Heather in VA Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 No, I was just advising OP based on her statement that she needs a lighter LA schedule. It is based on HER current schedule and has nothing to do with HOD or S&S. I felt sorry for OP and her kids trying to accomplish all that every day! I didn't mean to be confusing, which is why I quoted the other poster in my message. Drat. I was hoping that was the way it was mapped out in HOD. That's exactly what I want my LA to look like but I'm tired of putting it together myself. And I just looked back and realized you weren't being confusing - my brain is mush today. :-) Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 I did not post to this thread before because I needed to think it through. I am definitely not anti-HOD and may possibly use it again in the future. My #1 reason not to use HOD is that I am too picky with my book choices (IOW my taste does not run parallel to HOD's). My #2 reason is that the sequence has been hard for me to understand- Bible, World, US, US, World Overview, 4 year sequence? Is that they way it goes? We have used parts of Preparing this year and enjoyed it. It taught me how to do dictation and narration. My #3 reason not to use HOD is that I don't utilize most of the boxes. :blushing: I guess I'm too eclectic in my taste. I would say S&S is quite a bit harder than Preparing, and remind you that it is quite SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY oriented. You really don't need any more science than S&S has to offer. You might want to supplement history or use history themed readers. I'd like to encourage you to rework your schedule NOW on your own so that you're not doing all those components every day. Why wait until next year to fix something that obviously isn't working for you? Here are my suggestions: *R&S grammar- Keep this but do some orally as desired *cursive copywork- Keep this but consider cutting the amount if needed *3 written narrations (Bible, history, fairy tale) 1 with my guidance and the other 2 independently.- Rotate this: do one per day not three. *spelling dictation- Keep this unless you prefer the workbook. *spelling workbook- Cut this unless you prefer it to the dictation. *vocabulary workbook- Keep, consider reducing amount if needed. *review of old poetry memory work- Reduce to every other day. *new poetry memory work- Reduce to every other day. *several chapters of reading in a chapter book (on top of history/science reading for the day)- Make this on a child-led basis after school hours. (I don't mean you drop it, but take it out of your routine and add it to theirs). Absolutely! Very true. Next week is our Spring Break and then we have 4 weeks left. So I did cut some things for these last 4 weeks. Poetry is gone and the fairy tale is gone. Spelling dictation is gone and Rod & Staff is gone for one child already and for the rest as soon as each one's current unit is finished. However, I am not replacing those things with any of the other extras that intrigue me about HOD. I'm just riding it out til summer. Bring it on. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Absolutely! Very true. Next week is our Spring Break and then we have 4 weeks left. So I did cut some things for these last 4 weeks. Poetry is gone and the fairy tale is gone. Spelling dictation is gone and Rod & Staff is gone for one child already and for the rest as soon as each one's current unit is finished. However, I am not replacing those things with any of the other extras that intrigue me about HOD. I'm just riding it out til summer. Bring it on. :D I'm not sure if it was said or not, but HOD doesn't do all that LA every day, which is why they get in the extras. Poetry is everyday (which could be cut into 2 days), but writing, dictation (spelling), LA is sort of mix and match throughout the week. Spelling is 3x, dication is through other means, Bible or science or poetry, writing...weekly if I remember right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 I'm not sure if it was said or not, but HOD doesn't do all that LA every day, which is why they get in the extras. Poetry is everyday (which could be cut into 2 days), but writing, dictation (spelling), LA is sort of mix and match throughout the week. Spelling is 3x, dication is through other means, Bible or science or poetry, writing...weekly if I remember right. Yes, I noticed that when I printed off the first week of CtC and tried to fit it into our family's homeschool slots. I was afraid it wouldn't fit because we don't have a lot of time for extras. But then I began to see that they didn't do every LA component every day. Why did I not ever think of that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 [....] maintaining enough sanity of not to jump off a bridge. I'm making this my #1 long term goal for homeschooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 So.... following on from the Reasons not to use HOD theme, would another reason be that you want to cover a particular historical period but your child is not at the level at which HOD presents that period? For example, if I didn't want to do ancients because we had just covered it, but that is where my child fitted skills-wise, it wouldn't work quite so well, would it? BTW, I'm not trying to find fault, but having read others say that the guides are a little more narrow in age/skill focus than some other programs, I'm just seeing if I'm understanding that it could be an issue if we wanted to do a particular time period. I'm just exploring options...... