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Hello! I am new to HOD and we will be trying it for the first time next year. I was planning on doing Creation to Christ and Drawn to the Heart of Reading with my older ds and Beyond with my younger dd (next year they will be 4th grade and 1st). My main concern is that I also have a 2 yr old...well, she'll be 3 next fall. So am I overbooking myself trying to do two programs? The placement chart puts them in these programs as of now.

Also, from what I have read, am I correct in understanding that we can use our own math program and phonics program? Or is there phonics in Beyond? Also, for Creation to Christ, do I need to add LA? Or is that included. I have read the website, I'm not sure if I am understanding it right. I'm pretty sure we are going to love this program though!

Amanda

Hi Amanda,

To answer your questions from my understanding (I am doing Preparing and Beyond):

1) Doing 2 programs is very doable in my opinion. I am not finding it too much. Beyond takes me about 1.5-2 hrs which includes 2 or 3 5-10 min breaks. I get this child to do his independent handwriting and maths work while I am doing the reading required with my dd doing Preparing. Although I am not doing CTC, from my readings on the board, the higher programs gradually increase in independent study so in CTC alot of it would be you explaining or initiating a subject, then your child continuing on her own so it would not impinge too much on your time with you doing Beyond.

2) Yes, you can use your own Maths program and you could add phonics if you wanted to. Beyond does not include phonics, but you do copywork and spelling instead If you were needing to continue in phonics work, it would not affect the flow of the program to do so. (My ds doing Beyond can read now so I just review his phonograms occasionally with flash cards.)

3) LA is included in all the manuals so you do not need to organise anything on top of the program.

And to finish, you WILL love this program. It is thoughtfully and beautifully written to be an amazing asset to any mum and the kids love it too!

Blessings,

Corrie

Yes you can! I'm doing two programs right now and starting next year will be doing 3.

In Beyond, you are given four choices for phonics/reading: Choice 1. for a child who does not read yet, Reading Made Easy or The Reading Lesson. Chioce 2. for the child who has already gone through phonics and is an emerging reader, the Emerging Reader Set. Choice 3. for the independent reader, Drawn into the Heart of Reading level 2/3. Choice 4. Use your own program. All other language arts skills are worked into the daily lesson plans through copywork, spelling, and oral narration.
In Creation to Christ, you are given these choices for grammar: Rod and Staff grammar 4 or 5 (which Carrie recommends that most kids use 1 grade below the stated grade on the book, because Rod and Staff quickly gets advanced in the higher grades, but if your child places in CTC, Grade 4 would probable be fine). Or, you can use your own grammar program. For writing, there is a course scheduled called Write With the Best. All other language arts skills are integrated into the daily lesson plans through copywork, dication, and oral and written narrations.
For math, you may use Singapore Math (administer to your children the placement test to be sure you are starting at the right level, because Singapore is different from other programs in the order of scope and sequence, and pretty advanced), or you can use your own math program.
I hope that helps!

Thank you!! Ok sorry for a million questions, but please, if you don't mind I have a few more.

My daughter will have completed R&S grade 1 phonics and reading when she goes into Beyond next year. I consider her an "emerging reader" now (I think). But doesn't she still need some phonics instruction being that technically she will only be in 1st grade? Could I do the emerging reader book list and some phonics as well or is that overkill?

For my son, would it be ok to continue with CLE for his LA instead of R&S? He really likes it and I like that he can do it independently. Or would it be better to switch to R&S so we are doing what the program recommends?

Thank you so much!!!

The emerging readers are wonderful for building fluency and strengthening the phonics that have been learned. The readers progress in difficulty gradually through the end of the year, and are scheduled in the appendix of Beyond. If you truly feel your little one needs some additional phonics, you could add a simple workbook, there are many out there. As far as your older one, if the CLE english is a good fit for him, by all means continue! No need to change something that's working If you are also using a math that you and the kids love, stick with it, but if you don't have a favorite in that area, give Singapore a try And I agree with the previous posters, that you can definitely do these two programs (Beyond and CTC) together successfully!

Everyone else has answered your questions perfectly, but I want to just add in again that doing more than one program is super easy. You just need to make sure you have them placed correctly. in a few months I'll be using 3 programs, and in another couple of years I'll be using 4!! My kids ages and abilities do not allow me to combine them. But even now, doing 3 programs doesn't take more than the morning to do.... and from what I understand the higher the guide level the more independently they work, therefore leaving you plenty of time while the older is doing school to work more closely with the younger and teaching them to be more independent.

But again, the biggest challenge is proper placement into the guide. If it's too hard OR easy for them, more than one program will be more difficult because YOU will be doing the work instead of the program working for you.

One more assurance - we do 3 HOD guides and love our days! Yes, very doable if dc are properly placed. You may want to start one guide one week earlier than the other or do both of the guides half-speed for a week or two to really focus on teaching dc how to do each box of plans. Also, we've found it very important for dc in the older guides to use the HOD Teacher's Guide as their own, reading directions directly from it, and checking off the boxes as they complete them. We have found that about a month into our routine of doing school, time begins to just fall off our days naturally as the dc get into the routine of the guides. Keep in mind if you use different math and any different LA and they go longer than the math/LA materials HOD has used, that this will naturally add time to your day. The HOD guides have an easy to use 2 page daily plan that I love. I think you will find HOD is such a blessing in your home!

In Christ,
Julie