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EDIT: Just read Julie's blog comparison on Preparing to CTC and I really think Preparing would be a better fit, but I am wondering if I could do Bigger since it is US History. Concerned because of his age, and I don't want it to be too easy, but I also want him to have an enjoyable year to spark a love of learning in him. Thanks again!!!

Good morning to all! I would like your opinion on the placement of my son. He turns 13 in August. He has had a speech delay and has language and auditory processing disorders. He has been in the ACE program for the past three years. This year he has been working on a 5th grade level. His reading is pretty good. He is reading shorter chapter books. His comprehension and retention seems to lag behind his reading ability, though. I would like to use HOD in the fall. Using the placement guides it looks like he would place in Creation to Christ. (Although, I would really like to continue American History with him ) I am curious if this is the best placement for his age and if he should be able to handle this level. He has no formal literature study. He has not done any writing, dictation, narration, etc. He has diagrammed through direct objects. If the books are at a level that they are too hard or too abstract for his understanding it may be me doing more of the learning than him, if that makes sense. LOL Also, he is my last child at home so he is the only one I will be working with, although my older children and grandchildren do vie for my time a bit. That being said, I will have time to spend reading with him and helping him work to become more independent. He is my child that needs me sitting beside him to get his work done and to feel confident in his work. Thank you so much in advance for any input you can give!! I should also mention that I would like to do DITHOR with him as well. I am trying to break away from the workbook mode a bit and spend more time reading good books.

Binky
Mom to 8 fabulous kiddos
Nana to 4 grands and one on the way

Welcome to the HOD Message Board! Thank you for sharing about your son! Since he has been working on a 5th grade level with ACE, Bigger Hearts for His Glory (even with the extensions) would not be rigorous enough. Bigger Hearts is geared toward ages 7-9 years old (second/third grade), so your nearly 13 year-old would be much better placed in Preparing Hearts for His Glory (PHFHG) or Creation to Christ (CTC). Both are interesting, historically-rich guides, and though I know they are not American history-focused, they are a good fit maturity-wise, content-wise, and skill-wise for your son.

When you read through the comparison, what made you lean toward PHFHG more? I’d like to hear a bit more about your son’s writing (i.e. how many sentences can he comfortably write in one setting; 1-3? 5-7? Keep in mind written narrations have guidance in the guide and by you as the parent in both PHFHG and CTC).

I know you mentioned he is reading shorter chapter books. Would you say those books still have a fair share of pictures? Or, would you say they have only a few pictures, maybe a picture every 3-5 chapters or so? Or, are they a little thicker without pictures? If you could maybe share a series he reads, that would be great! Also, is he reading silently in his head, or do you have him reading out loud?

Thanks for sharing he is your last child at home – congrats on homeschooling the rest! As he is your last child and you have a little more time to enjoy working with him, if possible, I’d sure love for him to do Creation to Christ! Do you think he could grow into that guide? I guess I’m wondering if he works well independently on some things – or how he follows directions? I’m also wondering about how long he is used to doing school each day? I know that’s a tough one, but just in general?

If you get a chance to share about these things, I’d feel like we’d be very close to figuring out a great placement for your son! I do think you will love HOD – the books are truly amazing, and it will be a lovely break from the workbook mode! DITHOR is also such a solid – yet truly enjoyable – way to approach teaching reading. What were you thinking for that, by the way? That would be interesting to know! Maybe the 4/5 Student Book, with maybe the 4/5 or 5/6 Boy Interest set? I’ll check back tomorrow on your responses, and then we’ll be close to having it all figured out!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie,

Thank you so much for your amazing reply!I am really excited about stepping out and trying HOD. I have had such peace about it. I appreciate your help in finding the best placement for my son. I really want this to be a great year for him. Here are the answers to your questions.

In regards to the placement blog you posted:
-Shared reading of History with him reading easier books might help him understand the material better, and would also give me a better idea of what he is understanding. We have never done narrations before or history projects. We are not a real artsy fam so he would need help I am sure.
-Doing the read aloud activities may be difficult in both levels just because we have never done anything like that before. But I can see him being really squeemish about skits, ad speech, etc., although I may be selling him short, but I don't really think he would know where to begin with all that.
-Geography-his understanding of geography just in our area is limited. I'm curious, does studying far away lands make it more confusing or help you to become more aware?
-We have not done any poetry or formal Bible studies.
-No formal writing other than what shows up in a fifth grade English Pace. Do you think he will be able to handle "Write with the Best"? He can write in cursive but prefers manuscript. He could easily write 5-7 sentences if it was copywork or dictation style, but would need lots of help with ideas or creativity if he had to come up with something on his own. I feel that Narration would be hard too do to his comprehension level being a little below his reading ability.

