heartofdakota.com

OK, maybe this has been discussed. I am wondering if there were ever considerations for gifted children and HOD.

I am going to do Bigger with my rising 8 yo, and my books came yesterday. I keep reading over and over that the guides are meaty and they should be at the older end of the age spectrum. As I have been leafing through the weeks of Bigger I am wondering if I made a placement error. I think she could easily handle Bigger w/ extensions which is what I have, but she really could do Preparing.

She is definitely gifted. She writes fluently in cursive, reads at the 5th-6th grade level (has been reading long chapter books since the summer she was still 5), can handle 12-15 word dictations with quotes and other punctuation easily, is diagramming sentences with subjects, verbs, and adjectives, can write a 3 sentence narration without batting an eye, and can spell like a champ. She knows half of her multiplication facts, understands division, and can solve for an unknowm, etc, and she is still just 7.5. She is almost completly independent with her work this year and averages 95 and above on all her tests.

I want her properly placed, and I want her challenged. She is my 4th child and I have been homeschooling 8+ years, so I think my accessment of her ability is right on. She is different from her age mates and has many traits of a highly gifted child. She is much different than her siblings and I have some pretty bight kids. It would be great if other moms of GT children would chime in, as well as Carrie, who could speak to how the curriculum could meet the needs of a GT child. Thanks so much.

I'm new to HoD, and I have a gifted child also. After careful study of the placement chart, I'm placing her in Beyond, but she'll be using R&S 2 and Singapore 2A, which are used in Bigger. She will be at the bottom of the age range all the way through HoD. I figure if things get difficult along the way, we'll take it slower.

Looking forward to the responses from more experienced HoD users.

I'll be watching this too...

I'm not all that experienced, but my impression is that gifted kids are fine being placed in the bottom-to-middle age range of the guides while doing the skill areas (3Rs) at their own pace - sometimes using the activities from the next guide even.

This year we've had a lovely year in LHFHG with my now 5.5 year old ds... He turned 5 three weeks before beginning LHFHG - so if we do the guides as written, he will always be at the very youngest edge of the guides. The the history, fine motor skills, science, and read-alouds etc. from LHFHG are just right for him. However, we are doing the Emerging Readers (though he reads independently), Math (Sing 1B) and Spelling lists from Beyond. Since this was our first year doing school more formally, and he is still so young, I wanted to keep things engaging and enjoyable, and not too difficult. We are taking our time with LHFHG (only 3-4 days a week) so we can enjoy field trips, nature study, and lots of interest-led exploration as well. He loves science, so we just keep supplying him with books from the library on the subjects he's interested in.

He is definitely getting much more out of the history/storytime read-alouds now than at the beginning of the school year. It's not that he didn't enjoy or understand things before, but now he catches on more quickly and comprehends things at a deeper level, and makes connections that he didn't before... I think just because of general maturity, not necessarily because of academic progress. But, I've never felt like he was out of his depth.

Preparing is for 8-10 year olds, right? It seems to me that if your 8-year-old dd is mature and academically advanced, Preparing would be fine. But, what do I know? I've only done LHFHG. Hopefully Carrie and others who are more experienced will chime in!

I'm glad to find other mommies with gifted kiddos here!

It sounds that from the skills that you describe for your daughter, she would fit in Preparing. She does fit in the age also so as long as she is emotionally mature enough for that guide, I think I would be inclined to use Preparing for her. The one thing that you can't really see in just looking at the guides is the level of thinking that dc will be doing as they progress through the guide. The questions that are discussed along the way are ones that get them thinking more deeply. Narration is another skill that requires so much more from a dc than usual textbook programs. So as you get into the program, there is more there than meets the eye up front. Even still though it sounds like your dd has the skills needed to do Preparing, so it might be worthwhile to look at the placement chart again and reconsider http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php. Here is a thread where Julie talks about the details of placement: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9000 I hope that helps a little.

Fisherman's wife,

With HOD, we base placement mainly on a chld's skill level, especially those skills that fall within the first page of the chart. If a child is advanced in certain areas that will definitely show up on when you place your child according to the placement chart. Our age ranges are meant to address the various skill levels of each individual child, making a customizable education based on your assessment of your child. As the parent you know the child best, and on the forums we are basing our assessment on what you share with us.

From what you've shared in the post above, I would agree that your child fits in the skills for Preparing Hearts, and since she will be 8 that is where I would place her. It is fine to be on the youngest age range of our guides, as long as your child places there skill-wise, as the skills drive the fit! Independence and ability to read written directions will also be a factor to consider with Preparing Hearts.

You are welcome to return any books and the guide in your Bigger Hearts set that are in new condition and exchange them for Preparing Hearts. We desire for you to have the correct fit too, and sometimes you cannot truly tell if the fit is right until you get the books and guide in your hands.

Blessings,
Carrie

It sounds like PHFHG is the winner! My ds would qualify for the gifted program in school as well, based on his standardized test scores alone (I used to have to help test dc for the gifted program when I taught ps), and he was appropriately placed at 8 yo in PHFHG. I think your dd will be challenged aplenty by doing all of the PHFHG's plans. On a side note - as we all know - all dc are "gifted" in different things - as our Lord saw fit, and I think HOD gives dc the opportunity to use their gifts in unique ways each and every day. There are no cookie-cutter assignments in HOD, no repetitive run-off worksheets, and the open-ended nature of assignments within the structure of skill-based teaching lets dc's creativity shine. I bet your dd will love this. I'm excited for your dd to strut her stuff in PHFHG! It's an awesome program!

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks ladies for your help. I was just uncertain when people were saying that children should be in the upper age range to successfully do each guide. She won't be 8 until September, so if she were in public school here she would be a rising 2nd grader. She is really more like a rising 4th grader in her skills.

Well, it will be a solution to my conundrum of doing back to back guides. I am going to keep my Bigger for my 7 yo who will do it after Beyond, and I will order Preparing for dd.

I will also have a turning 5 in the late fall doing LHFHG. She is reading short vowel words, and writing and spelling, and adding at not quite 4 1/2. Ahhhh. The Lord sure has a sense of humor giving me these precocious little blessings I know it is hard having children who stuggle, but there are many many challenges for those of us who have children on the other end of the spectrum. It is very humbling to think that God made me the steward of these little ones' minds.

Looking forward to using HOD as a tool to bring out the unique strengths in each of my precious children.
Thanks again.