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Hi Carrie,
I wrote this earlier in the fall, but I guess it got buried in another topic. I am thinking about this again and thought I'd repost it for you to consider.

Re: A Suggestion...
Carrie wrote >>>For our newest program "Preparing Hearts for His Glory", we will be selling an optional set of Student Pages that will have all needed copying for the year done for you. This is due to the fact that the students will need their own set of plans to refer as they work more independently. These Student Pages will also be available in the Teacher's Guide, giving you the choice of either making your own copies or having the them already copied for you.

Hi Carrie,
I was wondering if you would reconsider this or something similar for the next Ancients guide and future guides as the children are getting older. For those of us with the older end of children using the guides the children are doing more work independently. It really would be nice to have the student assignment pages reproduced (or on a cd for easy reproducing) for them. This year with Preparing, my dd is carrying the TG all over the house to do her work. When it is time for me to work with her, I have to ask her to bring it back to me. It just would be so nice if she had some pages for her own use that I could pop into a small notebook or 3 prong folder.

Just another suggestion....

Charlene,

When we were originally planning for Preparing Hearts, we were planning on a total format change for the future guides. There were to be Teacher pages and Student pages separate from one another. However, when visiting with HOD users on the board and at conventions, we found that they preferred to stay with the format of each day of plans on a two-page spread to make for less flipping between Teacher and Student pages (and less piecing together to see what needed to be accomplished each day). Users also preferred to have the "Learning Through History" on the left side of the plans and the "Learning the Basics" on the right side, remaining with the format we already had in place.

With our previously planned format change, we had planned to have the subjects instead grouped by Teacher Directed, Semi-Independent, and Independent allowing us to have the Student pages for independent work separate. When staying with the current two-page spread instead, it was no longer workable to have separate student pages anymore and still stay with the one day on each two-page spread.

For the newest ancient's guide, at this time we are planning to have Student Notebook pages for history. This will be a place to record and insert all history-related assignments completed with Hearts for Him Through Time: Creation to Christ. The student will still need to read the plans from the guide, however.

I agree that our boys are carting the guide all over the house too, and have it with them at all times. However, I've come to look at the guide as their set of plans (more than mine) for the day all written out for them, which saves me time that I spent in the past writing out schedules and directions.

With my older son, we've had to write out a schedule yearly and direction sheets for him to cart around in a 3-ring binder (since he's older than each of our completed guides). Then, whenever we meet, he's had to get out a different guide for me to teach from. So, either way my kiddos end up carting something around (and so do I).

I've been surprised that I've liked remaining with the guide's two-page spread a day format (as I was pretty set on a format change last year). I find it's very easy to see what my kiddos have accomplished and what they have left to do, when glancing over the day's plans. It's also easy to prove what we did each day and to see where we are in each subject area.

It's so difficult to decide on a format, and I know everyone will have a different opinion on what is their favorite format for the guides. We're just grateful at this point to have settled on the format we currently have in place, and we've made sure to publish the guides with a strong, lay-flat binding ready to take the abuse of a guide that can be hauled everywhere!

Blessings,
Carrie

Hi Carrie,
Thanks for explaining. I appreciate that you have to consider the format of the whole book and all, but I still wish that the children could have something smaller to tote around with them as they do their independent work. Even a week's worth instead of a year's worth at a time, ya know?
I was justing thinking a cd included in the back of each TM would be great (even if it only contained each Unit's semi and Independent assignments). Then I could print out a week at a time for my dd to keep for her own use and to mark as she wants.
Thanks for the explanation.

Charlene,

I understand where you're coming from and your thinking on how this could suit your family better. One idea would be to cut the binding off your guide and 3-hole punch it, allowing your daughter to have only a week's worth of plans at a time in her 3-ring binder.

I know each family is different with how they like their plans set up. This might be one way to make it work better for your needs.

With the plans the way they are written now, a CD in the back of the guide would just duplicate the material we already publish in the hard copy and make watching over reproduction of our guide pretty tough. Copyright infringement is hard to enforce and having our guide on CD (in whole or in part) for anyone to print out would make it easy for our rights to be infringed upon.

We may ponder this more in the future, but for now we are hard pressed to get our guides done in their present format.

Blessings,
Carrie

Hi Carrie,
I didn't think about the copyright issues. I understand you need to protect your product.
Well, we'll figure something out. I know last year you gave me permission to make copies of my Bigger manual for my dd and we did that, but unless I got a chunk copied at a time, it got hectic for me to make sure I had the copies made each week for dd. So I didn't go that route this year.
Well,we'll plug away with what we are currently doing.
Thanks again!
Charlene

Charlene - I totally understand what you're asking...

But, Carrie, I just have to say that I LOVE the HOD guides and the way you have them set up! The 2 page spread makes my life so much easier! (I guess it just works with my brain. ) Ours are holding up very well being carted here and there. (I'll have to repost in 6 years to see how ruff 'n tuff they appear after 3 kids! I'm guessing they'll outlast the new beanbags the kids got for Christmas though. They've already made more sliding trips down the stairs than our guides. "Beanbagging" is a new sport at our house! )

Kathleen

Hi Kathleen,
Ha! Too funny about the beanbagging sport!
Well, the guides may last as I only have 2 children to cart them around, but it just seems that when we are upstairs the guide is downstairs and vice versa!
I do like the 2 day spread as well and that works well for me, but I just wanted to get my dds assignments out of the book for her.
I guess I need to work on my dds organizing skills, so she can have the guide with her at all times...
Enjoy your new sport!