heartofdakota.com

Hello ya'll, so I am new to homeschooling. My kids are now in public school but I am withdrawing them in the fall. I have wanted to do this for some time but especially now, I feel God tugging at my heart to get my butt in gear.
I have done a lot of research, observed others, got advice from half the church women, joined local homeschool Facebook groups. I really like HOD. It seems like my kids would really excel with this curriculum. Of course, the main question seems to be where to place my kiddos.
I have 3 children. Oldest is 11yo entering 6th grade in the fall. He is very book smart. He retains info like a sponge. Gifted and Talented. Great reader, excelling in all subjects. Always had straight A's. Been nominated for pre-ap courses for middle school.
Then there is my soon to be 10 year old, in August, who will be entering 4th grade in the fall. He is a bit slower. He has already been held back a year, hence the only entering 4th grade. He is a great reader. He has physical medical issues, severe Hemophilia A, which causes us to miss some school. He had a stroke when he was 2 after being hospitalized for a brain injury. Due to the stroke he has some memory delay and needs more breaks. He has gone through years of physical, occupational and speech therapy and graduated from all therapies. Yay, Thank God! Other than that, he is keeping up with the rest of his class. When he takes a test in class he is separated and given more time to complete assignments. He tends to get a temper when frustrated. Overall, he is very smart but just needs more one on one time and encouragement to not give up.
Last but certainly not least is my 8 year old daughter who will be entering 3rd grade in the fall. She is very smart, too smart. She loves to read. When the boys are playing video games all weekend she is in her room reading chapter books, or teaching her own class of stuffed animals. She is very artistic. She is above her level in most subjects, except math where she needs assistance. She is very visual and because of her age tends to need to be pushed to stay on task.
I am thinking that my 8 year old and my almost 10 year old would do Bigger Hearts for His Glory together with different levels of math, and my 11 year old would do Creation to Christ.
What do ya'll think? I need advice. This is my first time and I am kind of just jumping into this like I'm sure all ya'll did as well. I thank God for this forum to help me out. I really need to get this right. We are financially going to be struggling since I am cutting back drastically on work hours to be able to homeschool so can't afford to try out different curriculums.
We are putting all trust in the Lord.
Thanks in advance for any advice given.

Welcome! I remember how nervous I was when I brought one of my children home to homeschool. You said you do not have money or time to waste on the wrong curriculum and the good news is you've found the best! My 3 youngest children all started out with a virtual school taught at home. Now that we have been using Heart of Dakota for more than a year, I really wish I could reclaim those years that my children spent learning without the focus on Christ.

I'm wondering if you've had a chance to check out the placement chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php After you've seen where your children place, it would be good to come back and leave some more information. I think you are on the right track with combining your 8 and 10 year old children in Bigger. Bigger would be a wonderful first year with HOD! For your 11 year old who is ready for advanced courses, I'm wondering if he would place higher that CTC. My daughter started CTC when she was 12 and it has been perfect for her since she had not had a good History class based on Creation before. So I am very biased when I dislike for anyone to miss out on CTC. However, Res to Ref would probably more likely be the guide that your son should begin to keep him on track for beginning World Geography for high school. Even with Res to Ref, you may find that the science is too light for him if he excels in that area, also.

Maybe check out the placement chart and come back to let us know what your thoughts are.

So here is what is in my cart, seems like a lot and so expensive. I don't think we can afford all this. Please advise if this looks right or if I over did it

