Introduction and Purchasing Question

[Silliness7]

Hello,
This is my very first post. I wanted to introduce myself. This is my 9th year homeschooling. I have 3 boys who are currently in the 8th, 7th, and 5th grades. I have 3 girls who are in 3rd and 1st grades and a 3yo who will be K-4 this fall. I also have a 2yo boy who keeps us hopping.

After years of cobbling together my own thing through a variety of curricula I am happy to stumble upon HOD. It looks perfect for our particular situation. I've been pouring over my catalog and website samples and have decided on the following choices...

Little Hands for my K-4 girl
Bigger Hearts for my 2nd grade girl
CtC for my 4th and 6th graders
Rev to Rev w/extensions for my 8th grader
(My 9th grader will be doing a different packaged highschool)

I realize that might look like an insane amount of guides. It was the best I could do with all of the ages here.
My question regards purchasing. My budget is very, very tight. I'm going to have to purchase the first half of my resources this summer and then purchase the second half later in the fall.
Could someone tell me what I would need for the first 16 weeks in Bigger's Economy pack and Science add-on pack. Also for CtC's Economy pack and Science add-on pack. Also Rev to Rev's Economy pack (but NOT the Science add-on)

I already have all my R&S and math books. Yeah! I can get all of the readers including the extension books (except the CD and DVD) from the library. Obviously I will need the guides and the notebooks from HOD. I'm going to save DITHOR for a later purchase. But I will go ahead and get the writing suggestions for all 3 guides and just the Philippians 2 CD that we can all work on together. Also are the Les Mis CD's and American Testimony DVD's scheduled in the first or second half of Rev to Rev?

I hope this is O.K. to ask. I'm so excited about next school year with HOD and getting to know you all.

Thank you!!

[holyhart]

Welcome Silliness! I'm sure that HOD will be a blessing to you! "You DO like children, dont you, Maria?? Yes, but SEVEN!!!" I'm hearing Maria VonTrapp in my head. I have a girlfriend with seven little blessings as well and I say it to her often. Sorry.

I will not be much help with the other ordering questions but, I can help you with Bigger.

During the first 16 weeks, you will need:

History:
A First Book in American History
Stories of Great Americans
Journeys in Time

Science:
One Small Square: Seashore
One Small Square: Woods
Science in Colonial America
John Audobon: Young Naturalist

Bible Study:
Little Pillows

You will also need a cursive option if you don't already have something.
HTH

[birchbark]

Welcome to the HoD boards, Silliness!

For the first 16 weeks of CTC, you will need:

Economy pack:
The Story of the Ancient World
Genesis Finding Our Roots
A Child's Geography II
What in the World I
Draw and Write Through History- just in the last week though
History Notebook pages

Science Add-on:
Land Animals of the Sixth Day
Birds of the Air

[Silliness7]

Thank you ladies. That is so helpful. I am making my shopping list.

Kelly, I often quoted from that scene when I was pregnant with #7. A Captain with 7 children. What's so fearsome about that?

[my3sons]

I like your name silliness7! Welcome to the HOD Board - we are so glad you are here! I used RTR this year (as well as LHTH and BHFHG), and what a fantastic year we had! We usually don't recommend jumping in with 4 HOD guides, but I can see that you are a veteran homeschooler who knows her dc so well. If you did want to get it down to 3 HOD guides, you could have your eighth grader do CTC with extensions. But, you will definitely know best here! I would be glad to help out with the titles you'd need for the first 16 weeks of RTR...

RTR's Economy Package:
RTR Teacher's Guide
RTR Student Notebooking pages
Peril and Peace
What in the World? Vol. 2
Hidden Treasures in Phil.
Phil. 1 CD
Looking at Pictures
World History Atlas
The Story of the Middle Ages
Famous Men of the Middle Ages
Map Trek CD
Monks and Mystics
Draw and Write Through History
Mystery of History (this begins in Unit 15, Day 2)

If you are doing the Shakespeare option, you'd need...
Tales of Shakespeare
Shakespeare Student Notebook pages

HTH! I thought I'd share the schedule I used this year, as you are doing similar guides, and we really enjoyed our days and found them to be very balanced, but feel free to just disregard this if it's not helpful:


I'm excited for you to begin HOD! I think you'll find it to be such a blessing in your home - we certainly have. This board also is an inspiring place to meet with like-minded ladies - I think you'll fit right in!

In Christ,
Julie

[Silliness7]

Julie,
I love your schedule. That is exactly how my brain works and very similar to what I've got worked up...but I think I like yours better. I might have to copy that.
Thank you so much for attaching that!!

I know it would make so much more sense to put my 8th grader in CtC with my other older ones. However, I have decided to go with My Father's World for highschool and freshman year is ancient history, and from what I understand MFW's highschool program also builds on skills from the previous year so I don't feel free to jump around but to go straight as is. His content knowledge is weakest in American history too so I'm really excited for him to use Rev to Rev. He's a fairly solid student and he should be able to work mostly independently.

Thank you so much for the information regarding RtR. Is that the right abbreviation? That program won't be on my radar until Fall 2012. But I am definitely going to start keeping my eyes out for the resources that go with it at books sales and thrift stores. In fact, looking over the list again, I already own half of those books. We did Middle Ages this year. Maybe 2012 won't be as tight of a year as this one budget-wise.

I'm still wondering what is scheduled the first half of Rev to Rev but thinking that since it's brand-new there might not be too many moms out there who own it yet.

Thanks again!!

[Mom2Monkeys]

I wanted to make sure you know lots of folks are using the current guides for high school with some extensions and also wanted to make sure you knew HOD was going to continue making more guides all the way through high school! So, if you did combine your 8th grader in CTC, there will be plenty of guides to get through high school. There are even parents using CTC with their 9th graders and loving it! If things get really tight, that could certainly be a possibility to save some money All you'd need would be extensions. And if you find it too much for your 4th grader to join the 6th, Bigger with extensions could be a fabulous fit with the 2nd grader! (and you'd already have it!)

[wonderfilled]

Hi silliness7 and welcome. I think I recognize your name from another board, but you probably don't know me because I'm pretty quiet. I saw your name, though, and thought I'd say "hi". We're planning on using HOD next year, too, for our first time and are very excited. I'm sure you'll have a great year.

[my3sons]

Oh, I'm so sorry! I misread your post and thought you were looking for the resources for RTR instead of RevtoRev! RevtoRev is not completed yet, though it is moving right along as scheduled. RevtoRev will be back from the printing company and shipped out in August, so that information isn't available as of yet. Once it is though, I would be glad to give you those instead, as I'll be ordering it and using it too. Sorry for the confusion - but it does seem like you have such a good plan coming together albeit the confusion I threw into it! Have a relaxing Sunday afternoon - Happy Easter!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

I'll just pop-in to welcome you to the board! We're glad to have you here and pray that HOD may be a blessing to your family. We look forward to visiting with you more on your homeschool journey.

Blessings,
Carrie

[8arrows]

If you haven't purchased your hi'gh schooler's books yet, did you know Rev. to Rev. has extensions for high school? You could pair your 8th and 9th grader and be set to go for 4 years. Carrie is writing one guide a year. I just mention this because I know the struggles to get to everyone in a large family.