heartofdakota.com

Hi to Everyone

I am in the process of purchasing cirr for next year and I am interested in HOD and DITHOR grd 2/3. I have one girl age 9 by the fall and one boy age 6 by the fall. I also have a baby non-school age.

I wanted to purchase the Bigger hearts package and buy the advanced books package for my daughter to read independently mostly because we have not covered Am History yet and she will be tested at the end of this grade. She is an advanced reader and can talk alittle about book she has read but dislikes being bombarded with questions. She does copywork and can write on her own with help from me (ie. she says it, I write it, she copies it). My son is advanced but not reading yet....presuamble he will be by fall. He likes being included in her work and frankly I like it too as it saves me time.

Here is my question. I wanted to know if people out there thought that doing the BH package with both would work. I plan on adding my own spelling and math at each level. I have started R&S grd 3 with my oldest and she is slowing working throught it but will have some left to do in the fall. So I will restart that and follow with Easy Grammar.

Does this sound doable? Clearly I would include my son only as much as he wants and not push him. I had the sense that math and science would not be a problem as he loves it. So all that is left is memory work, art and language arts stuff. Am I right? Might it work?

I have many other questions about DITHOR but will wait until I have it in my hands as many questions will be answered then. I have total confidence that DITHOR is great and worth buying.

Thanks in advance!

Just wanted to say welcome! HOD is wonderful. I've not used Bigger as of yet, so no advice...but I will say that running 2 programs in HOD is super easy to do if you did want to try to do one for your ds that would be more on his level.

I'm sure you'll get some great advice today...there are some great ladies on here!!

OK I have spent more time looking at other options. Perhaps the Beyond Little Hearts for my son with some extra writing activities for my daughter. She does not like worksheets so she may be a little behind in the area of writing. Not noticably but she works throught written work slowly.

Has anyone successfully combined two kids into one curr? The age ranges seem to match for either.

What are some of the copy work exercises for the Beyond LH year? Would someone let me know what they are working on with their similarly aged kids so I could judge?

Of course I could always get the extension package for her to read independently. Maybe these are not so bright questions. Hopefully someone has answers for me.

Many Thanks!

Treewin,

Welcome to the boards! We're glad to have you here! I only have a moment to pop in right now, but I'm wondering if you have had a chance to check out the placement chart on our website? Here is the link to the chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Let us know what you think once you've looked over the chart! I'll be back later when my kiddos are having their "recess".

Blessings,
Carrie

Treewin,

There are a couple different ways you could go with HOD curriculum for the ages of your kiddos. Thats why it helps us so much if you take a look at the placement chart.

It's hard to get an accurate window into your little kiddos talents, so your read on the placement chart helps us a little. That's a common ground we can all go from when placing our kiddos. After you've shared a little more I know many moms will chime in with suggestions. We're all just thinking of your options!

Blessings,
Carrie

Hi

I had a long letter writen but lost it in the Submit process. I will return to rewrite but I need to get the kids back on track first.

Thanks for your willingness to help. Pray for my patience!

Trina

I will give you my third attempt at writing this note. I think I do not know how to submit these things because I have lost two already. I think I will do this point form as it is faster and a little easier on my brain.

Dd- reads chapter books independently at a much higher grade level than third but she dislikes too much questioning
- Easy Grammar has been fun for her. R&S grade three has been challenging.
-Math is covered with MUS and Horizon
- She need repetion as she does not master things easily.
- She enjoyes memorizing stuff and is good at it to a point.
- She is hands on so she likes baking, sewing and crafts.
- She writes cursive although she forgets some capital letters that are rare like Z.
-Science has been nature study and Apologia Astronomy.
- She hates map work and still knows a surpising amount of Geography.

My Ds will be 6 years old this fall. If I go with the Bigger hearts he will be just a year too young for the range.
He loves work book type activities. He is advanced in Math and writes in cursive. He does not know any capital letters in cursive.
He has not done copywork and is not able to as his spelling is still first grade level.
He loves sciencey type experiments and would love the hands on activities I see on your samples.
He is not reading independently but knows the single letter phonograms and about a third of the mulit letter phonograms from SWR.
He prefers non-ficton books as read alouds and is starting simple narations.
We will do Noeo science with him this summer for fun.

We are due for Am History as we have been folowing the WTM History. I started off more CM and we are fairly relaxed in style.

I am most worried that if we go with Bigger then he will be left behind or discouraged. I know he could enjoy the science parts and the geography . The other books could be read alouds. But like I said for time, ease of use and money I did not want to buy two.

I was going to go the DITHR 2/3 level for my Dd as she has a history of disliking the narration. I can quickly move up to the 4/5 level if it fits better .

Is this the kind of detail you are looking for? Any input would be greatly appreciated as I am notorious for choosing the wrong curr. and giving up part way through. This trial and error is getting tired. I am going to submit this without viewing it as maybe that is my problem. I will answer any questions you still have just send'm my way.

