Dropped out of HOD's Beyond, and maybe Little Hearts. Will we like Bigger Hearts?

[lotsofpumpkins]

About a year ago we started Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory (for my 1st and 2nd graders). For various reasons I ended up dropping the guide and just reading the history books. I feel like I wasn't able to stay consistent though, especially with Bible verse memory and storytime, which suffered since I didn't have a guide telling me what to do. At about the same time I tried to start Little Hearts with my then 4.5yo (I was going to do it half-speed) and he did not enjoy having his own school, so we dropped it. Once again I have started it; he is now 5 (since Dec) and starting Kindergarten. Since he still doesn't want his own school, his older siblings join him for the read alouds. We are 4 Units in, and I'm not 100% sure that I love this program. I can't even really pinpoint why. I end up skipping some of the activities because they seem to young for my 5yo (and because I really need to get my older two started on their 3R's!). They do enjoy the storytime, but my older two are able to answer questions about what I read a lot easier than my 5yo. I have Bigger Hearts here, to use with my older two once they start 2nd and 3rd grade next month. I've heard that starting in Bigger the guides are a lot meatier, so even if you don't necessarily like the younger guides, Bigger will be fine. I'm hoping that is true. I'm kind of wishing I had not started Little Hearts and just stuck my 5yo in with the older two in Bigger (with his own math and LA, of course), because I don't really want to be doing 2 programs. I like having all of us learning together. But anyway, those of you who have tried Little Hearts and Bigger, care to comment?

 

BTW, if we don't use Bigger, I'm thinking of getting God's Design science. For history, we'd read a few more living books about American history and then start MOH Vol 1. I would probably use Leading Little Ones to God for Bible.

Edited April 22, 2010 by lotsofpumpkins

[Sheila in OK]

Well, I haven't used any of the HOD guides *except* Bigger Hearts so I can't really compare with the younger guides. But we have been using Bigger this year and honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. I am combining two dc in it (just turned 12yo and 9yo) which, admittedly, is not recommended by the publisher. I am not crazy about the Eggleston books used as spines. I know the idea is just to give a brief overview of American history, but I prefer a bit more meat so I have supplemented pretty heavily this year with books from SL 3 & 4. It is working out for us, but I was really hoping to be able to use the guide more as written than we have been able to. We rarely do the activities--they are way too young for my dd and my ds has not really been interested either. That could just be us, though.

 

As far as science, we dropped it pretty early on. The books just didn't hold my dc's interest. We are reading the Pioneer Sampler book right now, though; both dc enjoy it. We are also using the God's Design Science books in a coop this year so I didn't feel too bad about not keeping up with the HOD Science.

 

One thing we have enjoyed is the poetry selections. We have never before been as consistent about poetry study as we have been this year.

 

I am not sorry I used Bigger Hearts this year, but I don't think we will be moving on to Preparing. As much as I like the idea of an all-in-one program, I think I have to accept that it just doesn't work well for us. (Even though I got HOD's catalog in the mail this week and am drooling over the new RTR program! :tongue_smilie:)

 

Hth.

[lotsofpumpkins]

The Eggleston books are what concerns me. I've heard so many negative comments about those. My boys especially have a problem with attention span sometimes!

 

I think the heart of the matter is that I desire a time of family learning for history, science, Bible, etc, at least during elementary age. Right now we are enjoying our time together when we do the left side of the Little Hearts plans, but it's not nearly enough for my older two. The readings are very short and the activities are on the young side, even for the 5yo. So, I'm torn. Do I just plan on doing Little Hearts and Bigger this year, and then try to combine them all in some other program next year (when they are 4th, 3rd, and 1st)? Little Hearts doesn't take too terribly long, yet I'm having trouble fitting in some history and science reading for my older two each day. Plus, I don't really WANT to be running two different programs like that. I want us all on the same topics, same Bible verses, etc. So, why did I even bother buying Little Hearts in the first place? I guess I've been reading at the HOD boards too much about proper placement, etc. But my 5yo really insists on being combined with his older siblings (which is how I want it too), so that's why I'm having them listen in on Little Hearts with him for the time being. But once I try to start Bigger, I'm concerned I'll have too much on my plate. I could try to do just Bigger with all of them, but I don't know if my boys will enjoy the Eggleston books.

