Catholic newbie with questions!

[rod_squad]

Hi. Im about 80% sure we are going to use HOD. Everyones comments are so positve and it seems like a dream come true. We are Catholic and although Im not "all Catholic or nothing" I want to teach my faith. Any other Catholics out there who can help me out? Im thinking we will do it all with some catechism program and liturgical activites. In the books, I can read ahead and be aware of any differences and be prepared to discuss. My kids are so little, I seriously doubt anything will come up for a while.
Also, say my 7 year old uses the 7-9 program. What does she do next year?? Are there supplements you buy for the 2nd year?
Thanks in advance. Im sure Ill have a TON more questions! Pax. sarah

[Kathleen]

Welcome Sarah!

You'll want to start here with the placement chart. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php Once you decide where your child best places based on skills, that's where you'll begin. The moms here are GREAT about helping you out if you need a little more help talking it through once you've looked at the chart. Carrie (the author) and Julie (her sister and editor) are both also on the board answering your questions, too. I know that this weekend they're both out of town at a conference, but I'm sure they'll be back here next week.

Once you decide where to begin, you jump in and go. Each guide is meant to last one school year. So, you wouldn't re-do the guide for 7-9 year olds once you've done it. It would be an appropriate place to begin with a 7,8,or 9 year old though, depending on where they're at skill-wise. Make sense?

This year we just completed Creation to Christ with my oldest. Our last read-aloud had some content that you would want to skip or rephrase as a Catholic - but I know this because Carrie has that warning written right in the daily plans for you. So, it will be very easy for you to check that out and either skip the paragraph or reword it. We love the focus that HOD has on the Lord and our relationship with Him! It's right in the center of everything - where it should be. Enjoy!
Kathleen

[rod_squad]

Oh wow! Thanks for the quick reply. Its just getting better and better the more I find out!
Still interested in hearing from more Catholics!

[water2wine]

Welcome Sarah! I think you are going to love HOD especially since you seem very open to discussing things with your kids that may be a little different. There is nothing about HOD that is anti-catholic it just isn't a catholic curriculum. But it is very Christ centered and very geared toward knowing the Word intimately and having a personal relationship that translates into real life for them. I am sure that is what you want for your children as well. We have found HOD to be such a blessing to our family. Praying you will find it to be a blessing as well. Welcome!

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board, Sarah! We have loved using HOD for 8 years now, and I am sure you will find it to be as much of a blessing in your home as it is in ours. I just read a thread on the board where another Catholic mom had posted her thoughts, so I'll link it here...

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3594&p=27372

As far as your dd using Bigger Hearts, did you get a chance to check out the placement chart? We have used it to place each of our 3 sons and found it to be easy to use and accurate. The first page of it is the most important. It helps dc begin in the right guide and gives them years of well-placed schooling for years to come, so it's worth it to check it out. Typically dc do 1 HOD guide a year, unless they are slowing down to half-speed to grow into a guide. Each guide has age ranges as dc vary so much in what they can do at any given age. The age ranges allow flexibility in placement (i.e. some 7 yo's are best placed in LHFHG, some in Beyond, and some in Bigger Hearts - wherever they place best skillwise according to the placement chart is the best place to start them). When dc finish a guide, they move up to the next guide, as each guide builds upon the skills learned in the previous guide. HTH, and I'd love to hear more about your sweetie after you get a chance to check out the placement chart so we can then help give the best advice possible for your dd!

In Christ,
Julie

[luvschoolin2]

Sarah,

Catholic mom here using HOD! So far using CTC with my son, we have run into nothing anti-Catholic....whatsoever! And looking ahead in the catalog, I'm not seeing anything that could pose a problem. What Religious Ed program are you going to use? We have used mainly Seton Religion over the years, with a bit of Faith and Life and now the Didache series for high school. As long as you are strong in your Catholic faith, I think it's actually MORE beneficial to use curriculum that is not exclusively Catholic because as Christians, we need to be knowledgeable of all variations of our faith, and as Catholics we need to be able to defend our faith to critics Before finding HOD, we have used SL and read SOO many different missionary stories----and I am finding that using an eclectic mix of Christian curriculum has made very well rounded, very strongly faithful witnesses to Christ and the RC church of my kids

[rod_squad]

Yay! Thanks so much. This really is a no brainer, isn't it?
We are going to use Faith and Life. Ill be on the hunt for fun saint books and well do lots of liturgical crafts. So fun. I agree that we need to be knowledgable of other faiths. In the end, its really all about Jesus.
Thanks for all replies. I haven't done the placement tests but need to soon. Ill write when we've done that and ask for selection help!

[luvschoolin2]

Great! I hope you love HOD as much as we do!

[lovetobehome]

Hi, we are not Catholic but Orthodox Christian, and have loved HOD! I honestly thought I would run into a lot of problems, but it has been smooth sailing! We used CtoC this year with no modification at all. We are using RtoR next year, and I will probably substitute one book. In Preparing, I would substitute Hero Tales out. If you have specific questions, let me know as I have spent many hours worrying needlessly about this very thing!