heartofdakota.com

I am brand new to home schooling. I haven't even started yet. I am picking my curriculum for next year and need your help. My son is currently in 5th grade and my daughter is in 4th grade, so I am looking for a 5th and 6th grade equivalent curriculum. They have both done well in private school this year, but for many reasons we have decided to start home schooling (mostly due to our children spending many nights and many weekends on school). I have decided to use HOD, but I am having trouble deciding which curriculum to use. I am leaning toward Resurrection to Reformation, but I am a little concerned it could be too hard for my 5th grade daughter. Most everything I have read so far describes it as a middle school curriculum and I don't want her to be discouraged in any way. One of the ways to decide on a curriculum is by cursive writing??? My daughter has learned cursive, but can't write cursive currently on her own. How to know if it is the right program?? Please help me decide.

I'd start them at a lower level honestly. I have a daughter who will be going into 5th grade next year and I would definitely not put her in Res to Ref. My 6th grader is working through it, but if she hadn't done the previous guides I'd probably not put her in it either.

Where do they fit individually according to the placement chart?

Preparing is a broad overview of history and teaches written narrations, etc. You could use it as is for your 5th grader and add in extensions for the 6th grader. I think Preparing is a wonderful guide to start new in HOD with. You would obviously have them at their own levels for math and English.

My 5th grade ds is doing CTC, and it has been a challenge. We started over a month or so ago, so as to catch up in all the areas he had been doing half hearted and sloppy work on. My older dc did CTC together as 5th and 7th graders, and it worked well with extensions for the older ds. There is a lot of writing in the curriculum, but after reading Carrie's reasons for all the activities involved, I feel strongly about my dc doing all their work, and doing it well. This may involve a lower level than I might at first be inclined to try , but well worth it in terms of "training for righteousness".

HI Statuto123, and welcome to the HOD Board! I agree with the ladies - it sounds like CTC will be a good fit for dd. Be sure to check out the placement chart one more time to be sure. Cursive is not a deal breaker. It's one consideration, but all of placement shouldn't ride on it. I think CTC would be an awesome place to begin with your dd in HOD! You'll be studying the ancients in a Christian way, and those resources are definitely meaty enough for a 5th grader. I am excited for you to homeschool! There will probably be adjustment period, as it will be different from ps, but I am confident that you and your dd will soon be loving your days together. I agree with pp - doing all that is assigned and therefore getting the most out of a guide academically and spiritually is what makes the rest of the years go well. It also makes a younger guide 'harder' - as opposed to doing a higher guide and skipping a bunch or taking over a bunch of things the student was supposed to do. What are your thoughts though?

In Christ,
Julie

It seems that oppinions are unanimous regarding NOT doing R2R so I've decided to look at C2C seriously. I appreciate the advice of those moms who know the curriculum so much. Thank you ladies. Should I be seriously considering the next lower level? It's hard for me to get my head around doing that. HOD has a program for 10-12 year olds and my kids are going to be 10 & 12. I'm having a hard time getting my head around backing up to a curriculum for younger children. I hear what you guys are saying and plan to do just that since everyone seems to recommend it. It's just a strange idea for me. I definitely do NOT want to be using something too hard for my first year. I am praying it will be a good experience for us and I know the right curriculum will help. At this point I've decided against R2R and will probably use C2C.

Are you able to see the curriculum before you purchase it?

With HOD, there are a lot of skills built into the guide. It is not to say that R2R is too hard for your 10 year old but you would really need to check the placement chart to see where that child places. As for combining, with HOD you can combine your kids but you don't need to. My kids are 18 months apart and I have each one in their own level. My preference is to keep my kids separate because I like focusing on each child individually. My guess is that your kids probably place separately as well. You can combine them in HOD but they way to do it is place the younger child at their level and then extend the learning for the older child. If you did it the opposite way, your younger child would probably feel overwhelmed if the level was too hard for them. The main difference in these two levels IMHO is the amount of reading. I feel like there is more reading in R2R than CTC and a little bit more writing. I don't know that I would consider Preparing for your girls unless they aren't strong readers. If they don't like to read or don't read quickly, then I would consider Preparing. But if they are good readers, then I would look consider CTC to start with.

And it sounds like you are worried about having your older child set back by using the level that the younger child places in. The books in each level (most of them) are at a much higher reading level then other curriculums. Your child will be doing all the reading alone. There are few boxes you will read to them but history and science are a lot of reading for both levels. One nice thing about them each doing their own (if you are brave enough to try it) is you can have each child go at their own pace. I have found that with my kids, even though they are close in age, they are different in their abilities. So for us, I like keeping my kids totally separate. I don't know if that is an option or not but it might be more traditional for you and your girls and then this way you won't feel like anyone is behind.

The main reason for deciding to home school is that we have no free time right now. My kids have tons of projects and homework and spend nights and weekends studying. I really love the idea that school is over at 3:00 and then they can play. I feel like keeping them in the same program will help with this. Since they are only one grade apart, I think it should work out fine. The only things they do together are science, bible & history right? It looks like I can order separate grade level books for each of them for reading, grammar, writing and math. Am I understanding this right? What is IMHO?

They would share everything except for Grammar, Spelling, Math and you could chose different books for Drawn Into the Heart of Reading. Everything else would be the same.

IMHO....in my honest opinion

I am not using HOD yet, so i can't speak to the question on placement,(that is what I am doing now-figuring out where to place.) BUT....don't be too caught up in the grade level idea. I have homeschooled two separate times, and the thing that helps me is not to think so much of "doing school at home" and trying to structure your home just like a school. Rather, educating them at home, which will be a new and different method. It helps me to remember the big picture and not look too closely where my children are academically. They may need a chance to relax and change their way of thinking about school as well, during this transition.

Giving them this opportunity, your whole family this opportunity, is a wonderful way of life. However, if you look at it just as 9 to 3 classroom time, you will burn out from trying to replicate "school" and they will always be comparing what/how you do things to what they had, and might well resist. I have dealt with this more recently, and giving my children some room to unlearn and establish new routines, gently coaxing them along, seems to keep things a bit more peaceful than setting a rigid school schedule and making everything fit into its time block. At least as you begin it might make for an easier transition.

One thing I am looking at is area of interest for each child-if they are able to learn this new way of learning and start with something they already like or want to learn about, it might help keep them motivated, even if the level is "below" their current level in school. Don't look at it as a backwards move, but a broadening of your child's horizons or knowledge base

Hope that helps a little.
Sarah