heartofdakota.com

Hi everyone,

I''m pretty new to the board. After looking at curricula for a while, I'm excited to have found Heart of Dakota. From what I've seen, it has just the right mix of CM skills, and Bible/Christian character focus that I've been looking for for my 9 year old daughter.

I do have a question about being able to use Bigger (with extensions) overseas. Our family is moving to China this summer while my husband teaches at a university as part of his seminary program. We will be there at least two years. I know the books will travel well, but will I be able to find the materials we'll need for the science experiments and history projects? At this point we don't even know what city we will be living in, so I really have no idea what I'll have access to. If you have used HOD overseas, I would love to hear all the ins and outs of what will be needed. Thanks!

If you count England as overseas-?
Bigger[ so far ] has needed things like chocolate ,coloured paper ....looking at birds[that could be intresting in China. ]balloons and plastic combs .a flashlight..mostly its stuff we keep in stock.I cant find ziploc bags in any supermarket here- plastic bags-but nothing to the sealability of ziploc bags- so I ordered those from ebay.
Math sometimes calls for O shaped cereal [we have plenty of here- not sure about china though..] and chocolate chips.

Thank you for the reply! lol about England being overseas . Honestly, for the reasons I asked, I guess I wouldn't have considered you guys as "overseas." I've spent quite a bit of time in England, and, really, there isn't anything I can think of that you guys would have trouble finding. It does help to know about the basic items that could probably be found most any grocery store. I really appreciate the example you gave!

Hi! I'm excited about you being in China, having spent 4 and 1/2 years in Mongolia myself and have spent some time travelling through China by rail as well. (That was in my single days). But I still have a love for that part of the world. I also am fairly new here and have only been using HOD for just a little over half a year now.

Presently, we are going through "Bigger" with our 8 year old son. So far in history and in science we haven't had to use anything except for basic craft type items. Colored construction paper, scissors, glue, markers, crayons, water color paints, simple paint brushes, string, tape, basic food stuff you will probably have on hand, etc. I would think that unless you are in a real remote place in China that you will probably be able to buy everything you need as it is real basic stuff that even if you don't have the exact item, you should be able to substitute it for something else. Oh! You will need some clay or playdough as well, but that's something that you can go online and make a much cheaper version from flour and salt which is what we've done here at home.

That's one part I love about HOD - you don't need to have an extensive separate science kit or equipment. Just simple activities, that help the kids to really think and remember what they are learning about. The Lord bless you and your family as you head out....(I'm just a little jealous)

We are in a very remote part of Africa and I have found that the experiments in HOD are very flexible. I love that Carrie often lists different options. Usually I will have something on the list. Often what I really find I am lacking are certain foods that the experiments might call for: apples, potatoes, cheese, honey, celery, grapes, juice, marshmallows, cheerios, etc. We are very limited in what kind of food we can get here, but if I plan far enough ahead sometimes I can have some of these available, but not always. I am thinking of some of the special meals or snacks we have had to prepare. Often the kinds of food called for are varied enough, though, that we can find something on the list.

We are going to the states before the next school year and I plan on going through the guides and making sure I bring all the non-perishable items back that I know I can't find here. I understand Africa and China are very different, though, and I would imagine that you would have more available in China. The experiments are really written to be as easy to do as possible.

I just wanted to add we this is my experience with Little Hands, Beyond, and CtC. We haven't done Bigger yet, but are looking forward to doing it next year.