heartofdakota.com

Hi everyone,

I just discovered Heart of Dakota a few weeks ago when a homeschool friend mentioned that she was using it with her son and enjoyed it. I had assumed it was primarily a preschool program and was pleasantly surprised and intrigued once I started looking into it. I have been reading, researching, and learning more about Charlotte Mason's philosophy over the past year and sense that God is leading us in that direction. I have been reading these boards, combing the catalog, and most of all, PRAYING over the past few weeks about whether HOD will be the right fit for us.

To give you some background, we are in our second year of homeschooling. My DS just turned 7 and is in the 1st grade. I also have a 4 year old DS (in church preschool 2x a week) and an 18-month old DD. I love the way HOD is set up and have been searching for something that will help me engage my children in learning and ease up my planning time (which has really begun to frustrate and burn me out this year).

My concern is mostly where I would place my son for next year (2nd grade). I have looked at the program placement chart and he seems to fit between Beyond and Bigger. He is reading on a 3rd/4th grade level and is a very inquisitive and quick-thinking little guy. His favorite subjects right now are History and Science. He is begging me to start cursive writing (his printing is really good for his age, especially as a boy). We have been doing notebooking (1x a week, usually) with our History and Science and he illustrates with a picture and then narrates to me and I write it for him or sometimes he writes it. He also can be a perfectionist and get frustrated easily. We have had Introduction to World History (Sonlight Core K) and are finishing up SOTW Ancients (with some Sonlight Core 1) and Horizons Math 1 for this year. All that said, I really am not sure where to put him. I like the idea of him getting two years of American History, but I just can't decide if Beyond would be too easy for him or if he went to Bigger if he would miss out on something or it would overwhelm him.

I also wondered if I need to accept that my kids will be in separate programs all the way through? DS1 and DS2 are three years apart and are completely different. It seems from what I've read on the boards that it is doable to do 2 programs at once. Is that right? This coming year DS2 will go to the church preschool for 4's, but will start "officially" homeschooling with us the next year for K. He will probably place in Little Hearts at that point. DS2 "sits in" on many of the read-alouds, etc., that we do now and seems to enjoy most of the ones we've done so far.

I feel like I am tweaking too much right now (and spending WAY too much time on it!) and I am concerned that DS2 will not get the time he needs from me once he is in K if I continue with the way we've been doing school. I feel like Bible time is very short and want it to be more intertwined in our day. I also don't want to just stuff a bunch of information in my childrens' minds (which sometimes I feel like I'm doing) in place of igniting a love for learning that continues throughout their lives.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this far and welcome any insights!

Welcome! The wants you described really just described what you get with HOD!!

I have been in your shoes, so I'll tell you about us and what I did...

I have an advanced 2nd grade 7yo dd and we've just completed Beyond. She reads on a 4th/5th grade level. I used the Bigger guide for math activities since we used Singapore 2A/B (and we switched from Horizons 2! I love SM way better! It's really sticking and takes MUCH less time to do! It's amazing!). It was not below her or a bore to her at all! I also used DITHOR with her. For History and Science, I let her do much of the reading independently, then worked on narration and discussion with her. I like having her being in the mid to upper range in the guides because their level of understanding and level of independence grows so much, making it much more effective! Even though she's very advanced in many areas, Beyond was awesome for her! We've just started Bigger w/extensions up to a 5.8 level and R&S 3 and soon to start SM3A (maybe)-- and the work in Beyond was an excellent start with HOD to get ready for Bigger...there's a lot more to Bigger! There's so much depth to the Bible portions that tie in with everything and I love that she'll be older and have it really make sense to her.

I'm also using Little Hearts with my middle child, sometimes LHTH with my youngest (a 2.5yo wild child!) and expecting my 4th! It is VERY doable to do more than one program at a time! I know I'll be using 3 guides at once, and then when the new baby starts, my oldest (or maybe oldest two) will be in a much more independent stage of HOD by then, making 4 guides at once very doable! The Bible depth, and love for and ability to learn, and to do so independently is something you don't find in many curriculums!

There's plenty of time left in your day to add in any personal interests. And if you wanted to have two years of history but worried about basics being on the right level, you can use the math and LA from the next guide up. So you could do Singapore 1 or 2, then add R&S Grammar 2, DITHOR 2/3, and do either the 2nd grade spelling list from Beyond or the first dication from Bigger for spelling....or pick and choose from those options! It's your call! HOD is so flexible!

I know others will chime in soon! Sundays are a little slow on here, but Monday should bring in a lot of excellent advice!

