heartofdakota.com

I just received my Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory book and I am very excited to begin using it. I am wondering if anyone has yet to print a list of weekly supplies needed? Just thumbing through it, for instance, I see for unit 3 I am going to need grey paper, black crayon, green paint, red paint, and a paper towel for Artistic expression on day 1, two small plates and potato chips for science exploration on day 2, white paper, black paper and a flashlight for science exploration and brown paper, red hots, licorice, or red circles for math on day 3, fingerpaint or sidewalk chalk for language arts, a backyard scene and tinfoil for math on day four, and a dice for history on day 5. Obviously, I will need to read ahead several units and keep a list of what I will need. I only go shopping 2X per month so I need to plan ahead. If anyone out there has already done the work for me I'd appreciate receiving a copy.

Thanks,

Lisa B.

I,too, think this would be a great resource to have in the appendix of the manual. It would be nice to be able to glance at what I will need for the upcoming unit when I go out shopping in case I don't happen to have it. I went through the sample first week of the Preparing manual and made a list of things I would need and bought them while I waited for the box to arrive. I guess I will just have to do this each week. Although I know most supplies required are things we have on hand I would hate to have to stop school for a trip to the store.

No worries, ladies! The HOD guides purposefully keep items to things you would have on hand, and they also suggest many substitutions. We have done all of the HOD guides through PHFHG, and never needed to go to the store for an item. I don't have a "super-stocked" kitchen or art supply cabinet - just regular stuff. If you are still concerned, just going through the first 3-4 weeks of plans and jotting down things needed would help you rest assured you truly don't need to plan ahead for supplies.

In Christ,
Julie

Ladies,

While you can easily use a supply list if you prefer, you'll honestly find that its not needed with the HOD guides. Most moms who are new to HOD are very concerned about a supply list, as every other curriculum out there requires one and makes it hard to be prepared without certain supplies.

HOD is different in that if you have regular art supplies on hand, you'll be set for the year. We truly do not write projects or activities into our guides that require anything strange that a normal household would not have on hand. I've never used a supply list with any of our HOD guides, and most moms using HOD don't ever bother with one either.

Now, if the supply list lover in you absolutely must have one, then by all means borrow one from a fellow supply lister! But, I think you'll be surprised that the further you travel down the HOD path, you honestly don't need one and may even be able to let go of it!

Blessings,
Carrie

Sorry, Carrie, but I beg to differ!! at first glance, there are several things i would not have on hand. granted, we might not be a "normal" family...i don't do crafts or really even sew (buttons sit around for months before they get sewn back on!!) glancing at the LHFHG guide, i know that if i do not plan ahead, we would never have red string, a whistle, a bean bag, a red streamer, a toy car (we have girls! ), etc. now, these are NOT hard things to find, nor are they expensive, but i do want to be aware of them before the week prior so i can be more organized and prepared. i'm sure some of these could be replaced with something else if i didn't have them on hand, but i am so excited about the great activities in HOD that i want to do them exactly as written!!

mommyofgirls,

I just wanted to pop back on and mention that while the items you mentioned may have come from a supply list made by someone else from the guide, each of those specific items isn't necessary to complete the guide they refer to. For example, there is not a whistle needed in any of the lessons (so I'm not sure what that is), a beanbag can be used but the guide does mention using a rolled up pair of socks in its place, any color of streamer can be used and if you don't have streamers it doesn't change the lesson, a car or any other toy can be used, etc.

In our guides, you'll find we like to list many different options of things that could be used within the lesson, making it easy for you to find something you have in your house to use for that day. I just wanted to make sure I clarified that, as otherwise the supply list you mentioned makes is appear that our guides are a supply gathering worry, which is something we've never heard about our guides. Instead, we hear over and over again that HOD uses items you truly do have in your home. So, before you go through gathering all the items, you may wish to try teaching a couple of weeks first to see how much of what is listed is truly needed or whether you'd have other things on hand that would work just fine.

As wigglesmom mentioned, it is great to peek ahead if you have kiddos with food allergies as that would be one area that would take special consideration.

Blessings,
Carrie

thanks for the clarification, Carrie! i was not worried at all about finding those things, but it helps to know that i might not need them!

i am so excited about our upcoming year with HOD!!

