Help!! Maybe HOD isn't going to fit our family!!

[Carrie]

Katrina,

The ladies have already given you great advice! I can understand your ponderings, as I was there once too. I share a little bit about it on p. 2 of the thread I'll link you below. The guides in the thread are not the same as the ones that you'll be using, but the thinking runs similarly. I also mention within the thread how I typically choose one thing from each child's guide to place around lunch that everyone can do, as lunch is a great coming together time. The thread will also point out some wonderful benefits that come from meeting your kiddos where they are at skill-wise. There's no need to read the whole thread, but p. 2 is helpful to your ponderings right now. Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3606

This thread may also be very relevant to your thinking right now and has some real gems in it as well: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7812&p=57104

Blessings,
Carrie

[abrightmom]

Katrina,

The ladies have already given you great advice! I can understand your ponderings, as I was there once too. I share a little bit about it on p. 2 of the thread I'll link you below. The guides in the thread are not the same as the ones that you'll be using, but the thinking runs similarly. I also mention within the thread how I typically choose one thing from each child's guide to place around lunch that everyone can do, as lunch is a great coming together time. The thread will also point out some wonderful benefits that come from meeting your kiddos where they are at skill-wise. There's no need to read the whole thread, but p. 2 is helpful to your ponderings right now. Link: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3606

This thread may also be very relevant to your thinking right now and has some real gems in it as well: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7812&p=57104

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank-you Carrie! That is the kind of input I was hoping for ... It confirms many of the ideas that have been swirling in the "little grey cells"...hymn study, story times, picture study & outside time.

When you use poetry with the group how is that handled? Do you omit the poetry from one of the guides? I need all the help I can get with implementation . My youngers are two years away from Bigger so I can see using Bigger's poetry with everybody this go around.

Thanks again for understanding and for grace in allowing me to be Totally Vulnerable. If I can figure out my camera and computer I will post our weeks with HOD!

[water2wine]

Katrina I think you made a great decision. When I first came to HOD it was so unlike what I pictured yet so much like what I wanted I did not know how to make the what I wanted fit to the what I thought I needed. I compromised and started HOD on the side with my two youngest in an attempt to make something else that fit what I thought should be work. If you can follow all that. The bottom line is we put so much in our minds about what we think we need to cover it all, to fix it all, to not look back in regret, that we sometimes squeeze God out of the HOW we do it. We hear Him on the what but throw away hearing the how when it seems to conflict the way we envision it and seems to not cover all we fear must be covered in the way we envision it being covered. Or at least I did all these things.

The day I found total peace in our hs was the day I prayed and admitted to God what I heard Him say but also admitted I did not understand how it would all come together. That is when I decided I was going to decide based on was I covering my spiritual goals and would it honor what I felt God was telling me in terms of educating my children instead of what my fear was driving me to do. I let Him have complete charge of the how it would work and prayed that He would show me how He wanted it to work. CM and HOD were so far away from what I felt like I should do it was hard to put my hands up in the air and enjoy the ride. But the minute I did I found that the way HOD worked is exactly the way God is going to bless our home with peace in our hsing and joy in our children coming to know and follow Him. It's so far from where I thought I would be and how I thought I would do it, but at the same time so much better and more of a blessing than I ever could have imagined. Praying you are blessed as well. Trust in Him and I think you are going to be surprised at what you find.

[momofgreatones]

Hi Katrina,

I'm so glad to hear that you reached a decision and I pray that you continue to find peace as you journey forth with HOD. It takes courage to make a big change and I applaud you for that. I contributed several posts to your thread on the other forum but have been unable to respond to the questions you asked me, as we have been on vaykay, but we are finally back in town and I can settle down to my computer for a few minutes. So I'll just go ahead and answer them here.

You asked how we implement DITHOR together. It is so easy. The TM has disucssion questions and/or activities to do with all levels together on some days, so we do these together when we gather in the mornings as part of our "family lesson". Each genre has a kickoff that we do together, and there is a project scheduled at the end of each genre that we do together as well, which takes several days. So far we have chosen to do the project that focuses on the character trait studied during that genre. We don't do DITHOR together every day, but anywhere from a couple of days together each week to every day together for a week depending on what we are working on. I have four children working in DITHOR, my 16,14,12, and 10 yo together. They are each in their own level and have their own books they are reading. But they each listen to the other and interact regarding each other's books. I have been surprised at the interest they each show in what the other is reading, including the 10 yo in level 2/3, as his books are super interesting too (been going with Carrie's picks and they are stellar). They end up discussing with each other the books and having a grand time.

