heartofdakota.com

Hello,

Well, I believe I have decided to come back to HOD. I used HOD LHFHG with my son when he was in kindergarten. While I enjoyed the curriculum, I ended up adding so much to it that I decided to go another route for first grade. (I ended up adding to HOD because GA. requires 4 1/2 hours of schooling per day)

Anyway, we began first grade in Aug. of 2010. While things have been alright, we have had a very tough year due to personal issues and I just haven't been able to keep up with things the way I would like too. I also have an in-home childcare which already makes homeschooling my son a bit of a challenge. Lots of distractions.

We have fallen behind on History and Science and while I bought all kinds of different books to put together a "great" curriculum, they are sitting un-used because I simply don't have the time or energy to get it together. I feel that I have cheated my son this year and that is not right. We have really kept up on Math, reading, handwriting, Bible, etc... plus we do incorporate music and sports as well to round out things.

So, I found myself coming back to HOD. All planned out, well researched, Christian based, and open and go for us busy moms. Simply perfect in my eyes.

My son will be going into 2nd grade and I believe that after looking at both Beyond and Bigger, we will go with Bigger. I just feel that it is beefed up a bit more and we may even be able to use it for two years possibly. My son will turn 7 in August, so he is considered a younger fellow for 2nd grade, but I still believe he will do fine.

I also think with Bigger that I will be able to scale back if needed or use more if needed in certain areas without having to supplement. I think with Beyond, I would be supplementing quite a bit, especially in math because we have covered so much already there.

It will be great to have the wonderful History and Science books that come with Bigger also. They all look wonderful!

I would love to hear from anyone who has experience with Bigger and a 7 year old child. Did you think it was the right fit or did you regret not going with Beyond first? One other thing that fits us well with Bigger is the time it takes to complete it each day. Since GA. requires 4 1/2 hours daily, we should be able to get in about 3 1/2 with HOD and then use the other hour for music, art, sports, etc.... Very good!!!

It is great to be back and I am already looking forward to getting finished with the first grade year and moving onto our second grade year with HOD again. I really pray it will be the right fit for us and our lifestyle. Everyone have a great day!

I think Bigger would be too difficult for a just turned 7 year old. I would think it would be better to do Beyond and then Bigger, each a year, than to drag out Bigger for 2 years because it was too much. If you did Beyond, then by the time he got to Bigger he would be there skill-wise and he would get more out of it. It's much more enjoyable for them to do their schoolwork when it's a little challenging but not too difficult or frustrating. It will help you as well.
As far as the 4.5 hours a day that Georgia requires, that it really easy to do. You can count almost every thing you do in life as school. The time in the curriculum, art (coloring, drawing), music, building things (Legos, k'nex, playing with manipulative type things), P.E., any computer learning things, reading, reading, reading, (my favorite!), listening to books on CD, educational video, field trips, nature walks, etc.

These are my thoughts. I hope they help a little.

Blessings to you,
Nancy

I just wanted to add that if he's just turning 7 I might also suggest Beyond. We considered Bigger for our daughter who is 7 now and will turn 8 at Thanksgiving ... so it would be for second grade ... and we feel that it is just right, but that she is still on the lower end, and she's had rigorous K and 1st grade years.

Also, I understand needing to meet hours for your state. While the other mom did suggest great ideas for your "school" time ... that would not all work in my state, so I might caution you to be sure that you know your rights and responsibilities in Georgia (HSLDA is a great resource). I would not be able to include building legos unless it pertained to a lesson within a subject, for instance. Just my .02.

A few days ago I asked about how to do Bigger over two years and I got some really fantastic replies and ideas for schedules. If I knew how to find the thread I'd post it here ... maybe someone else can help. If your child has competency with the skill building inherent to HOD, and you feel he would do well in Bigger and places there on the chart, then I agree that it is sometimes easier to slow things down than endlessly supplement, which is not always to the child's benefit.

Prayers over your decision.

We're in unit 24 with my 9 and 7yo. I do believe I dragged him a bit through it. He wasn't ready for all the writing and still isn't. I'm even more nervous about Preparing in the fall, but I can't really make him go back and redo Bigger. It was perfect for my 9yo. If your son enjoys writing, it may be good. I don't mean writing like writing papers. But the copywork, writing on science and history notebook pages, in addition to English and math. If I wasn't combining, I'd definitely try to hit the higher end of the recommended ages. My guy turned 7 in Oct.

erin.kate wrote:A few days ago I asked about how to do Bigger over two years and I got some really fantastic replies and ideas for schedules. If I knew how to find the thread I'd post it here ... maybe someone else can help.

I believe this is the thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8808&p=64385#p64385

Hi joyfullyblessed! We just came back to HOD ourselves and we couldn't be happier. I think you will be happy that you have too

I also want to say that I agree with the previous replies that Bigger might be too much for a just turned 7 year old. I always find that examining the placement chart is the best way to make sure I am placing my child in the right guide. If you haven't already I would take a look at the placement chart http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php with your now 6 year old and see where he places in relation to that chart.

My concerns with doing Bigger at 7 would be 1) The skills required to do Bigger would be too much for him and frustrate you and him and 2) Doing Preparing at 8 years old. Preparing is a very full year (just ask my 11 year old doing Preparing right now ). It would be difficult for a younger child to do Preparing at 8 unless they are truly advance and gifted.

I hope this helps in some way. HOD can appear light when in reality each guide is truly academically strong for it's targeted age range. Each guide is very full in it's own right because each guide is teaching skills that advance incrementally through the year and prepare the child for the next guide.

Welcome back!

joyfullyblessed,

I just wanted to welcome you back to HOD! If you have other questions, ask away!

Blessings,
Carrie

My son started Bigger at 7 and we're almost through it now and he is 8 1/2. We did it half pace, stretching it out for 2 years. It worked well for us! As long as your son places solidly in Bigger, you shouldn't have a problem. I would suggest stretching it out over two years. There is plenty of work to do to challenge a 7 yr old and you can add DITHOR in as well which will lengthen your school day. My son is flying through Bigger now (we just finished the Wright Brothers; no pun intended ) and will be more than ready for the challenge of Preparing. He can do much of the work independently and has learned how to use the manual for following directions. We've had a great 2 yrs with Bigger and I have enjoyed watching my son mature into the program