Pull son from HOD for next year?

[TheATeam]

I am stumped.

This is our second year with HOD. And, we love it. We did Bigger last year. This year are in Preparing. However, my son who is soon to be 9 is not doing all the "I" boxes on his own and I shorten his copywork and he can't just look at the teacher guide and follow the instructions on his own. My daughter who is 11 could do the whole day's worth of school totally on her own.

They are both doing fine with our read alouds, comprehending, oral narrations (for son) and written narrations (for daughter).

I just revisited the placement chart. My son places in Preparing and my daughter places in R2R.

If we continue with HOD, which is the plan right now, then my daughter will need to skip a guide at some point. And, now seems to be the best time. I'm good with that decision...skipping C2C and moving into R2R.

But, what do I do with my son. This curriculum is so rich and I love all the skills they learn. I love that each guide moves them into a bit more independence and writing skills, gently.

What I wish is that there were some way to do Preparing again with him (for the skills learned and the layout is so great and what I think he might be able to do next year) but with different books. However, I don't know how I would accomplish that.

I have thought about taking 1.5-2 years to work with him through C2C. But, that sounds like it will drag out, possibly. And, I don't want him to miss out on the richness of the program if I'm still sitting with him for mostly everything, reading through instructions, etc...

I've also considered pulling him totally out of HOD and either doing our own thing with books/curriculum I already have or that he's interested in and focusing on his reading and writing (copywork, dictation, creative poetry writing, DITHOR). Then, put him back in at some point over the next 1.5 years when he's more mature and capable to do the program as it's laid out to be done. I know it's okay to tweak the guides to how they will best suit our family/child. But, I feel like I"m already adjusting so much for him in Preparing (shorter copywork, lowest level dictation, not doing DITHOR every day, only 2-3 vocab words, helping him with both the "I" boxes, writing out his creative poetry writing to not make it be too much for him to think about the writing as he's thinking). I"ve looked at Ambleside, Simply Charlotte, some Easy Peasy All In One...in an effort to piece it together myself.

But, when it's all said and done, I'm just plain ol' spoiled with HOD. HOD makes school so doable for my family (I also have 2 & 3 year olds). The open and go-ness of the program is difficult to do otherwise.

Do you have any old threads or insight to help me decide what to do with my son? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

And, thank you for the military discount you give us. We are far, far away in Spain (moving to Germany this summer) and I love the customer service your family continues to provide for me and my family and all the families that are now using the program after seeing mine

In Christ,
Elizabeth

[John'smom]

Just wondering how your ds did with Bigger? Did you tweak it as well?

[lmercon]

My issues with my ds are due to his severe dyslexia, but because of that, he is not able to do ANY work independently. I have to work with him with all the subjects, plus we do extra reading work. I would not allow that to lead you away from HOD. He will gain the maturity to do the work independently eventually. You may just have to guide him a little longer than another child, but that's okay. I took almost two years to complete CTC and plan to complete the remaining programs in 1 1/2 years for each. It was a perfect amount of work per day. I would suggest you just slow things down a bit and watch to see him mature. He's still young, and boys sometimes take a little longer in that department. As you work him towards independence, start with small, short activities, and you step away while he's working. Build up his confidence and increase the responsibility throughout the year. I think you'll regret stepping away from HOD.
Just my 2 cents,
Laura

[my3sons]

Thanks for sharing about each of your dc! I think you have several good options here. One thing you could do, is make the switch now! I am not sure how much you have left of PHFHG, but I would switch ds to half-speed and move dd to RTR. Or, if you are close to the end of PHFHG, doing CTC half-speed would be another option. Or, going back and doing Bigger Hearts with him, would be another option. We are currently doing half-speed CTC with our 10 yo, and he is a strong reader and writer. I think either switching to half-speed now for PHFHG or going back to BHFHG would be good options, especially because ds didn't probably do a lot of the independent LA skills earlier. You could pick a different Storytime set for sure. The math and R & S English would be different, the books for reading instruction would be different, and he would be accurately placed and able to fully do the guide well. This would make for smooth sailing ahead. I wouldn't go away from HOD as skill often are lost or at a standstill, and then dc come back finding they are no further than when they left. What do you think though?

In Christ,
Julie

[TheATeam]

We are only beginning week 20 and with our cross country move happening in 8 weeks we will not be finishing until the first week of October.