You also asked about our family read-aloud time with other books. We do this either in the mornings, or at night and weekends to involve Daddy too. I choose a variety of books for this. Historical fiction is a big favorite, sometimes I will choose a read-aloud scheduled from one of my dc's guides (everyone loved Seabiscuit), a patriotic type book focused on the founders (a fave topic of our family), a classic book (we've been reading Narnia), and books and magazines on gospel topics. Sometimes I will even look up discussion questions on the internet or from a cliffsnotes guide and make it a formal disucssion. Everyone from the high schoolers on down to the 5 yo participate in this (although the younger ones are squirrely sometimes and not participating much - although they surprise me sometimes!) I think doing this one thing is huge - reading the same books together as a family. What could bond us together more than that? I also liked a pp's suggestion that you have a weekly "family learning day". Great idea too!

Then there are our daily family lessons with art or composer study, geography, etc. Plus our daily scripture reading and devotionals. We also take nature days and field trips together. We are together so much I think my kids are glad to finally break away for some individual studies! They like feeling like they have their "own guide" and their own thing - particularly the olders who need to feel they are "above" the level of what the youngers are studying. An excellent point was made by a pp who said the togetherness is easy, it's the meeting them at their own level that is hard. In my experience I tend to agree. I love how HOD has each child doing their own special thing - and affords me the opportunity the meet with them as pairs and individuals and study and disucuss things just with them. This is one reason why I wanted to homeschool. I want togetherness time, and also individual one-on-one time. I get both. And I get the togetherness time on my own terms, what I want my family to be studying together. I've asked myself, At the end of this hsing journey are my kids going to feel like they aren't close or unified because they didn't study the topic of history together? For myself, the answer is no. I feel that studying the gospel and scriptures together is what does this, as well as family fun and activites together - and we do. Also, keep in mind that we are homeschooling - by that I mean is even if I never had any crossover with what my kids are studying at all, and studied everything individually, they are still together and interacting together, much more than dc who aren't hsed - and just being hs'ed together is a common bond they will always have, just the sheer amount of time they spend together at their home rather than away at school. Just a thought I had.

You also mentioned looking forward to doing a year of geography/cultures/missions with your dc in the futre. I just wanted to mention that by then HOD's geography guide will be out and could be a great tool for this. I am looking forward to it too as I LOVE LOVE LOVE geography.

One other thing - I think it is absolutely true that for families that want to combine history cycles together, HOD guides can indeed be used for this just as easily as one-size-fits all program can do it too. HOD guides are genius -not exaggerating here. And they can be used however you choose as a tool for educating your family. I've looked at every piece of curriculum on the planet til my eyes wanted to fall out, and I sincerely beleive HOD is superior. And part of its excellence is in its flexibility.

Hope something here helps!

[abrightmom]

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!!!! Ladies, we're having a fun time preparing for Monday! The kiddos are excited because it is the start of something NEW ... I have had a spring in my step because I am at a place of rest in God's plan for right now. The next step is plain and I'm going to have to "stay the course" in trusting Him with the future. One guide, one kid, one season at a time.....

So many fabulous ideas have been shared and I'm really excited to implement HOD here. My husband is relieved beyond words (he is actually a man of few words ) that his "dear wife" is at rest in the plan. He has promised to gently steer me back on course when I inevitably begin to "panic" about this or that (mainly, the future).

Thanks again for the understanding, suggestions, insights, helps, ideas, etc. I have so much to work with here....and I am recognizing, based on the experiences many of you have shared, that there is so much more "togetherness" than I had realized.

[tnahid]

Rejoicing with you, Katrina! Remember we must live our lives truly as the old hymn says, "One day at a time, sweet Jesus!" That is all that our Father requires of us. To continually put our trust in Him moment by moment as we journey through this life.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path." (Oh, how I needed to hear this myself tonight! )

[Sue G in PA]

Hi Katrina...just wanted to pop in here and tell you how happy I am that you were finally able to choose and especially that you feel at peace about it. I read and replied to your post in the other forum and I know we had some PMs going back and forth as well. I've been praying for you and had hoped you posted over here b/c the ladies here (and Carrie esp!) are soooo helpful and prayerful.