 

One other thing that has been bugging me about Little Hearts- I went ahead and got the recommended math and LA for my 5yo, and because it's all scheduled, it makes things less flexible. Some days he wants to do extra pages in his workbook. Other days he really needs to slow down and take a break. I know a lot of HOD users just stick post-its marking all the pages where their child is, but I think that really defeats the purpose of the neat 2-page spread. I don't want to be rigid like that though. So, I think that the guide layout just doesn't mesh with my personality! I know that will be an issue with Bigger too. We'll actually have to ignore the math/LA boxes in Bigger since we use other things (or are on a different schedule). It really bothered me to have to ignore boxes when we tried Beyond. I might be fooling myself to think that I'll be okay with it now for Bigger. I know it's a silly reason to not like a curriculum, but I can't stand having extra clutter around, and to me it feels like extra clutter to have a big book that I'm not using in its entirety. Hopefully some of my rambling made sense. I guess I need to get out my Bigger guide and really spend some time reading and figure this out in the next month! I REALLY don't want to start it and then quit. My children saw enough indecision out of me last year; I don't want them thinking Mommy can't make up her mind!

[MrsMe]

I know what you mean about having the extra clutter around if you don't use the other boxes. However, the price....who cares? I use a separate reading, LA and math and it bugs me none. In fact I'll use some of HOD's math ideas for fun.

 

IMO, I think Bigger is easier to combine because its history is done biographically. Beyond was long on a certain time period and for me it was enough already. It moved better after unit 13; it was from 1-13 that was just too much.

 

In Bigger you can go deeper into biographies if needed and it's easier to do extra activities, because it's not done in story form as Beyond was. The Eggleston books are narrative as opposed to dialogue; something we prefer. My dd likes them and she's not a huge reader. If you take out a lot of the notebooking/writing the younger should be able to do it just fine.

[lotsofpumpkins]

I know what you mean about having the extra clutter around if you don't use the other boxes. However, the price....who cares?

 

Well, I care. I guess it's just my personality! :tongue_smilie: Thanks for response though. I agree that a biographical approach to history will lend itself better to combining, but I don't necessarily want to tweak it to death either.

[Tidbits of Learning]

I'm going to be honest. Heart of Dakota looks so great online and in the catalog, but it does not combine well IMO. I tried LHTH, LHFHG, and BHFHG this past year.

I too found the activities young in all the guides. LHFHG is a good program, but it definitely doesn't scream 1st grade to me. I like her book choices, but I couldn't stand the pace and the scripting and the preschool type activities. BHFHG had a lot of issues for me. The Eggleston spine is so boring. I didn't like the CLP extension history, A Child's History of US. The science is really light for a 3rd or 4th grader. There really isn't a science spine. The language arts-spelling and dictation were not challenging at all.

If you felt trapped by the boxes and the cutesy activities, Bigger doesn't get a lot better. It would be harder to accomodate your littlest in BHFHG too.

We moved to a total textbook-everyone in their own levels after the HOD fiasco at the first of the year. If I ever try to combine again, then I will use MFW. I just think it is set up much better for a lot of age ranges.

I too have been drooling over the HOD catalog that just came and have been toying with the idea of trying PHFHG and figuring a way to bring my 2nd grader along with my 4th and 5th grader...then I remember the 4 months of trying to do 3 guides and tweaking and well...we just don't fit well with HOD and that is ok to say.

I tried really hard to make it work for us and didn't want to sell it, but at some point I had to just face the fact that it wasn't going to be what I needed it to be for our family. It works great for some. The format really stays the same through all the guides though so if that is what doesn't work for you...then...

[momofabcd]

I tried to use Bigger with my older dd and ds this year. It was too young for them, but I imagine it would be right on for 2nd grade. We ended up scrapping most of it and just read the Eggleston books. We liked them, go figure! I have just started ds in Preparing and dd in CTC. The fit is much better and they are both loving it so far. I definitely think you need to find the right fit for the programs to work.

