help ordering

[kredd617]

Hi! I am new to homeschooling and will be pulling my 2nd grade son from public ed at Christmas break. He is in an advanced class and reads well above grade level. He will be going to an enrichment coop class once a week and I am thinking I can stretch the curriculum out for a year and a half. Therefore, he would begin in January and finish next May, adhering to school schedule. My question though, is which program should I put him in...Bigger Hearts or Preparing Hearts? I would also buy Singapore 2B, 3A and 3B. Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you all so much!

[MelInKansas]

The placement chart is the place to start. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php Especially focus on writing skills and narration (which from PS is probably something he does not have experience with). Being an advanced reader does not mean he should move ahead in the guides, that just means you can place him in a reading program/level that is higher, but reading and math are customized to the child's level regardless of which guide you choose.

Off the top of my head I would say a child 1/2 way through 2nd grade shouldn't be placed higher than Bigger Hearts. The workload and expectations of the guides any higher than that are just too great, plus comprehension and narration of the books read. But your assessment of him on the placement chart is the most important tool to determine placement.

[mommyofmany]

Melissa gave you good suggestions about placement. The placement chart is the best way to see where he fits. Im using Bigger with a very advanced reader (and writer) for 3rd grade and still think Preparing would be too much for him. For math I'd do a placement test. They have them on the Singapore website. Let us know what you decide - and welcome to HOD!!!

[kredd617]

Thank you all. Looks like Bigger Hearts is the way to go. Do you think it is realistic to stretch it out over a year and half, considering that he will only be schooling 4 days a week at home, plus additional projects he will work on from enrichment. I just have a traditional public ed mindset and this is blowing my mind and my husband's. We are the goal oriented type and need a scope and sequence. Again, thank you all. I feel so overwhelmed but this is really helping me sort out the details.

[MelInKansas]

My daughter does a co op once a week too so we do 4 days a week during the school year, and very low-key, whenever we have time, in the summer. I also love schooling in the months off from co op, August and January, it seems like we get so much more done because we can do 5 days/week.

Doing Bigger over 1 1/2 years would work out great. You could look and see how many days you would do with any breaks you already know you would take and therefore how the 170 days of Bigger would work out and where you would end up. You may want to give yourself some flex when first starting, bright as he is, the transition might not be easy and there will be some areas where he will need to work up to it. Many people start a guide 1/2 speed, doing 1/2 of a day's plan each day, in order to get the child used to each subject and what is expected of them. It definitely goes more quickly and much more smoothly once you've done 3-4 units and are all used to what you are doing.

[StephanieU]

Can I ask why you want to spread it out to a year and a half? Is it because you want to follow a public school calendar? There are families using HOD that start guides whenever they finish the previous one - which can fall anywhere in the school year. Others change in January. And still others change in August/September when they start a new year.
Can you spread Bigger out of a year and a half - yes. There are 34 units, and each unit is 5 days. So, if you have other commitments one day a week plus a few other things that will take a day here and there, it would be easy to use Bigger for the 170 days spread out of 270 days of school (assuming your state requires 180 days of school a year). Most families start a guide half speed, to get used to how HOD does things (just like in public schools how the first week is getting settled, etc). And then there are field trips, sick days, other projects, etc that can help you get those extra 100 days when you aren't doing HOD.

[mommyofmany]

We are stretching out Bigger for our son. He started it during the second half of 2nd grade and we are continuing to use it for 3rd grade. You can have your child work on math and LA everyday if you want to have him progress faster in those areas. If he's at a different level in math than what it written into the Bigger guide, you'd be adjusting that area anyway. There is a lot of flexibility with what you can do! I can relate to your "mindset issues". I truly believe, though, our kiddos end up retaining so much more of the things they are learning than the way it is taught in ps. I've learned so much going through Bigger with my son!! And I just took college courses in US history not many years ago while working on a pre-teaching credential bachelor's degree. I don't remember anything because I was just cramming for tests! I hope you guys have a great first year and don't be afraid to ask questions! Everyone here is so helpful.

[kredd617]

Thank y'all! The reason I wanted to stretch it out is because it would be nice to have a starting and ending goal with hopes of getting "on schedule." I do plan on doing some field trips, etc. and it sounds like starting out slower is essential. My background is in education and I have serious flexibility issues. However, you are right, from what I have gathered, this is so different from what I am used to; I can't compare apples to oranges. I definitely appreciate all your input and guidance. I think I am prepared to make the order!

[MelInKansas]

There really is no need to worry about keeping HOD on a "school schedule." There are a good number of people who do it from August or September to May and finish one guide during each school year. But as it is written, if you take off holidays (long break for Christmas for example) AND you have one day a week of co op or other learning that isn't in the HOD guide, it becomes really difficult to do that. I do finish a unit before we have more than a 1 week break, I think it would be hard to get back into it mid-unit. Otherwise, I enjoy the gradual growth through each guide and as another person said, I have learned a lot through teaching to my children this way.

If you like the structure and you can make it work for you, fine. One thing to keep in mind is: the school has 180 days, but your child may have already missed 10 of those days because of illness or other problems. When you homeschool, your child still gets sick, you still get sick, events going on with family or friends may prevent you from getting school done, and various other things. But you have your 170 days of work (in the guide) and you may feel that if you don't get those all done, you haven't "finished." PS teachers don't finish everything they set out to do, and again, every kid will miss several days of instruction and while they try to make up the work it's not the same. Cut yourself some slack. Because of the one-on-one interaction and the fact that you will KNOW that your child has learned and retained the information, he will get a lot out of it.

Of course Preparing on up have 4 days per week, but the workload is greater so the 5th day is for extracurricular activities and/or catch up.

[StephanieU]

Thank y'all! The reason I wanted to stretch it out is because it would be nice to have a starting and ending goal with hopes of getting "on schedule." I do plan on doing some field trips, etc. and it sounds like starting out slower is essential. My background is in education and I have serious flexibility issues. However, you are right, from what I have gathered, this is so different from what I am used to; I can't compare apples to oranges. I definitely appreciate all your input and guidance. I think I am prepared to make the order!

I totally understand. I teach at the local community college, and so I am used to having syllabuses with specific due dates, etc. But, I am (slowly) learning that breaks are important. I can't just keep pushing through all of the time. The last three weeks have been very busy for us, so I finally realized on Tuesday that we just needed to finish up what we had left from our last unit (1 day plus some storytime) and then take the rest of the week off from HOD. We have gotten math and LA done, but even that is on somewhat of a slower pace. And although my daughter asks why we aren't doing history (Bible), she is happy for the slower pace right now. We will pick up full speed next week until Thanksgiving, and then we will probably slow back down. We will finish the guide when we finish it. We have already decided to school year round, so I am not worried about falling behind in the guides at all. Although having a goal is nice, just remember to re-evaluate it periodically. You will find yourself taking tangents probably that are worth not meeting your original goal.