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krismoose Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Linda, Yes, that is the general idea, that the skill level is more important than the historical time period when choosing a program. There are certain skills targeted in each guide, and depending on the age of your child, if they're not in that skill range, they may struggle with too much/too difficult material, or be needing more added to their program. Either way, it makes more work for Mom than is intended. The "extension" packages are there for the Bigger Hearts and older guides to add to the program for those who want to school certain children together that might not otherwise work as well, and there have been many threads on the HOD board for creating "extensions" for children doing Little Hearts or Beyond Little Hearts guides at a slightly older age. So for example, if you'd just finished Ancients and you're *really*ready* to move on, and your child places best in the Creation to Christ guide, that may be a reason not to choose HOD. HTH :D Great thread, btw ;) I'm always talking HOD up to my homeschooling friends, and it's good to have some clear reasons why HOD may *not* work for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieF Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Oh no Carmen I used to drool over S&S and couldn't wait for ds to be old enough to use it but for some reason I discounted it. Now I'm going to have to look at it all over again! I know that he'd love the theme as we are a boating family but does it teach skills as HOD does? Off to check out the WP site AGAIN! Stephanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) So.... following on from the Reasons not to use HOD theme, would another reason be that you want to cover a particular historical period but your child is not at the level at which HOD presents that period? For example, if I didn't want to do ancients because we had just covered it, but that is where my child fitted skills-wise, it wouldn't work quite so well, would it? BTW, I'm not trying to find fault, but having read others say that the guides are a little more narrow in age/skill focus than some other programs, I'm just seeing if I'm understanding that it could be an issue if we wanted to do a particular time period. I'm just exploring options...... :) That's the thing that 's holding me back. My kids place best in bigger but we just finished American history. DS really wants to go back to ancients but I don 't think his writing skills will be up to Preparing and I'd have to leave dd in Bigger. I'm thinking about getting the guides to look at anyway. There's always the sale board, right? Edited April 21, 2011 by joyofsix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeriJ Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Linda,Yes, that is the general idea, that the skill level is more important than the historical time period when choosing a program. There are certain skills targeted in each guide, and depending on the age of your child, if they're not in that skill range, they may struggle with too much/too difficult material, or be needing more added to their program. Either way, it makes more work for Mom than is intended. The "extension" packages are there for the Bigger Hearts and older guides to add to the program for those who want to school certain children together that might not otherwise work as well, and there have been many threads on the HOD board for creating "extensions" for children doing Little Hearts or Beyond Little Hearts guides at a slightly older age. So for example, if you'd just finished Ancients and you're *really*ready* to move on, and your child places best in the Creation to Christ guide, that may be a reason not to choose HOD. HTH :D Great thread, btw ;) I'm always talking HOD up to my homeschooling friends, and it's good to have some clear reasons why HOD may *not* work for them. You wouldn't happen to be able to point me to those threads would you? I plan on doing Beyond with an older child and am still finishing up my plans for beefing it up for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krismoose Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 You wouldn't happen to be able to point me to those threads would you? I plan on doing Beyond with an older child and am still finishing up my plans for beefing it up for her. Here's one for Beyond. Carrie's suggestions are the last and 3rd to last posts on the page. HTH :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Helping ds with math and making a mental list of the curriculum I can sell to afford HOD. My thoughts turn to my IEW products. I am willing to part with a couple. Maybe my Medieval Writing. Wait! I think I saw that scheduled in HOD. Yes...I did. Question. I know the IEW folks highly discourage people using the theme books without also having done the parent practicum. Can someone tell me how this is used in HOD? Does she take the assignments and put her own spin and give her own lessons on them so that one doesn't have to be familiar with the IEW method in order to be successful with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeriJ Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Here's one for Beyond. Carrie's suggestions are the last and 3rd to last posts on the page. HTH :) Yes, that was very helpful. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Question. I know the IEW folks highly discourage people using the theme books without also having done the parent practicum. Can someone tell me how this is used in HOD? Does she take the assignments and put her own spin and give her own lessons on them so that one doesn't have to be familiar with the IEW method in order to be successful with it? Carrie addresses this question in the last half of this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I have a question I hope someone can help me with. You know how (borrowing an example I read recently) some children delight in certain methods of learning stuff while other children will just look at you with a :001_huh:-you're-off-your-rocker expression? Well, what if a certain parent is of the latter type of personality when it comes to certain activities that they interpret as "goofy" - rightly or wrongly - and perhaps have at least one child who inherited it from them, and when reading some of the activities in LHTH and the samples they've seen they find themselves experiencing this latter response and they've even tried to overcome this by forging ahead with all the fake enthusiasm one could muster - even pulling it off enough to get like-minded child cooperating once or twice - but have found themselves utterly exhausted by the effort and still entirely uninspired to continue trying so hard ... ... well, ... could this hypothetical parent ask if these kinds of activities are only present in the younger guides or do they continue to have this kind of feel to them in the older guides as well? (if you don't have any idea what I mean, please completely disregard the question) :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 Carrie addresses this question in the last half of this post. That is perfect!! Thank you. I did do an "IEW" search at the HOD but didn't find this. So I registered and thought I'd ask but I haven't been approved yet. I'm so glad you linked this because curiosity was killing me. :D So scratch that off the list of Why NOT HOD? ....that being the need to attend or purchase the IEW teacher practicum in order to use their Medieval writing book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Preparing has been utterly absent any role playing and finger play type activity. It has one weekly hands on activity (ie making a salt dough cartouche for an Egyptian pharoah), dictation, narration, written narration, poetry, writing one's own adaptation of a poetry theme, copywork... it's pretty serious stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 I have a question I hope someone can help me with. You know how (borrowing an example I read recently) some children delight in certain methods of learning stuff while other children will just look at you with a :001_huh:-you're-off-your-rocker expression? Well, what if a certain parent is of the latter type of personality when it comes to certain activities that they interpret as "goofy" - rightly or wrongly - and perhaps have at least one child who inherited it from them, and when reading some of the activities in LHTH and the samples they've seen they find themselves experiencing this latter response and they've even tried to overcome this by forging ahead with all the fake enthusiasm one could muster - even pulling it off enough to get like-minded child cooperating once or twice - but have found themselves utterly exhausted by the effort and still entirely uninspired to continue trying so hard ... ... well, ... could this hypothetical parent ask if these kinds of activities are only present in the younger guides or do they continue to have this kind of feel to them in the older guides as well? (if you don't have any idea what I mean, please completely disregard the question) :D Do you mean fingerplays and role playing with stuffed animals? My sons would have HATED, HATED, HATED that. I don't have any answers as to how to work around that. I'm hoping to use it with my dd4 who will absolutely LOVE it. She's that weird child who will watch a PBS cartoon that encourages the kids at home to play along and <gasp> she will. :lol: My other children did not do that. She's also the only one out of seven with blue eyes. I hope she's really mine 'cause I"m very attached to her. :lol: I can't speak as a knowledgeable user but I did print out the sample week for CtC. My 6th grade son will hopefully be using that in the fall. I scrutinized the thing and did not see anything goofy in it that will make him roll his eyes and run screaming for the hills. It's seems mostly very schoolish. The type of thing where I say DO IT whether you like it or not. But I'm mean that way. (I wouldn't be that way with a pre-schooler who didn't want to play stuffed animals, though) The only thing, maybe that I saw in CtC was the guided prayer. I personally think I've been a little too lax in actually "teaching" prayer. I pray with my dc daily and encourage them to pray on their own but just by hearing examples not by giving actual instruction. So I'm not sure how my son, in particular, will respond to that. But I"m excited to go over it with him and see where it leads. .......stepping aside now so an actual user can answer the question. :blush: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 ... well, ... could this hypothetical parent ask if these kinds of activities are only present in the younger guides or do they continue to have this kind of feel to them in the older guides as well? (if you don't have any idea what I mean, please completely disregard the question) :D I know what you mean and those are the boxes I do not worry about actually doing. It is pretty full otherwise and my kids did not suffer when I surfed over any activities that I did not feel excited about. Parents with kids that are not inclined to play that way might find that this is what they like best about HOD and include it each week. :001_smile: The older years do not have activities as much as skill building tasks or crafts and can be as involved as the student wants it to be (and time allows). As a warning, I breeze past the CtC poetry painting instructions in CtC for the same reason as I feel the same way about that part too. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 This is good news. So, how difficult is it to jump in at Preparing? Yet on the other hand, I really like the idea of doing American History the way it's done in Bigger and Beyond. *sigh* Choices, choices ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 This is good news. So, how difficult is it to jump in at Preparing? Yet on the other hand, I really like the idea of doing American History the way it's done in Bigger and Beyond. *sigh* Choices, choices ... If I'm reading your siggy right, your oldest is 5. Is that right? I think Preparing would be way too much for him (or is it her). If I had those ages I'd start with Beyond. As it is, I'm going to do Bigger with my almost 8 year old but use R&S 3 and if I can find it used I'll get the Preparing guide for the more advanced dictation. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) This is good news. So, how difficult is it to jump in at Preparing? Yet on the other hand, I really like the idea of doing American History the way it's done in Bigger and Beyond. *sigh* Choices, choices ... Not sure if you are asking me but I will try to help, iydm. ETA: Opps.....I just noticed that your child maybe 5 years old.....disregard my thought on CTC and RTR.....but the info on the Miller pads might be helpful! :-) My kids have not done Preparing......we skipped over it and my daughter went on to CTC from Bigger. She was ready so it was easy. I do not think it would be any more difficult than changing into any other new curriculum.....she had to learn a few things like being independent on some subjects but she adjusted quickly enough because she was ready. We liked Bigger and Beyond well enough. Although I really, really like the notebooks in CTC and RTR. Bigger does have a blank book that the child makes up, one page each unit or week. I used a spiral unlined book from Miller pads and turned it over for the Science journaling.....wasn't perfect but it worked and now they each have one book as a keepsake for that year. For my youngest I will probably get one that is is lined on the bottom half of the page and unlined on the top half.....that way writing will be easier for him. It surprises me what my kids remember from that year. Edited April 21, 2011 by Once Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Recumbent Heart; no role playing in Beyond I believe and up. Beyond does use for math some kids' toys for manipulatives. Also in Bigger they use toys to build or plan an attack. But anything else is all pre-Beyond. Carrie had a thread on it once where kids didn't want to do some of the silly stuff because they were embarrassed, but once they tried it, they had fun. To each his own though. Beyond and Bigger has you use hand or acting out motions to remember Bible verses and you can use them or not. Our church does, so dd sometimes gets a kick out of using what our church uses. But again it's strictly for memorization and there are many other ways to memorize. So fear not from Beyond and up. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Someone wrote me privately about the activities. I have seen this discussed before so I decided to answer here. There are a couple of factors at play: I know that the projects seem goofy or babyish. I feel very strongly about this, having written my own programs when my DD was 6 years old. I honestly think that the projects and activities are age-appropriate and very beneficial for the kids. I have seen some moms grit their teeth and do the "babyish", "stupid" activities despite their feelings and the kids end up really loving it and learning from it. I really feel that many of the projects in the SOTW AG and in books like Ancient Egyptians and their neighbors are not age appropriate. I want my child to really get into the activity and to be able to do the majority of the projects on their own. I feel that HOD does a good job of this. I actually thought that a lot of the projects in the SOTW AG were well above what DD could actually accomplish. Of course we as parents prefer the AG projects over the HOD projects, but the HOD guides are not written to enrich our education, they are written for our children. JMO. :D I think that placement can be difficult for someone to transition from TWTM methods over to HOD. IMO TWTM has your child at a higher level for activities and projects and a lower level in independent work and quantity of writing. Switching to HOD therefore made me back up some and go with Bigger for 3rd grade, but she would have been in Bigger in 2nd grade if I had been with HOD all along. It is this discrepancy, IMO that makes some of the projects seem "goofy" in comparison. The projects seemed to be more on a 2nd grade level, especially the science, which she would have been in 4th grade in had we stayed with Elemental this year. I really think though that HOD is very age appropriate, but we would have been better off sticking to Elemental Science this year. I hope that makes sense. I keep cutting and pasting to put my thoughts in a different order. Edited April 21, 2011 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Someone wrote me privately about the activities. I have seen this discussed before so I decided to answer here. There are a couple of factors at play: I know that the projects seem goofy or babyish. I feel very strongly about this, having written my own programs when my DD was 6 years old. I honestly think that the projects and activities are age-appropriate and very beneficial for the kids. I have seen some moms grit their teeth and do the "babyish", "stupid" activities despite their feelings and the kids end up really loving it and learning from