heartofdakota.com

I am wanting to do the HOD program with my two girls ages 9 and 6, when I told someone about this, they said to check out A World of Adventure or Adventures in Learning. I looked at it, and the concepts seem pretty similar, but can anyone compare them for me? I don't think it will change my mind because I really like HOD, but I would just like to know.
Thanks!
Amy

A world of Adventures is a unit study program for kids in grade 4 through 8 so I'm thinking this might not be what you are looking for based on your children's ages alone. While I have no recommendations to offer as I'd feel inadequate in making any but I would suggest that you look over on the placement chart and see where your dc fall and you probably could just use one program (the one best suited with the youngest child) and use the add-ons for the older one. You'll love HOD!
Heidi

AmyB,

We used HOD (Beyond) last year when my daughter was in first grade. We had a great time with it, but stopped at Unit 15 because she really needed to focus on learning to read. So, from January of 2007 to May of 2007, we only did reading and math.

During the same time, I was discovering that my older son in 3rd grade DID NOT like using the Alpha and Omega LifePacs-he was using these for all subjects. So, I began looking for something we could use for him this year, and came across Learning Adventures. I loved the look of A World of Adventure, and his eyes just lit up when we read about the things we would be learning and the activities involved. I really like that a book list was included to follow for book choices in Science and History for read alouds, but that we also had the choice if we wanted or needed to pick something else. So, I decided to order AWOA to use with my ds and my dd. (I didn't think I could try two programs with a 4 yo tagging along as well.) We were so excited to start in August, and everything went great for a while. We have loved all of the literature selections, the discussion questions have been good, the kids have memorized a lot of Bible verses, and I feel we've learned a lot; myself included. However, it has taken us way too much time every day to complete a day's worth of lessons. Sometimes there is extensive reading already in the manual for Science and History, not to mention the literature read aloud, and then we're supposed to read our library books too, and add typing, math and a foreign language! I wonder if my younger child were 4th grade too, as the recommended age is 4-8th grades, if things would have gone more quickly? I'll never know. I have been doing a separate History and L.A. and Math with dd because she's only on the 2nd grade level. She did do Science with him, though, because she is a science nut!

Another thing I'm not comfortable with, that may not be a problem for you, is the fact that the curriculum discusses, at length, Greek gods-we read some myths. That would be fine if my kids were older, but I don't really feel they are old enough nor have a firm enough foundation and understanding yet in the Word, to be able to discern what is right or understand some of the things discussed. Just my personal opinion.

Two weeks ago, I switched back to finish Beyond...with dd. We are doubling up the lessons so we can get from Unit 15 to 34 by the time school ends in June...and she and I are still done by lunch most days. My son will finish AWOA (actually only through unit 5) then move into Bigger... using the extension pack, with my daughter next year. I decided to switch dd back because, for one, we had already begun using Carrie's spelling methods again, and the emerging reader's schedule; my daughter absolutely loves both! So, I felt we should go back and do the rest of Beyond...the ladies here helped me decide just how to do that! What I really like about HOD is that the lessons are short, but the kids are still learning important information...and they can remember the details of what was read! DD enjoys the poetry readings, the copywork, the storytime selections, History, all of it. All of the basics are covered, and we are not still slogging through it at 3pm. There's no slogging at all, it's very exciting. My ds thinks it sounds fun too. He listens in on the storytime when he can, and sometimes eavesdrops when he's supposed to be working on something else! The absolute best thing about HOD is that everything is Christ centered, and connections are made between the subjects, and dd understands the connection! The art activities are fun and relevant. We are doing a timeline, too. HOD uses a Charlotte Mason approach, and I like that much better. My daughter does too, and I think my son is in for a real treat next year. We're actually about to start LHTH with ds4, tomorrow. I'm excited about that, because I thought we would have to miss the pre-k program; turns out that's where he fits the best...yeah!