[birchbark]

Just thinking here. . . if you don't like the history spines, or having your LA and math scheduled, or especially the layout of the guides; and on top of that are having a hard time combining as you wish, then maybe HoD is not for you--at least right now. You could do just the reading aloud together, and skip the activities and other subjects, but then as you said, you wonder if the cost is worth it.

 

Is there a way you could preview the Eggleston books? My son loved them but I could see how some folks, particularly if they're used to more flashy, modern books/media, would consider them snoozers. :001_smile:

 

Don't stress over it too much. :D The three R's are the most important at this stage I think. Have you considered the free American history program from Guesthollow?

[Geo]

We are doing Beyond and Bigger this year and DO like the Eggleston books. Maybe because we've read alot of older books like: Storybook of Science, Parables From Nature, Hurlbut's Story of The Bible (1904), etc.

You can preview the Eggleston books at: www.mainlesson.com The readings are kept very short, in my opinion.

Let me add that my daughter has truly enjoyed the extensions. For the most part, we do what we want, and leave what doesn't appeal. I think that makes it an easier yoke for us.

 

I have NOT liked doing 2 programs though. I prefer us all together. So, we are going to combine into Preparing next year and I have no doubt we will enjoy it. I know I can tweak the right side to fit each of my children. I think combining (for some folks) can be a problem when their younger children are not accustomed to being read literature that is beyond their age range or of another era, like Mr. Eggleston's.

 

 

Geo

Edited April 23, 2010 by Geo

[Amy in KS]

Have you looked at MFW? It sounds more like what you want. You could start all your kids in one spine. It doesn't take long (but it can be extended with lots of picture books/chapter books from the bookbasket lists in the back). You could start in ECC or CTG with all of them. I just finished adventures and all of my kids liked the bookbasket books and minimal effort activities (even my 5 and 3 year old).

[Zebra]

My story sounds alot like yours...except not so many kids :lol:!!!

 

We used LHFHG..and basically limped along and didn't really do it as written. Then I thought, "Well, maybe Beyond will be better!". And it was worse, if anything. We didn't even attempt to limp through the year.

 

I feel that the beauty of HOD lies in the completeness of the program. It's all there, no planning. Many will disagree, but HOD loses much of it's value to ME as a curriculum if I am not getting the "open and go" quality. I hated the "empty boxes" - just substituting math is one thing, but anything else and you're really losing the essence of the program.

 

HOD is a great program, and I am thrilled for the people who love it...I can't blame you for really wanting to use it again(I've had the exact same "Maybe Bigger would be better..." thoughts myself :lol:)...but... based on the fact that you don't like those empty boxes, AND you don't really want to combine...AND you've tried it a couple of times, I would say this curriculum simply isn't for you.

[Donna T.]

We have loved Little Hearts this year. My son is a second grader. He is seven. He absolutely loves it. We don't do the math or the language arts, but we do do the Bible, the History, the Storytime, and whatever is in the Thinking Games/Dramatic Play box. Sometimes we do the science and sometimes we do the activities - just according to what is scheduled. He also sits in on Preparing and listens to all of those readings plus does an occasional activity from that guide. He doesn't do any of the written work in Preparing but he really enjoys listening to the books and he narrates orally from those. I could have just used Preparing as his program but I'm glad I added something extra for him. He has really enjoyed the Thinking Games and the Play.

 

This is my first year with HOD. I have had no difficulty teaching the two guides. The content of Little Hearts and Preparing go along together very well. That's one reason I used Little Hearts with the little guy.

 

If you want to continue with HOD, you need to be sure that your oldest son is placed in the proper guide. That child needs to be the priority with placement, in my opinion. If that child's program is running smoothly, you will have more energy for your own creativity (because, when placed properly, teaching the program is almost effortless) - to either adapt the same program for your younger children or even teach a separate guide to your youngers.

 

As for Bigger Hearts, I have been pre-reading the books and I personally love the Eggleston books. I do. I like all of the books (except the spine for the Extension Package, don't like that one. We wouldn't use it.) If we continue with HOD next year, my youngest will skip Beyond and go into Bigger - that's where he places. HOD has worked very, very well for our family this year. My kids have loved it. Both of them want to do the next guide and not skip anything. I'm not concerned about teaching two guides. That is not a big deal to me. I do have a couple of other concerns that makes me unsure about continuing with HOD for next year. But, we have had a wonderful year. Teaching two guides is easy, in my opinion, and we love the books.

