Curriculum choice dilemma

[blessedmomof4]

Hello! A while back I was on here, thinking about starting LHTH with my youngest when she was turning 2. In the end, hubby and I decided to be less formal for the time being, because she is "high-energy" LOL. Anyway, she is now a few months away from turning 3. I have a lot to be thankful for, because my husband is fully on board with homeschooling our baby However, in researching curricula and homeschool styles, hubby is gravitating more toward Classical education than Charlotte Mason. It's to be expected, really, since he has a degree in choral conducting and plays piano It's hard for me, though, having had such a positive experience with HOD, to want to consider anything else. I was considering a compromise, to which he is amenable, of using another popular curriculum that is somewhat Charlotte Mason but with heavy Classical leanings but every time I look at HOD, it tugs at my heart because of the sweet memories my children and I share. The one thing I don't want to do is to endlessly curriculum-hop like I did with my older children. I want to start a program and finish it joyfully! I know the first answer is prayer, but I welcome any other suggesitons, or success stories, lol.

[bethelmommy]

Hi there,

Prayer is definitely the place to start . One thing to consider is who will be teaching? If you are doing the teaching, you really need to choose a curriculum that YOU will enjoy teaching. Also, think of your child's learning style. If you have a wiggly willie or wilma , lots of concentrated seat work at a young age will be very hard on that child. If not approached carefully, it is easy to dampen their joy of learning and burn them out on school. HOD is nice because the younger guides have purposeful, but limited seat work and lots of planned activities for those kinisthetic learners. We have loved every minute of HOD these past four years (after starting with classical and then spending 2 years with SL).

I am a choral conductor as well (and play piano, violin, and guitar) and understand the appeal of classical education. It was the first method of schooling to which dh (a science-minded person) and I were drawn. However, after much trial and error we discovered HOD to be the best fit for our family. Not only do we love the CM philosophy of education, but Carrie has planned these guides so well that literally everything but PE is covered in a balanced way that does not burn out my children or me, and actually leaves my kids eager to learn more. Since our days end in a timely fashion, we have lots of time to pursue other interests (i.e. piano, violin, karate, swimming, etc...). Finally, HOD's continual focus on Christ is so important to us and the constant integration of biblical truths surpasses any other curriculum I have researched or used. I no longer give other curriculum more than a passing glance as dh and I are so pleased with everything about HOD. Blessings to you as you pray and prepare for your homeschooling journey with your youngest.

[StephanieU]

I would see what parts of classical education your husband desires in your home. Some things aren't exclusive to classical, so Heart of Dakota might even fit what he wants (HOD isn't completely CM either). Maybe it is just one or two things from classical he wants that HOD doesn't include that you could meet with a class or co-op. Maybe HOD includes all of the things he wants.

[Mumkins]

I agree with the previous posters. Pray about it. Compare the two. Here's a post where Carrie compares CM vs Classical. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2453&p=18258&hilit=classical#p18258. Find out what DH's concern about HOD, find out what he likes about Classical. Maybe just a small tweak or addition and he'd be happy with HOD.

[blessedmomof4]

Mumkins, thank you so much for that link, and everyone for your thoughts. Hm. Personally, I bristle at the Classical idea of using "fact books" as reading material, though I have one daughter who would rather read textbooks and reference books than a good story As for the little one, who we're focusing on, she does love a good story. Memorization for early years in Classical.Well, she does a lot of that already. She is highly verbal and her cognitive skills are on par with average expectations for 4- to 5-year-olds. She loves to hear stories over and over, and has some Dr. Seuss nearly completely memorized-she does this herself for fun. She can talk in detail about her day when Daddy comes home. She loves to listen to music, sing songs, dance, and would rather do things and go places with people than play alone with toys. Both Dan and I think quality and classic literature is important, and of course music. Another thing to note is that my husband is prayerfully considering entering the seminary for a M Div, while I am still slowly working on attaining a BA in Ministry and Leadership, so it is entirely likely we may share the teaching load in the future. This means my husband will have to be comfortable with our curriculum as well. He is a former college instructor who is used to developing his own curricula and schedules, very organized, while I am admittedly scatterbrained I know it's early yet, but because of my past experience with my older children, I really want to have a better plan in pace at the start, rather than jumping in and switching about. I do recall that my worst homeschooling years were with Christian Liberty and Calvert, not because they aren't excellent, nor because my children had trouble with them, but because they went against the grain of MY personality.

