New to homeschooling with placement questions
Posted: Tue May 31, 2016 5:23 pm
Hello! I'm brand new to HOD, brand new to these message boards, and brand new to homeschooling altogether! I'm a mama to four awesome kids, and will begin homeschooling them starting this summer. Up until now, both my boys (ages 7 and 6) have attended a private Christian school at our church. My boys are currently in 2nd grade and kindergarten, and the school uses Abeka to teach the students there. Having our boys there up until now has been a good solution for our family up until this point, as we have decided long ago that public school is not for our family, but the thought of homeschooling has been tugging at my heart for a long time. God has finally opened the door for this to happen, and after researching different curricula for months, I feel as though HOD is where we are being led. So here we are!
So, having said all of that, I'm having some trouble deciding on where to place my boys. My girls are still a bit young (DD1 just turned 3 this month, and DD2 just turned 18 months). Like I said above, my boys are currently in 2nd grade and kindergarten.
DS1 will be 8 at the end of October, so he is a bit young for his grade. He reads out loud quite well, and takes his time to sound out words. He will literally read anything, anywhere (he reads store signs while we are out shopping, he'll read my text messages over my shoulder, he'll basically sound out anything he sees, lol). His reading comprehension is pretty good too, as he will read the instructions to a board game, for example, and then tell his brother how to play the game. He loves math, seems to grasp the concepts pretty well, and is at (what I would consider) an average level in 2nd grade math. He struggles a lot with spelling words. This might have to do with what/how it has been presented to him, and the fact that he is a daydreamer and sometimes has trouble sitting down, focusing on his work, and just getting it done. He is usually assigned 23-26 spelling words a week. He's expected to write each word 4 times every night for homework, and then he is given a spelling test on them every Friday. He HATES this homework, as he feels that it's boring (I agree). He doesn't seem to retain anything at all when he writes the words as assigned, but if we study with him by giving him a small whiteboard and quizzing him on the words over and over, he enjoys that much more and will do quite well on his spelling tests by studying this way. So again, it's hard to tell if he struggles with spelling due to the fact that he's given lots of mundane homework and doesn't learn well this way, or if he truly has struggles with spelling. He's very inquisitive, and very active, and while he will sit nicely a lot of the time, he loves to be up running around and playing. As far as placement goes, I was thinking about starting him with Beyond Little Hearts. He's 7 now, and won't be 8 until October. But he'd technically be starting 3rd grade. I'm not sure if Beyond will be too easy for him, or just right, and I was also considering Bigger Hearts. I don't know why I'm leaning toward Beyond instead of Bigger - I think my reasons are mostly 1) He's young for his grade, being a late fall baby, and could technically be in 1st grade right now, if we had held him back a year (although he's been doing quite well along side his peers); 2) He's been struggling with a very difficult/rigorous (for him, at least) spelling program this year, and it's making him stressed out and hating school; and 3) He's been bullied in school ALL YEAR LONG and it's definitely made things really hard on him this year. I was thinking that Beyond would maybe be exactly what he needs....a breath of fresh air, if you will....to kind of take things more slowly, and re-kindle his desire and love of learning that he once had. Am I correct in my thinking? Of course, I would still want him challenged, and if he's not going to be challenged in Beyond, then maybe I would need to place him in Bigger. What are you thoughts/suggestions? I have never chosen curriculum before, so I'm a little nervous about me choosing the right thing. I also wanted to add the Drawn Into the Heart of Reading package for him, but again, I'm confused as to which level to put him in. I'm pretty sure he would be at level 2/3, but which readers would I choose? Level 2 readers, or level 3? How can I determine which one would be the right fit for him?
As for my younger son, DS2 just turned 6 yesterday (my Memorial Day baby ), and has been having fun in kindergarten this year. In January, he started to read short stories that have mostly 3 or 4 letter words, and he's been doing pretty well. He takes a good amount of time sounding out words, but at times, he does tend to just guess instead of sounding out the words. I remember his older brother doing that at this age, too. He loves numbers and math, and LOVES to be read to. He loves stories. Thankfully, kindergarten in this school is a lot of active play, so there's not much more to report about regarding his education/level. I'm pretty sure I will be starting him with Little Hearts for 1st grade. Does that sound about right for him?
I obviously don't need to purchase anything for the baby (18 months), but DD1, who just turned 3, is chomping at the bit to do some sort of "school," just like her brothers, and I was considering maybe getting Little Hands for her, and doing it very slowly with her, here and there. I was thinking maybe even spreading it out over two years, and including the baby in it, too. Is this a good idea, or could I possibly be taking on too much?
One last thing (and if you've read this far, I thank you so much)....I have looked into different math, science, and bible programs, and would like to supplement with those in addition to HOD being my kids' core curriculum. Is this unwise to do? I know for sure that I would like to use a different bible study program - not that there is anything at all wrong with the HOD one, but I found one through our church that is perfect for our family, and will be using that. For math and science, I would like to supplement with something different - again, not that there is anything wrong with the ones through HOD, but I found other programs I really, really like. Please let me know if you think this would be an unwise decision at their ages.
