Which program should I start with??

[Michaeljenn]

I'm trying to decide what to place my soon to be 9yo in the fall. If I place her in Preparing, she will arrive at High School level in 8th grade. If I place her in Bigger, then the R&S level she will be in is not scheduled, and I'm afraid it could be too light. However, she has not had much American History. Any advice?

Jennifer

[Leslie in TN]

With the situation you describe, I would be inclined to start with Bigger. You could always slow down the Rod & Staff to half-pace and finish over two years, or just focus on writing skills for the coming year. Have you checked the placement chart to see whether Bigger or Preparing would be the best fit?

http://heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I've learned that with HOD, placement is absolutely vital. I have gotten hung up in the past on content and looking forward too far, and we've had to make adjustments after the fact. Truly, I think either Bigger or Preparing would be an excellent choice, but I would encourage you to make your decision based on skills rather than content.

[mom23]

It's easy to substitute the R&S book that you need with the Bigger guide. There aren't any special activities included in the manual for these, they just list page numbers. So if you use the next level up and just do a lesson a day you'll be in good shape. The goal is to get through R&S book 6 by the end of 8th grade, and starting with CTC, the guides only schedule R&S twice a week to get through one entire grammar book in two school years. Maybe that information will let you know how you need to pace.

[my3sons]

Hi there, and welcome to the HOD Board, Jennifer! The ladies here are super helpful with placement, but we are careful not to advise glibly without knowing a little more about each child's specific needs. So, I wanted to check if you'd had a chance to look at the placement chart yet? It is right on track for placing dc usually. The first page is pretty important and the one we like to hear about here when helping with placement. When you look at the chart, where does she fall in reading, writing, grammar, and math? I'd love to help you out with a tad more info! I'll be spreading out the 4 high school guides over 5 years for my ds in that situation, and I am really excited about that - so, if your dd does fit best in PHFHG, I'd not let high school pacing deter you! I'll check back later here!

In Christ,
Julie