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Hi there!

This is going to be our first year with Heart of Dakota. I'm trying to decide whether to jump into our new books a couple of months early, or finish up the books my children are currently working from... what would you do?

I just recently bought RtR & Beyond for two of my children. We learn together year-round, & our schedule usually runs from June to May. I almost always have our following year's curriculum purchased by February of the prior year, but I've never felt so impatient & eager to start a new year before. We have always used textbooks & worksheets in our studies, so HoD will be quite a change of pace, style, & structure for our family! My son has about two months left of his current year's curriculum (which I had pieced together myself using a variety of resources), while my daughter has a couple of weeks worth of work left. After showing my children what we will be doing this coming year, they are begging to set aside their old materials & start fresh with the new ones. I'm sure many of you understand the draw that new books can have, sitting unused on the shelves. It sounds so appealing!! I'm not sure what to do, so I thought it might be helpful to post here & see if anyone else had ever considered completely tossing out an old curriculum & jumping right into a new one. My heart is just not into the old books, & it feels dull & painstakingly drawn out, having to finish up the old before starting with the new. After reading for many months about the learning methods that HoD uses, I can't help but feel that having my children continue to complete their old books would be such a waste of time. On the other hand, I also feel that it's somewhat important to finish the tasks that we've started. I'm so torn! What would you suggest?

If it were me, I would begin Beyond with the little one now, while finishing up any phonics she may be working on. After getting a feel for Beyond for a couple of weeks, I would begin the older student, but continue with the 3Rs he is already using (unless he is really struggling with the methodology and it doesn't fit his learning style). This would allow you to stagger the start date for both students so you don't get overwhelmed. Another option would be to begin them both but only going what HOD calls "half speed." This means you would alternate the left and right side of the day's assignments, stretching out one day into two days. This is another way to ease into it. Literature based learning is a totally different animal than textbooks, but oh so wonderful! Good luck to you!

If you feel like them completing their year is a waste, then I would start now. Many people have come to HOD and not finished their prior years as well.

I came to HOD last year and came because I hated what I was using. We were 8 weeks into it and miserable. Now you may not be miserable but maybe you are. I have never been so please with a curriculum in my life as I have been with HOD! I am so glad we didn't waste any more time with the other curriculum. I also agree with mothermayi, if you aren't sticking planning to switch the 3rs, just finish up with that with your other kids. But if you are switching some of the things, I would just start them in the new level too. The only thing I would take into consideration though is if your kids currently place in the level purchased. I know when I buy curriculum for the next year, especially now that I am using HOD, my kids aren't necessarily ready for the next level when I buy it. So, if there is anything you need to work on now prior to them starting for next year, I would work on that now. But if they are ready now, then you could start now.

I would suggest starting half speed with Beyond... possibly finishing out this "school year" (we school year round but our years run July to June because that's the attendance chart the state provides) even, just because she's so young. It's supposed to be short and sweet so they can ponder it, so don't feel you are short changing her if the days only last an hour or so. You can still do 3Rs daily if you want to, but just do the other things half one day and the other half the next. Generally in Beyond, if I'm doing 3Rs daily, it looks like History, poetry, Bible on one day and rotating box, going over Bible verses, and Story time the next day. We do the music in the van, so not a part of the school day.

As for your older, I'd also suggest starting half speed until he gets the feel of it, so maybe a couple of units? Then you could move on to full speed whenever

Thank you so much for your replies!

After much prayer & consideration, I decided that we will begin using our new books next week! I'm not sure whether we will be going full or half-speed... I'm going to just play it by ear!

Super excited!!!!

Thank you again.

That sounds very exciting. I will be praying that you have a wonderful upcoming year.