 

If you don't love the books or the guide, you may want to consider something else :).

Edited April 25, 2010 by Donna T.

[Sheila in OK]

I didn't necessarily think the Eggleston books were *boring*; I just wanted more meat. They only touch on some topics that I felt we needed to cover more in-depth (even with my 3rd grader). I solved the problem by adding in lots of SL books and adding topics that weren't included. This is working out OK, but then again, I am losing some of the benefit of the all-in-one scheduling of the program.

 

And I don't want to sound too negative here. We have had a good year, it just hasn't worked out quite like I had planned.

 

Is there a way you could preview the Eggleston books? My son loved them but I could see how some folks, particularly if they're used to more flashy, modern books/media, would consider them snoozers. :001_smile:

 

Don't stress over it too much. :D The three R's are the most important at this stage I think. Have you considered the free American history program from Guesthollow?

[Tree House Academy]

I think placing each child in the right program is key with HOD. I tried my 5th grader in Bigger with extensions last year and, um, no. That didn't work...at all. This fall, he will do CTC and I am excited (so is he). It is on his level and he is read for it. Last year, I was hell-bent on doing American History. We ended up with R&S and we did enjoy the year.

 

For my younger, I did Little Hearts this year for 1st grade. We did the following from the guide: Read alouds, History, Bible Verses (my son LOVES the songs), Rhymes, some of the emerging readers, and Thinking Skills. I did CLE for Science and a little bit for Social Studies until we got into history in Little Hearts (first part was Biblical History). We use R&S for Reading/Phonics, Pentime for handwriting, CLE for math. I also added in French. We never did the dramatic play or the games. We did the art a few times, when my son wanted to. Otherwise, I used what worked for us and ignored the rest. I think the guides are okay to use that way. Each family is different and that is the beauty of homeschooling.

 

This year, we are doing BLHFHG, but we are using Elemental Science and R&S for Reading/Phonics, Spelling, and English 2. When we finish with R&S, we may give DITHR a try. Not sure yet with my younger.

[Donna T.]

Sheila, I was hoping things would go better for you with Bigger Hearts! I have so enjoyed HOD this year but I just can not see us going straight into another year of the Ancients next year. Half of Preparing covers that time-period and we have already covered it so thoroughly in the past. I really want to do American History next year. I was hoping I could accomodate Bigger Hearts to both my then 3rd and 6th graders but I'm realizing that is not going to work.

[Sheila in OK]

I know what you mean, Donna! I feel guilty sounding so negative because honestly we have had a good year of American history. I am just disappointed that I had to tweak so much to make it happen. But I really can't fault HOD--they are up front about the benefits of putting dc into their own guides. I just really like doing history together instead of separately at these ages.

 

We're going to try MOH next year for Ancients. I figure even if I went with HOD's Creation to Christ (it looks really good!), I would end up tweaking it to death so I might as well just put together my own thing with MOH as a spine.

 

Hope you can figure out a good plan!

[Donna T.]

I wish we were ready to go back into the Ancients! Well, if I do decide to go that route, I am going to do SOTW 1 with my youngest and add his own biology books, combining them for Bible and Storytime from Creation to Christ. We still have plenty left to do in Preparing. I may find that by the end of it we have covered as much from the years 1500 on up as I want to cover. Then, we may just go the HOD/SOTW route. Otherwise, I'm looking at My Father's World.

 

I think CtC looks good for a 4th grader. I have the guide and I really love it.

[Jen S in Va]

As much as we have loved Beyond this year, and my son has really taken off with it, we may drop HOD until CtC. Next year would be Bigger for us, but I am seriously thinking about going back to my roots in TWTM (original edition) and picking up the Ancients next year by using SOTW 1 w/AG and Biblioplan. (My heart tells me to start the chronological history with him now--to not wait until CtC, which I think looks fabulous.) Then doing SOTW 2 and 3 before heading back to HOD and CtC in 5th grade. Even if I stay with Bigger for next year (actually spreading it over 1.5 years), I will use Elemental Science Biology.

