YES! And I've done it. In the intro she lists there are certain chapters to be done in a certain order within A and within B and from A to B but the remaining chapters can be done in any order. I would often have DD do a page from A (and then later B from a chapter that we had worked our way to after A) and then a page or so from geometry or time or money, etc. Just making sure it wasn't a skill that would need to have been covered already, especially in the money chapter b/c there comes a point where certain chapters need to have been done in A to do the latter parts of money...and fractions too I think. I'm considering doing the same with 5A/B now since we'll have a break for our move soon, and also jumped back into MM just a few weeks ago...she's in 5th grade and I'd like her to catch up a bit. But, we're using it on the computer, not printed, by using the typewriter feature so until I get "lesson plans" (check off list basically) I can't because it'll be hard to see what we've done. My DD actually really liked doing it that way b/c I was able to do slightly less with the harder A chapters with lots of computation by adding in a couple pages of the other chapters and she felt like she was doing less, while I knew we were doing more :)

If you want one that truly informs you all about it and refutes the arguments against it with solid scientific information, Answers In Genesis has loads of excellent DVDs and books and curricula. It is wholly YE Creationist, and they are wonderfully educated about evolutionary beliefs and want us and our kids to know it well and know creation origins even better, and how to take the info from evolutionary beliefs and be knowledgeable enough about them to also be able to show where they are wrong. Oh the interruptions! Sorry...I can't explain it better right now. :001_huh:

No co-ops here! We aren't always home all week, but nothing besides church is a regularly scheduled event. We have a homeschool support group that we pick and choose when to meet and what events we want to go to. We will be moving near orlando and I will have way more options, but still won't join one. It's just too much pressure for us and I don't want any part of it. A fun group that I can come and go when and how it suits us and can converse with online as well is all I need. And my kids do have plenty of friends ;)

I had lots of trouble getting mine to run on our newer computers but did have the option to run my computer as another older version of windows (I tried 2000, Me, 95/98....). I played around doing that and finally found one that would install and play it. They are worth the trouble :) Play around and see if you can find the settings that let you run your computer as a different version.

We use Rod & Staff english on a delayed schedule and do it almost all orally. It's more like a discussion then and it's very short lessons that way. My 5th grader is in book 4, and will take 5 half speed to do it over two years, then the goal is to finish level 6 by end of 8th grade, then take 4 years of high school to do books 7&8. Those are definitely high school credit worthy. (We use it along with other language arts skills taught in Heart of Dakota...so our dictation, copywork, poetry, and other types of writing are from other sources that are planned in the guide.) Oh, and I don't use any classical materials for my CM skills because the method to do narrations, dictation, etc. is waaaaay different in classical and CM. One is summary style narration (classical) and the other teaches a retelling that borrows from the author and isn't looking for certain key points, but what the child got from the reading (CM) and summaries are taught later as a different skill set. Then CM dictation is studied first and highly effective for teaching grammar and getting the correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage, etc in their minds...they should see it correctly first then picture it in their minds to recreate it exactly when it's read aloud to them. Classical dictation more or less tests the child's knowledge then corrects it. And CM teaches then has them use it.

All math at that level SHOULD be somewhat teacher intensive, but there are programs with less script and/or prep work and/or presentation. There's Singapore Earlybird 2A and 2B for kindy (you can still get this edition at Heart of Dakota, though it's discontinued everywhere else and replaced by the rather expensive standards ed) and it's very easy to implement. There is also the Sinagpore Math Essentials Kindergarten books. I like Math Mammoth otherwise. Very easy to teach from, I get the lesson going and they finish! No prep, no mess, no fluff, no big presentation with lots of pieces and "stuff"...

