Newbie/Interested in HOD..looking for advice

[Cherylanne]

Hello all,
Newbie here!...I just recently came across HOD on another board and became intrigued by it. I have the catalog and have read some of the posts here too. So here is my situation and whoever wants to chime in please do.
I have 2 boys ages 10 and 9. This is our first year to homeschool. I pulled them out of ps mainly due to ds9 not being able to read well enough at the end of 2nd grade. I knew 3rd grade would be a struggle for him and us and would be bringing lots of homework home everynight.
Here is what I have experienced so far in our homeschooling..

Ds10: likes being homeschooled..can work independently/efficiently (just to get it done,not because he likes it)/reads good but guesses/skips at unknown words..science favorite subject ..good at math..but has trouble in language arts/spelling bad..in ps he would get his work done so he wouldn't have homework..a teacher's ideal student:)

DS9: total opposite of ds10!..doesn't like being homeschooled..struggling reader/hates trying to read (on 2nd grade level)...cannot/will not work independently..inability to stay focused...he does love history and being read to...math not good mainly due to not reading...he's creative and loves making stuff and can work for hours building anything with legos or something he likes...in ps he would be distracted and end up bringing his work home because he didn't finish it.

After looking at the catalog I am thinking of uses Bigger with an extension for ds10?? One thing I think has happened is I haven't challenged ds10 enough this year because I've spent more time with ds9 and trying to figure this homeschooling thing . We will be testing in March and I know the scores will be low. I have a mixture of curriculum. We also hope to send them to a private school for junior high and high school.

[pjdobro]

Welcome to HOD Cheryl Anne! As I was reading through your post, I was thinking Bigger might be a nice place to start with your ds. A good place to start though is by looking at the placement chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php If you can tell us where both of your sons place on the chart, that will help everyone share ideas with you. I think you'll find that the short lessons and hands on lessons in HOD will be perfect for your younger son. The history really comes to life so he'll love that too. The science is living and fun so it should really appeal to your older ds. The lessons are also short enough that your older son should be pleased. The step by step reading in the emerging readers sounds like it would be really helpful for your younger son. So I think you've come to the right place.

[psreit]

Cheryl Anne,
Welcome to HOD! You have come to a great place. Your ds9 sounds a lot like my dd (almost 8yo). She is distracted easily, she loves to be read to, but does not always like to try to read herself(probably mainly due to eye tracking problems), she struggles in Math, definitely a hands-on person. I have found HOD to be great for her, in that the lessons are short, so I don't lose her attention as often before we are finished. Also, the living books are exciting for her. I am seeing much progress. The pp is right. You should look at the placement chart to see where your boys fit best. Then we can give you ideas from there. You will love HOD!

[Samuel'sMommy]

Hi Cheryl Anne! The other ladies have given great advice already about looking at the placement chart. I just wanted to welcome to you the boards!

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board, and thanks for sharing about your sons. I have 3 dc of my own, and boy can they be different from one another in surprising and unexpected ways! I believe it's God's grace - as if He gives different joys and challenges to work through for us as parents so we are kept on our toes.

The placement chart is worth the time to check out. I've used it with each of our dc and found it to be accurate. Placement is important, as this is an entire year of your lives. When you look at the placement chart, the first page of it is the biggie. If you print 2 copies of the first page of the chart, you can mark one sheet for each of your individual sons. Then tell us what you marked, and we will help you talk through a plan that fits best for all! I definitely know HOD will work well for you. We've been using HOD for many years now, and our dc are thriving! Carrie, HOD's author, understands boys well. She has 4 sons herself she homeschools. I've appreciated that as I have 3 sons. Your lego building son sounds like my Riley, and he has LOVED the hands-on plans HOD has! Please take a minute to check out the chart and share a bit more, and we will all be happy to pitch in here until you have a plan in place. We LIKE to help here. This board is a great place to come for encouragement and advice - I personally depend on it daily.

In Christ,
Julie

[Cherylanne]

Ok..I've looked at the guide again and to put them each in the best catagory ds10 would be Preparing and ds9 would be Bigger....does this mean I cannot combine them because honestly I don't think I could do two guides and still remain sane. Could I do Preparing but let ds9 do less work? How does the extensions work? I did a quick look at the Singapore Math and ds10 would fit 3B and ds9 would do 2b-3a, but would do tests to make sure.

I would really like to switch now and work part-time in the summer to catch up on things we didn't cover (like math)....how would this work? I bought a mix of stuff to use but have had trouble with the scope and sequence of things and just staying on tract.
Also, I have to ask about them going back to school eventually. Would they be right on grade level?

[Cherylanne]

I also think ds9 would need the emerging reader set with Bigger until I see some major improvement with his reading.

