Girl and boy, 4 years apart

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Cravensheep
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:43 pm

Girl and boy, 4 years apart

Post by Cravensheep » Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:23 pm

Hello all!
Like so many others have said before me, I must say that I am grateful for the Lord allowing me to find Heart of Dakota! Despite the fact that I have yet to use it or even own it yet :lol: , I'm excited to have found what I believe to be a near perfect fit for our schooling philosophy.

I have been through all the placement charts and am feeling pretty confident about my choices, but I still need some fine tuning. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

I'll start with my son since I feel his placement is very straight forward. He will turn seven in October. I have used MFW Kinder and we will be finishing up MFW 1st Grade this school year. Even though he is a youngish first grader he is doing very well. His writing is good, but he doesn't want to write very much, just lazy I think. :roll: I started him in Singapore 1A Text & Workbook earlier in the year but we hit a stumbling block and I chose to drop it and go back to the MFW math suggestions instead, saving Singapore for next year. Therefore I figure Beyond will be a perfect fit for him. He has finished all his phonics instruction and is growing well in reading. So, I'm assuming he will be an Emerging Reader next year.

Now for my daughter, she's the tough one. She will be eleven in June, finishing 5th grade. We did MFW Kinder through third grade. That last year (ECC) did not go well and problems were cropping up with English and math as well (I was using Primary Language Lessons and Singapore). I switched to a mixture of stuff for 4th & 5th grade. Teaching Textbooks fixed our math struggles. I used Language Lessons for the Elementary Child Vol. I & II and Sequential Spelling I, which were okay. Having found that HOD reccommends R&S English (and totally aggreeing with WHY!), I switched her to R&S 4 about a month ago. It is already reaping understanding and retention, yea! I have given up entirely on spelling for the moment. This is a huge problem area and, I believe, a large contributing factor in her absolute hatred of writing. She is a perfectionist and does not want to make a mistake or take a guess and have it be wrong. She hated dictation so much in second and third grade when I tried it that I abandoned it (although I still think it will work, maybe now that she is older?). We have not used a writing or reading "program" thus far. Writing has consisted of copywork only. We use Italic Handwriting, but she still has a terrible time writing cursive unless there is a model right in front of her. We have covered the first quarter of MOH Vol.I, Apologia Botany, and Prima Latina in a Co-op situation. We also attempted Beautiful Feet's History of California this year, but I gave up trying to get her to follow the guide and really narrate or write answers. There was just no way that was going to happen. I ended up handing her all the books to just read. Her strong points are reading (LOVES reading!) and she is very good with math just as soon as she "gets" it. SO, all that said, I figure Preparing is the way to go for next year, along with DITHOR Lvl 4/5.
But, of course, I have a few questions about that decision. So here goes:

1. What packages/books do I order for her? Do the Extensions replace one of the other packages or add to them?
(Note: I do need to economize to some degree as I am buying for both kids from scratch. I can't get everything, much as I'd like to!)
2. Where will this put us in the years ahead? Just keep going in order or skip something along the way?
3. What should I do about writing? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
4. Is anyone out there combining two kids 4 grades apart? I really had hoped to do American History with both of them this next year, but after finding HOD and going through the placement process, it seems that I should not try to do that at this time.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this!
In Him,
Gina

deltagal
Posts: 930
Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:29 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: Girl and boy, 4 years apart

Post by deltagal » Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:43 pm

Hi Gina ,

Welcome to HOD. I'm just popping in to get the conversation going for you. I know others will have lots to offer.


[quote="Cravensheep"
I'll start with my son since I feel his placement is very straight forward. He will turn seven in October. I have used MFW Kinder and we will be finishing up MFW 1st Grade this school year. Even though he is a youngish first grader he is doing very well. His writing is good, but he doesn't want to write very much, just lazy I think. :roll: I started him in Singapore 1A Text & Workbook earlier in the year but we hit a stumbling block and I chose to drop it and go back to the MFW math suggestions instead, saving Singapore for next year. Therefore I figure Beyond will be a perfect fit for him. He has finished all his phonics instruction and is growing well in reading. So, I'm assuming he will be an Emerging Reader next year.

