Placement - First time homeschooler

[aossman]

My son is 10 being placed in B.Hearts F.H.G. He was promoted to 4th grade in public school, but was in special teaching & testing in reading 3x a week. He is not at a 4th grade reading level at this time. He was also in light occ. therapy & has ADD.

I need to know if the below is adequate for the school year. We will supplement with books from the library as he very particular in what he reads. Also, we are using Math-U-See this year. He really enjoys science, and I would like to have all I need for it.

500A Bigger Hearts for His Glory - Eco. Pkg.
101A Student Book 2/3
500G Science Adder
100 Drawn Into the Hearts of Reading Teacher's Guide
603G English 3 - Teachers Manual
603F English 3 - Pupil Test
Books - four individual ones

I was homeschooled throughout high school, and my sister 3rd - 12th.

I appreciate your help, and valued advice!

Angela

[StephanieU]

I would also consider the hymn study, devotional, and cursive. Also, if you consider him more at a third grade skill level, Rod and Staff 2 might be a better fit. Rod and Staff is advanced, and the goal is to complete Level 6 by the end of 8th grade, so most 3rd graders do level 2.

[Gwenny]

I agree with StephanieU.

[rumkimom]

My son is 9.5 and also would be in Bigger, but since I want to try my sons together (7 year old brother), I am putting him in Beyond to start with. But I am going to have him do R&S grammar....at grade 2. He went though and finally finished R&S reading/grammar grade 1 this summer. He also is way behind in reading and is in speech twice a week (he would also been in other special ed if he had been in public school). I am doing the ERs for the first half of the year (to strengthen his reading) and then switching over to DITHOR when he is ready. He LOVES the ERs so far.

[Rice]

I just noticed that you have the DITHOR Teacher's guide but not a Student Workbook or a book pack (these you can source on your own, even choosing different books than those in teh book pack, but I highly recommend buying a book pack your first year with HOD - I didn't buy them all for my 3 kids & regretted it - it took a lot more time to plan and I had a few choices that weren't at the ideal level). You do need all 3 elements (TM, SW & books) to run the program. I suggest starting with the 2/3 Student Book and Level 2 book pack (average Grade 3 reading level) and probably starting by doing it orally together. You can add in the workbook assignments as you deem him ready to tackle them. You'll see that even when doing full DITHOR, it is read aloud to you some days (if not most?) in Level 2/3.

That said, you may want to get it, but not start it yet. Level 2 DITHOR books are hard enough that you may want to get the last few ERs and work through them first (there's a schedule in the Appendix with questions to ask).

My DD was 10 1/2 when we started Bigger last year, because of her reading level. We'd finally had her tested and it confirmed what I'd suspected: no LDs, no obvious reasons why, but when finishing grade 5 (a year ahead of where she'd be if ever in PS) she was still only reading at a grade 2.7! From September to Jan/Feb we dropped all LA from HOD and did Dianne Craft's Brain Training and in combination with new glasses, tubes in her ears (for ringing - no ear infections or fluid on her ears) and a year of piano lessons, she was ready for HOD LA again by February. I think she improved about two grade levels in reading this year! Bigger was exactly what she needed this year and she will move on to Preparing this fall, able to be more independent than the average Preparing student, due to her age. She is also reading the Level 2 DITHOR books, without doing the DITHOR program, to solidify her reading before expecting her to work on analysis. We'll start DITHOR when she starts the Level 3 (grade 4/5 books).

[Mumkins]

If you can, I'd buy everything but the math, since you use your own. The deluxe books are for you to read aloud. They are many kids favourite part and really add a lot to the program. We started the day with Storytime so we could ease into the school day.

[aossman]

I can't thank you all enough!! This is great information and I will be ordering additional items to round out his curriculum. Reading is what he's behind in, and we will be working very hard on it this year.
I know the first year will be a learning experience for us both. I have friends at my church that homeschool, and it's great to know that we will have a support system in place.

Thanks again for your advice and time!

Angela