levels" in January because of her birthdate so we're not too old or too young for the levels.

My dd was math phobic and we used MUS and it pulled her out of it. There are no bells and whistles, but it is a very short lesson, Mr. Demme teaches it, I watch it, then watch the DVD w/my dd. It is fantastic at understanding math. What's good about MUS is that you move on as soon as the concept is understood. So a book could take you the full year or half or even 1/4 of the year depending on well she gets it. We loved it and had no problems with it. Then came HOD and Singapore. I shyed from Singapore because of the problems I heard with teaching it, but Carrie makes it simple and fun. She actually teaches it by the activities she sets out in the TM in addition to the key idea. We just hand out the worksheet afterward. If your child is math phobic, I would go with MUS. Singapore has areas that make them think out of the box and if math is a frustration, it will intensify it. They do some problems backwards so-to-speak. MUS uses visual manips then they don't continue until they can do problems without it. Much better for math phobics or frustrated kids. Both MUS and Singapore take the same amount of time. So you'd be able to do one or the other. No problems there.

As far as Beyond or Bigger, you can always add a book. And it's easier to beef up a curriculum than to dumb it down. You'll miss all the good stuff if you have to dumb down a curriclum. So keep that in mind in choosing. If you find it's too easy, then add more reading and writing. In addition to narration add writing to it, etc. Remember that advanced grade levels can be advanced due to content sometimes in addition to the physical work. If she was frustrated in school it's always better to start out FUN!!!!! HOD will be more fun. I guarantee it.

I can't answer too much on combining as I only have one child, but as far as Phonics, we use something else because I used it before finding HOD. I love Carrie's gentle intro to grammar. I wanted to do phonics and use her LA portion. It's easy to use whatever Phonics program in addition to math program. She specifically set it up that way.

Oh my 8th grade. Someone always told me to only, only go a year ahead and plan. That's it, otherwise you'll drive yourself insane. Remember that kids change, likes, dislikes, learning ways and abilities, they could be slow in one and ahead in another and next year could be completely different. But to answer your question, I believe Carrie is doing a new program every year up to middle school. The program this year is Preparing. She's writing them as her kids grow. Also remember as you get to 8th grade that you'll get better and better at this hs stuff. So what may seem scary now, may not be so nerve wracking then. It's a process, so don't drive yourself crazy over years and years and years ahead.

Hope this helps some.

[Samuel'sMommy]

Hi Crystal! I'm new myself so I don't have any advice for you but wanted to say welcome!

[Jen in Va]

Hi Crystal,
I'll try to answer some of your questions concerning programs I am using successfully along with LHFHG with my son.
For our phonics program I'm using Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading--from what I understand this guide covers all phonics a child will need up through 4th grade level. All laid out for me--scripted even--although I don't use the exact wording, just go through the lesson planned for each day. Some lessons take two days or more if I see my guy getting frustrated. However, for the most part he has moved through the program very well. I have supplemented the guide with a series of readers I found used--Little Patriot readers by Mile-Hi Publishers. They dovetail quite nicely with his phonics lessons. The Explode the Code books have been an excellent reinforcement for his lessons, as well. I've used them with all three of my kids and recommend them as an addition to almost any phonics program. We also use HWT--I bought the first book (My Print Book) for him to learn the letter formations. Now we use sentences from his readers for copywork in HWT style as his handwriting practice. I love the structure of HOD, and the ability to customize it with things that are already working for us.

Hope that helps somewhat!

[water2wine]

Hey there. I answered you some on HSR. Good to see you here! Just wanted to comment since I see some new info on your kids here. I wanted to first encourage you that it is very comfortable doing two programs. Not a problem at all. And reading about your daughter getting frustrated and the fact that she comes from ps (which I pulled four out myself ) I am thinking Beyond (maybe with DITHR) would be the way to go but I have not yet done that program so I am not confident in the fit. It does seem to me though that if spelling words were too easy you could add new ones, and there are lists all over the place, then just use the same techniques.

I know math was a huge struggle for us coming out of ps. We really needed to focus on that. If you did Singapore it would probably need to be on a lower level. I used R&S and it worked great for getting those facts. I have been using Singapore though with my younger children and I have to say if I had it to do over I may have just placed lower in Singapore and caught up. That is just based on how I am seeing my two littlest really excel and apply it to daily life.

