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Still haven't quite decided whether to purchase HOD yet, but I am beginning to feel more and more peace about it. I don't want to just jump, so I am spending some time in prayer & discussion with my hubs.

In the meantime, I will probably keep asking a lot of questions so please bear with me!!

I have an 11yo son, almost 6yo daughter and an almost 3yo son.
I need to focus on language arts with my 11yo and math. The basics really.
I also really need something special for my little girl, who is my middle child...well, because she's a middle. She needs that extra attention, if you know what I mean...
Then, my littlest is an attention taker. He demands it in every way. Coolest kid you ever met, but really expects mom to center everything around him. (Total opposite of my daughter who would be find just sitting at her desk by herself doing projects all day!)

Now that I've introduced our family...
Help me figure out the cheapest way to do HOD. )

I talked to Mike on the phone and he suggested Preparing for my ds.
After talking to you all, I am assuming I should go with LHFHG for my dd.
Then, I guess I would need to buy LHTH for my youngest.
(I already bought LHTH and did it with my dd, but I gave it away & I'm totally bummed now!)

Not only am I overwhelmed with the fact that I would have to BUY three different sets, but the thought of trying to do all three in one day...ugh!!!

As far as cost goes... maybe I could buy in increments?
Like, do I need to buy the Drawn right now? Maybe I could start without it & add it in later?

Writing wise my 11yo forgets to capitalize the beginning of sentences, proper nouns, etc. and his spelling is not very good, so he seems like he's really behind...
He is writing in cursive now, which has really helped improve his handwriting.

With that, which english should I buy?

For DD, I kind of already asked a few questions about math.
She already has a handwriting curriculum, so we won't need that.
I'm also going to skip buying the bibles totally and just one at home.

I mean, I don't want to miss out on anything, but I need to be reasonable.

Thank you for any help you can give to help me save some cash!

Mercy

I'm not for sure about everything, but for English I think R&S 3 might be a good choice for your ds. It does a thorough job of reviewing sentence types and how you punctuate them, nouns, pronouns, proper nouns, etc. It would be a solid grammar review and it is scheduled in Preparing. The dictation in Preparing will be a great way to help your ds in spelling. You will be able to choose which dictation level is best for him. Preparing has level 2, 3, and 4 in the appendix. I'm sure you'll find a comfortable starting point for him within those.

The good news for you is that LHTH and LHFHG are fairly inexpensive programs that don't use a lot of resources. Preparing is the one that is going to be more difficult to do inexpensively because it does use a large number of resources. I'm not for sure how to cut costs there except to suggest that you try to stick to the Economy and Basic packages and/or try to see what books you might be able to find at your local library. I do think you could wait on DITHOR. It is a wonderful program and I would recommend it, but getting the core program in place is much more important. Also since you would be doing 3 guides anyway, you really are going to have to ease into things to get your schedule up and running. It would be easier for you probably to add DITHOR in later after you are feeling confident with your new routine. The good thing is that LHTH only takes around 30 minutes from what I've read here on the boards and LHFHG is only about 1 1/2 hours. Though Preparing will take longer (I've read 4 1/2 hours here on the board), part of the program will be independent for your ds so it won't require your attention that full time. There are many others here who do multiple programs like this who will be able to advise you how to work it all out. This might even be a combination of programs that they have successfully done in the past. I'm thinking my3sons might have done this combo a few years back.

I just read your post again and I think you were asking about the Draw and Write through History book not DITHOR. Though we haven't done Preparing yet, I have my guide and many of my books for it. The Draw and Write through History is used from the beginning in the independent history study. It really looks like fun and I know my dc are really going to enjoy it and get a lot out of it. You can look at the sample pages of the guide on the website and see the sort of activities that are included in that independent box and see what you think. I know there have been some other posts in the last few months about which resources are used when in Preparing. Maybe you can do a search to see when some of the independent books are scheduled. You might be able to stagger buying those resources. If you can't find it on a search, I'll get my guide out and figure out which resources are used when for you if that would be helpful. We really love HOD and I pray that it will be a great fit for you and your dc as well!

Thank you so much for your reply! I actually was talking about the drawing into the heart of reading. Sorry I cant look up the name of it right now, but I just wanted to say your ideas and help are great!

Thanks,
Mercy

Thank you so much for your reply! I actually was talking about the drawing into the heart of reading. Sorry I cant look up the name of it right now, but I just wanted to say your ideas and help are great!

Thanks,
Mercy

I would buy the manuel, workbook, and the $5 book list, and just check out books from the library. That is the cheapest option I can think of, and worth every penny.

Hi Mercy! Packages are the cheapest route to go. HOD has savings planned within packages that really save some money. Clicking on the little light bulb next to "Helpful Tips on How to Order" in this link will help you with choices in ordering:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/preparing- ... ckages.php

Your dc are far apart in age, like mine are, and it has been my experience that it is MUCH easier to just to teach them at their own level. If I were you, I'd start the PHFHG child first. I'd begin DITHOR with him a few months later after he's gotten used to PHFHG. I'd start your LHFHG child after your oldest has been doing PHFHG for a week or two. I'd wait to start your 3 yo until next year when he's 4 yo. Once you get the guides in hand, there are some great threads on schedules/routines that will be helpful to setting up your day well. We love HOD and are finished in a very timely fashion each day. I cannot imagine a better way to homeschool. I am excited for you to start with HOD too! I think you'll find this board is full of encouraging, helpful ladies. It's a great community to be a part of!

In Christ,
Julie