heartofdakota.com

As much as I like the look of HOD and I am beginning to think it won't work for us. My dd will be 12 in June and we also have twin boys who are 8. We are just finishing up MFW Creation to the Greeks. I really loved their ECC program, but not so much CTG and I really would like a more Charlotte Mason approach without me having to make it up from scratch. We have done ancient history twice and I can't do it anymore. Since the dd is getting older we need to be more serious with our schooling.

I don't see where I would place her to use HOD. We have never done US history. What about my boys who have been studying the same stuff, but at their level with her? It is okay if you have to tell me that HOD won't work.

While Bigger is a great program and would probably be fantastic for the boys, in and of itself it's not enough for a 12yo. But I wonder could you use it for the boys, and have her go along with you for the history, bible, poetry, etc. Basically the left side of the plans. Or would it be too weird for her to do the same things as her brothers? She'd definitely have to have her own LA, Math, and maybe even science. If you got the DITHOR manual, it covers 2-8 grades, so that's easy to combine at their own levels.

Just thinking that HoD does such a great Am History overview in Bigger, it's such a nice program and would give you a good break from all the ancient stuff for a while.

I agree with Amy that HOD may still be doable for you. Bigger would probably be a great fit for your boys and you can beef it up for you older daughter by using DITHOR for her reading level, for history maybe add Guerber/Miller "The Story of the Thirteen Colonies" & "The Story of the Great Republic", She would of course do her own level math & language arts (but that is with most programs). I know there are moms here that have done this and give more advice, but I would say don't give up on HOD yet.

I have no advice other than you might try calling/emailing Carrie directly for advice. She and her husband are always very friendly and helpful. Carrie might have a way for HOD to work with your family. Good Luck!

Heart Of Dakota Publishing
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I am currently using Bigger with a 7,11,12 year old and we LOVE it! For my older 2 we are successfully using the extension books. We do our own Math (TT7) and we are involved with a local Science Competition (Envirothon). These 2 subject areas definitely needed more of something and thankfully we already had these in place. My boys also play the piano and swim 3-5x a week for a USA Swim Team. The history, Bible, poetry, geography, etc. have been fun and memorable! Before homeschooling my own children I was a high school history teacher and I have always felt that too much information - even if they CAN read it/understand it IF given in an inapplicable way (that's why living books are SO necessary especially when it comes to history!) is not even worth giving because your child will NOT remember it. Whether you decide to go with HOD or not a fantastic additional resource to American History for a visual/tactile learner is www.homeschoolinthewoods.com resources.
Next year I plan to do Preparing with my gang. Again for the older 2 we are planning to add more science and stick with TT for Math. Take a look at the extension package to Bigger and see if your daughter may or may not like them. You can possibly add a few more resources while keeping your kids all together in American History. (I'm just a sucker for family togetherness!)

What about doing Bigger with the boys and Preparing for the 12 year old? Since she is 12 she could do a lot of Preparing independently. She could still read the extension pack of Bigger on her own since she is twelve and get in American History if you wanted her too, or you could just discuss with her what you guys learned that day and then have her read just the history book from the extension pack on her own. (That is probably more what I would do, so as not to add to much to Preparing). The next year the boys could do Preparing and your daughter could hop up to the new program (Rome to Reformation type time period) that will be ready for 2010-2011? Just an idea. When Carrie gets back from conference she will have some ideas for you.

Julie,

I'm jumping in here with a question. Do you use Time Travellers for your oldest child with Biggers? What age level do you think kids are able to do them at? Do you just do a few projects or all of them? Does it take alot of work to get them ready (run them off) and do you do that all ahead of time?

Thanks,
Shannon

Hi Shannon,

I have used it most successfully with my older 2, but include my 7 year old in the activities that he can concentrate on. We are currently doing the Old Testament lapbook that she offers and my 7 year old is a bit slower and needs my encouragement to keep going but he's beginning to handle it. So to answer your question I think 8 years on through whenever they think their too old to do hands on stuff would be the appropriate age range! We have used: Explorers as a lapbook, Colonials days - only bit and pieces to add to our "notebooking" and we are ready to begin American Revolution (as a lapbook)as that is right where we are in Bigger. The CD does include a schedule to complete the CD in 1 month; warning - that will keep you VERY busy!
Time: it DOES take prep time - not at all like the pick-up-and-go HOD curriculum that I love! You will need a good printer, cardstock and a few other miscellaneous items, but that's why it is hard teaching to a hands-on child, and why it's nice to have it all laid out for you even if you do have to take a day to organize it. Hope that answers your questions!

Julie,

Thanks for the info! You've probably answered this question for me somewhere down below but how are you making Bigger work for all your kids ages?

