first post here with a big question/large family

[kayben]

SO. I just keep getting drawn to this curriculum. I am planning on WP Sea and Sky for this coming year. My son who will be coming home is really looking forward to it. He will be 11 (6th) grade. I will aslo have a 3rd grader (bright) who can join him with S&S.... But then I with have a 1st grader who is a beginning reader who struggles with writing. In the IEP process right now for many possible services. But is cognitively at a first grade level. (She is going to be 7 in Aug.) Plus a prek 4 (who will be 5 in Oct) and a 3 yr old. finally I have a dd who will go to CS next year for 8th grade and a 18month old.

Here it is again

DD12 CS 8th grade
DS11 Home (6th grade)
Dd8 home (3rd grade)
dd 7 home (1st grade very little writing... can do it but fatigues very easily)
dd4 home (pre K 4)
dd3 home
ds 1.5 making messes and climbing on things

Oh yeah... I just ordered Little Hearts to heaven for the 2-3 year olds. I want to get a feel for the curriculum and get started with something fun for the little ones.

I don't really know where to begin if I do use this curriculum... I really want to but my ds is really excited about S&S and it will be his first year home. He is quite bright. but quite ADHD and is butting up against a wall at the CS. I want something that excites him and keeps him busy. What do you all know about the excitement/interest factor. Are there lots of projects to keep his mind and hands busy? Or mostly reading and writing?

But. Am I looking at three or four programs? Can anyone split this up for me. According to the placement charts.

DS 11 would be in the new one
Dd8 could do Beyond or Preparing
DD6 would be in Bigger
DD4 and 3 would be in Little

Thank you so much for weeding through my questions as I am sure they don't make a ton of sense...lol Maybe I can add some of Sea and Sky elements in to a US history program... Would that be Preparing?

Thanks in advance
Rebecca

[mom23dc]

SO. I just keep getting drawn to this curriculum. I am planning on WP Sea and Sky for this coming year. My son who will be coming home is really looking forward to it. He will be 11 (6th) grade. I will aslo have a 3rd grader (bright) who can join him with S&S.... But then I with have a 1st grader who is a beginning reader who struggles with writing. In the IEP process right now for many possible services. But is cognitively at a first grade level. (She is going to be 7 in Aug.) Plus a prek 4 (who will be 5 in Oct) and a 3 yr old. finally I have a dd who will go to CS next year for 8th grade and a 18month old.

Here it is again

DD12 CS 8th grade
DS11 Home (6th grade)
Dd8 home (3rd grade)
dd 7 home (1st grade very little writing... can do it but fatigues very easily)
dd4 home (pre K 4)
dd3 home
ds 1.5 making messes and climbing on things

Oh yeah... I just ordered Little Hearts to heaven for the 2-3 year olds. I want to get a feel for the curriculum and get started with something fun for the little ones.

I don't really know where to begin if I do use this curriculum... I really want to but my ds is really excited about S&S and it will be his first year home. He is quite bright. but quite ADHD and is butting up against a wall at the CS. I want something that excites him and keeps him busy. What do you all know about the excitement/interest factor. Are there lots of projects to keep his mind and hands busy? Or mostly reading and writing?

But. Am I looking at three or four programs? Can anyone split this up for me. According to the placement charts.

DS 11 would be in the new one
Dd8 could do Beyond or Preparing
DD6 would be in Bigger
DD4 and 3 would be in Little

Thank you so much for weeding through my questions as I am sure they don't make a ton of sense...lol Maybe I can add some of Sea and Sky elements in to a US history program... Would that be Preparing?

Thanks in advance
Rebecca

Well, I am new here so maybe some others will chime in. First Preparing is an Overview of World History.

And based on your childrens ages, it looks like your 11 and 8 yo could do Preparing together(with the 11 yo using the extensions, I have an 11 yo as well doing this), with your 6 yo using Beyond or Little Hearts for His Glory, and youngers in Little Handd to Heaven. So that would be three programs.

Bigger is American History. 1500's to the 1970's. Beyond covers American History 1500-1800's.

If I am wrong somebody please correct me. Or maybe someone has a better plan to combine your dc.

Cindy

[kayben]

Hi Cindy,
I think you are right...

