heartofdakota.com

Hello! I used the first two guides a few years ago when I only had two young students. Since then we have added 3 students and are currently using an eclectic mix of curriculum along with Classical Conversations. I really want to get back to HOD but feel very lost as how to make it work without using 3 or 4 different guides and far too many hours each day.
My school aged children are 11 (reads on a third grade level, I believe. She is dyslexic.), 9 he reads on a 5th grade level and both of them are currently doing Teaching textbooks 4. My 7 year old is an emerging reader and completing Singapore 1. My 5 year old knows a few letter and number and 0-9 addition/subtraction, colors and shapes.
I would like to use as few guides as possible and I am willing to get extension packs as needed to make it work unless it is more advisable to use more guides as in the end it is indeed easer to just use the guides as printed vs. having to look 5 different places for instructions. Also, I am unsure how to place them in the drawn into the heart of reading program. Thank you for your help!!

How is their writing? Writing is key in the guides from Beyond up, so look at the placement chart and the first weeks of the guides to see what they are capable of doing in terms of writing. Math isn't important at all (you can pick any math - the only time it matters is high school with things like chemistry needing some algebra). Grammar is easy to customize as well. Attention span, age, writing, and reading are the "key" items on the placement chart normally.

If you wanted to combine, you would always place the younger and beef up for the older. So, that would mean using LHFHG for the younger two if the 5yo is ready for it (you said you had done that guide before, so you should be able to figure that out). For the other two, I would look at Bigger, Preparing, and CtC IF you want to combine.

But really, some times it is easier to do separate guides. My first three are all less than 2 years apart in age (23.5m gap and then 20.5m gap), and they will be in three guides. I considered combining the younger two, but there was too much competition for my attention and to be "first" when we tried it last year with LHTH (and Awana since they were both Cubbies using the same book for that). We are currently doing 2 guides, and it isn't bad at all. We aren't doing LHTH formally right now, but many days, my youngest asks for Mommy time, and we read the LHTH Bible and do some of the things that are in LHTH. I know others are running 3 or 4 or even 5 guides. Once they get to CtC, running two guides vs doing 1 guide plus extensions isn't much different in workload for mom since much is independent (and you wouldn't be having to modify anything).

When we started HOD last year we put our then 10yo daughter, who tested at a grade 2.7 reading level (and having no LDs), into Preparing and it proved to be too much for her. She could have done the work if I read everything to her, but her reading level could not keep up to the workload demanded. After 10 units we moved her down to Bigger. We actually skipped all HOD LA for the first five months of that school year to work on her reading skills directly and indirectly through a number of things (including tubes in her ears for a year and a half of ringing in her ears, a new glasses prescription, piano lessons, and Dianne Craft's Brain Training). Bigger was border line too simple (cognitively) for her age, but was definitely where she needed to be for her to be able to read her school books independently. Around January/February we slowed down the Brain Training and started introducing the various aspects of HOD LA (reading Level 2 DITHOR books - without the workbook to start, dictation, etc.).

We were blessed that these interventions helped her to accelerate her reading learning curve and (without testing to confirm) I believe she advanced at least 1 1/2 grade levels. By the end of the year (unit 25) she was actually finding Bigger easy! This fall she jumped back into Preparing where she'd left off and is doing amazingly well, and we've even begun introducing the Extensions (slower than the suggested schedule) - a completely different student than the puddle of tears we had in units 8-10 of Preparing last fall. However, I know our DD did not have Dyslexia, so your story may be slower, so that is why I share the beginning and ending of her year in different paragraphs.

If you have more time than I did to spend with your DD (I started with 3 and switched to 4 guides last year, adding a 5th this fall) she may do fine in Preparing, but the independence suggested for them (which will also make running multiple guides possible) ramps up the next year in CTC, so just Preparing may not be enough time to help her gain the needed independence, especially since it will likely be a challenge for her. (In other words, I would suggest you look at Bigger - with or without Extensions, as she can handle them - for your DD.)

As you can tell from my signature, this daughter and her older brother are both doing "lower" guides than their younger brother, but each of them is exactly where they need to be! It is far easier this way than it was trying to combine them last fall (the older brother was combined with the younger until we switched our DD's guide, and the older brother's at the same time!).

With multiple guides, I would also strongly suggest that you place your 5yo lower rather than higher as well. It will require less of your time and also allow him to learn to read in a lower guide allowing him to (hopefully) be more independent than the guides suggest by the time he reaches Preparing as well. In other words, I suggest you consider LHTH, with possibly adding the K fine motor skills books from LHFHG and K math, too, if you wish. Starting phonics, after everyone has started and gotten a handle on their guides, is another option to consider. (My K 5yo is doing the same plan: LHTH, LHFHG fine motor skills, starting phonics between Christmas and his 6th B-day in March.)