Quantity Name SKU Each Total
100 - Drawn Into The Heart of Reading - Teacher's Guide 100 $59.95 $59.95
101A - DITHOR - Student Book 2/3 101A $21.95 $21.95
101C - DITHOR - Student Book 6/7/8 101C $33.95 $33.95
500A - BHFHG - Economy Package 500A $93.98 $93.98
500G - BHFHG - Science Adder 500G $51.74 $51.74
402C - BLHFHG - Primary Math 2A Workbook 402C $10.80 $10.80
402E - BLHFHG - Primary Math 2B Workbook 402E $10.80 $10.80
502G - BHFHG - Singapore Answer Key 1A-3B 502G $7.30 $7.30
502C - BHFHG - Primary Math 3A Textbook 502C $10.80 $10.80
502D - BHFHG - Primary Math 3A Workbook 502D $10.80 $10.80
502E - BHFHG - Primary Math 3B Textbook 502E $10.80 $10.80
502F - BHFHG - Primary 3B Workbook 502F $10.80 $10.80
502A - BHFHG - Basic Package: Preparing To Build: English 2 - Pupil Text 502A $15.95 $15.95
502H - BHFHG - Basic Package: Little Pillows 502H $5.95 $5.95
502I - BHFHG - Basic Package: Hymns for a Kid's Heart - Book & CD 502I $21.99 $21.99
503A - BHFHG - Cheerful Cursive 503A $15.95 $15.95
800A - RTR - Economy Package with Shakespeare 800A $307.61 $307.61
800C - RTR - Science Option 1 Package 800C $86.60 $86.60
800G - RTR - Boy Option with God's Design for My Body 800G $18.73 $18.73
803P - RTR - The Bible Study in Stereo - Philippians 1 803P $15.00 $15.00
803I1 - RTR - Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons 803I1 $49.00 $49.00
803I2 - RTR - Medival History-Based Writing Lessons - Student Book only 803I2 $29.00 $29.00
603H - PHFHG - Building With Diligence English 4 - Pupil's Text 603H $18.45 $18.45
603I - PHFHG - Building With Diligence English 4 - Teacher's Manual 603I $24.95 $24.95
603A - PHFHG - Primary Math 4A - Textbook 603A $10.80 $10.80
603B - PHFHG - Primary Math 4A - Workbook 603B $10.80 $10.80
603C - PHFHG - Primary Math 4B - Textbook 603C $10.80 $10.80
603D - PHFHG - Primary Math 4B Workbook 603D $10.80 $10.80
603E - PHFHG - Singapore 4A-6B - Answer Key 603E $7.30 $7.30

Totaled $993.35!!!

I'm getting scared

You can homeschool cheaply but you get what you pay for! Having a strong literature-based program and guide like HOD provides is priceless!
The only advice I have from looking at your list is to consider buying the Teacher's Guide for Singapore 4A/B if HOD sells them. I don't use them much until level 5/6 but it's nice to have them on hand especially if you are jumping into that level with one child without ever having used Singapore Math. The Teacher's Guides also have the answers but give very nice teaching helps. I'm not sure if you had your child take a Singapore Placement Test but it is a program that is ahead of most and might require stepping back a level. Luckily, it is easy to breeze through Singapore with an older child at lightning speed if you need to start back a book or two since it has short lessons.

It is a huge cash outlay because you are buying 2 programs at once (with some add ons for your middle child, it looks like). But this is also all subjects, and most other curricula do not necessarily include all subjects and your overall cost will be similar, if not more if you piece it together from other sources. And consider that if you continue with HOD you have reusability with about 85% of what you have bought. So the successive years of the guide with other children will be WAY cheaper. Since I have 4 stairsteps 2+ years apart each this is totally worth it for me.

I think HOD is a great value for what you get. An excellent, academically rigorous program that is also fun and engaging, complete and integrated, and you do not have to plan ANYTHING besides which program to buy and how to run it each day. I do not have to break down all of my materials into my school year, balance how much is being done each day so it is enough and not too much, or plan my scope and sequence for the future to make sure my kids get in all the needed skills. As the other poster said, you can homeschool on a dime but it is a LOT of work for you, as in so many other areas when you save money you spend a lot of time to create it yourself. Especially for a first year out of school, I think it would be worth every penny.

Definitely use the Singapore placement test, unless your kids have been using Singapore at school.

Would you consider having your 10YO read the Bigger extensions, since you said he likes reading and is good at it? Just curious.