Edited April 24, 2010 by Jen S in Va

[LynnG in Arizona]

This thread really jumped out at me because I tried and failed to use HOD's Little Hands to Heaven this year.

 

I wanted to like it; I really did. I knew going in that I wasn't a big fan of the finger plays and rhymes, but I figured I could just ignore those and do the rest.

 

In fairness, we tried some activities that *I* was not excited about, but that my dd-4 ended up really enjoying.

 

But I just have not enjoyed the program at all, and it sadly dropped away. I truly cannot put my finger on what I did not enjoy.

 

And now I find myself looking for a kindergarten curriculum and wondering if I should give Little Hearts a try, or if it would be deja vu all over again.

 

At the risk of highjacking this thread, does anybody have any advice for me? Anybody out there not like LHTH but enjoy Little Hearts?

[Tidbits of Learning]

My best advise is to get your hands on the guide and really look through the whole year. That will tell you more about whether you would like it or whether you think it is more like LHTH again.

This thread really jumped out at me because I tried and failed to use HOD's Little Hands to Heaven this year.

 

I wanted to like it; I really did. I knew going in that I wasn't a big fan of the finger plays and rhymes, but I figured I could just ignore those and do the rest.

 

In fairness, we tried some activities that *I* was not excited about, but that my dd-4 ended up really enjoying.

 

But I just have not enjoyed the program at all, and it sadly dropped away. I truly cannot put my finger on what I did not enjoy.

 

And now I find myself looking for a kindergarten curriculum and wondering if I should give Little Hearts a try, or if it would be deja vu all over again.

 

At the risk of highjacking this thread, does anybody have any advice for me? Anybody out there not like LHTH but enjoy Little Hearts?

[sbgrace]

This thread really jumped out at me because I tried and failed to use HOD's Little Hands to Heaven this year.

 

I wanted to like it; I really did. I knew going in that I wasn't a big fan of the finger plays and rhymes, but I figured I could just ignore those and do the rest.

 

In fairness, we tried some activities that *I* was not excited about, but that my dd-4 ended up really enjoying.

 

But I just have not enjoyed the program at all, and it sadly dropped away. I truly cannot put my finger on what I did not enjoy.

 

And now I find myself looking for a kindergarten curriculum and wondering if I should give Little Hearts a try, or if it would be deja vu all over again.

 

At the risk of highjacking this thread, does anybody have any advice for me? Anybody out there not like LHTH but enjoy Little Hearts?

 

Little Hearts is very different (to me) than Little Hands. But since you can't put your finger on what you didn't like I think it's hard to say if the same "whatever" will be off for you with Little Hearts. Is there anyway you can look over a guide?

[LynnG in Arizona]

Little Hearts is very different (to me) than Little Hands. But since you can't put your finger on what you didn't like I think it's hard to say if the same "whatever" will be off for you with Little Hearts. Is there anyway you can look over a guide?

 

Sbgrace,

 

Thanks for responding. If I had to say, it was the (to me) heavy component of dramatic plays, finger rhymes, and other activities that (to me) seemed a little silly/young.

 

Also, my daughter is already well into phonics instruction (she knows all her letter sounds and can read almost all short vowel words), so the emphasis on learning a letter a time was a bit behind where she was.

 

I don't mean to insult HoD or the program AT ALL. Some of the mismatch was just a contrast between where my daughter was and where the program was geared. Some of the mismatch is just my personality - my discomfort with the finger plays and dramatic re-enactments.

 

Can you tell me in which ways you found Little Hearts to be very different from LHTH?

 

Thanks so much!

[sbgrace]

When I used Little Hands my kids were (academically) beyond the program. It sounds like your daughter was too. I knew they belonged in the other program academics wise going into it but I really wanted to do the bible portion of Little Hands. So we did the bible stuff (happily) and I did my own phonics, writing, and math. We do all of Little Hearts though my kids are still doing their own phonics, writing and math as I liked the curriculums I was using.