As for your 9yo, I would suggest printing off the placement chart and highlight where you consider him to place in each subject. I would guess likely Bigger or Preparing. Either way, as a 9yo, he would not have to do the Extensions. If the two oldest place in the same guide, the Extensions (if your DD can handle the extra reading) would be one way to make it "grade level worthy" (in addition to math and the other LA subjects like grammar being at her level); even if she isn't "higher" in those subjects, the extra work means that she is doing a higher grade (if that matters to her). (We occasionally have discussions here about what "grade" the kids are in based - or should I say despite - what guide they are in. )

FWIW, I know you're hesitant about multiple guides, but if it's where they fit, skill-wise, it works MUCH better to do more guides than doing fewer and pushing them beyond what they can handle (ask me how I know! ). Although I'm officially doing 5 guides this year, it's never quite that straight forward. (My LHTH guy is speeding through 2 Days every day, but only 2-4 days/week; my Beyond guy is going slower than I'd like [about 1/2 speed?] but time is so short and we're also trying to fit in some 4-H for him; my DD in Preparing is doing well, but R&S is somewhat falling through the cracks this year; my DS in Preparing [soon CTC!] needs my most help every day [Executive Function deficits] while my younger guy in R2R is loving it and sometimes finishing a unit in just 3 school days.) All that to say that it truly is best to follow where each one fits without needing to worry about constantly pushing one or holding another back. I think combining has potential to be wonderful, but for us it just didn't work. Even with our "almost 5" guides, I'm done the push of teaching by lunch each day. Each child has 1/2 hr to 1 1/2 hrs with me each morning in a set order and the rest they do independently. It's so good to know they're each getting a wonderful education exactly where they are at. I am blessed!

Blessings to you as you decide!

Are you using something separate to teach your oldest to read? My guess is that you are. I saw your post last night and was praying over a response. My oldest really struggled with reading and Preparing seemed to be the guide that helped her read the most. The reading level and volume did increase in CTC and it was difficult at first. But after that, it was great. She now reads very well and quickly. I never had my oldest tested for dyslexia but she had a lot of similarities between her struggles and dyslexic student's struggles. My son also struggled with reading as well but it was way more significant as he has auditory processing disorder. He struggles with language in general and has the hardest time reading and spelling. Everything language is way more challenging for him.

Because I have 3 kids and because my oldest and youngest can do most stuff independently, I did decide to split them all up. However, at times I have struggled with this decision. It definitely takes me more time because my youngest needs my help and my son needs my help (a lot at times). My son is now into unit 12 of his guide and he is doing much better. Once we get through the next few units, I do believe reading will increase a bit. I am not sure how he will do when he has to read 10 pages of history in a living book and then read 5 pages of a picture book for science plus do the reading for DITHOR. We will see. I do have him read 1/2 of his history out loud to me or 1/2 of the science out loud to me. I am trying to make sure he understands what he reads. I am not sure what I will do about next year either. I have a feeling that CTC is going to be ubber challenging for him. There are some other things I have done to help as well because of his issues. For example, in Preparing, they do a weekly written narration. I have him say it to me, I write it down, and then he copies it. This has been a great for us. For future levels, my hope is that he can do it on his own at some point sooner rather than later. But if he can't, he can't. I will just hold his hand as much as he needs.

So that leads to me to my thoughts on combine verses not. Realistically, I easily could have kept my younger 2 together. At times I wish I had. But many times, I also realize that it doesn't matter if I did not. If one kid is sick, then one kid would have missed school. Or I would have to wait for the kids that is sick to feel better and then the well kid missed a day for nothing. There are days where one kid needs more help than the other. I like being able to spend time individually with each child. However, I do work from home and my work schedule gets crazy - more and more crazy lately. It is rough. So that makes me think more and more I should have just kept them together. It would have been way easier on me to have kept them together rather than separate them. I told my husband that at the end of the is year, if it seems like my son needs more time before he goes into CTC, I am going to have him repeat listening to me read history and read alouds, he will redo written narrations and then I plan to do a different science and writing program with him. That will be another crazy year but ultimate I will be working that year on him becoming combine with his younger sister.

So guess my question boils down to time. How much time do you have? Do you mind dedicating more time of your day to school? If you are fine on time, then I would consider placing each individual child. I would start by looking at the placement chart. I would print a copy for each child and circle where they place in each category. I would then consider most heavily where they place for reading and writing when looking at placement. I would also print off or at least review the first unit worth of plans for each level that they place. This will give you a glimpse into their day and hopefully help you determine which level they best place in.

