heartofdakota.com

Hello All!,

It's been fun getting to know you guys as I've explored the curriculum HOD has put together. Thank you for your heart for the Lord and approachability. God is so good!

Here's our info before I ask my question.

I have 5 children. When school starts in the fall they will be dd12, ds10, ds8, ds5, ds3. Grades 7,5,3,K, and mischief making.
the first two are strong readers/writers.

First born sweetie (12yo/7th grade) Reads, writes, spells, speaks amazingly well. Excels in the Christian Light level 6 program with no supervision and minimal instruction from me. I liked that for the past two years, but this year's circumstances will allow me to be more hands on with all the children which I have been missing lately. Using your placement chart, she places in Revival to Revolution.

Second born boy (10yo/5th grade) is doing superbly with Christian Light as well even though it goes against his natural tendencies to be a hands-on, build it, examine it, take it apart and do it again kind of kid. He places in Creation to Christ.

Third child (ds8, 3rd grade) reads average in the 2nd grade Abeka reading program. His writing is very weak. Can form letters in manuscript and shaky cursive, but struggles with spelling. He places in Bigger Heart for His Glory.

Fourth-born (ds5/K) is small for his age but has a super-sized interest in learning and keeping up with #3 boy. He sounds out/spells/writes consonant/vowel/consonant words easily and sits and plays quietly for 30-60 minutes at a time. Great fine motor skills and ability to focus for long periods of time. Great attention to detail and desire to "do it right." I didn't place him since I will incorporate Abeka kindergarten materials I already have with what we do with the older kids.

Fifth born isn't into school yet, but I'll try to include him to make him feel a part of the group. Shows no desire to sit and do anything quietly at this time and I'm fine with that -well, most of the time.

I loved Christian Light -it's my kind of learning, and the children did well with it, but it doesn't fit my picture of a rich, diverse homeschooling adventure. It keeps us all working separately for most of the day, doesn't have any projects and doesn't leave a lot of time for all the reading we like to do. HoD is so interesting to me for all the reasons everyone else says in their reviews. My overriding priority is to school the children together and I can't figure out if that is possible with HoD. I realize Math and Language Arts would need to be separate but for all the rest, I REALLY REALLY want to do them together. I also don't want to spend more than $350, although that isonly an overusing factor. So, my question is, if you were me, what would you do? (not asking you to tell ME what to do, just want to know what YOU would do if you were in this situation.)

Thank you for your time and consideration. I appreciate your input.

In Him,
Lisa Cole

Hi there Lisa,
It sounds like you know your kids well and have found where they fit on the placement chart! To be honest, if your main priority is to educate the kids altogether and with such a tight budget, HOD might not be the best fit. (As an aside, did you mean $350 per child? Or altogether?) I personally love how homeschooling with HOD allows me to choose a program which meets my kids where they are at and this makes it more enjoyable for the child and a lot less work for me!
If it were me, and looking at what you have shared, I would put your oldest 2 with the programs you have placed them in. It is a possibility with your 8 yr old and 5 yr old to do LHFHG together with them and just up some of the skills/math/LA for your 8yr old. I would use DITHOR for your oldest 2 together.
I am not sure whether combining all of them in a history/bible core and just changing the LA/Math would be the best for you or them. You would spend a lot of time adjusting skills and information and many of the ladies here have said HOD is a lot easier to bring 'up' to older students than to bring 'down' to younger kids and your younger ones would miss out on a lot of great skills and fun learning if they had to be involved in their older siblings programs. Does that make sense?
All the best with your decision,
Blessings,
Corrie

Welcome to the HOD Board, Lisa! I have used HOD for many, many years, and we have loved our homeschooling days! HOD was written to be used with multiple ages, but it is careful not to use such a big age range so each child is still getting what he/she needs.

