27 Reasons NOT to Buy HOD...

[Chelli]

Oh goodness! You ladies have me worried.

 

I remember all of us posting in this thread about how excited and happy we were using HOD.

 

My dd and I are still feeling the HOD love using Bigger. That being said next year we are not going to use it so that I can hold off putting dd in Preparing until 4th grade. For next year I will be using Expedition Earth with dd7 and dd4 for 3rd grade and K. That will be my trial year for combining them in history and science.

 

I also am not planning on using any of the guides until Preparing with my younger dc though. I think we will go with Truthquest American History for grades 1-3, then start Preparing in 4th. I will keep my 2nd dd studying the same science as the first dd during this rotation using Mr. Q Science.

 

My dc are spaced far enough apart that I can move one into the independent stuff in HOD before the other needs full time mom instruction in K. They are all 3 grades apart.

 

I just like that HOD has everything integrated. I spent last year rounding up resources and doing my own thing. It was draining! This year is soooo much easier for me and dd7 is enjoying school again.

 

Since you ladies were farther ahead of me in the HOD rotation, I'm afraid the fallout is coming! :001_huh:

[abrightmom]

Oh goodness! You ladies have me worried.

 

I remember all of us posting in this thread about how excited and happy we were using HOD.

 

My dd and I are still feeling the HOD love using Bigger. That being said next year we are not going to use it so that I can hold off putting dd in Preparing until 4th grade. For next year I will be using Expedition Earth with dd7 and dd4 for 3rd grade and K. That will be my trial year for combining them in history and science.

 

I also am not planning on using any of the guides until Preparing with my younger dc though. I think we will go with Truthquest American History for grades 1-3, then start Preparing in 4th. I will keep my 2nd dd studying the same science as the first dd during this rotation using Mr. Q Science.

 

My dc are spaced far enough apart that I can move one into the independent stuff in HOD before the other needs full time mom instruction in K. They are all 3 grades apart.

 

I just like that HOD has everything integrated. I spent last year rounding up resources and doing my own thing. It was draining! This year is soooo much easier for me and dd7 is enjoying school again.

 

Since you ladies were farther ahead of me in the HOD rotation, I'm afraid the fallout is coming! :001_huh:

Don't worry! It's working and that is a huge praise. If my kids had three grades between them Id be in a different place. My kids are too far apart skill wise to combine in HODs skill integrated guides but they're close enough to combine for content. Running three guides that I don't love is insane :D and unnecessary.

 

I have considered what you are doing which is to ditch HOD until Preparing for each kid and use something like TQ or SL up to that point with the focus on building strong narration and writing skills. It's a great plan you have. :001_smile: I suspect I would have appreciated Bigger more with my oldest when he was 7 or 8. :D

 

Stay the course! HOD fits like a glove for many families!

[krismoose]

Oh goodness! You ladies have me worried.

 

I remember all of us posting in this thread about how excited and happy we were using HOD....

 

Since you ladies were farther ahead of me in the HOD rotation, I'm afraid the fallout is coming! :001_huh:

 

Just take it one year at a time...I think this thread has been great (if long...;)), as it follows the ups and downs of various familes' journeys. I, too, am learning that each child and each year is an individual, and that I really need to re-evaluate yearly, rather than making grand plans for future years. While Beyond fits my ds well this year, he had a year in between LHFHG and Beyond, and dd is in between LHTH and LHFHG. I honestly don't know when or if I will do LHFHG with her. She enjoys MFW K so much (though we're pausing for a bit) that I might continue on with MFW 1st with her... I will probably do Bigger with ds... :D;)

[Joyofsixreboot]

And just to complicate things....we're liking Bigger but next year that will put my 3rd grader in Preparing which everyone says is bad though looking at the guide I think it's doable but THEN I'm not sure I'm going to like CTC. See, I can take a pleasant situation and find something to worry about :glare:

[vtbowman]

We are on week 10 of LHFHG (doing a 4 day week). It has been great for us. I am not using the devotional book but we are sticking to everything else. This is our first year homeschooling and I needed the hand-holding that HOD gives me. We are planning to use Beyond next year but I am not sure about continuing with it after that. I want to try things "on my own", and think I will have the confidence to do it by then.

 

I am REALLY enjoying this year and it has been SO easy to implement.

