Hi, I'm new here - I blame you MamaMary!!

Riversidemom3 · Post by **Riversidemom3** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:54 pm

Just kidding. I read your wonderful posts about HOD on another board and here I am. Anyways....

I am from California and have been married 20 years this June. I have three children and have been homeschooling since 1998. My dd15 is in 10th grade and was dx with type 1 diabetes when she was 9. DD9 is in 3rd grade and DS7 is in 1st grade. We love to go camping in our motorhome and our big excursion this year was a 10 day trip in Arizona with the big stop at the Grand Canyon.

I am contemplating HOD for this fall for my two youngest. I tried combining them for history and science this year with MFW Adventures being my son is already reading independently. I have had difficulty working with the manual and the set up of the days/weeks. While my son has no problem joining in on the science he could have cared less for the history reading and I didn't force him. Unfortunately, because of some health issues I struggled a bit through this year. History and science always seem to be the subjects that get put on the back burner during difficult times. We didn't make it past the 1700's this year and will continue to read our history books over the summer.

My dd9 is going into the 4th grade - she will be 10 in November. She is on the young side of maturity for her age and still struggles a little in school. My ds7 will be going into 2nd and will be 8 in late December. They are both excellent readers. I'm thinking even though I would love to combine them it probably won't work. I really would like my daughter to go into Bigger so that we can have one great year of American History. If it isn't wise to combine I guess my son would go into Beyond. While I have never used R&S for English I am open to it as we used the math this year. I don't plan on using Singapore as we loved Teaching Textbooks so much for my oldest that I wanted my 4th grader to start with it this fall. They are coming out with 4th this year. I understand using as many components that are already written into the program make it easiest to "open and go".

I would welcome your suggestions and thank you for reading my "intro".

Warmly,

Jeri

Ruth in FL · Post by **Ruth in FL** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:08 pm

Welcome!
I am new here myself, but I can tell you that the ladies here are so nice and helpful!!!
Nice to meet ya!
Ruth

beandip71 · Post by **beandip71** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:29 pm

I don't have any answers for your question. I just wanted to say Hi from another SoCal gal.

It is great to see you here. I'm sure someone will chime in to answer your question. Welcome to the boards!

Gina

Melanie · Post by **Melanie** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:48 pm

Hi Jeri!

Welcome to HOD! I'm not sure about all of your questions, but I did want to tell you that Beyond uses some of the same books as Adventures in MFW so you might not want to finish those books this summer if you do plan to use Beyond (which does sound like a good fit for your ds.) We have Dec. b-days here as well, turning 8, and we are planning to use Beyond for 2nd grade.

Now, if you do finish your history, you may want to put him into Bigger with sis so he doesn't repeat the books. Just use that placement chart, and make sure you match up the subjects you plan to use HOD for, and you should be fine.

I think Carrie has mentioned moving into TT after Singapore, so that's probably a good way to go for your math. They're coming out with 4th and I think 3rd this year, but your son could use the Singapore activities with Beyond or Bigger until you're able to move him up into TT.

R&S is rumored to be just wonderful (I haven't gotten that far yet) so I think you'll be very safe in using that for your grammar.

If you think of any other question, fire away. This board has some of the most helpful ladies you'll ever find!

Mel

susie in ms · Post by **susie in ms** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:03 pm

Hi Jeri!

I don't have answers for your either, but wanted to say your subject line made me laugh AND everything Mary says about HOD is true!!

Welcome to the board!!

Candice · Post by **Candice** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:39 pm

Jeri,

Hi and welcome from CA also!

Candice

LeAnna · Post by **LeAnna** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:41 am

Hi Jeri!

Welcome!! I am from Cal too!! We are going to be using LHTH and LHFHG this fall.

MamaMary · Post by **MamaMary** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:23 am

Riversidemom3 wrote:Just kidding. I read your wonderful posts about HOD on another board and here I am. Anyways....

