advice for a brand-spanking new homeschool mom

mom2fiveboysnc · Post by **mom2fiveboysnc** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:26 pm

i will be totally new to homeschooling this year and need all the advice i can get. my 16 yr old is graduating high school next year so i dont think i will mess him up at this point! i have a 15 yr old, 10 year old, and a 6 year old (all boys) that i am debating curriculum choices over. my 15 yr old i have pretty much decided on switched on schoolhouse by aop because he is very techno-savvy and accelerated in math. i am debating buying the drawn into the heart of reading for him using the 6/7/8 books because reading is not one of his favorite subjects. also, my 10 yr old is likewise accelerated in math but weak in reading. i would like to put him in preparing hearts for his glory. he and kenan aren't bad readers, they don't comprehend well. ethan's problem is he tries to rush through and be the 1st done in everything which hurts him in the language arts in public school. if he doesn't understand anything he gets very frustrated and stops doing it, i hope by homeshcooling we can work on this problem. brendan (6 yrs old) i am planning on doing beyond little hearts for his glory with. my sons are very selective about their books, do you guys have success with the hod selections? also, has anyone pulled their kids out of public school this late and it worked? please, i would love any advice you can give me! thanks, cheryl

wdworkman · Post by **wdworkman** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:21 am

Welcome to homeschooling! I've been homeschooling my kids for years, but this will be my first time with HOD. I look forward to comparing notes with you this year - I'll have a 10 yos/Preparing & a 15 yod doing her own thing.

jsusgrl · Post by **jsusgrl** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:42 am

Welcome to he homeschool family!!!!! I have been homeschooling for 10 yrs and have a 15 yr olds boy, 8 yr old boy and 6 yr old girl. I am planning to use HOD for the first time this coming school yr and am very excited about it! I only have 3 kids and for me personally think i want to combine as much as possible with my 2 youngest. I need less stress!! First of all, I think its' great that your 15 yr old will work that inedepently on SOS. That will be a blessing! I am not an experienced HOD user so I will let the other wonderul ladies here answer those questions:-) But, I am praying about level to begin with my 8 yr old and 6 yr old (going into 4th and 2nd grades) And I wanted to use one program instead of 2 to make things easier!) and was adviced to start with Beyond for both and to modify it for my older with some more advanced books. And of course they will be on different levels of math and English too, but the bulk of it, Bible, History, Lit, Science, I would reccomend combining as much as possible or it could make for alot of stress (at least for me it does!!) My homeschool director also advices the same with multiple children:-) God bless you and your family and I'm sure your kids will transition great from public school. The other families I know who have done that have done very well and in fact they appreciate being homeschooled (sometimes more!) than those who have been homeschooled their whole life!! i hope you get your questions answered. I know I have been blessed by the women here as i seek to choose the right books and level with my own children.
Lov ein Christ,
Angie

Melanie · Post by **Melanie** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:06 am

Hi there Mom2fiveboysnc (we're going to have to get you a nickname!)

WELCOME

I have not used Drawn, but I think your plan sounds just fine. Don't worry about Carrie's book choices...they are GREAT!!! She is very selective and pre-screens everything that she recommends, so I think you'll be safe.

I'm excited about your new adventure!!

Mel

mom2fiveboysnc · Post by **mom2fiveboysnc** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:08 am

thanks for the replies. i was wondering about the combining for my 2 (1st and 5th grades) but wasn't sure that could be done based on what was in the catalog. it looked to me like if there was a year or 2 difference in levels it could be done but this is a 4 year gap. so possibly i could use Beyond and buy the appropriate books to go with 5th grade for Ethan? i have loved reading the posts from everybody and can't wait to start this for my kids this year! i have always wanted to homeschool but my family and husband were never on board for that idea. since i finished nursing school this year i guess he finally figured out that i am capable

. he is warming to the idea and has always helped the boys with their math homework. he doesn't know it yet but he's been recruited to help teach that! i love that the focus of HOD is on the Bible then intertwines everything else around that! it's just so hard picking the curriculum and my friends that homeschool all use something different. i wanted to go to the conference this year but my final exam was the next week.

Post by **Carrie** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:27 pm

mom2fiveboys,

I think your plan to put your 10 year old in Preparing.. sounds like a good one. I would also put your 6 year old in either LHFHG or Beyond... depending on where they place on our placement chart. Here is that link:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I agree that your kiddos are too far apart to combine well. We have the same situation at our house! To compensate for doing 2 programs, I would do LHFHG or Beyond.. at half speed at first for your younger. Then, you can speed up as time allows. Even if you had to stay at half speed all year for your younger one that would be alright. But, I would go forward with your older kiddos trying to do a day within a day.

By using programs that are at your kiddos correct level, you'll actually save yourself time trying to combine too large of an age-range (which is hard to do well). You'll also be able to teach the plans as written for language arts and math, which will help lift that burden from you to plan separate or additional things.

You may need to give your kiddos some time to deschool, so I would start out with the core programs and add DITHR mid-way into the year once you're comfortable with your routine.

Blessings,
Carrie

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 9:32 pm

Carrie wrote:mom2fiveboys,

I think your plan to put your 10 year old in Preparing.. sounds like a good one. I would also put your 6 year old in either LHFHG or Beyond... depending on where they place on our placement chart. Here is that link:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I agree that your kiddos are too far apart to combine well. We have the same situation at our house! To compensate for doing 2 programs, I would do LHFHG or Beyond.. at half speed at first for your younger. Then, you can speed up as time allows. Even if you had to stay at half speed all year for your younger one that would be alright. But, I would go forward with your older kiddos trying to do a day within a day.

By using programs that are at your kiddos correct level, you'll actually save yourself time trying to combine too large of an age-range (which is hard to do well). You'll also be able to teach the plans as written for language arts and math, which will help lift that burden from you to plan separate or additional things.

You may need to give your kiddos some time to deschool, so I would start out with the core programs and add DITHR mid-way into the year once you're comfortable with your routine.

Blessings,
Carrie

Hi Cheryl! Welcome to the HOD board! I remember how excited I was when my dh began to warm up to the idea of homeschooling, so I know what a big deal that is... I also know the pressure that can create for doing it well. I think Carrie's advice here is right on track. I think you'd find that trying to combine ages this far apart (considering neither of your dc have any LD issues) would just be harder than it's worth. We've run several HOD programs for a few years now, and it's been pretty easy to do. I think you'd find that by placing your children correctly from the beginning, your year is going to just go smoother over all. I'm so glad you are here, and keep on posting on the boards - you'll find this to be a place full of encouraging Christian moms!

In Christ,
Julie