Chapter books have a few pictures, maybe 1 per chapter or two, but larger font and lots of white space. He has read many of the Beverly Cleary books such as Socks and Henry and Ribsy. Also, Bear Grylls adventure books from Usborne, and the I Survived series books. He reads mostly to himself.

I would also love to see him do CTC, but I don't want it to be so challenging or stressful that he doesn't like it. He already "doesn't like school" because it is difficult for him. I did talk with him since I posted this, and he said he would enjoy reading books more, and he was interested in studying ancients over American history. LOL I do think that he could potentially grow into the guide as I have watched him over the years progress and flourish in areas that I was concerned about.

In regards to our school day, he usually spends all day procrastinating because he doesn't want to do the work because it is "hard". When he buckles down we can finish in a couple of hours. He follows directions well, but if something is difficult he will just sit and piddle. Also, if I am not sitting with him he doesn't work as well. He needs me to help read directions sometimes to understand what he needs to do.

We are not real artsy as I mentioned earlier. We don't do any art, and he does not enjoy drawing or coloring. We also never do projects. I was hoping that doing the Draw and Write books might help him be artistic without the stress of having to draw something himself. He also has a bit of a shake in his hands so his lines aren't always real straight.

For DITHOR I was planning on doing 4/5 boys books, I want him to do some reading over the summer, so I was thinking if I did 4/5 boys books I could let him read the level 3 books over the summer, or we could read 4/5 books over summer and do 5/6 during the school year. What would you recommend?

I would also be interested in your opinion on whether to switch him out of the ACE program for math and English. But we can save that for another conversation if needed.

Thank you so much. I hope my answers help. I tried to be thorough without being too wordy. Haha

Blessings,
Binky

Thank you for patiently answering my questions! You know your son so well, and your heart for him just shines through! I am leaning toward Preparing Hearts for His Glory (PHFHG), which is one of my very favorite guides anyway!

The reading of the history is shared in PHFHG, and written narrations are introduced for the first time. As he will be new to narrations, I think this would be so helpful! The read aloud follow-ups are shorter and have easier ways to respond to the readings that would be good before CTC’s more ‘putting yourself out there’ type responses.

The geography quick-finds in PHFHG will teach how to use the globe or a world map, trace explorer’s routes, find geographical features, locate the continents/oceans/cardinal directions,/hemispheres/latitude/longitude, and other good foundational geographical concepts.

As he will be new to creative writing and poetry, the Robert Louis Stevenson’s writing and poetry lessons will be so good for him to do. They are short, engaging, and help kiddos be successful right from the start.

The independent history reading books will be a good reading level for him, as they have some pictures still, have fonts that are not so tiny, and are really engaging! Likewise, I think he’ll enjoy the science books, which are read independently. I think this will be great for him to successfully taking on some independence with following some short multi-step directions.

The Draw and Write Through History will also help him have logical steps to follow to draw, as well as cursive he can copy (and he’ll write in print for the rest of his work).

Your not wanting him to be so challenged or stressed because he already doesn’t like school tugged at my heart. I don’t want that either! I want him to start Heart of Dakota thinking he can do this, and I want him to grow to love it! For these reasons, I’m leaning toward PHFHG! As you have more time these days – congrats on completing homeschooling your other children again – I’d add the extensions and read them to him, or possibly partner read them if it is not too much for him in the day-to-day.

I like your idea of having him read some 4/5 Boy Interest books from DITHOR in the summer! DITHOR is scheduled 3 days a week in PHFHG, so he’ll get through half a book pack and half a DITHOR student workbook during the school year. Maybe you could give him half the 4/5 books to read this summer, and if he is doing well and finishes those, he could read them all in the summer and move on to the 5/6 Boy Set when he starts PHFHG. Or, if half of the 4/5 Boy Set is just right this summer, he can finish the other half when he does PHFHG. Again, I want him to just learn to love his reading more!!!

