New to HOD, and confused... Please help!

[chelseahenson]

Hello! I have received such good advise from reading on the post. I am getting ready to place an order for my four children that will be coming out of their private Christian school next month to start home school. I love the thought of this program!! Life has turned inside out for us over the last 4 years, and we just cannot do it any more! I am working full time, and my husband is going to be the home school Dad!!! Please pray for him!

I need advise on two things please:

1st) I have a 5 year old girl, and a 7 year old boy (only 15 months apart), that I plan to use LHFHG for. My oldest two, however, I am having difficulty in deciding what to do. My oldest is almost 11, and has ADHD and mild Asperger's Syndrome. He has done well in school, and has never gotten in trouble. My second boy is almost 9. He also has ADHD, and has been slow to learn to read. He has had testing with no LD, but needed glasses and we did not know until he had missed a lot! He is currently in the middle of daily tutoring with an Orton Gillingham program. He is making progress, but is definitely not reading proficiently. I worry about my husband handling too many different programs at the same time, but I also want my 11 and 9 year olds to have their appropriate programs. My 11 year old appears to be best suited for the PHFHG, but may do ok with the Bigger, and I am just not sure about my 9 year old (would possibly be ok with bigger, but maybe better with Beyond). When I did the Placing chart for my 9 year old, he had more areas that went along with Bigger, but with his reading being delayed, it seems to affect everything!! Any words of wisdom would be very appreciated.

2nd) I am a little confused about what other subjects need to be ordered. For instance, since Singapore math is suggested, is this ordered directly from HOD, or on your own. If I decided to go with something else (looking at Math Mammoth and Talking Textbooks) any thoughts on spiral vs. mastering for my two oldest two boys and their specific situations?? Do you need to order a separate Language Arts Program or is this only to supplement if needed? (I had previously looked at McRuffy for my youngest two, and Rod & Fast for my older ones, also considering the Orton Gillingham style All About Spelling for my 9 year old). However, if this is included in the HOD, I will not order too much at once!!

Thank you precious ladies (and possibly other gentlemen out there) for you thoughts. I know this is a lot!!! I am so excited that there is this network, and I am so excited to find something that I feel my husband can be in charge of without a lot of lesson planning, that is so Christ centered!!!! Blessings!!

[Tansy]

Hi Chelseahenson,
I think there are more than 2 questions
Ok so you plan to use LHFHG with younger kids.

1st) My oldest is almost 11, and has ADHD and mild Asperger's Syndrome.
My 11 year old appears to be best suited for the PHFHG, but may do ok with the Bigger

If your children haven't been in a CM style schooling Bigger is a great place to start. It is a solid foundation, it has a higher work load than beyond and can be extended to 11 years old. You would need to buy the extensions package for him, these are scheduled in the appendix of the guide. You may have to modify bits and pieces because of his Asperger's. Less can be more in this case, the short easy lessons may fit him exactly.

My second boy is almost 9. He also has ADHD, and has been slow to learn to read. He is currently in the middle of daily tutoring with an Orton Gillingham program. He is making progress, but is definitely not reading proficiently. my 9 year old would possibly be ok with bigger but maybe better with Beyond. When I did the Placing chart for my 9 year old, he had more areas that went along with Bigger, but with his reading being delayed, it seems to affect everything!!

The reading program in HOD is up to you, You can modify to accommodate his needs. If his tutoring continues I don't see why his reading can't be tutor led. Have him read what his tutor wants him to read. In bigger the teacher is reading aloud the history, science, story time, grammar, poetry and devotional. As long as his audio processing is good he should be ok.

I worry about my husband handling too many different programs at the same time.
I think Bigger can be made to fit. Running 3 programs off the bat might be a bit hard for him.

2nd) I am a little confused about what other subjects need to be ordered.
For instance, since Singapore math is suggested, is this ordered directly from HOD, or on your own. If I decided to go with something else (looking at Math Mammoth and Talking Textbooks) any thoughts on spiral vs. mastering for my two oldest two boys and their specific situations??

Here again You may use any Math program for Your kids. Math is often something that needs to be tailored to a child and HOD knows that. I personally use Singapore as a guide for Sweet Potato (My eldest non nuro-typical) We use a "Visual Math" techniques alongside Singapore for her, and it is working for us. In Bigger the hands on lessons with Singapore are written in the guide. So your husband would have it right there. You can order it directly from HOD and you only need to order the work book.

I suggest you ask your Math Mammoth vs Talking textbooks guide question as an new post. (did you mean Teaching Textbooks?) Because then you will get a lot of feedback from those that have used it. My 2 cents is: I looked at Math Mammoth and tried some sheets with Sweet Potato and it was not good. Too visually stimulating for her, too many problems per page, confusing.

Do you need to order a separate Language Arts Program or is this only to supplement if needed? (I had previously looked at McRuffy for my youngest two, and Rod & Fast for my older ones, also considering the Orton Gillingham style All About Spelling for my 9 year old). However, if this is included in the HOD, I will not order too much at once!!
Here is the link to Language Arts page for Bigger
http://www.heartofdakota.com/BHFHG-english.php
CM method encourages short lessons in Language Arts at this age. My kids loved grammar and the Oral lessons. With ADHD in the mix, short and spoken lessons will be a God send for your hubby.
Spelling has 2 options in bigger so you can use word lists for the younger son and the dictation passages for the older.

I hope that helps till Carrie or My3sons chimes in.

Tansy.

[chelseahenson]

Tansy,

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your time and input! The information you provided was so helpful. And yes, I did mean Teaching Textbooks. It has been a long week! Have a wonderful weekend!!

[my3sons]

Tansy's answers were so awesome that I just wanted to say "hi" and welcome you (and dh ) to the HOD board! Also, if you click on the guide, at the top corner there will be a little light bulb that says "Helpful Tips on How to Order." That will take you through the order process step by step - or, if you prefer, you can call HOD directly, and Mike will help you out. I think you and your family will love HOD as much as our family does! It is an incredible blessing.

In Christ,
Julie