So, pulling him now is an option.

Thank you for all your thoughts and suggestions. I like the idea of moving back into Bigger with him now. i think hed be perfectly placed there...maybe partway through the guide? I will think on it some more. You have convinced me not to leave HOD. Thankfully. I will be praying for direction.

Thank you so much!

Elizabeth

[raceNzanesmom]

We're using Bigger and Preparing over 3 years, so my ds can grow into them a bit more. His dyslexia may keep him from ever doing the independent boxes independently, I'm ok with that. I wouldn't leave HOD for that reason alone.

[TheATeam]

Thank you, again for taking time to "talk" this through with me

I have been praying about this and last night I read everything I could about every detail with CTC and RTR, trying to really imagine what my day will look like doing 3 guides (I'm doing the lowest level with my 2&3 year olds now also).

I don't usually consult my kids about schooling decisions other than asking them periodically what they like or would change if they could about our days. Sometimes they have good ideas that I might consider regarding those details. But, I walked my 11 year old through the RTR daily sample online, showing her how many boxes would be "I" and what we would do together. She's thrilled with the booklists and listening CDs.

I asked my son what his favorite part of our school year has been so far and he told me that it's when we all read aloud together.

He said the hardest part is all the writing.

We discussed how much he's improved since we started in August. 7 months ago he could barely write an entire line of words, once a day. Now, he can copy one verse, do his vocabulary (2-3 vocab words only), and copy part of his poem in one day. He smiled realizing how far he had come in only 7 months.

He has also matured in that he knows better what he needs in order to focus on a task. FOr instance, sometimes he needs complete quiet and goes to his room. Sometimes he needs some background music and asks to play a CD while we all work (including the playing Littles) in the same room. Sometimes the Little's noise is too much for him and he needs to go into the kitchen which is nearby but not so noisy.

I can only imagine how much more he will mature over the next six months when we will be starting our next level.

I plan to make my final decision by the end of the week (I'd like to have my stuff shipped before we pack for our move, one less thing to think about as we settle into our new life in Germany). But, as of right now, I'm leaning towards ordering CTC for my son (taking however long it takes...1-2 years) and RTR for my daughter.

I also decided that if he wants to listen in on StoryTime & Art Appreciation that I will be doing with my daughter, he can. I don't think it will prohibit him from still enjoying those same stories when it's his turn to do RTR. (This was a concern for me originally.)

And, if my daughter wants to listen in our read aloud time in CTC, that's okay too since she won't be doing that level anyway.

I thought it was very sweet that none of us wanted to give up our Read Aloud time together. I know I can read aloud to them at bedtime or another part of our day on our own. And, that used to be the case BEFORE the babies came. But, realistically, with a husband who MIGHT be home less than an hour a day while the kids are awake and I"m Solo Parenting, that's just not realistic right now. So, I am thankful for our "Scheduled" read aloud time in HOD. And, plan to continue doing that even if the box says "I" I'm doing that right now with LIttle Miriam of Galilee...such a great book that I couldn't let them enjoy it without me! Personally, I have enjoyed all of our books as much as the kids have!!

If my plans change, I'll re-post, in case someone else is dealing with the same issues. Or, if you can foresee any problems with my plans, please share that too. I am open to any suggestions and/or advice.

Loving Life,
Elizabeth
Air Force Wife of 13 years
Momma to Abigail-11, Adam-almost 9, Ada-almost 4, and Annalise 2

[MomtoJGJE]

One thing you could do is just stop where you are in Preparing now until after the move. Then you could start Preparing back up and finish it before moving on to CTC. Then start CTC half speed for a while. That would give him a couple of months to mature a bit more.

Alternatively, you could drop him down to half speed Preparing, taking two weeks to do a full unit. Then after things settle down from your move you could move him back up to full speed, or even 3/4 speed for a few weeks.

[Tansy]

My dd1 has plenty of "issues" last year we did left (history) half of CTC and therapy math/reading/grammar/vocab. This year she is doing CTC with us with extensions, since it's mostly review she is doing much better in the writing portion and its semi new with the extention books. I'm contemplating doing Res 2 Rev half speed with both of them next year so she isn't overwhelmed with the amount of work. That way neither of us will be overwhelmed and can have more time to connect and explore things we like to do. Some times taking a break and reviewing things learned allowing the child to catch up is ok.

