New to homeschooling/HOD. General questions.

[GAmommy]

Hi all,

I have a 2 y.o. daughter and we are expecting our second child next month. We plan on homeschooling and I've been trying to look into the few curriculums I've heard of. I've been doing a lot of looking around online and have bought a couple of books. I've read through the HOD catalog, read the abbreviated version of the '102 picks' review, and have looked on the message board. I have a few questions about homeschooling in general and also about HOD. Charlotte Mason's name has popped up a couple of times since I've been searching, and the HOD curriculum looks organized, efficient, easy, and seems to make sense for a young child's development/maturity. I am a planner and am new to homeschooling so I would definitely want something to tell me what exactly I need to do, be thorough, and be enjoyable for our children. In short, I want the best for our children (of course ).

-In my state (GA), I see that, starting at age 6, the subjects "social studies" and "language arts" are required, among others. Do I need curriculum with these titles specifically or will general curriculum (i.e. HOD) cover those subjects? It seems like learning the alphabet, phonics/beginning reading, listening skills, etc. would cover "language arts". For "social studies", what would that include? Day-to-day teaching your children about the community and persons? Field trips to places such as fire stations?

-Also, in my state, it says that the homeschool day must be at least 4.5 hours long. It looks like the HOD curriculum doesn't take nearly that long, at least in the early years. So would other learning/activities/reading count toward that 4.5 hours or just "school/curriculum" time?

-I'd really like to start and finish with one curriculum if possible, for ease and continuity. I'm afraid something would get lost in the shuffle with changing curriculum. Does HOD cover everything from Pre-K to graduation from high school?

-Is there any way to know/any resources that show students' scores or academic success with a curriculum? I'm in the medical field and have no previous experience with children so I just want to make sure that the curriculum I'm choosing will 1) Help them grow into people who will love and serve the Lord and 2) Ensure they've received a good, thorough education and life skills (beyond what is required by the state).

-My 2 y.o. was born in November and so I'm not sure if it'd be best to start her in preschool when she's 3/almost 4 and then start her kindergarten year the following year when she's 4/almost 5? Our second child will be born in January, so I don't know if it'd be best to start preschool at age 3.5 and work on for one or two years and then start kindergarten at either 4.5 or 5.5?

-How do you know which Drawn Into The Heart of Reading level you need to use?

-Should you begin Drawn Into The Heart of Reading at age 6/1st grade? For the additional language arts choices, it starts at English 2, recommended for grades 2-3 so should that begin with age 7/2nd grade?

Also, any other information or advice or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

[hs.mama07]

Hi and welcome to HOD! I only have a second but can try to answer a few of your questions.


--In my state (GA), I see that, starting at age 6, the subjects "social studies" and "language arts" are required, among others. Do I need curriculum with these titles specifically or will general curriculum (i.e. HOD) cover those subjects? It seems like learning the alphabet, phonics/beginning reading, listening skills, etc. would cover "language arts". For "social studies", what would that include? Day-to-day teaching your children about the community and persons? Field trips to places such as fire stations?

We are in MO which requires similar subjects. HOD's history covers social studies just fine as they learn more than just history. Extracurricular activities and everyday teaching would count too.


--Also, in my state, it says that the homeschool day must be at least 4.5 hours long. It looks like the HOD curriculum doesn't take nearly that long, at least in the early years. So would other learning/activities/reading count toward that 4.5 hours or just "school/curriculum" time?

MO requires 1000 hours per year...which is roughly 6 hours a day. There are different ways to get hours in. If you compare our day to public school, they have an hour of math, but a lot of that time is passing out materials, answering questions, teaching the subject in multiple ways for many children, dealing with distractions, etc. So, you are still getting the same amount of math as them, just in less time. Because of that, most resources I've read say it's okay to round up to the nearest half hour. So if math takes 15 minutes, you can count that one session of math (or 30 minutes). Other people keep track of activities outside of curriculum and let that count. If you google search for how to count homeschool hours in your state, you'll probably get some good advice!

--I'd really like to start and finish with one curriculum if possible, for ease and continuity. I'm afraid something would get lost in the shuffle with changing curriculum. Does HOD cover everything from Pre-K to graduation from high school?

