New to HOD

[Mom2Monkeys]

P.S. You can do the math placement for Singapore at:
http://www.singapore.com
Just click the "placement" tab at the top of the link.

www.singaporemath.com

[my3sons]

P.S. You can do the math placement for Singapore at:
http://www.singapore.com
Just click the "placement" tab at the top of the link.

http://www.singaporemath.com

Thanks, Tamara! I'm typing too fast here - I changed it!
In Christ,
Julie

[tnahid]

Wow! So in depth on your answers Julie. Thank you for taking this time to help me. Couple of questions: My oldest is sort of a reluctant reader. He likes stuff with lots of graphics and that interests him more. Are there any graphic novels that would be appropriate for his age. Although he is 9, he is just going into 3rd. I don 't want to struggle making him read, as we need the least amount of agrumentation possible!!!! :)Also, what about teaching typing skills?

Thanks!

[tnahid]

What about science for my oldest son this year? If I am doing the right side of Bigger, doesn't that include science too? I am considering doing Contenders of the Faith for my oldest son as well. Would this be considered science? Or should I consider buying the science books that correlate with Bigger?

Seems the only thing they will be sharing is the History and Bible time section, correct? I guess that cuts down on a little time, and brings them together for that. Now what about the storytime section? Will those have to be two sets of different books too? Or can I combine that too and just use the Beyond Boy's Interest books for that? That would cut down on my read-aloud time and incorporate more. But what about the spelling for my older one? How would I up that?

Thanks! Starting to wonder if it is easier to just do both separately now! So much planning and overlapping and tweaking. Not sure how beneficial, yet if we can combine the History, Bible and story-time, that would be good I think.

Tina

[my3sons]

Wow! So in depth on your answers Julie. Thank you for taking this time to help me. Couple of questions: My oldest is sort of a reluctant reader. He likes stuff with lots of graphics and that interests him more. Are there any graphic novels that would be appropriate for his age. Although he is 9, he is just going into 3rd. I don 't want to struggle making him read, as we need the least amount of agrumentation possible!!!! :)Also, what about teaching typing skills?

Thanks!

Glad to help! Thanks for sharing more about your ds here. Since he is just starting DITHOR, I think I'd get Book Pack Level 2, which has reading levels of 3.0 - 4.1. These books will be shorter and have him reading around a handful of pages each day, which is a nice way to begin DITHOR. Or, you can certainly choose your own books, though that takes more doing, it is a very nice option if you'd enjoy doing that. HOD has dc begin researching skills using their computer (or an encyclopedia instead if you so choose) in PHFHG. Typing for the purpose of instruction will not be introduced until later. I'm in agreement with this, as I had to try to teach typing skills to elementary aged dc and found it difficult to do. On the other hand, I learned typing in 1 semester when I was older, picked it up quickly, and am a good typist today. However, there are many typing programs available should you choose to want to do so. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

What about science for my oldest son this year? If I am doing the right side of Bigger, doesn't that include science too? I am considering doing Contenders of the Faith for my oldest son as well. Would this be considered science? Or should I consider buying the science books that correlate with Bigger?

Seems the only thing they will be sharing is the History and Bible time section, correct? I guess that cuts down on a little time, and brings them together for that. Now what about the storytime section? Will those have to be two sets of different books too? Or can I combine that too and just use the Beyond Boy's Interest books for that? That would cut down on my read-aloud time and incorporate more. But what about the spelling for my older one? How would I up that?

Thanks! Starting to wonder if it is easier to just do both separately now! So much planning and overlapping and tweaking. Not sure how beneficial, yet if we can combine the History, Bible and story-time, that would be good I think.

Tina

For Science for your older ds, I'd be inclined to just do the science in Beyond, and possibly add 1 research element to it each week. He could read other books or research online on the science theme for the week, and orally narrate his findings to you, or write them in a simple paragraph if the additional writing wouldn't be difficult. The science does pair so nicely with the core guide, as it links to the history. After Beyond, Bigger Hearts does have an extension for science (as well as history), that you could consider doing the following year. One other idea I had to extend science is to have your ds keep a nature journal. He could choose a topic correlating with his science topic of the week, and draw, label, diagram something. If you have access to the outdoors, he could base it on something outdoors otherwise too. With this being his first year with HOD, it being a year to continue strengthening his reading skills, and you having several dc to homeschool, I think this would be a wonderful way to begin - but you will know best!

So, in this combining scenario, you're 2 dc would be combined for all of these things: Reading about History, Geography, Poetry and Rhymes, Bible Study, Corresponding Music, Science Exploration, History Activity, Storytime, and Artistic Expression. They would be separate on their Language Arts, Reading Choices, and Math Exploration. A note about Storytime - I think I'd just do the one from Beyond as it will teach how to orally narrate. These lessons are wonderful, and they teach dc how to narrate well. Unless your 9 yo already narrates fairly well, I'd do the Beyond Storytime with the 2 of them, as this skill is oh so important, and nothing gives a better start to learning it properly than Beyond (IMO ). HTH!

In Christ,
Julie