Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

This is where new posts begin. All questions or discussions about any of Heart of Dakota's curriculums start here. If you wish to share a one-time post about your family's experience with our curriculum, you may post under the specific curriculum title (found beneath this "Main Board" heading).
Sheila in OK
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:34 pm

Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Sheila in OK » Sun Apr 26, 2009 7:02 pm

Hi everyone!
I am currently homeschooling a 5th grade dd and 2nd grade ds. We prefer a 'living books' approach to history and have used many different things over the years--several SL cores, one year of MFW (Adventures), and currently, Truthquest. I have enjoyed things about all of these but none of them have been a perfect fit. We are enjoying TQ this year, but it is very unstructured and eventually I want to move back into something with a bit more structure to it.

Anyway I've been planning to use DITHOR next year with both of them, and in researching this, have become intrigued by the other programs. They look really, really good! I'm just not sure I could make one of them work for us. I should mention that it is really, really important for me to combine them. That's the main reason we dropped SL Core 3 this year, because my ds was totally lost.

So here are my thoughts:
- CTC -- I love the looks of this and it would probably work for my dd, since she'll be a 6th grade, but it will most likely be too much for my 3rd grader. One option I am considering is to continue our American History cycle next year with TQ, then move into CTC the next year with 7th/4th graders.
- Preparing-- this looks good too, but we have fairly recently done Cores 1 & 2 and they use many of the same books, including Aesop for Children and Child's History of the World, so it may be kind of redundant.
- Bigger -- this is probably the most likely choice, since my ds will be the perfect age for it. One concern I have is that it won't be 'enough' for the 6th grader. Also, we spent waaay too much time earlier this year on Columbus, explorers, Vikings, etc. so my children may mutiny if they have to cover them yet again! :D Possibly I could skip some of the history in the earlier sections of this program and make it work.

So what do you think? Which of these options would work the best? Is Bigger really enough for a 6th grader? Both dc will be doing science classes next year at coop using the God's Design books, so I'm not really worried about the science being light since it will mainly be a supplement.

TIA!

Sheila
09/10 School year:
DD 11 Bigger w/Extensions
DS 8 Bigger as written

DHT1999
Posts: 274
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:00 pm
Location: Alabama

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by DHT1999 » Sun Apr 26, 2009 8:20 pm

Hi, Sheila! So good to "see" you here! We are close to finishing up SL Core 2. I also used SOTW 2 alongside it to beef it up for my fourth grader. We have also done Adventures. Next year, I will be using Bigger Hearts for His Glory with a fifth grader and a second grader. As I began to prepare for next year and decided that we would definately be doing Bigger Hearts, I tried to think of ways to make it work for my oldest son. You know... the Extension Package PLUS! But, after I got all the books for Bigger Hearts and spent some time looking at it, I knew it was enough without much supplementation for my fifth grader. The Extension Package is wonderful. The books are wholesome and very interesting. I know my then fifth grader will love them. Specifically, I had looked for a higher level spine type book for my fifth grader. I had considered having him read This Country of Ours but decided against it. There are so many other good books that you could add to the course to keep the children together for history. The Guerber books may work for you. I don't know how it would work to skip some of the lessons.

We've only started DITHOR so I probably shouldn't offer much advise! But, next year, we'll be doing Bigger Hearts together. I'm using it as it is written with my second grader and along with the Language Arts in the Preparing Guide for my oldest son. He won't be using Singapore but I am looking forward to using those lessons with my youngest.

Carrie or someone else will be able to help you with any decisions you may make towards HOD. I think you would love it. I hope you can make it work for you!
2011-2012: Creation to Christ & Bigger Hearts

"He maketh the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children." - Psalm 113:9

Sheila in OK
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:34 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Sheila in OK » Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:09 am

Hi Donna!
Thanks for the reply. It seems that we have similar tastes in curriculum and end up in many of the same places. :) So your dc are basically the same age spread as mine, just a year younger. I wish I had used Bigger this school year instead of starting with Core 3 and ending up all over the place, but oh well-live and learn. I feel like what we have done most of our hsing journey is teach to the older child and let the younger 'get what he can'. I'm tired of doing that, and really want a program next year that will work for him.

