heartofdakota.com

Ladies,

We began HOD with my oldest 2 sons five years ago and my youngest has always used our HOD guides.

There was something about the transition from elementary/middle school homeschooling to high school that really made me question my ability to finish the work God had called us to do in homeschooling our sons. I began to worry that I really was not qualified to decipher and maneuver through all the class subjects, college prep, and credit requirements to equip the young men, I have at home, to be ready for the SAT and college. ---And I have a degree in secondary education.

What a HUGE blessing our HOD guides are to us! The transition from the middle school guide skills to the high school guides has been seamless. Every year, I see how the past guide builds to the next. Grateful that everything is planned for us.

My high-schooler can work independently on most subjects and with me on just a few boxes. We have a meeting everyday to cover those things and spend time on any questions he might have.

The research is done for me. General credits that my state requires are covered including elective choices. College prep skills are planned throughout, with Mrs. Austin's creativity and Charlotte Mason "living book" style-- that breaths life to all the subjects. Amazed by the detail and time she has put into every box and the connections my student is making between subjects.

Wonderful easy to follow instructions and grading format in the front of the guide. I copy the pages (as is) and record a check or grade according to the instructions. Then, I keep them in a binder for my son's records.

Without a doubt the best thing is truly the "Heart of Dakota"--God's Word is first and for most in all subjects and the Bible/Devotional boxes are so rich. They have prepared my sons for, what I pray, is a lifetime of quiet Bible study, prayer, singing praise, and verse memorization. With wonderful laid out explanation.

Last year as I went to my homeschool book fair, I was sure that I was not going to use the HOD foreign language package. I thought, "How can I teach Spanish at home?" I happened to open "Getting Started With Spanish" at the booth and took a look at what HOD had planned for how to teach that credit at home. I decided to step out there and trust that HOD, when followed as written, has already been such a wonderful success in our home. This should be too. So, I bought the Spanish package, and I have been so pleased. My son loves Spanish. It is one of his favorite subjects. I'm amazed at the results of how he has learned a language I do not speak---and here at home. Planning to buy HOD sophomore year Spanish, as well.

All that to say that HOD has given me confidence that there are resources and materials that can help homeschool moms graduate their homeschooler. HOD is, also, flexible and allows for outside classes and substitutes for times I do want to choose something else. But, when I choose HOD I can feel confident it is really worth it!!!

Hope that this might help those that are looking for a high school curriculum for their homeschooler! Really take a look at how the guides and materials go together. Mrs. Austin weaves them in such a wonderful way. Her lesson plans are such a help to those of us that feel completely lost and want the best for our kiddos.

What a gift from God! Appreciate your work so much!
Cindy

Thank you for taking the time to write all this out for us to read. It is so helpful to hear from others who have used the high school guides.

In His love,
RuthAnn

Thank you, Cindy. That was SO encouraging to read. We're in in second year of HOD with RTR. This is my last child and I've never used a curriculum like this for a long period of time. We always end up back in textbooks or workbooks, so I'm planning to stick it out because I love HOD so much! But I have had questions about if it's "really" going to work for high school. Thanks again for taking the time to write this!

Thank you for sharing

I am so glad you shared. I wanted so badly to post that same day on what a blessing HOD has been for us. I strongly feel that many of our struggles these past years would have been avoided if I had just done HOD completly, as written. I came to HOD as a total fluke...a catalog in the midst of many given to me by a friend. I knew as soon as I looked into it that this was the direction God was leading us. And yet, I let myself be convinced that maybe it was not meeting our needs...or had too much built into it so I could pick and choose All I can say now is we are here, we do it all, and God is good to give Carrie such inspiration and talent. I pray for the family often

I'm agreeing also to do it as written. You couldn't convince me of that earlier, but I think now that we're hitting the high school years next year, we finally see the fruits of the planning, whereas early on the vision isn't as clear!!!

Cindy I agree wholeheartedly with your post. As my ds is only weeks away from finishing the WG guide I can say this 9th grade year has been so much better than I ever thought it would be. I just ordered the WH guide this weekend at the convention and have started reading the history spines and again I am amazed at how Carrie manages to put it all together. I realized this weekend that due to the challenges with dysgraphia I would be prone to go much easier on my ds. On my own I never would have challenged him the way this guide has and yet he has risen to the occasion and demonstrated what he is truly capable of. I have also watched his confidence grow in leaps and bounds. He took the initiative to talk to several colleges that were at the convention. I love that he now believes he can handle college level work. I know it is due to the fact he feels like he has tackled this year and succeeded.

I put together my own curriculum for my daughter and it was stressful and I can look back now and see I didn't challenge her near enough or truly prepare her for college level work. I don't have to worry about that for my son. He will be fully prepared if he chooses to go that route.

Cindy,

Thanks so much for taking time to share your thoughts! This was a blessing for me to read today as we are hard at work getting ever so close to completing the World History Guide. I am so thankful to have the HOD High School Guides for my own son, who is doing the World History Guide this year. He is having a good year and has grown so much both academically and in his faith. It is an amazing gift to be able to see these changes in my sons as they grow and mature, especially since we have been there to witness the struggles as well as the joys. Your post blessed me beyond measure.

