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We got our big box of books for Preparing on Monday, and we cannot wait to get started! Thankfully, the kids are at VBS this week, so I have time to look everything over without interruption.

After looking at everything in detail, I have a few questions:

1. Dictation: We have not done dictation much. We are currently using All About Spelling 2, and we have started to do it daily with their program. However, all the words are words that we are studying or have studied. I tentatively plan to go ahead and finish AAS out this summer, and then do spelling the HOD way. But I don't know where to place her in the dictation levels, and I'm not exactly sure of the method. For example, where there are bold words, the TM says to write them on the board. Do I leave these up while she is writing for reference? Or is she supposed to learn to spell them without looking? Should I start her at a level where she knows all the words, or just a little harder?

2. Vocabulary: I noticed that there is weekly vocabulary in the Preparing Guide, and there is also a vocabulary assignment occasionally in DITHOR. Is it necessary to do both? Or is it in DITHOR for the benefit of those not using the whole HOD curriculum?

3. Cursive: Dd is learning cursive this summer. It is not yet "second nature" for her at all. I haven't been using a "curriculum," just teaching her a few letters at a time and having her do copywork. I'm thinking about ordering Cheerful Cursive, but not sure if it would be overkill. OK, back to print vs. cursive. How should I make this transition? I plan to have her use cursive for all assignments that specifically say "copy this in cursive." But for assignments not focused on handwriting, such as DITHOR worksheets, or science questions, or English assignments, would it be ok to let her print for some of those? I'm worried that if I make her use cursive for everything, she will focus so much on her handwriting and not learn the concept. Or is it best to just go "cold turkey" and have everything done in cursive knowing that the more she practices, the quicker it will become 2nd nature?

Thanks for your help answering these questions!!

I'm new here so I'm looking forward to the answers on the other two questions but I think I can answer about the cursive. I recently asked Carrie about it and this is what she told me, "Preparing Hearts actually schedules daily cursive writing practice through copywork in a variety of subjects, rotating the subjects by day so as to keep it fresh and interesting. Any work needed to be done in cursive will be stated that way in the Preparing Hearts guide's directions. Your kiddos will be writing in cursive once daily (or more if they choose to do so)."

HTH,
Leah

Getting ready to begin Preparing Hearts with my two children as soon as all my books arrive!

mariaw,

I'm so glad that you have your box in hand and are getting a chance to look through all of your goodies! We had a wonderful year with Preparing Hearts last year, and we pray you will be blessed by it too.

As far as your questions go, I'm not sure of the age of your daughter, which will make some difference in my recommendation for her dictation level. With dictation, it is best to begin at a level where kiddos are not having to repeat a passage more than once or twice a week. You want them to be moving forward well rather than struggling in too difficult of a level daily.

With vocabulary, you'll need to do the lessons within the Preparing Hearts guide as there are many important skills wrapped up into the vocabulary portion of the lessons (i.e. alphabetizing, using a dictionary, guide words, contextual clues, selecting the correct word meaning, copying the definition without error, applying it to a sentence of the child's own creation, and illustrating it to show they understand the word meaning).

If you are using DITHR Level 2/3, you could wait on some of the vocabulary skills from the Appendix but still do the rest of the lesson. If your child is doing DITHR Level 6/7/8, it will be very important to do the vocabulary work, as it uses a different set of skills.

As far as cursive handwriting goes, it's important to have steady, daily systematic practice when learning a new type of writing. We find that is done most easily through daily work in a handwriting workbook, such as Cheerful Cursive. If your child has already had a formal introduction to cursive and knows how to form all of the letters and has had practice writing words in cursive, then you could just move toward doing the assignments noted in Preparing Hearts in cursive.

With our own sons, we only require cursive on the assignments that are noted as such in the guide. On any other assignments, they can use manuscript or cursive. This keeps cursive fresh in their minds each day, without becoming an overwhelming task that slows their written work down to a crawl. Balance when learning and applying a new skill is so important.

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank you, Carrie! That answers all my questions except the one about leaving the bold words on the board. My dd is almost 9, but not a particularly good speller. This will be her first HOD guide, so we are jumping into this method of learning spelling.

mariaw,

You can choose to do dictation with our without the bolded extra words at the bottom of the passage. If your daughter needs the extra challenge, erase the bold words and dictate those too. If she's new to dictation and isn't a great speller, then only do the dictation passage and omit the extra words when you dictate (or she could copy the extra words if you prefer). But, make sure not to allow copying of the dictation passage, as the point is to commit it to memory and to reproduce it correctly.

Blessings,
Carrie