[pjdobro]

Though you could do 2 separate guides, I'm thinking you could combine your two sons in Bigger having the older one do the extensions. What that would entail is he would have an extra reading assignment each day that he would do independently then communicate that information to you in the form of an oral narration, a picture, or a written narration. Here is what it says on the website about the extension package:

Adding this optional package to the Economy Package extends the areas of history and science to include more advanced, independent reading material. This allows your 4th and 5th grade students to learn along with your younger students.

The actual reading assignments are scheduled on a daily basis in the Appendix of Bigger.

You would do the history, history activity, Bible, music, poetry, story time and science with both of your sons together. You could possibly do the grammar and dictation together as well. You'll have to see where you feel each of them would place in this regard and decide if you could do this together or if your younger son might need R&S 2 for grammar and your older son R&S3. For spelling, you might want to do the spelling list for your younger and dictation for your older or perhaps you could combine them in dictation.

For reading, Bigger would include the schedule for the emerging readers for your younger son which I think would be a great way for you to help him improve in reading. It has scheduled readings each day that he would read to you. Then there are a couple of questions for you to ask him. The books gradually increase in difficulty and I have found them to be very helpful in increasing reading fluency as well as comprehension. For your older son, you would have to decide what sort of a reading program to use. You can use your own program or Drawn into the Heart of Reading which is a fabulous program by HOD that not only is great in literature study but also in character development.

For math, you would figure out the level for each son. If your younger son places in Singapore 2A or 2B, then you would use the activities in the Bigger guide and the corresponding Singapore workbook. If your ds hasn't done Singapore before, unless he places firmly beyond 2A, I think I would tend to start him at the beginning of 2A. That would put you at the beginning of the math activities in Bigger and would give him a really firm foundation on which to build. For your other son, who it seems would be in at least level 3 in Singapore, you would get the textbooks and workbooks in the correct level for Singapore. There aren't any corresponding activities for levels 3 and up in the HOD teacher manuals. You would just follow the math schedule in the appendix of Bigger.

I think Bigger would be an excellent way for you to begin with your boys. It's a great program that we have been enjoying this year. It is wonderful in building Godly character and academic skills. You'll find the program very academically sound. You sons will be receiving a firm foundation in the 3Rs as well learning lots of history, science, Bible, etc. I know that is a lot of information to process and I hope it wasn't confusing. I'm sure more ladies will hop on here and share their thoughts as well.

[BrooklynsMom03]

Welcome Cheryl Anne! This is our first year of HOD....and I only partially hs at the very end of last year which was the first grade for my daughter...and a month or so this year I sent her to ps...we brought her home again...in Dec...only because I found HOD! I was totally lost on how to do homeschooling....and was terrified...of messing her up....academically! Not that I was pleased at what she was learning in ps! Yet it felt like the less risky option for us!

Then....I found HOD....I thought I think I can do that....I didnt really understand the placement charts and really thought my daughter scored a bit higher...but on advice from others here...we put her in Beyond....and it has been perfect for her! I am so glad we started her a little lower than I first thought she should be....I am able to pinpoint where her weaknesses are and get a solid and stronger foundation under her....I really thought her math was too easy in the beginning but have been so thankful we started almost over again....her skills and understanding are so much stronger now...

I am so glad you found HOD!! It truly has been a life saver for us...For us as I mentioned above...we chose to go a little lower than what I felt my daughter was capable of doing....because I wanted her to love to learn and I could see although she was ahead in some of the areas of Beyond she wasnt understanding why she was doing certain things and that would hurt her as things got tougher...She needed to build skills on why an answer was what it was vs....just getting the answer...

I think you will find with HOD that your boys begin to really look forward to school....I know for us at the beginning my daughter struggled with reading....and still does a bit but because of the nice structure with HOD...she is now looking forward to reading so she can find out what happens next in the story! I love to see her loving this so much! The other members here are so fantastic at helping! What an incredible resource this board is! Beth in Idaho

[my3sons]

With your dc being so close in age and with your desire to combine, I agree with everything Patty said - I would place them in Bigger Hearts for His Glory. You can easily add the extensions for your older ds, and this will not add to your teaching time. The Emerging Reader's Set is scheduled in the Appendix of Bigger Hearts, along with good comprehension building questions, so that will be great for ds 9. I think you have a good idea to give the Singapore placement test to check it they place where you think they do. Bigger Hearts is an excellent teacher's guide for teaching foundational skills incrementally. Bigger Hearts is worth every single second of teaching time (and it should only take 3 1/2 hours or even less once you hit your stride with routine). Bigger Hearts soundly lays the foundation for PHFHG on up, so it's an important one to go through thoroughly, making sure dc learn each skill. Of course this is easily done just by completely following the daily plans. Since I am doing Bigger Hearts, here are a few threads that may be helpful in planning how you want your day to go and getting ready to start (which HOD makes easy to do anyway ):

BHFHG time it takes:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=702

Pics of Getting ready to start Bigger Hearts:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5531

I thought Brooklyn'smom's post was so encouraging too - what giving, gracious ladies this board is blessed to have!
HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

[tnahid]

I agree that I would go with Bigger Hearts for both. Your son sounds like my 10 year old son. Yet, he does like homeschooling though. He did NOT like being IN school because he had to sit still and didn't have enough recess time! But he sounds a lot like your son, easily distracted, but loves to be read to. One thing I have done with my oldest is to put a desk in his room set up like an "office" like his Daddy's. This is his work office and being alone while he does some things like copywork, spelling, math, helps him to focus better. He really enjoys the read aloud time though. You might consider letting him sit on an exercise ball or play with something like clay or putty while he listens. Or you can have him draw or color while they listen. That really helps to keep my son's attention.