3sweeties- Welcome to HOD! I really think that Mom2Monkeys (Tamara) had a good idea about beefing up the reading for your 2nd grader. That is completely doable. Have you looked at the placement chart to see his best fit? If you really want to do 2 years of American History then I'd say go ahead and do Beyond with him. Just make sure you use DITHR for reading and make it at his reading level, not grade level. In all other areas is he on target for his age? Beyond has 2 days a week devoted to science while Bigger does it every day. Just food for thought as you said he loves science. I do think that 2 days a week is plenty for his age but if you want to do more, that is something to consider.

And your little guy would be great in Little Hearts. We are doing it now and having a great time. Even my two year old has been begging us to read in his words "Peter Rabbit Cottontail" at lunch. We took a vacation this week for Easter so they have been antsy to hear more of the story.

Thanks so much, ladies! That helps to know that it is doable to "beef" Beyond up if I need to for him w/o adding too much extra work for me. I think I would like to put him there...it sounds like a great place to start, especially since we haven't really had any Am. Hist. yet.

Tamara, would you say since DS is in Horizons 1 now, he might place in Singpore 1B for next year? I'm a little confused as where to put him, but I will try the placement test from their website at the end of the year to see where he would go. I know their numbers don't necessarily correspond with grades. I definitely want to have more hands-on activities for him for math. Do you feel like Singapore and HOD's guide has plenty of that for 1B/2A/2B? Also, did your daughter go ahead and start R&S 2 with Beyond or did you just do the LA in Beyond and then go on to R&S 3? We have done First Language Lessons this year and are about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through "2nd grade" and he is doing just fine with it. It is a very gentle introduction to grammar, which we have enjoyed.

I am planning on using DITHR for reading. I really love the format and how it helps you cover various genres! I "think" he would be on Level 3 and the books in the pack that go with that look like ones he would enjoy. He's already read a lot of the ones from Level 2.

I think he would love the science in Bigger (especially doing it everyday!) : ) and keeping a notebook, but I am okay with just adding more in for the coming year...maybe letting him do a little notebooking along with it? I don't want to use Bigger just for science and then not have anything for the next year!

Anyway, I am still praying about whether HOD is what God has for us for next year, but I am definitely leaning towards using it! It just seems like it will fit our family so well and meet the goals (especially spiritual) that we have for our children!

Thanks so much!

If HOD is where God puts you next year, I would second the plan of putting your son in Beyond, not only would he get two years of Am. History, but also it is easier to beef up a program than it is to "dumb it down" KWIM?? Lots of ladies use the left side as the core and use the next guide's left side for math and LA. As for science, you could easily look into doing something like Apologia or Considering God's Creation on a daily basis. With HOD it is SOOOOO easy to strike a balance that fits your family.

Bumping this up.

Nancy, we did Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy this year for science and he LOVED it...begged for it more than the 2x a week we did it! I would do another Apologia course if needed...they have a wonderful science curriculum! The only negative is that we didn't get to all the projects/experiments for the year. We probably did about half of them.

Thanks for the help everyone!

3sweeties,

Welcome to the board! The ladies are doing a terrific job of helping you talk through options. Since it sounds like your kiddo is between Beyond and Bigger Hearts, you really could go either way. Bigger does have daily copywork required, along with drawing and copying in a history and science notebook, and completing a science experiment sheet once a week. If your son is good at writing and copying, then you would lean toward Bigger Hearts. If your son still needs to come along in the copying department (is a slow copier or does not like to write), then you'd choose Beyond. This is actually one of the more important considerations when choosing between Beyond and Bigger.

Another consideration will be how well your child spells. If he spells quite well and easily, I'd lean toward Bigger Hearts, if not I'd do Beyond.

Next, you'll want to weigh how much grammar instruction your son has had and what he's ready for next. If he is just now ready for a gentle introduction to grammar, mechanics, and usage, then Beyond would be best. If he's ready for a formal introduction to the parts of speech with daily grammar lessons, then he'd be ready for Bigger Hearts.

It sounds like your son is ready for cursive so in that area he would lean toward Bigger Hearts.

It also sounds as if you would lean toward Bigger Hearts for math, but I would definitely give him the placement test now to see where he fits as it will aid in your decision between Beyond and Bigger. Here's the link to that test: http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

One last very important consideration is how well he listens to chapter book style read alouds without pictures. The readings in Bigger take a bit more mature listener than those within Beyond. Both are well-written and storylike in the CM style.

At this point, I'm leaning toward Bigger Hearts for your little guy, but I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on the copying/writing, grammar, spelling, math from above.