So does anyone else do three full programs and still feel that ease that this curriculum provides?


It does look like I could use preparing with the 6th and 3rd grader. He really needs to be challenged though. Very interesting thought processes and amazing at working things out in his mind, he can beat me at two digit multiplication with me on paper and him in his head...lol So I am wondering if Preparing would be too easy for a 6th grader or will it be fine with the extension pack?

But then I will also need to do Little Hearts to Heaven with my 1st grader because she is reading cvc words and some sight words and doing basic addition.

The 4 yr old and 3yr olds can combine in Little hands to Heaven.

thanks for any input. I really cant stop thinking about using this. I love that Christ is truly integrated in to all of it, not just tacked on as Bible.

Rebecca
My 12 yr dd will be in CS but may end up home for HS. So I have to keep that in mind too. But there are no HS programs in HOD as of yet...

And the baby can use Little Hands next year when he is 2.5 Although, he sits on my lap for the stories now!!

[my3sons]

Rebecca,
Welcome to the HOD board! We are glad to have you here, and I believe God leads us to Christian curriculum like HOD on purpose - so come on over and we'll iron out any concerns you may have! Yes, there are moms doing 3 HOD programs and loving it. The time allotments are very reasonable for each age, and each guide has more and more work that can be done independently. We've been doing 2 HOD programs for awhile here, and will soon be adding a third. It is not hard to do honestly. Here's how long these programs have taken us:
PHFHG = about 4 hours
Bigger Hearts = about 3 hours
Beyond Little Hearts = about 2 hours
Little Hearts for His Glory = 1 1/2 hours
Little Hands to Heaven = 20-30 minutes

I think you can combine your 3rd. and 6th. grader in PHFHG and do the extensions for your 6th. grader. The extensions are to be done independently and there is a daily schedule for them in the PHFHG Appendix. The HOD author, Carrie, has 4 boys she homeschools herself, so if anyone understands the need for exciting projects and some "get-up-and-go" in the school day, she does! I have 3 boys, and I've appreciated the way HOD is written so much. Have you had a chance to look at the weekly check-in? I think your ds would be super-excited to hear about some of the History Projects especially that he would get to do! I post nearly every week with comments and pictures about PHFHG, and many of our favorite things have been the History Projects. Just go to the Weekly Check-In, and you can see those.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3229
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3097
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2946

Also, you can see some pictures of the PHFHG photobook, which shows dc doing the plans here:
http://heartofdakotasphotobooks.shutterfly.com/

I do think your 7 yo would enjoy LHFHG, and your little ones will do well with LHTH. Even if you put the 4 hours to do PHFHG, the 1 1 1/2 hours to do LHFHG, and the 30 minutes to do LHTH all in a row with no overlap time - you would be at 6 hours of school. You can do this! I just float from whoever needs me to the next one, and we're able to finish much more quickly this way.

Here is a schedule of our day doing PHFHG and LHFHG. I'm my3sons, but you'll see lots of awesome schedules there to help you put together a great one for your family:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&p=16049

If your oldest would happen to come home, you can place that child in CTC with the Extensions and have that child work independently.

I am very excited for you to begin your journey with HOD - keep praying about it, and keep asking questions - but I think you are on your way to peace with this decision!

In Christ,
Julie

P.S. I did want to say that the hour time frames I am giving are what we can finish school in after 3-4 weeks of doing the programs. The first month or so took us longer until we got in our rhythm. I also think it is wise to start 1 HOD program at a time if possible, which you are already doing by starting LHTH. Then, you could get your dd going in LHFHG for a week or two, and then maybe start with PHFHG. I think this would make for a super-easy start!