[jer2911mom]

I've been re-reading this entire thread and I have a question. I keep hearing that CTC's spine, The Story of the Ancient World, is more the story of the Israelites and less about the rest of the ancient world. My question is this, if you have done Preparing the year before, do you get more of the secular/other ancient history with CHOW that year? Is that possibly why CTC doesn't cover that? I don't want to miss out on a well-rounded study of the ancients, but it dawned on me that maybe Preparing helps with that? I know some people were using CTC for the first time and hadn't used Preparing. Does that make a difference?

 

Thanks!

Kathy

[MamaHappy]

I've been re-reading this entire thread and I have a question. I keep hearing that CTC's spine, The Story of the Ancient World, is more the story of the Israelites and less about the rest of the ancient world. My question is this, if you have done Preparing the year before, do you get more of the secular/other ancient history with CHOW that year? Is that possibly why CTC doesn't cover that? I don't want to miss out on a well-rounded study of the ancients, but it dawned on me that maybe Preparing helps with that? I know some people were using CTC for the first time and hadn't used Preparing. Does that make a difference?

 

Thanks!

Kathy

 

Good question, I've wondered the same thing. I can't wait to hear the responses. :)

[kwickimom]

I've been re-reading this entire thread and I have a question. I keep hearing that CTC's spine, The Story of the Ancient World, is more the story of the Israelites and less about the rest of the ancient world. My question is this, if you have done Preparing the year before, do you get more of the secular/other ancient history with CHOW that year? Is that possibly why CTC doesn't cover that? I don't want to miss out on a well-rounded study of the ancients, but it dawned on me that maybe Preparing helps with that? I know some people were using CTC for the first time and hadn't used Preparing. Does that make a difference?

 

Thanks!

Kathy

 

VERY good question. I have not been able to get anyone to tell me the exact truth about this, so my friend and I have ordered the book and are going to read it. I feel like I hear that CTC is mostly Bible History, but no one wants to elaborate. I think there are few users here and the majority is on the HOD boards and they will never tell us that it is too Bible heavy, Carrie says its well rounded but I just dont know.

I was all decided not to use CTC and my friend is trying to talk me into sticking with it and tweaking. I am toying with the idea of adding SOTW as Storytime and outlining from it.

[Alison in KY]

The HOD board CAN seem like a mini-cult, can't it? Even the mere mention of another program on that board sends many die-hards into a tizzy. :tongue_smilie: That being said, I do LOVE HOD and figured why ditch a great curriculum b/c of such silliness? Anyway, you wanted reasons NOT to use HOD! So...1) You will end up loving it and then not want to switch back to other programs, potentially missing out on the other awesome programs out there. :D 2) Gets expensive to run multiple guides...esp. w/ the older guides. 3) Can't combine ALL dc

 

:iagree:

[hearts4homeschooling]

These last few posts have wondered about CTC covering Israelite history and not the rest of world history. We are using CTC this year, and I think you just told me why I am not totally in favor of the history book "The Story of the Ancient World" this year!! Now I see what seems to be missing and why I keep thinking about using SOTW and MOH - the rest of the history of the ancient world is not being covered.

 

What I do love about CTC is the list of questions given to the student for written narration to get them thinking - this is an awesome idea and something I have gleaned from HOD CTC and will take with me and implement with whatever we use in the future.

 

We are using very little from the HOD schedule (only the History boxes), and I really doubt we will use it again next year for this reason. This was our first year with HOD. I just wasn't willing to put aside my preferred publishers in most subjects to fully implement HOD.

 

Mrs.Hearts

[MamaHappy]

These last few posts have wondered about CTC covering Israelite history and not the rest of world history. We are using CTC this year, and I think you just told me why I am not totally in favor of the history book "The Story of the Ancient World" this year!! Now I see what seems to be missing and why I keep thinking about using SOTW and MOH - the rest of the history of the ancient world is not being covered.

 

What I do love about CTC is the list of questions given to the student for written narration to get them thinking - this is an awesome idea and something I have gleaned from HOD CTC and will take with me and implement with whatever we use in the future.

 

We are using very little from the HOD schedule (only the History boxes), and I really doubt we will use it again next year for this reason. This was our first year with HOD. I just wasn't willing to put aside my preferred publishers in most subjects to fully implement HOD.