With HOD, you can combine or you can not combine. The placement chart is the best tool for seeing if combining is good for dc or if not combining would be better. Thank you for taking the time to look at the chart and share about each of your dc - that is so helpful! From what you've shared, I'd say you could combine your 10 and 12 yo dc in Creation to Christ, but have your 12 yo do the extensions. Your 8 yo could do either Beyond Little Hearts, or Bigger Hearts. I'd consider the amount of writing for him, as Bigger Hearts has quite a bit more writing. Is your 5 yo almost 6 yo? If so, you may be able to do Beyond Little Hearts with your 6 and 8 yo, and just use your Abeka things for LA/math. Starting with Creation to Christ for your olders would be so good to do! It teaches beginning Bible Quiet times, written narrations and editing tips, scientific method, different types of oral narrations (i.e. summary oral narrations, detailed oral narrations, etc.), "Write with the Best" creative writing based on classics excerpts, and God's hand in history - to name a few of our favorites) . It would be a super place to start your older dc! Beyond Little Hearts or Bigger Hearts have Godly character trait discussions that are so key for those ages, and they both really inspired our sons to be proud to be an American - many new heroes were "met" that year. The books in all of HOD"s guides are truly excellent books - I love them myself!

For our family, we have done 3 guides, as our dc are so far apart in ages and abilities (ages 4, 8, 12). The dc share so much with one another, and it is such a family building way to school as each of them is thriving. HOD has helped me stay close to each of my dc, as it provides such good opportunities for us to have heartfelt talks that are truly meaningful as each child can have the chance to share personally on their level. For example, one day my middle ds's devotions time asked him to share a temptation he had been struggling with - it was taking marshmallows and eating them. That same day my oldest ds's Bible devotional time was about purity, and we talked all about a relative of his that is only 16 yo and is expecting a baby with a 15 yo. If we had been combined, there is no way we could have had these heart-to-hearts, and they were necessary talks to have, believe me.

HOD also helps us have fun with our learning, as the hands-on activities are geared toward each of their age levels so well. We don't skip the hands-on activities - ever. That's saying a LOT, as hands-on activities in many curriculums are just plain hard - or nearly impossible - to do. Before HOD, I dreaded hands-on activities. They either used things we didn't have on hand, were way too hard or too easy for the dc I was trying to have do them, had no connection at all to what we were learning, took waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long in the day to day to do, or took waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long because they were carried out over weeks or months. Because HOD makes sure to keep age increments within guides smaller, hands-on activities are geared right to the proper age levels, and they are TERRIFIC! Our sons LOVE their hands-on activities. They keep their days well balanced, and that keeps them happy.

HOD teaches skills incrementally, which helps dc move along in their academics so well. Because skills are tailor-fit for smaller age increments, every child can do every single part of what a guide is asking him to do. There is no tweaking, no skipping, no beefing up, no need to alter one. single. thing. This makes dc feel so confident, capable, and pleased with their schooling. It eliminates the little ones feeling like they are always doing so much less than the olders, and feeling like they just aren't as smart. Every child feels successful, and this make learning good for the whole family!

I'd love for you to read Carrie's posts on commonly asked questions that I'll link you to here, as she explains this so well...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9344

Here are a few threads I thought you may enjoy reading as you ponder this too...
Homeschooling with Larger Families:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9325&p=68227#p68227
What Ladies Love about HOD...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8268&p=60839#p60839

I'd like to hear your thoughts about all of this. We just enjoy HOD so much - it is an incredible blessing in our home. I think you would find the same to be true in your home. This board is full of encouraging, wise, Christian ladies - it is a favorite place of mine to visit. I think you'll enjoy it as well! I'll check back and we can chat through this more, but I hope something here helps in the meantime!

In Christ,
Julie

THANK YOU so much for your time and well-considered replies to my situation. I will review the suggestions you made and prayerfully consider them. Again, thanks for using you precious time to help out a stranger!
God bless,
Lisa

I just wanted to welcome you to the board. We're so glad you're here! The ladies have done a terrific job of talking through your options. If you have other questions, ask away!

Blessings,
Carrie