New Here

[jg_puppy]

Hi. I am new here. I have looked at Heart of Dakota before, but decided to go a different direction. I have tried so many different curriculums that just haven't worked out for many different reasons. I am considering Heart of Dakota again.

I am a little unsure of placement of my kids. I think I am going to use Little Hearts for my just turned 5 year old. I already have most of the books in the pacakge that I was planning on using. This will give me a schedule for them.

My harder one would be my dd. She will be 8 in May. We are currently using Singapore for math and she will be starting 2A soon. We would have been farther along, but we took a break for awhile and are using the IP and Challenging word problems books. She is a very strong reader (3rd or 4th grade). She is very week in spelling and writing. I am not sure if Bigger or Preparing would be a better fit for her. It is a little hard to tell since I can't see samples of Preparing. My other thought is keep her in her own lanugage arts and math and just beef up the things in Little Hearts so we only have one program to use.

Jan

[paliz]

Welcome to the group. I don't have much advice. Have you checked out the placement chart? That is where most of us start in deciding what to do.

[netpea]

Bigger lines up with Singapore 2A. We are using the Beyond manual right now for everything but math, we use Bigger for that. But I haven't looked at any other parts of it to know how to advise you.

I do know that at her reading level, she would be placed into Drawn into the heart of reading which can be used with any of Carrie's programs.

The boards can be slow on the weekends, but the ladies here should have good advice for you. Welcome to HOD, you're gonna love it.

[Melanie]

Hi Jan! Welcome!

The boards are slow over the wked's, but you'll get plenty of advice...we all love to help! Definately check the placement chart first to get a good feel for where to place them. There is a lot of writing in Bigger and in Preparing. You could always do as Lee Ann suggested and use Beyond for everything except math (use Bigger for math) until your dd is more secure with writing and spelling. Drawn (the reading program) can be used with any of the other programs.

I would look at either Beyond or Bigger. The placement is more based on ability level than age or grade. Carrie will be able to give you your best answer and she is usually around!

Welcome and don't worry....you'll get it figured out!

[MamaBear23Cubs]

I plan to use Bigger with my daughter who will be eight in March. I just ordered Drawn Into The Heart Of Reading level 2/3 to go with it. I am currently trying Beyond and Singapore with her now. Mine to isn't strong in spelling because I never enforced it until now. My daughter much rather tell me about stuff than write it down on her own.

[jg_puppy]

Thank you for the welcome.

I know that I don't want to use Beyond for two reasons. I think it would be easy for her and the other reason is that I will likely use it with my son the next year and I don't think I would like to do the same program two years in a row.

I think it will likely be determined by when I start. If I was to start now then I think placement wise Bigger would be the right level. I noticed that I have most of the readers mentioned in the extension pack so I could have her read those. Now if we continue with what we are using and don't start until the beginning of next year then I think Preparing might be a better fit, but it is hard to tell since I haven't seen the samples yet.

Jan

[Candice]

Jan,

Welcome to the boards, glad to have you here!

Candice

[Tansy]

My dd is not a strong writer. But she is a strong speller The writing in Bigger and DITHOR can be a bit of a challenge for her. When we started we only did half a day to help lighten the load. Since she is in 3rd grade I plan on using this book longer than one year.

I use another math program, so I can't help you there.

We really love the dictation and and poetry copying. But there is a lot of writing. i help her out by writing out on a white board her verbal answers to the really long DITHOR work book pages. Then for "home work" she copies it.

[my3sons]

Hi Jan! I'm so glad you're here! We're doing Bigger right now (along with DITHOR), and my son turned 8 in Dec. We're also doing LHFHG right now with my just about 5 year old. Doing both of these programs is honestly very easy to do.

I think that you are right in thinking to do LHFHG with your younger child, and it sounds like Bigger... would be a good placement for your almost 8 year old. There is enough writing in Bigger... for your older dc, and I think that the skills learned in Bigger... will be built upon in Preparing, so if you are going to be able to start anytime soon, I'd say Bigger... is probably a good fit.

I know the samples for Preparing won't be up until I think April or so, so your best bet would be to check out the placement chart. We have found the placement chart to be right for placing our own children. Here's a link to that:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

It's really an easy chart to use, so I think that would help you zero in on the best fit for your almost 8 yo. As far as the LA level, you'd be looking at DITHOR Level 2/3. We're in our second year of it and really enjoying it. Since you may more than likely be doing 2 programs, here's a link to how you could do DITHOR just 3 days a week instead of 5 days, in case you're interested:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/view ... ight=#1137

I'm so glad you're here, and you will find this board is full of positive encouraging ladies! You'll fit right in!

[Carrie]

Jan,

Welcome to the board! We're glad to have you here! The ladies have given you such good advice and are wonderful about pointing you in the right direction.

I'd agree that it sounds like your 5 year old would fit in LHFHG and that your 8 year old would probably fit best in "Bigger..." right now.

I'd love to hear your thoughts once you have looked over the placement chart.

Blessings,
Carrie