Okay, so I tried to be thorough without being too wordy too – ha, ha! We are two peas in a pod! So, what do you think? PHFHG? Please keep in mind, if you order it from us, and you look it over and feel like CTC would have been better, you have 30 days to return it for a full refund. Hope this helped!!!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie,
Thanks again for a very thoughtful reply. We must really be two peas in a pod because over the weekend as I read more on the website I was leaning more and more towards Preparing. I believe that the easier books at this time will really make his days more enjoyable! I am getting excited for Preparing. As I read through CTC I was getting a little nervous about implementing it. I'm glad you mentioned the extensions because I was going to ask if that would be a good add on for him. I am also happy with the reading suggestions for DITHOR. I am assuming that you will be able to help me figure out his long term path in HOD as we cross that bridge down the road. In regards to purchasing from your website, I have so many of the books on my shelf already that it looks like to buy a set I would need to substitute more than 2 items in some of the areas. Is it best for me to buy the guide individually and then add on the books I need?

Would this be a good point to discuss Math and English? I don't know that switching him from ACE to Singapore would be a good idea at this point. Trying to decide if I should just continue ACE until he is ready for the Pre-Algebra math assigned in HOD guides. Any suggestions for Grammar? I am afraid R&S might be a little overwhelming as I tried it with another child and it was a flop.

Thanks again for all the help!
Blessings,
Binky

Thanks for getting back to me, and I'm so glad we are on the same page and happy with this placement for your ds! As far as math, I think it is harder to come into Singapore Math when kiddos are older. Principle of Mathematics Book 1 might be a good fit. You can find out more about it here…
https://heartofdakota.com/2020/10/16/mi ... ent-tests/

Or, Math Help might be a good option. You can find out more about Math Help here…
www.mathhelp.com

As far as grammar, R & S English is excellent! It is considered a year advanced, and Carrie does suggest doing most of it orally and leaving one section only to write. I think I’d look at R & S English 4 for him. Here is a link to that Table of Contents of skills…
https://heartofdakota.com/product/603h- ... upil-text/

If you email me the books you own (carmikeaustin@msn.com) , I can help with the most cost-effective way to order. Or, you can post them on the message board if you’d rather, and I can respond there.

I can help with further questions or with placing your order- just reach out via phone, email, or message board!

In Christ,
Julie

Just checking back to see if you'd seen my response! I've used Principles of Mathematics as well as R & S English, so I'd be happy to answer any questions about those as well! I can easily help with substitutions too - getting excited for your upcoming homeschooling with HOD!

In Christ,
Julie

Hi Julie,
I did see your reply, thank you so much! I have been pulling together the books that I have for Preparing. I will send you that list as soon as I locate everything. We just moved and I still have books in boxes. I have also been looking at R&S a little more in depth to see how it is laid out. I was wondering if level 4 is fine even if he has not had any poetry or writing? I am looking forward to getting started with HOD!

Thanks again for all your help. I am sure I will have more questions along the way.

Binky

binky8 wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 27, 2022 9:13 pm

Hi Julie,
I did see your reply, thank you so much! I have been pulling together the books that I have for Preparing. I will send you that list as soon as I locate everything. We just moved and I still have books in boxes. I have also been looking at R&S a little more in depth to see how it is laid out. I was wondering if level 4 is fine even if he has not had any poetry or writing? I am looking forward to getting started with HOD!

Thanks again for all your help. I am sure I will have more questions along the way.

Binky

I remember going through boxes when we moved - hoping you find what you need! I think R & S English 4 would still be fine, even if he has not had any poetry or writing. The poetry is not overly difficult. Almost all of R & S English 3's writing lessons provide an already-written piece, and students answer questions about that provided writing. The end of R & S English 3 does have students write short assignments - like writing how to do something simple, writing a short friendly letter to someone, writing a thank you, and writing a poem. Here is a link to the Table of Contents of R & S English 3:
https://heartofdakota.com/product/603f- ... upil-text/

Students learn to write poems step-by-step in Preparing Hearts for His Glory's creative writing lessons once each week. So, that will be wonderful guidance for beginning writing as well. Hope this helps you choose a level you feel is best for grammar!

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks, Julie! I sent you an email with the books I have to the email you listed in a previous reply. If you will let me know the best way to go about purchasing books. We are ready to get started!