For up to 2nd or 3rd grade, it's just math, phonics, and fine motor skills. I have Developing the Early Learner for my 5yo, and I have but don't often use RightStart A with him but plan to for K b/c it's fun and easy to do at this level. He plays Reading Eggs for phonics and I have The Reading Lesson that we will do starting in the fall. No rush. My 2nd grader just turned 8 and is only doing Math Mammoth 3, cursive, and reading the emerging readers with the heart of dakota schedule. My 10yo is in 5th and she is doing Preparing Hearts for His Glory which I think covers all the basics she needs at that age with some more CM skills that other school types wouldn't consider basic and necessary. It's my slow and steady program that actually gets done here. I don't "do" fluffy stuff...if there's much prep or mess, I won't do it! She can do it all in 3-4hrs and I'm there for a small chunk of that...maybe 1/4 of it is focused mama time and another quarter just checking in or listening to narrations, etc. That includes time for her Math Mammoth lesson as well. I don't add anything else and she is doing wonderfully and enjoying her short school days. If she'd get outta bed and get going with her day, she could be done by 11am. I try to add an HOD guide once they are in 3rd or 4th or ready for Bigger or Preparing levels. And it's going to change for my youngers b/c I won't be spending near the time with my olders for school as I am in the late elem and middle school phases for them. I'll have more time and no toddler interruption to keep me keeping it simpler...it'll be like I was with my first kid again most likely. But not b/c I feel a need to get certain skills in PK-2nd/3rd.

I really like their literature choices for most all of the guides but didn't end up using them. I did have issue with the guide being that it's very much just questions and a bit heavy for the younger end and from the samples, I didn't see much fun in there. I felt it was better for olders, but the books were great for youngers too. We landed with Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory at that age for American History when I was contemplating using BF's Amer History for K-3. I was very pleased with it all around! Your kids could hang with BF though, I'm sure. I just found the other to be more suited overall for the age range you have. And you could do it just 4 days a week if you wanted to even let your kindies mature more into it if you decided you'd like to move on to the next level after that.

Another hs group I'm in just passed along this info about getting a free $5 from VP. I sighed up and it works! You can you your own by going here: ttp://www.VeritasPress.com/launchrock.html?lrRef=cDmKw

So, any updates on how granmarlogues is going??

Definitely HEART OF DAKOTA!!! :D:tongue_smilie::D:001_smile: Math Mammoth We Choose Virtues Reading Eggs (b/c it keeps my 5yo sooooo occupied while I school the others and he's learning a lot while having fun) We LOVE Developing the Early Learner and I so wish I'd found them for my oldest two! I'm also really enjoying Right Start A for my 5yo even if we don't do it consistently

Considering TT3 for my 2nd grader had word problems like "If Sam has 3 stamps and Judy has 5, how many do they have altogether?" and days of the week and such other Kindy stuff...I'd say It's a solid 2 grades behind or more on most topics and maybe 1 on others. I also plain dislike it...when it told my kid this is just the way you do it, that was the last straw. It gave no real teaching, no concept, just this is how and just because. :001_huh: There's really no conceptual development and I'd almost equate it to any of the free online math games you can find for practice and I've seen some online that are free that teach way better than TT does purely b/c they introduce concepts. I was sorely unimpressed. My DD's TT5 was certainly no better.

I think you could just use those from Preparing... History would be the Reading About History, History Project, Independent History Box which has the Draw and Write book and other really great books on the kids' level to read on their own, and the rotating box (the geography pertaining to the history, vocab from the history readings which could be skipped, a guided research day which would be awesome to do since your kids would probably enjoy the computer research :), and I forget what the other day is!)...then the story time ties into the history so great that you'll do that too...and Bible is awesome and ties in too! All that you're leaving out are the basics and the science, which we happened to like MUCH better in Preparing than in Bigger. Oh, and the poetry...my DD didnt' like poetry so much at first but is loving the creative writing lessons she gets to do with it this year. You wouldn't have to do it, but may find you want to. It's a lot of fun and great poems. Really, by doing History, Bible, and Read Alouds you'll be doing the meat of the program, and you'll have the Christ-centeredness you said you are wanting with books you know you can trust to not have to pre-read!