Blessings,
Carrie

I'll share my HOD HS experience here, too, if the OP doesn't mind.

We've used HOD since my oldest started 4th grade. I had looked at it the year before, but had already purchased Sonlight. I spent the whole year trying to get Sonlight to work for us, but I was in the middle of having babies. I had 7 babies in 8 1/2years, starting when my oldest was 6 (our first official year of homeschooling. Isn't God funny.) I ended that year ordering Preparing for the next year, and regretting that I had wasted so much time trying to get SL to work for me. Even though it took us 2 years to work through it, I cannot even describe the sense of accomplishment that we felt when we finished Preparing!! We kept on using HOD, and now my son is a sophomore, finishing up the WH guide.

I've seen so many homeschoolers quit in high school. Many, many of the families that started at the same time as we did have chosen to send their children to school. While I understand that God uses traditional schools in the life of families, it was so hard to watch. High school came with lots of pressures, and grading, and transcripts, and I did get overwhelmed. But I never thought of quitting, and HOD has been such a lifeline for us. I'm very thankful for the work and effort put into it. When my son makes connections or shares some obscure historical knowledge, I know that its because God has used HOD to teach my son about the story of His creation.

Thank you! THank you!

P.S. I met another homeschool mom with a daughter the age of my son. She mentioned that she never planned to homeschool high school, and she had always wanted to her kids to go to "real" school. She was relunctantly allowing her oldest to homeschool through high school. When she asked me if I ever had thoughts like that, I was truly able to say, "No. We've used Heart of Dakota almost all the way through, and never considered doing anything else." She was truly shocked to hear me say that.

3musketeers wrote:
There was something about the transition from elementary/middle school homeschooling to high school that really made me question my ability to finish the work God had called us to do in homeschooling our sons. I began to worry that I really was not qualified to decipher and maneuver through all the class subjects, college prep, and credit requirements to equip the young men, I have at home, to be ready for the SAT and college.

What a gift from God! Appreciate your work so much!
Cindy

This quote is from last April, but it spoke so much to me I wanted to bring her thread back.

I am quoting this because I could relate so much to what she is saying. The only difference being is that these concerns started this winter as Junior High looms ahead this coming fall. In our area in the schools and churches 6th is still elementary and 7th - 8th is Junior High. Thus, the secondary education years has become my focus. I want to do them well. We have done fine through elementary, but I could have done a better job with greater constancy. My oldest learns so easily on his own that it gave me a false security early on. He will always be smart, but he is going to need real guidance for it all to come together.

Thank you for the encouragement and help ladies on my recent thread. I feel the LORD's hand upon our family this month and I am grateful.

Dear LovingJesus,

I don't get to post on the HOD message board as much as I would like, but I wanted to reply to your post. What a blessing to hear how my post last year touched you in some way. I was not able to go in and answer your questions on your other thread, but it looks like lots of HOD ladies have helped you there.

I just wanted to pop in and encourage just a little.

Last year was my oldest son's first year of high school. It really wigged me out! I felt the responsibility and all the weight, big time!--to be sure he made it to college and go into the field God has for him. The beginning of the school yr was filled with a lot of fear and anxiety over my choice to homeschool my high schooler. Then shortly after Christmas, my dad passed away suddenly. It was a tough year!

But I want to assure those reading that we serve an Awesome God! He enables those He has called to finish what He has called them to do. He gives the tools and the strength. His Holy Spirit is able to keep us from falling. Psalm 18 says, "He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights."

Each parent can turn to Him for answers and He is faithful to direct the path!!!

I was excited to post about HOD high school last year, because every year--after 7 using HOD guides, I am more and more amazed at Carrie and Julie's talents the Lord has given them! They are one of the means the Lord has used to help our family accomplish our goal of homeschooling!

I now have a sophomore and a freshman. I am finishing up year 2 of the "dreaded" high school. I'm realizing #1 it is not as hard as I thought. All new things and jobs can be scary. I've never done it before, right? I found out that ALL moms feel this way about high school--public, private, home. It's new territory!

And #2 --It is flying by, and I would not give up a single minute with my boys. I have them so much more than if they were in school. What a privilege to go on this journey together with them.

The Lord has sent me His Word, Godly mentor moms, outside classes, books, workshops, and definitely HOD to help us. One day, maybe I will be the mentor mom. The experience behind me. Right now, I am trying to hang on and enjoy the journey!

by His grace alone,
Cindy

3musketeers wrote: But I want to assure those reading that we serve an Awesome God! He enables those He has called to finish what He has called them to do. He gives the tools and the strength. His Holy Spirit is able to keep us from falling. Psalm 18 says, "He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights."
by His grace alone,
Cindy

Thank you so much Cindy for your post! I loved reading it yesterday, and found so much encouragement in it.

This quote above particularly spoke to me. Thank you for the reminder that He will enable those He has called to finish the work that He has called us to do. I felt called to home school for high school and pre-school before I even knew what home schooling was. It was just put on my heart to do it. Then I found out that there is an entire movement called home schooling that I had never even heard of! Now of course I know many who home school. Thank you for the reminder Cindy. I think I will come back to this thread to read over the years to come.

Thank you too for the inspiration of your signature. I love seeing all of your children successfully using their various HOD guides. May the LORD bless your day.