Decisions, Decisions

[aprilmd]

Ladies,

This coming school year will be my first with HOD and I am very excited! I have not decided which program/programs are best for my family. I have dd8, dd10 and dd11.

Based on the placement overview, my youngest fits best in BHFHG and my two older dds fit in CTC. Do you ladies feel it would be easier to do PHFHG “Learning through History” for all and then do BHFHG “Learning Basic” for my dd8 and CTC “Learning Basics” for my dd10 and dd11? If I did it this way, I would probably adjust PHFHG down for my youngest and up for my two older children. It could become complicated because some of the “Learning Basics” seem to connect with the history concept, so I would have to adjust there also.

Do you ladies feel it would be better just to do two completely different programs and make NO CHANGES? If I do two separate programs, my children will want to listen to all the readings. This would result in a greater time commitment. For those of you who have used HOD, would it take more time to adjust up and down for the children and do one history, science, Bible, etc.? Or would it take more time to completely separate them into two groups? I would love to hear from anyone who has done it either way.

Thank you,
April

[pollo_la]

It is one thing to adjust slightly for one of your children, but in my opinion, it would be WAY too much to adjust for all of them. Also, to be fliping back and forth between so many different guides and keeping track of everything... YIKES! The truely wonderful thing about HOD is that you can truely just open the book right up and go! Your older kids will be doing more independent work, so you can use those times to work with your younger child. I really think in the end, if you tried to do just the one program you would probably spend MORE time because of all the extra planning and adjusting you would have to do. By going with the two seperate programs all of your children will have a program that is a good fit for them, and as a result I think all of you will have a much more enjoyable time. Now, I must also say, I do NOT have experience at this level with the programs, so I'm sure others who have used the upper level programs will chime in and offer you some great advice as well.

[Carrie]

April,

Since you have several different ways that you could go here, I'm wondering how well your 8 year old listens to chapter books read-aloud, how well that particular child reads on his/her own, and how well that child is able to copy sentences and write creatively. This will make a difference in how well your 8 year old would fold into Preparing Hearts. Next, I'm wondering about your 10 and 11 year olds in these same areas.

Another consideration is whether or not you will be using Heart of Dakota for your kiddo's language arts and math as well as the other areas (or whether you have some of your own things in these areas that you'll be using instead).

Last, it really matters whether you enjoy combining and feel like that is the only way you want to do school, or whether you are more open to trying your kiddos separately? Some families really love to combine and others are willing to separate their kiddos if need be.

If you get a chance to pop back in with some more details, we can help you think through your options!

Blessings,
Carrie

[aprilmd]

Carrie and Ladies,

Thank you for the responses.

In regards to your questions:

My dd8 is reading chapter books and loves to read. I am currently reading Understood Betsy to her and she is enjoying it. If a read aloud is too long she will start to fidget. She is doing Shurley English 2 now and will transfer into R&S English (2? or 3?) next year. She is excited because R&S is her sisters’ English. She knows how to form her cursive letters, but sometimes needs to look at samples. She will be using DITHOR 2/3 next year. She loves to write in her journal and write stories. She is doing dictation now and can get most of the sentences correct, with only a few spelling errors. We have used Saxon math up to this point, but next year we will be making a change to Singapore. Through the placement test she placed in 2B. We do math 2-3 days a week in the summer just to keep our skills fresh. She may be ready for 3A starting in the fall.

My dd10 will transfer into Singapore 3B over the summer and 4A in the fall. She struggle with writing. The one area of writing she does enjoy is writing fairy tales. She is currently in R&S English 4 and doing very well. Her cursive is beautiful! She loves, loves, loves to listen to stories. I plan DITHOR 4/5 next year for her. She is a book lover also.

My dd11 will transfer into Singapore 4A over the summer and be ready for 4B in the fall. I’m not sure how that will work out for her. She is an excellent reader and can’t get enough books to satisfy her desire. She struggled this year in math. She is good at math, but hates it. She loathes the review work that Saxon requires. This is one reason I think a change to Singapore may be good for her. She is in R&S English 4 this year and will be ready for R&S English 5 next year. I was going to have her use DITHOR 4/5 because she has never digested a book – she devours them.

As far as combining my kiddos I can see benefits in either direction. I have done it both ways. My youngest loves to talk. This is good at times and difficult at others. I have to be diligent in not allowing her to dominate the conversation. I do love the interaction my children have with each other when they are discussing history, science and the Bible. Yet I also know that when I am reading something to one child, everyone will be listening. We live in a small house so when I read you can’t help but hear. I am open to suggestions.

April

[Carrie]

April,

I do think from what you've shared that your youngest could do most of what is scheduled in Preparing Hearts. You most likely wouldn't need the right side of Bigger Hearts for her, as it sounds as if her dictation, Rod and Staff Level, math, and reading level will be fine for Preparing Hearts. The one area where you will most likely need to expect less from your 8 year old would be in the writing assigned within Preparing Hearts. I would require fewer vocabulary words from her, less sentences in the way of poetry creative writing and written narrations, and ease her into the copywork (requiring less from her in the beginning). She may also wish to trace her sketches for Draw and Write in the beginning, so she doesn't compare herself too much with her sisters work.

I think that Preparing Hearts is a very meaty study, and so your older kiddos would benefit from a trip through it as well. Since it sounds as if your kiddos will want to listen in on all of each other's readings, it would be a good idea time-wise to combine them within Preparing Hearts.

If finances allow, you would get the Deluxe Package for your 8 year old and the Extension Package for your older two. It sounds like you have an excellent plan for your kiddos in language arts and math.

Be sure to give your older kiddos the Singapore placement test, if you haven't already, to get the right fit for math.

Combining your kiddos within Preparing Hearts will also give you additional time to really dig into DITHR. I agree that it would be good to place your oldest in Level 4/5 for a year, as long as she doesn't mind being in the same level as her younger sister. The following year move her up to Level 6/7/8 even if she isn't done with all the genres. Then, she'll just start with the genres she didn't finish in 4/5 first to get a well-rounded literature experience.

Blessings,
Carrie