[kayben]

Julie,
You are so sweet! Thank you for your time. I honestly want to choose well as I tend to easily get discouraged. I have twice attempted to homeschool and am embaressed to say, I have twice put my kids back in school mid year. And that was never all of them. This year I put my K and 2nd grade kids back in about a month ago. My k student has low muscle tone and has dificulty writing.. we were struggling. Using HWT etc. Just rough. She also struggled to read. We did accomplish the cvc words and basic sight words. This was her second year of K. Anyway, I put them back in for her to have all of the testing done. She has multicystic kidney disease, and a mitichondrial disorder that may be affecting her learning. We are getting some bloodwork done in the near future... I figured i could take all the info and go from there. In any case. I am decluttering my home, which is a MESS and this added to my frustration. We are really making great progress and my DS is helping me as he knows this will surely help him to be able to stay home. So. I won't quit again. I feel so led to HS. I want my babies to grow up truly understanding that Christ is the author of all things. MFW and HOD seem to be the curriculums that truly integrate and HOD is the most inclusive of the two. (as far as having to create my own Reading program book baskets etc. that didn't work for me. My library fines were ridiculous..lol) I guess the long story is that putting them back in has made my heart heavy. My DH thinks it was the right decision. But, I am sad. I want a curriculum that allows me to use it to it's full potential without a lot of tweaking and without a lot of extra time spent in any one subject area.

Thank you. I also LOVE how you ladies are able to chronicle your homeschooling with your pictures and blogs. I would love to learn how to do this.

[angela&4boys]

Hi Rebecca and Welcome!

I'm fairly new here as well, but I wanted to encourage you. I too have felt so drawn to HOD. I got hung up on the "history-cycle" and convinced myself that there was no where our boys would fit into HOD. (Sounds so silly when I actually say it. ) Well, I kept feeling a gentle tug... or maybe a nudge to keep looking and praying. The urge was overwhelming! The icing on the cake was the mood of these boards, if you will. It's such an encouraging and genuine place. You can't help but feel God's presence!

Additionally, Carrie is very helpful in terms of placement. It's a sincere help too because you know her first priority is pleasing Him! So, I've decided to continue praying and listening and feel closer to a decision.

Anyway, a little prayer along with all the great mamas on this board will help you figure it all out too.

[Jessi]

Rebecca- Just another idea to throw out there. Oh wait, sorry- HELLO! I should have said that first. Anyway, to get back in the groove without completely overwhelming yourself, what if you held off using LHTH this go around? Do preparing for the elder two and little hearts for the next two. You'll get in a good rhythm there. Then the following year you could use LHTH with your then 5 & 4 year olds adding in phonics, handwriting, and math (the right side of Little Hearts) for the would be 5 year old. It will make the younger one a bit older and they can follow the same guide throughout and still be within the target age range for everything. For this year I'd just let the 4 & 3 year old follow along if they want. God leads us places for a reason and I have heard WONDERFUL things about WP Sea and Sky but there are WONDERFUL things about each of these programs. You can't go wrong as long as you are following God's leading.

[kayben]

Jessi and Angela,

I really appreciate your ideas. This is a great one. I also read to my girls at nap and every night. There might even be enough time there to do LHTH. Although they do love to "pick" out their books. But, your plan sounds good. Two definitely sounds more doable in my mind than three. Even if the third is only for a half hour. But I have LHTH coming in the mail right now. I may use some of it up until school starts again in the fall for everyone else. And I may be in a groove and keep going. We shall see. But for now... two definitely seems more workable. I never really thought of myself as a perfectionist. But sometimes I tend to think along those lines. Like, if I can't do it ALL and PERFECTLY, like the pictures of all of the kids on everyones blogs happily doing school, than I shouldn't /can't do it at all. I am getting this extremely excited feeling just from the encouragement and thoughtful advice I am receiving. Oh and last night I mentioned to Ben that we may not do Sea and Sky and he was ok with that. I told him maybe we could order one or two of the interesting books from the program and use them for a unit and DITHOR. I think that will be a great plan. I was prepared for complaining... not even one awwww.. I wanted Sea and Sky.. Just said OK? How is that for God answering prayer.

Thanks again,
Rebecca

Rebecca- Just another idea to throw out there. Oh wait, sorry- HELLO! I should have said that first. Anyway, to get back in the groove without completely overwhelming yourself, what if you held off using LHTH this go around? Do preparing for the elder two and little hearts for the next two. You'll get in a good rhythm there. Then the following year you could use LHTH with your then 5 & 4 year olds adding in phonics, handwriting, and math (the right side of Little Hearts) for the would be 5 year old. It will make the younger one a bit older and they can follow the same guide throughout and still be within the target age range for everything. For this year I'd just let the 4 & 3 year old follow along if they want. God leads us places for a reason and I have heard WONDERFUL things about WP Sea and Sky but there are WONDERFUL things about each of these programs. You can't go wrong as long as you are following God's leading.

