heartofdakota.com

Also, have you ever placed a child below where they seem to "fit best" on the placement chart for HOD?

I'm anal about stuff like this and probably need to let it go - "What will we do if we don't finish the book by the end of the year?!", but we're using a curriculum right now that is just breaking my back in how much work the prep is and it's stressing me out, so I'm leaning heavily towards HOD, and sooner, rather than trying to stick the year out with what we're using (not sure where the money is going to come from, but will have to pray on that!)

Based on the placement chart, my just-turned-6 dd seems to place best in Beyond, and 8 yo ds places better in Bigger. Truthfully, I would rather place 6 yo dd in Little because she's half kindergarten level, half 1st grade. I'm thinking Little would be a better fit based on the books offered for the program, etc. And honestly, based on the books for the Beyond curriculum, I think DS would be better there. So despite the placement chart saying the kids need to go up a level, I'm thinking they need to go down a level. What are the experiences of those who have gone against the grain and gone down a level? Were you right and did everything go OK, or were your children not challenged in the lower level curriculum?

Also,l how do you teach two curriculums at once, and how much additional time does it add to the day?

i will say that my son who will turn 6 on Thursday is doing the Emerging reader schedule from Beyond and is almost into the 1st grade level math(we use Math-U-See).We have done the Do it Carefully and Finding the Answers Book in the LHFHG guide, but no Handwriting til now. All the rest he is using the Little Hearts and it seems to be a great fit for him.

Oh i did go thru the Story-time already with LHFHG,, but i am going to supplement with our selection of books for now because i am going to combine my younger daughter for Story-time with him. had i thought ahead i would have started the books now instead of earlier. so now his sister is starting them and he will have own storytime. will wait for the Beyond storytime til next year when they can do that together.

sorry, i am no help on doing the two programs at same time. i have done LHTH at same time with daughter as my son was working on right side of LHFHG, but LHTH is a much shorter program on a daily basis ,so it is pretty easy to get done with another program going on.

i think you would have a blast and be less stressed if you started HOD now, from what you have said.

Blessings,
Jenn d

You can absolutely pick up HOD now and begin right away. I'm like you are - wanting everything to be "just so." But I have learned to relax. At this point, I just pick up with the day where I left off. So, day 1 in a unit might be on a Thursday. It works just fine. HOD is fabulous if you need a program that is easy to implement, requires very little prep, and is wonderfully full and rich. I think you will love HOD! Have you considered combining your kids in Beyond? Beyond is a fantastic program! You could easily cut down on a few requirements to accommodate your younger child. Add in DITHOR for your older and use the emerging reader set for the younger. The writing and grammar are very gentle. The history is fantastic! We loved the Bible and the songs as well. Science is only once a week and corresponds with the history.
Just some thoughts,
Laura

We found HOD (Bigger) last January and it worked out beautifully! My older ds 11 & 12 were older & it went SO well that we're not only still with HOD but we LOVE it! If I were you I would go with Beyond!

I actually did this. My dd is 6 yrs old and doing LHFHG. She could have been placed in Beyond but I know she wouldn't have been ready for most of it. This year is going so well. I tried Little Hearts last year for K but it just didn't work, we only kept science/math/phonics. Things are going so much better/smoother this year

Thanks so much for the quick responses! You've given me some things to think about! I'm leaning towards not combining the kids into one curriculum even though it'd be cheaper. One of of my "beefs" with our current unit-style curriculum is that it's really better for older elementary/junior high (even though it's "supposed" to be for K-6). It leaves something to be desired for little kids, so I'm concerned that if I combine again I'll find my younger child getting bored and feeling left out. Many times the Bible portion of it is way over their heads , which is one of the main things I want to be teaching in our homeschool! I'm very concerned at the moment that what I move to be "age and level appropriate".

Thanks again!

To combine or not to combine has been the question for many. I'm certainly not trying to convince you to combine, but something to consider is this. HOD is very unlike a traditional unit study that is meant to span many ages. If you read Carrie's "biography", you will see that she was unsatisfied with the very things you mentioned. She designed the HOD programs to cover a few ages but not to be as inclusive as other programs. Beyond, for instance, is designed for 6-8 yos. It was her desire to have programs that were specific to a short span of ages so that children wouldn't be in programs that were not on their level. With a little thoughtful planning, you can easily do two programs, if that is your desire. Just wanted to add that thought.
Laura

Thanks Laura!

We've started mid-year with LHFHG and with Beyond with our middle child, and it's gone really well! I think this is one of the wonderful things about HOD - it is very flexible. If I were you, I'd look at the sample weeks' plans for both LHFHG and for Beyond and see what you think. They are both wonderful programs, and you could easily teach 2 (I'm doing 3 and happy), but you could also combine them for the left side of Beyond, and have them do their separate right side of the plans for the basics (LA and math). I think you'll be able to tell from looking over the plans. Here's a link to the PDF's of LHFHG:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/little ... t-week.pdf

Here's a link to the PDF's of Beyond:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/beyond ... t-week.pdf

There is a lot more to HOD than first appears in the plans. It is light on prep but meaty on learning. I think you'll love it!

In Christ,
Julie