it. I really feel that many of the projects in the SOTW AG and in books like Ancient Egyptians and their neighbors are not age appropriate. I want my child to really get into the activity and to be able to do the majority of the projects on their own. I feel that HOD does a good job of this. I actually thought that a lot of the projects in the SOTW AG were well above what DD could actually accomplish. Of course we as parents prefer the AG projects over the HOD projects, but the HOD guides are not written to enrich our education, they are written for our children. JMO. :D I think that placement can be difficult for someone to transition from TWTM methods over to HOD. IMO TWTM has your child at a higher level for activities and projects and a lower level in independent work and quantity of writing. Switching to HOD therefore made me back up some and go with Bigger for 3rd grade, but she would have been in Bigger in 2nd grade if I had been with HOD all along. It is this discrepancy, IMO that makes some of the projects seem "goofy" in comparison. The projects seemed to be more on a 2nd grade level, especially the science, which she would have been in 4th grade in had we stayed with Elemental this year. I really think though that HOD is very age appropriate, but we would have been better off sticking to Elemental Science this year. I hope that makes sense. I keep cutting and pasting to put my thoughts in a different order. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenni Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I dismissed HOD a few years ago because it seemed baby-ish to me, but mostly my kids have really loved the activities and rhymes, etc. I have trouble with my oldest not wanting to do some activities in Bigger, but he usually ends up liking them when he does do them. It's not that they are baby-ish, it's just that he doesn't want to put forth much time or effort for "school." :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Firstly, no, I wasnt contemPlating putting my 5yo in Preparing. :) Second, as I mentioned, even my disinclined oldest (oh wait, I wasn't talking about me ... :lol: ) enjoyed the silly stuff sometimes if I was able to get into enough. I wish I could get into it all with them and who knows, maybe I'll grow in this area before next year but as it is, this isn't my strength. I did originally go with it for the very reason that it's not stuff I'd do if left to myself but it just wasn't working long term. I can't maintain that level of ... Whatever you want to call it. So, perhaps I'll morph into a more well rounded individual in time but, not putting all my eggs in that basket, I'm going to keep considering what might be a better fit. :) I am definitely recommending HOD to friends that might really enjoy and benefit from a great, scripted program. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Firstly, no, I wasnt contemPlating putting my 5yo in Preparing. :)Well, I wouldn't think that reading the history spines to the 5yo would be a bad idea. Don't people read CHOW to their K-1 graders? :) I actually think combining in this way wouldn't be too awful. My little guy will not be ready to listen to any read aloud without pictures next year, but maybe some kids would be. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Oh no Carmen I used to drool over S&S and couldn't wait for ds to be old enough to use it but for some reason I discounted it. Now I'm going to have to look at it all over again! I know that he'd love the theme as we are a boating family but does it teach skills as HOD does?Off to check out the WP site AGAIN! Stephanie I hemmed and hawed about using S&S and Jennifer reassured me that WP does have independent work for the kids... but this is a history and science program. I will not be using the WP LA to go with it. I will be using Phonics Road, so I know I have those LA skills covered anyway. I replied to this thread without catching up on reading it, so I don't know what else I missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Oh, okay... so far about halfway through Bigger we have not had to skip any of the history activities due to them being goofy. Most of the geography activities involve using a globe. We did one in science that we thought would be babyish (blowing on salt to cause erosion) and really didn't learn anything (yep our hypothesis was spot on, lol!) We did one that was definitely babyish (mixing colors) for science and enjoyed it, so I guess it depends. We skipped one that had to do with germs and washing hands because it didn't work. A similar experiment didn't work for us with a different science program either. I guess we are really good at washing our hands with cold water and no soap.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Well, I wouldn't think that reading the history spines to the 5yo would be a bad idea. Don't people read CHOW to their K-1 graders? :) I actually think combining in this way wouldn't be too awful. My little guy will not be ready to listen to any read aloud without pictures next year, but maybe some kids would be. :D I never noticed it was Preparing that scheduled CHOW. My DS loves CHOW. We are currently reading through it as per the LCC K and 1st history rec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Oh, okay... so far about halfway through Bigger we have not had to skip any of the history activities due to them being goofy. Most of the geography activities involve using a globe. We did one in science that we thought would be babyish (blowing on salt to cause erosion) and really didn't learn anything (yep our hypothesis was spot on, lol!) We did one that was definitely babyish (mixing colors) for science and enjoyed it, so I guess it depends. We skipped one that had to do with germs and washing hands because it didn't work. A similar experiment didn't work for us with a different science program either. I guess we are really good at washing our hands with cold water and no soap.:lol: Gah! Now I'm actually interested all over again ... sounds kinda fun. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Firstly, no, I wasnt contemPlating putting my 5yo in Preparing. :) Second, as I mentioned, even my disinclined oldest (oh wait, I wasn't talking about me ... :lol: ) enjoyed the silly stuff sometimes if I was able to get into enough. I wish I could get into it all with them and who knows, maybe I'll grow in this area before next year but as it is, this isn't my strength. I did originally go with it for the very reason that it's not stuff I'd do if left to myself but it just wasn't working long term. I can't maintain that level of ... Whatever you want to call it. So, perhaps I'll morph into a more well rounded individual in time but, not putting all my eggs in that basket, I'm going to keep considering what might be a better fit. :) I am definitely recommending HOD to friends that might really enjoy and benefit from a great, scripted program. :) Yea I can relate to that lack of ability to shall we say 'get in touch with my inner child in that manner'. I'm not well rounded either LOL. It sounds to me like I'll be pretty safe from activities that I might not be thrilled with since I'll be starting a higher level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowWhite Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I hemmed and hawed about using S&S and Jennifer reassured me that WP does have independent work for the kids... but this is a history and science program. I will not be using the WP LA to go with it. I will be using Phonics Road, so I know I have those LA skills covered anyway. I replied to this thread without catching up on reading it, so I don't know what else I missed. I did? Refresh my memory. There's little in the theme itself. The LA is mostly independent. There are coloring pages, devotional, websites and a map skills book you could call independent I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Yea I can relate to that lack of ability to shall we say 'get in touch with my inner child in that manner'. I'm not well rounded either LOL. It sounds to me like I'll be pretty safe from activities that I might not be thrilled with since I'll be starting a higher level. Are you going to be doing HoD in some kind of LCC way or are you going a different direction with this change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Are you going to be doing HoD in some kind of LCC way or are you going a different direction with this change? Well this is sort of a long story - promise you won't think I'm insane :-). My oldest two are all set. They are doing the Omnibus route. Both are studying Latin. Both do Classical Writing. Eventually that will probably be youngest's path as well. Right now she's suffering from 'my siblings are so much older than my that my mom forgets I'm only almost 8 when it comes to school planning' syndrome. School has turned very 'schooly' for her. I was all planned out for next year - moving into classical writing, deeper studies, adding Latin etc. And then I realized what she really needs is to solidify the foundational skills we have started. We've done PR 1 and 2, FLL 3, Writing Tales 1 for LA. She doesn't need to keep going. She needs to use them. She needs to really get narration down. She needs to do some enjoyable things. She needs to expand her dictation. She definitely doesn't need more spelling - just as spelling - just more dictation. So I came looking for something that would not be lax on the skill building but would be set up for me to spend more time with her. Something that would keep us on track with the dictation and copywork without my having to set it up. That gets exhausting for me. HOD just seems like a nice program that emphasizes the skills I want to work on while still being age appropriate - something I've been struggling with for this child. Whether this is a one year stop in HOD land or a longer term change - I don't know. But I'm looking forward to it. I also love that I don't have to give up the VP literature we love. Several of the books we planned for 3rd grade are on the HOD readers lists. Is that clear as mud? Maybe I'm nuts but this feels right for her. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 (edited) Heather, it makes perfect sense. :) I frequently look over your signature - I'm trying to combine CM and LCC and I like a lot of what your olders are using. We're a long way from there though. :D I know what my plan is for the core subjects but what I want to do for everything else, I just don't know. I've been going back and forth on HoD, LBC, ToG, VP, MP - there is quite a bit of variation and even conflict in approach there but it shows how uncertain I am. :lol: I have to keep in mind the time needed to do the core subjects with multiple children too. I wanted to be talked OUT of HoD but this thread hasn't really been helpful. Edited April 22, 2011 by RecumbentHeart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I did? Refresh my memory. There's little in the theme itself. The LA is mostly independent. There are coloring pages, devotional, websites and a map skills book you could call independent I guess. I think you said there is a student schedule? I also remember my main concern was that HOD gives you assignments based on the reading and I was worried that WP didn't have that as much. The WP notebook pages take care of that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Heather, it