heartofdakota.com

Hi there!

I have spent the past day pouring over this website, and I am very interested in HOD curriculum for next year. A little background on my family -- We have been home schooling for two years and have used the Weaver Curriculum for both years.

My son is 8 (will be 9 in January '10.) He is currently finishing up 2nd grade. He is an avid reader, and will seek out reading (mostly non-fiction History and Science) and read on his own for fun. He is also very gifted in math. (We use Singapore and LOVE it.) I have often likened teaching him to unlocking a door -- it's like the knowledge is already there, and I'm just opening the doors so his brain can access it. Where he struggles, however, is in his handwriting/penmanship. He vehemently dislikes printing which hinders his great imagination when it comes time for him to write. He has shown an interest in cursive, though, and I have started cursive writing with him.

My Daughter is 6 next month. She is finishing K. She is very creative, artistic, and loves writing her letters. Her penmanship is beautiful, she does copy work on her own (and then asks me what she wrote! ) She is already wanting to learn cursive (though I think we'll hold off on that!) While she loves writing words, she's not too keen on reading them. She is getting the hang of phonics, though. We are currently using ETC Book 1 and Bob Books, and she is starting to read CVC words with greater ease.

I was leaning toward using "Beyond" with my daughter, and "Preparing" for my son, but would love input on that. Would my daughter's reading level hinder her in Beyond? I think she would be a good fit in all other aspects. In the same vein, would my son's lack of printing/cursive experience hinder him in "Preparing?" I think that it would be a perfect fit for him, otherwise.

Lastly, I was considering using CLE language arts for my son next year, does that correspond with the R&S lessons listed in the guide, or would I just have to schedule that on my own?

Thanks so much!!

Hi! I'll just give my input. I have a son who turned 9 this February. We have been doing Bigger and it has been PERFECT! It is exactly the right level for him. There is just enough writing so that he is not frustrated, yet continues to grow in this area. I would encourage you to take another look at Bigger. It has been a fabulous year for us.
Holly

Welcome!

Reading what you wrote about your kids, I think that Beyond and Preparing sound like they''ll fit your kids well. In Beyond, you'll be doing the reading aloud to your child. Carrie has made it so that the phonics portion of the guide can go at whatever pace it works for your child. You are also free to use whatever curriculum you choose for it. So, go with her pace, and it will work great!

I think you'd also be fine in Preparing with just learning cursive. I know that in Bigger, it says that the poetry copywork is optional (since you're already doing handwriting practice in the day). We have added it in for part of the year...but handwriting isn't my little guy's favorite part of the day either. I'd say that you'd probably want to cut some kind of copywork from the day so that you and your son have a more enjoyable time with your daily writing. I know that I talked to Carrie this last weekend at the Kansas City conference, and I'm planning to go with DITHOR 2/3 student book again. If you're going to be starting DITHOR, I'd suggest you start with the 2/3 student book. It doesn't have a page to write on every day. Get books on his level...but I think starting with less writing there (as opposed to the 4/5 book that has writing every day) will also help your school days.

Kathleen

Hi Mommaduck-
We used Weaver (not exclusively) this year with my son who will turn 6 in late Sept; we used Saxon for Math and Phonics instead of Weaver. Next year I plan to go with Little Hearts for His Glory and use the 1st grade science, primary math 1A and 1B, Thinking Skills Grade 1 from Beyond, so I will have a blend of both Little and Beyond. I want to take advantage of the history and left side of the Little guide. My DS has progressed really well with his phonics so we will probably be ready for the Emerging Reader's Set at the end of the year. This summer I will reveiw Early Bird Math, R&S WB D and F, The World God Made and continue to work on handwriting. I really don't like to take the whole summer off, so we will review the areas to make sure we have a great transition to HOD in the fall. I chose to get the K books, knowing I would use them again with DD in 2-3 years. The placement charts are great, because you best know your child's skills. The ladies on the board and obviously Carrie are a wealth of knowledge!!
Welcome!
Kirstin

mommaduck wrote:Hi there!

I have spent the past day pouring over this website, and I am very interested in HOD curriculum for next year. A little background on my family -- We have been home schooling for two years and have used the Weaver Curriculum for both years.

My son is 8 (will be 9 in January '10.) He is currently finishing up 2nd grade. He is an avid reader, and will seek out reading (mostly non-fiction History and Science) and read on his own for fun. He is also very gifted in math. (We use Singapore and LOVE it.) I have often likened teaching him to unlocking a door -- it's like the knowledge is already there, and I'm just opening the doors so his brain can access it. Where he struggles, however, is in his handwriting/penmanship. He vehemently dislikes printing which hinders his great imagination when it comes time for him to write. He has shown an interest in cursive, though, and I have started cursive writing with him.

My Daughter is 6 next month. She is finishing K. She is very creative, artistic, and loves writing her letters. Her penmanship is beautiful, she does copy work on her own (and then asks me what she wrote! ) She is already wanting to learn cursive (though I think we'll hold off on that!) While she loves writing words, she's not too keen on reading them. She is getting the hang of phonics, though. We are currently using ETC Book 1 and Bob Books, and she is starting to read CVC words with greater ease.