The Reading Lesson is wonderful! It is the most painless and easiest way I have ever tried to teach reading. We love it. I use it with the cd and use the cd as a reward for having done the lesson. I wish I had found it years ago.

And sorry this is disjointed but as far as after 8th grade I would use what Carrie recommends and she has promised us she will. She gave us a little preview once and it was awesome. So she is thinking about that for us too because she is doing it for her own children as well.

Sorry this is all over the place.

[clmartz01]

Thank you guys for all of the helpful replies!

water2wine, it is nice to have some reassurance that I should be okay with two programs. With the curriculum I first had in mind I thought I would be combining my two and I just had that idea stuck in my head that I couldn't possibly do two programs...especially my first year. It is a bit intimidating being new to hsing to think of doing two different programs but I keep seeing posts about the minimal time requirement so I'm feeling better about it!

And, skillet04, thank you for mentioning Math Mammoth. I looked over the samples available online and have added this to my favorites so I can look it over some more. It really looks like a great program from what I've seen so far! I always hated math in school so math is a big issue for me!

Anyway, thank you for all the welcoming posts and advice. I'm sure I'll be back soon with more questions so it's nice to see that everyone here seems to be friendly and helpful!!

[Carrie]

Crystal,

Welcome to the boards! We're glad to have you here.

The ladies are doing a good job of helping answer your questions.

As far as choosing between "Beyond.." and "Bigger..." goes, the amount of writing varies quite a bit between Beyond and Bigger. Bigger requires more writing in the areas of a once a week history notebooking assignment, a once a week science experiment sheet and a once a week science notebooking entry, along with once a week copywork of a Bible verse, 1-3 vocabulary cards each week, cursive handwriting practice daily, and daily grammar instruction with written practice. It also provides a choice of spelling or dictation passages. If your little one sounds like that would be fine for her, she belongs in Bigger. If not, then Beyond would be best.

Beyond has much less writing doing copywork daily from the poetry, using a gentle once a week introduction to grammar, and writing daily for very short spelling lessons.

You would also want to look at the emerging reader set to see if your little honey should do all or at least the last half of that set. The schedule for that set is included in both Beyond and Bigger, so you'd have it either way. I would for sure have her to the last half of the set. Here's the link to it: Then, I would move her onto DITHR.
http://www.heartofdakota.com/emerging-reader.php

As far as your 5 year old goes, I would look closely at the placement chart to see where he places as well. You can use any phonics program you desire with our guides.

Let us know more about where your middle one places on the chart, so we can give you better help in that area.

Blessings,
Carrie

[skillet04]

In regards to a moms not finding math being her strong suit ... that's what I love about both Carrie's lesson ideas and any texts that helps us to teach or a child to teach themselves...talk about pressure relief!

I on the other hand am strong in math, always have been, even went to competitions and it can be frustrating when your child is not getting it ... just yet anyway...I'm sure it will come.

Patience is a virtue

[water2wine]

water2wine, it is nice to have some reassurance that I should be okay with two programs. With the curriculum I first had in mind I thought I would be combining my two and I just had that idea stuck in my head that I couldn't possibly do two programs...especially my first year. It is a bit intimidating being new to hsing to think of doing two different programs but I keep seeing posts about the minimal time requirement so I'm feeling better about it!

Crystal,

I want to tell you as a mom of six combining is not always the easiest thing to pull off and sometimes doing two is much easier. I honestly think three would be doable as well. I kept it to two because honestly it fit better for us into two and that gave me enough time to work with my dd who has CP and is learning delayed. She is kind of my third program in a way. With two program everyone is met at their level and then I have the extra time to work with her on LA and things she needs help with and still not feel pressured. But I will tell you trying to fit them all into a one size fits all program as I had before HOD I had far less time and it was very frustrating. With HOD I even have time to do some extras that fit our family's goals. So I just want to encourage you it really works very well. I know it kind of goes against some of the thought of other programs but HOD is set up very different and it is designed to be able to meet children with the program that fits them best even if that means doing a few.