Carrie is currently finishing up the high school guides, so by the time your little ones are ready, high school will be ready too. Though, don't be afraid to change if something doesn't work...better to have a period of shuffling and then a long stretch of things working, than to struggle with the wrong curriculum. (Of course, I'm a bit biased...I love HOD and hope to use it all the way through


--Is there any way to know/any resources that show students' scores or academic success with a curriculum? I'm in the medical field and have no previous experience with children so I just want to make sure that the curriculum I'm choosing will 1) Help them grow into people who will love and serve the Lord and 2) Ensure they've received a good, thorough education and life skills (beyond what is required by the state).

Not sure about this...but I do know from what I've researched and read, HOD covers all your bases and then some!!


--My 2 y.o. was born in November and so I'm not sure if it'd be best to start her in preschool when she's 3/almost 4 and then start her kindergarten year the following year when she's 4/almost 5? Our second child will be born in January, so I don't know if it'd be best to start preschool at age 3.5 and work on for one or two years and then start kindergarten at either 4.5 or 5.5?

My oldest son also has a November b-day. We just started Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH) when he was ready...which was in January after he turned 4. If you follow a traditional calendar, then you would just do half the guide in the spring and finish the rest the following fall. We school year-round, taking off whenever we want, so it doesn't matter when we start and finish guides.

Also, if you are excited to get started and she is ready earlier, you can start LHTH whenever you want. It is set up in such a way that you can go through the guide 2 times...once using younger resources and the next time using older. Or, we are currently using LHTH with our 5 year old for kinder--adding kinder math and phonics (we didn't do preschool really...just taught him through play).

All that to say, there are lots of options and you can just do whatever works for your family. There is no hurry. The next guide, Little Hearts for His Glory (LHFHG) works great for k or 1st. So long as your kids are in the age range for the guides, you're generally good to go.

--How do you know which Drawn Into The Heart of Reading level you need to use?
-Should you begin Drawn Into The Heart of Reading at age 6/1st grade? For the additional language arts choices, it starts at English 2, recommended for grades 2-3 so should that begin with age 7/2nd grade?

HOD does phonics first--in LHFHG and Beyond. Once your child is done with phonics, she will move to the Emerging readers books (in Beyond or Bigger). Once she completes the emerging readers set, she will start DITHOR 2/3 (in Bigger or Preparing).

Rod and Staff English 2 is used in Bigger. It is very advanced, so it would work for 2nd or 3rd--depending on when you get to Bigger. HOD does once a week grammar in Beyond in preparation for English 2 in Bigger.

Grades are pretty flexible in homeschooling. My son just turned 8 and if he were in public school he'd be in 2nd. But here, he's in 3rd grade math, English 2, middle of the emerging readers set, which I think puts him somewhere between 2nd and 3rd. We started Bigger in March, but I may stretch it out a little if he needs more time to work on his reading before starting Preparing (which has independent reading for the first time). The joy is that I can just go at his speed. We slow down subjects when he needs to work on a skill, then speed back up when he's ready. He's a math wiz, so we just keep pushing ahead in math, but he's not much into reading and really not a fan of writing, so we are taking our time with that. Don't be afraid to go at her speed and know that it's okay if one guide spans more than one grade (like Bigger for us will be part of 2nd and part of 3rd (as far as public school is concerned).

--Also, any other information or advice or resources would be greatly appreciated.

I would just add, enjoy these early days (not that I'm very far removed from them, lol). The early guides are sweet and gentle and a lot of fun...things will get deeper later, so enjoy the shorter days now!

Hope that helps some...and hope it all made sense. We all have colds here and I should probably be in bed, lol. God bless!!

[StephanieU]

Liz did a great job answering questions!

As for test results, HOD uses some standard resources for math and language arts, which are the areas most often tested. Rod and Staff is a tried and tests grammar program. The writing programs Carrie uses have also been tried and tested. Same goes for math. The part of the program that is unique to HOD after the elementary years is mostly the history, which rarely is tested. HOD is more than just a history program, but Carrie has chosen to incorporate and combine so many tried and tested resources that I have no fear that it is a quality education.
Another thing I think of is something a college professor said to me while I was considering grad schools. He said that I can get an excellent education at most schools. What matters most is my desire to learn, not the school or professors or anything else. Yes, there are some benefits to great schools/great curriculums/great teachers, but they are not necessary for a good education! A student that doesn't put in any effort but has the best resources will end up below a student with poor to average resources that puts in the effort needed.