I should've mentioned in my post that I do have grade-level math and LA my dd will be using, so I won't be using the suggestions in Bigger for her, although I probably would follow it pretty closely for ds. I like the idea of possibly adding in another history spine to 'beef it up' for her. She doesn't like a Child's Story of America, though--we have read some of it this year in TQ and it didn't really appeal to either child. I'll have to check into This Country of Ours--I haven't looked at it too much.

So do you plan on doing Preparing after Bigger?

Any other thoughts?

Sheila
09/10 School year:
DD 11 Bigger w/Extensions
DS 8 Bigger as written

water2wine
Posts: 2743
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2007 7:24 pm
Location: GA

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by water2wine » Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:02 am

I just wanted to say welcome and that I am using Bigger with a sixth grader now. It is working very well. :D She needed American so it was a perfect fit. I use it with four children actually one has special needs and the other two are 9/10. My sixth grader is pretty bright and she has loved it. I have given her some extra reading that Carrie suggested and we do sometimes add to the science a bit but that is really because we are science lovers. I would not skip HOD science though because it teaches science in such a great way I want them all to get that as well. Also originally I was reading aloud the extension pack for the sake of my dd that is delayed but older so the extra reading for the 6th grader was more important. Here is a thread that might be helpful for you. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=640&hilit=poor+richard

We have really enjoyed Bigger for all our kids. My sixth grader as well. We are not skipping Preparing but we are doing just part of it. We plan to do just CHOW, Grandpas Box and The Great Ice Age (we may just actually read this book because we have covered some of these concepts in great depth before and for time sake). We will read and do just the part of Preparing that applies mostly to Grandpas Box and Chow and leave all the rest. That should take us 2 1/2 months because I figure we can probably go through lessons a day that way between skipping things and reading only what applies. Then we will go into Ancients. This is only for my four oldest children my youngest two will do the entire Preparing program. I am doing this just so my kids can fit in more of HOD before high school. My youngest two are on track to finish all of HOD so they will do Preparing in its entirety. I am though focusing on gaining some independence with my kids in ability so that when we get to Ancients it will not be such a huge jump for them but I think they will all do very well this way.

Hope you find the perfect plan for you and welcome to HOD! :D
All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. Isaiah 54:13
~Six lovies from God~4 by blessing of adoption
-MTMM (HS), Rev to Rev, CTC, DITHR
We LOVED LHFHG/Beyond/Bigger/Preparing/CTC/RTR/Rev to Rev (HS)

Sheila in OK
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:34 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Sheila in OK » Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:16 pm

Thanks so much, water2wine, that helps me a lot. I'm glad to hear Bigger is working so well for your family! I've been looking at samples at some of the resources, and they all look good. One thing I'm wondering about, though, is the devotion. Does it seem too 'young' for the 6th grader? It looks really great, but I'm wondering if my dd would be put off by the style since it definitely is written to younger children. I guess if she is, I could always replace it with something else while continuing to go through it with ds.

Also, approx. how long are the dictation passages in Bigger? She is taking dictation currently but not more than a paragraph or so at a time. I'm wondering if it would be easy to 'beef up' or if I need another resource for that.

Sheila
09/10 School year:
DD 11 Bigger w/Extensions
DS 8 Bigger as written

DHT1999
Posts: 274
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:00 pm
Location: Alabama

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by DHT1999 » Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:09 pm

Sheila in OK wrote:Hi Donna!
Thanks for the reply. It seems that we have similar tastes in curriculum and end up in many of the same places. :)

Yes, I've noticed that a few times! I read all of the Core 3 books that I got from you and decided that's not what I wanted to do. I started looking for something else after a lot of prayer and when I found Bigger Hearts, I knew the Lord had responded to my prayers.

So your dc are basically the same age spread as mine, just a year younger. I wish I had used Bigger this school year instead of starting with Core 3 and ending up all over the place, but oh well-live and learn. I feel like what we have done most of our hsing journey is teach to the older child and let the younger 'get what he can'. I'm tired of doing that, and really want a program next year that will work for him.