Thanks,
Shannon

sockknitter,

Welcome to the boards! We're glad to have you here! The ladies are doing a tremendous job of discussing possible options with you. First off, in order to help advise you best I need to know a couple of things.

Will you be using the language arts and math as scheduled in our guides, or will you be using some of your own items in those areas?

Next, where do each of your kiddos fall on our placement chart (with all combining scenarios aside)? Here's a link to the chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Last, how do you feel about combining your kiddos? Is this something that is a must for you and your family, or are you willing to consider separating your kiddos?

If you get a chance to pop back and answer these questions for me that would really help!

Blessings,
Carrie

Let's see, we have never done American History but we have studied the ancients. We currently use MFW which means I teach them all together. Science was very weak this year and we are open to anything.

We already use Singapore for math and for LA we use Spelling Power, Primary Langauge Lessons, Intermeidate Langauge Lessons, and my boys, who are 8 and second grade, use R & S spelling. We have done one year of Writing Strands and I can't stomach another. My dd will be 12 in June and ready for sixth grade work.

Thanks so much for updating! I should have been more clear in mentioning that when looking at the placement chart, you'll want to pay the most attention to the first page of the chart when saying which program fits each kiddo best. For the moment, completely ignore the rest of the chart and what history cycle you are currently on or have studied in the past. Just purely looking at the first page of the chart, tell me where each of your kiddos places individually. Here's a link to the chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Next, if you can tell me which Singapore level each child is in that will really help! Last, I'll need to know how independent your older child is? Does she read well, follow written directions well, and write well?

It will make a huge difference in proper placement depending on your answers to these questions. So, if you get a chance to pop back with that information I can advise you so much better.

Blessings,
Carrie

All right, I hope I get this right. Please remember the boys are twins and as you know can be competitive.

Son, known as G, would probably fall in column 3 or BLHHG. He is an emergning reader as we just finished Reading Made Easy, He is in Singapore 2A with very solid math skills and taught himself multplication.

Son, known as C, fits into column 4 or BHHG skill wise, maybe even beyond that as he reads at a 5-6 grade level and understands IDEAS very well, even better sometimes then his older sister. He is also in Singapore 2A but struggles a little with it.

Both boys use PLL and we are almost done with the first half. Son G doesn't like to write and struggles with it but will do it. His phonics needs more. he has a hard time remembering they way things are suppose to sound.

Daughter known as E, is a bit of late bloomer and only within the last few months has really started to read for pleasure. I can tell her spelling is better. I think she may be behind because I didn't push enough and she just wasn't ready. She is very creative writer. She doesn't always get the deeper meaning of things. Sort of a silly heart kind of girl. She is in Singapore 3B, we switched from MUS. Plays beautiful piano. Sorry had to brag on her a little. She is almost 2 thirds done with Intermediate language lessons. Probably the last column.

All the children admitted that they could do better in school to me. Was that enough information?

sockknitter,

Thank you for being so gracious to share about your kiddos with me! It really does help me to see where they would fit better. I am thinking of one possible option that would really help you give your daughter a strong year in the 3R's, while also having all your kiddos hit American history. To do this, you could combine all 3 of your kiddos within Bigger Hearts for only the left side of the plans (Learning Through History), using the Extension Package for your daughter. This is a good option, even though your daughter is beyond the target range of Bigger Hearts, as your kiddos really should have a year of American history.

Doing Bigger Hearts with all of them for a year would also allow you time to delve into Drawn into the Heart of Reading, which will be important especially for your older daughter as she'll be needing the literature study skills that DITHR provides as she nears high school. I would also recommend taking a look at Rod and Staff English for your daughter to up the level of her English and writing skills. This would be very helpful for her as she heads into her middle/high school years. You would then add the right side of the Creation to Christ plans for your daughter to give her a higher level of dictation passages, a schedule for Rod and Staff English 4 (if you choose for her to use that), a reminder of when to do DITHR, 2 lessons a week with Write with the Best, Primary Math 3A/3B, and the CTC science. The only part you would omit on the CTC right side of the plans for her would be the Geography of the Bible Lands and Genesis Finding Our Roots and the poetry box.

The other possible option would be to place your twins in Bigger Hearts and your daughter in Preparing Hearts for all areas. This will take a bit more doing on your part and would require running two programs. Many families easily run two HOD programs, however in this scenario, you would need to train your daughter to be quite independent with the Preparing Hearts guide. We have done this with our sons, but it does take some training. Only you would know how well your daughter would be able to read written directions and work more independently.

One last consideration would be combining all of your kiddos in Preparing Hearts and using the Extensions for your daughter. I am a bit concerned about this option, as I fear one of your twins would be pulled along in this option.

Any of these scenarios would work and each has its own strengths. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you get a minute.

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank you for taking time to throughly answer my dilemna. I have much to think about and talk about with hubby.