makes perfect sense. :) I frequently look over your signature - I'm trying to combine CM and LCC and I like a lot of what your olders are using. We're a long way from there though. :D I know what my plan is for the core subjects but what I want to do for everything else, I just don't know. I've been going back and forth on HoD, LBC, ToG, VP, MP - there is quite a bit of variation and even conflict in approach there but it shows how uncertain I am. :lol: I have to keep in mind the time needed to do the core subjects with multiple children too. I wanted to be talked OUT of HoD but this thread hasn't really been helpful. Well if you know what you want for the core subjects - then that's 90% of the battle - actually it's about 100% of the battle with younger kids. The rest is just gravy. If you really want to think I'm nuts, my youngest will still be doing the VP self-paced course even with HOD. VP self-paced develops those pegs on which to hang the future connections. It develops that memory timeline. It does a great job of learning the history information. It doesn't develop the LA skills (but VP's approach uses other product for that so it isn't a criticism). So by doing that (which she loves and would throw a huge hissy fit if she couldn't do it anymore) it really takes the pressure off the history portion of HOD for me. We can enjoy it. We can work on narrating it. We can do the work with it but I don't have to get all excited if she doesn't remember all the details or make those connections. She'll hit the deeper study when she gets to that time period in VP. But remember - academically it's about the skills. Focus on those. You don't need to worry about how you do 'the other things'. That stuff will fall into place as they get older but don't sweat it now. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Well if you know what you want for the core subjects - then that's 90% of the battle - actually it's about 100% of the battle with younger kids. The rest is just gravy. If you really want to think I'm nuts, my youngest will still be doing the VP self-paced course even with HOD. VP self-paced develops those pegs on which to hang the future connections. It develops that memory timeline. It does a great job of learning the history information. It doesn't develop the LA skills (but VP's approach uses other product for that so it isn't a criticism). So by doing that (which she loves and would throw a huge hissy fit if she couldn't do it anymore) it really takes the pressure off the history portion of HOD for me. We can enjoy it. We can work on narrating it. We can do the work with it but I don't have to get all excited if she doesn't remember all the details or make those connections. She'll hit the deeper study when she gets to that time period in VP. But remember - academically it's about the skills. Focus on those. You don't need to worry about how you do 'the other things'. That stuff will fall into place as they get older but don't sweat it now. Heather Heather, you're so right about that and we are managing to keep that focus. I just got better at that this past week when I came to the place of saying to myself, "If it takes us longer than 36 weeks to get this other stuff 'done' then so be it - we're not skimping on the core subjects just to make sure we get the weekly subjects done this week." It was liberating. :D Meanwhile, I would love to decide on what we're going to be doing with the "other stuff" so that I'm not having history sequence issues down the road. I have a whole year to get it figured out but if I was going with HOD I was originally intending to start that with this coming school year. If I can just decide NOT to do that once and for all (it's not in the homeschool budget so I really shouldn't) then I could theoretically forget about it for a year. :tongue_smilie: I should go through the thread and find all the relevant reasons not to buy HOD and paste them to my computer screen. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Meanwhile, I would love to decide on what we're going to be doing with the "other stuff" so that I'm not having history sequence issues down the road. I have a whole year to get it figured out but if I was going with HOD I was originally intending to start that with this coming school year. If I can just decide NOT to do that once and for all (it's not in the homeschool budget so I really shouldn't) then I could theoretically forget about it for a year. :tongue_smilie: Schedule it right. HOD has you reading 2-5 pages in the history book most days with that time used for notebooking on the last day of the week. This is followed by a geography lesson, timelining or project taking 5-30 minutes. Science reading is usually 2-3 pages. A science activity is on a separate day. The supplemental reading is only 5 pages most days. History is the first thing done each day, so it is not missed, but it takes a very small amount of time. The "storytime" reading or supplemental history reading is only about 5 pages. This makes those "extra" subjects so much more do-able than when I was trying to follow a WTM or Sonlight type of schedule. The HOD site has sample weeks. Really get a good feel for how these things are scheduled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Well if you know what you want for the core subjects - then that's 90% of the battle - actually it's about 100% of the battle with younger kids. The rest is just gravy. If you really want to think I'm nuts, my youngest will still be doing the VP self-paced course even with HOD. VP self-paced develops those pegs on which to hang the future connections. It develops that memory timeline. It does a great