[Carrie]

Rebecca,

I wanted to welcome you to the board! We're so glad to have you here! The ladies on the board are doing a wonderful job of encouraging you and talking through options with you. We all work together to help each family find the right fit for them.

I agree with the ladies that your 3rd and 6th graders would fit well within Preparing Hearts. You would use the Extension Package for your older son along with it and the Deluxe Package for your 3rd grader. As far as language arts goes, you would need Level 6/7/8 for your 6th grader for DITHR and most likely either Level 4 or 5 of Rod and Staff English, depending on how much grammar instruction your son has had. Also depending on how well your son spells, you may need a higher level of dictation passages than those provided in Preparing Hearts and most likely a higher level of math. This could be easily remedied by adding only part of the right side of the CTC guide for him if needed. However that may not be necessary. I'm thinking your son will probably fit in Singapore 5A/5B or somewhere around that, but it would be good to give him the placement test linked here: http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

Begin by giving him the 4B test in Singapore math, and then go up or down from there. It is normal when switching to Singapore for kiddos to place a semester or a year or more back from the "normal grade level" as Singapore is very advanced and uses a different way of thinking from traditional math texts. You'll also want to give your 3rd grade daughter the Singapore placement test. I'd begin with 2A with her and go up or down from there.

Once you know where your kiddos end up placing in math, and if you get a chance to let us know how much grammar instruction your 6th grader has had (for example whether he is diagramming sentences or excels at grammar), along with how strong of a speller he is that will help us know whether you'd need to add the right side of the CTC guide for him.

Since this will be a transition year where you will be bringing your kiddos home to school, and also because we want to be sure you have a successful experience, I think it would be good to hold off on doing a whole separate science from CTC for your 6th grader. I would lean, instead, toward having him do the science as scheduled in Preparing Hearts and then adding in as many of the WP Sea and Sky books that interest him for additional free-time reading to "up" the level of science for this year for him.

For 7 year old, I would definitely place her in Little Hearts for His Glory for several reasons. First of all, she will be transitioning to homeschooling again and also is in the midst of discovering any special needs she may have, which takes time to address. Secondly, you'll want her to feel successful and give her every chance to mature before adding too much writing. Thirdly, you could potentially combine her with your upcoming 5 year old in Little Hearts this upcoming year (depending on how ready for school the 5 year old is). Then, you could keep them together as they move through the guides, leaving you one more pair of kiddos at the end who will combine well for future years to come also.

Little Hearts is full of wonderful Bible stories and gives kiddos a sweeping view of history. The stories are enjoyable and the rhymes and many of the other activities work at building large motor and fine motor skills, which is just what your little sweetie needs. You can have your upcoming 5 year old use the kindergarten options and the first grader use the first grade options. Plus, Little Hearts takes 90 minutes a day! The combination of Little Hearts and Preparing Hearts should give you a wonderfully balanced year. We did that exact combination ourselves this year and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

I'd hold off on doing LHTH until your last pair of kiddos gets one year older, or at least until you've hit your stride with the older ones. Anyway, just something to pray over.

Blessings,
Carrie

[kayben]

Carrie and all who have helped me thus far,
thank you so much for all of your time!!! What insight you have. My Guy is a poor speller. And grammer isn't so great either. His is a wonderful creative writer, but needs lots of proofreading. As for math. He is quite bright. He excells at his current program which is Abeka. I will have him take the singapore test. Emily used Singapore when she was home with me last year. I do have difficulty understanding the instruction part of Singapore. There doesn't seem to be any recommendations on how to teach new concepts. She did 1b/2a and had no troubles understanding anything. But she just needed a quick, "this is how you do it" and she was off and running. Now Cassie Did Earlybird 2a/2b without difficulty with guidance. In otherwords she needed one on one. She understands things well when I work with her. But if she has to then take the concept to independence she is completely lost. And the writing is tedious and painstaking. Really looking into dysgraphia here as she can write all letters and numbers. The first few words look ok, but then things quickly go downhill no matter how hard she is trying. Then... tears. Thank you for all of your advice. I actually do think that zoe could join her in Little Hearts and hold off with Abby until Cooper is 2.5 next year and she will be 4.

