What subjectto drop now that I am officially back with HOD!

[lovetobehome]

Ok! Day 3 with Bigger and it is going very well!!!
I remember one reason why we left...my 9.5yo DS does not behave well for the history/science readings...it's like he is saying, 'I already know this, mom' He is used to me cramming lots more info in, LOL! He does not like the narration much, but he is doing it and doing it pretty well, though I do have to get mean about making him not goof off during it! I am sure this will improve as he gets more confident about it, and more used to it.
Anyway, I am enjoying this THOROUGHLY! But, I need to figure out what to cut out now, because I have so many other things we were using before we came back to HOD. I have him doing Bigger basically as written, with the Extension package. I just added in DITHR, which he is not fond of as of Day 1....because it adds another subject to his day and more writing! I think it will be great, but he needs to get used to it. Maybe if I tell him we can drop something else in its place!
Here is what I currently have DS 9.5 using:
Teaching Textbooks Math 5- keeping this as our math
BJU English 4- keeping this, too. We used RS the last 2 years and liked it, but we decided to try this for a change.
Copywork--he is doing Queen Copywork for Little boys, just copying in cursive some cute poems, inspiring thoughts. I think I prefer this to the dictations, is it OK to use this instead, or should I use dictation ( I would use Preparing's level) instead?
Wordly Wise- I used this all through when I was a student, and I like it. He is a big word kid, and he enjoys new vocab. I sometimes add in English from the Roots Up, for him to learn a Latin or Greek root, maybe once a week instead of W Wise
I was having him do Mystery of History and do a paragraphy summary and a picture of the lesson, but I am dropping this for now as it is a totally different time perios and we have more than enough work to do!
Trying to think of anything else...we also have co-op classes, but try as I might, I can't make myself back off of what we are doing at home in place of the co-op classes. So, I am still trying to get 5 full days in along with one day of co-op and another co-op class on a different day. And Scouts, and my daughter's ballet, and my 2 yo. Groan....But I digress. The question is, is there anything here that is duplicating the skills in Bigger for an almost 10yo 4th grader?

We also do Rosetta Stone Spanish (independent, computer time -- he is allowed to use the computer after all his other stuff is done...he can do RS, Typing Instructor, and then 15 minutes of a game. This is his reward for completing his work for the day)
Any thoughts? THANKS!

[DHT1999]

Well, we haven't used Bigger Hearts. And, this is our first year with HOD, so I'm no expert. But, I think you should drop the MOH as you indicated you are going to. As for the other things, it doesn't seem like too much to add as long as he enjoys those things.... I wouldn't try to do all of them everyday, but you could still use those things if you want to. You could drop the Queen's book but if you want him to continue with his cursive skills you would want him to do some of his written work from Bigger Hearts in cursive. That's no big deal, so I guess that would be the first thing to drop if you wanted to. We use English from the Roots Up, but not everyday. We just use the flashcards (the pre-made ones) and my son flashes through those every few days. We also study Greek but I keep those lessons very short... usually only 15 minutes or so. They will get longer as he progresses but that's enough for him for now. I'm not familiar enough with Wordly Wise to comment. My son does use an additional workbook for spelling. He does still do the dictation in Preparing.

I think as you get more experience with Bigger Hearts it will be clearer to you what you may want to keep or do without.

As for the co-ops, well... I force myself to limit our outside activities to only one regular thing (for us, that is PE Class) in addition to our church activities and an occasional field trip.

[lovetobehome]

Thank you, Donna! Are you on WTM under the same name, Donna T? I think maybe you were using MFW once?
I apperciate your thoughts...I SO want to drop one or both co-ops, but I am committed to them for the semester. It is killing me, though, it really is tough.
My computer time is up, I have to go! THANKS! Will look forward to more in the AM!

[water2wine]

I would drop all of it except Math and LA and DITHR (although I may consider slowing this down a bit until you get into the groove). Then later when you have HOD down and your child just flows with ease through it day in and day out as it is written you can consider adding some of it back. But for now and especially since you already have so much on your plate that is not going to be dripped that is what I would do. Just trust for now that it is enough, see what just HOD feels like, and let God bless you with it as it is written. Then later if you feel you want to add back the first things I would try is Queen's copywork and Rosetta Stone. I would maybe start with Rosetta Stone since that adds something new to the pot. Honestly the rest is over kill I think. We did Queen's copywork with Bigger and it was an easy add in for us. Rosetta Stone has not written competent and so that is easy as well. I think at that point you are more than set! But I would for now strip it all back and let yourself breathe. That would be my pick.

[Tree House Academy]

If he likes big words, let him do Wordly Wise in his spare time and not as part of school. I think the copywork thing you are having him do may be redundant as well. In Bigger, you can do Spelling or Dictation (or choose your own thing), but the copywork comes in the form of copying the poems (my son does it in parts, daily) and Bible verses (once a week). We were doing WWE when we started Bigger and I ended up dropping WWE for the dictation in Bigger. We will likely have to move to the dictation in Preparing before the end of the school year, but that is okay too.

As soon as the committment is up, I would drop some of the co-op stuff. It seems like you are frustrated under a pile of obligations. The best way to make your homeschool days go smoothly is to cut the stress. I did that this year - we cut co-op completely and I am so glad we did!

[DHT1999]

Thank you, Donna! Are you on WTM under the same name, Donna T? I think maybe you were using MFW once?