I am from California and have been married 20 years this June. I have three children and have been homeschooling since 1998. My dd15 is in 10th grade and was dx with type 1 diabetes when she was 9. DD9 is in 3rd grade and DS7 is in 1st grade. We love to go camping in our motorhome and our big excursion this year was a 10 day trip in Arizona with the big stop at the Grand Canyon.

I am contemplating HOD for this fall for my two youngest. I tried combining them for history and science this year with MFW Adventures being my son is already reading independently. I have had difficulty working with the manual and the set up of the days/weeks. While my son has no problem joining in on the science he could have cared less for the history reading and I didn't force him. Unfortunately, because of some health issues I struggled a bit through this year. History and science always seem to be the subjects that get put on the back burner during difficult times. We didn't make it past the 1700's this year and will continue to read our history books over the summer.

My dd9 is going into the 4th grade - she will be 10 in November. She is on the young side of maturity for her age and still struggles a little in school. My ds7 will be going into 2nd and will be 8 in late December. They are both excellent readers. I'm thinking even though I would love to combine them it probably won't work. I really would like my daughter to go into Bigger so that we can have one great year of American History. If it isn't wise to combine I guess my son would go into Beyond. While I have never used R&S for English I am open to it as we used the math this year. I don't plan on using Singapore as we loved Teaching Textbooks so much for my oldest that I wanted my 4th grader to start with it this fall. They are coming out with 4th this year. I understand using as many components that are already written into the program make it easiest to "open and go".

I would welcome your suggestions and thank you for reading my "intro".

Warmly,

Jeri

LOL Jeri! You blame ME?!

Hey, we have a lot in common. I've been married for 20 years and have been HS'ing since 1998! May I ask which board I posted on? (enquiring minds want to know)

Ok, onto your post about HOD.....,

You could easily do both Bigger and Beyond. Especially since you TT for your math. You could have one child working on math while you do HOD with the other. The thing I love most about HOD is that everything is in small bite size portions. I never think, "Whew, how am I going to get all this in" OR "Wow, this isn't enough". It's just so perfectly balanced.

I am using Little "Hands" with "Bigger" right now. I started off using both of those and "Bigger", but my 12 year old has processing issue's and so it was working a bit above him, requiring me to teach everything. Bringing him down to Beyond has worked perfectly for us. (Praise the Lord)

Truthfully, you could also combine both into Beyond. (both are American History) The pro's of this is that you can really immerse your older child into what she is learning AND I am finding it helping my younger child to understand concepts when the older child is doing them. However, you could just as easily do two programs. It's totally up to you

I hope this helps!
Mary

Riversidemom3 · Post by **Riversidemom3** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:10 am

To Mamamary: I read your reviews on HSR. I think in this case you don't mind the finger pointing. LOL It's nice to get "blamed" for something good. Thank you for your advice. I'm looking foward to getting the new catalog. I'm still working on this year's stuff but wanted to kind of cement next falls curriculum so I can enjoy the summer. After ten years of doing this I still love it!! Thank you again and thank you for all the "hellos". I feel very welcomed here.

Jeri

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:22 pm

Hi Jeri!

I just wanted to welcome you, too. I'm going to be doing Bigger with my oldest this coming year. SO, if that is where you decide to place 1 or both of your kiddos, we'll be "doing it with you".

Glad to have you here!

Kathleen

Post by **Carrie** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 5:23 pm

Jeri,

The ladies have done a wonderful job of welcoming you, and I'm sure many more moms will chime in with advice. If you get a chance to glance at the placement chart at the following link, it would really help me advise you better. Here's that link:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I'll look forward to getting to know you better. Thanks for sharing about your family. It helps so much to get to know each other!

Blessings,
Carrie

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Tue Apr 29, 2008 8:10 pm

Welcome, Jeri! Isn't this board just terrific? You will not find a more uplifting group of ladies out there! Thanks for introducing yourself, and Mary is just one of those amazing ladies that can be "blamed" for a lot of truly incredible "aha" moments we have! She's just a great person.

I'd also love to hear your thoughts after checking out the link Carrie gave you for the placement chart. I'll definitely chime in with my 2 cents then. Glad you are here!

