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I was trying to explain HOD to a friend earlier and found I couldn't quite answer her questions. From what I understand, narration is used in place of regular tests (like the multiple choice/true false type in ps). This seems like a much better way to find out what your dc understand. The questions we were wondering about is, how do you make sure your dc are retaining important facts weeks or months after they've read a book? Simple things you'd want your child to know, like who is the first president and what did Ben Franklin do, etc. And, is narration only used right after reading a book or do the children sometimes have to write essays that connect themes from several books or several time periods, etc? Does that make sense?

I have found that the children often bring up things they have read about when they see a connection with something else. That is how I know what they are learning sticks. Also, I believe in the early years it is just giving children the small bits about different aspects of history and later on the smaller details get added in, so it becomes clearer to them. I have seen some of this in my oldest. HTH.

I've also been pleased to notice my kids making connections with things we've learned in HOD months ago. There aren't really tests and fact checking things like that with HOD, but their connecting with the information in a much deeper way than is typically needed for taking a cumulative test-you're seeing that in the narration, and the ways they have to think about what they just read. This ensures they remember what they need to.

A really important thing to keep in mind is that, especially in these early years, you are building foundations for their future knowledge more than you are building experts on every subject they are studying. I've seen it compared to hooks on a bulliten board. They are exposed to American History in Beyond or Bigger and that will give them a "hook" so that when these subjects come up in future years they associate it with something familiar and have a place to hang the new facts.

I agree... my kids will hear or see something and they'll talk about things they've learned.

Like in church they'll discuss something that reminds them from something from LHFHG.

Or like when we watched all the election coverage they discussed how George Washington was our first president. They discussed where states are.

And we were watching the history channel the other day and a thing about the Spartans came on. Jayden was all excited that she knew all they were saying already. She was even filling in gaps that they left out.

I agree with the other posters and I would also mention in discussions that formal testing only shows that the child knows the point at that time. A formal test really does not show that the child is retaining the information, but rather that he or she has accomplished (or not) studying and spitting out the information when needed.

Having had dc in ps and then having them home I agree with countrymom. They would study for a test and be able to spit out the answers and even get A's. 2 weeks later you could ask them the same thing and they had forgotten it all. I know as I read all of the history spines that my ds is reading I realize how very little history I remember.

When dc learn by using living books and doing the follow up activities, mapping, crafts etc that HOD schedules it is totally different. I feel that my ds gets immersed in the topic and may have a fictional story that covers something as well as a non-fiction living book covering the topic. This combination makes things much more real. It is no longer just a list of facts to learn. He associates it with real people and can relate to them and therefore he remembers much more about them. He not only knows George Washington was the first president but he understand the friendship that he and Lafayette had. He understands how much George Washington struggled with leaving his home and going back in the public eye and serving as president, but knows he did it because he was an honorable man and felt it was his duty. In science he has read biographies of famous scientists and inventors. He knows what they invented and he knows how difficult it was to get patents and to sell your inventions. He may not remember the exact date that something was invented and honestly I don't see that as important. He knows so much more about the person and the invention than he ever learned in school. His narrations also allow him to make connections with other things he knows and I see this, especially with his oral narrations. Some of these connections are humorous, because that is who he is, but some of them are more serious biblical connections.

Wow, I am SO glad I found this curriculum. It just sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing your experiences.