I'm using Preparing for my oldest and don't have my 5 or 8yo's in a guide at all. I think my siggy says half speed Bigger for my 8yo but I decided to just wait and start him next year when my oldest is in CTC. They'll be 3rd and 5/6th. With a lot of littles in the house, I really just try to get the basics with them. My DS8 does Math Mammoth 3, the emerging readers from HOD with the schedule/questions, and Cheerful Cursive. 5yo does Reading Eggs and some other online educational fun games and the Developing the Early Reader workbooks. It's quick and easy and he loves it. I likely won't start my third in HOD until Bigger (so in 3 years), or possibly Beyond depending on what kind of 4 and 5yo my youngest is at that time and if he's really as crazy as I'll think he'll be ;) . My 4th might go through all the guides simply b/c he's the youngest and there will be no littles behind him. My olders will be quite independent by then and I'll have more time. Doing more than one guide will be workable like this (and I've done 3 at once very successfully before, but can't handle it right now in this season). CTC and Bigger...then RTR and Preparing....then Rev2Rev and CTC and Beyond or Bigger...M2M and RTR and Bigger or Preparing and will have a 5/6yo this year that might start LHFHG. So, if you really just wanted to target the older for all the boxes, and then target the 3R's for the youngers, I'd grab the books listed in the appendix of the LHFHG guide and borrow some of the beyond and bigger storytime books and let them have some great free reading/read alouds, load up on audio books and educational DVDs, living math books, games, and have some fun for a couple years. Then pick up HOD at Bigger or Preparing.

Little Hands to Heaven and Teach Me Joy's Animal Play...both are loads of fun, give you that structure you desire and teach preschool/K-prep skills, are much less expensive than what you listed, and did I say FUN?! There are crafts and hands-on in both and it's just absolutely loads of fun and play that is meaningful and memorable! Also, they are both little to no prep and I was able to use both together and take more than a year to do it...then TMJ's Fruit for Tender Hearts is a great program to follow up with followed by HOD's level after LHTH called Little Hearts. I also love to add WCV for all my kids, from the 2yo and up! Hmmm...what else does my preschooler enjoy....Pick and Draw Cards (great for creative fun, fine motor skills, building creative planning and much more) and Developing the Early Learner which might be a little old for your child? Maybe....I got mine from Rainbow Resource.

It just felt very disjointed to me. I can't really put my finger on it but it didn't seem to really mesh. Every level just had the separate bible plan, and it just didn't really float my boat at all and didn't really feel like it matched up. The bible studies themselves are great and it is certainly a strong christian program, just not quite meshed and interwoven IMHO as HOD's Bible is. And perhaps it's the focus as well. I didn't say Bible wasn't there though...to ME it felt very much tacked on. I don't know why, but HOD feels very much more fluid with Bible lessons and discussions. I can assure you HOD is not as the post I replied to said...you can't just do this box or that. It's all together and the Bible is absolutely central to every single bit of it.

DITHOR/HOD covers ALL literary terms and teaches kids to analyze literature through a very discerning eye. It is a full program that teaches what you are asking for and can be used all the way to 9th grade b/c it's very strong. It's far more complete than any other program I've seen. And far easier to use as well! Love that I can teach all my kids lit at once then still meet each right where they are with their own books and workbook level.

Preparing has been my all time favorite so far! Your 7yo will continue to fall behind and struggle more and more in the guides as they get harder and harder, and if you combine them all in Beyond instead of Bigger, next year the oldest could have extensions, even though Beyond is too easy right now. There will come a time when you'll need to decide what to do with that child b/c once you hit the middle school and high school guides...a very young child that has needed tweaking down from the start will really need hand holding at those levels, and it will grow each year...instead of the other way around of the child gaining my independence. With HOD you really need to place for the younger you are combining, then add for the older. IF you couldn't do 3 guides, why not try 2 by combining the two younger in LHFHG or Beyond, and then move the oldest up to Preparing?

