Intro - New Here

[Dixie]

I am a homeschooling Mom of five. I have three boys and two girls. Currently, I have a fourth grader, third grader, first grader, K4/K5, and a Preschooler. We have been using a variety of curriculum consisting mainly of ABeka and BJU but it is getting to be about impossible to get everything taught to each one everyday. I am considering LHFHG for my girl who will be called a Kindergartner, Beyond for my boy who will be a 2nd grader in the fall and possibly Preparing for my boy that will be a fourth grader in the fall. I am wanting to use CHOW with him as that is what I have used this year with my current fourth grader and I really like that fact that there are other books used along with it.

A couple of questions:

If I use Beyond with my upcoming second grader should I have Bigger for the math lessons for him? He is very advanced in mathematical thinking and I don't think Singapore 1A/1B will be a match for him but will do the placement test with him to be sure. He has about completed ABeka first grade Math.

My next question concerns my child who will be a fifth grader this fall. He is beyond any of the guides and I would like to start him on a four year history rotation after his overview of world history this year. Is there anyone that is at this point that could give me some ideas of what book or books to use to do this?

Thank You!

[my3sons]

I am considering LHFHG for my girl who will be called a Kindergartner, Beyond for my boy who will be a 2nd grader in the fall and possibly Preparing for my boy that will be a fourth grader in the fall.

If I use Beyond with my upcoming second grader should I have Bigger for the math lessons for him? He is very advanced in mathematical thinking and I don't think Singapore 1A/1B will be a match for him but will do the placement test with him to be sure.

Is there anyone that is at this point that could give me some ideas of what book or books to use to do this?

Hi Dixie! Welcome to the HOD boards! We did Beyond... last year and are doing Bigger now, and we did/do really love the hands-on math activities. My ds is quite good at math too, but the hands-on math really cemented the concepts in his mind in a very fun way. I think it would be beneficial to have the Bigger guide for this, especially since you would be using the Bigger guide the following year after Beyond anyway. However, if money is an issue, you could do without it if need be. You'll probably know after doing that placement test for sure.

For your fifth grader, he could do the extension pack with Preparing or even with Beyond, depending on the time period you want. Also, all of your independent readers could do Drawn into the Heart of Reading together, which is a great way to do a mutliage program together as a family while still reading different books independently. I know other moms will chime in here with more ideas for this age.

I think you are making a great choice here, and you will find HOD's curriculums to be stress-free, complete, and easily doable. Even doing 3 HOD programs, I know you will have enough time to do this. I'm so glad you are here! Hope to hear more from you!

In Christ,
Julie

[MamaMary]

you will find HOD's curriculums to be stress-free, complete, and easily doable. Even doing 3 HOD programs, I know you will have enough time to do this. I'm so glad you are here! Hope to hear more from you!

In Christ,
Julie

Welcome Dixie! Julie, did such a beautiful job answering your questions! I just wanted to say, "Welcome"!

Also, I am mama to 4 boys 5-16. We are in our tenth year of homeschooling and I have NEVER advised using more than one program at a time...., UNTIL I started HOD!

HOD is so much FUN! We use 3 different programs (Little Hands/Beyond/Bigger) and I do not feel the least bit of stress.

HOD happens more because I LOVE it than because it has to get done. In the past when I have tried to be "super homeschool mom" and tried to do too much I would run out of steam. With HOD, it's because I look so forward to it that it happens on days that normally I would have just done the basics.

I do use a different math and LA, plus an On line phonics program, but everything else is HOD.

note: I LOVE HOD's math and LA, but I didn't want to change what was already working so well.

It is 11:35 and my oldest son is working independently on his last assignment from "Bigger". (he's working in his notebook) The two younger boys are done.

I do not do every assignment, but most. In all the years we've homeschooled I have never seen my children talk so much about what they are learning. This truly is a most EXCELLENT education, as well as a memory builder!

[blessedmomof4]

My next question concerns my child who will be a fifth grader this fall. He is beyond any of the guides and I would like to start him on a four year history rotation after his overview of world history this year. Is there anyone that is at this point that could give me some ideas of what book or books to use to do this?

Thank You!

Hi Dixie! Just wanted to remind you that Preparing Hearts has an extension pack for 5th to 6th graders for independent history readings, and you could easily beef up any other area that was necessary, like math or language arts. Heart of Dakota and Singapore Math are both deceptively simple, though, and you may find a better fit than you thought! You mentioned doing the Singapore placement for your younger child, have you also looked at Heart of Dakota's placement chart for the programs?
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php
Of course, you know your kids best, just wanted to give you food for thought. I think you'll find Heart of Dakota's programs richer than you inmagined, and all written so that you can actually "get it all done" and still have a life besides! Can you tell I'm loving this school year?

[Dixie]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and for your suggestions. I had my first grader take both the Singapore 1A and 1B tests. He made a 92 on the first one and an 88 on the second one. I don't know enough about Singapore Math to know if he should go to 2A or start with 1B? On the test for 1B, He missed two larger subtraction problems and 2 fractional problems. If there is anyone that has used Singapore Math for an extended time that could help me I would appreciate it.

It is really nice to hear that it should not be difficult to use multiple programs with my children. I already have LHFHG for my girl and will hopefully be ordering the other guides before too long.

Thank You,

[Candice]

Dixie,

Just wanted to welcome you here!

