Just discovered HOD

[laurapella]

Hi,

My name is Laura, and I just discovered HOD about 4 days ago. I have already spent at least 24 hrs poring over any info I can find but still have some questions. This is our 2nd yr hsing, and I have ds 9 (will be 4th gr), ds 7 (will be 2nd gr), dd 5 (will be K), and dd 3. I know these questions have been answered many times (from reading the message boards) but would appreciate any insights you ladies have!

I have been looking at Preparing for ds 9 yo. I actually believe he could place into CtC, but because he has always used the "textbook" approach, I am leaning towards the earlier program to "ease into" the CM style. He loves grammar and just finished the BJU English 3. I used the 4th gr reader with him, and he was able to read it with no problem but also with no enjoyment. I personally LOVE to read and hope to instill that in him also by turning to real books! He also just finished up with Horizons 4th gr math. Questions re: him...1. Do you think he could make the switch to SM at this late stage, or should I continue with what we used last year? 2. Should I get self-study deluxe history in addition to basic package? and 3. Should we do extensions with him as he is a very good reader (just doesn't enjoy it)?

Next, looking at Beyond for ds 7. I am having trouble deciding bet Beyond or Bigger here. I think the only skill he is missing here is the "grammar lessons," as we spent all last year working on phonics. Leaning toward Beyond because having him write anything is like pulling teeth! Questions: 1. Am I right in placing him in Beyond? 2. How do I decide between Emerging reader and DITHOR? I would have said he read independently, but the 2nd level books say they are for reading level 3.0 and higher. I am not sure he is there yet. On the other hand, the emerging reader set seems well below his ability. 3. What does the Deluxe Package do? 4. I am thinking he would do very well transitioning to SM as it is his favorite subject, and I am actually looking for something a little more challenging!

Dd 5 is easy (I assume). I am looking at Little Hearts with K package. My only real question here is what the differences are between the phonics currics are? Both my ds were in school at this age, so I have never taught anyone to read. She is very quick, already knows her letters, can sound out some CVC words, and is begging me to teach her to read!

I hope I have been clear in my questions! I just want to make sure I am clear on what would be required before jumping into this. I already bought my entire curriculum for this coming year before discovering HOD, but this program looks SO amazing to me that I would be willing to completely start over! Please HELP! Thanks!

Laura

[lissiejo]

Next, looking at Beyond for ds 7. I am having trouble deciding bet Beyond or Bigger here. I think the only skill he is missing here is the "grammar lessons," as we spent all last year working on phonics. Leaning toward Beyond because having him write anything is like pulling teeth! Questions: 1. Am I right in placing him in Beyond? 2. How do I decide between Emerging reader and DITHOR? I would have said he read independently, but the 2nd level books say they are for reading level 3.0 and higher. I am not sure he is there yet. On the other hand, the emerging reader set seems well below his ability. 3. What does the Deluxe Package do? 4. I am thinking he would do very well transitioning to SM as it is his favorite subject, and I am actually looking for something a little more challenging!

I'm going to try and answer these for you

DS7
1.I did Beyond with my 6-year-old, 1st grade daughter this year and she will move into Bigger next year as a 2nd grader. HOWEVER...I wouldn't have her in Bigger as a 2nd grader if she had not done Beyond already. She is ready only because of the skills learned in Beyond. I think your decision is wise. Grammar is one day a week and an easy intro into the basics of grammar. If you feel he is ready for formal lessons you can still use Rod and Staff 2 and do one lesson a day as scheduled in Bigger.

2.My daughter was well above the emerging readers as far as reading fluently was concerned, but not for comprehension. It was good to have her read the books and the comprehension questions. I also had her read them at a much faster pace. Then we moved on to the DITHR book sets, but not the activities. It was a good switch-over. I have her just tell me what happened in each chapter she reads. She usually does 1 chapter a day unless she is begging to read more...which she typically is!

3. The Deluxe Package are read alouds. We used the library for these to save money.

4. We don't use Singapore so I can't answer to that so much.

DS5-I have used Little Hearts for His Glory as a K curriculum and found it to be excellent. I did not, however, use the phonics choices because I wasn't aware of HOD at the time I started teaching my girls reading in pre-k.

I hope this has helped some!
Melissa

[4Hispraise]

Hi Laura and welcome!

I am going to try to give a little input about Preparing. I am sure that some of the other women will jump in with great advice!

1. Do you think he could make the switch to SM at this late stage, or should I continue with what we used last year?

This is really a personal preference. We discovered HOD when my ds was 10 & we continued the math we formerly used. I know with my younger we will be using Singapore and all the guides as written. Having not ever used Singapore, I really can't advise more than that.

2. Should I get self-study deluxe history in addition to basic package?

I would definitely get the self-study deluxe package. The resources are excellent!

3. Should we do extensions with him as he is a very good reader (just doesn't enjoy it)?

First of all, with his age, the extensions are not necessary. The program is very full without them. Some of the living books tend to be challenging in the beginning. I would not recommend getting the extensions for him to do because he does not enjoy reading. Also, learning to do oral and written narrations causes the child to interact with the material in a new way. This alone may leave him feeling challenged. My last thought is that forcing him to read even more, at a higher level, may lead to an even stronger dislike of reading. Just what I experienced with my oldest.

Anyway, hope that helps some!

[frankesense]

Hi,

I have been looking at Preparing for ds 9 yo. Questions re: him...1. Do you think he could make the switch to SM at this late stage, or should I continue with what we used last year? 2. Should I get self-study deluxe history in addition to basic package? and 3. Should we do extensions with him as he is a very good reader (just doesn't enjoy it)?