 

There is more reading to Little Hearts (you reading selections to the child). There is more to the curriculum instruction wise for sure:

bible story or reading (history as time goes on)

another something (science activity or reading, drama, art, etc….I don’t know if you’ll love these if you hated Little Hands as it’s sort of similar and it’s not my favorite part of the program.)

sometimes another reading (devotional for example)

bible verse memory with an activity to help practice it--some are unique, some are repetitive (not that I’d expect someone to come up with a unique activity for each and every day). My kids like them; I like that they are memorizing scripture.

CD with verse to music (my kids like this).

handwriting or fine motor and/or thinking skill workbook activity (I'm doing the prescribed fine motor/thinking skill book activity but my own Handwriting so I don't know how advanced her choice is).

 

literature (we love this part)

reading instruction (phonics at her level)

math (we sub this as I wanted to continue RightStart and I've never tried her math selection to comment on it)

 

There are less of the act out the story activities. I still see that but not so often and it's often (though not always) different to me than it felt in Little Hands. For example they might use stuffed animals to represent Mr. Toad's family and they act as Mr. Toad to warn them of danger--a kiddie way to narrate a chapter out of the literature curriculum). It still has rhymes with motions like Little Hands did. I don't know if they are more complex or whatever because I didn't do them often with Little Hands. We're doing them w/Little Hearts.

 

I liked the bible better in Little Hands. It seems more skimmy now to me. Of course she’s covering more ground in this curriculum to get to the history portion. I knew what it would be and that’s why I did Little Hands bible. I like everything else better in Little Hearts.

 

I think the issue with it being beyond her will be largely solved. However, it’s the same author of course so you’re still going to see things at times like you saw before, particularly in the “another something†box in the curriculum. I think you likely won’t love that part based on what you wrote but it's been too long for me to compare the complexity to Little Hands. I don’t love that part but I don’t hate it and I do love the literature and some other aspects. In short, I really think it would be good if you can take a look at a guide. I think you’ll get a feel really quickly for whether it’s a good fit.

Edited April 25, 2010 by sbgrace

[LynnG in Arizona]

Thank you so much for your long and thoughtful reply! You and the other posters have given me much to think about.

 

I apologize if I highjacked the thread. On other hand, my issue was very similar to that of the original poster's, just a different set of HOD years. :)

 

Thanks to all who have replied!

[MommyInTraining]

If I had to say, it was the (to me) heavy component of dramatic plays, finger rhymes

 

 

That is one of my favorite things about HOD and wish it was incorporated into the older guides. I love the added drama activities!

 

It just goes to show what one homeschool likes, isn't the best fit for another homeschool :001_smile:.

[LynnG in Arizona]

That is one of my favorite things about HOD and wish it was incorporated into the older guides. I love the added drama activities!

 

It just goes to show what one homeschool likes, isn't the best fit for another homeschool :001_smile:.

 

I agree completely. ;) It truly is about finding the best fit for one's family, including momma/teacher!

[MommyInTraining]

Lotsofpumpkins,

 

I am somewhat in the same dilemma. We just had #6 in Dec. and I am still trying to figure out what will work for us. I will have 5th, 3rd, 2nd, preschool, toddler, and infant. I was thinking of trying MFW's ECC. We used MFW Adventures and MFW K in the past. But, then I started thinking about HOD again, and, of course, the catalog had to come in the mail recently :001_smile:! I had Little Hands to Heaven, Little Hearts for His Glory, and Bigger Hearts for His Glory a while back. We got going pretty good with Little Hands, but I never took off with Little Hearts and Bigger Hearts. It was really too much skipping around from one child to another. So, I sold Little Hearts and Bigger Hearts. I held on to Little Hands...it is so sweet. Well, for this past year I purchased Beyond, Preparing and DITHR. They were all 3 to do history in Beyond and my oldest was to do the right side and science of Preparing. That didn't take off either. I really don't like working out of more than one guide. Then, little man came along and we had our babymoon time and getting adjusted to a new person living with us :001_smile:. He is getting ready to turn 4 months old and I am antsy to get some new plans going. I did try to start SOW (Student of the Word) with them. I am hoping to stick with the Bible portion of it, but still want something that will pull other areas together for us. Anyway, as I was saying in the beginning, I was thinking maybe about ECC. It has appealed to me for a while, but I have never went through with purchasing it. It does have a hefty price tag and I want the newer 2nd edition, so it is not so easy to find used. Then, I was recently thinking about maybe trying Bigger Hearts again, this time with my 5th, 3rd, and 2nd graders. One of the main reasons is because I already have most of the resources for it (hey Geo, want to sell that Bigger guide back to me, now that you are done with it :lol:?) and, because I LOVE the HOD message board. The kind of support the author gives is incredible!!!!

