heartofdakota.com

Hi! I'm just going to start HOD this fall and I'll be doing Bigger, RtR and Rev to Rev. I'm saving up the money to get all three and so am holding off buying them. How much organization, copying, etc. do I have to do before the start of school? I don't want to end up rushing too much right before we start!

Thanks!
Jacey

Rev to Rev (IMO) has the most prep required (on the part of the composer study). Julie has a great outline of her prep/organization for that guide. I'll see if I can find the link... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10291

Here's Julie's prep for Bigger: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5531

Somebody else's Bigger: http://www.monarchroom.com/2012/08/orga ... igger.html

Some RtR: http://gardenforsara.blogspot.com/2013/ ... nit-1.html

This was super helpful! Thank you!

That was a really wonderful link from Julie. I was actually dropping by today to post a similar question about summer prep for CTC and WG. Are there any links about getting ready for either of those guides??? Also, I'd love to know how much reading you all typically do ahead of time over the summer? Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer on those two particular guides.

Here is the one for CtC. I don't know if I have seen one for WG or not yet.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=12245

For Bigger and CTC, I don't spend much prep time at all. I basically printed off the stuff on the CD in advance for my dd who is doing CTC next year. Other than that, I do make a copy of the poetry and the dictation in the back. I also ordered in all of the art supplies needed for CTC.

Other than that, I don't print anything else. I just have paper and other normal supplies handy.

I think, especially being new to HOD, you will want to have them in hand for a week or two before you start (at least the guides) to look through, read the introduction, look through the appendices and first week of each one, decide how you want to have your students' work stored - notebook, spiral bound books, sheet protectors, think through a schedule of your day that you think will work as you try to work with each student. Purchase all of your needed supplies, make photocopies of some of the pages, figure out where to keep all the books so everyone can find them, label books. Also since it seems they are all new guides, it might be a good idea to either start them all 1/2 speed or stagger-start, start the oldest first for 2 weeks, then the next. Starting is the busiest, most stressful time where both you and the child are getting used to the guide and what is needed. The weeks have such a strong rhythm to them that once you get into it 3-4 weeks it gets much easier.

Search through, or some have already been posted, there are great threads on here with people preparing to start certain guides and the things they do. I have learned a lot and gotten some great tips from them. Like putting plastic tabs on the parts of the guide we flip to a lot - the math schedule, poetry section, etc.