Candice

[water2wine]

Welcome Dixie. I can't help with your question but did just want to say welcome form one mom of many to another.

[shera]

I haven't used Singapore for a long time but it is my understanding that if they miss ALL of one type of problem they should be placed in that level. So if on the test for 1b he missed all of the fraction questions in that section he would place in 1b. Anything over an 80 they go on to the next level.

HTH
Sarah

[blessedmomof4]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and for your suggestions. I had my first grader take both the Singapore 1A and 1B tests. He made a 92 on the first one and an 88 on the second one. I don't know enough about Singapore Math to know if he should go to 2A or start with 1B? On the test for 1B, He missed two larger subtraction problems and 2 fractional problems. If there is anyone that has used Singapore Math for an extended time that could help me I would appreciate it.

It is really nice to hear that it should not be difficult to use multiple programs with my children. I already have LHFHG for my girl and will hopefully be ordering the other guides before too long.

Thank You,

Based on what you said, you could start in the 1B, even if he goes through it quickly. It would be a good way to ease into Singapore Math's style of teaching. Alternatively, you could start with 2A and use the lesson plans in Bigger to get the concepts really clear for him-my daughter is just finishing 2A with Bigger's plans and it's been just great! The upside of doing this is that you would only need the workbooks for 2A and 2B, and not the textbooks.

[Melanie]

Just wanted to say "hi" and welcome to HOD! I look forward to getting to know you.

Mel

[Carrie]

Dixie,

Welcome to the boards! We're so glad you're here! Aren't the ladies on the board wonderful about helping!

I just wanted to pop in and say if you haven't had a chance to check out the placement chart, I think that is a good way to fine-tune which programs you'd need for sure. Here is the link to the chart:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

It sounds like your oldest 2 could definitely be in one program together, using the extension package for your oldest (and adding in harder language arts and math for your oldest as the ladies suggested ). You would be looking at "Bigger..." or "Preparing..." for your older 2.

For your youngers, you may be able to combine some of them into one program, so it's worth checking out the placement chart.

As far as the math, as shera told you already here is a link on how to interpret the Singapore placement tests:
http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

Also here is a general guide for Singapore placement that I find helpful:
http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Guide_s/85.htm

Let us know what you notice on the placement chart if you get a chance!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Dixie]

Thank you all for your helpful replies.

Here are my conclusions based on the placement chart:

I really think my oldest is beyond what is available except for the possibility of the extension package for Preparing. He is completing a World History overview this year using CHOW so I am really wanting him to start a more indepth study of world history rather than another overview year. He is my history buff.

My second son would place in Preparing.

My third son's placement is still questionable even after looking at the placement chart. I think he would probably need to be in Beyond because I don't think his writing skills are up to what would be required in Bigger. I also think as far as math goes I will place him in Singapore 1B and start him in just a few weeks rather than waiting until fall.

My fourth child and oldest girl definitely places in LHFHG and my youngest child would place in LHTH. I am just not sure that I am ready to tackle that much at once so I will start with my oldest girl and at least one of the boys.

Again, thank you all so much for your warm welcome and your very helpful replies.

[blessedmomof4]

Just one more suggestion-sounds like you have a good plan in place, just wanted to suggest that you could probably work slowly with your preschooler (LHTH) and the one who will be in Little Hearts-meaning, especially with the youngest, that maybe you could "do school" with them 2 or 3 days a week, so you could maybe maximize teaching time for your olders. There are other moms on here using multiple programs and teaching big families (I'm only teaching 3 right now), who probably could give you some tips on scheduling your days-in fact, I'm sure there are some threads on here where that very topic was discussed. We all know that once you have everything in your hands, you're going to love it!

[Dixie]

Thank you so much for the suggestion to search the board for ideas on scheduling. I will do that. I also like the idea of slowly working through LHTH with my just turned 3 year old.

[Carrie]

Dixie,

It sounds like you have a good plan in mind. If your oldest son hadn't JUST done Hillyer's Child's History of the World, you could have easily combined your 4th and 5th graders in "Preparing...." (with the extension package).

So, I do think your upcoming 4th grader would fit well in "Preparing...". One thing to consider is that if you did a geography or countries/cultures focus with your older one for a year (or added another layer for world history using "Short Lessons in World History" as a spine and the Extension package in "Preparing...") you could give yourself a year to get your upcoming 4th grader through Preparing...". Then, the following year, both your older kiddos could use our next guide that will cover the ancients (Egypt, Greece, and Rome) and could be together for history, Bible, and science cycle from then on. Just a thought!

Also, as far as your little ones go, if you do use "Beyond..." for your 2nd grader, I would focus on getting "Preparing..." and "Beyond..." done priority-wise. I would then go half speed for "Little Hearts..." at first taking 2 years to cover that more slowly for sanity's sake if needed. We are doing that this year and it's working great! You could always add in "Little Hands..." part time if you had time, otherwise your preschooler could ride along with the fun things in "Little Hearts...".

If there's any way to combine your preschooler and kindergartner that would be a help too! Is there any way your K4-K5er could do "Little Hands..." with your preschooler instead of "Little Hearts"? I'm not sure how young your preschooler is, so I don't know if that would work or not! Just thinking of options out loud.

Hope that helps rather than overwhelms! It is easy to implement once the guides are in hand!

Blessings,
Carrie