Help Choosing b/t BLHFHG & BHFHG

[dhonae]

There is about a 5% chance that my husband will allow me to homeschool my 7 y.o. who is set to go into 2nd grade at public school. Every summer I decide which curriculum I would like to use just in case the Lord does a miracle in my husband's heart. I have been set on using HOD since I learned about it in the spring, but have yet to figure out which program would be right for my ds. With either program, we would use DITHOR. Also, I figured we would use Singapore 2 as recommended for 2nd grade.

I thought that BLH would be a good way to ease him into homeschooling, but I do not want it to be too easy for him. The materials used in both programs look to be very interesting, but without knowing what is in the guide I cannot tell which is better suited to him.

Can you share some of your experience with me regarding these programs? Thank you!

[queenbeaz]

I'm probably not the best person to answer this, but here's what I did. I used the program placement chart in my catalog (i'm sure there's one online, too though) that lists the different subjects & what's covered in each subject. You choose which one best describes your child, and then pick the program that corresponds. My 2nd grader fit perfectly into Bigger (done with phonics, emerging reader/reading independently, is ready for copywork & dictation, etc.). My 4th grader however, I wasn't really sure about where he was in terms of grammar and math I know, shame on me...but it's one of the reasons we are now going to homeschool. We WANT to know where they all are, what they have/have not learned, etc. HTH! Maybe some of the more experienced HODers can be of more assistance.

BTW, I'm glad you're waiting on God to work on your husband. It's been my experience that when we try to do things without dh's approval (and therefore God's approval), we don't succeed. IMHO. I like to make plans and sometimes just don't ask God what HIS plan is, so I plunge ahead and learn this lesson a lot. You'd think I would learn! LOL

[Carrie]

dhonae,

I agree with queenbeaz in her advice to check the placement chart for some help in the choosing department. The first page of the chart will be the most helpful in finding correct placement. Here's a link to the chart:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I'd love to hear your thoughts once you've gotten a chance to mull over the items in the chart!

Blessings,
Carrie

[dhonae]

There is about a 5% chance that my husband will allow me to homeschool my 7 y.o. who is set to go into 2nd grade at public school. Every summer I decide which curriculum I would like to use just in case the Lord does a miracle in my husband's heart.

Well, the 5% chance just turned into 100% (isn't God amazing). However, now I am in a bit of a jam in choosing. My husband just told me yesterday that he was going to allow me to HS my 7-yr old second grader. I hadn't really prepared since as far as I knew he was going to start PS today. Now I've got to choose and order today so we can get started ASAP.

I have mulled over Beyond & Bigger for some time (staring at the placement chart), but am still not sure. I think the core of Bigger is better suited to my ds, but here's why I am struggling:
* Science - he loves science and wants as much as possible (point for Bigger)
* Handwriting - he still needs manuscript practice before moving into cursive (point for Beyond, though it seems that I could use either and just use a different program)
* Math - he places in Singapore 1B (seems we must use Beyond for this or use a different math)
* Grammar - not sure where he is at
* Reading - we'll use DITHOR

Also, my son loves to have fun and although he is a pretty good learner, he gets discouraged easy if something is too hard. I don't mind pushing him a bit, but I don't want our first experience homeschooling being horrible for him (or "frying his brain" as my husband put it).
I would really appreciate any information from those with experience using both.

Thank you,
Georgina

[holyhart]

I'm sure that Carrie, Julie or some of the other more experienced HOD'ers will be able to give better advice, but I would say to go with Beyond. Here is why.

1. It seems as if he fit better there on the placement chart from what you said.

2. History looks to be AMAZING in Beyond.....but then again, I am an American history fanatic! Very excited to be doing it this year with my own dd! I'm guessing that he probably hasn't had a ton of American history yet, and you would definately NOT want to miss it.

3. HOD programs are so wonderfully done, that if you wanted to add something to your day, YOU CAN without being overwhelmed. Your son wants more science? Add more science! There are plenty of great science programs that would be lots of fun to use if you felt that you weren't getting enough to keep your son satisfied. The Answers in Genesis are good, One Small Squares are good....and I'm sure that others could chime in and offer suggestions if you wanted them.