Thank you to all who have responded. I have enjoyed reading everyone's opinions and ideas. Carrie, I appreciate your input regarding how HOD has been designed to be flexible so appropriate substitutions are accepted and even expected. I have to agree with others, however, that since we've paid for a guide to tell us exactly what to use that works well, I don't want to have to come up with my own unproven ideas to use instead. With that said, however, since this is my first time using a HOD product, I will enthusiastically try it your way when we begin in the fall. I will try to be flexible and not so "by the book." Its just nice to have a little "hand-holding" in the beginning. Thanks for writing what I expect to be a fantastic curriculum.

Lisa B.

Lisa,

I just wanted to clarify that I wasn't suggesting that you come up with your own substitutions for use within the guide, the guide actually lists a variety of items that you could use for a given idea or experiment right within its directions for that day. We work very hard to make sure that we give you as many options right within the guide as possible so that you can easily use what is in your own home.

In my original response to this thread, I mentioned that if you have a well stocked art cabinet you will usually be set. In looking through the supplies that you originally mentioned in your beginning post, most fall under the construction paper, paint, chalk, crayons, etc. category. These are what I consider to be art supplies. The other items fall under a normal kitchen category as they include plates, aluminum foil, and chips. The only item that is unique is a flashlight, which almost every home has. I'm not sure what you are referring to as the backyard scene. The red hots, licorice, or red paper choice is one example of a way that we work hard to list a variety of items you can use for a given idea or experiment.

Since you mentioned paying for a guide that tells you exactly what works well, when comparing the costs and the contents of HOD guides with other guides, you will find that what you get within your HOD guide far exceeds what is found for a much higher price in other guides. For example a MFW guide costs $100 and contains a weekly plan grid with some notes, while HOD uses a two-page spread for each day. You also must pay an additional fee to receive their math plans from MFW. Winter's Promise guides sell for $70 and after that you must still purchase an additional guide for science ($22) and a language arts guide yearly ($35). Sonlight guides also sell for $65 for their main core, and then you must add on an additional guide for science ($38) and add an additional guide for language arts yearly ($22-35). None of these guides contain daily plans with as much depth as an HOD guide does.

If you purchased Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory and paid full price without getting it within a package it was $43.95 for a year's worth of daily lesson plans in all subject areas. We provide multiple levels of language arts and math schedules in each of our guides for no additional cost as well. In the Beyond guide alone you will find a daily year-long schedule with questions provided for the Emerging Reader's Set, two year-long math schedules (one with activities written out for you as well), two different levels of spelling lists with daily activities, grammar lessons we have written ourselves, all needed poetry included in the Appendix for you to refer to, all needed hands-on science lessons provided, geography lessons all written out for you, timeline entries provided, all Biblical questioning written out to guide you daily, well-spelled out art projects, corresponding music, Scripture memorization, hands-on history activities,and a minature literature study that is down-sized from Drawn into the Heart of Reading to give you daily plans in that area as well.

In this thread, I was merely pointing out that we are not shirking our duty to the customer in not providing a supply list, but have chosen not to provide one due to the fact that we write all of our own projects and experiments and make a point not to include any strange or unusual items within what we write. I have used many curriculums with endless supply lists where I have spent all summer and quite a bit of money gathering items, only to lose steam and not get the projects or experiments done due to the amount of supplies and the project itself being too overwhelming to complete. We strive to offer something different at HOD. We keep our projects and experiments short and focused, keep the supplies normal, and offer suggestions for substitutions within our plans. These additional features replace the need for a supply list.

As with any curriculum, you are welcome to customize it to best meet your family's personal needs, but we have made sure that you have everything needed right within your guide to give you a successful school experience. As always, if your guide does not meet your expectations, you are more than welcome to return it for a full refund.