 

Mrs.Hearts

 

Wait, so CTC only covers Isrealite history and not the rest of ancient history in other parts of the world? I think I would have a real problem with this! And I guess I'm wondering why an author wouldn't think it's important to cover other parts of the world??

[abrightmom]

Wait, so CTC only covers Isrealite history and not the rest of ancient history in other parts of the world? I think I would have a real problem with this! And I guess I'm wondering why an author wouldn't think it's important to cover other parts of the world??

 

Someone needs to ask about this on the HOD board in a very direct manner. :001_smile: I definitely want to know too. Carrie strikes me as a very thorough person so perhaps the other civs. are being covered in a different resource? We need CTC users to chime in OR a new thread should be started specific to this question!

 

ETA: I just posted some questions on the HOD board. The Diana Waring audios do cover other world history intertwined with the Biblical history. Here's a summary from the HOD site: Description: In this audio whirlwind adventure through time, Diana Waring reveals the astounding evidence for the Bible's authority in its description of the influential people and nations of antiquity. Drawing from many sources of archaeological research, Diana shows the sovereign hand of God influencing events from earliest man to the great empires of Greece and Rome. This 4-CD set does a masterful job of integrating Biblical history with secular history throughout enthusiastic presentations by popular speaker Diana Waring. Your children will never view world history the same again!

Disc 1:

Welcome to World History

Creation

Early Man

The Flood

Descendants of Noah

Sources & Evidences

Oldest Cities

Disc 2:

Historical Chronology

Problems with the Chronology

Egyptian History

Abraham through Moses

Joshua through David

Solomon through Jeroboam

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

Disc 3:

Assyria

Babylon

Cyrus the Great

The Persian Empire

Xerxes

Daniel's Vision

Athens & Sparta

Alexander the Great

Disc 4:

The Hellenistic Empire

Early Rome

The Punic Wars

Julius Caesar & the Late Republic

Octavian vs. Mark Antony

In the Perfect Moment of Time

The Promised One

The Life of Jesus

Edited November 22, 2011 by abrightmom

[birchbark]

I've been re-reading this entire thread and I have a question. I keep hearing that CTC's spine, The Story of the Ancient World, is more the story of the Israelites and less about the rest of the ancient world. My question is this, if you have done Preparing the year before, do you get more of the secular/other ancient history with CHOW that year? Is that possibly why CTC doesn't cover that? I don't want to miss out on a well-rounded study of the ancients, but it dawned on me that maybe Preparing helps with that? I know some people were using CTC for the first time and hadn't used Preparing. Does that make a difference?

 

Thanks!

Kathy

 

VERY good question. I have not been able to get anyone to tell me the exact truth about this, so my friend and I have ordered the book and are going to read it. I feel like I hear that CTC is mostly Bible History, but no one wants to elaborate. I think there are few users here and the majority is on the HOD boards and they will never tell us that it is too Bible heavy, Carrie says its well rounded but I just dont know.

 

 

These last few posts have wondered about CTC covering Israelite history and not the rest of world history. We are using CTC this year, and I think you just told me why I am not totally in favor of the history book "The Story of the Ancient World" this year!! Now I see what seems to be missing and why I keep thinking about using SOTW and MOH - the rest of the history of the ancient world is not being covered.

Mrs.Hearts

 

Wait, so CTC only covers Isrealite history and not the rest of ancient history in other parts of the world? I think I would have a real problem with this! And I guess I'm wondering why an author wouldn't think it's important to cover other parts of the world??

 

Yes, CTC is Bible-heavy. The first half is OT history and the cultures it includes (Egypt, Phoenicia, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia), and the last half is on Greece, Rome, and the life of Christ. You used to be able to view the table of contents (of CTC) in the introduction to CTC on the HoD website. For some reason, that portion is missing from the CTC pdf, even though it is there for the other guides. Perhaps HoD would email it if asked. The TOC lists the theme for each week and you can quickly see what is covered.

 

The Story of the Ancient World is basically a retelling of Bible History. It actually is one of my least favorite books I've used with HoD. However I just don't think there is a whole lot out there for this time period, especially if you don't want a focus on the pagan myths.

 

Carrie does do a great job fleshing out this spine with the Diana Waring audios and the the excellent history read-alouds. But for better or worse, there IS a lot of Bible. I am doing RTR this year and really seeing a contrast.

