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Hi there-
I have been doing HOD for a few weeks now and am loving it so much!!! But I was woundering if you all do all the activites with box. I am doing two different programs right now will be adding a third sometime this summer and sometimes feel like just doing the reading and not the activity. (I am doing Beyond and Little Hearts) Do you think the kids would miss out on too much if we didn't do all the activites sometimes. Some days are just to crazy and I get so stressed thinking I need to do it all in order for them the get the most out of it. What are your thoughts and experiences?

Sheila mom to five great kids.

I am using Little Hearts and there are some days I skip some of the activities and I don't feel bad about it at all. First of all, I use a different math program so I always skip that box. I also do a little of my own thing for science since my dd loves animals so much, so some days I skip those activities if I already have something planned. I think that is the beauty of HOD programs. You can pick and choose what to do depending on the needs of your dc. HTH!

Gina

um, NO!

School fits life. HOD is perfect in that way. I can omit an activity without derailing the key points. Some days the lesson will not include a cool tie-in, because we have DDS appts., or it is a birthday tomorrow and we need to make a cake, or I have to have a craft ready for co-op tomorrow and I don't even have an idea yet... or - my favorite... I have no batteries for the flashlight. There are a lot of flashlight activities and mine rarely work. The key points save the day.

I would love to be able to do them all, but.....the truth is, no. We have been known to skip one now and then! For example, the activity for tomorrow is to make a stickhorse...which would be a lot of fun...but, we have more stickhorses at our house than kids so....yep....skipping that one! I do make sure that they get the key ideas though.

Hi!

just my experiance with other curriculums (i've used KONOS and SL to name a few)

your curriculum guide is a TOOL...don't let yourself get nutzy by having to check off every box...if you have the time, do them all! if you don't then pick one or none! that's the beauty of homeschoolong...there's always time later to get to it

I think this is a good question!

I also do not do every activity. Though we do many. If we have outside engagements then we will skip activities. However, we do more activities with HOD than I've done with any other program. HOD just makes it so easy!

beandip71 wrote:I am using Little Hearts and there are some days I skip some of the activities and I don't feel bad about it at all. First of all, I use a different math program so I always skip that box. I also do a little of my own thing for science since my dd loves animals so much, so some days I skip those activities if I already have something planned. I think that is the beauty of HOD programs. You can pick and choose what to do depending on the needs of your dc. HTH!

Gina

We do this too. I am using LHFHG and we generally skip the math box and some of the thinking games/science since we too are using an animal theme program for science.

Thanks for being so honset with your answers I alway struggle with that kind of thing. I feel that everything needs to be done in order for them to learn everything. But I know deep down that is not true and they are learning so much from just being home more and being able to have more teachable moments with them. How great is home schooling!

Sheila mom to five great kids

I do them all, eventually. If I don't get a day finished, I will finish the next day and move on. So some days I will be on day2 and day 3. By the end of the weekend we are 'caught' up again. I like doing them all and checking off the boxes. It's one of the reason I use these books.

Ladies,

I will pop-in to say that I do all of the activities as planned in the guide, BUT I am a box checker... so checking off or completing the boxes is something that's important to me. It gives me a sense of accomplishing something in my day.

I certainly do realize that not everyone is that way, and our prayer is that our guides will enable you to do more hands-on, tie-ins than you did before or can do with other curriculums.

I do think that forward motion is also important. So, if you do miss a box, you certainly don't want to feel weighted down to go back and do it. Just head onward - moving forward, knowing that your children are progressing and enjoying their learning.

On the flip side, however, if you do end up skipping so much of the guide that all you end up with is a reading schedule, than you're missing out on the tie-ins that make HOD different. Structured flexibility is what we strive for.

Blessings,
Carrie

We do almost all of the activities in the guide; I think we've missed 2-3 all year. My thinking behind this is that I love the balance of "sitting-down type activities", and "hands-on-doing activities". Without me doing the hands-on part, I would not be doing much of that with my children. I am not a person that would get that done on my own - a shortcoming of mine, to be sure. Maybe it's because I have boys, and I am not a boy, that I don't feel like I do that type of hands-on interaction enough without HOD. My dc thrive on those activities, and they remember the lesson so much better than if we just read it.

After being at the Arlington convention and talking to a LOT of homeschool moms (not using HOD) who are frustrated that their children aren't very "into" school, I think the number one way to keep our dc excited and engaged in their learning is to do the activities that add spice to the day - the ones that give a uniqueness that is different from the routine of yesterday.

I too believe in forward motion, like Carrie mentioned. There's no need to be attempting to finish last week's activity we didn't get done, when still trying to complete this week's activities. However, if we find ourselves skipping activities on a routine basis, I think we lose the beauty of the curriculum - a nice balance of "hands-on" and "sit-down".

I bet if you think back to your schooling, it's the "doing" or "discussing" you remember more fondly than the "reading" or the "listening" part. I bet a lot of you may be a lot better at doing this type of hands-on learning on a daily basis on your own with your children than I am. But, for me, I need the activities to hold me accountable for this - otherwise, I just would not get it done on a consistent basis.

Uh-oh, baby is calling me! Another reason I need the hands-on in HOD - or I'd only be "hands-on" with dear BABY! Gotta go!

In Christ,
Julie