I need guidance! PLEASE!!!!

[aecastleberry]

Hi there. I am new to this forum, but not new to homeschooling! We are finishing up our 6th year - and I am feeling disheveled. 

 

My daughter (10) is very, very bright, has been using Heart of Dakota for years, and she has done really well with it. HOD is truly a wonderful curriculum; I have no complaints about anything that she has learned, and I enjoyed learning along with her in the earlier guides. 

 

However, I have two other children that are throwing my perfect HOD world upside down and into a tailspin. 

 

My middle son (9) is just a year younger than my daughter, but he has dyslexia. While he struggles with reading/spelling/writing his struggles do not take away his interest in learning - and my kiddos want to "learn" together. HOD does not lend itself to my children learning anything together. I completely understand the reasoning behind the separate guides, keeping them "on level," and as a former PS middle school teacher this all makes sense to my head. But it doesn't make sense to my Mama's heart. 

 

Next year, my daughter is scheduled to be in Resurrection to Reformation and will be learning about the Middle Ages. I already know how next year will go: my middle son will be longingly listening in to her readings, looking at her projects, etc. b/c this time period is just so engaging and interesting. ((I also have a 5 year old boy who would love to "do school" with his older siblings!))

 

I feel that my only two options are:

1) Run 3 separate guides with HOD (Little Hearts, Preparing, and Res to Ref)

2) Find something else

 

Both options are terrifying to me! 

 

I know there are moms out there who run 4+ guides, and my hat is off to them. But my personality just doesn't fit that. I *want* to learn with my children. My daughter has had so much independent work this year, that I honestly don't know half of what she has learned. While I trust HOD, it makes me feel disconnected from my daughter. (I know that independence is a fantastic and necessary skill, but to learn so much on your own at 10 years old seems very young to me.) My daughter has also felt the weight of it this year. She has shed many tears b/c we don't do much together any more. When our "box day" arrived a couple of weeks ago, we were going through everything together. I was oohing and aaahing over it all and she says, "I'd be excited, too, if I didn't have to teach myself." Knife in the heart. :( She can do it, but being so isolated hurts her spirit.

 

I purchased MOH vol.2 to study and see if it would be something that we could do together. Just looking through it overwhelms me b/c it is very different than what we've become used to with HOD. I already have Apologia's Astronomy that came with Res to Ref, so that is also an option for combining them in science. 

 

We tried MFW a few years ago, but it was too "text-booky" for us. But I've been looking at it again b/c of the family cycle.

 

I guess I'm just looking for advice! Do we stick with HOD, continuing to separate my kiddos? Or do we move to a family learning style? And if we do change things....gulp....where do I start?

[LMD]

I think you need to trust your gut on this. You can do it, I promise!

 

I would salvage as much HOD as I felt comfortable with. Maybe ask your daughter what her favourite part was and keep that, Some independent work is good.

Content subjects are generally easiest to combine. I don't know too much about HOD, but could you just pick a different history to do together and keep the skills subjects going from HOD?

 

Or, keep HOD and add a morning time routine to keep you connected as a family.

https://edsnapshots.com/morning-time-and-how-it-can-change-your-homeschool/

[Starr]

I would have them all use Story of the World Volume 2: the Middle Ages or use it with your younger children. 

[momtofive]

I encourage you to stick with HOD, but really give it some thought on how you might make it work in your particular situation. As much as you're liking it, it would be a shame to abandon it at this point.

 

Could you possibly have your younger ones listen in, and participate in projects, but have their own levels of 3R's also? So maybe let your oldest drive the course, with her doing the notebooking pages, and adapt things so the younger can join in (and you too!).

 

Another thought would be to run 2 guides, one for your oldest and one for your younger kids together. It might be a way to stay involved, but only have two programs going. Just thoughts.....I wish you the best for the coming year. 😊

[Another Lynn]

Listen to your heart and keep your children learning together as long as you can.  Either modify HOD, or pick your own spines and schedule them out (number of lessons, divide by 32 weeks - always nice to have some margin in the year ).  You could use HOD or SOTW (they both have their own maps, suggested extra reading, suggested activities), use Apologia Astronomy with all of them.  Hit the 3Rs separately - each one at their own level and with the method that works best for them.  (I would definitely not try to run 3 or 4 guides, and I would definitely not expect a dyslexic to do all the writing in an HOD guide.  jmho.)