I had the same thoughts as I considered what I wanted for my youngest son. I don't want him to be a tag along. And, thankfully, with HOD, there is no reason for him to be. I specifically prayed for something that I could use to teach both of them together but then beef up for my oldest with independent readings. That is just what HOD does. Other than that concern, I wanted something different but not so... :? . Definately wanted to continue with lots of living books but I also wanted lessons that would help with character development and more hands-on, active learning. I find the books and the presentation of lessons in Bigger Hearts to be much richer than Cores 3 and 4. The Eggleston books are wonderful. You can read them online. Carrie links to them from her history page, I believe and I have a link under my History Links on my blog. Check them out if you aren't familiar with them. I think you will love them, too.

I should've mentioned in my post that I do have grade-level math and LA my dd will be using, so I won't be using the suggestions in Bigger for her, although I probably would follow it pretty closely for ds. I like the idea of possibly adding in another history spine to 'beef it up' for her. She doesn't like a Child's Story of America, though--we have read some of it this year in TQ and it didn't really appeal to either child. I'll have to check into This Country of Ours--I haven't looked at it too much.

We won't be using A Child's Story of America. It's the only book we won't use. TCOO is great but very meaty. I decided it wouldn't work well for us for my fifth grader, maybe if he were a sixth grader. If I replace CSOA with anything it will be Volumes 3 and 4 of Story of the World, which we really enjoy now. Not as a whole 'nother curriculum but just for extra reading. There are other good options for higher level books for your sixth grader. Email me if you want to chat more about that. Again, I know Carrie or Julie will have suggestions for you.

So do you plan on doing Preparing after Bigger?

Right now, I'm planning to continue with Preparing for my youngest son (then 3rd) and bump my oldest son (then 6th) up to CTC.

Any other thoughts?
Praying for you as you make decisons. :D
2011-2012: Creation to Christ & Bigger Hearts

"He maketh the barren woman to keep house and to be a joyful mother of children." - Psalm 113:9

Carrie
Site Admin
Posts: 8128
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:39 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Carrie » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:43 am

Sheila,

I just wanted to pop-in and welcome you to the boards! We're glad to have you here. :D

The ladies have been doing a great job of helping you talk through options. It looks like you've been doing a good deal of thinking yourself too! :wink:

I really appreciate what you've shared about your kiddos already, as it helps so much when we're trying to give advice. If you wouldn't mind sharing a bit more about where your son falls on the placement charts (paying the most attention to the first page of the chart) that would really help us when tossing around possible options. Here's a link to the chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I'm wondering especially about whether your son has done any studied dictation or oral narration and how he generally feels about writing/copywork type assignments. Another area that will make a big difference in placement is how well he listens to chapter book style read alouds and what kind of a reader he is himself. :wink:

One last thing I'm wondering is how old your kiddos were when you did SL1/2? I ask because you'd mentioned covering quite a bit of early American history this year, so I'm trying to figure out whether American or world history has been your more recent study.

Anyway, if you get a chance to pop back in and share your thoughts after you check out the placement chart that would be great.

Blessings,
Carrie

Sheila in OK
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:34 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Sheila in OK » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:24 am

Thanks for popping in, Carrie! I appreciate your thoughts.

I have spent some time going over the placement charts in the catalog (LOVE the catalog by the way!). My son is finishing up 2nd grade and is reading short chapter books (Bears on Hemlock Mountain, etc.). I was going to put him in DITHOR Level 2/3. He has done copywork and narration this year with Writing with Ease but no dictation yet. He's getting quite good at copywork but still struggles with narration. I was thinking of putting him in Rod & Staff 2 since he hasn't had any formal grammar yet. He can listen to chapter books pretty well--right now we are reading Sign of the Beaver aloud and he is enjoying it. Yes, we have done some Am. History this year but I feel like we're not accomplishing much. We started with SL Core 3, and it was a very poor fit due to some of the content (very long chapter books aimed at much older children). We moved on to TruthQuest and spent a loooong time on explorers/Vikings/Columbus/Pilgrims, but honestly that is about as far as we have gotten. It's so easy to get bogged down in a program like TQ, which is why I'm looking for something more structured that can keep me moving FORWARD. :) As far as world history--We did Child's History of the World for two years, finishing it up last school year when my children were 1st & 4th. We have dabbled in SOTW Vol. 1 but I don't think we ever finished it.