I'm not going to tell you AWOA would not work for you, because you know your family best. However, our experience this year has been that it's too difficult to try to do the program unless you're gonna do it straight; no adjusting for youngers or adding extras. But, I am one to follow the book. If you're good at switching things and deleting what's not needed, maybe you could do it. I would recommend taking a very close look, though, before using it with a 6 yo.

HOD, on the other hand, has several different manuals to use with a mix of age levels. Little Hands to Heaven is for 2-5 yo, so you would not need tha, unless you have a younger dc coming up. Little Hearts for His Glory is written for children ages 5-7, so you may be able to use that with dc 6. Some of us here do more than one HOD program and the ladies say it is very doable! Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory is written for ages 6-8, so you may be able to use that with both dc if you want to keep them together. I don't think there is an extension pack available for this level, though. Bigger Hearts for His Glory is written for ages 7-9, so would probably fit your older dc, and possibly your 6 yo if she is advanced and very good with writing.

What is so great about these guides is that they are written for age levels, not grade levels, as Carrie recognizes that children vary in skill level even within the same grade or age! This allows us to use the program we think fits our child the best, and not to be 'stuck' in one particular manual. It also allows one to slow down if necessary to focus on a particular skill. The lessons are written on a two-page spread for each day, with a 'box' for each subject. You can choose to complete everything in one sitting, or break it up throughout the day. Carrie has recommended selections for L.A., Math, and the storytime books and read alouds, but also encourages us to use what works best for our family. So, if you have a Math program that you just LOVE, you can still use that with the HOD manual...you just skip the Math box each day, or pencil in your lesson for the day!

I hope this has made sense, as it's turned out to be a very long post! If you have any specific questions about AWOA, I'd be glad to tell you more. Just pm me. We are so glad to be switching to HOD completely; we have everything already on our shelves, waiting for the new school year. It's been really difficult to keep spending so much time with AWOA when we have HOD right there!

Check out the packages at www.heartofdakota.com and check here http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php for placement for your dc. Please continue to ask questions as you think of them. All of the ladies here are very helpful. I'm sure they will be on soon to offer their opinions! Weekends are usually pretty slow. God will lead you in the right direction, I'm sure. Let us know what you decide. I hope we'll be seeing more of you around here!

Also, check this link to see some examples of what users of HOD have been working on this year.
http://www.heartofdakota.com/board/viewforum.php?f=14

Thanks to all of you have replied. I have my mind pretty well made up that I want to use HOD, but I just had to ask. I will be using Beyond and Bigger for next year. My oldest daughter is good at reading, but struggles with writing, and my youngest is getting better at writing, but doesn't like reading. Thank you all for your advice, it is greatly appreciated.

I used Learning Adventures with my older two (now in 11th & 12th grade) for 5-7th grade. I love it very much and my girls say their best memories of their homeschooling years were the years we used L.A. That said, the two curriculum (HOD and LA) are geared toward completely different age groups, so you really can't compare. We use HOD for K-3rd or 4th grade, and then LA for 4th or 5th to 7th or 8th, then Tapestry of Grace for high school. The styles compliment each other nicely and it's a nice smooth transition. LA is a bit more challenging for students because it's geared toward an older age group. When we did LA we were busy from 2-5 hours a day... but about an hour of that was independent reading, and the longer days were mostly in the second book. Each volume of LA builds upon the previous one and gets more challenging than the last.

That's another reason we are not going to continue with Learning Adventures. It is challenging. A New World of Adventure (the second book)looks great, and I already own it! This manual covers American History, and I was really excited about using it. However, I decided it would be too difficult for my (then) 3rd grader to do the L.A. and retain the History information...and I knew I did not want to try doing AWOA and HOD. Maybe it's something to think about later, when your kids are the appropriate age, if you need to make a change.

By the way, if any of you knows anyone who is using Learning Adventures, and may want to buy my copies of AWOA and ANWOA, pm me and we can discuss that!

My 12 year old used AWOA and ANWOA. We both loved it very much but I have switched to HOD for my 9 year old and 7 yr old twins. My problem with LA is that it is not complete. It takes about 4 years for each book to appear and while I really love it, I don't have that much time to wait for them. Carrie has young kids also doing HOD and she has to keep ahead of her 9 yr old, so my 3 youngest will be sticking with HOD.