So, I am torn also. Why would I want to repurchase a curriculum that I so willingly sold off? Believe me, I have lots of other unused curriculum laying around that I have not taken the time to get rid of. I am thinking a lot like some other comments...why would this time be any different? Yes, I would have them all in one guide, which is what I am shooting for. But, I don't know if it will be putting my 5th grader too much out of the loop for what I am wanting to accomplish. So, I will go back and forth between HOD and MFW for a while, once again :001_smile:. It's a lovely debate!

 

All that to say....have you considered ECC?

Edited April 25, 2010 by MommyInTraining

[lotsofpumpkins]

Terri-

Yes, I have considered MFW ECC. I'm hesitant to spend that kind of money though, since I've never seen a guide in person and don't know if I'd like it or not. Plus I've heard that there's a lot of jumping around in books and I'm not sure I like that.

 

I appreciate all the replies (and don't mind the "hijacking" :) ) because all of it is quite helpful, as I sort out my thoughts on this. I think I just don't like having all the subjects in one guide like that. On some days we only have time for the 3R's, and then on another day we'll spend a lot of extra time reading for history or science. When I start reading about history, my children don't like for me to stop so soon (so the short HOD readings are really too short for their liking). I think we would do better with separate programs for each subject, so we can schedule them however we want to. I like the idea of doing history 2 days a week and science 2 days a week, and just spending a bit longer on them. I still haven't decided for sure what I'm going to do, but I can think about it a bit longer. We'll see!

[Lovedtodeath]

We are doing Beyond and Bigger this year and DO like the Eggleston books. Maybe because we've read alot of older books like: Storybook of Science, Parables From Nature, Hurlbut's Story of The Bible (1904), etc.

You can preview the Eggleston books at: www.mainlesson.com The readings are kept very short, in my opinion.

Let me add that my daughter has truly enjoyed the extensions. For the most part, we do what we want, and leave what doesn't appeal. I think that makes it an easier yoke for us.

How old is your daughter? I am thinking of selling what I have and using Bigger with Extensions for next year.

 

The guides look similar to what I want and am used to... actually doing something with the reading. Can someone explain if/how Bigger does any type of timeline?

 

Edited to add: How is Bigger Hearts providential? If I don't believe that America is God's chosen country or that He hasn't guided modern history can I still happily use the program?

 

I have WP AS1 and Beautiful Feet's Character guide... I am thinking of selling these to get Bigger. If you have an opinion on that I would love to hear it.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Lovedtodeath

[MommyInTraining]

How is Bigger Hearts providential? If I don't believe that America is God's chosen country or that He hasn't guided modern history can I still happily use the program?

 

 

 

Hi Carmen!

 

I am not sure what the answer to this is, but, if you go over to the HOD message board, I am sure you will be able to get a very clear answer there.

 

Hope to see you over there!

Edited April 28, 2010 by MommyInTraining

[Lovedtodeath]

Hi Carmen!

 

I am not sure what the answer to this is, but if you go over to the HOD message board I am sure you will be able to get a very clear answer there.

 

Hope to see you over there!

Hi Terri! I was hoping that you would pop in. Shoot me a PM or email anytime! I signed up for the HOD message board and I am waiting for approval.

[MommyInTraining]

Hey Carmen!

 

I am still trying to get into a groove with our new little one on board. I will try to write to you soon :001_smile:!

 

The author of HOD and her sister, Julie, are AWESOME at giving out advice on which programs to use. I have never seen anything like it. It is one of the major reasons I keep trying to make HOD work for us. I love the support that they give in the journey.

 

Hope to see you there soon!

[Donna T.]

Edited to add: How is Bigger Hearts providential? If I don't believe that America is God's chosen country or that He hasn't guided modern history can I still happily use the program?