Yes, that's me . We used MFW K (twice) First Grade, Adventures and some of ECC. It is a wonderful curriculum but we are now very much at home with HOD. This is just what I've been looking for for our homeschool. I'm so glad you decided to do Bigger Hearts. I just love it and wish we had found HOD earlier so that we could have done it last year.

[Carrie]

I'm so glad that you are getting a chance to use and enjoy Bigger Hearts. I agree that it will likely take your kiddos a bit to settle into the more CM-style skills in Bigger Hearts, but am encouraged that they are already transitioning fairly well.

I agree with the ladies that the Queen's copywork would be redundant with what is required within Bigger Hearts and with what is also covered within your BJU writing/grammar. I'd also drop to doing Wordly Wise into your son's free-time slot if he enjoys it, or possibly just once or twice a week if you really desire to keep it.

Eventually when you get to Preparing Hearts on up, the guides go to a 4-day plan (which leaves a whole day each week to add in the extras of your family's choosing).

Blessings,
Carrie

[lovetobehome]

Thanks, Carrie, and all of you! It is friday night and I am SO WORN OUT at the end of each day and week. It isn't HOD, it is my outside commitments. I am really running on empty.I am wiped, now I have come down with a cold. I know I committed to doing the co-ops, but I don't know if I can make it 7 more weeks like this! I am taking next week off for some R&R. My DH will be away all week, so I am going to visit a friend and stay at my parents' home out of state. I am LOVING HOD. But I am just running too much. Note to all others out there: guard your time at home, fiercely! I don't know WHAT I was thinking!!!

[water2wine]

I am glad you are going to get a chance to rest. We all just want to be the best mom we can be and I think that is exactly what you were trying to do. Don't be too hard on yourself. Glad you are enjoying HOD!

[lovetobehome]

Hi ladies, thanks so much for praying for me...I feel certain you have been!
I had my break, and have been back to school for a couple weeks now. Things have been smoother. I took a long look at what is going on, what I am doing wrong. And, I am trying to relax a bit. I am feeling relief and enjoyment using HOD. I had to actually sit down and think about what should be my priority. On days when I am not sure how much will I be able to get done, should I do the 3R's first or the HOD things? Can you believe I actually had to think about this at length? When I prayed, it became obvious. OF COURSE, God would prefer that I put our focus daily on HIM. So my conclusion was, FIRST comes our couch time which includes prayer, Bible reading, reading about the saints, and the HOD left-hand side. THAT IS PRIORITY. If all else fails that day, we have spent time with the Lord! Then, later, comes the math and language arts, spelling etc.

So, I do 'couch time' while the toddler is still sleeping. When he is awake, the children can be working on the 3 R's, with some help from me, but I don't need complete concentration for that as I do with our couch time. I just can 't do couch time(reading , scripture memory, narrations) with the toddler climbing on us, rippi ng pages, etc.

Also, I realized a great deal of my stress is that I am pushing my children to do too much of the 3 Rs daily.I have my 9.5 yo son doing TWO Teaching Textbooks5 math lessons daily. I have my 7 yo daughter doing THREE MUS alpha pages daily. And I have her doing THREE phonics lessons a day, because I want to get her 'caught up' to grade level. DUH! No wonder I am stressing myself and them out!!!
I used MFW 1st grade for my daughter last year, then planned to use Rod & Staff English 2 with her this year. But there is no way she would be ready to jump in to that after MFW 1st. So then I looked at BJU English 2, same thing. So instead I put her in BJU English 1, but it bugs me that she isn't 'on grade level' so I have been trying to fast-track her so she can get into BJU Eng 2. Thus the 3 lessons per day! The good news is, she is on lesson 103 as we speak, and has no problems with it.
You may laugh at this, but this is really a struggle for me to back off and just let them BE! I decided to tell my son he could just do one math lesson a day, and my daughter is doing 2 MUS pages instead of 3. She should finish BJU Engl in a month, and then we will go to one lesson a day for BJU Engl 2 (or possibly RS 2). Can you see where my struggle is? Can you see how much I have bought into the idea that I have to cram it all in to them, and the mentality that they have to be at some certain level dictated by 'standards'? CHARLOTTE MASON needs to infiltrate my thinking!!! I am REALLY glad I have HOD to help guide me into this whole new way of thinking about and implementing true, healthy, whole education.
So, my going nuts is of my own making!!! Keep praying for me! THANKS!!!

[mariaw]

Homeschooling is a JOURNEY, isn't it?

I can totally understand what you are going through. I could have written much of your posts myself! We are also in a co-op that now I'm wondering, "What was I thinking?" Anyway, next year will be different.

I have a suggestion for you about trying to "catch up." This is what I have done, and it is working well for us. My dd8 is (I feel) behind in math and cursive. I was trying to cram in extra lessons, and met with long days and much frustration. The ladies here suggested that I use a timer, and just do these subjects for that amount of time and then stop. So, for instance, at math time, I set the timer for 20-30 minutes (depending on how the day is going), and we work until it goes off. If we have to stop in the middle of a section, so be it. We pick it up tomorrow. Same with handwriting.

What I am finding is, we are getting more done per day than I expected. And since there is a time limit, if we hit a topic that is difficult, I don't make her press on and press on to the frustration of both of us. We both know that there is an "end in sight" when the timer rings. Usually, some time away from it until the next day makes all the difference anyway. I'm beginning to think that any lessons we covered after dd hit her "frustration limit," she totally didn't absorb anyway, and we're having to go back and re-learn them.

Anyway, it's just a suggestion. Hope it helps some!