heartofdakota.com

It's so funny doing the activities with my two littlest girls after having done them with my four oldest. Same lesson the directions read "fashion a boat". Then later it says "reenact the damage" giving instructions on how to gradually sink a boat. My daughters see the word fashion and go crazy getting out stickers, glitter paint and all kind of things to decorate the boat. Can not tell them it meant something different because they are on a mission to "fashion" the boat. Where I son made the boats carefully and very realistically but when he got to the part that said "reenact" he clearly interpreted that as blow up in a million pieces after a realistic boat is carefully made. I remember he had to make the boats a few times just to reenact the demise.

I am finding repeating the guides is fun. I love remembering what my other kids thought and comparing it to my two very different younger children. It was great the first time around but the second time is even more fun I think. In case you are questioning repeating guides, I am actually finding the repeat to be a blessing. I could easily go for a third time.

I am glad to hear you say so as I will need to do the guides three times. I am currently on repeat with LHFHG and enjoying it even more as well.

I could definitely do three. In fact as we finish guides with my younger two it makes me sad because it is like the end of an era. Every time I do a lesson I remember things with my older kids and it's just so fun to see how the younger ones will respond to the same things. I pretty much let my kids interpret the activities themselves and step in only if needed. It's amazing how much and how different what they learn is just by letting them put their own twist on things. My only issue is keeping my kids in CTC out of the Bigger activities because they want to do them again too and direct the little ones.

How fun! I love your "fashion boats"!! I agree...repeating HOD guides is FUN. I'd be really sad to say goodbye to LHTH if I didn't get to go through it all again in about 3 years.

Kathleen

We will be doing 3 times, as well. I bet anything that Izzy "fashions" her boat, too!

Thanks for the encouraging post!

The problem I have with my oldest son is that he never got to do Bigger, so keeping him out of his younger brother's guide is almost impossible.

I totally agree. We will be going through each guide 4 times. So far, the ones we have gone through twice have been just as much (or more) fun on the second time through. It wouldn't be nearly as fun going through the same text books over and over again! I was just thinking today how sad it it that we are on our very last time through Little Hands, unless God blesses us with a miracle baby (which we would gladly welcome! )

Angie

Hi,

I am new to HOD this year with our dd5. We will be starting in late Aug/early Sept and can't wait. I am so glad to see that others have found going thru the guides just as exciting the second, third, etc times around. I will have to eventually do the guides four times as well as we have four children ages 5, 4, almost 3(august) and 6 months. As I said we are eager to start in late summer and also excited that we will be going to our first outing with our homeschool group on Sunday afternoon. I know homeschooling is not an easy endeavor but will be quite rewarding in the end. I am glad there is such a wonderful group of ladies to share things with. It is good to know we can turn to each other for prayer and kind words of encouragement or even a laugh sometimes. Thanks all for your endearing posts.

Helen

Married to dh almost 18 years
dd 5
ds 4
dd almost three
ds 6 months

That's great to know! I figured it would be exciting every time, though. We'll be going through each guide 3-4 times total (depending on if I keep my middle 2 combined or not, but I'm definitely leaning towards keeping them combined) and I'm soooo glad that we'll be able to, and that it's something for me to look forward to. I definitely don't think that workbooks or textbooks would hold the same appeal.

Oh my - I love the "fashion" your gals added to the boat! That has got me laughing out loud. I will say that even though I have 3 boys, it still is different doing a guide again. Wyatt was very into reenacting or building things by the book, just so, in a very serious "let's get it historically accurate and perfectly correct" sort of way. Riley gets the dress-up clothes and the microphone out. Wyatt gave summary step-by-step sequenced narrations. Riley has a very animated voice and tends to go off on his favorite parts of the story - sort of wondering out loud about this or that with rapt interest. Both love the books. Both enjoy school. But the way they do the guides, and the twists and turns the discussions and activities take are oh so different. It's fun to do a guide again - and I can see Emmett is going to be different too! Thanks for sharing this water2wine, as it's so true and is an encouragement to us moms as we teach guides again!

In Christ,
Julie

It's so true! I have found that with each child the guide feels so different than it did before. We are now beginning on our third trip through some of the guides and on our second trip with the rest and really enjoying it so much... and I am a born curriculum lover who always loves something different even it is just for me!

I honestly have to admit that I am taking more from the guides too the next times around and enjoying them even more. It is a delight to see how different children react to different projects and readings. It almost doesn't feel like I've done the guide before, but yet it feels like revisiting a familiar friend.

Thanks for sharing! I wondered how I would feel about repeating guides too.

Blessings,
Carrie