Blessings,
Carrie

I just wanted to pop in here and encourage anyone that is worried about being prepared for their daily lessons. We just finished Beyond with my oldest son, 8 yr. and 2nd grade. I was so impressed with HOD's "open and go" format that freed me from having to prepare ahead of time, run around from store to store, spend more money, etc. About 99% of the time we did have the supplies on hand or were able to find something that fit and was applicable. This was my first year homeschooling my son and his twin sisters, K. I also have a very active 2 yr. old and an infuriating Boxer puppy. My dh is out of town 4-5 days a week, leaving me to juggle the kids and the home most of the time. All that to say, I am a bit short on time. I was so blessed by the very ablility to open the manual for the day and just take of with our academics with little or no prep. Having a list of supplies is a wonderful idea, but I don't think not having one will take away from your HOD experience in the least.

my4sugars wrote:I just wanted to pop in here and encourage anyone that is worried about being prepared for their daily lessons. We just finished Beyond with my oldest son, 8 yr. and 2nd grade. I was so impressed with HOD's "open and go" format that freed me from having to prepare ahead of time, run around from store to store, spend more money, etc. About 99% of the time we did have the supplies on hand or were able to find something that fit and was applicable. This was my first year homeschooling my son and his twin sisters, K. I also have a very active 2 yr. old and an infuriating Boxer puppy. My dh is out of town 4-5 days a week, leaving me to juggle the kids and the home most of the time. All that to say, I am a bit short on time. I was so blessed by the very ablility to open the manual for the day and just take of with our academics with little or no prep. Having a list of supplies is a wonderful idea, but I don't think not having one will take away from your HOD experience in the least.

Thanks for sharing, and I'm so glad you had a great time with HOD this year! I also want to encourage other new HOD users out there - My dh travels a lot too, and we live in the country, which is why I've loved the open and go nature, and virtually no prep time for gathering things ahead of time for the HOD guides. I've used HOD for 7+ years now and found the same thing to be true, year after year. Once you use HOD - it's easy to see their programs are super at trimming off planning time for us busy moms. After my dh spending many years watching me planning, gathering, and preparing for my teaching days (prior to HOD) late at night or on the weekends, it is a little joke between my dh that I make a big show of "moving the sticky note" to the next page of the HOD guide as if it is a laborious thing to do, with a big drawn out sigh, and then I say, "Well, I'm FINALLY done preparing for tomorrow now." My dh always loves that joke - he has me back now - I'm no longer stressfully putting things together for hours on end, and he's happy with having me pay some attention to him again.

In Christ,
Julie

My3sons, Your story is funny! I remember spending HOURS on end trying to prepare a lesson plan that was Bible based with all the bases covered for KINDERGARTEN. My husband was quite unhappy about it But now since I brag about how easy HOD is he cannot understand why I am at the computer at every spare moment....I haven't confessed about the Message Board!
Dorla

I don't think any of us were complaining about the price of the guide or saying that you were shirking your duty. We just thought it would be nice to have a supply list. But I for one love my guide and will just look ahead each week to make sure. Also you did get me on one thing. I am a list girl. My family would correct me and say I am a list addict. A perfect stranger would be able to get to know my life quite well just by looking through the multitude of notebooks I have around the house.

Dorla wrote:My3sons, Your story is funny! I remember spending HOURS on end trying to prepare a lesson plan that was Bible based with all the bases covered for KINDERGARTEN. My husband was quite unhappy about it But now since I brag about how easy HOD is he cannot understand why I am at the computer at every spare moment....I haven't confessed about the Message Board!
Dorla

Too funny! I remember projects such as that as well, and not very fondly. One time way back when I first began teaching, I even had my dh help write comments on papers - he wrote "Nic Joob" instead of "Nice Job!", and "Weigh to go" instead of "Way to go!", etc. - you can glimpse my dh's humor here. Anyway, he's glad to have me be done with all of that stress now, and I am too. Oh, and Dorla, please don't feel the need to get on your computer to respond to this - I don't want to get you in trouble with your sweetie!

In Christ,
Julie

I am a list maker as well, but this is one list that would be confusing to make at best. The guides suggest many substitutions and, from the suggested substitutions, I can easily come up with even more substitutions based on the ideas given. For example, the guide said chocolate chips or raisins (which we usually have both on hand but didn't for some strange reason), so we used cocoa puffs. One time we didn't have a bean bag, so we used the rolled sock idea. If I'd been using a list, I'd have gone out and bought bean bags, etc., which I didn't really need anyway. So, long story short, it makes perfect sense not to have a list but instead to appreciate the activities being written in such a way that we do have the things on hand or we have the ability to logically make a substitution. Just try it, you'll see it works great.

In Christ,
Julie