Which packages for my children?

[InHim]

Hello,
I am new to the board. My name is Julie and I am married to Randy. We live in SC. I have 3 children(9, 6, and 1). I have been homeschooling them from the beginning. We have tried all sorts of curriculum and I have heard some good information about Heart of Dakota so I am looking to see which levels would fit each of my children. My oldest will be 10(ds) and going into 5th Grade and has always been a challenge to teach since he doesn't enjoy sitting for long. My 6 yr old dd (almost 7)is a bookworm and will be going into 2nd Gr work. So can anyone suggest particular packages they think would fit my dc?
Also, how is HOD working with your sons , if they as active as mine?:)
And is it very hard to do two packages at the same time?
And how long does each currciulum take to get done each day?
And can, especially my older child, my children do some things independently of me or howmuch hands-on does the teacher have?

Sorry so many questions!:)

Julie

[water2wine]

Welcome Julie! I want to first send you to the placement chart. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php It is very accurate. And please do not be concerned if it looks like two programs are necessary. Running two levels is very doable with HOD. My best guess from just what you are saying is Bigger might be a good possibility for combining the two if you can with the extension pack for your older child. They could both do DITHR it sounds like and that would be on their level. But take a look at that chart and first have an honest look at where they fall individually. HTH and welcome! Let us know what you think after you take a good look at the chart.

[rumkimom]

Julie - my children are almost the same age as yours and I decided to do them together with Bigger. For my older dd (who will be 10 in Oct and is in '5th grade') I am using the extension package and DITHOR. My younger dd just turned 7 (in June) and will be in '2nd grade'. I used HOD with my younder daughter 2 years ago and both girls loved it (the older dd just had to listen in on it all) and decided I needed something easier than KONOS this year (I loved it, but it is too much work with a 2 year old....adopted 3-08), so decided on HOD. I plan to use preparing with both girls next year and possibly LHTH for my son (he will then be 3....is very bright but so far has very little language as he had a cleft palate which was repaired almost 3 months ago).

We start school next week. Originally we were going to start today, but I managed to get sick (mommies are not supposed to get sick!), we have an ENT appointment with the 2 year old this morning, his Early intervention appointment on Thursday morning and my hubby is home on friday (because he is working Saturday). Next week we also start gymnastics (for all 3) and ballet (for the oldest). I am doing my final preparing and making sure we have everything we need.

Wendy C.
Dh-Owen
DC-Emily (India-9), Melody (China-7) & Steven (China-2)....starting the process for #4 very soon

[InHim]

Thanks for the replies. When looking at placement it looked like my oldest could do Preparing and my youngest Beyond. I never thought about combining as I thought 3 years difference was too much. So you don't think Bigger would be too much for my youngest or that she would be deprived:) not being able to do the younger levels?
So what exactly is the extension for '5th Grade' and it can be used with Bigger? How would it make Bigger on his level? I can't find samples of the extensions?
Also, is 4th Grade R&S really on level or enough for a 5th grader?

Thanks!
Julie

[InHim]

Forgot to add, Wendy, that my sons are both biological dc, but my 6 yr old was adopted from Guatemala and we are waiting to adopt domestically now as our daughter really wants a sister.

Julie

[water2wine]

Julie I replied to you on this and I am not seeing it. I am hoping it does not show up somewhere in the wrong place. Anyway R&S 4 should be plenty for a fifth grader. It is pretty advanced. The extension packs are listed in the appendix so there is nothing more than the actual books to see. http://www.heartofdakota.com/bigger-hearts-packages.php The books are read independent and add depth to the program. I read mine to my children because I have one with special needs. That could also be an option for you if you wanted the younger to hear it but the nice thing about having them read it is it leads to more independent work. If your children are firmly on the chart in Preparing and Beyond I would really talk with Carrie about the combining into Bigger to make sure that would work. It is not a big deal at all to run two programs if that is what fits your children best. It may be that combining works fine for you too just want to make sure that both can get their individual needs met. If you need to combine it might be that just getting the Beyond manual for LA and math would allow you to have them both in Bigger just fine. But I would definitely run it by Carrie first to make sure. HTH

BTW- We also adopted four of our children.

[Teena6]

I am new also but wanted to share.... I have a dd who is in 5th. She is an older 5th (she just turned 11~ we waited a yr to start her in K which was what she needed) and I am going to start her in Bigger w/ extensions. I have my two boys on LHFHG they are 5 & 6 and I do them together. I just want her to get Bigger and then next year (6th) do Preparing Although Carrie will have a new volume as each year comes I believe. I love the books that are recommended for Bigger


I love the program. This is our 18th yr hs-ing and I am so thankful for HOD.

blessings,
Teena mom to 1/2 dozen & a DIL

[Kathleen]

Julie,

First, I want to say, Welcome to HOD! I started to reply to you earlier and lost it (my ooops! ), and I didn't have time to retype. I started using HOD last year (LHTH), and this year I'm using LHTH and Bigger. We are LOVING it!!

