heartofdakota.com

I am so happy to be using HOD!

Once we made the decision to homeschool I went full force into researching and comparing the various curriculums available. It didn't take long for God to lead me to this website, (via the Rainbow Resource catalog) and I was immediately hooked. I am not one to make decisions without examining all the options, but no matter where I looked I kept coming back here and wanting to go with it. I love to read review sites, and unfortunately this curriculum was not featured on many, but the reviews that did exist were glowing.

I was leaning heavily towards SL, for the living books approach, but it seemed so overwhelming, not to mention EXPENSIVE! The reviews of SL were and still are a mixed bag, and I didn't want to start something and not have it "work" for our family. So I submitted my decision to God, and He gave such peace whenever I thought of going with HOD, while I would get a knot in my stomach whenever I considered SL or MFW.

I may be tired from my hectic schedule, but I LOVE doing HOD with Dina, and she loves it, too. I hear from other HS moms how difficult their curriculum is and that they are ready to throw in the towel, so I try to steer them here, because I would hate for anyone to give-up HS because it's too hard. It doesn't have to be, thanks to Carrie and her desire to answer God's call on her life. Thank-you Dear Lord and thank-you Carrie for following His lead and creating HOD. Your example is humbling.

HOD is wonderful and I can't imagine doing HS any other way.

Hi
I soooooo agree, life has been wonderful for us using HOD. It is so great to hear how well it is going for you too

I feel like we have just been so blessed by God, and almost everyday I am amazed at how wonderfully the program all fits together, Carrie is So clever!!!!. I find it hard to believe anyone would HS any other way!!!

Love Deb

DITTOs to Funkmomma71

I had similar experiences when deciding to hs and considering different curriculum...

Lori_in_Austin wrote:DITTOs to Funkmomma71

Funkmomma - Thanks for your wonderful testimony! I know that feeling that you're "home" with where you want your kids' education to be. HOD is a blessing for us, too! Ahhh!

Kathleen

I so agree! HOD is a huge blessing for our family. I love it and know we can stick with it for the long haul. It is such a blessing to know you have it all settled and love what you are using, just to have that searching over and know you are home is a huge blessing. I actually recommended it yesterday to a nurse who is a single mom and wishes she could hs. But I can also say as a mom who will never throw in the towel and is huge on covering it all in a godly format this is the absolute best fit out there for us. If I could write it, this would be what I would have done in my mind. It's just the perfect fit.

I am so glad you are loving it and looking to sharing more HOD years with you.

Amen! I was just thinking yesterday how much I am enjoying homeschooling due to HOD. I don't feel tense or stressed about it, and I do feel empowered to do it all the way through high school - something I was unsure of before. I am so glad to read that you ladies have that same peace and joy in your homeschooling with HOD. Thanks so very much for sharing this here!

In Christ ,
Julie

You know over the span of 11 years I have tried so many different curriculum. Some were hits and some were not. The one style that always confounded me was literature based programs. I was so drawn to them...., I loved to read. However, with SL it was a lot of reading without much re-enforcing. If I had auditory children it would have been fine, but I don't.

Then I found WinterPromise Curriculum which is literature based with hands on projects and I was very excited. The problem was that all of the hands on projects came directly from books and had me use lots of materials that I found difficult to have ready all the time, plus they were more work than HOD. The directions often reminded me of Christmas day when your trying to put together children's toys.., OY VEY! WP was lit based but not unit study. Though it had hands on projects they were not meant to necessarily tie all the different books together.

Both WP and SL had copious amounts of required reading. I always felt like the under achiever because we just couldn't fit them all into our schedule. I wanted to live my life with my children, not just do school. I also felt like when we were reading through so many books at the same time on their schedule we didn't have time to savor and enjoy. There was no joy for me.

I decided that HOD was my last attempt at a "lit based" program. It was THE ONE! It only took me ten years to find it. (smile)

My favorite aspects of HOD are how well it's balanced. SL and WP were very history heavy and so after spending a couple of hours everyday on history I was worn out and didn't enjoy doing science, writing, math or lang arts. I LOVE that HOD balances all of these subjects perfectly. I also enjoy the simplicity of the hands on projects as far as prep goes and they just seem to gel more cohesively with the topic. I look forward to our hands on projects. I love that I can homeschool and still have time to cook, go to the park, plug into co-op, etc..,

MamaMary thank you for your post. I've been trying to find some comparison between WP and HOD and your thoughts were very helpful.

With Joy!
Florence

deltagal wrote:MamaMary thank you for your post. I've been trying to find some comparison between WP and HOD and your thoughts were very helpful.

With Joy!
Florence

Florence, that was all the Lord. After I typed that, I stopped and wondered what in the world made me go on about SL and WP? Now I know. He is good ALL THE TIME! Thank you for sharing as it helped me to see God at work