Well, I'm sorry for my very long-winded post, but thank you so very much for reading all of this! I've looked at the placement charts over and over, and I don't feel 100% certain about where I should place my boys. I'm pretty sure DS2 should be place in Little Hearts for 1st grade, but I don't know which reading program to choose for him. I'm not sure whether to place DS1 into Beyond or Bigger, and I'm not sure which set of readers I should choose for him (level 2 or level 3) in the Drawn Into The Heart of Reading set. I would really love to hear your thoughts, and I graciously accept any suggestions you could give.
Thanks so much!
So, having said all of that, I'm having some trouble deciding on where to place my boys. My girls are still a bit young (DD1 just turned 3 this month, and DD2 just turned 18 months). Like I said above, my boys are currently in 2nd grade and kindergarten.
DS1 will be 8 at the end of October, so he is a bit young for his grade. He reads out loud quite well, and takes his time to sound out words. He will literally read anything, anywhere (he reads store signs while we are out shopping, he'll read my text messages over my shoulder, he'll basically sound out anything he sees, lol). His reading comprehension is pretty good too, as he will read the instructions to a board game, for example, and then tell his brother how to play the game. He loves math, seems to grasp the concepts pretty well, and is at (what I would consider) an average level in 2nd grade math. He struggles a lot with spelling words. This might have to do with what/how it has been presented to him, and the fact that he is a daydreamer and sometimes has trouble sitting down, focusing on his work, and just getting it done. He is usually assigned 23-26 spelling words a week. He's expected to write each word 4 times every night for homework, and then he is given a spelling test on them every Friday. He HATES this homework, as he feels that it's boring (I agree). He doesn't seem to retain anything at all when he writes the words as assigned, but if we study with him by giving him a small whiteboard and quizzing him on the words over and over, he enjoys that much more and will do quite well on his spelling tests by studying this way. So again, it's hard to tell if he struggles with spelling due to the fact that he's given lots of mundane homework and doesn't learn well this way, or if he truly has struggles with spelling. He's very inquisitive, and very active, and while he will sit nicely a lot of the time, he loves to be up running around and playing. As far as placement goes, I was thinking about starting him with Beyond Little Hearts. He's 7 now, and won't be 8 until October. But he'd technically be starting 3rd grade. I'm not sure if Beyond will be too easy for him, or just right, and I was also considering Bigger Hearts. I don't know why I'm leaning toward Beyond instead of Bigger - I think my reasons are mostly 1) He's young for his grade, being a late fall baby, and could technically be in 1st grade right now, if we had held him back a year (although he's been doing quite well along side his peers); 2) He's been struggling with a very difficult/rigorous (for him, at least) spelling program this year, and it's making him stressed out and hating school; and 3) He's been bullied in school ALL YEAR LONG and it's definitely made things really hard on him this year. I was thinking that Beyond would maybe be exactly what he needs....a breath of fresh air, if you will....to kind of take things more slowly, and re-kindle his desire and love of learning that he once had. Am I correct in my thinking? Of course, I would still want him challenged, and if he's not going to be challenged in Beyond, then maybe I would need to place him in Bigger. What are you thoughts/suggestions? I have never chosen curriculum before, so I'm a little nervous about me choosing the right thing. I also wanted to add the Drawn Into the Heart of Reading package for him, but again, I'm confused as to which level to put him in. I'm pretty sure he would be at level 2/3, but which readers would I choose? Level 2 readers, or level 3? How can I determine which one would be the right fit for him?
As for my younger son, DS2 just turned 6 yesterday (my Memorial Day baby ), and has been having fun in kindergarten this year. In January, he started to read short stories that have mostly 3 or 4 letter words, and he's been doing pretty well. He takes a good amount of time sounding out words, but at times, he does tend to just guess instead of sounding out the words. I remember his older brother doing that at this age, too. He loves numbers and math, and LOVES to be read to. He loves stories. Thankfully, kindergarten in this school is a lot of active play, so there's not much more to report about regarding his education/level. I'm pretty sure I will be starting him with Little Hearts for 1st grade. Does that sound about right for him?
I obviously don't need to purchase anything for the baby (18 months), but DD1, who just turned 3, is chomping at the bit to do some sort of "school," just like her brothers, and I was considering maybe getting Little Hands for her, and doing it very slowly with her, here and there. I was thinking maybe even spreading it out over two years, and including the baby in it, too. Is this a good idea, or could I possibly be taking on too much?
One last thing (and if you've read this far, I thank you so much)....I have looked into different math, science, and bible programs, and would like to supplement with those in addition to HOD being my kids' core curriculum. Is this unwise to do? I know for sure that I would like to use a different bible study program - not that there is anything at all wrong with the HOD one, but I found one through our church that is perfect for our family, and will be using that. For math and science, I would like to supplement with something different - again, not that there is anything wrong with the ones through HOD, but I found other programs I really, really like. Please let me know if you think this would be an unwise decision at their ages.
Well, I'm sorry for my very long-winded post, but thank you so very much for reading all of this! I've looked at the placement charts over and over, and I don't feel 100% certain about where I should place my boys. I'm pretty sure DS2 should be place in Little Hearts for 1st grade, but I don't know which reading program to choose for him. I'm not sure whether to place DS1 into Beyond or Bigger, and I'm not sure which set of readers I should choose for him (level 2 or level 3) in the Drawn Into The Heart of Reading set. I would really love to hear your thoughts, and I graciously accept any suggestions you could give.
Thanks so much!