YOu could do this, or do all the lower level guides 4 days a week, picking up in the fall where you left off the school year before. Then you'd reach the guides with your kids being a little older. I perfer NOT to take 2 years on Beyond, but 2 years on Bigger. Beyond would be too much of the same topics for too long if it was over 2 years, IMHO. I think Beyond is great for 2nd grade and Bigger is perfect for 3rd or 4th. Preparing has been great for my 5th grader this year and she's gifted. But it won't be too much for my next child if he hits Preparing in 4th and he's not gifted. It's so easy to tailor the guides and they really are just wonderful. :)

I didn't get to read all the other replies but the upper levels do not leave you out of the loop. You'll find this thread VERY helpful: Independence in upper guides doesn't equal less interaction ETA: Here is another great post about how the independent work doesn't leave you out. The early years are more gentle, and using the HOD guides from the start means your kids will be much better prepared for the upper guides than kids newer to HOD. The guides build one on another. It isn't "school" at home...it's just that that level does get harder b/c the kids are older and in higher grade levels. School at home is very much more like WTM recs (lots of workbooks and texts), A Beka, AOP, etc. HOD is rich and amazing. And you can always slow down to half speed if your child needs some time to mature into a guide. I think the kids on the older end of the age range also have a better time with the workload that increases little by little each year. We have easily completed PHFHG in way less time than Carrie allotted for the level on a regular basis...same for all the guides before that, and my child in this guide is very easily distracted and is a dawdler. We will start CTC this fall with my will-be 11yo DD. I can see that it definitely moves into the next learning stage, similar to the Trivium of classical ed., but mostly b/c middle school kids should be moving to a higher level of critical thinking and HOD has met that need very well. We've been super pleased with every level of HOD from LHTH to PHFHG and even when we ran three guides at once! I don't combine mine at all. :) We were still done about lunch time even with a newborn in tow! (and a fussy needy newborn was he...and his toddler brother was very needy and jealous, so it amazes me and blesses me that we could have smooth days in the midst of chaos b/c of HOD).

Funny....I thought just the opposite. MFW Bible felt very tacked on. It was a total separate study especially in the lower levels. HOD ties the Bible into every. single. lesson. The character focus is there, but it has a "I am in need of a Savior" focus as well as it grows to a less inward to a more outward look to share with others their need for a Savior as well. We can't just tell them they need saved, when we arent' living the life of being saved and showing it by our character. There's much less of a "study" feel to it in search of knowledge only, and much more of a relationship feel to it, with a great way of helping me help my child to build a relationship with Christ that is personal and deep. I want that inward focus on the heart for my kids, especially the youngers. It's so foundational to sharing the gospel, to know it, AND live it. The Bible is also part of the history, some of the storytime, science, music/hymns, and there's the actual Bible box. It ties into the character lesson which ties into the history with the discussion of hwo the historical figure possesses or lacks the character taught to us in God's word as well as comparisons and contrasts to biblical figures that possessed or lacked the character, and finally life application. Science loosely ties to history, and Bible is a strong focus there as well. YOu can do just this box or that box, but then you'd be missing so much. You can read just the history and still get tons of Bible, b/c it's woven all throughout and as you know, many people talk about CTC being so much Bible history that it's not separable...some say it's awesome and some say it's too much a Bible focus. I think it's perfect :) Bible is ALWAYS the center of HOD lessons. You can't get around it. Every subject has us bringing out our Bibles and looking up scripture...it's in our science notebooking, history notebooking, language arts, history, storytime, ...it's everywhere. If we didn't have our Bible, we couldn't do HOD.

I have used it for 3 years (this is our 4th), and have used all the levels from LHTH up to PHFHG and I STILL drool over the guide and browse through it repetitively even looking over the ones I've already done!! :tongue_smilie:

I loooooovvvveeeee HOD and can not find anything we like better...so I'm fighting the urge to ask this....I'm losing ...MUST....ASK....NOW....drama over. What do you switch to?

:iagree:

You can get many of the books at the library or used online for pretty cheap :) As for free or very affordable, freelyeducate.com, frugallyeducate.com, MEP Math, Math Mammoth, Confessions of a Homeschooler, Starfall, Shepardsoftware.com, Google Books (you can find Ray's Arithmetic or Serl's language lessons and much more) ETA: Also, if you use google chrome as your browser, there are tons of free apps you can install on the opening page that are educational.