Valentine's Day fun - Why do you "heart" Heart of Dakota?

[my3sons]

Happy Valentine's Day to my fellow HOD moms! I thought this would be fun to do, a kind of "count my blessings" for Valentine's Day if you will. And who better to do this with than all of you?!?:D So here goes...

I love Heart of Dakota because it helps me keep my priorities straight. A quality education is highly valued by our family, and to us that includes educating the heart as well as the mind. Heart of Dakota does both! Our dc use excellent living books every single day, but they use their Bibles every single day too. Providing a rich diet of literature that makes learning come alive is important in our homeschool. Heart of Dakota has chosen outstanding living books for virtually every area of learning. From history to science, from reading to devotions, our day is filled with books we love. We have three sons, so another goal of ours is for our sons to be able to provide well for their own families someday, which means they need to be competitive when it comes to earning a salary. HOD is giving our dc an incredibly strong education that is preparing them well for their future. Finally, we want to have a happy homeschooling environment, which means I need to be able to school in a timely fashion, in an enjoyable way, and in a manner that doesn't require me to leave the home. Heart of Dakota's guides are a treasure to me. They are truly open and go, and they help me organize my day in a balanced way that allows us to get the maximum benefit out of our homeschooling time together. I've been teaching Heart of Dakota for 9 years, and I still love what I do. I actually get quite sad thinking of it ending someday, but then again, I suppose there can always be HOD for the grandchildren, right? I can't wait to read why you "heart" Heart of Dakota!

Love in Christ to all my favorite HOD ladies this 2011 Valentine's Day!!!
Julie

[Heather4Him]

Wow Julie, I'd have to "ditto" your post!

Also, I love HOD because it pulls together SO much of what I wanted to do, but was never able to pull together all on my own. It is basically the curriculum I would've written for our daughter if I knew how to do it!
I LOVE that it is Christ-centered and focuses each subject on God and His Word.
I love that it is Charlotte Mason-based, and includes such timeless learning methods as narration and living books and short lessons.
I love how it incorporates even the "extras" (poetry, art, etc.) seamlessly and effortlessly.
I love how it promotes our children to develop a daily "Quiet Time" of their own, getting them into the Bible and spending time making their relationship with the Lord a priority.
I love the Biblical worldview.
I love the organized lesson plans that I can almost just open-and -go with very little preparation.
I love the "Key Points" for each box.
I love that it is organized with independent and semi-independent boxes that help our child(ren) learn to take more ownership of their education, preparing them for future studies in college, etc.
I love that it works so well with our workboxes for setting up our days.
I love the Student Notebooks!!
I love that there are hands-on activities--but that they are simple enough, and broken into small enough steps, that we can easily do them each week.

I'm sure there is so much more I could add (but don't want to take up the entire board). But, HOD is such a blessing in our family, and I am excited that the Lord led us to it just in time for Jr. High and High School, because I know it will prepare our daughter for a wonderful, Biblical worldview and future!

[4Hispraise]

I am thankful that when I was praying for a curriculum that would help me reach my kids' hearts, God brought me HOD. I am thankful that HOD's focus is the Bible. It is helping us to accomplish one of our goals: raising our dc to know the Truth of God's Word as the foundation of EVERYTHING! It is NOT just a "Christian" education where the Bible is simply a stand-alone subject or an afterthought. Instead, God's precepts and word are woven seamlessly into every subject - God is the focus. I love that it does everything that I was doing on my own, or was trying to adjust other curriculums to do...without taking so much of my time.

I am thrilled that my dc are learning to work independently..and that our days are balanced in every area. I am so blessed by how well-organized the lesson plans are, and that they are truly open and go. It is not only easy for me to use, but also for my son to use on his own as he grows in independence. And, we all enjoy the living books, CM style and thoughtful progression of skills in every guide. I am so thankful that each guide teaches necessary skills for my ds to become a life-long learner and leads him to evaluate things, not according to his own thoughts or the world's standards, but according to the unchanging Truth of God's Word.

And...I am sure that there many more things..but these are the main things that keep me coming back to HOD!

[HappyMama]

I love Heart of Dakota for so many reasons, it's hard to even list them all!

I "heart" Heart of Dakota....

