Need Choosing Help!

[sted]

I recently discovered HOD and am liking what I see. Here's my situation:

I would really like to do American History. We have done World history, and this year Canadian History and now I am geared up for doing Am. History because I want to learn it better! I figure if the teacher's excited that's half the battle!
Is there a HOD program that would work for us?

My children next year will be:

daughter 10 - fairly advanced in language skills, excellent reader
daughter 9 - just beyond emerging reader, behind in writing, needs more hands-on approach perhaps?
daughter 6 - emerging reader, fairly keen and picks up lots!

son 4 - preschooler
baby 1 year (learning by osmosis)

So I'm looking at Bigger program (why are the titles so confusing, the acronyms even trickier:) and thinking "Could I make it work for all?" I'm thinking it would probably fit the 9 year old fine as is but what about the others? I'm not too concernd about my preschooler, but would Bigger be too easy for my oldest? I think I would add some more advanced writing eg) Write with the Best I was considering. Also, should I add the program below (also Am. History) for my 6 year old and read Am. Pioneers and Patriots to her and do those activities? Do the programs sync up at all or is it overkill?

Also, can I use the Drawn into reading with all of them (or at least the oldest two) and just get the appropriate readers?
And do I teach theat as a group and then just individualize based on their levels?

How do people make their days work? Any ideas?

Sorry for all the questions but thanks for any help you can give,
Shannon

[netpea]

I would advise you to start with the placement chart. It is really good. As far as your oldest goes, Bigger has extensions for 4th and 5th graders, so it may be possible to combine them in Bigger. Let us know your thoughts after you check out the placement chart...

[water2wine]

I agree the skills on the placement chart are key. Take a good objective look at that. But I will tell you that I have a very similar age span as you. I do Little Hearts with my 4 and newly 7 year old and Bigger with my 9-11 year olds. I have all levels of reading in Bigger(one of my children has special needs). The two programs together really works. All my kids get met at their need level. The programs have 2-3 (but gets trickier with three grades and it really depends on skill levels more) of over lap. I find combining 4th and 6th grade in Bigger very easy and I will tell you that my 6th grader is an advanced and constant reader. I have also found that I can combine K and 1st very easily. I have one who is emerging reader there and one the younger one that is really starting to take off as well but she was not when we first started and it still worked.

Don't be afraid to run two programs. It really works well and your children will thrive and love it! Take a look at the placement chart and tell us what you think. The ladies here are great with helping you get placed.

Welcome

[6timeboymom]

I use Bigger with my 13, 10, and 8 year olds. The 13 and the 10 do the extension packs and their own math programs. They both do the Drawn into the heart of reading, and the 8 year old does the emerging readers.
I also use the HOD Bigger history for my 15 year old, but I add additional reading from ther sources for him. It's worked out great so we have everyone in the house on the same page when it comes to history! that way we can have really interesting discussions about that particular time period.

[Carrie]

Shannon,

The ladies are doing a great job of helping you talk through options. In order for us to advise you better, it would really help to have a bit more information. Here's a link to the placement chart the ladies mentioned: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

If you get a chance, pop back in and tell us where your kiddos place on the chart. Give the most emphasis to the first page of the chart. Then, set all combining scenarios aside for now and tell us each kiddo's placement. That will help us advise you more specifically and will help us toss out options that may work for your situation.

Blessings,
Carrie

[sted]

I've checked the placement chart and my girls would be Beyond, Bigger and the newest one (can't remember the name) based mostly on their language arts skills. I know I'm all over the board but I really like the idea of using one history theme for the whole family.

My one thought is getting Bigger for my middle, (and possibly some for the youngest to listen in on eg) First American History) , emerging readers for my youngest, and then ordering Sonlight 3+4 for my oldest. We could perhaps do DITHOR all together.

One more question, do I need to order a 2/3 package for the middle child or are the books included in Bigger for readers. Or are they read-alouds?

Thanks,
Shannon

[8arrows]

If you are going to do one program, I would buy bigger for everyone with the extensions for the eldest. There is a storybox time for each of the genres in Bigger. You would not need to do DITHOR with your 6 and 9 year old, unless you chose to with the 9 year when that child was reading well independently. You could use DITHOR with your eldest. Are you using an English, Spelling and Math program that you like and intend to stick with, or are you going to use HOD recommendations? That will make a difference with specific recommendations. With your last post (adding so many things), I think you may lose the beauty of HOD.

[Carrie]

Shannon,

Thanks so much for sharing a bit about your kiddos. The ladies are doing a good job of helping you think through your options. I agree that if you're wanting to combine them, then Bigger would be your best fit. You could do the left side of Bigger Hearts with all of them and the storytime set from the right side of the plans with all as well. Your older student would add the Extension Pack and be fine with that. Your middle child would do all of Bigger Hearts as written including spelling/dictation, grammar, cursive, and math. Or, you could keep your own favorites in those areas if you prefer.

As far as the literature portion goes, your youngest child would you use the Emerging Reader's Set (which is scheduled in the Appendix of Bigger Hearts) for reading. Your middle child would most likely do the last half of the emerging reader's set and then move into DITHR Level 2/3 for the last half of the year. Your oldest child would most likely use DITHR Level 4/5.

For the rest of your 6 year old's language arts and math, you could also add the right side of the Beyond Little Hearts guide if needed to cover your spelling lessons, gentle grammar instruction, and math lessons for Singapore 1A/1B.

For your older child, you could either utilize your own choices for grammar, math, and writing or use our recommended resources.

I hope this helps! If you have other questions, feel free to ask!

Blessings,
Carrie