[Peaceseeker]

Sounds like your instinct is to try something new but you are afraid of doing something different. You really can't mess up history or science at those ages- really you can't. Focus on meeting their core needs at their level (reading, writing, math) and have fun as a family with content subjects.

 

If you like the core subjects from HOD you could still use it for that, or just use the math they use and a similar language arts program. You have six years of homeschool experience and you were a former teacher as well. I bet you could totally piece something together that works for your family and have a really awesome year. You only have so many years left where you can work together and it sounds like you want it, your daughter wants it, and your son wants it. Don't let fear stop you from trying. You can always go back to HOD if you want at any time. It will be there. What's the harm in trying a different approach next year if that is where your heart is leading you? I say go for it!

[MerryAtHope]

Oh my goodness, the Middle Ages is such a fun time period to teach all of your kids together! You can do things like get big boxes and make castle cut-outs for them to play in, make swords, make shields and let them design their own family crests...we had a lot of fun that year.

 

You certainly could read Mystery of History 2 aloud to your 9 and 10 yo's together. (I read it to my kids when they were in 4th and 2nd grades, along with doing Sonlight C). I suspect that some of the other HOD books could be read together as well (I only briefly looked over the list--some I know, some I don't.) When I used Sonlight, I just made sure my kids were in the age ranges given for a program. It looks like HOD has age ranges listed, and that your 9 yo is pretty close--I would think if you read things aloud and modified work for him, that you could make it work. It sounds like it would be a better fit for your 10 yo too, if you were more involved. With Sonlight, I read the books aloud, and then I sometimes found activities or coloring pages online to go with what we were reading, or I used some of the MOH activities (it splits activities into groups depending on the ages of your kids, and your kids should be able to enjoy the ones for younger kids, and maybe occasionally a middle school one). Don't feel you need to do everything (we didn't do all of the activities or all of the tests/quizzes/mapping/timeline etc..., just whatever fit us for that year). One of my friends' kids really loved doing the timelines and decorating their figures, but my kids didn't like that as much. Do what works for you. 

 

 

 

 

[FO4UR]

I always did history, science, and literature (read alouds) together.

 

Your older two are close in age. Doing them together makes sense.

 

I used SOTW with activity guides for history. My favorite science years were spent using Delta Science in a Nutshell kits amd utilizing the library as we went, using science as a point for learning library and research skills as well. (very little planning)

 

Quite frankly, with another child coming up and an ld like dyslexia at play, you need to consolidate your time.

 

 

Also, your oldest will have to get used to working independently. That is part of homeschooling. It's the reality that is not displayed in the catalogues. But, that independence is the greatest strength of many homeschool students. It's not a bad thing. I would not recommend changing things to accommodate her desire to have you there at her side the whole time. If you decide to do things together, give her independent work outside of family lessons.

 

Then...you have time to work on getting your dyslexic reading amd writing independently. That seems daunting when he is 9. This is where the lion's share of your extra time needs to be. Everything that came naturally to your daughter will need explicit instruction and repetitive practice for your son.

 

We all do the best we can. No room for momma guilt in the schedule. ;)

[RoundAbout]

I'm not familiar with HOD, but I definitely think combining makes sense for subjects like history and science. It's more convenient for you plus the potential discussion and synergy between them is valuable. I have an only child and often wish I had another close in age so they could discuss and work together on projects. I've borrowed friend's children on occasion for this purpose when we do cool stuff :) I would definitely also try to honor your daughter's interest in more learning together. I know some parents prefer being "principals" who just choose materials, keep everyone on task, and assess, but for me the fun part of homeschooling is direct teaching and learning together.  If you are feeling disconnected and she's requesting more time together, combining history with your 9 year-old (and even your younger to their ability) and learning as a family might be an easy way to do that. 

[....]

