Questions about HOD & also Bigger...

[cookislandmommy]

HI there,

I have a few questions about Bigger Hearts....
We are considering this program.

1) Does everyone get their kids to do cursive? If so, when do you know it is the right time to move ahead and start?
If you don't, do you ever intend to or not?

2) Does HOD in its future courses do Art from a Christian perspective or is it always tied in with history?

3) How does geography progress into the courses. I see it is touched upon in Bigger...I just wondered if anymore time is given to say studying cultures or people in a geographical sense?

4) Is there a missions focus on countries or is it more done on person/biography. If some of you have done ECC from MFW, have you found it better to do it biographically rather than geographically? If so why?

5) Science in Bigger: I see from the sample week it lists science and then has the key idea...I really liked what they list - in order to see what is covered in science is there a list anywhere or has anyone done their own list of the key topics studied in science for the year? I would like to see how they fit in with our state/country.

Kind Regards
Sherid
The Cook Islands

[cookislandmommy]

I just wanted to add one more question.

6) On Unit 1, Day 2 in 'Science Exploration' Box. The Key Idea is that God made the sea and the dry land. He designed the moon's gravity to cause the tides. The book that is used is, 'One Small Square: Seashore'. Does this book go into any detail more about the moon's gravity affecting the tides?

Thanks
Sherid

[cookislandmommy]

anyone?

[my3sons]

Hi cookislandmommy! Welcome to the HOD Board! We have enjoyed BHFHG twice in our home now, and look forward to being able to enjoy it one more time down the road with our last ds. I will gladly try to answer your questions!

HI there,

I have a few questions about Bigger Hearts....
We are considering this program.

1) Does everyone get their kids to do cursive? If so, when do you know it is the right time to move ahead and start?
If you don't, do you ever intend to or not?
Yes, typically everyone has their dc do cursive, unless a child has some special limitations to consider. Usually cursive is done within the age ranges of BHFHG. We really enjoyed "Cheerful Cursive" with both of our sons. It was easy to teach, and one year of cursive was enough for each of our sons to learn to write cursive successfully and quite neatly. However, any cursive program will work, so choose what you would like best!

2) Does HOD in its future courses do Art from a Christian perspective or is it always tied in with history?
The Christ-centered focus of HOD is definitely one of the things we truly love about HOD! I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to see the Lord inter-woven into our learning in meaningful ways each and every day. HOD really gets to our dc's heads AND hearts. The history is taught from a Christian perspective the entire way through the guides. The art is tied to the history, and we have often found it to reinforce both what was learned in history and the Christian perspective of what was focused upon. I have one son who naturally loves art projects as it is a gift of his, and another ds who is not as artistically inclined. Both have done BHFHG, and both thoroughly enjoyed the art projects. They are structured enough where each of my sons felt successful, and open enough where each of their art projects turned out somewhat differently from each other's, as they each individually expressed their creativity in unique ways.

3) How does geography progress into the courses. I see it is touched upon in Bigger...I just wondered if anymore time is given to say studying cultures or people in a geographical sense?
I love how the geography is not just tacked on, but rather a key tie-in to the history we are learning each year. My dc have learned SO MUCH, and better yet, RETAINED so much, from doing geography in this manner. We studied many cultures and enjoyed geography from this perspective within A Child's Geography Vol. 1 and 2, in CTC and RTR. The Map Trek CD's designed especially to match HOD's guides each year touch upon geography at times as well. The guide after MTMM will be the Geography guide, and here is a link about that...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8327&p=60881

4) Is there a missions focus on countries or is it more done on person/biography. If some of you have done ECC from MFW, have you found it better to do it biographically rather than geographically? If so why?
We have loved the way HOD focuses on the Lord. It is done differently each year, and this keeps things fresh and adds so much depth to what we are learning. Carrie has an excellent post that should answer your question...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8249&p=60179

5) Science in Bigger: I see from the sample week it lists science and then has the key idea...I really liked what they list - in order to see what is covered in science is there a list anywhere or has anyone done their own list of the key topics studied in science for the year? I would like to see how they fit in with our state/country.
There is not a list by week of what is covered. I think reading through the key ides in the Bigger Hearts guide would give a great overview of the science. Looking at the science living books would help too. We loved the science in BHFHG (and all the HOD years, really). My dc learned so much, and we loved the variety! Here is a rundown of what dc are doing each day for science, in case this may be helpful...
Each unit includes the following science activities in coordination with the
read-aloud assignments:
*Day 1: practice narration by retelling the science story
*Day 2: create a science notebook entry
*Day 3: conduct an experiment related to the reading and log it
in a science notebook
*Day 4: practice narration by retelling the science story
*Day 5: conduct an experiment related to the reading and orally
discuss it
This link may be helpful in general as well...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2094&p=16051

