heartofdakota.com

We used HOD in the past and really enjoyed it, but by the end of the year, we had to switch to a completely independent program, for the sake of our suddenly busy schedule, plus I was working with 3 manuals.

We'd planned to stay independent, because our family is about to change again (new baby arriving this summer) but I'm again looking at HOD.

My older 2 children are 7 and 9 (2nd and 4th graders) and I'm considering using Bigger with them.

My younger 3 children will be 2 1/2, 6, and brand new. I will likely keep my 6 year old in the program I've already set out to do.

My concern is that we did MFW ADV this year, which is already a survey of US History. We did Beyond with my oldest dd a couple of years ago and used a lot of the same books from ADV, so I imagine we'd still be able to transition into Bigger. I just wonder if it'll be too much of a repeat?

We use CLE for our Language Arts and Math (they work for us) and will continue to use it.

Thoughts?

We just completed Adventures in My Father's World and my oldest is transitioning to Bigger!! It's a step up in content & challenge. It also tackles American History from a different perspective entirely. Adventures bears some similarities to Beyond which surveys & touches on the highlights of American History. There is a focus on the pioneers. Bigger goes back through the same time period using a biographical approach. Someone with more experience with HOD could likely explain it better. I considered skipping Bigger for my oldest but as I've combed through the manual & materials there is a lot of content that he didn't have along with much needed skill work to propel him forward.

We've done MFW Adventures, and from what I'm reading in HOD, this seems to be a great step-up from that program. From what I've read, this is the more in-depth study of American History.

Not sure on advice, as we didn't find HOD in time to use the younger programs, and we only have one child--but just wanted to say "welcome back" to the boards, and I hope you find what you are looking for here! HOD is wonderful!!

I don't have any advice for you since I only have 1 DS, but I did want to say welcome back to the boards. I'm sure that the ladies here can help you figure out a great plan to make HOD work for you!

It does sound like your older child could move into Bigger Hearts or Preparing Hearts. Without knowing more about your 9 year old, I'm not sure which program would fit him better with all combining scenarios set aside for now. If you haven't already checked the placement chart for your 7 year old, you will want to do that to be sure that your 7 year old could also handle Bigger Hearts. If your 7 year old doesn't truly fit in Bigger Hearts, you could instead consider combining him with the 6 year old in either LHFGH or Beyond,depending on where the 6 year old fits best. If your 7 year old does fit well in Bigger Hearts, then combining the 7 and 9 year old in Bigger is a good choice.

Here's a link to placement chart. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php
Skill level makes such a difference in correct placement, so it is a good idea to place each child on his/her own first and then see who could possibly be combined and in which program. If you're willing to come back and share a bit more about each child, we could advise you even better and talk through possible options with you.

On a sidenote, we actually plan for Bigger Hearts to come after Beyond as the two complement each other so well in their study of American history. Beyond is about cultures and people groups who settled in America and their reasons for coming. It also gets into early colonial events and the founding of the nation as well. Bigger Hearts is a biographical study, with a focus on the people. The events are happening in the background of the lives of the people about whom you read. So, the two guides have a totally different feel. We've never had anyone say the two guides were redundant, although parents often worry they may be.

Blessings,
Carrie