heartofdakota.com

Hi there, I'm new to all of this.... and I feel so lost and overwhelmed! I am wondering a few things and hope someone might be able to guide me in the right direction... I have one 7 year old daughter who is going into 2nd grade. I am a nanny to two 1 yr olds and two 3 1/2 yr olds so our life is very busy! The reasons I want to homeschool are first because when my daughter was in school I felt as though I never saw her and the whole reason I started nannying was to be with her more... Secondly we have gone to two different schools from kinder-first and it just didn't work for us. I want my daughter to be taught the way of the Lord and I feel the only way for that is for me to do it myself. SO now with that background do you feel HOD is for us? I need something that isn't too time consuming and that we can do on the go. Is that HOD? also I have no idea what to order for her! is HOD only the reading? is there math? I am so lost! please any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Dulci

I know how overwhelming this is. I was where you are last year. We pulled my daughter out mid-year and it was just so overwhelming! I too work from home teaching piano so I know how hectic life can be. I won't tell you homeschooling with three other little ones is a piece of cake, but you can make it work! The nice thing about HOD is that each box (or subject) in the guide only takes a short amount of time and they don't all have to be done at once. You can spread things throughout your day as you need to. I do some of the work while my younger two nap with my older daughter if I need to give undivided attention. I'd also look into busy bags or ideas for keeping toddlers occupied. Just do a search (Pinterest!) And you'll find TONS of very easy ideas that will engage and occupy the young ones so you can teach some.

As far as on the go, there are hands on projects which obviously couldn't be done away from home, but some other things could possibly work. With all three of my girls in different guides homeschooling takes a total of about 3 hours. We take breaks and it also depends on how focused my daughter is on any one particular day or if she gets really into a project, but that's about right.

To get started you'll want to check out the placement chart to see where she fits here: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I'm sure as you look through that and have other questions the ladies here will be a great help!

Enjoy the journey!
Melissa

I have a busy house too and I love using HOD! There's is math, or you can choose your own. The PP already posted a link to placing your child. At her age, she'd likely place into Beyond or Bigger. You may even want to do LHTH with your little ones you watch, if their parents are Christian and wouldn't mind.

Thank you both so much! I think we will try HOD this year and if it doesn't work we can change next year.

I just wanted to welcome you to the HOD board, and say YES, HOD sounds like a good fit for you! I really enjoyed reading lissiejo's and mumkins' responses. I work from the home as well, and HOD makes homeschooling a joy for me, even though admittedly, life is busy! HOD is truly open and go. I do not plan ahead for teaching, and we are doing 3 HOD guides. One of our family's key reasons for homeschooling is to keep Christ front and center in our learning. Another reason is for our family to be together, for our dc to be each other's friends. Finally, we want to enjoy our days cultivating a passion for learning, and preparing our dc for whatever purpose the Lord may have for them. HOD has fit the bill on all fronts! HOD covers all subject areas, so no need to go searching for some area not covered. It's all there. It is not time consuming. It is just right! Have you checked out the placement chart? This is a great place to begin, and if you share your findings with us here, we can help you with what to order. HTH, and I look forward to getting to know you here!

In Christ,
Julie