 

I did not do Preparing but I have CHOW. In looking through it, it looks like the same type of history is covered, with a brief touch on India and China.

 

If one really likes HoD, I would not let this be a deal-breaker. It would be easy to add in some living books on the other cultures you wish to cover, maybe even for Storytime. However if you're on the fence, you might be happier with something else.

Edited November 22, 2011 by birchbark

[Joyofsixreboot]

As someone else said, I'm going to order the spine and see what I think and also get my hands on the TM. I think I may not like it but it may be tweakable (is that a word?) .

[twoxcell]

As someone else said, I'm going to order the spine and see what I think and also get my hands on the TM. I think I may not like it but it may be tweakable (is that a word?) .

We have not gotten to CTC yet, but there isn't one history book used there are several so just because something isn't in the Story of the Ancient world doesn't mean it isn't covered KWIM.

[hearts4homeschooling]

Yes, CTC is Bible-heavy. The first half is OT history and the cultures it includes (Egypt, Phoenicia, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia), and the last half is on Greece, Rome, and the life of Christ. You used to be able to view the table of contents in the introduction to CTC on the HoD website. For some reason, that portion is missing from the CTC pdf, even though it is there for the other guides. Perhaps HoD would email it if asked. The TOC lists the theme for each week and you can quickly see what is covered.

 

The Story of the Ancient World is basically a retelling of Bible History. It actually is one of my least favorite books I've used with HoD. However I just don't think there is a whole lot out there for this time period, especially if you don't want a focus on the pagan myths.

 

Carrie does do a great job fleshing out this spine with the Diana Waring audios and the the excellent history read-alouds. But for better or worse, there IS a lot of Bible. I am doing RTR this year and really seeing a contrast.

 

I did not do Preparing but I have CHOW. In looking through it, it looks like the same type of history is covered, with a brief touch on India and China.

 

If one really likes HoD, I would not let this be a deal-breaker. It would be easy to add in some living books on the other cultures you wish to cover, maybe even for Storytime. However if you're on the fence, you might be happier with something else.

 

HOD CTC Units 1 to 18 use "The Story of the Ancient World".

Units 18-27 use "Streams of History: Ancient Greece" and "Streams of History: Ancient Rome".

Units 28-35 study the book of John and Acts in the Bible.

 

You can read the Table of Contents of "The Story of the Ancient World" here. This is a link at Nothing New Press, the publisher of the book.

Edited November 23, 2011 by hearts4homeschooling
spelling mistake

[abrightmom]

To add another tidbit....

 

Here is the description of The Story of the Ancient World taken off of CBD's site. It does say that Christine Miller has expanded the content to include historical data about other cultures. I bolded and italicized that portion.

 

(**I am finding this research to be fascinating and it's really emphasizing that this IS how I want to study Ancients. Hmmmmm. More food for thought. )

 

Originally written in the early 19th century, H.A. Guerber's historical readers will give young children an exciting, narrative look at the human past. Writing from the conviction of biblical accuracy in all of history, events and cultures are dated according to the bible and an emphasis on God's sovereignty through Western history runs throughout. Children will appreciate the story like style as they hear of the great men and civilizations in chapters that are easy to digest, though they still retain a large vocabulary. Historical illustrations are used throughout.

The Story of the Ancient World covers not only Guerber's history of the Israelites, but has been expanded by Christine Miller to also include more emphasis on the Egyptian, Persian and Babylon cultures that influenced Israel. This volume follows the Old Testament from Genesis through the end of the Persian Empire. 276 indexed pages, softcover.

[kwickimom]

SO, if The Read About History box is 90% Bible History and there is a Bible Quiet time Box and a Bible Study box...that leaves the other 10% of Read About History, Storytime box (some Bible depending on what you pick) and Independent History that is not Bible History.

 

I am still worried that even though other ancient cultures are "touched on" that it might not be enough.

 

I just got MOH in the mail and I have SOTW and about a zillion booklists. I am going to see what I can do to balance it out without adding too much work. We are doing Preparing and even though we are using CHOW, I still feel it is Bible heavy so I cannot imagine how heavy CTC is. I know that ingoing with HOD that is the point and I love to have Bible interwoven in, I just want my kids to have the same balance of non-biblical history.

[Alison in KY]

Yes, yes, and yes again. EVERY family situation is entirely UNIQUE.... here is a very humiliating and embarrassing confession....

