This is only my second year using HoD but what stands out to me as the biggest difference between HoD and the other lit-based program I used are all the
skills that are being taught. The guide is wonderful, the books are wonderful, but I think the focus on skills is what sets HoD apart academically. I have been amazed at my own DS's growth in writing this year.
On other home education boards I see the older, experienced moms often asked, "What should we be focusing on?" and "What do you wish you would have done differently?" They always say, "I wish we would have spent more time on building skills." They report that it is easy to catch up on content if the skills are in place, but much harder to catch up on missing skills. Regarding college, one mom wrote, "Skills are what will help your child succeed in college. They really don't assume much content knowledge in college, but they will assume your child can write a good paper and can think critically and analyze things and take tests well." I feel that we are well on track for this with HoD.
Are there many other programs can boast this list of instructed skills?
narration
copywork
dictation
written narrations
mapwork
notebooking
timelining
dictionary skills
vocabulary
spelling
research skills
memorization
literature and poetry analysis
public speaking
sketching and painting
picture study
working through the scientific method
Bible-study skills
simple following directions
And it seems I read somewhere that outlining will be taught too? Maybe someone who is doing RTR can comment on this.
And by saying all this I don't mean to minimize the content side of HoD. We have found it very rich and enjoyable!