This does sound great for him. And I have a feeling if he's been using MFW math. He could easily place in Singapore 2A. Be sure to re-do his assessment when you get closer to starting him. You never know?

Now for my daughter, she's the tough one. She will be eleven in June, finishing 5th grade. We did MFW Kinder through third grade. That last year (ECC) did not go well and problems were cropping up with English and math as well (I was using Primary Language Lessons and Singapore). I switched to a mixture of stuff for 4th & 5th grade. Teaching Textbooks fixed our math struggles. I used Language Lessons for the Elementary Child Vol. I & II and Sequential Spelling I, which were okay. Having found that HOD reccommends R&S English (and totally aggreeing with WHY!), I switched her to R&S 4 about a month ago. It is already reaping understanding and retention, yea! I have given up entirely on spelling for the moment. This is a huge problem area and, I believe, a large contributing factor in her absolute hatred of writing. She is a perfectionist and does not want to make a mistake or take a guess and have it be wrong. She hated dictation so much in second and third grade when I tried it that I abandoned it (although I still think it will work, maybe now that she is older?). We have not used a writing or reading "program" thus far. Writing has consisted of copywork only. We use Italic Handwriting, but she still has a terrible time writing cursive unless there is a model right in front of her. We have covered the first quarter of MOH Vol.I, Apologia Botany, and Prima Latina in a Co-op situation. We also attempted Beautiful Feet's History of California this year, but I gave up trying to get her to follow the guide and really narrate or write answers. There was just no way that was going to happen. I ended up handing her all the books to just read. Her strong points are reading (LOVES reading!) and she is very good with math just as soon as she "gets" it. SO, all that said, I figure Preparing is the way to go for next year, along with DITHOR Lvl 4/5.
But, of course, I have a few questions about that decision. So here goes:

Did you select Preparing based on the placement chart? Or because that just seemed right? I think Preparing is a great guide, but I wanted to simply double-check. My 11 year old is in Preparing. I would suggest that you add in HOD's cursive book as part of the PHFHG experience to solidify her cursive skills. In fact, several years ago when my oldest was in PHFHG Carrie suggested we not do the cursive assignments in the guide in cursive until we completed the cursive book and brought those skills up to speed.

1. What packages/books do I order for her? Do the Extensions replace one of the other packages or add to them?

The Extensions are in addition to the other guides. When I initially ordered my books I purchased them 9-weeks worth at a time, which helped avoid a hard hit on the budget. There are some economizing options. I can go into more detail on that later, if you like.
(Note: I do need to economize to some degree as I am buying for both kids from scratch. I can't get everything, much as I'd like to!)
2. Where will this put us in the years ahead? Just keep going in order or skip something along the way?
They both sound like they'll be well-positioned in the guides. You could plan to just move forward. The only exception would be if a child take a tremendous leap in skills and you really want to "jump" a guide. However, that's not necessary at all and there's plenty of flexibility within each guide for a wide range of skills. It's really advised to just keep making steady progress forward once you find the right starting place.
3. What should I do about writing? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
The cursive book should help with the mechanics. The PHFHG guide will help with composition and spelling will be addressed through dication. You can drop all your other curriculum that your using to address these. If you like. YOu'll be on solid ground for instruction with the PHFHG guide.
4. Is anyone out there combining two kids 4 grades apart? I really had hoped to do American History with both of them this next year, but after finding HOD and going through the placement process, it seems that I should not try to do that at this time.
4 years is a wide range. The HOD guides are at their best when you really use it based on each child's placement. However, I imagine there are folks out these that have combined with that age range. And perhaps, they'll pop-in.

