Need Placement Help!

[ashleyruff07]

Hi, I am new to HOD, and feel excited to start using it in the upcoming year. I will have a kindergartener as well as a second grader. I am needing advice on which program to select for my upcoming second grader. This was our first year homeschooling, and we spend most of the year "unschooling" him, reading, playing, and enjoying being outside. He failed Kindergarten in the public school system, and repeated it again. He started first grade in PS then I withdrew him after 2 months. He is not the best reader and, to be honest, he dreads doing it. We try to have fun with it, but it is still a struggle for him. Writing and spelling is the same thing. I am trying not to stress too much about it, thinking he will come around when his mind clicks, as I've heard usually happens with boys. He will be 8 in July. I feel led to lead our homeschool journey with Heart of Dakota, and I am so excited to start! Which program would benefit my struggling reader? I want him to be as close to his grade level as possible, but I also want his second grade year to be enjoyable.
My upcoming kindergartener will be no problem. He picks up on things very quickly and enjoys learning. The only thing he struggles with is writing and forming his letters. I know this will come with practice. Which program would be best for him?
God Bless this company! I am so thrilled I found it!

[StephanieU]

I am by no means an expert, but I have looked at the first four on the placement chart a bunch lately trying to decide where to put my first grader. Based on what you said, I would lean towards Beyond for him. Bigger is probably too much, and Little is too young probably. But, I bet the "pros" will chime in too

[pjdobro]

Where do you feel each of them place on the placement chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php How does your ds like listening to stories without pictures? Can he sit for a while and listen or does he need lots of movement? What sort of books can he read, Bob books, Frog and Toad, chapters books? Can he write a sentence or two fairly well without fatiguing? Were you thinking of trying to combine your dc or were you thinking of 2 separate programs? If you can share a bit more about your dc, we'll try to help you figure out the best placement. Welcome!

[ashleyruff07]

How does your ds like listening to stories without pictures? Can he sit for a while and listen or does he need lots of movement? What sort of books can he read, Bob books, Frog and Toad, chapters books? Can he write a sentence or two fairly well without fatiguing? Were you thinking of trying to combine your dc or were you thinking of 2 separate programs? If you can share a bit more about your dc, we'll try to help you figure out the best placement.

I felt as if my struggling reader fit better into Bigger Hearts than Beyond Little Hearts in all areas except reading. I looked over both sample lessons and the Beyond Little Hearts seemed more on his level with the history, geography, etc. We are choosing to do Math U See for math instead of what is in the lesson plans, just because he really likes using the manipulatives.
Do Beyond Little Hearts lessons get hard at a fast pace? Are the emerging readers the same in both levels (Bigger Hearts and Beyond Bigger)? He is beyond phonics instruction, he knows how to sound out his letters, etc. Reading just hasn't clicked with him yet. He does like listening to stories without pictures. We are currently reading Boxcar Children and he loves it. He can read Frog and Toad books (with help) and Bob books. He has not yet reached the point to where he is able to read chapter books. He is still in the primary reading books. He can write a couple sentences, and its not that bad for him once he gets going, although his spelling is not great, you can tell he took the time to sound out the word and spell what he hears. It's copy work that he hates. He loses his place and gets frustrated. Free writing isn't as bad for him. I do not think I want to combine him with my kindergartener. I have a pre-k son that I plan on combining with my kindergartener's instruction.
Thanks for the advice!

[pjdobro]

Thank you for sharing more about your ds. I am leaning towards Beyond for you ds also. I think the amount of writing in Bigger might be frustrating for him. Here is a run down of the writing in Bigger:

Copywork of the poem (1 per week)
a Cursive program (daily)
R & S grammar (we wrote about 1/3 of it, doing the other portion orally, or on markerboard; daily; about 1/2 a page skipping lines)
Dictation OR spelling words (daily)
DITHOR Student Book (Level 2/3, approximately 2-3 workbook pages a week)
Science Notebooking (1 per week; approximately 2-4 sentences)
History Notebooking (1 per week; approximately 2-4 sentences)
Science Lab report (1 paper, 1 per week, not much writing - maybe 3-5 sentences with picture)
1-3 vocab. cards for history (1 time a week)
Bible Memory Verse copied (1 time a week)

The other thing that makes me think it might be best to wait for Bigger is the history spine is a bit more in old language and some dc find that harder at first. You mention that you feel like the history and geography in Beyond sounds like a better fit so I think I would lean that way.

The emerging readers set is the same for both Beyond and Bigger. The reading plans are contained in both guides. It sounds like he is at a perfect place for the emerging readers! They will help him make steady progress in his reading skills. I loved seeing how my dc's skills gradually increased as we followed the emerging reader plans. They will help him gradually increase his fluency as well as comprehension. They start out easier and gradually increase in difficulty. They are so easy to use as a parent also because all of the questions to ask are right there in the plans.

I don't think Beyond gets difficult quickly at all. It has a nice, steady progression of skills. Has you ds done grammar previously? Is this an area that you feel Beyond would too easy? My dc were in 2nd grade when we did Beyond and had already done the introduction to grammar so we added in R&S2 to our day. We also used a higher level of math than what was in Beyond. It sounds like you have that covered already though with MUS.

I think you are right about things clicking with your ds at some point. My own ds was a struggling reader for what seemed like forever to me. I didn't think he would ever get it and when he did, he wasn't thrilled with reading. It was always such an effort for him. We continued to plod along with our phonics, then the emerging readers. He made great progress during the emerging readers. Then we started DITHOR and his love of reading began. I think it was while he was reading My Father's Dragon that he started to get comfortable enough and enjoy the process. Today, I can't keep enough books around. I was talking to him today about how many books he thought he would read over the summer, and his conservative estimate was 25. That is 25 substantial books not light weight chapter books either! What a change from a little boy who struggled with blending letters and didn't like to read just a few short years ago. Boys can be slower to take to reading but just stay the course and continue to read great books to him and allow him access to great books. His day will come!

[my3sons]

HI ashleyruff07, and thanks for sharing about your ds! I agree with pjdobro 100%! Beyond is going to give the two of you a wonderful year homeschooling together! I am so excited for you to do Beyond. I think he will love "American Pioneers and Patriots," and it is neat to do the early American history before doing the biographical American history in Bigger Hearts. The hands-on science in Beyond twice a week will surely be neat for ds as well, and the writing will be kept to a manageable level. He'll have a good intro to grammar, time to grow in writing and reading, and a shorter school day to leave time for other boy stuff like exploring, getting outdoors, etc.. Starting Bigger Hearts would be difficult. It has a lot more writing and the following year in PHFHG, he needs to be able to read his own science and a portion of his own history. It is important dc can do this, so doing Beyond this year will ensure he will be ready for the reading and writing skills down the road. I think the "Emerging Reader's Set" in Beyond will be a super way to do reading with ds. Our sons loved that set of books - they are high interest and grabbed their attention fast! They also are read in short increments, and the follow-up oral questions really improved our sons' reading comprehension and taught them to think more carefully about their reading. You may want to try the "Reading Reflex" for your ds as well, as this is a more mature looking phonics/reading help for dc that works wonders! It is inexpensive and easy to use. I used it tutoring for a number of years with great results. HTH, and I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts about all this when you get the chance!!!

In Christ,
Julie