New and questions

[tamologa4]

Hi ladies. I've spent the last few days reading through the forum and looking over the website. I am very interested in using BLHFHG next year with my son who will be in 2nd grade. I've never used HOD but have heard lots of great things about it and read nothing but good reviews. Here are my questions:


1. What work is done for history? Do you read the read aloud and do some notebooking and narration? Are there any discussion questions or worksheet type activities?


2.I'm looking ahead a little bit here. After finishing BLHFHG and going on to the next level that covers some of the same time period in American history, does it feel redundant or is it taught in a different way? I hope that makes sense. I am just concerned about covering the same time period again a year later.

Thank you for any information you can give me!

--Angelique

[Kathleen]

Hi Angelique!

Welcome to the HOD boards! I can't answer your questions about Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory specifically as I've not used that guide, but I'm currently using Bigger Hearts with my 8 yo. (It's the guide after Beyond - which I'm sure you know. ) In Bigger we read alound a short portion of one of our history books daily. He narrates from history once a week. (Narration is also used in science and storytime throughout the week.) There's a box that goes with history daily that rotates between geography, artistic expression, vocabulary, or an activity. On day 5 of each unit there's a notebooking assignment for history and adding to our timeline. The science and poetry are also loosely tied to the history theme. (When we were learning about Columbus, we studied the seashore in science. Now we're studying people in the early settlements in the colonies and we're reading about Science in Colonial America. The Bible study focuses on character qualities that may or may not pertain to the individuals we're studying in American history. So, I guess what I was wanting to say is that the "left page" of the guide focuses on Learning Through History and the things there are all somewhat coordinated.

HOD doesn't use worksheets or "question box" type things to go along with history readings. They use the Charlotte Mason approach that has the child narrate (retell) the reading - orally while they're young and later in written form.

You can get a good feel for how the Beyond guide will cover things by looking at the 1st week of plans here... http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/beyond ... t-week.pdf Carrie could tell you for sure, but I'm guessing that the weeks use the same headings with different actual activities in them. I don't know how much notebooking there is in Beyond.

I'm sure others who actually can help you will be along to share. We're loving our HOD experience and are planning to be here for our homeschooling journey!

Kathleen

[Samuel'sMommy]

Hi Angelique!
I don't have any answers for you since I'm only using Little Hands with my little guy, but I wanted to welcome you to the boards! The ladies here are all wonderful and will be more than happy to help you out!

[ncmomof5]

Angelique,

I am currently using Beyond with my ds7. As far as the history goes, you do read from a read a loud and then have them narrate the reading. But there is also other activities. None of them really fall into the worksheet activity category, but these activities definitely encourage discussion and help with retention of the material.

For example, we were reading about the pilgrims being in Holland for 12 years before they went to the New World (never knew that myself), and Carrie did a history activity on the Dutch language. My ds loved it. He kept saying, "How do you say yes in Dutch, again?" Then, yesterday, we had a science activity that tied in with the history reading. There are timelines to do and history art projects to complete. Nothing boring here.

It may sound time consuming or time intensive, but surprisingly, it is not. I have five kids ages 10 to 10mo, and I have no problem getting Beyond done every day.

I can't answer your other question, because this is my first year doing HOD. Sorry.
_:
Hope this helps.

In His love,

RuthAnn

[tamologa4]

Thank you all for your words of welcome and information. We are very excited about finding HOD.

Can anyone else who's been through the program answer my question about the two years of American History in Beyond and Bigger?


Thanks again!

----Angelique

[Lori_in_Austin]

2.I'm looking ahead a little bit here. After finishing BLHFHG and going on to the next level that covers some of the same time period in American history, does it feel redundant or is it taught in a different way? I hope that makes sense. I am just concerned about covering the same time period again a year later.

Thank you for any information you can give me!

--Angelique

Welcome Angelique !

I use LHFHG for my ds5. I just wanted to say that I could totally see us repeat LHFHG all over again next year and I think that there is enough to make it different that it would not feel redundant. I am not specifically familiar with Beyond LHFHG. I also have a ds who is 2 years younger than my oldest so eventually I hope to have them in the same guide. This means that ds5 WILL BE repeating one of them (of course the math will not). When he does that, I am not worried about it seeming redundant based on other feedback I have seen since watching the message boards. BUT maybe someone else who has done it will say something.

[Carrie]

Angelique,

Welcome to HOD! There are many ladies who have used both Beyond and Bigger, but they may not be on the board, so I will pop in and answer your questions. At HOD, we take a layered approach to history. We like to give you an overview of history first, and then go back through history in more depth. So, in Little Hearts for His Glory, there is a sweeping overview of history with an emphasis on the Bible and on brief bits of American history.

With Beyond, we look mainly at the various people groups who settled in America to get a good feel of early American history in story form. Bigger Hearts then adds another layer by looking at individuals who were important within American history. It is a biographical look at all of American history, giving a very different angle to your study. Beyond and Bigger are two completely different studies, with different areas of emphasis. Anyone who has done both programs would surely tell you that there was little repetition. Yet, the connections kiddos make between the two years of study is a wonderful thing to see!

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

We've used both BLHFHG and BHFHG and enjoyed them both so much! I felt like BHFHG was a fresh approach because it was biographical, and many new ways of studying about the time period were included. However, BLHFHG gave a good foundation to build upon. I felt like my ds being "familiar" with the time period further enhanced his connections to the biographical characters in BHFHG. He just seemed to appreciate better what these famous Americans were going through because he already had some understanding of the customs, laws, pressures, and general ways of life of that time.

Now, my son is doing PHFHG, which he is also loving. I do notice that whenever anything comes up about an American hero from the past (just from his free time reading, or in a discussion), he is quick to jump in and say, "Hey, Mom, remember when we studied about Washington and he had that surprise war tactic on Christmas Eve..." and he launches right into, well - I guess it could still be called an oral narration. (Does it count as a narration if it's a year after the story was read? Maybe then it's just a memory. ). Anyway, what he learned about American History has become "alive" and "personal" for him. I think it's due to the way it was covered in BLHFHG and BHFHG.

In Christ,
Julie

[inHistiming]

We did Beyond...last year and are now using Bigger...and it is not redundant at all. We are having so much fun with it, and we can't wait to get back into the groove of our curriculum! (we're in the midst of a move so it is on hold for now) My kids really love the science experiments and readings, the history readings and notebooking, the poetry, the hymns....all of it, really. And I am learning so much too. It is a different approach to the history in Bigger...than in Beyond...so I really think you would enjoy it very much. I hope you decide to go with HOD; it's a wonderful curriculum, and everyone here on the boards is so helpful...they're like a family!

[tamologa4]

Thanks to all of you who replied to my questions. You all helped me a lot. We will definitely be using Beyond next year when my son is in 2nd grade. The hard part will be waiting until then and doing this school year with what we already have
I will be lurking around this wonderful board until we begin though!
---Angelique