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We have never used HOD before, but this year and part of last year we did do many of the same types of things. For example, we do a Book of Centuries/Timeline, notebooking, living books, narration, dictation, Scripture memory, mapping, copywork, history projects, poetry, nature study and notebook, picture study, music study, etc. We even have used some of Institute for Excellence in Writing Student Writing Intensive. So, it seems we have done most of the things that will be required in RtR. But, we do not do all of them OFTEN, and I'm not sure that my children are great at all of them. In fact, they are not great at narration yet (we just started that this year) and they also have not had much formal grammar study, and though my 7th grader could label parts of speech for the most part, I doubt my 4th grader could. So, my question is.....Will RtR be an okay fit for my children despite the two areas of struggle (narration and grammar)?

Thanks for any and all input!

Dena

Hi Dena,
The best place to start is the placement chart http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php
Once you have had a look as to where each of your children place individually, we'd be happy to discuss placement options with you With Heart of Dakota, success is ensured by placing your children where they fit best developmentally, as each guide gradually builds upon the foundations of the last, and leads toward greater independence in your students.

Thanks. However, I have looked through the HOD's placement chart, and believe both my children are ready for RtR except for narration (they do this, but not well, yet), and grammar (though my oldest knows parts of speech well enough to label, my daughter probably does not). So, IF my children are placing in every other area at RtR, except for those two, is it OK to go forward with it, or should I try to somehow get them up to speed on those two areas before starting RtR?

Would you consider your 7th grader to have the same skills as your 4th grader and vice versa??? I can't imagine a 4th grader (9 year old?) being able to handle the same work as a 7th grader (roughly 12 years old). You know your children better than I do, though, and if you have looked at the placement chart and truly think your 4th grader is ready for RTR, then it is more than okay to proceed in getting it. If it turns out to be a disaster, you can always drop your younger child back to one of the other guides.

Best of luck to you!!

My daughter is 10 and will be in 5th grade, and my son is 13 and will be in 8th. My daughter is also much more advanced in her reading for her age than my son is for his age. RtR is recommended for ages 10-12 with extensions for 7th and 8th graders, so yes, I felt it could work for both of them. Because my son is not as good in reading, I have even considered NOT using the extensions.

I guess I'm a little confused. Am I really not looking at the Placement Chart right to think this could work? It says that each row is placed in order of importance for correct placement....so AGE first, READING second, and WRITING third, and so on. My daughter is 10, she is an advanced reader, and is a pretty good writer for the most part. (Especially when it comes to her writing outside of schoolwork, LOL!) But, like I said previously, both of my children are fairly NEW to narration, and need to work on this, as well as grammar. We have not done much FORMALLY for grammar because I held CM's view that it does not need formally taught until the upper grades, and also because it is picked up through copywork, dictation, and reading.

I certainly do not want to put them in the wrong program! But, I also would like to keep them together in the same program if possible, as I also have a Kindergartner that I will be teaching this fall, and I work part-time! It's alot on my plate to have to split them, for sure! Especially when I feel they could probably do RtR together as long as their LA and Math are separate....which it would be with HOD, as most any other curriculum.

Thanks for the info, though. It has caused me to look again, and try to see if I'm just having wishful thinking. Maybe I am? I really don't know at this point!

Since both kids are new to HOD and as you expressed have not had much formal grammar, I would lean toward placing them both in CTC rather than RtR. They would both still be in the age range, as it is for ages 9-11 with extensions for grades 6-7 (age 12-13). This would put your daughter in the middle of the age range and may meet your son for his reading. I think this would give them a better foundation in developing the independence they will need for RtR. Rod and Staff grammar 4 and 5 are scheduled in the daily lessons. These would be appropriate starting points for your children in that area.
I have an 11 year old girl and a 13 year old girl, and they are about to start CTC. My older girl, like your son, is not as quick at reading as her younger sister is. They are nearly equal in grammar, the older girl only half a textbook ahead. The 11 year old is very good at oral narration, but needs much work on written. The 13 year old is exactly opposite in that area. I even plan to use the girls interest storytime for the younger, and the history interest for the older rather than extensions except having her read those independently. Comparing the two programs, I found CTC will be the best fit for my girls. Your decision may be completely different than mine, but I'm just sharing my thoughts. Perhaps looking at the sample pages may help give you some idea, if you print them out and compare them side by side. That helped me make my choice.
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/CTC-First-Week.pdf
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/rtr-we ... glance.pdf
Each box in the daily lessons that is labeled "I" is for the student to do independently, "T" means teacher-directed, and "S" is semi-independent. Hope that helps!

I think another BIG reason I want to go with RtoR is because we have ALWAYS (since my oldest was in 2nd grade and we started homeschooling) been in Ancient History! We started with Veritas Press Ancient History (Creation to the Greeks - 2 years), then we did Geography through My Father's World (Exploring Countries & Cultures - 2 years), then we did several units in Robin Sampson's Ancient History, Adam through Messiah. This year, we are finishing Ancient History with TQ, and are SO ready to move on! And, yes, I've read many posts about how HOD does Ancient History differently than any other curriculum, and how it's so much more in depth, etc. I believe that, BUT I feel we have over done it already! So, when I saw that RtoR was written for the age ranges of my children, I was PUMPED!

And, I realize that there is quite a bit of individual work for RtoR, but I feel if it is overwhelming, or too much for them to do on their own in the beginning, I figured I could make some of it semi-independent. They actually already do ALL of their science on their own now, and some history, and the subjects we rotate (artist/picture study, poetry, musician study) they do much on their own. They also do quite a bit of independent work for their English as well, though some of that needs teacher instruction. Same with math. We use Math-U-See, so they watch a video before a unit, then do the rest on their own.

I don't know, because I've never used HOD before, but I think because our school day seems to be already so similar to what Carrie has incorporated into the lesson plans, that we might just be okay. EXCEPT, I will get a break from all the planning that I've done for this year....if we go with HOD that will all be done for me! It actually might be a BIG relief.

With what you have said I think RtR would be fine for both of them. RtR also schedules R&S 4 or 5 so my recommendation based on what you have said would be to use 4 and possibly 5 for your son. 4 will be easier on introducing diagramming if they don't have much practice in that. With narration you can work them up to RtR's level. You can also ease into RtR by going half speed for a little while. Meaning do one side of the manual one day and the other side the next day.

From what you've said I think you'd be fine in RtR.

Welcome to HOD!

Thanks so much! That makes me feel better.

I've seen several posts speaking about going half speed, but was unsure what that meant, but now I understand! Thanks for that clarification! We may just try that, especially if we start out going full speed, and need to slow it down, that would be a great option. Or, we could ease into it, starting slowly (at half speed), then when they get more used to the program/changes from what we're currently doing, we can move it up to full speed.

I'm starting to get excited! Now I just need to figure out how we will pay for it all! We are saving, but we are so much further behind in our savings compared to last year. My hubby lost his additional part time, well paying job this summer (thankfully after we had already purchased curriculum for this year). But, I know the Lord will provide, if He wants me to do this!