proper placement is so important

[Gwenny]

My 11 yo daughter and I just finished week 2 of Preparing with extensions. It was a great 2 weeks. We both loved it. Carrie did such an awesome job writing the guide and putting everything all together. It's a perfect balance of time in all of the different subjects. My daughter is on the upper end of the age (the reason I'm doing the extensions) and I wish we weren't "behind" and she was in CtC, BUT, it is great that she is so well placed and can do everything independently that she is supposed to do, and also she can do the reading that is supposed to be me reading to her, I just do follow-ups. I would not be able to do it all with her if she needed more help. Based on the dynamics in our household and demands on me in this season, I coudn't do it if she was so challenged that she needed a lot of help. I could probably put her in CtC right now and she could do it with me a little more by her side-but I know we wouldn't be able to move through it because she'd be waiting on me.

I wanted to encourage others and give an example of why Julie and Carrie (and others on this board) place so much emphasis on getting the correct placement and how key that is to having a great year--for you and for your child. Don't place your child in a guide just because of age or the time period in history. It's all about building the skills to be able to learn and think and grow, not just getting everything "covered".

If you notice in my signature, I have a 17 year old Liberian daughter just finishing up Preparing in the next few weeks. She has been working on that for a long time, but she has very low IQ and some learning issues, obviously. I have to tell you, when we started the guide I was so discouraged because she needed me for almost everything and I thought it was a waste of time because she would never improve. She wanted me to read everything because she was so slow and she thought she could understand better when I read--she reads everything on her own now--her written narrations were a mess, from content to spelling and grammar, they are great now and I hardly have to correct anything in them anymore--she couldn't do the vocab, she always picked the wrong definition for the context and she couldn't copy out of the dictionary without missing words and spelling things incorrectly---95% better! She loves it, loves to learn and can't wait to do Creation to Christ! Just her continuing to do the skills over and over she has improved so much. I see the same thing with my son in Beyond, only 8 weeks in and he is already improving in the skills and taking on more copy work, etc than he could do at the beginning. I understand better now how the skills in one guide, if they are truly doing what is required (or building up to it as the guide progresses), prepare them for the next.

Anyway--just encouraging everyone that HOD is fantastic and to pick the placement carefully!

Blessings,

[psreit]

Nancy,
Thanks for that encouragement. I plan to do Preparing next year with my then 11yo dd. I don't know where she will be in her reading skills by then, but I am hoping she will be somewhat independent of me, at least for some things. I have to sit and do everything with her. Earlier this year, I was feeling like I had messed up somewhere along the line, but I am realizing now that there definitely is a glitch in her reading ability (signs are moderate dyslexia). I know we need to focus on this area before we resume HOD and so after an intense year with the Barton System, we will come back and pick up with Preparing. You are right. The important thing is to place each child according to skill level. If we do Preparing in 5th grade, my dd will not finish all the guides. That's okay. The key is that she is progressing. I was so discouraged just 5 months ago, feeling like we were not moving anywhere in reading or math. But, knowing what I need to do with Angie now has given me hope. I really am missing HOD. This is really teaching me patience.

[Gwenny]

I'm glad you were encouraged. It's difficult when the learning doesn't happen as easily and as"on time" for some like it does for others. I almost stopped writing the post several times because I was thinking that nobody would care (not the feel sorry for me kind but just that it's not a big deal) but I really felt that I should write it just in case there is someone that it would help.

[raindrops]

Awesome post.
And wow, your 17yr old made all that improvement within one guide?! That is sooo wonderful. And she loves learning.

Oh, and personally, I was a bit discouraged when I realized my ds would NOT be done with The Reading Lesson by the end of Little Hands. I really wanted him to start the emerging readers "on time" in unit one of Beyond. Why? I was stressing myself and him too no doubt. He quite cheerfully does 1 page a day of that book but no more! I tried to speed him up to 2 pages of TRL and it wasn't pretty. After a few weeks we've gone back to one happy page a day. LOL. Emerging readers are scheduled in Bigger too, afterall. He isn't really "behind". It is about HIM not schedules, really, isn't it? He is learning to read! He'll get there.

All students are different. My dd is so ambitious about school. She'l probably breeze right through TRL. But that doesn't mean she is better... just different. We just gotta meet those kidzies where they're at and help, not force. Right? LOL

Anyways, I did enjoy reading your post. Here's to a great rest of the year and many happy homeschooling moments.

[krazzymommy]

I have to agree with this. My kids were pretty well placed last year. We didn't finish the guides we were in and this year instead of picking up guides that were midway finished (I wanted to start something fresh for the new year!) we started up another shiny program. I was drawn to it because the thought of combining my two seemed like such a great idea. They are only two years apart in age, but the span in their skills is much more. We did the other program for two weeks and I realized how much I valued the HOD programs that met my kids exactly where they are at. So, we picked up the books that did not get finished last year, and are going to continue with HOD. It felt SO good to go back "home" when we picked up all our HOD books.

[melissamomof3girls]

So glad you are doing so well!

We came to HOD last year after 4 years with another company. I didn't want to overwhelm my girls with all the new stuff and we chose to stay on the oldest age range of the guide too.

This year my 10-11 year old will be doing Preparing, 8-9 year-old will be doing Bigger, and 6-7 year-old will be finishing up Little Hearts.

It can be hard sometimes to let go of the idea our kids have to be in "this" grade or "that" level. It's a definite learning process to let go and think differently!

[my3sons]

Gwenny - I just am all teary-eyed reading about your 17yo dd. Your words just touched my heart. I wish I could hug your dd and tell her what an awesome job she did this year!!! You too, by the way - I'd hug you too! Without a loving dedicated mama that takes time to work through difficulties with love and devotion... well, progress of this magnitude just can't be made. I would say - 'Now that is what a successful year looks like!' You are right. Placement IS a big deal, and there is much more to consider than just age. It's why we spend so much time here at HOD trying to help with placement. We never want to become a curriculum that asks, "How old is your child? 10 yo? Well, then here's your box." Too much is at stake. Thank you so much for sharing here. I find this inspirational, and I am going to tuck your experience away to remember. I count this a success of the best kind. God bless!

In Christ,
Julie