Newbie here... trying to place my kids??

[hnjmom]

Hi! I am a newbie here. I have seven children with a baby girl due in June. :O) I am really attracted to pre-planned lessons but have reservations due to my children's age of doing several guides.

My children:

H(14)- will be a freshman this year. She is an very gifted writer, artist, and loves to read. She works completely independently with help only as needed. (Maybe once a week.) She loves history. She dislikes math and science. She is in the process of opening her own special occasion cake business. She hopes to major in culinary arts.

J(12)- will be in 7th grade. He has sensory integration disorder and although we are seeing a occupational therapist, he still struggles in many areas. He is a strong reader with good comprehension. He is below level on math and grammar. Writing is VERY DIFFICULT for him. He enjoys hands on activities.

N(10) -will be in the 5th grade. He is a strong reader with good problem solving skills. He is a perfectionist and is easily frustrated when he cannot master things easily. He enjoys chess and drawing.

S(8) -will be in the 3rd grade. He is my little clown! He has just made the jump to easier chapter books. He doesn't struggle in school subjects but struggles with staying focused on any given activity. He like hands on activities. Writing seems to be difficult for him.

M(7)- will be in the 2nd grade. She is still an emergent reader. She is doing better every day! She enjoys school and does well. Her handwriting is beautiful. She enjoys art and likes to read her Bible to me everyday. :O)

I also have a 3 yo boy, 2yo girl and a baby due in June. Would HOD even be possible for a family like ours?? We were doing Simply Charlotte Mason until I ended up being very sick with this pregnancy. My DH ordered some ACE paces for the kids while I was sick. I am better now, I am ready to move them back to a family learning style.

Thanks for any input,
Robin

[andreamichele13]

I am extremely new to HOD, but have you tried looking at the placement guides? Your children might overlap in some areas, making it possible to you to teach out of 1 guide for 2 children. Also, you can always supplement a program to make it more challenging, or you can slow down a guide for a child who might not be ready for a certain guide. Again, these are just suggestions I've gotten from other moms. I only have 3, so I may not be qualified to help! haha. But, I would start with printing off the placement guide and circling where each child lies. You might find they overlap in some areas, allowing you to place more than 1 child in a guide. I don't know how you're doing right now, but the scheduling in HOD is awesome and makes it so easy to just open and go!

Andrea

[hnjmom]

I did look at the placement guides.

I am guessing that I could group my (7) and (8) in Bigger Hearts. My (10) and (12) could study in Creation to Christ. I am not sure about my oldest.

That would be three guides. Is that doable? Granted my oldest is pretty much independent. Would there be enough hours in the day? Would I be keeping up with read alouds for all the guides? I cannot wrap my mind around how that would work.

~Robin

[blessedmomof4]

Hi and welcome There are large families on this board using HOD successfully! The best first step is to evaluate your children each individually using the placement chart here:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php especially looking at the skills on the first page of the chart. Once you have an idea where each idividual child places best, then you can consider who can combine well, taking into account personalities as well as abilities. If you share your conclusions after doing this, we will be glad to talk over your options One thing I can suggest off the top, is that your oldest can use Revival to Revolution along with the Extensions for 9th grade and the advanced Science Option 2. She can use Rod and Staff Grammar-all of level 6 or half of level 7, depending on how much grammar she has studied formally-the goal at HOD is to finish Rod and Staff level 8 by the end of high school, as it is very advanced at the higher levels. For math, if you don't have a favorite that you are using, you may check the Singapore Math website for placement help. She can use Drawn into the Heart of Reading 6/7/8 with grade-appropriate books, and it will be quite meaty. The Creative Writing book rounds things out nicely. Revivial to Revolution will be something she can use very independently and will definitely be appropriate for her age and abilities, besides being such a wonderful program, and a great intorduction to HOD. Then you can think about your younger students, and how to combine them. With everyone well-placed, using multiple guides can work very smoothly, and everyone is happy because they are challenged but not overwhelmed I only have two using HOD, but they are miles apart in maturity and personality. I found it necessary to use two guides with them, and it is working out really well!

[blessedmomof4]

I just read your ideas I think I would rather say based on what you have shared so far that the 10 and 12 year old would do better to start in Preparing, and the 7 and 8 year olds in Beyond. Here's why-Creation to Christ has a lot of writing and you mentioned your 12 year old having difficulty in that area-Preparing would be more manageable. If he needs more in the area of history you can add the Extensions and it would still be age appropriate. You can use whichever math and grammar level are appropriate for each. Beyond makes a great second grade and you can use a higher level math and add rod and staff grammar 2 and Drawn into the Heart of Reading for the 8 year old. Beyond would nice for the 8 year old as you mentioned he has trouble focusing and writing-it would give him time to grow in those areas, yet still provide a great year of study. As for Storytime, with multiple guides you would want to pick one storytime and read that, rather than doing multiple storytimes. Your oldest child can read her storytime books independently.

[hnjmom]

I looked back at the charts again. I printed them out and circled where each child fits. I think you are correct Beyond and Preparing and Revival to Revolution might be a better fit.

I am going to go back and read up on those three guides. Really hoping that this can work for our family.

~Robin

[MomtoJGJE]

I don't know about your oldest, but I think Beyond and Preparing would be awesome with your others. If the kids are placed properly, three guides is really not an issue. I'm doing Preparing and Beyond with LHFHG and soon to add in LHTH. Granted they aren't higher guides, but again, if they are placed properly everything just flows!

I will be (at some point) running RTR, Preparing, Beyond, and LHFHG half speed, and it doesn't scare me at all

Just a small piece of advice that has helped me though... When you start, stagger them. Like start with your oldest, work for two weeks so that she knows what's expected. Then start with the ones in Preparing for a couple of weeks until they get the hang of it, then add in your Beyond kids.

[Carrie]

Welcome to the boards! We're glad to have you here! The ladies have done an outstanding job of helping you talk through your options. I agree that from what you've shared so far, it sounds like Beyond, Preparing, and Revival to Revolution sound like good placements. Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9325

It's so helpful that you took time to go through the placment chart too in order to see where each of your children fit as individuals.

I'll just post a link from a previous thread on the board from moms of large families who use HOD. It may be of encouragement to you as you ponder. Link:

Blessings,
Carrie

[hnjmom]

Thank you so much for your replies.

DH and I sat down and looked at the program and began to pray for the individual needs of our children. The conclusion was not what we expected but I am excited about it.

For my oldest daughter (14), she will continue the textbooks that she is currently using until she is finished with each one. (Even if that takes her into next year.) Then we will order Reformation to Revival.

For my (12) yo son with sensory integration disorder... He burst into tears at the mention of doing anything different than is current worktext program. I am not happy with the program for regular use. (It served its purpose while I was sick with this pregnancy.) We are going to slowly transition him to HOD. We are going to start the DITHOR program with a book pack for him. And go from there.

My (7), (8) and (10) will be doing Bigger together. My 10 yo will be doing the extension. And each child will be using their level reading and grammar and writing. I wasn't crazy initially at combining these three but we are hoping when older brother sees how much fun the others are having, he will want to get in on the action.

Hoping to eventually getting all 5 of them in HOD. But this will serve as a great introduction for us to this curriculum!