heartofdakota.com

hello!

i am so excited that god led me to this curriculum. reading all of your comments feels like i have made the right decision. i can't wait to get started. i have chosen BLHFHG for my 7 yr old (going into 1st)
it is my 10 yr old (going into 5th) that i am struggling with. i have chosen PHFHG because he is not excited about reading. i feel like CTC woud overwhelm him. i am expexting it will be like "pulling teeth" until he realizes how much fun we are going to have. he will be doing horizons math book 5 and i am still deciding on language. i'd appreciate any input on his level and any other comments and suggestions! can't wait to chat with you all!

anyone in the cypress, tx area?

kelli

Hi Kelli!

We are using Preparing this year with my 8yo, and it's been wonderful so far. The books are FASCINATING and I can only imagine that they would really catch the interest of boys! We just finished reading about an exciting cave bear hunt, and Grandpa's Box has a boy character who is interested in war strategy. My daughter loves it too (I don't want to turn any moms of girls away!), but I CANNOT WAIT to get to Preparing with my boys in a few years. It may very likely turn his interest back to reading!

We have definitely "upped" the amount of writing from last year (coming from other programs), but it nothing to be afraid of. The guide takes you so gently, step-by-step, through the writing process that it's a breeze to teach and I don't get any complaints from dd.

One of the things dd loves is the drawing and art projects. I don't know if your son is into that, but we have really enjoyed it. I never took the time for it before, and I'm so glad that it's part of our school day now.

After the intro we've had to narration and dictation in Preparing, I'm so glad that I'm not jumping in with HOD for the first time with CTC. This will give us a good foundation in these skills before we move to the next level.

You are really going to enjoy hs-ing with HOD! I wish I had started out with it from the beginning. My kids say constantly, "We are going to keep doing fun school, right?"

Blessings,
Maria

Hi,Kelli. We'll be new together! I have a 5yo ds who will be doing Little Hearts.

Kelley

kelli wrote:hello!

i am so excited that god led me to this curriculum. reading all of your comments feels like i have made the right decision. i can't wait to get started. i have chosen BLHFHG for my 7 yr old (going into 1st)
it is my 10 yr old (going into 5th) that i am struggling with. i have chosen PHFHG because he is not excited about reading. i feel like CTC woud overwhelm him. i am expexting it will be like "pulling teeth" until he realizes how much fun we are going to have. he will be doing horizons math book 5 and i am still deciding on language. i'd appreciate any input on his level and any other comments and suggestions! can't wait to chat with you all!

anyone in the cypress, tx area?

kelli

Hi Kelli, and welcome to the HOD Board! I did BLHFHG and PHFHG last year and loved that combo - I think you will too. Your ds will love all of the "action" in PHFHG. The books are incredible - we have too many new favorites to name. My ds asked to take half of them to his room after the school year was over because he wanted to read them again. That's a pretty good sign, huh? We loved the R & S English and DITHOR for language. We did a good portion of R & S on markerboard and my ds wrote the rest in his composition book. He is doing so well with grammar because of R & S, and I enjoy that it doesn't take long and teaches grammar for the purpose of learning to write well. We've done DITHOR for many years now, and it really puts the "heart" back into reading. We can choose books with our kids' interests in mind, and we can go at a pace that fits each of them best. It gets them reading all different genres while teaching them necessary reading skills too. You can do the dictation (which fits the spelling requirement) from the PHFHG Appendix. Writing is covered in the daily plans through guided written narration lessons and creative writing lessons based on the poetry. Copywork is part of the notebooking in the daily plans. All of this together made my ds into a pretty avid reader and writer - and it totally helped him grow in these areas. I think this would be a solid plan for your ds. I'm glad you are here, and look forward to getting to know you, Kelli!

In Christ,
Julie

Kelli,

I just wanted to pop-in and welcome you too! We did Preparing Hearts last year and really enjoyed ourselves! My son loved the books in Preparing and was continually enthralled with the science and the history projects. We pray your kiddos will enjoy their school year as much as we did!

It agree that Preparing Hearts would be a great place for your son to begin with HOD!

Blessings,
Carrie