 

 

 

We haven't used Bigger Hearts yet but I do have everything and I've read most of the books for myself. There is one book scheduled in the Extension Package, A Child's Story of America, that is written from a Providential point of view. In my opinion, it is very heavy handed in that way and I personally will not be using that book when we get to Bigger Hearts. It is a totally optional book. It's intended for extra reading for an older child who is using the program with a younger sibling.

 

Other than that book, I do not get the feeling that Bigger Hearts is trying to teach or to stress that America is God's "chosen country". There is an emphasis on the godly character of some of the figures in American History and there is the general idea of God being active in all of history. So, no, I do not think that Bigger Hearts is teaching children that America is somehow a new Israel or any kind of fulfillment of Bible prophecy (that does come up in relation to Columbus in the one book I mentioned but that's because he saw himself that way, he believed he was fulfilling prophecy) but it does not go so far as to make God uninvolved in human history.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Donna T.

[Lovedtodeath]

Thank you Donna, that helps. Another thing that concerns me: I chose WP because of their generous use of picture books. Does Bigger have some?

[Donna T.]

Thank you Donna, that helps. Another thing that concerns me: I chose WP because of their generous use of picture books. Does Bigger have some?

 

When my oldest son was a second grader, we used My Father's World Adventures but I added in ALOT of books from WP. I really enjoyed those books. In fact, those were most often our favorites that year. WP's book selections are so visually appealing. The history books in Bigger Hearts are not that way really. Well, one of them, Journeys in Time is... it has lots of colorful illustrations. It looks like a book that WP would use. The science books in Bigger Hearts are colorful and well illustrated. Like WP, HOD uses the One Small Square books and The Pioneer Sampler. There are two biographies scheduled that are not colorful. I personally love the books in Bigger Hearts but overall the program is not as visual as WP. Some Bigger Hearts users are still using the Emerging Readers package with Bigger Hearts. Those books are visual.

Edited April 29, 2010 by Donna T.

[Lovedtodeath]

Donna, thanks! I am loving the HOD guide so I am really wanting to try this... but it appears that Bigger doesn't cover much after 1913... it claims to go to 1970 but only the Wright Brothers book does this? In that case it is not much different than using AS 1?

 

It would be much simpler if I just did Middle Ages... but DH wants us to do American History. :o

[lotsofpumpkins]

I feel the need to give an update since I started this thread (and it's old enough that I can't just add to the original post). I've decided to stick with Little Hearts like we've been doing, but I'm giving myself permission to skip the activities that seem babyish. I don't have to check off every box! My children have been LOVING the storytime with the Thornton Burgess books especially. They are doing well memorizing the Bible verses too. As for Bigger, I could not make up my mind what I would do in its place, so I got my Bigger guide out and really looked through it again. I decided I will give it a try afterall, and like with Little Hearts, I'm giving myself permission to tweak it! I think I need to mark up my guide with a highlighter... :001_smile: Since I already own everything that I need to use Bigger, I might as well go ahead and use it!

 

I started reading one of the Eggleston books, and I like it. Hopefully my children will like it too.

 

So, anyway, that's the plan. I'll stick with HOD for this year, doing both of those guides, but I do want to get them all into one program for 2011-2012 (for 4th, 3rd, and 1st). Whether we tweak HOD's Preparing for that or go with something else, I won't know for a while!

 

Thanks, everyone for your input.

[Lovedtodeath]

Thank you for providing the thread to hi-jack. lol!

 

You must do Preparing, it is the program that I couldn't stop looking at!

[Donna T.]

It's that time of year when we are all reassessing what we've been doing and making decisions for next year. We have had our most productive school year ever and yet I began to get all caught up in that and was making myself anxious over next year.

 

Anyways, I have decided we are definately going to stick with HOD. It really is a wonderful fit for our family. My children love it and are making progress in everything. My oldest will move up to Creation to Christ. I am still undecided on whether to bump my youngest up to Bigger Hearts or just go with Beyond for him. Regardless, we are going to stay with HOD.

 

Preparing is incrediable. I love it! Little Hearts has been good for us also. I have had to adapt it a good bit since my son is a second grader but he loves it and it has turned him around from hating school to enjoying it.