Hands-On or Drill, Drill, Drill?

[mothermayi]

Are the upper elementary and middle school guides hands-on or are they more seat work oriented?

Thanks!

[Mombeck]

I have daughters in Bigger and Creation to Christ. While there is quite a bit of seatwork, we have been very happy with the hands on projects. We have only done the first 5 weeks but have used many materials in our learning. In CtC, my daughter has used clay more than once. There are the watercolor paintings to tie in with poetry. Love these! My daughter made a shepherd's head dress and we had a Hebrew meal. The science has tons of hands on experiments. HOD is very different from your typical textbook curriculums. We can't wait to see what next year has in store for us!

[LynnH]

My ds has done Preparing up thru Rev to Rev and will start MTMM in the fall. Drill, drill, drill is one phrase I would never use to describe HOD. The only part of the program that comes close to that is Rod and Staff Grammar in that it does have review built in to the lessons and many problems addressing the same topic. However even with that Carrie recommends doing 3/4 of it orally so they aren't just writing the same thing over and over. There is seat work of course, but that is things like notebooking, doing written narrations over what they have read, making maps or doing things like the state book. The books are all living books which my ds reads on the couch or curled up on the floor with a dog.

In some of the guides they answer questions about the readings if those are built into the book, but usually the follow ups are things like oral narrations or discussing deeper thinking things with me. If there is written work following the reading it is activities that are looking for more personal, thought out answers than just the "right" answer. There isn't anything like memorize these dates just to memorize dates. There is a history project each week that is scheduled 3 of the 4 days. These are hands on activities that are very doable. I have looked at other programs that have very complicated hands on activities and they would never get done here. The activities in HOD are very doable and fun. In the upper guides they are often cooking activities, art projects such as stained glass windows out of paper or paints,making a Rosetta stone or a salt flour map. Draw and Write through history is also scheduled in all the upper guides. My ds loves these books and drawing the different things in his notebook that relate to the history. Science has a science experiment at least 1x a week. In Rev to Rev it is 4 days a week that you do an experiment. We are really looking forward to the Nature Journaling in MTMM this year.

Even if there is seat work like when using the recommended writing program the longest they are working on it is usually 20-30 minutes a day as they write whatever it is they are supposed to be writing.

The link to my blog is in my signature and I have been taking pictures of our week and posting them on there each year that we have done HOD. Looking there might give you a better idea of some of how the upper guides work.

[my3sons]

Are the upper elementary and middle school guides hands-on or are they more seat work oriented?

Thanks!

I love this question! You are hitting on one of the many reasons I love HOD... balance. In short, there is an incredible balance of kinds of work, assessments, activities, etc. assigned in HOD. As LynnH so wisely said, I too would never describe HOD as drill, drill, drill. That brings up a picture of school that just doesn't resonate with school done the HOD way. Picture a fireplace burning, with dc curled up engrossed reading amazing books they cannot put down. Picture heartfelt discussions on a comfy couch between you and your child. Picture a steaming mug of coffee (for you, of course ), and another steaming mug of hot cocoa (for your child ) on the table as you both sit to have your midpoint meeting time together. Picture lively discussions, markerboards full of sketches, prayer and sharing together, and hands-on projects galore that differ every week - painting, building, creating, etching, baking - not to mention experiments galore. These are the kinds of things you would see when visiting our house to see us do our HOD guides with our sons. It really is the best of both worlds. Strong academics and heartfelt learning, with Christ in the midst of it all. HTH paint a picture of HOD guides at the upper elementary and middle school levels! If not, take a peek at my past Weekly Check-In posts. They are chock full of pictures that speak a thousand words better than I can try to type in response here.

In Christ,
Julie