[blessedmomof4]

Mumkins, thank you so much for that link, and everyone for your thoughts. Hm. Personally, I bristle at the Classical idea of using "fact books" as reading material, though I have one daughter who would rather read textbooks and reference books than a good story As for the little one, who we're focusing on, she does love a good story. Memorization for early years in Classical.Well, she does a lot of that already. She is highly verbal and her cognitive skills are on par with average expectations for 4- to 5-year-olds. She loves to hear stories over and over, and has some Dr. Seuss nearly completely memorized-she does this herself for fun. She can talk in detail about her day when Daddy comes home. She loves to listen to music, sing songs, dance, and would rather do things and go places with people than play alone with toys. Both Dan and I think quality and classic literature is important, and of course music. Another thing to note is that my husband is prayerfully considering entering the seminary for a M Div, while I am still slowly working on attaining a BA in Ministry and Leadership, so it is entirely likely we may share the teaching load in the future. This means my husband will have to be comfortable with our curriculum as well. He is a former college instructor who is used to developing his own curricula and schedules, very organized, while I am admittedly scatterbrained I know it's early yet, but because of my past experience with my older children, I really want to have a better plan in pace at the start, rather than jumping in and switching about. I do recall that my worst homeschooling years were with Christian Liberty and Calvert, not because they aren't excellent, nor because my children had trouble with them, but because they went against the grain of MY personality.

[Nealewill]

I completely agree with Bethelmommy.

I would spend some time praying about it. For us - I would have never considered us CM learners until I started using HOD. But I also wasn't classical either. I am lead by my kids and how they seem to learn best and HOD is a fantastic fit. For us, we do love Latin and my youngest wanted to learn Greek this year. So we are learning both Latin and Greek. We keep it balanced in our day (20 min on Latin and 10-15 on Greek). With the length of my day with HOD, it is easy to do. My kids also take Piano lessons. And we do AWANA which is a Bible memory club. HOD has provided the perfect balance to every other subject as we do the plans 100% with HOD. I absolutely love every subject and love how they are stacked. It has made teaching a true joy and learning is abundant. I love the way the Bible is central to this curriculum. I also enjoy the hands on activities and the living books. It completel brings learning to life. And one thing I also love about HOD is it introduces each item at an age appropriate for that child. I have found other curriculums introduce things a bit young for my liking. I want my kids a bit more mature for mature topics. For me, HOD is the perfect blend of that. We absolutely love it. Maybe your husband will come around. And for the record, I haven't found a better curriculum at preparing kids for college. I teach college accounting classes and I know there are several other moms on here who also teach college. It is truly a wonderful & complete program.

[missyrose]

We did a classical co op this past year (not CC) and honestly I cannot wait for our first year of HOD in the fall. I love the way that HOD waits until later years to introduce things like Ancient and world Hostory, gods and goddesses etc. I think those things are hard for littles to understand and unfortunately classical education pushes them early on. This past year My kids missed all the fun projects and historical fiction that we read in previous years , our co op was great and we learned a ton but I am CM at heart!!

[twolittlebears]

I also researched Classical vs. CM. What I personally found was that CM had a true love for children as persons. Her main goal was to lead them to Lord and teach them how to learn, she emphasized that our job is to love them, form their character based on the Bible, pray for them, and introduce them to real books by authors that are authorities in their field...we won't be able to teach them everything while they're under our wings, but we can teach them to teach themselves! HOD captures that ideal perfectly, and that's why I chose HOD. I have tried many other curriculums, and HOD truly has Jesus and our children's relationship with Him as the main focus. Everything else radiates out from that. Of course you can give your children an amazing education through other paths, and classical is one of them. If your main goal is that they leave your house having met the Savior and spent much time at His feet, then HOD is an excellent choice!

[blessedmomof4]

I am so grateful for every reply Well, after praying, and talking with my husband, he really does not love HOD. He really prefers another program. Since we will likely be sharing the teaching this time, it has to be something he feels comfortable with, too. So, I am going to purchase that one, and let go of wanting HOD for now, and see how it works out for us over time. I may still lurk on the boards, though, in case he changes his mind down the road. Sometimes things look better in theory than in practice, but it won't hurt our daughter to give hubby's choice an honest try. I like the program he chose, too, but HOD has always been my favorite. And I feel so at peace after typing that, I KNOW it's the right choice!