heartofdakota.com

Hello,

We are just starting homeschooling after years of wanting to (long story there).
My youngest daughter is 7 years old. She will be 8 in July. She has learning disabilities related to abstract thought and memory which has made reading slow for her although she has made tremendous growth this last year.
She does well in math BUT we are working to catch up and really grasp concepts that she either totally didn't get (telling time, counting money and similar) or that she didn't get enough time to really cement the ideas in her head (adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers. She knows how to do this very well but often forgets how without reminders to get her started). She tests very badly because of memory and inability to read effectively regardless of how well she can actually do the math.
She is coming from public school and for the last few weeks of the school year, we are working on those math concepts, spelling and reading.
Her reading is early to mid 2nd grade level at this point.
I am thinking about Beyond Little Hearts for her but has anyone else had experience with coming from public school to home school and from a fairly (not entirely) secular lifestyle focus to a more religiously based focus?
I'm afraid of buying curriculum that is either too easy or too hard for her but I would really like to have a planned curriculum to at least start with. I realize that tweaking things is just part of the process but I'd like to be mostly on target with the bulk of what I get.
Lastly, does anyone have any experiences using HOD with children with learning disabilities? My daughter has the above mentioned issues, some dyslexia and possible ADHD although it is highly suspected after extensive formal testing that it is more likely that her inattentiveness comes out because she isn't able to participate because of the reading problems. She has far above average social and communication skills but she has a very hard time comprehending abstract concepts.
Thank you for any help.

I'm not going to be too helpful but I did want to say that I ended up purchasing Beyond for my 7 year old twins to start in the fall. One of my twins has some issues that sound somewhat similar. I felt that my other twin could have done Bigger but I wanted them together and I can give her more advanced reading than him so I'm not worried about their different abilities.

Anyway, I don't have experience yet but I just wanted to let you know that I did pick this for my child who has difficulties with learning, memory, etc. I have great hope that this will improve his attitude about learning (they are in a private school right now) and be a great starting point for us!! I hope it does the same for you, if you try it out!!

I've been researching different curriculum for literally years >.< hehe I am excited to find Heart of Dakota as it keeps drawing me back. I'm waiting for my catalog and still looking at many options but I think I would be more comfortable with some guidance to start.

Well, you will love the catalog. That's what did it for me! I read the whole thing to my DH on a road trip! lol... I kept coming back to HOD as I looked around so I figured the Lord knew what He was doing so I needed to take a step of faith. I'm really excited about it so sorry for going on!!!!!

hehe I'm glad you are going on! I need encouragement!
I withdrew my daughter rather abruptly and I guess I shocked the school personnel. It wasn't really an abrupt decision for me as we'd been talking about it for years...before she was even born but definitely after the troubles she has had. After listening to completely wrong information from the front desk gal (I knew it was incorrect but she was insistent on telling me anyways even though she kept saying that she 'didn't know for sure' >.<) and THEN receiving a call from the school psychologist who was all prepared to 'edjumacate' me (I put an end to her 'edjumacation' quickly), I have felt defeated before even starting. The psychologist's parting shot was to practically demand that I call the principal to set up a meeting to keep my daughter part time in the public school system so that she could continue to receive her special ed help 'because you know she still is going to need that, right?' My parting shot to her was to tell her that IF I did have a meeting with the principal, her and whoever else they wanted (none of this is legally required in WA State btw), I wanted someone there who understood Washington State law on home schooling as well as I did so that I wasn't sitting in a meeting full of people 'discussing' their points but without the knowledge of my rights. She didn't enjoy that even though I was very sweet and nice when I said it. I did call the principal and left a message but he never called me back so I'm not really caring much about it.
The worst part is, the school is well aware that both my parents are retired school teachers, her other grandmother is a dissertation away from her doctorate, her father is a musician who overcame dyslexia as a child with exceptional results and that I graduated high school early with a high gpa, have multiple licenses and certifications and that we are well rounded and highly educated all around. My mother even taught special education at one point during her very long career. We could hardly do a worse job than the public school system has. Her teachers have been very nice and have worked hard but they simply cannot do what individualized attention can do.
Ok, now I'm going on and on:)
I am nervous and excited. I know I have what it takes, especially with my family around me but I suffer from fear that comes and goes. I'm just happy to share with someone else:) so thank you for that!

It's great that you have a heart to help her where the school simply cannot. I am keeping my twins in for the last 5 years but it's a fact that my son is getting labeled and feeling "less than" the whole time. It's really too bad. It sounds like you have many things on your side with all the experience of you and your loved ones. I'm happy to help in any way, shape or form! We'll be doing this at the same time! God is not overwhelmed with our children's needs and He knew the right parent/child combination so that's what I keep focusing on.