Blessings,
Carrie

Welcome to the HOD Board 3Sweeties! Whether you go with Beyond or Bigger, you will be happy with HOD. They are both great programs, and they fit the goals you've laid out for your dc. Your goals are like my goals, and I've been so excited about the results I'm getting with HOD. I am interested to hear your responses to Carrie's questions. I think your best placement for your ds lies within those answers because they are key differences between Beyond and Bigger. The other ladies made some great points too, and the diversity in how different families use HOD successfully is at the heart of what makes it so versatile! One thing I will say, if you find you are thinking you'd like to do Beyond but then keep thinking you need to beef up "this", and then also "that', and then maybe "one more thing", and then "oh, I'd better add that too" - this is a sign that your ds probably needs to do Bigger. I also wanted to encourage you that doing 2 HOD programs is not difficult. We've been doing it for 3 years, and it's worked out great through difficult pregnancies, health concerns, my dh traveling a lot, etc. - it will work out just great for you too! Praying for you as you think through this!

In Christ,
Julie

Carrie, thanks so much for your response! I would say that DS generally copies 2-4 lines of copywork without complaining or having a total meltdown. The copywork is not very often, though...maybe an average of once a week? I could see him getting freaked out if it was 2-4 lines or more everyday. He DID NOT like writing last year (major meltdowns) and I probably pushed him a little too hard with it, so this year I have him write some, but then usually let him dictate to me what to write for his notebook page. Sometimes he does it himself, but that is not very often. He doesn't usually complain when it is his turn to write, so that is a BIG change from last year.

He does very well listening to read-alouds w/o pictures, but our biggest issue is the younger two running around, interrupting, distracting, etc. We read at least a chapter or two at lunchtime from our read-aloud. We have read Charlotte's Web, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and right now are reading The Year of Miss Agnes, to give you an idea. He is usually able to narrate back to me, but I do have to prompt him sometimes.

As far as grammar, he has been introduced to nouns, verbs, and we are doing contractions right now. He seems to understand all of it, although verbs gave him a little bit of trouble. We have only been doing LA 3x a week and it is not his favorite subject. I am using First Language Lessons (in the middle of the 2nd grade level) right now, which does keep the lessons pretty short and has lots of review within it. This is where he does some copywork, but it is not very much at all. DS spells very easily, although spelling (Spelling Workout) is on a first grade level. It is very easy for him, but since he learned to read so quickly, I wanted to make sure his ability to spell didn't get left behind so I didn't go to the next level up when I probably could have.

I have not given him the placement test for math yet, but I am pretty sure he would start at 1B right now. It seems to get into carrying and borrowing, which we have not covered yet. I know our math we are using now introduces carrying next week. I think he would know some things, but not others at this point. We have about 35 or so lessons left, so I will know better once we finish it up at the end of May.

My main concern with skipping Beyond is that he will miss out on some American history. Not sure if Bigger goes back over some of the same ideas/events, etc. but more in-depth? Also, I would hate to pick Bigger and it be too hard and frustrate him (he is a firstborn all the way! ) or to pick Beyond and it get lost in the shuffle of me feeling like I need to "beef" it up for him, which as Julie pointed out, may not be the best thing either. It sounds like there are positives and negatives to either way I choose. I'm not the greatest at decisions either!

Anyway, I appreciate all of the insight on here! Thanks so much!

3sweeties,

Thank you so much for giving a bit more information on your son in the areas that I mentioned. It really helps in making a clearer decision. From the additional information you've shared, I'd say your son would fit best in Beyond. You will most likely use Spelling List 2 in the Appendix and will find some of the gentle grammar lessons in Beyond to be a repeat of what you've covered in FLL. However, I think that will be a better fit than moving on to Rod and Staff English 2 too early. We usually recomend starting Rod and Staff 2 in third grade.

Since your little guy hasn't been writing daily at this point, then the writing in Bigger Hearts would definitely be too big of a jump. That helps makes the choice clearer that Beyond is the better fit. It is also nice to be on the middle age range of our guides as you go through the years. Our second son is doing it that way, even though he's a smart little cookie who could have started on the younger age range of each guide. We're finding he truly enjoys his school and always feels confident he can do it well.

For math, you'll most likely start in the middle of the Beyond guide for math 1B and then will need to use the first part of the schedule in the Appendix of Beyond for 2A when your son get to that level (or you could consider getting the Bigger Hearts guide for the 2A/2B math lessons when your little guy get there).

I'm so glad that we've been able to thoroughly talk through your options in order to find the best fit for your little guy.
We pray you'll enjoy HOD as much as we enjoy it with our own kiddos!

Blessings,
Carrie

3Sweeties,
I was thinking Beyond after reading your last post too. There is quite a bit more writing in Bigger, and I think Beyond would be just right for your ds. Now, you don't have to worry about missing out on Beyond! Carrie gave some good recommendations for adjustments, too.

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks again, everyone! I so appreciate the insights and direction! This is such a helpful, caring board!