Elmeryl(with J12, C9, R7, L7)

We used AWOA when my oldest was younger (she is 17 now). We loved it!!! There is hardly a week that goes by, even now, that we don't mention the 2 years we spent with Learning Adventures. It was perfect for us! I spread it over 2 years. My comments aren't meant to cause strife but to give a different perspective. I hope you'll find my comment to help you discern if your children are old enough for ANOW. Next year will be our first year with HOD so I can't compare the two programs yet. However, what I am seeing with HOD does remind me of Learning Adventures. I'm excited about that!

Inhistiming wrote:
"Another thing I'm not comfortable with, that may not be a problem for you, is the fact that the curriculum discusses, at length, Greek gods-we read some myths. That would be fine if my kids were older, but I don't really feel they are old enough nor have a firm enough foundation and understanding yet in the Word, to be able to discern what is right or understand some of the things discussed. Just my personal opinion."

I agree and disagree with this. I agree that it depends on how old your children are. I would definitely wait until 4th grade (we used this in 5th grade) to introduce the Greek gods and myths. I LOVED how AWOA compared the Greek gods to the character of the ONE true GOD. It was my favorite part of AWOA. It was so faith affirming to me as well as my children. The way Dorian Holt discussed the character of our God vs. what we were learning about the false gods was fantastic. We still talk about that and it's been 6 years since we did AWOA. We did tire of the myths eventually. I just skipped a few of them at the end. We had a wonderful time with our Olympic festival. We invited another family to join us in our celebration. It really was fun! My dd learned so much from LA. I would wait until 4th grade to use it. You can use it for younger grades but it would need to be modified a lot. It's easier to modify it for older children than younger ones.

Hi Polly!!! (Waving frantically!!)

I have to agree that we still get warm fuzzy feelings when we think about AWOA. Not so much with the later guides, but AWOA was really our best year of hsing. I too loved the way Doriian compared the false gods with the ONE true God.
To me HOD is like a similar version of LA for younger kiddos. I liked that everything, -cept te readers, was in that one guide, but this does not work for some.

Polly, we must have been using AWOA at the same time! I can't wait to use it again when my Littles are old enough.

Susie, I have a Hannah Grace too! People comment on Hannah also meaning Grace, but God was soooo gracious in the circumstances surrounding our Hannah's birth, His grace was so truly abundant, no other name would do.

Hindsfeet wrote:Polly, we must have been using AWOA at the same time! I can't wait to use it again when my Littles are old enough.

Susie, I have a Hannah Grace too! People comment on Hannah also meaning Grace, but God was soooo gracious in the circumstances surrounding our Hannah's birth, His grace was so truly abundant, no other name would do.

The story as to *why* we named out little bit Hannah Grace:

In the 80s I had 3 wonderful live births with only toxemia as a complication twice. In the 90s I had 3 miscarriages. We never thought we would here the pitter patter of tiny feet in this house again. I didn't know it at the time, but my thyroid had gone all wonky (as it has off and on all of my life-hindsight is a wonderful thing) and was causing my miscarriages among other things. Then I got real sick with it and the diagnosis came. I didn't want to be dependent on a little pill ,and have no thyroid (God doesn't make spare parts), all of my life, so I turned to the Hallelujah Diet and got well...real well!!! And we had the surprise of our lives!! Hannah Grace entered the picture!!

I felt like I, on some small level, could relate with Hannah in the Bible AND I wanted a Biblical name so Hannah seemed perfect! And we felt like God had been so gracious to us like never before 'cept for salvation!! So Hannah Grace was it!! Oh that name has bought so many oooos and ahhhs.

As to A World of Adventure we all get those warm fuzzies when we remember those days!! It is on the top of my list of things I will probably use with Hannah.

Now of course, ladies, you will also get to consider Heart of Dakota for your child's middle school years eventually too, right?