Kind Regards
Sherid
The Cook Islands

HTH! I thought you may enjoy looking through the BHFHG photobook too, as this is a neat way to see visually the wonderful things BHFHG has to offer...
http://heartofdakotasphotobooks.shutterfly.com/28
In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

Hi cookislandmommy! Welcome to the HOD Board! We have enjoyed BHFHG twice in our home now, and look forward to being able to enjoy it one more time down the road with our last ds. I will gladly try to answer your questions!

HI there,

I have a few questions about Bigger Hearts....
We are considering this program.

1) Does everyone get their kids to do cursive? If so, when do you know it is the right time to move ahead and start?
If you don't, do you ever intend to or not?
Yes, typically everyone has their dc do cursive, unless a child has some special limitations to consider. Usually cursive is done within the age ranges of BHFHG. We really enjoyed "Cheerful Cursive" with both of our sons. It was easy to teach, and one year of cursive was enough for each of our sons to learn to write cursive successfully and quite neatly. However, any cursive program will work, so choose what you would like best!

2) Does HOD in its future courses do Art from a Christian perspective or is it always tied in with history?
The Christ-centered focus of HOD is definitely one of the things we truly love about HOD! I cannot tell you what a blessing it is to see the Lord inter-woven into our learning in meaningful ways each and every day. HOD really gets to our dc's heads AND hearts. The history is taught from a Christian perspective the entire way through the guides. The art is tied to the history, and we have often found it to reinforce both what was learned in history and the Christian perspective of what was focused upon. I have one son who naturally loves art projects as it is a gift of his, and another ds who is not as artistically inclined. Both have done BHFHG, and both thoroughly enjoyed the art projects. They are structured enough where each of my sons felt successful, and open enough where each of their art projects turned out somewhat differently from each other's, as they each individually expressed their creativity in unique ways.

3) How does geography progress into the courses. I see it is touched upon in Bigger...I just wondered if anymore time is given to say studying cultures or people in a geographical sense?
I love how the geography is not just tacked on, but rather a key tie-in to the history we are learning each year. My dc have learned SO MUCH, and better yet, RETAINED so much, from doing geography in this manner. We studied many cultures and enjoyed geography from this perspective within A Child's Geography Vol. 1 and 2, in CTC and RTR. The Map Trek CD's designed especially to match HOD's guides each year touch upon geography at times as well. The guide after MTMM will be the Geography guide, and here is a link about that...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8327&p=60881

4) Is there a missions focus on countries or is it more done on person/biography. If some of you have done ECC from MFW, have you found it better to do it biographically rather than geographically? If so why?
We have loved the way HOD focuses on the Lord. It is done differently each year, and this keeps things fresh and adds so much depth to what we are learning. Carrie has an excellent post that should answer your question...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8249&p=60179

5) Science in Bigger: I see from the sample week it lists science and then has the key idea...I really liked what they list - in order to see what is covered in science is there a list anywhere or has anyone done their own list of the key topics studied in science for the year? I would like to see how they fit in with our state/country.
There is not a list by week of what is covered. I think reading through the key ides in the Bigger Hearts guide would give a great overview of the science. Looking at the science living books would help too. We loved the science in BHFHG (and all the HOD years, really). My dc learned so much, and we loved the variety! Here is a rundown of what dc are doing each day for science, in case this may be helpful...
Each unit includes the following science activities in coordination with the
read-aloud assignments:
*Day 1: practice narration by retelling the science story
*Day 2: create a science notebook entry
*Day 3: conduct an experiment related to the reading and log it
in a science notebook
*Day 4: practice narration by retelling the science story
*Day 5: conduct an experiment related to the reading and orally
discuss it
This link may be helpful in general as well...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2094&p=16051

Kind Regards
Sherid
The Cook Islands

HTH! I thought you may enjoy looking through the BHFHG photobook too, as this is a neat way to see visually the wonderful things BHFHG has to offer...
http://heartofdakotasphotobooks.shutterfly.com/28
In Christ,
Julie