But if time is premium, then I would highly consider placing them together. I would place the 11 and 9 yo in Bigger. From what you have shared, I think your 9 could easily handle Preparing but I would be worried it would be too much for the 11 year old. And even if the 11 year old made it through Preparing this year, CTC would be even more challenging. I would definitely add in the extensions. I would have your 9 year old read them alone and then split the reading with your 11 year old. This would be great practice for your 11 year old reading living books. That was the one hurdle I found to be the biggest challenge since my oldest 2 had to learn to read by reading lots of readers. We could hardly go the library and take out a book because they couldn't read half of it since it was filled with words they didn't know. For your 11 year old, if they are reading from a program, I would not do DITHOR right now. The most important thing they need to learn right now is to learn to read. I would use what ever product you are using if you are happy with it and stick it out. For the 9 year old though, I would consider the level 3 or level 4 book pack. Some of the books are challenging and all are interesting. I think for the 9 year, it will become more of an issue of stamina and not so much ability. The extensions are longer. So you could easily choose how much you have them read and maybe you could jump and help with some of the reading too. For example, they have a text book from Christian Liberty Press that is part of the history extensions. Maybe you could read that. But they also have tons of interesting stories. You could have your kids read those. They also have science extensions. I would leave that up to you who reads it. By combining these two and doing the extensions, you will more than make up for lower level of some of the activities. One other thought I had is I have heard people sometimes run a separate level of science for older kids who have dyslexia. This will keep them higher up. If you did that, I would look at doing science for CTC. You will definitely have to help her since she probably can't read the directions to herself. But at least with the Apologia science book, you could buy the audio download and have the book read to your child outloud and they could follow along. There are a lot of activities with CTC science so it may take some adjusting. I would just go at that child's pace. And I would only do science from Bigger with the 9 year old. It is great. If you go this route, I would skip doing all science extensions for both kids. They aren't needed at all for the 9 year old anyway. The other thing I would do is adjust the grammar to their levels. If they both are similar in level, then I would just run one grammar program. I do this currently with my younger 2. We are doing R&S 3 for both of them and it is working out beautifully. My youngest is very advanced though so I knew she could do it. And it sounds like you already have your own math program so you should be good there.

With the younger two, I am not sure if I would place them together or not. If you had to guess, where would your 7 year old place? Do they place in Bigger or Beyond. If that child places in Bigger, then that is where I put him/her. If that child places in Beyond, then my next questions is, is the 5 year old interesting in learning? If yes to this, other than the fact that the 5 year old isn't doing much in the LA department, I would place both of these kids in Little Hearts. I would continue on with the ERs for the 7 year old. I would begin one of the programs with HOD for teaching the 5 year old to read. I would complete Singapore 2 for he 7 year old and use the math listed in the HOD for the 5 year old. I would chose 1st grade options for the 7 year old and chose K options for the 5 year old. However, if the 5 year old doesn't want to learn right now, then I would place the 7 year old in Beyond and place the 5 year old in Little Hands.

ADamiani wrote:Hello! I used the first two guides a few years ago when I only had two young students. Since then we have added 3 students and are currently using an eclectic mix of curriculum along with Classical Conversations. I really want to get back to HOD but feel very lost as how to make it work without using 3 or 4 different guides and far too many hours each day.
My school aged children are 11 (reads on a third grade level, I believe. She is dyslexic.), 9 he reads on a 5th grade level and both of them are currently doing Teaching textbooks 4. My 7 year old is an emerging reader and completing Singapore 1. My 5 year old knows a few letter and number and 0-9 addition/subtraction, colors and shapes.
I would like to use as few guides as possible and I am willing to get extension packs as needed to make it work unless it is more advisable to use more guides as in the end it is indeed easer to just use the guides as printed vs. having to look 5 different places for instructions. Also, I am unsure how to place them in the drawn into the heart of reading program. Thank you for your help!!

Hi ADamiani! When considering placement, it is important to look at each child and place him/her individually first, with the details of the first page of the placement chart especially considered for each. Then, after placing each child individually in the guide he/she would place best in, we can look at which combining situations would work best. With your dc spanning from ages 5 to 11, at least a few multiple guides will work best, but several combinations are probably very feasible as well. Thank you for sharing what you have about each of our kiddos! That helps! If you could you please share a bit more about each, especially what they have done in the areas of writing and grammar, that would be wonderful! If you could share if your 9 and 11 yo have read their own history and science yet, or if you've been reading that aloud to them, that would be so helpful to know as well. If you could share the titles of a few books each reads comfortably, as well as the length of time they are used to doing school each day, and finally how independently the older 2 are able to work and follow directions, that would help us give more specific advice too. Finally, if you could share where each does place individually according to the placement chart, from there we can chat through different combining scenarios to arrive at the best possible overall decisions for your family. Also, Classical Conversations can be something that is more an extra for learning, or it can be more of the total curriculum, depending on the amount of time and work that the teacher expects your children to do inside and outside of class. If you can share a bit about the requirements your dc must meet for their coursework (time wise inside and outside of class, especially), that would be so helpful too! Each family's situation is different, and by sharing as much as possible, we can give the best advice as possible based on what we know about your family. Sorry to ask so many questions, but proper placement is so nice and is often the key to a fantastic school year for all! HOD is worth it. I'll wait to hear back from you!

In Christ,
Julie