My daughter reads quite well and has done a year of Easy Grammar. She enjoys writing creatively and can take dictation but hasn't had much formal writing instruction. I was thinking of putting her in R&S 4 or maybe even 5 (she hasn't had diagramming yet though) and maybe adding in a writing program for her.

So does all this sound doable? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts. Donna, what a great idea to add in SOTW--my dd does enjoy this as we've used Vol. 3 on and off this year.

Sheila
09/10 School year:
DD 11 Bigger w/Extensions
DS 8 Bigger as written

my3sons
Posts: 10702
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:08 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by my3sons » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:53 pm

Welcome to the HOD Board, Sheila! :) I've been reading your posts over several times, and thinking through this. Every family is so different in their wants and needs, and I so appreciate the details you've given here. I'm basing this advice on your desire to combine, the thought that you may not be keen on rereading CHOW right now, and that you will be using older LA/Math (+ science ) for your older dd. I think I'd combine them in Bigger Hearts. I think it will be enough with the extensions and with the additional LA/math (and also even more science) for your dd. There is a choice of spelling or dictation Level 1 in BHFHG. If you would like higher level dictation, you could get the PHFHG guide. There are 3 levels of dictation in PHFHG. For writing for your older dd, you could look at Igniting Your Writing Vol. 1. This has 3 levels of instruction and is not (as of yet) written into any of the HOD core guides. It is an excellent writing program if you are looking for one. I know Carrie will get back to you as well - I just wanted to welcome you and share some ideas with you. You will know your dc best and make the best decision for them! :D Whichever HOD guide you end up choosing, they are extremely doable! :D We've loved both BHFHG and PHFHG - either one is a winner. :wink: I have also prayed for you in your decision. May God make clear what is best for you and your family! :)

In Christ,
Julie :)
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

Sheila in OK
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:34 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Sheila in OK » Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:20 am

Thanks, Julie, I appreciate your thoughts--and esp. the prayers. :)

I was actually thinking of not doing any formal spelling next year with my 6th grader. She is a natural speller, and everything we have used up to this point has seemed like busywork. I was thinking of adding in some extra vocabulary--Wordly Wise or something similar. My ds, however, hasn't had any formal spelling yet so the lists in Bigger would probably work well for him.

I so appreciate everyone taking the time to walk me through this!

Sheila
09/10 School year:
DD 11 Bigger w/Extensions
DS 8 Bigger as written

Carrie
Site Admin
Posts: 8128
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:39 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Carrie » Wed Apr 29, 2009 2:53 pm

Sheila,

I agree that since you are desiring to combine, then Bigger Hearts would be the best fit for combining your kiddos for all of the reasons that my3sons mentioned. Plus, we've found that it is much easier to beef up a program than it is to water one down, so it would be good to make sure your son has what he needs at his level and then just add on for your daughter. :D Here's a link to a previous thread where I gave some suggestions for beefing up Bigger Hearts for a 6th grader:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=640

It is sounding like your son could use Bigger Hearts as is, and your daughter could do the left side of the guide and the storytime from the right side along with him. Your daughter will then need her own level of DITHR, along with either Rod and Staff English 4 or 5, and Igniting Your Writing I, plus higher level dictation passages to round out her language arts. You can choose dictation passages from her reading or use the passages within Preparing Hearts or CTC if desired instead. Your daughter will also need some additional science beyond what is in Bigger Hearts, which you could do by just adding the science from either Preparing Hearts or CTC instead, or do the science in Bigger but add higher level science readings for her on topics of her choice, or adding some science-minded biographies, or use an Apologia book, or an ABeka or BJU textbook. :D

Then, you'll be all set!

