heartofdakota.com

Hello,

My name is Michele and I am new to HOD and homeschooling. I have two boys, 11, and 7, and we will officially begin in August. I am so excited and am planning on using HOD, but I can't decide where to begin. I have looked at the placement charts, but I'm still not sure. I am thinking of using Preparing hearts for His glory with both of them and getting the extension for my older son who is going into 6th grade. If you have used Preparing before, do you think this would work? Is Preparing challenging enough for an 11yo yet okay for a 7,almost 8, yo? Both are strong readers for their ages and love to read. I'm torn between Preparing hearts and the Creation to Christ, although right now I'm leaning more toward Preparing. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you for your help and I am looking forward to finally making a purchase and getting started!!

In Christ,
Michele

Hi! Welcome to the boards.. you are going to love it here. If you do a search for preparing you will see others using it for older dc. I will be using it with extensions for my 11 yr old 6th grader in the fall and the deluxe (as is) for my 8 yr old third grader! This choice was made with Carries help. So we will have similar ages if you do this. The ladies will ask you to check this placement chart out and first see where each child will fall by themselves before you make any combining decisions. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php Then ask your questions and someone with more experience will chime in.. I am sure

Welcome again,
Rebecca

Thanks for the welcome and the info. I am really excited about getting started and I think we are going to go ahead with Preparing hearts for both of them with the extension for the 11yo. Thanks!

mrsmommy429 wrote:Thanks for the welcome and the info. I am really excited about getting started and I think we are going to go ahead with Preparing hearts for both of them with the extension for the 11yo. Thanks!

Well, you are too fast for me! I was just responding to you on another post, and here you are with your mind all made up! Now, that's what I call decisive - a mom with a plan is a beautiful thing. I think you will love doing PHFHG. We did it last year and had a blast!

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks! I can get so bogged down in trying to make a decision that I make myself (and my wonderful hubby) crazy so sometimes, I just have to choose and ask God to stop me if I'm wrong! I really have a peace about doing PHFHG with both of them. It just looks so wonderful and we can always do the CTC next year or whenever we finish. They all look so fun it is a really hard choice-I don't want them to "miss" anything! Thanks for your help and encouragement I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it last year! Did you purchase the entire program? My next decision is how much to buy. I want it all, but I'm wondering if I can get some of the books at the library or buy a little at a time. Any suggestions or thoughts?
Michele

mrsmommy429 wrote:Thanks! I can get so bogged down in trying to make a decision that I make myself (and my wonderful hubby) crazy so sometimes, I just have to choose and ask God to stop me if I'm wrong! I really have a peace about doing PHFHG with both of them. It just looks so wonderful and we can always do the CTC next year or whenever we finish. They all look so fun it is a really hard choice-I don't want them to "miss" anything! Thanks for your help and encouragement I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it last year! Did you purchase the entire program? My next decision is how much to buy. I want it all, but I'm wondering if I can get some of the books at the library or buy a little at a time. Any suggestions or thoughts?
Michele

I think you are making a great decision, especially because I know you sought the Lord first. Every good decision starts there! I did purchase the whole program, with the exception of the extension package because my ds is not that age yet. Since we first began homeschooling, my dh and I have changed how we think about spending money on curriculum. We've decided that a happy mom with all she needs at her fingertips ready to go so she can enjoy teaching and can remain stress-free is the goal! When we first began, we scrimped and saved, and at that point we needed to because my dh would not have initially considered homeschooling if he thought it cost us much. Now, we've both come to decide this is really important, and really important things sometimes require money and planning ahead, so we set aside a substantial amount of money for each child each year just for homeschooling. This has been so wonderful in the day to day of homeschooling! It is well worth the giving up of other things that we do to make it happen. I also have to sheepishly say that when I used the library I had a lot of late fees that added up to a good deal of money I could have used just to buy books. This, coupled with the hindrance of trying to get to the library and hoping they actually would have the books I needed, caused my dh and I to say "no" to the library. You may be able to use your library very happily, but for us, it was a point of contention. So, I'm not sure where you and your dh are on this, but I would say GET IT ALL! Every bit of it is worth every penny and then some. Now, if you are not at that point with dh, then by all means, we can try to chat through choices that would make it work well for your needs right now.

In Christ,
Julie

Michele,

I just wanted to pop-in and welcome you to the boards. We're glad to have you here! The ladies are doing such a good job of helping you sort through your options and find a good fit for your family.

We pray that you will enjoy Preparing Hearts as much as we did, when we used it last year with our second son in line.

Blessings,
Carrie

Hey Julie, I agree with you totally! I may have to buy a piece at a time, but it would be easier to have it all and not have to go find it, plus we love to go back and read things again sometimes. I have prayed through all the choices and I really have a peace about this. I am so excited now and I really want to go ahead and get started!! We have ordered math already and have been working on that and so far that is going great! I'm anxious now to have everything and really get going! Thank you for your help!

Carrie, thank you for the welcome! I'm really excited to have found you all and to get started.