I understand the excitement and nervousness you have! I can't help with placement because I haven't used the younger guides yet, but I have dealt with learning disabilities. I brought my dd home from ps in the beginning of 3rd grade. She was getting decent grades, but I had spent many years watching my step-daughter(my dd's older sis) go through testing and LD classes and getting held back. Teachers were beginning to suggest testing and many of the same things for my daughter. My dd struggled to retain information and didn't test well on the standardized tests. While my husband and I decided to homeschool to give our daughter a Christian education, I really worried that, if she had a learning disability, I wouldn't be able to teach her correctly. The reality is that, while we struggled in areas here and there, my daughter has done amazingly well. The one on one interaction does wonders for a child. While my daughter reads well, math is her area of struggle. I have used many math programs to find what works best for her. That's one of the benefits of homeschooling. I can find out what works for her and adapt things for her, not have to adapt her to a curriculum. HOD is wonderful! It truly is geared for every learning type. I don't have to tweak it. What I have discovered is that, with the balanced and varied way HOD presents concepts and helps me to teach, my daughter retains very well. The hands on projects, which I thought would be difficult or a waste of time, truly help my daughter remember what we have read. Narration and copywork are also amazing tools that, at first, I was hesitant to place my faith in. Yet, with time and practice, it does work! The read alouds take the stress off of my dd. She can listen and picture in her head the story. That helps with retention. Your dd is still young. Many of the problems that you discussed in your post may disappear with maturity, time, one on one focus in her daily education, and varied teaching methods.
As for transitioning from a secular environment to a faith-based one, from public school to homeschool, I would suggest you trust God and keep praying. It's a journey, and a marvelous one! Take the time to research why the different methods in HOD work, and don't feel afraid to ask questions about what has worked for others. Above all, pray! God will guide you and give you peace. That fear that you have will come back from time to time, but it'll all be okay.

Thank you again to Rikki!

And thank you to Cathy for a lovely post! I'm learning to trust God. I've never had much a problem listening but trusting has been another story entirely!

In the public school, they have a horrible curriculum that even the teachers don't like. It moved so quickly and shallowly that my daughter would miss anything not concretely explained and it felt like everything was horribly abstract. Bleh, I could go on and on about that but she would always test horribly no matter how well she actually knew it. I would end up going in to proctor her re-tests just to guarantee that she would have someone to help read the story questions and be sure she understood the directions.
Everything was to the point where homework was literally her entire life. About half an hour after she got home from school, it was homework up until almost bedtime. This was after having her homework cut down and us entirely ignoring her spelling all year. Then we would get messages from her reading teacher before any holiday to be sure we were reading with her every single day during the holiday. We regularly read with all our kids BUT we didn't need to be told and she didn't need her break entirely commandeered. Again, bleh.
So...yes, thank you ladies! I appreciate your input!

BTDT and got the tee shirt. Pulled my dd with CP out of ps at second grade. She was not reading at all and really had little to no math skills. You will not be sorry you made this decision. I did not find for my dd ps helped her at all with her learning disabilities. It's not that it is always easy but it is always worth it. For placement I would look hard at the placement chart http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php and take an honest look. I am guessing your dd will either place in Beyond or LHFHG, I would not go above those two programs from what you are describing. They are both amazingly full so don't be afraid that either will not be enough if that is where your child places. HOD is wonderful for special needs. They key though is in the placement. You really want to be careful to not move them above their ideal placement level because the guides progress developmentally with each level. So if you put aside all fears and all the thinking where they should be and look honestly at skills that is the perfect guide for you and you will find that it will be enough. The other option that sometimes works well is to use one guide just for LA and Math and the other for the actual program but with that you would not want to be more than one guide up in the actual program from where you are using the LA. The placement chart really helps. In your case I would not weight the age category that much but more at the skills. See what you think looking at it that way.

I know how it feels to be pulling them out when they are "behind" in skills and it feels like you need to catch them up. But in truth they still have to go through the path to get the knowledge they need starting where they are in their skills. And what you are going to find is they will make more progress hsing than they ever did in ps because you can actually address their issues individually. Just having that freedom will put your results far above what the "experts" can do.

Praying for peace in your decision. You will love HOD!

Oh one more thing. As a mom with a special needs child and having done a few HOD programs Beyond to me is the key guide for picking up skills. If your child seems to place there it is a guide you absolutely do not want to skip.

Wow, water2wine, that was extremely helpful to me. It can seem pretty overwhelming when you have child that struggles so even though you weren't addressing me, I appreciated what you said!

I agree with really studying the placement chart to see where your dd fits. I wouldn't worry so much about age or what you think is best- look at skills and see where she best fits.

I'm currently using LHFHG with my just turned 7 1st grader. It's working great! I plan to do Beyond with him in the fall. He is a struggling reader (just started Reading Reflex), but I am hoping to start the ER set with him in the fall. He really wants to read the Bible! However, if he isn't ready, I'll wait and continue his reading instruction. That's one of the wonderful things about HOD. The right side gives you options to work at your child's level and still make the program a huge success.

Another wonderful thing about HOD is how it puts the Word at the center of it all, but it's done in such a gentle, natural way that it just seems, well, natural. It won't beat her over the head with It. It'll just show her how God really is woven into every part of our lives. As someone who tried to keep the Lord center of our schooling I found myself really failing about 90% of the time. I love how HOD pulls Him into all the nooks and crannys of our day. It's really a blessing!

Welcome to homeschooling and HOD! Be gentle on yourself and remember it's a journey.

Thank you ladies! Very helpful words!
I just got my HOD catalog yesterday and I am comfortable with the idea of putting her in Beyond and using the Emerging Reader books as she isn't an independent reader yet but I'm not sure how to handle the math. I understand the idea of not catching her up although you caught me, I am fighting with it! >.< The other aim though was to gauge what her mathematical skills really are...just where is she actually. What is solid and what is not. I'm a little worried because she is beyond 1A/1B and I think she is very close to ready for 2A/2B but I wish I could review 1B before next year. I won't really have time and since I pulled her from public school before the end of the school year, I hope she doesn't have a significant gap although, looking at the placement tests for Singapore, it doesn't look like she will.
Anyways, thank you ladies so much for all your insight and wisdom...I really appreciate it!

-Stephanie