I have to admit that I did order "A World of Adventures" for my oldest son when he was nearing the end of grade 3 (and we were going to be heading into 4th grade). Just receiving the 1000+ page teacher's manual in the mail was daunting. But, since I am a curriculum lover, I opened it anyway and read the whole introduction and then launched into my "read" of the guide.

While I have always liked the idea of a unit study, I found myself completely overwhelmed with the amount of projects and written work that was required on a daily basis. The daily plans took up many pages and the introduction of all of the various required notebooks to set up the program was quite something! My hat is off to those of you who have implemented this guide, as it is not for the faint of heart!

It is difficult to find a guide more lengthy per grade level than ours, but Dorian Holt's is one! While looking over "A World of Adventure", I knew that in order to use this guide, it would have to be the only thing on my plate or would require me to do a large amount of tweaking in order to have time left-over for my other kiddos each day. By the time I got to the middle of the guide, I was exhausted just reading all of the activities. I really wanted this to be the guide for us, but I was actually relieved to finally package it up and send it back. It just didn't fit my teaching style or my philosophy.

So, I just wanted to mention that philosophy-wise "A World of Adventure" is much closer to KONOS, Tapestry of Grace, or Weaver than it is similar to Heart of Dakota. "A World of Adventure" is a true, full-blown unit study (with all of the planning and preparation that style of teaching requires). Dorian Holt truly does have a heart for serving the Lord, and her guides are a blessing to many.

As a Christian company, we are grateful that there is more than one good, Christian option for homeschoolers out there! For those of you who enjoyed "A World of Adventures", I'm glad that you made it work for you! But, I did want to point out that the full-blown unit study approach is in a different camp from the short Charlotte-Mason style lessons and learning you'll find in our guides. We do work hard to make the left side of our plans a unit-study approach (without all of the preparation and planning). But, we do not link areas that do not fit neatly within the study, just to make it a unit study. So, you'll see some of our language arts, our math, and a portion of our science stands separately. This is so needed skills do not get overlooked for the sake of the unit study.

Blessings,
Carrie

Yes, of course HOD is a consideration for the middle years!
I never found AWOA daunting in the least. We always got done with school in 4 to 4 1/2 hours a day with that one, and did all of the lessons. Now if you are talking AnWOA then I would have to agree with you big time!! I never got a days worth of lesson plans done in a day. Maybe we are thinking about 2 different levels, especially AWOA was only about 800 pages and AnWOA well topped 1000, close to 1500!!
But yes, HOD is up there on my list too.

Ah, yes, Susie, I stand corrected! I do remember that I ordered both "A World of Adventures" and "Another World of Adventures", but spent the most time looking at "Another World of Adventures" (as I wanted to see where we would be headed for the longer haul)! That is the guide to which I am referring in my previous post. Although, I did have to laugh when you mentioned AWOA was only 800 pages!

Luckily, I have you ladies around to keep me on my toes!

Blessings,
Carrie

I just had to chime in here, as you all made me laugh! I am a curriculum lover as well, I have tried or reviewed dozens and dozens. Must be the past PS teacher in me. Just thinking about Weaver, Konos and TOG made me take a DEEP BREATH. I thought each was really neat, but good grief!!! Totally huge and lots of great stuff in there, but after I had a second child, the thought of using anything like those, with all the sorting, planning, deciding required just seemed like a huge burden. I actually looked at TOG again yesterday on a whim, and I felt so relieved to come back to this site and HOD plans. Now I have a third child, and I want to spend my time enjoying my children, not planning (much as I enjoy hs planning). I like HOD, I like it all being planned, ready to go.
I started on Bigger yesterday afternoon, as my trial period. I have to actually use something for a a week to decide how I like it. I have to say, I was extremely impressed! I wish I had hours to write, but alas, I have 3 children who need me and DH is gone, sigh....
I never looked at AWOA or AnWOA, but I have no desire to, honestly. So I have no advice here. I just wanted to say that I love HOD so far! GREAT JOB, Carrie!!!