I was leaning toward using "Beyond" with my daughter, and "Preparing" for my son, but would love input on that. Would my daughter's reading level hinder her in Beyond? I think she would be a good fit in all other aspects. In the same vein, would my son's lack of printing/cursive experience hinder him in "Preparing?" I think that it would be a perfect fit for him, otherwise.

Lastly, I was considering using CLE language arts for my son next year, does that correspond with the R&S lessons listed in the guide, or would I just have to schedule that on my own?

Thanks so much!!

mommaduck wrote:Hi there!

I have spent the past day pouring over this website, and I am very interested in HOD curriculum for next year. A little background on my family -- We have been home schooling for two years and have used the Weaver Curriculum for both years.

My son is 8 (will be 9 in January '10.) He is currently finishing up 2nd grade. He is an avid reader, and will seek out reading (mostly non-fiction History and Science) and read on his own for fun. He is also very gifted in math. (We use Singapore and LOVE it.) I have often likened teaching him to unlocking a door -- it's like the knowledge is already there, and I'm just opening the doors so his brain can access it. Where he struggles, however, is in his handwriting/penmanship. He vehemently dislikes printing which hinders his great imagination when it comes time for him to write. He has shown an interest in cursive, though, and I have started cursive writing with him.

My Daughter is 6 next month. She is finishing K. She is very creative, artistic, and loves writing her letters. Her penmanship is beautiful, she does copy work on her own (and then asks me what she wrote! ) She is already wanting to learn cursive (though I think we'll hold off on that!) While she loves writing words, she's not too keen on reading them. She is getting the hang of phonics, though. We are currently using ETC Book 1 and Bob Books, and she is starting to read CVC words with greater ease.

I was leaning toward using "Beyond" with my daughter, and "Preparing" for my son, but would love input on that. Would my daughter's reading level hinder her in Beyond? I think she would be a good fit in all other aspects. In the same vein, would my son's lack of printing/cursive experience hinder him in "Preparing?" I think that it would be a perfect fit for him, otherwise.

Lastly, I was considering using CLE language arts for my son next year, does that correspond with the R&S lessons listed in the guide, or would I just have to schedule that on my own?

Thanks so much!!

Welcome to the HOD Board, Mommaduck! I think Beyond definitely sounds like a good fit for your dd. For your ds, I am wondering if you could share a little about...
your ds's grammar?
how much your ds can write (not necessarily how neatly ), but sentences? paragraphs?
has he done dictation, narration, copywork?
what math level is he in?

Then, I'd feel better giving advice about him - though right now, I'm leaning with you toward PHFHG.

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you so much, everyone, for your replies!

I forgot to introduce myself while I was introducing my kids! I'm Becky.

I have pretty much settled on Beyond for my DD (6yo).

To answer the question about DS (8yo -- 9 in January), he has actually had a good amount of grammar instruction already. We used Weaver's Wisdom Words 2nd grade objectives this year, which covered all the basic parts of speech, including paragraph structure and writing. His final assignment in Wisdom Words was writing a short book report, which we did lapbook style, so he would have artsy crafty things to do in addition to the writing. I should add, his penmanship is actually quite nice -- when he wants it to be If he is excited about writing something, he will sit down willingly and print like crazy!

In math, DS is finishing Singapore's 2nd grade workbook B.

Thanks again for all the helpful input.

Becky in DE

I was actually going to suggest Little Hearts for your 6 y/o and Bigger for your 9 year old. My best suggestion though is to look at the placement chart on the site and really examine where each child best fits. You know them better than anyone and you are the best judge for this. My only caution would be NOT to place them in back to back programs. It is not really advisable for you to do manuals back to back year after year (for example, your dd in Beyond, ds in Biggler...then dd in Bigger and ds in Preparing...to where you are repeating one program each year). Clear as mud? LOL

mommaduck wrote:Thank you so much, everyone, for your replies!

I forgot to introduce myself while I was introducing my kids! I'm Becky.

I have pretty much settled on Beyond for my DD (6yo).

To answer the question about DS (8yo -- 9 in January), he has actually had a good amount of grammar instruction already. We used Weaver's Wisdom Words 2nd grade objectives this year, which covered all the basic parts of speech, including paragraph structure and writing. His final assignment in Wisdom Words was writing a short book report, which we did lapbook style, so he would have artsy crafty things to do in addition to the writing. I should add, his penmanship is actually quite nice -- when he wants it to be If he is excited about writing something, he will sit down willingly and print like crazy!

In math, DS is finishing Singapore's 2nd grade workbook B.

Thanks again for all the helpful input.

Becky in DE

You could be describing my ds here at the beginning of this school year - he was 8 when we started, 9 in Dec. - and everything else you mentioned about your ds's grammar, writing, and math is the same as my ds's was as well. My ds did PHFHG this year and had an awesome year with it - so I'm thinking PHFHG sounds like a good fit for your ds too! We did R & S 3, finished out Singapore 2B, then 3A, and now we're partway through 3B. He sounds ready for the writing/notebooking portions of PHFHG too. Of course, you know your ds best, but I think he sounds like a nice fit with PHFHG. This was a great year for us, and I know whatever you choose from HOD will bless your family as well!

In Christ ,
Julie