Next, looking at Beyond for ds 7. Questions: 1. Am I right in placing him in Beyond? 2. How do I decide between Emerging reader and DITHOR? 3. What does the Deluxe Package do? 4. I am thinking he would do very well transitioning to SM as it is his favorite subject, and I am actually looking for something a little more challenging!

Dd 5 I am looking at Little Hearts with K package. My only real question here is what the differences are between the phonics currics are?

Laura

I think that your 9 yr. old would do best with Preparing. Since you will be new to the CM approach it will be a good beginning, teaching some of the basic skills needed for later guides. Preparing is really a great, full program. The extensions were intended for 11 yr. and older, so especially if your son doesn't enjoy reading independently right now - it could be too much for him. You can just place him in whatever level he would fit into Rod & Staff English. You could use DITHOR level 4/5. I can't give much input into whether or not you should change your math program (we haven't been through that kind of a change)- maybe some others who have done it successfully will give their input. My kids have enjoyed the independent self-study history part of the program. It has given them some confidence in doing more school independently but they have also really enjoyed the content of books they've read and the projects they've done.

I also think that Beyond would be a good fit for your 7 yr. old. It, too, has a great intro of skills needed for the next guide/s. Students are meant to start DITHOR when they can read independently, understand what they are reading, and have a short discussion about what they read. If you don't think your child is at the level yet, just figure out where they do fit in the Emerging Readers and start at that point. The Deluxe package is used for the storytime read alouds, which was a favorite part of our day during the Beyond guide. I wouldn't skip it, but if you needed to economize, you could borrow books from the library for each genre studied.

Your 5 yr. old would easily fit in Little Hearts. I haven't used either of the phonics programs suggested as we found HOD after doing phonics with my kids. But I have heard good things about The Reading Lesson. I know that there are other threads on the board where the two programs are compared.

One other thing, I know that running 3 programs at once could be overwhelming but I know other moms have successfully done it when their children are correctly placed. You can go to the top of the message board and find the thread where people share their schedules - that could give you some great ideas on how to make it work for your family. There would also be the possibility of combining your 5 and 7 yr. olds in Little Hearts (upping the skills for math and LA for ds 7)...so you wouldn't have to do back to back guides in the future.

I hope all this is helpful and that you find HOD a good fit for you. Our homeschooling years with HOD have been our best - it is a great fit for our family!

Stephanie

[laurapella]

Thank you so much for the information already provided! I think all of you have solidified what I was already thinking and for a lot of the same reasons. I had thought about combining younger 2, but I am concerned about my ds attitude about this. I think he may feel a little strange doing the same book as his sister who is 2 yrs younger. Has anyone encountered this, or does it usually work out very well?

I guess my only remaining question would be about switching my older son to SM. I mistyped yesterday, though. He just STARTED Horizon's 4 math, not just finished. We would start him in either SM 4A or 3B. Any input from someone who has done this would be appreciated. Thanks again!

Laura

[Robbi]

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12057

In this thread, Julie (my3sons), who is the authors sister, recommended it ok to switch to SM until 5th or 6th level. So I think just starting 4 you could give it a try. SM is considered advanced so even if you have to go back to 3a, that's ok. Be sure to give him the singapore placement test (julie linked it). Without helping your kiddo at all. I just want to add that doing 3a/3b in Preparing is the normal progression.
1a/1b in Beyond
2a/2b in Bigger
3a/3b in Preparing.

But for 3a on up, there is no activities planned besides the textbook so if you started at 3b that would totally work too. HTH!

[edsnyder]

On switching be sure to place him properly don't just go by the grade or number have him take the test it will probably be the same but we had to back track a little with the switch which wasn't really back tracking if you get what I am saying

On teaching reading - we are using the reading lesson and it is going well for us after using two other programs - I read a post by Carrie after the fact and she said that most people pick three phonics programs before deciding on one - so look at them and go with the third one you would choose lol - j/k We did get the cd rom and my boy loves doing it on the computer - I think it a little cheesy tho but it does get the sounds across... I like The Reading Lesson bc it jumps in and doesn't review all the sounds but starts off teaching them words and it helps with memorizing the sight words as well...but I haven't used the other program that HOD offers either....

hope this helps.

[amysconfections]

I have been using HOD for 5 years now. We love it. I do prefer to have my older two combined for my sanity. When I had my 3rd child I combined my older two. I would encourage you to look at the time each program takes before deciding whether to combine some of your kids. Your oldest sounds like he would fit well in Preparing without the extensions. The extensions are for older children that are at the upper age of the guide or older. Preparing starts to teach them some independence.

For your 7 year old I would go with Beyond. You want at least one guide between children. Doing Bigger would also nearly double your time compared to Beyond. Beyond is a very great program that I would not want to miss. Then you have the choice to just work on phonics and workbooks with your 5 yr old and let him listen in to the 7 yr old's storytime.

Or you can combine your older two in Bigger, then younger two in Little Hands. To Bigger you would add in your oldest son's English at his level and math. This would give your older son time to get used to the CM approach and learn to enjoy books. Then you would get the extension readers for him if he enjoys reading them. My son loved all but the science book in the extension pack. Some of his favorites were Bud and me and Buffalo knife. Since your 7 yr old hates to write you can ease him into the notebooking things by copying the verses for him and letting him do the rest. By the end of the year he can do all of it.
For your 5 yr old you would do reading lessons and the Rod and staff workbooks and math.

In short you can combine but everyone is on their level for skill subjects like Math and reading.
I just finished up Bigger with my 7 and 9 yr olds. They did great together in it. We had a wonderful year.