My oldest doesn't work very well independently when it comes to reading comprehension or language arts. I have to be with him, but I have seen a drastic change in his reading ability even since the first of this school year. He is an avid reader now, and his reading aloud has improved so much thanks to HOD and DITHOR.

I really think you will find this curriculum very enjoyable for all of you to use, including you. It is so super easy, no planning hardly at all on your part. I am using Beyond this year with my 7 and just turned 10 year old sons. I am not even using extensions for my oldest, and I believe he is exactly in the "zone" with what he can do. Next year, I do plan to add extensions to Bigger for him though.

Blessings

[Cherylanne]

Thanks ladies for all your input. I will continue to look at everything..still a little confused on the ordering process with the packages. I will figure it out though.

[my3sons]

I can answer your questions about the packages! Ask away! Also, there is a very helpful little light bulb you can click on at this link for "Helpful Tips on How to Order":
http://www.heartofdakota.com/bigger-hearts-packages.php

The packages are what make HOD able to be customized more than just a usual boxed curriculum can, which makes it fit dc like a glove. So, they are worth figuring out, and I'll be glad to help you do so!
In Christ,
Julie

[Cherylanne]

Thanks Julie, I looked at it and think I have it figured out....Do you find that many/few of the books can be found at the library? or easy to find used? I would like to have all new, but have to consider finding a cheaper route.

Also, someone mentioned that it we should be able to get the work done in 31/2 hours...is that assuming you have kids that focus and do their work when told! Mine do not!

[my3sons]

Thanks Julie, I looked at it and think I have it figured out....Do you find that many/few of the books can be found at the library? or easy to find used? I would like to have all new, but have to consider finding a cheaper route.

Also, someone mentioned that it we should be able to get the work done in 31/2 hours...is that assuming you have kids that focus and do their work when told! Mine do not!

If you need to use your library for part of it, I'd do so for the Deluxe Package Storytime titles, as these books are more common and you can use the same one for a month. You can also do this for the Drawn into the Heart of Reading books, as they are used for a month as well, and there are many choices for books as any book can be used with DITHOR. THe book packs are excellent choices though.

For the rest of your order, I would get it from Heart of Dakota. There are less common titles in those packages - in fact, HOD carries some of them exclusively. Plus, there is a huge savings built into the packages, and it is more economical to have 1 shipping fee rather than multiple fees from multiple places. Finally, it is good to support Heart of Dakota financially, as a "laborer is worth his wages". HTH!

As far as the amount of time Bigger Hearts takes, for 1 student, it takes less than 3 1/2 hours. For 2 students, with different LA and math, and with extensions, I would still say it should take around 3 1/2 hours. If you have made different LA and math choices than HOD's suggestions, and they take longer than HOD's alloted times, of course that will add time to your day. If you have other things you are adding to your day besides HOD, that will of course add to your day too. Otherwise, I do believe 3 1/2 hours is enough time to complete Bigger Hearts with 2 dc. However, if dc dawdle, draw out their work, do not work well independently, or transition poorly, all of this adds time to the day. As many dc do struggle with forming good work habits, and as you mentioned your dc are not as focused as you would like them to be, here are a few things that have helped my 3 sons in this area:
*have a routine order of doing the boxes of plans, and give your sons a copy of the routine
*print off the suggested amount of time for each box and let your sons know that's about how long each box should be taking
*set a timer for the amount of time for each box, and train dc to complete their work within that amount of time
*teach dc to use the guide as their own, to get their own supplies out, to read through each box of plans fully before beginning the box, and to follow the directions within the box
*take the first 1-4 weeks to focus on teaching how to properly do each box in the guide; the plans follow a pattern, so once they learn to do them correctly, they will benefit from that the entire year; if dc need much training in this area, go half-speed for a week or 2, training them to do the left side of the plans well one day, and then training them to do the right side of plans well the next day
*check work as dc turn it in, so errors can be corrected right away
*teach all of the parts that should be taught, knowing that doing so will give them an excellent foundation for learning and for successful independence for all of the next guides
*let your dc know that by working in a timely fashion, in a routine way, they can fully enjoy their school as well as finish earlier, so the rest of the day may be utilized for personal interests and hobbies (always motivating at our house )

We have just found these things to be very helpful in our home, so I thought I would share! HTH!
In Christ,
Julie