In Christ,
Julie

Riversidemom3 · Post by **Riversidemom3** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:39 am

Well, I'm still undecided about placement. Here are my thoughts (at least for today). My dd9 has made really great strides in math this year. Her weakness is language. She is an independent reader - loves to read. Comprehension is not good. However, she memorizes her scripture verses for AWANA in her sleep. Even though she does well on her grammar pages (basic parts of speech, diagramming, etc) she can't seem to take it and apply it to her writing. Her sentences are fragmented and just don't make sense. She is not a strong speller. Thankfully, it doesn't discourage her from writing. She loves to be creative and make up stories. I added Time4Learning on last year just for enrichment hoping it would help her. My ds7 does well with all his basics and is an independent reader. He just was not ready to sit and listen to the history reading this year. Beyond would be great for him (I know he's not ready for cursive yet). What I'm hung-up on is this. With MFW Adventures we havent' made it past the 1700's. I could just go ahead and put her in Bigger so that we could have a great American History year. However, I could work with just her through the summer and finish what we have. That way she could start Preparing. The reason I say that is because I'm realizing that I'm obsessing about the history cycle. Preparing would keep her on track and Beyond would keep him on track. But is that what is best for her? Trust me - I've poured over the past posts that say not to worry about the history cycle. I plan on doing a state history study as well. She has been doing cursive this year w/ HWT. Now, if I put her in Bigger should I put him in Bigger since their both American History. That shorts her a year and puts him ahead w/ nothing for 8th. I'm sitting here laughing as I write this because I sound ridiculous. As I state previously, I have been hs'ing for 10 years and love it so much. But I have made a ton of mistakes in curriculum in the past and want to be a good steward of our finances. I want to quit hopping around and have stability in what we do. Today was such a great day. They did their basics and then I planned some history and science activities with them together. It went so well and we had such a great time. Even my son said it was great. Those days don't happen enough. My mommy gut is telling me I will have those kind of days on a regular basis with HOD. Once I get this decided I can concentrate on my soon-to-be 11th grader. So these are my ramblings. Lay it on me!

Warmly,

Jeri

Post by **Carrie** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:26 pm

Jeri,

From what you are sharing about your kiddos, I do think it may be wise to combine them in "Bigger..." for next year. Since you won't be using the Singapore Math, than we can remove that from the equation when considering correct placment.

The readings in "Bigger..." are short and exciting enough to keep both your son and your daughter's interest. Depending on how well your daughter reads, you could add the extension package for her to do in addition to the read-alouds for history in "Bigger...".

I also think your daughter could benefit from the level of copywork, dictation, and notebooking in "Bigger..". If your daughter's already diagramming, she could do Rod and Staff English 3 (instead of the English 2 scheduled in "Bigger...").

I think your son could come along using the spelling in "Bigger...", a shorter version of the copywork, and Rod and Staff: English 2 scheduled in "Bigger...". You may have to require a little less writing of your son, but otherwise it does sound like he could do "Bigger..".

It will also be necessary for your daughter to have some of the skills practiced in "Bigger.." in place prior to starting "Preparing...". So, with her past spelling, copying, writing, and comprehension issues in mind, "Bigger..." fits her well too.

I'm sure the other moms will chime in with words of wisdom, but I just wanted to get us all thinking through the helpful information you gave us in your post.

Blesssings,
Carrie

Riversidemom3 · Post by **Riversidemom3** » Fri May 02, 2008 1:03 am

Carrie,

Thank you for your recommendations. If I go with this scenario do you think that it would be a good idea to go ahead and get the Preparing guide(since I'd be using it next year)? It would make it easier for me to have that daily breakdown for English 3.

So, basically your saying to put my 2nd and 4th grader together for Bigger. Which means they will be together throughout the cycle, right? Do you recommend that I add DITHOR to their program as well?

Thank you again for your help.

Jeri

heartofdakota.com

Hi, I'm new here - I blame you MamaMary!!

Hi, I'm new here - I blame you MamaMary!!

Welcome Jeri!

Re: Hi, I'm new here - I blame you MamaMary!!