Your kids are 10, 9 and 5?  I would combine all three of them for everything, except math and language arts.  I would do math separately for each kid.  Do language arts separately with the 5 year-old and combine language arts for the 9 and 10 year-old.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't do HOD anymore.  That sounds really overwhelming.  I combined mine for years.  I have 5 kids and that was the only way we could get stuff done.

 

I currently have my 12 yro and 10 yro combined with MFW ECC.  I don't usually use a boxed curriculum, but dh felt sorry for me (while I was planning) and bought it this spring.   

 

I even combine my high schoolers.

[Hilltopmom]

Id do SOTW this year for all of them, for history together. Middle Ages is so much fun!

 

Let your older do the stuff you already bought, the parts you find most important, or just re sell the whole lot of it.

[Ellie]

But homeschool is not a classroom. We are most often successful when we do what seems right for the home, not the classroom. Also, remember that in the history of formal education, our current age-segregated classrooms are the new kid on the block.

 

If you love HOD, do that, and do it with everyone. That is one reason that HOD never appealed to me: the age-segregatedness of it.

[MerryAtHope]

But homeschool is not a classroom. We are most often successful when we do what seems right for the home, not the classroom. Also, remember that in the history of formal education, our current age-segregated classrooms are the new kid on the block.

 

If you love HOD, do that, and do it with everyone. That is one reason that HOD never appealed to me: the age-segregatedness of it.

 

Exactly. One-room schoolhouse is the more comparable situation.

[Ausmumof3]

If you can figure out a way to combine them with HOD I would do that to save buying new curriculum. Otherwise do story of the world for the same time period. It's really easy to combine, the activity book is easy to do as much or as little writing as suits the kid. Then look for science you can combine ages with.

 

Alternatively if having a school in the box solution is important to you sonlight is really easy to combine kids with. Just get their separate levels for maths and language arts.

 

There's no way I could manage different programmes for science and history for my three kids - I need to be able to do something that works for them all at least at some level.

[Saddlemomma]

When I first started homeschooling, I set up our space just like a classroom. I ran our homeschool just like a regular school classroom. The sad part is I was never a teacher, and I only had one student!  Oh, how I wish I could repeat those first few years and apply what I know now.

 

Homeschooling is a totally different animal than PS.  You don't have to follow the rules. You can flow, bend, and change on the fly to suit your kids.  Who cares what the specific curriculum tells you at which ages you can and can't teach their material.  If that was the case, I couldn't use the college text I used this past year for DD's science class.  I couldn't have used the academic text I used for DD's Bible class either.  Please relax....take all that with a grain of salt.  Do what you know works for your kids.  If you and they enjoy HOD -- stick with it.  It's hard enough to find a curriculum everyone likes and that works for you.

 

If I was in your shoes, I would use the program I bought and make it fit the needs of my kids.  The curriculum police aren't going to come and take away your books if you don't use them as they have directed.  Read the history and science to all your kids.  The 5YO will get something out of them and can color a relevant coloring page, draw a picture, or put a puzzle together about what is being read while you read. Instigate lively discussions; follow adventurous rabbit trails. Afterwards, you can have your DD do the questions/worksheet/whatever independently while you work with your DS on his.  Their ages are so close that there's no reason to separate them if you all want to read the information from the texts together.  It's a great time to huddle and have storytime together.  If I had had multiples, this is how I would have done it.  

 

Enjoy this time you all have together while you have it.  Pretty soon, they will grow up and want to be independent. My DD is at the point where she wants to do most of her work on her own.  There are only two classes we read together now, and I miss those years of working closely together.

[HS Mom in NC]

Story Of The World 2: Middle Ages along with the Activity book is a great option for combining kids. It's complete, affordable, and easy to use.  There's a separate test booklet too if you're into that kind of thing.

[kristin0713]

10 is on the young end for Res to Ref and 9 is *really* young. In your situation, I would take a break from HOD next year and combine them. You still would have time to get your DD back on track with HOD to pick up Res to Ref for 6th grade and finish the middle school guides before high school. If you want Middle Ages, I agree with trying SOTW and th activity book. Add an Apologia science that they would enjoy and then along with math and language arts, your basics are covered. And would use a younger HOD guide for your youngest, assuming you still have it/want to go that route.