4. Since it sounds like your husband is a bit skeptical of homeschooling anyway, you may not want to choose something that is too hard for him. That could leave your son complaining how he doesn't like "homeschool" and wants to go back to "real school". That is not going to help your cause at all. Choose something that is age appropriate for him, can still challenge him, but be FUN for him too. Seeing that your son is learning AND loving homeschool will be a real testiment to you husband that this is God's plan. My husband used to be against homeschooling our children as well. He agreed that I could do preschool with our oldest and we would see how that went, since it wouldn't hurt anything. By the end of the year he was on board for homeschooling Kindergarten but still up in the air about when 1st grade came along. By the end of the 1st MONTH of kindergarten, he said that we could continue homeshcooling...even better was that he was EXCITED about it! He now brags to everyone that we homeschool our children and doesn't like the idea of EVER sending our children to ps.



Hope this helps. And don't forget to "let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your heart"

[jewel7123]

How exciting for you! I am right there with you.....I am currently doing preschool with my 4 year old in the hopes that my dh is going to let me homeschool her next year for K, and never put her in ps! I've almost got him convinced, lol. Anyway, I agree that I think you should stick with Beyond and then if there's a particular subject you want to beef up such as science since it's one of your son's interests you can certainly do so!

[water2wine]

That is wonderful that you get to homeschool! Looking at what you said I would go with Beyond. Three of them were exactly where your child is in age level and grade level. I would definitely not go beyond the age level of the program coming right out of public school especially with a child that can be easily frustrated. Beyond is a lot more than meets they eyes and it is perfect for second grade. I would run the program just as it is written and then when you have it really working for you if your son wants more in an area that is very easy to add. It's a little bit of a challenge going from public school to homeschooling. I would allow yourself some slack for the areas you might discover he has some holes in his learning. Plus it is a different kind of learning and that takes some getting used to as well. Wishing you peace in your decision.

[Tmisek]

How exciting for you!!

I would agree that Beyond sounds great. I have a dd who is 7 and just came out of ps (for K and 1st). This is our first year hs and we have finished the first week of Beyond and it is a wonderful fit. She is very bright (also a perfectionist and easily frustrated) and I debated between Beyond and Bigger like you. I will say that I am very glad we chose Beyond. Neither of us is overwhelmed, yet there is a depth of learning there that is wonderful.

We are also starting with Singapore 1B and will get the Bigger guide for 2A when we reach that point. I just keep a sticky in the Beyond guide where we are in math. It is working great!

And we are doing DITHOR level 2/3 which is challenging, but she is loving it.

Congratulations on the opportunity to homeschool! May your year be blessed!

[3sweeties]

My son placed almost exactly where your does, except in Handwriting. I really struggled over which program to put him in (he will be 8 in March) and went with Bigger. I don't regret choosing Bigger (we are going into our 3rd week), but I will say that I am having to slow it down for him (we are doing 4 days a week with extras on Fridays) and will continue with the rest of it into the first 6-9 weeks of his 3rd grade year. I have the Beyond guide for math (he placed in 1B also) and it is definitely a very full program! There is a lot more writing/copywork, etc. in Bigger, especially if you do it with DITHR, which we are doing right now. I have also slowed DITHR down to 3 days a week instead of every day. I don't know if that helps you at all, but if it were my first year homeschooling, I would go with Beyond. This is our first year with HOD, but our third year homeschooling. HTH!

[sharonb]

I'm so happy that your dh said you can homeschool!

Another vote for Beyond here. I am using it for a 1st and 2nd grader. My 2nd grader could have done Bigger, but I wanted to go ahead and do Beyond for a number of reasons. Besides wanting to combine my oldest 2 children, I also wanted to ease into this type of curriculum without overwhelming dd. She is loving doing the copywork and learning the Bible verses and hearing the history readings; I'm so glad I didn't put her in Bigger this year.

As for math, my children are in different places; neither of them actually is "on the same page" as our history, etc in the guide. For a while I kept bookmarks in the guide to easily find the math assignments for each of them. Now I have the home instructor guides for Singapore, so I usually just use those (though I do look at the math activities in our Beyond guide, because, in my opinion, using chocolate chips to learn multiplication is a must-do activity, LOL!). So, anyway, it's not a big deal to be on different pages in your guide for different subjects. Just keep all the "left side" subjects together (history, Bible, etc) since they tie in with each other.