I don't have a lot of experience, but I have learned a lot from these ladies on the board and the researching I've done. If I were you, I would use Beyond with my 6 yo. If that's where she fits on the placement chart, I think that's truly the way to go. It would be a lot more work for you to try to modify something a little above her level (and it's a problem that may stick with you if you're just a little "above" her all the way through). I think that using Beyond and Preparing would be a great mix. (You could definitely ease into it by doing 1/2 the plans for both programs as you get your feet wet, and then pick up the pace a few weeks later.)

Prepring is meant to take 4 hrs a day - and has it broken up to be teacher-directed, semi-independent, and independent - so your oldest would be gaining independence working on his own. (Starting out slowly may help you coach him along so he knows what to do if the things in HOD are new to your family. Many things in Bigger are new to me and my 8yo and they're taking a little getting used to...but we LOVE the change! ) Beyond is meant to take about 2 hrs...I think. You may have to check the Beyond pages as I'm not sure on that one. My guess is that once you get into your groove with them, it would take about 4-4 1/2 hrs to get totally done as your oldest can be doing his independent things while you work with your daughter on Beyond.

I think HOD is wonderful for active boys!!! (I guess that's to be expected as Carrie is the mom of 4 active boys, and her editor/sister is the mom of 3 boys. They get 1st hand testing on 7 active boys!! ) You'll be changing activities every 15-20 minutes as you work through your day, and I personally love how Carrie has balanced the day for me. She has all learning styles represented daily so we're up and moving, my son is listening to reading, he's writing, he's orally narrating. It's all there! AND...the different learning modes are spread around the subjects so that they're balanced within themselves weekly.

I LOVE the creative activities/projects that are included in HOD. This is something that was sorely lacking in our home before HOD. My son loves this now...and so do I! Carrie has really made these activities "doable" for us. They're meaningful, EASY (because they really do use things I have around the house - or I can easily substitute), and they're quick. Oh, how I love the activities!

Now I'm using Bigger, but I think this list of things that will be in Preparing looks awesome! viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1715&hilit=Preparing+projects Another... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1420&hilit=Preparing+projects
One more... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1405 You'll want to scroll down to Carrie's posts to get a feel for the projects.

Hope that helps! I look forward to getting to know you more.
Kathleen

[Carrie]

Julie,

First of all, I just want to welcome you to the HOD board. We're glad to have you here! The ladies are doing a wonderful job of talking through your options with you. I agree that the placement chart is the best and most effective way to accurately place your kiddos. When deciding whether to do Beyond and Preparing or whether to put both in Bigger, you'll need to pay close attention to the areas of reading, writing, english, and math on the placement chart.

It will make a huge difference whether you can combine your kiddos in Bigger, based mainly on your almost 7 year old's skills in the areas I listed above. If your 7 year old is emerging as a reader or already reading independently, is ready for cursive handwriting, can copy several sentences at a time without trouble, is ready for looking up and copying 1or more vocabulary words each week, is ready for daily English grammar instruction, and can listen to lengthier chapter books read aloud without pictures, then you could safely place your 7 year old in Bigger. At that point I would probably place your older child in Bigger too, with the Extension Pack (adding on a higher level of math, Drawn into the Heart Level 4/5 for literature, and a Rod and Staff 4 for English).

If, however, your 7 year is not ready for Bigger based on the skills I listed above, then I would place your 7 year old in Beyond and your older child in Preparing. Kathleen gave you a great break-down of what that would look like.

So, if you get a chance to pop back in and tell us what you're thinking that would be great!

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Hi Julie! Welcome to the HOD boards! We not only have the same name, but we also both have 3 dc about the same ages. We're doing Preparing... and finishing LHFHG then doing Beyond... this year. I think from what you described, your older son sounds like a "mover" and a "shaker". Carrie and I both can name a few of our ds's that are that way! (Kathleen- you know us so well!!! ) Because of this, your older ds may be impatient waiting for your younger son to do Bigger... with him. I think if your younger son places in Beyond..., I'd use that with him. The placement chart is right on track!

We started Preparing...last week and had just an awesome week! We were out of town this past week, but we'll be doing school next week and I can't wait! I'm still finishing up LHFHG with my middle son, so that was an easy start this school year for him because he did it last year (we started it at half-speed last year). You may want to ease your ds into Preparing by doing the left side of the plans one day, and the right side the next for a few weeks. Had we not done Bigger... last year, that's what we would have done for Preparing... I think it just makes for a wonderful start to school to do it that way! Well, please get back to us here with any more thoughts you have. Whatever HOD programs you decide to do - you've found an awesome curriculum!

In Christ,
Julie

[InHim]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I just got a catalog in the mail so I am looking that over too. There is so much to see!

Julie

[Carrie]

Julie,

If you're feeling overwhelmed, just give me a call and I'd be glad to talk through options with you. It can be intimidating to find the right placement, but the wonderful news is that once you get your kiddos correctly placed, the hardest part is over! Then, you can just open up your guides and teach.

Blessings,
Carrie