[clmartz01]

Oooops! I did not realize I had more replies. I am glad I decided to check in here tonight!

Carrie, thank you for the welcome!

Editing the whole paragraph I just had posted to say, my daughter is reading level 4 books (easily) already. Looking at the age ranges, though, I wonder if it's possible to just use LHFHG. Is there any way to beef that up enough so that a "2nd grader" who is reading at a 3rd/4th grade level would get enough out of it?

I think I'm pretty set on placing Alex in LHFHG. He knows all of his letters and souds already and knows how to write letters, although his form needs A LOT of work (but I suspect that's probably normal for K level).

And Alex actually is my middle child, I have a younger one who is only one. I think it will be a couple of years before I have to start worrying about what to get him!

Thanks, Carrie!

[clmartz01]

In regards to a moms not finding math being her strong suit ... that's what I love about both Carrie's lesson ideas and any texts that helps us to teach or a child to teach themselves...talk about pressure relief!

I didn't realize she actually included lesson ideas as well. I think that will be VERY helpful to me. The idea of having to come up with how to teach the concepts is very scary to me!

[clmartz01]

But I will tell you trying to fit them all into a one size fits all program as I had before HOD I had far less time and it was very frustrating. With HOD I even have time to do some extras that fit our family's goals. So I just want to encourage you it really works very well. I know it kind of goes against some of the thought of other programs but HOD is set up very different and it is designed to be able to meet children with the program that fits them best even if that means doing a few.

Thank you for that! I'm pretty sure you know which program I was thinking about before, and I have to say I am so relieved that money *was* an issue for us. Had it not have been, I would have ordered the other curriculum, and I feel pretty certain I would have been dissapointed.

I took the time to go through all of the reviews and I really see that it would not have worked at all with my son. I think I got caught up in what *I* wanted! My son has sensory issues (with possible ADHD) and we need something way more hands on. I do think my daughter would have loved it but in my quest to combine them, I was almost skipping right over my son.

Anyway, not to be long winded but "thanks!" I actually have a sense of peace now about my curriculum choice that I did not have before. I am really looking forward to when I have the last of the money I need to place my order and have their books to start going over. I'm excited!

[water2wine]

I took the time to go through all of the reviews and I really see that it would not have worked at all with my son. I think I got caught up in what *I* wanted! My son has sensory issues (with possible ADHD) and we need something way more hands on. I do think my daughter would have loved it but in my quest to combine them, I was almost skipping right over my son.

I have a child with cerebral palsy so I completely understand what you are going through. What I have found with HOD is that HOD has so much flexibility within it and different LA options that we are really able to accommodate her weaknesses while still teaching to her strengths. That is a really hard thing to find. And at the same time all my other kids are met at their needs as well.

Editing the whole paragraph I just had posted to say, my daughter is reading level 4 books (easily) already. Looking at the age ranges, though, I wonder if it's possible to just use LHFHG. Is there any way to beef that up enough so that a "2nd grader" who is reading at a 3rd/4th grade level would get enough out of it?

I think that could be done using the appendix material however I think your older daughter would be missing out. It's kind of the opposite scenario of sacrificing what is best for the sake of the younger child. She looks to me to be clearly at Beyond with DITHR or Bigger with DITHR. If cost is an issue perhaps some of the books are available at the library or you could maybe buy as you go or even get half now and half later. But I think unless you are willing to make your own program for everything but the History and maybe the Bible I do not think it would work. And at that I think you are talking more books because your older would need the appendix books in LHFHG. I think cost wise, ease of teaching, and just sanity wise, you need two programs. You may easily be able to combine once your younger child is writing and reading. The two year span does work well when they are both writing and reading. For now though one thing to keep in mind if say your dd goes into Beyond then you will not need a program for your youngest next year and you can save LFHG to use again. So for us after this year with six kids we are only now buying one program a year (possibly two extension packs but still one program). It becomes very economical.

And if money is no issue then I am back to the original post of it is a whole lot easier to meet them at their need than to put them into a program where everyone does not fit.

Crystal you are going to love HOD! You just have to look at the chart and see where each fits best then go for it. You will not be sorry!