As for when to start, I wouldn't start LHFHG before your child is 5yo. My older two have Nov/Dec birthdays, and we started LHFHG at 5.5. My third has a summer birthday, and she will probably also start LHFHG at 5.5 next January. But I may wait until she is 6. You can start LHTH at any time, repeating as desired. If you start it at 2 or even 3, you will probably find some things that are too much for your child and just skip those. At 2 and 3, if all you do is read the Bible, that is fine. Around 4 yo, I would start "focusing" on learning letters, numbers, etc. If your child is ready and learns them earlier, that is fine. But, just like walking, each child is ready at a different age. So try not to compare your child/children to others. It is so easy to do, but studies have shown (and personal experience has also shown) that by 7-9yo, most kids end up at about the same place academically regardless of how early they knew their numbers, letters, etc.

[LovingJesus]

Hi all,
-My 2 y.o. was born in November and so I'm not sure if it'd be best to start her in preschool when she's 3/almost 4 and then start her kindergarten year the following year when she's 4/almost 5? Our second child will be born in January, so I don't know if it'd be best to start preschool at age 3.5 and work on for one or two years and then start kindergarten at either 4.5 or 5.5?

Welcome to Homeschooling!

LHFHG is for ages 5 - 7. I haven't used the lower guides of HOD, but from the upper guides I can tell you they are written more for the middle and upper age of the guide. I wouldn't start that guide younger then 5, and many people use it for first grade to give you an idea of the difficulty of the guide.

LHTH I would start whenever you feel ready. Make it fun, take it slowly. Read good books aloud is always my best suggestion for the pre-school years. I read every day, and we read a Beginner Bible every evening. It really laid a wonderful foundation for later in many areas. I wouldn't feel rushed with the pre-school guide. The little years are precious and challenging and you are laying so much of a foundation of parenting in the those years. I would focus on the parenting part more then the home schooling part. The building relationships and gaining your authority, which is important in order to successfully home school.

Our cut-off for private school here is August 1st. With home schooling though you have the luxury of starting when it is time for them and for you. My oldest started reading at 3 / 4, and I still didn't start curriculum until just after his 6th Birthday for K (he is at the oldest end of the grade). So with November and January Birthdays I personally would wait until they are five for K, especially for a guide like LHFHG.

As for hours. Our state is 5.5 hours a day. It defines though that home schooling can include multiple ways of learning ~ field trips, hands on, real life experience, physical education, sports, text books, etc. So every home schooler I know doesn't count hours so much as the fact life is an education. HOD though is plenty of hours once you reach the higher guides. CTC is easily 5 hours a day.

I hope that helps. Welcome!

[MelInKansas]

Welcome to HOD and good for you for considering homeschooling at this early point. I am definitely not as much of a planner as you are, but am so glad that HOD is where I started and still where I stay - my oldest has been using it since LHTH when she was 4 1/2. I am now on round 3 with Beyond and will start my son in LHTH when he is 4.

With your oldest you may want to start something structured a bit earlier, as for me I found that it helped our days go more smoothly. This is also a very Charlotte Mason idea - form habits. Then you don't have to fight with the child over doing school work because it is just a fact and you will just do it. I have found that very true with my 3 who are currently in school. My son may be a different animal, and he is definitely waiting longer to start schooling (I just do it when he wants to, which he did every day for a while, but anymore he really just wants to run and play and throw a ball more).

For your hours, there are a LOT of things that count. As others have pointed out, compared to a school setting, it is really no wonder that you can get the same amount of work done at home in about 1.5 hours most days. I have read many resources and you would want to see if you can find some in your state that detail this, but basically nearly everything you do besides eating counts. Home ec - cleaning, cooking. Bible time. Any sports or art classes you do. Singing together. Any time you read to your child. If you need to track hours you can certainly show 4.5 hours or more each day (in Kansas they say 6 but they do not require us to keep or produce records, we have to track days of school).

[GAmommy]

Thank you all so much for your help. I've purchased a couple of books to learn more meanwhile, including "102 picks" but HOD seems to be appealing to me most of all right now =) I look forward to seeing the completion of the high school catalog as well.