[my3sons]

Good thoughts! I think you will know better as the time draws nearer. If you do CTC and RTR, you would probably want to do CTC half-speed. THis will give ds time to grow into the writing especially. For read alouds, you could read aloud CTC to ds, and have dd listen in if she wants to (or, to not lengthen her school day you could let her read them on her own, giving them to her as you and your ds finish reading them). Your dd can read her own read alouds for RTR if she would enjoy that (my ds opted for that in RTR). Another thing we did was I read 10 minutes and whatever was left he finished (but then he eventually kindly asked if he could just read it on his own ). Just thought I'd mention those options!

In Christ,
Julie

[mrsrandolph]

Is your son currently receiving any outside help for the dyslexia issues? Are you using an Orton-Gillingham approach with him?

You can email me privately at cwejmom@gmail.com

I was a reading specialist and will help in any way I can. : )

[amysconfections]

Is your son currently receiving any outside help for the dyslexia issues? Are you using an Orton-Gillingham approach with him?

You can email me privately at cwejmom@gmail.com

I was a reading specialist and will help in any way I can. : )

Wrong thread. She didn't say her son had dyslexia. I think you were meaning another thread about RTR.

[mrsrandolph]

OOPS! Sorry!

[TheATeam]

Thought I'd update this post from one year ago when I was so confused about what to do with my son and whether or not to stick with HOD or not.

First, to recap, my oldest two children (11yo daughter and 8 yo son a year ago, 5th and 3rd grades) had always been schooled together (except for grammar, math and reading). Last year we were in Preparing but I realized how my daughter, even with extension readers, just needed more, seeming to be waiting around for her younger brother to finish assignments so we could move on to the next subject. And, my son, hadn't quite grasped all the skills and abilities needed to be fully Independent for those "I" boxes in Preparing.

Also, we moved from Spain to Germany in May. This move interrupted our school year and we did not finish Preparing before we left Spain in May.

Here's what we did, beginning in July 2013 with only my daughter (starting one child at a time):

1. Moved my daughter into Res to Ref (skipping Creation to Christ so that she'd be on track to finish every guide that Carrie ends up writing through high school). I am AMAZED at how she took off with her "I" work. And, although she admitted to me recently that she misses all of us reading the same books together, she has enjoyed working at her own pace without waiting for her brother to finish too. She also has permission to read and all of CtoC's books and Extension Package books and to listen in on any and all RA time my son and I have each day.

2. Finished Preparing with my son, the last 12 weeks, from August to December 2013. By the end of Preparing, my son was writing better and more and able to do the "I" boxes, including his oral narrations.

3. In February 2014, after our long winter break spent home in the states, my son and I started CtoC at half speed. This means we do 4 boxes a day, splitting one day into two days. Every day we do Math, Grammar and DITHOR in addition to four boxes. I do everything with him though. All reading is read aloud by me. He does all the note booking assignments in the beautiful pages provided through HOD on his own. As we progress, my hope is to allow him to do one "I" box reading on his own. We are now in Week 7 and he's loving school. I'm loving the one on one time I get with him each day (he has one older and two younger sisters). We seem to have found our groove. Praise God.

I'm so thankful for HOD and am thankful for all of your comments and time you took to walk me through the process. In August 2014, my daughter will move into Rev to Rev, my son will continue with C2C, my 5 yo will begin LHFHG, 3.5 yo will continue with LHTH. All of this sounds overwhelming even as I write it. However, somehow with God's grace it will be another successful and busy year. I look forward to it!

In Christ Alone,
Elizabeth
Married 15 yrs to Air Force man,
12yo daughter, 10yo son, 5yo daughter, 3yo daughter
Ramstein, Germany

[8arrows]

I always love to read updates, and I am glad your move went so well.

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All reading is read aloud by me. He does all the note booking assignments in the beautiful pages provided through HOD on his own. As we progress, my hope is to allow him to do one "I" box reading on his own.
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I think it is wise to start weaning him away from you reading everything aloud. I have found that with my boys in particular, they just need a little push. After you hand off one independent box, I would hand off another. You have a lot on your plate, and you will need that time as the youngers approach a very intensive teaching time.


You mentioned that your son is loving school. THAT is exciting! Keeping boys loving school is a super accomplishment.