heartofdakota.com

Hi everyone!
Thanks for letting me into this community. I heard about HOD by word of mouth on a local facebook homeschooling network and looked into it, and really like what people have to say about it.
I know there's no perfect home school curricula but I am hoping to choose one based on these criteria:

1. Christ-centered - all in one - no switching from book to book to book all over the place to cover all subjects.
2. Multiple children at home (ages 5, 7, and 9, entering K, 2 and 4)
3. Easy for me and no planning work.
4. Easy to follow, not complicated, and fun for the kids to learn

Is this a good fit?

Also, does anybody know...why is the name Heart of DAKOTA? What is significant about the word Dakota?

thanks in advance,
MJL

Dakota comes from the fact that the Austin family (authors and owners of HOD) live in South Dakota.

HOD might be a good fit for you, but you would be very challenges to run one guide with all three children. HOD is skill based, and a kindergartner and a 4th grader are not going to fit well in any guide because their skills are very different. Youc ould possibly combine the 2nd grader with one of the others, but it might be easiest to run three guides. I would look at the placement chart and see where each one places.

Welcome!! I am new (to a degree) this year also. I did use HOD when my girls were little but it was not a good fit for one of them due to some special learning issues. It might have worked if I had been willing to run 2 guides back then (and now I am sorry that I did not). Anyway, I am back and am going to use HOD with 3 of my 4 children this year. My little boys (7 & 9) will be doing Beyond together, but I expect that once we get used to the schedule, I will switch him up to Bigger where he would fit better (I already have that curriculum as my girls used it). I just need to have them together to start with for my sanity (I also have a special needs 14 year old who will be in Res to Ref and a 16 year old who will be a senior this year).

You should take a look at the placement chart and see where your kids fit. You might be able to combine 2 of them depending on where they are.

thanks for the responses!
Didn't even think to look where the family lived - makes sense.

I can definitely combine things with my 7 and 9 yr old kids.

mjlamarche--

Glad you are here asking questions! Your criteria:

1. Christ-centered - all in one - no switching from book to book to book all over the place to cover all subjects.
2. Multiple children at home (ages 5, 7, and 9, entering K, 2 and 4)
3. Easy for me and no planning work.
4. Easy to follow, not complicated, and fun for the kids to learn

As far as #1 goes, HOD is VERY Christ-centered, and the topics are usually integrated so that the Bible Study connects to the History reading. Carrie (the author of the guides) has designed the guides so that you don't need tons of different materials, especially in the younger guides. However, when it comes to reading (Emerging Readers and DITHOR) and storytime, you will obviously need multiple books! Libraries are great resources if you don't want to buy the reading books yourself. Since all the subjects are covered in one guide for each level, your daily work is already balanced for you. You don't have to worry about taking too long for math or spelling, etc, because she has balanced the work load for each day. Plus, you can be confident that the children are doing "enough" for the day just by following the guide. This has been a HUGE relief for me since I started out homeschooling by piecing my own subjects together. I had no idea if we were doing enough each day or on track to develop certain higher level skills since I had never taught before.

For #2, HOD is very compatible with multiple children. Although, contrary to other homeschooling options out there, HOD works best when kids are placed specifically in their skill level. They work better, and it is easier to teach them. So this is not the kind of curriculum where you teach to the oldest, and the younger ones just follow along at their level. In fact, they encourage the oppposite: place the younger children correctly and add extensions for the oldest if you want to try to combine them. As far as whether or not your kids could be combined into one guide, the only way to know that is to look at the placement chart very carefully and see where they might fit. There are extensions offered for older kids to be combined with younger siblings starting with the Bigger guide. I have had my 7 and 9 yos combined until this year. I am moving one up to the next guide (Bigger) and going a bit slower with my 7yo in our current guide (Beyond). Proper placement is key for happy children!

#3. Honestly, this is one of my favorite things about HOD. Super easy for you and no day-to-day planning required. You WILL have to do the work to place your children correctly, order the guide and materials (pretty minimal), and getting the books you need for reading (if you use the library, like me!). If you buy the reading books with the rest of your materials, you're all set! I just set up a 3-ring binder notebook for my child in Bigger which took less than 20 min.

#4. This is another reason I chose HOD. It is fun for the kids to learn. I do not have the capacity or time to do the research required to add a meaningful activity or art project to our studies, but Carrie has done all that work for me! Using simple things around our house, no less. My kids love activities and art and it is such a blessing to have simple projects that completely tie in with the subjects already planned for us. It definitely helps my kids enjoy the subjects more and makes me look awesome as a mom that we have a fun project for the day. I also appreciate all the work put into the book lists for reading and storytime. One less thing for me to have to research, and the kids enjoy the books. Carrie has included everything from movement, to songs, to scribbling in sand their missed spelling words. It keeps things interesting.

This is not to say everyday is magical. My kids and I have off days, and some subjects are harder than others for them, but learning can be hard work sometimes. I do LOVE this forum for the seasons we get stuck with bad attitudes, math difficulties, questions, etc. There are so many mommas on here doing the same thing I am everyday who have such great wisdom. It is wonderful to not feel alone in this process and have direct access to other families doing the same curriculum.

Hope that helps some!

Thank you for the response!!

I love the message board style of communication as well.

I received my catalog and am so encouraged by this board. I can say that I'm so far into this HOD research that I feel decided, but I'm struggling with where to place my 9.5 yr old.

Is there a spot on this board that is dedicated to questions like ... where do I place my child?

Right here is a good place to ask. Did you look at the placement chart? Where your child fit on that?

My 9.5 year old is delayed and was finishing up 1st grade Rod & Staff (which is closer to 2nd grade as it is advanced) this spring. If I went by the chart I should have placed him in Bigger, but since I would like to school my boys together I am putting them both in Beyond (a family decision). I will be adding some extra grammar on for the older one and possibly a few projects. If I feel that he is ready to move on to more work, I might go ahead and switch him mid-year to Bigger.

I did read the charts and for some reason, I'm more confused.
I did start another thread asking for placement help with descriptions of my kids abilities/interests.

lots of mammas are helpful with placement questions! You can keep asking questions on this thread, or start a new one with a new subject. If you can give as many specifics for the levels your children are in math, reading, writing, grammar, etc., it will help everyone help you!