heartofdakota.com

Morning ladies, I am very thankful to be back on here as for the longest I have been away and had troubles getting on the mssg board. I have a couple of questions, I don't know if any can relate or advise regarding my two sons. My oldest was reading I think at about 5 or 6, however, at the time my younger who just turned 7 (they are 2y8m aprt) was not even schooling. Now my older son is 9.6 and the younger will be starting supposedly 2nd grade next year, but he is not reading yet. He can kind of work out simple words of cat, hat, mad, sad etc... but also his attention span is a little less, he requires more attention and time. My older son however, is still pretty hands on. When we sit and do school, all of us, I tend to just let my younger son tag along with us as we do Bible memory, reading for History etc... The only difference is when my older does his Preparing to B, I open the younger sons phonics book which tends to be something from Wallmart, and when the older does math, I open an addition or sub book for the younger. I think my dillema is I feel the need to get my older son more independant of me in regards to his schooling so I have more time to work with the younger. Another thing I considered was to try to schedule my day better (who couldn't use that), but last year I really didn't schedule any independant reading time for my older son, we still read together, and I feel the need to change that, I think I am just afraid of rebellion:). He normally loves reading, but I guess I am almost afraid that if that becomes something that is "required" of him, that it will become something he doesn't like. But this is what I mean in reg to scheduling the day, having my oldes do indepdnt reading so I can sit and schedule reading with the younger whatever he likes. I worry because I don't see progression as much in my younger son and I sometimes wonder if that is because I chose to go with a cheaper store book instead of a curriculum book from a homeschool source? Although one of the main things I have noticed in the younger is his ability to do math is potentially better that the older! We were doing his math addition book and he was actually able to take the number thought in his head and count up the additional number in his mind to get the answer. My older son is HORRIBLE at math, yet can read and write VERY well. Any suggestions for me would be helpfull. I am also curious to know if there are any families on here who have transitioned into the higher grades with the children and what they have chosen curriculum wise as there is not Jr. or highschool for HOD. Thanks for letting me get all this down, and for reading it if you can help or suggest.

Blessings, LaDonna

I too am curious to see if a more formal reading program would benefit your child. We used a very inexpensive program after 2 rather expensive program failures with my first dd who was a reluctant reader. The book was 20$ Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. Its meant to be a supplemental program for kids in school who are not doing well. But we used it as a stand alone. You only do it for 15 min a day.

And if you feel the older one needs to be more independent don't let fear stand in your way! My dd2 catches homeschoolitus if I'm sitting next to her and writing out her spelling words while she is doing her read aloud. she suddenly can't read any word... And I have to stop what I'm doing and help her. Grrrrr so I just talked to her about her behavior and made her do extra reading on those days. When she can't seem to do the work alone I tell her she has a bad case of homeschoolitus and only extra work will cure it and the mistakes disappear.

I had a terrible time homeschooling the 2 together but occasionally the Older one enjoyed being "bigger" and having work to do at the kitchen table by herself. I think it is all in the presentation.

I can't say that I tried any other program. I ,too, have used Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with my now 6yr old son. He is in emerging readers list currently. In the fall I will start it with my then 5.5 yr old daughter ,if she is ready. It is very inexpensive. I also was able to check it out at my local library before buying it. Maybe that is a possibility for you and you could try it out.
Praying you are able to work out a schedule to benefit everyone

Jenn D.

I'm so glad you've been able to get back on the board, and it sounds like your oldest ds is doing so well with PHFHG, so that's great to hear! As far as your younger ds, I do think a formal reading program will be such a breath of fresh air, as it will lay down a complete foundation and fill in any gaps. If I were you, I'd get "The Reading Lesson", either with or without the CD, depending on funds. It is one of the recommendations of HOD, and it It is super easy to teach, requiring no prep. It is an excellent reading program that is formal, but doesn't feel so formal. Here are some recent comments on our board about it:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5541

You can just set the timer for whatever the time it suggests for your ds's age in the introduction, I think it's around 20 minutes or so, and do phonics alone with your ds for that time. Although PHFHG has been a super fit for your oldest, I can see why it would be way too hard for a second grader, especially when the little guy is needing some time to mature in reading. The suggested age range for PHFHG is from 8-10 yo with extensions for 11-12 yo's, and that's assuming dc have done something like Bigger Hearts prior to doing it. If I were you, I'd separate the 2 of them, and have your 7 yo do Beyond, while your oldest does PHFHG. We did this last year and loved it. When dc are far apart in LA skills, I think one of them ends up just riding along, and lots of times the oldest is the one that just naturally takes over (it would definitely be that way at our house!!!).

I agree that your oldest can move into being more independent (and HOD does this so nicely for you, especially as ds gets into CTC the next year). A simple thing that helped my ds become independent with PHFHG was to let him use the teacher's guide as his own. I gave him a typed out sheet with the order of the boxes I wanted him to go in, and he was responsible for getting out the materials and calling me when he was ready for me during the times that were teacher-directed. Your ds should do all of the "I" boxes completely independently, so that is a place to start teaching independence. During that time, you can be teaching other ds Beyond. As for the "S" boxes, those boxes you can start with him, and then leave him to independently finish, again using that time he is working independently to teach Beyond to other ds. I think you'd find this to be a breath of fresh air, as each ds could flourish and be doing work befitting their age and ability. You would also have time to focus in on reading with your younger ds, which is very necessary to have in place as ds move up to Bigger Hearts, etc.

Here are some excellent links on scheduling and routines that should be helpful:
Let’s Share Our Schedules:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=95&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15
Schedule Suggestions by Carrie:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4615&p=34067#p34067

Schedule or Routine?
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5244

In general, if you just start your day with your oldest doing his Independent History and Independent Science from PHFHG, that would be enough time for you to do most of the left side of Beyond with your middle ds. Then, when doing the math, you can do that roundtable with both of them, just alternating helping each of them. These are just some ideas, but you will know best what you want to do!

In Christ,
Julie

LaDonna,

As I'm reading through your original email, I'm a bit confused about which program you're currently doing with your older student? If you get a chance to pop back in and share about that it would be so helpful. Next, I'm thinking it would be a good idea to go over the placement chart with only your 7 year old especially in mind. Link: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Pay attention to the first page of the chart as being the most important and then let us know where your 7 year old places on the chart on his own best. I'm thinking that his years of riding along with his older sibling are likely coming to a close as he'll be needing his own focus from you in order to progress forward with his learning.

One idea that would make good sense in this case would be to do two separate programs, doing the upper program at half-speed for this upcoming year to gain you the needed time to work with your 7 year old. I'm thinking your 7 year old could benefit from Little Hearts for His Glory and your older child would likely move on to the next program in line (which I''m not sure what that is as I'm not sure what program he's in right now).

If you get a chance to pop back in and share your thoughts that would be great!

Blessings,
Carrie