Thank you again
Rebecca

PS. I just ordered Preparing with the extension pack, and Deluxe. I will keep ordering over the next few months as I can afford until we are Prepared as well!! Thank you for having such a truly Christ Centered focus. That is what has drawn me back to this site, over and over again. Now that purchase button has been pushed. I feel releif, not worry that I made a choice I might regret! I can't wait to get my materials!... I should have ordered the devotional!! I didn't see it.. I never actually scrolled down on the home page before!! I'll do it with my next order!

[Carrie]

kayben,

It does sound like your oldest son will not need the CTC manual, as he should most likely do Rod and Staff English 4, as scheduled within Preparing Hearts. It also sounds like the dictation passages within Preparing Hearts should be a good fit for both your 6th grader and 3rd grader as well. Emily could either do Rod and Staff 2 or 3 for English. I'd lean toward having her do 2, as Rod and Staff is advanced and very thorough in its coverage. One other consideration for Emily would be whether she has already learned cursive or not. If not, you'd want to add Cheerful Cursive to Preparing Hearts for her.

If your son in 6th grade is doing well with ABeka math, you could just keep going with that if you prefer. I wasn't sure which subjects you were looking for HOD to cover for you.

If you are needing the spelling lists, emerging reader's set, and math 1A/1B hands-on activities for your 7 year old down the road, you could consider adding just the right side of Beyond Little Hearts eventually for just those areas.

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Rebecca - I think you've gotten some great advice here! I just wanted to celebrate with you as you have placed your order and have a feeling of peace. Praise the Lord! I think you will have a very nice rotation going here for your dc - both now and for the future. It is important to look down the road like you have done. We are all here to help each other out on this board, so I'll keep asking away as I have questions and you too as you have more questions - we enjoy encouraging one another in our homeschooling journeys. I'm so glad for you that you have gotten to order some of PHFHG - once you get that manual, you will feel even a stronger sense of peace - I remember thinking "I can do this!" as the feeling I had about HOD. I pray that same happiness and peace for you!

In Christ,
Julie

[kayben]

Julie,
I feel like I have made a friend.
Thank you for your sweet, and comforting words of encouragement.
Rebecca

Rebecca - I think you've gotten some great advice here! I just wanted to celebrate with you as you have placed your order and have a feeling of peace. Praise the Lord! I think you will have a very nice rotation going here for your dc - both now and for the future. It is important to look down the road like you have done. We are all here to help each other out on this board, so I'll keep asking away as I have questions and you too as you have more questions - we enjoy encouraging one another in our homeschooling journeys. I'm so glad for you that you have gotten to order some of PHFHG - once you get that manual, you will feel even a stronger sense of peace - I remember thinking "I can do this!" as the feeling I had about HOD. I pray that same happiness and peace for you!

In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

Julie,
I feel like I have made a friend.
Thank you for your sweet, and comforting words of encouragement.
Rebecca

You have!!! Glad to help in any small way!
Julie

[my3sons]

Hi Rebecca and Welcome!

I'm fairly new here as well, but I wanted to encourage you. I too have felt so drawn to HOD. I got hung up on the "history-cycle" and convinced myself that there was no where our boys would fit into HOD. (Sounds so silly when I actually say it. ) Well, I kept feeling a gentle tug... or maybe a nudge to keep looking and praying. The urge was overwhelming! The icing on the cake was the mood of these boards, if you will. It's such an encouraging and genuine place. You can't help but feel God's presence!

Additionally, Carrie is very helpful in terms of placement. It's a sincere help too because you know her first priority is pleasing Him! So, I've decided to continue praying and listening and feel closer to a decision.

Anyway, a little prayer along with all the great mamas on this board will help you figure it all out too.

Angela - I have just prayed for you as well. God will lead you to a decision - He is always faithful and never unavailable to listen. Praying for peace and leading in a decision for you, whatever that may be!

In Christ,
Julie