job of learning the history information. It doesn't develop the LA skills (but VP's approach uses other product for that so it isn't a criticism). So by doing that (which she loves and would throw a huge hissy fit if she couldn't do it anymore) it really takes the pressure off the history portion of HOD for me. We can enjoy it. We can work on narrating it. We can do the work with it but I don't have to get all excited if she doesn't remember all the details or make those connections. She'll hit the deeper study when she gets to that time period in VP. But remember - academically it's about the skills. Focus on those. You don't need to worry about how you do 'the other things'. That stuff will fall into place as they get older but don't sweat it now. Heather Heather, We are doing the same thing here. :001_smile: My oldest is beginning Bigger Hearts and VP's OT/AE self paced online history. He ADORES that history and finds it fun and enriching. That way I can test run HOD, build those glorious skills in a well integrated way, while still getting that strong, classical, memory oriented history. I just can't NOT use VP. :001_smile: DH gave me the green light this morning to go for VP with DS8. I am thrilled with this plan and find that it gives me everything I want and need....I can relax with HOD for the next several months now. Now to decide on PR..... :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Here is an example of a Bigger schedule: Reading about history (10-15 min) Bible study (5-10 min) History assignment box (15-20 min.) Literature/Reading (20 minutes) Storytime (15 minutes) Poetry (5-10 minutes) Science (15-60 minutes) So we are talking a total of 80 minutes some days. That is covering all of these "extras" in less than an hour and a half! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
home'scoolmom Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I'm sorry, I've been trying to figure out for the last few weeks...but what is PR? :001_huh: MP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommatomany Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Well if you know what you want for the core subjects - then that's 90% of the battle - actually it's about 100% of the battle with younger kids. The rest is just gravy. If you really want to think I'm nuts, my youngest will still be doing the VP self-paced course even with HOD. VP self-paced develops those pegs on which to hang the future connections. It develops that memory timeline. It does a great job of learning the history information. It doesn't develop the LA skills (but VP's approach uses other product for that so it isn't a criticism). So by doing that (which she loves and would throw a huge hissy fit if she couldn't do it anymore) it really takes the pressure off the history portion of HOD for me. We can enjoy it. We can work on narrating it. We can do the work with it but I don't have to get all excited if she doesn't remember all the details or make those connections. She'll hit the deeper study when she gets to that time period in VP. But remember - academically it's about the skills. Focus on those. You don't need to worry about how you do 'the other things'. That stuff will fall into place as they get older but don't sweat it now. Heather What is VP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 PR=Phonics Road VP=Veritas Press Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Schedule it right. HOD has you reading 2-5 pages in the history book most days with that time used for notebooking on the last day of the week. This is followed by a geography lesson, timelining or project taking 5-30 minutes. Science reading is usually 2-3 pages. A science activity is on a separate day. The supplemental reading is only 5 pages most days. History is the first thing done each day, so it is not missed, but it takes a very small amount of time. The "storytime" reading or supplemental history reading is only about 5 pages. This makes those "extra" subjects so much more do-able than when I was trying to follow a WTM or Sonlight type of schedule. The HOD site has sample weeks. Really get a good feel for how these things are scheduled. I'm trying to decide against HOD ... and VP history, for that matter ... would you ladies please help, not hinder? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Here is an example of a Bigger schedule: Reading about history (10-15 min) Bible study (5-10 min) History assignment box (15-20 min.) Literature/Reading (20 minutes) Storytime (15 minutes) Poetry (5-10 minutes) Science (15-60 minutes) So we are talking a total of 80 minutes some days. That is covering all of these "extras" in less than an hour and a half! Ooohhh!! Thank you for this. Taking notes for my up and coming 2nd grader's schedule. Does anyone have a copy of Revival to Revolution in their hands? Is this new for fall? Maybe they aren't even ready to ship quite yet since it's still April. I'm wondering which resources are scheduled in the first 16 weeks so I can spread out my purchases. No discounted package pricing for me. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 I'm trying to decide against HOD ... and VP history, for that matter ... would you ladies please help, not hinder? :lol: I know, right? I was really hoping to find a reason to be content with what I already had. Didn't work.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I'm trying to decide against HOD ... and VP history, for that matter ... would you ladies please help, not hinder? :lol: Well you could really study that schedule and use your own thing, keeping to the same pages and minutes so that your own thing is more do-able. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.