Thanks ahead of time.
Trina

Trina, what did the placement test say? I think it's easier when you have both the background and the placement test results. (warm understanding smile)

Don't worry, once we get through this part the test is SMOOTH SAILING!

Oh my!

Now I understand what Carrie was asking. Give me a minute. I'll get it!

Thanks for the heads up!

Well my son placed smack into Beyond.

My daughter placed into Preparing for three of the top section but all the rest were Bigger to the end of the list.

My daughter who has a vested interest in which level is choosen is reminding me that this is what she can do now and in 8 months she will know more.

Thanks for your gentle help....I'm really needing it on this one.

PS I want to apolgize for my comments on the previous note about other curr. Truthfully, I have gained so much from using each curr and perhaps my inabliltiy to follow it long term is a sympotom of my owm weakness. I have just made a few purchases over the years which were a shorter term gain. Maybe i will not ever decide on *the* one that we follow all the way through to the end and enjoy simply meandering through all our options. I wonder hpw many others have done this with success.

Treewin, if it's any comfort at all, I have been homeschooling 11 or so years, and I have gone through much trial and error (and leaving things that didn't fit unfinished) trying to find "the perfect fit". Truth is, usually what fit one child didn't fit another, or what fit one year didn't fit the next. I can say with all honesty that HOD is the first in all my years that I have felt, I can really do this, and still have a life, and I will stick with it long term! My two who are using Bigger are done in under 3 hours a day-I think Beyond is designed to take less than 2 hours a day!
I only wish there was something in here for my oldest kids, I would use it, too
I'm just saying, don't be too hard on yourself for searching through many things over the years-that is the sign of a committed homeschooling parent who wants the best for her children
As for placement, you really would do best to use the programs that fit each child best. Doing 2 of Carrie's programs at once goes very smoothly, and I'm sure Carrie can let you know exactly what is most necessary to purchase and what you can omit if you need to economize. It definitely sounds like Beyond is perfect for your younger, but I'm sure Carrie can give you better advice as to placing your older child.
Be Blessed!

Thanks so much for taking time to post more information about your kiddos. That really does help! I am so sorry that you lost your post more than once!

As far as placement, it sounds like your daughter could either do "Bigger..." or "Preparing...", but since you mentioned that you have studied very little American history, I would lean much more toward "Bigger...". Since your daughter is an avid reader, she would also really enjoy the Extension Package in "Bigger...".

Your daughter could do the science readings on her own as well. Depending on how independent you wanted her to be, she could possibly even do the History readings on her own, unless you wanted to keep them as read-alouds. Bear in the mind that the history read-alouds are meant to be quite short and are meant to be savored slowly throughout the year. So, you wouldn't want her reading ahead in that area!

You could just continue on with your grammar and math as planned for your daughter as well, and add Drawn into the Heart..... for her literature study.

As far as your son goes, it sounds like he needs the language arts portion of "Beyond..." (copywork, spelling practice, and gentle grammar lessons). You could easily combine him with your daughter for the Storytime read-alouds, teaching from only one of our guides for that area and reading only one read-aloud to both.

As far as whether to teach two programs or not, I usually recommend that you do teach the programs that your kiddos place into on the placement chart, but there are always exceptions. There are many moms on the board teaching more than one HOD program, and they usually find it is not difficult. However, only you know your situation best.

It would be a jump to include your son in "Bigger....", and you would have to be willing to adjust the written portions, timeline, notebooking, vocabulary, and copywork. Yet he probably could ride along if needed with the history read-alouds and science read-alouds and many of the activities.

A better option may be to have your daughter eventually do much of "Bigger..." independently giving you time to work with your 6 year old. My son who is 9 is able to read and follow many of the directions in "Bigger..." on his own and that frees more time for me to work with my youngers.

Let us know what you're thinking when you get a chance. If finances are tight, you could always start with "Bigger..." for your daughter and see how well your son can ride along.

Blessings,
Carrie

Trina,

Just wanted to welcome you!

Candice

Wow! Everyone has been so kind and helpful. I do appreciate you taking the time to give me encouragement and information. I think I know what I want to do now but I want to pass it by my hubby to get his thoughts.

I am thinking that Bigger would be best for Dd and that adding some portion of Beyond for Ds would not be a great stretch. Perhaps just the copywork. I plan on using it for a little over a year so I will do both on a slower schedule.

Now I will be looking at past posts for information on how to schedule two levels into a day. Thanks again ladies you have been very helpful.

I will be back I'm sure over the next year.

Trina

Hi Trina! I'm doing Bigger... now and I agree with Carrie's advice here. I also agree with Lourdes and the other ladies that it would be a good idea to use what the placement chart led you to place each of your children in. It is NOT difficult to run 2 (or even 3) HOD curriculums! I did it last year and am doing it again this year. It is easily manageable, still enjoyable, and very balanced. If money is an issue, you could begin with Bigger..., and then order Beyond... a few months later. What do you think? I know you will enjoy HOD whatever you decide - I am confident you would use it fully and get more than your money's worth out of it if you do. So glad you are here, and it'll be great to hear what you are thinking now!
In Christ,
Julie