Again, welcome to HOD. Enjoy the journey. :D
With Joy!
Florence

My blog: http://florencebrooks.com/

Began HOD 1/2009
Currently using: Bigger, RTR, Rev to Rev and MTMM

deltagal
Posts: 930
Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2008 8:29 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: Girl and boy, 4 years apart

Post by deltagal » Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:00 pm

I found these posts from several years ago from Carrie when I began with my 11 yo in Preparing, in which she offers a few economizing thoughts.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2358

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2350#p17466

And here's the post about a cursive plan with PHFHG:

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2748#p20373
With Joy!
Florence

My blog: http://florencebrooks.com/

Began HOD 1/2009
Currently using: Bigger, RTR, Rev to Rev and MTMM

Cravensheep
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2012 3:43 pm

Re: Girl and boy, 4 years apart

Post by Cravensheep » Thu Apr 12, 2012 9:35 pm

Hi Florence!

Thanks for your input. I did choose Preparing based on the Placement charts. Her L.A. skills really dictated that I not try to put her in a higher level guide. And it seems this would be a great place to jump into the whole HOD experience. :) The links you have included really helped too.

As for the cursive handwriting...I need to clarify. The only material we use that is absolutely what I want my kids to learn is the Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series. I've used it from the beginning. It is clear, easy, and beautiful. And, I think more practical than traditional cursive because it simply joins the letter forms when you reach the cursive stage, rather than teaching new letter forms. But anyway, my daughter struggled with the Italic Cursive when we got there {some letters do not join, which messes her up}, begged me to do "loopy cursive," so I had her try A Reason for Handwriting. We didn't get very far before that was even more of a problem and she actually chose to go back to italic. Her copywork is out of a work book that has famous character quotes modeled in Cursive Italic which she can copy fairly well. The problem is in writing something out of her own head. She really struggles with writing period. Whether it is something to say, how to say it, or how to put it down on paper. She can only do one thing at a time. I'm not sure if introducing yet another handwriting book would be a good idea or not, but I'm certainly open to being persuaded if someone has a good argument. :wink: I'm not entirely convinced anyone really needs to know how to write in cursive at all!

So let's see, I should order the Preparing Economy Pkg, Science Add-on, the Extentions, and DITHOR Lvl 4/5 for sure. {I will be using Teaching Textbooks for Math and a friend is graciously letting me borrow her R&S Texts.} This should be all that is necessary, right? Then, IF I can afford to, order the Basic pkg. and a book set for reading.

Thanks again, I am really enjoying the forums! Everyone is so helpful and encouraging.

~Gina

momtofive
Posts: 295
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:26 pm

Re: Girl and boy, 4 years apart

Post by momtofive » Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:56 am

Gina, welcome to the HOD family! :D Glad to have you here! :D

I just wanted to encourage you about choosing Preparing. From what you shared about your daughter, it does sound like a good fit for her and a good place to begin your HOD journey! We began our oldest in Preparing when we first began HOD! And our next two in line used Beyond! You are in for such a great year. We absolutely LOVED Beyond and Preparing Hearts!

I do want to encourage you also, to get the Basic Package (from Preparing) of storytime books, though. They add SO MUCH to the study of history and help students to really delve into that time period and learn so much through it. They are all such great books, I'd feel so bad if you couldn't enjoy them with your daughter! :wink: If buying them all at once is creating a problem, you could look into just buying a few at a time. Or even looking into checking them out from your library (if they have them). Just a thought to help you enjoy these wonderful books in your home.

Best wishes as you begin with HOD! It's truly a wonderful Christ-centered curriculum that is blessing SO MANY families!

Blessings! :wink:
Lisa ~ Gal. 2:20, Prov. 3:5-6
Mom to five great blessings :)
Ds23 - Graduated from HOD!
Ds21 - Graduated from HOD!
Dd19 - Graduated from HOD!
Dd17 - US History 2
Dd16 - World History

Loving HOD since 2010!

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