i just typed this out on another board, and had to share

[annegirl1919]

here's my journey of why hod. (long, sorry.)

i used lhth when what i had ordered was too intense for dd. i thought it was going to be too simplistic for me to get excited about, but my dd loved it so much that i just loved it, too. i went back to the original curriculum this year since i'd spent money on it, but had to throw out 1/2 of it because it was just not a fit.

i had a baby 6 weeks ago and i had decided that i wanted to choose something well planned out for me and easy to implement
for this next year. so i ended up buying beyond little hearts for dd and planning to reuse lhth for ds, thinking that next year i'd do sl or wp or something.

well, i started doing all kinds of research on what i wanted to use next year (yes, even though it will be 9 months 'til i buy anything for next year). i concluded that wp's activities were just never going to happen with me. too much work for my personality. and so, having just gotten enthused about hod again when buying for this coming year, it was between hod and sl. i finally decided that i was just going to go with sl, and so i was online just looking over the ig's to see what you actually do in a day. it looked basically like reading parts of different books.

i ended up back at hod's site looking at their programs, and noticed that the history and the science that you are studying are loosely tied together. honestly this was the clincher for me. i haven't thought i'd just be one curriculum forever, but i'm starting to wonder.

so now, after all that, here is a list of why hod:
*all planned out for the teacher-no prep required
*living books
*all learning styles are covered by the way she plans things out for you
*i don't have to worry that i'm covering everything i need to for a grade level-even extra's like remembering to teach my preschooler his/her phone #
*activities-but not the hard kind that take all day and need a week to plan for. fun, meaningful activities that are easy to implement
*everything has a point-this, i'm sure, is just my personality, but it is a huge plus to me that everything we are doing feels purposeful, like i know what we are supposed to be accomplishing. activities tie into the history, history ties into the science, etc. i LOVE this about it
*i'ts fun. my kids love it!
*it doesn't take all day-i did lhth in 15-30 almost all the time.
*i like that in the future it will have the 4 year chronological history cycle and that 'secular history' will be tied together with 'biblical history'. i've always wanted to teach history this way to my kids.
*once again, this may fit just me, but so many of the resources that she uses were ones i have (or would have) decided on myself-singapore math, the type of la, etc.
*it's flexible in areas that are very personal-like the phonics programs. those parts aren't tied to the rest of the program so you can personalize it however you want.
*price-i can buy two whole programs for less than what it would cost to combine my 2 kids w/ sl

i feel i could go on and on, so as you can see, i think it's great.

[MamaMary]

here is a list of why hod:
*all planned out for the teacher-no prep required
*living books
*all learning styles are covered by the way she plans things out for you
*i don't have to worry that i'm covering everything i need to for a grade level-even extra's like remembering to teach my preschooler his/her phone #
*activities-but not the hard kind that take all day and need a week to plan for. fun, meaningful activities that are easy to implement
*everything has a point-this, i'm sure, is just my personality, but it is a huge plus to me that everything we are doing feels purposeful, like i know what we are supposed to be accomplishing. activities tie into the history, history ties into the science, etc. i LOVE this about it
*i'ts fun. my kids love it!
*it doesn't take all day-i did lhth in 15-30 almost all the time.
*i like that in the future it will have the 4 year chronological history cycle and that 'secular history' will be tied together with 'biblical history'. i've always wanted to teach history this way to my kids.
*once again, this may fit just me, but so many of the resources that she uses were ones i have (or would have) decided on myself-singapore math, the type of la, etc.
*it's flexible in areas that are very personal-like the phonics programs. those parts aren't tied to the rest of the program so you can personalize it however you want.
*price-i can buy two whole programs for less than what it would cost to combine my 2 kids w/ sl

i feel i could go on and on, so as you can see, i think it's great.

This is an EXCELLENT list! I totally agree! I'm so glad you've found your place and I cannot wait to journey HOD with you

[Marty D]

I love your list annegirl. So many of your thoughts mirror my own. I am currently using an sl core for my oldest, and there are things I like about it, and things I don't. I thought I would probably continue with sl, for history for him. When I came upon HOD, I immediately found some things that made me stop and say "Where has this been hiding?", but I originally thought I would stick with SL for the older, and maybe just use HOD for my younger two.

Well, after getting LHTH, and beginning it with my middle, I found out that my older loves it! He wants to be involved even though it is way under his level. It is not all bad because he is in therapy for his fine motor skills, and so some of the projects help him with that. Anyway, my major problems with sl were suddenly solved with HOD. So, instead of waiting to order another core with my older, guess what.... I will be starting Beyond with my ds when he finishes his core. Or whenever I can not stand it anymore, and I just switch him!

The biggest thrill I get from HOD is the fact that it is truly Bible based. It is not a "Christian" curriculum because it mentions the Bible once in a while and you have a Bible lesson. It is Christian because everything begins and ends with Christ, how we are to live, and Who we are to love. Ok, like I said in another post, I often ramble.... Sorry.

[Jessi]

I couldn't agree more! Thanks for posting your list....I found my self "amening" and "Glory Hallelujahing" right along with you!


Does HOD have bumper stickers? "HODie to the Core!" lol

[pjdobro]

I love your list! Those are so many of the reasons that I've chose HOD too and you said it so well. I was trying to tell someone the other day about the hands on activities in HOD and how they are purposeful not just some artsy crafty thing to do just to be doing it. You stated it so well that "everything has a point". I love this too! Maybe we do need HODie bumper stickers

[beandip71]

Great list! I agree with everythign you said.

Gina

[Carrie]

Oh Anne,

I'm so happy for you. I'm a list-maker too and seeing all the positives listed out is always the clincher for me!

We'll pray you'll enjoy using the guides with your sweet kiddos as much as we do at our house.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Vicki]

Hi Anne!

I'm a list maker too! I'd have to dig around on here, but somewhere awhile back I posted a list similar to yours. I still have the original list I scribbled on scrap paper of the things I wanted to cover for our next year. We're working through Beyond, and I wasn't sure at the time if we should do something in between Beyond and Bigger or just jump right in with the next program.

Once I made my list, I looked through my Bigger guide, and I found everything I wanted was covered in that one guide---for a great price too!!!

Isn't it amazing what God leads Carrie to write for us to make our homeschooling journey a blessed and enjoyable one? I love how the Lord has shown you how HOD will work for you. He has really opened my eyes to the long term plan, and it has helped me to stop the worrying about the future. (Gotta stop that anyway!! )