heartofdakota.com

Hello,

I am planning to homeschool my three children in the upcoming school year. This will be our first year and I am so excited about HOD! I am having some trouble with which level to use though. I have a what will be 10 yo and an 8yo. The younger is a really good student and is probably right where he needs to be for his age. The 10 yo however is very advanced and pushes herself to excell. I want to make sure I keep her challenged so she will enjoy homeschooling and not get bored. I want to use PHFHG for both of them. I am wondering if this is going to be too much for my younger child. He can sit down and read a book by himself, but he is on a 2nd grade reader level. Can I use the emerging reader books with PHFHG? Or if I use BHFHG and use the extension for older children, will this be too easy for the 10yro? I have not read any of the stories so I didn't know if they will seem too babyish for her. I think we will have more fun and improve the closeness between my children if they have a common goal and purpose. I really want to use the same curriculum for them both. Any suggestions?

Thanks for any advice you can give,
Christy

Welcome to the boards, Christy!

This is my first year to homeschool and we are only in LHFHG so I wouldn't attempt to give advice!

If you will go to the Heart of Dakota home page and look for the placement chart that is where you can get an idea of where your dc place skills wise. I have no idea how to give you the link, sorry.

After you look at the chart, come back and post what you found based on Reading, Writing, Grammar, and Math. That will give the other ladies a great start on placement advice.

I hope this made a little sense. I usually don't venture much more than HELLO!!

Hi Christy and welcome,

I also have three children two of which are 8 and 10. This has been my first school year with HOD. We are using Bigger right now and plan on going on to Preparing in the Fall. They will be 3rd and 5th grade, respectively, this fall. From all I've heard from others, HOD is completely doable with two programs. However, I understand your desire to keep them together. We've enjoyed our year immensely combining for everything but Math and English. My ds8 is very good at his schoolwork but this has definitely been a year to learn how to sit through readings. My dd10 is not advanced as your 10 year old is. She is a very good reader but lacking in comprehension. I have added some extensions for her this year but will probably do more in that area next year in Preparing. The extention books in Bigger, I have found, are not babyish at all. I agree with pp on looking over the placment chart. Also, what history have they had up to this point? You said your son is reading books on his own. What type of books are they? Is he going to be in 2nd or 3rd? Blessings on your journey.

Jeri

Thanks for your welcome!!

I have checked the charts, sorry I didn't reference them in my note. My soon to be 10yro. is working on fractions and has mastered multiplication and simple division. I am going to probably have her doing some 5th grade level math to keep her challenged. She is reading on a 7th grade level but has not done much in the way of writing stories or reports and things like that. As far as History goes it is pretty much nonexistant in the early grades in public school. Aside from studying about specific people when there is a holiday or something or what she has read on her own she hasn't had much history. I am really hoping to use BHFHG with the extensions for her. I just wanted to make sure that it would be interesting for her. It sounds like she will be fine with it. I plan to use Math U See for math, but am having trouble deciding whether or not to use the HOD recommended English. I want to make sure that it is going to be challenging enough for her. Some of the reviews that I have read about HOD have made me think that I might need to supplement the grammar for her. What has your experience been?

How difficult has it been for your son to sit through the readings? My younger son is a very good student but when the teacher is reading aloud in class his attention tends to wander. I had not thought about this being difficult for him with HOD. How long does it take to go through the readings? I am hoping that they will be interesting enough that they will keep his attention. Thanks again for your help. This is great!! I have been trying to figure all of this out on my own and have been going back and forth between excited about HOD and homeschooling next year and being scared to death that I will choose wrong and not be able to order anything else until the following year because of finances. I am so greatful for your advice.

Blessings,
Christy

jcbchristy,

I started this year with 7 and 9 year old sons in Bigger. We have loved it. As to the question about read-alouds...we usually do our reading right after lunch and the boys love it. I think they like the change of pace from the other subjects we try to get to in the morning. My mom was a librarian, so I try to spice up my reading just she always did for me as a child. I just have to be careful not to read from the sofa or Mom gets a little sleepy. Not them, no way! Energy abounds!

I honestly think, from my experience, that BHFHG's left page is a vast, easily expanded subject matter for any "advanced" child. In my mind, reading additional books and doing an above average job on the existing requirements would be enough to keep them challenged. Because I combined kiddos, I did my own thing for the 3r's.

Enjoy!
Sarah

Sarah,
Thank you. That really puts my mind at ease. I am so excited about doing HOD and being able to school my children together for the most part. I am planning to do my own thing for math and grammar. I am a little confused about the English part of HOD. Is the Preparing to Build English 3 enough grammar for a 4th or 5th grader?

Thanks so much,
Blessings,
Christy

Hi again!!

My son did wander some but you just keep on and let them know what is expected of them during the reading time. Structure and discipline goes a long way. As far as R&S English - we have found it to be wonderful. I had never used it before. My dd used R&S math last year with very good results. I would maybe see what Carrie has to say but I started my dd 4th grade out with the R&S 3. I think I've read on this board because it really picks up in difficulty in book four and being advanced in content that if book six is completed by 8th grade the student is well-equipped for high school English. (I hope I got that right Grammar content is very strong in book 3 and is laying the ground-work for writing. If they have had no history I think Bigger would be great for them both. You have every reason to be excited!!

Jeri

Jeri,

It sounds great!! Let me get this correct though, R&S English is the same thing as Preparing to Build English 3 or 4. Is that right?
I can use book 2 for my second grader and go at half speed if need be and use book 3 for my older child.

Thank you again,
Blessings,
Christy

Yes. The English books are by Rod and Staff. My ds 2nd is in book two and I have my dd10 4th grade in book 3 right now.

Jeri