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I am seriously considering using HOD this fall for my soon to be 6 & 4 year old. I have been doing tons of research on it and I have some questions for those that have used it. I keep reading the science is light or not well put together. Is this true? Im sure in the early years they dont need much for science and the samples I have seen look really cute. But the comments have me concerned.

I have also read that the teachers guide has questions to help guide you in conversations, but that they are open ended with no answers. Im wondering about that. That also has me worried. I like a guided discussion and be able to talk to the kids about things, but some answers seem like they would be helpful too.

I also keep reading that HOD has a YE point of view. I am actually fairly new to Christianity and have not decided where I stand on that. So Im not sure if I want to teach YE or what I should do (I just havent even begun to get into YE vs OE and its confusing still,lol). How much YE creation shows in the the curric? I have read there are parts that say if you arent YE to skip it, but then it makes me wonder how many parts you will end up skipping.

Oh and one other question, I am struggling between deciding on whether to put my ds into LHHG or BLHG. He has been doing Explode the Code and Sinagpore math Essentials K this year and he is just started the Handwriting without Tears K book now. He has also been doing Reading Eggs and is learning how to blend to read simple words. It is still new for him to do though. I was thinking of just doing LHHG but I dont want it to be too easy. I also am not sure if BLHG will be too hard...

Thanks for any input : )

Science is not light in the early years... I am only to Preparing so I have no idea about the later years. As far as YE.... we are not YE and all I do is read what it says, explain what I believe and why and tell them they get to choose once they have all the information. It's not something essential to salvation so I don't worry too much about it

The questions that are not open ended have answers. MOST of the questions are basically what the child got out of the reading. So if there are any inaccuracies in their narration you could gently correct that. There aren't too terribly many in LHFHG or LHTH that aren't straight forward questions

Thanks : )

I feel the science is very age appropriate and gradually increases in expectation as the guides move forward. Little Hearts and Beyond Little Hearts have it scheduled 2 times a week, but every other guide it is included daily.

As far as young earth, I have not seen a lot of emphasis on that. We do believe in a YE, but so far I haven't seen it being advocated. The science we have studied so far has not been affected by the view one way or another.

Thanks! I was just watching the video on the Great Dinosaur Mystery. Its very interesting!

You can do Beyond and finish your phonics instruction before moving onto the Emerging Readers (if phonics is your only worry about ds being ready for Beyond).

I have read that about the science too. We have enjoyed it though! My suspicion is there are just some types that LIKE to piece and plan together thheir whole curriculum. They like to choose. AND they are very, very science minded. HOD is great for people who miiiiiight just go overboard and make their kids crazy though. Pre-HOD, I would try to do too much out of each book (with no fun Carrie ideas either)... boring! My ds freaked out when he saw me coming woth the dreaded workbooks. But now he LOVES school. HOD is so balanced. But certain areas might "seem" light if you are prone to wanting to... ummm... "too much". LOL. Don't know how else to put it. I think you'll enjoy HOD! I have learned what a good schedule really looks like and HOW kids LIKE to learn now.

Thanks for the help : ) After looking at the teacher guide samples again I think I will go with LHFHG with 1st grade math. : ) I am pretty excited!

FYI, if you want the hands on activities Carrie wrote to go with the 1st grade math you'll need to purchase the Beyond guide. From what I've read, it's worth getting the Beyond guide just for those activities, and then you'll already have it for the next year.

avbprincess wrote:FYI, if you want the hands on activities Carrie wrote to go with the 1st grade math you'll need to purchase the Beyond guide. From what I've read, it's worth getting the Beyond guide just for those activities, and then you'll already have it for the next year.

Thanks for letting me know! I was wondering about that.

I would NOT say that the science is light or not well put together, but for my family, in the younger guides, it was less than my kids wanted, so we added in other science activities, books, etc. to "beef" up the science for the younger ages, but that is only because I have had very science minded kids. Other friends of mine have not seen the need to do that. For instance, after using the Education Exploration curriculum with Rev2Rev, I bought the elementary set and we did that just for fun, and the older sibling helped with the activities. I guess we just incorporated the additional science needs into our family life and didn't make it part of the science box, kwim? We completed a whole unit from the lower level/elementary Education Exploration set one rainy Saturday just for the fun of it. So all that to say, don't let the science bit scare you. It is just right for the age/grade level. BTW, from CTC on up, the science has been plenty. We haven't added anything. We just did in the lower guides.

I am pretty sure I read that HOD will honor the discount price next year, when you need to order the rest of Beyond, but had to buy the guide this year, seperately. Just something to know.

raindrops wrote:I am pretty sure I read that HOD will honor the discount price next year, when you need to order the rest of Beyond, but had to buy the guide this year, seperately. Just something to know.

discount price?

faiths13 wrote:

raindrops wrote:I am pretty sure I read that HOD will honor the discount price next year, when you need to order the rest of Beyond, but had to buy the guide this year, seperately. Just something to know.

discount price?

The economy package pricing... as opposed to buying each book seperately. You save a bit of money when buying the guide and the other history books at the same time.

raindrops wrote:

faiths13 wrote:

raindrops wrote:I am pretty sure I read that HOD will honor the discount price next year, when you need to order the rest of Beyond, but had to buy the guide this year, seperately. Just something to know.

discount price?

The economy package pricing... as opposed to buying each book seperately. You save a bit of money when buying the guide and the other history books at the same time.

oh ok! thanks!