Blessings,
Carrie

Sheila in OK
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:34 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Sheila in OK » Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:22 pm

OK, I have one more question, if y'all aren't too sick of me yet. 8) I know I said I wanted to combine, but I am curious what you would recommend if I wasn't as concerned with combining? Yes, it would be easier to do one program, but I don't want to shortchange my dc either. Would you still recommend Bigger for the 3rd grader? What about 6th grade dd?

Thanks again!!

Edited to say: I have checked out the samples for Igniting Your Writing and would probably add that in for my dd as well as the R&S. She is already doing Teaching Textbooks math and will continue that next year also.

Sheila
09/10 School year:
DD 11 Bigger w/Extensions
DS 8 Bigger as written

my3sons
Posts: 10702
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:08 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by my3sons » Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:20 pm

Well, if they were going to be separate, I think your ds would still place in Bigger Hearts, and your dd in either PHFHG or CTC. I was trying to put a picture together in my mind of your dd from reading through the prior posts, but I think I need your help. :D Since we were kind of focusing on your ds there for a bit, I totally have a great idea of what he can do, but I'm not as sure of your dd.

Could you share some titles of books she's read independently so as to get a read on her reading level? Also, has she done written narrations before? It sounds like she's good at writing creatively - which is wonderful. :D How independently does she work, like say on a notebooking assignment? Does she enjoy lengthier "classic" sounding books - CM living book style? Just a few thoughts I had off the top of my head. I hate to say this, but if you could peek at the placement chart one more time with just her in mind, where do you think she would place? All of that wonderful information would be great! Then, we can all make a recommendation and you can weigh the choice either to combine in BHFHG, or separate into 2 programs. :wink:

In Christ,
Julie
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

Sheila in OK
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:34 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Sheila in OK » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:42 pm

Good questions!! From the chart, it seemed that for the most part she would place in CTC, except that she hasn't done any diagramming. Oh, and she isn't writing in cursive (long story, but we plan to work on that more next year). She can take about three sentences at a time from dictation. She is very bright but honestly is kind of "school-resistant" and gets overwhelmed easily. I don't think she would be ready to read history on her own yet. She's a good reader (has read books like 'Julie of the Wolves' and the sequels, for example) but I just have a feeling she would balk at doing a lot of her history independently, since we have always done it together. In fact, when I mentioned the possibility of her doing history more on her own next year while I worked separately with her brother, she said she might feel 'left out'. Hmm, maybe that's my answer . . . I just want her to be challenged enough.

Oh, and I do have separate science for her--she'll be doing God's Design for Science in a coop.

Sheila
09/10 School year:
DD 11 Bigger w/Extensions
DS 8 Bigger as written

Carrie
Site Admin
Posts: 8128
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:39 pm

Re: Wondering if I could make HOD work for us . . .

Post by Carrie » Thu Apr 30, 2009 12:56 pm

Sheila,

I think you do have your answer! From what you've shared about your daughter, she would most likely fit best in Preparing Hearts, and since both Bigger and Preparing are meaty programs we wouldn't usually recommend doing both of them unless absolutely necessary. :wink: Based on that, I'd recommend combining in Bigger this year and seeing how it goes for you. Then, once your daughter is a year older and could head easily into one of our programs that are a bit more independent (like CTC), you could separate them more easily as needed. Or, if your year goes well, you could just move both kiddos together on into Preparing Hearts. :D

It sounds like you have your daughter's language arts, math, and science planned on her level which is good. I think Rod and Staff 4 would be a good place to begin, as it covers diagramming very well and is a very solid program. The one other area you'll need to make sure to add for her will be DITHR Level 4/5 to cover her literature study at an appropriate level. You can easily choose books off the book list for DITHR or use one of our book packs if you prefer with DITHR instead. I'd add Cheerful Cursive for your daughter too and one day each week add Igniting Your Writing I.

:D Blessings,
Carrie

Blessings,
Carrie

Post Reply