For being so well-balanced.
For being so thorough! I don't feel the need to supplement at all with HOD!
For being affordable.
For using such awesome books!
For truly being Christ-centered and God honoring.
For being exactly what I was looking for in a curriculum
For being so CM!
For planning the guides with keeping in mind that homeschooling mamas are very busy.
For the obvious attention to detail that went into the guides. Everything in the guides seems so well thought out.
For systematically teaching children to become more and more independent as they move through the guides.
For Carrie having put so much thought into the higher level math programs she will be recommending.
For the awesome customer service!
For being a curriculum that my children actually look forward to everyday! I rarely get complaints from them.
For having hands-on activities that are simple, do-able, and fun!

[LynnH]

I am so grateful that for our first year of homeschooling God led me to HOD. I see all these people who have terrible first years and end up quitting. For us it was a fantastic first year and I know it was because of HOD. I love how my ds is getting a such a extensive knowledge of God's Word and biblical history. I love to hear him singing his scripture songs. I love how I am learning so much right along with him. I love how he is learning to think deeply and make connections between subjects. I love that I am able to easily modify thing for his special needs. I love that my child who hated to read now enjoys reading. I love how his writing abilities are improving with the step by step guidance of things like Write with the Best and Rod and Staff. I love how HOD has sparked a love of drawing and birds. I love that there is this board and that Carrie is available to answer questions and explain the philosophy and reasoning behind her choices. I love that I don't have to worry about what curriculum we are doing next year, or the next year or the next.

[Matt'sMom]

There are so many reasons to "heart" HOD but my all time favorite is that my 11yr. old ds says that the Bible quit time box is his favorite part of our school day. What more could you ask for??

[striving2Bprov31]

Well, I love a lot of things....

--the teacher's guide
--the book choices
--the assingments being meaningful without being overwhelming
--the message board
--I could list many, many, other reasons!

But to tell you the truth, one of the main reasons that I love HOD is that my kids would probably be in public school right now if we did not have HOD. Everthing that we tried for curriculum made us pretty miserable--mainly me!! Why? Because I was trying to put things together myself, and making more work for myself than there were hours in the day. Before starting HOD, my husband said that he was no longer willing to sacrifice his wife for homeschooling! And he was right. With the approach I was taking, I was on the fast track to burn out. Our life just does not allow for me to burn both ends of the candle like that!


HOD keeps our homeschool up and running.....it is the perfect blend of being right for the children, and right for the teacher!!!

Happy Valentine's Day, HOD!!

[water2wine]

I love Heart of Dakota for all of everyone else's reasons AND...
Because it is the absolute best for helping my children to know and grow in the Lord and for actually seeing the fruit of that in their everyday life. I love that we know it is all covered thoroughly so that all I need to focus on are the personal things God shows me about my kids in who He wants them to be. I love HOD because if I could have written something that would be absolutely perfect I know HOD would still be better and I can count on that with every new program each year from HOD. And maybe the biggest reason I love HOD is because all that crazy, wacky 2 am searching thing I did online to try to fix whatever was not working before is finally over for good! If I could only say one word to describe why it would be peace. Really that explains it all.

[birchbark]

Hmmmm, I think if I had to sum it all up, I would say it's because Carrie "thinks like me." After trying a different program a couple years ago, I wrote off all boxed curricula because I felt "trapped" by using someone else's choices and schedule. But then I saw a HoD guide and it stopped me cold. "Now THAT layout makes so much sense," I thought, and proceeded to look into the program further.

I wanted high-quality living books, and there they were.
I wanted copywork and dictation, and there they were.
I wanted easy art and hymn study, and there they were.
I wanted a chronological four-year history rotation, and there it was.
I wanted my DS to learn to work independently, and there was that training.
I wanted to use Apologia books and John Hudson Tiner, and there they were. (As well as many other particular resources.)
I wanted my son to do picture study and Shakespeare, and there they were.
I wanted lots of Bible, and there it was.

And so on and so on. I've learned to trust the scope, sequence, philosophy, and "do-ableness" of HoD by reading Carrie's posts and using the program. There is no way I could come up with anything better on my own and ah, how much time (and money) I am saved! I am thankful for all the awareness and research that goes into HoD. I feel confident about facing the "scarier" waters of middle and high school.

[Samuel'sMommy]

There are so many reasons we love HOD! Everyone has listed most of my reasons - easy to use, open and go, strong Biblical foundation, great books, etc. so I'll just share that I love HOD because of the fruit I see in my son:

-I love to hear my son singing along at the top of his lungs to the Singing Bible or Hide Em in Your Heart CD's
-I love it when I say, "Time for school" and my son says "Yay!" and runs to our school room
-I love that his Sunday school and AWANA teachers say that they can't believe how many bible stories or verses he already knows
-I love seeing him run to his daddy when he gets home from work eager to tell or show him what he did that day

We tried another homeschool curriculum and DS never really got excited about learning or about what we were doing. I am so thankful for HOD and for the fun it brings to our homeschool!

[moedertje]

Some of the reasons our family loves HOD because:
It is Christ centered
It is prayerfully considering curriculum picks
It is well thought out in planning
It is thorough in teaching
It recommends the best teaching books
It has a wonderful message board
It helps my kids soar to the best of their abilities
It teaches us to think out-side the box
It is superior in it's lay-out
It keeps on getting better
It is a blessing!!!
Now I will go back and read all the other reasons, I did not write that I am sure are written in the previous posts!
Good idea Julie!!!!

[psreit]

I love HOD for most, if not all the reasons already mentioned. Also, for my dd who has some struggles, it is just the right amount of 'school' for her to do each day. The format has been so easy to follow. I would have to say, most of all, that I love HOD for the Biblical teaching and character training that is woven through it. We actually read the history story about St. Valentine today. St. Valentine is not just another person from history to learn about. His testimony as a martyr for Christianity should make Valentines Day even more significant for us. This is just one small example of HOD bringing it all together. I'm not good at putting things into words, so I guess all I will add is, I have no desire to use anything else. Thank you, Carrie, once again! HOD is great!

[Bramble]

I love HOD because school gets done and I don't dread it!
I love HOD because it incorporates everything I was trying to pull together myself.
I love HOD because my children enjoy it!
I love HOD because we get to complete so much of school on the couch.
I love HOD because of many of the reasons others have listed.

[HollyS]

I love HOD because Carrie doesn't think like me! I struggle with organization and Carrie's lessons are so well organized. HOD gave me the structure we really needed this year! She uses books that I would have chosen on my own and organizes the readings and lessons in a way I couldn't have.

Last year was a disaster using another curriculum and adding baby #4. We were lucky to finish the 3Rs each day, and school was a constant struggle. I was determined to keep that from happening again, so we switched to HOD. Little did I know that my DH would be switching jobs. We had less than a month to move out of state, so we basically lost two whole months of school with packing and unpacking. While we are a little behind, I'm amazed at how much we've completed already (we're on unit 12)! It has truly blessed our family.

Since the move, our Hide Them in Your Heart CD had been missing. I found it yesterday and they were all dancing in the kitchen to the CD remembering all the songs we'd covered. They have the cutest dance to Encourage One Another, and it was so fun to see again. Our year has been full of so many memories...I'd always plan fun things, but never get them carried out. My DC love all the activities and readings in Beyond.

We've also had more tea times this year than we'd had in our entire HS years! My DC love drinking their tea and listening to poetry. HOD gives us plenty of time in the afternoons to have a little fun.

We've been really blessed this year, and I'm really looking forward to Bigger next year!

[my3sons]

Well, I am sitting here with my coffee feeling all filled up with joy from reading your posts here! Homeschool moms are the busiest ladies I know, so thanks for taking time to encourage with your words here. I was just thinking how reaffirming this is for me to read, and how much your words here are an encouragement to me and now I think I have a lightbulb moment - why not include your comments in the photobook or maybe in the catalog so other moms can read them and be filled with joy too?!? I think that would be inspiring to so many other moms across the nation, well across the world really, as HOD catalogs make their way just about everywhere! It was certainly inspiring to me -makes me feel like I'm homeschooling with all of you right by my side, cheering me on. So, I PM'd some of you about this, and I'd love to hear back from you! Thanks so much for your words here - they are surely an encouragement to Carrie as she is in the midst of writing the new guide right now.

In Christ,
Julie