 

I was SO utterly enamored with HOD (Okay, I still am:lol:) that I ABANDONED other "things" that I believed in for my children's education.... Basically, I put all of my eggs into the HOD basket without having actually USED HOD. I ignored slight "naggings" and "tuggings" in my heart about some of these "things".... because golly dang it there is SO MUCH TO ADORE with HOD. It took me buying FOUR guides (used, mind you), tons of books, DITHOR, selling other beloved curriculum (Phonics Road) and getting to the cusp of beginning HOD to realize that in order for HOD to work for MY FAMILY situation and according to particular goals I have then I have to TWEAK HOD. I don't want to.....I'd rather do something else. Highly embarrassing and humiliating to admit....though freeing because now I've written it for all to read.:D

 

I WAS fearful and decided I needed to step out in faith and move forward with the plan....but my REAL fear was revealed over the weekend as I was preparing for HOD. I faced that what I want is to do MY PLAN MY WAY outside of a BOX (HOD or MFW) and I have been afraid to step out of the box. I am preparing to step out ... :001_smile:

 

Sorry....that's not really one of the reason not to buy HOD. I think it is wonderful...and a great fit for many families....:001_smile: Carrie is a brilliant planner and guide writer. I'm beyond impressed with her....she has a very kind and generous heart as well.

 

This sounds a bit familiar. ;)

[abrightmom]

This sounds a bit familiar. ;)

 

I am slightly embarrassed that I was so dramatic. Sheesh. I am learning to tone it down.... :001_smile:

 

Still not sure here... in the box or out of the box... :001_smile:

[birchbark]

You used to be able to view the table of contents (of CTC) in the introduction to CTC on the HoD website. For some reason, that portion is missing from the CTC pdf, even though it is there for the other guides. Perhaps HoD would email it if asked. The TOC lists the theme for each week and you can quickly see what is covered.

 

 

Okay, someone discovered on the HoD board that the table of contents for CTC is in a different pdf. You can view it here.

[Alison in KY]

I am slightly embarrassed that I was so dramatic. Sheesh. I am learning to tone it down.... :001_smile:

 

Still not sure here... in the box or out of the box... :001_smile:

 

We can all be dramatic at times ;), especially when it comes to finding some great curricula that works for ourselves and our children. I wanted HOD to be the last stop for me too, sadly, it was not.

 

Alison

[lotsofpumpkins]

And just to complicate things....we're liking Bigger but next year that will put my 3rd grader in Preparing which everyone says is bad though looking at the guide I think it's doable but THEN I'm not sure I'm going to like CTC. See, I can take a pleasant situation and find something to worry about :glare:

 

I know I'm late to comment on this, but I'm just now reading the rest of this thread. Anyway, I have a very young 3rd grader (turned 8 in August) in Preparing, and he's doing fine. He does take longer to do the notebooking and vocabulary assignments than his sister, but he is able to do them. My 1st grader is in Beyond, so he'll get to Preparing in 3rd grade too.

 

You can always slow down the pace a bit for a while if the workload is too much.

[oneddmanybooks]

I know I'm late to comment on this, but I'm just now reading the rest of this thread. Anyway, I have a very young 3rd grader (turned 8 in August) in Preparing, and he's doing fine. He does take longer to do the notebooking and vocabulary assignments than his sister, but he is able to do them. My 1st grader is in Beyond, so he'll get to Preparing in 3rd grade too.

 

You can always slow down the pace a bit for a while if the workload is too much.

 

Thank you lotsofpumpkins! I'm glad you posted. My dd will be 3rd grade for Preparing and I am really looking forward to it! We are both enjoying Bigger. I am seeing what people mean when they talk about HOD being so well-written, well-planned, balanced, etc. etc. It's true! :)

[jer2911mom]

Lotsofpumpkins and Janette,

 

What do you plan to use for 8th grade? (How do you plan to fill the "gap"?) I have a dd who has an October bday, so she is on the older side of her grade. I'm trying to figure out whether she should start Preparing in 3rd or 4th. She will be 9 for most of her 3rd grade year.

 

Thanks,

Kathy

[Homeschooling6]

Kathy, I would start by using the placement chart. I was going to start my 10 and 11 yr. old boys who will be 11 and 12 when they start (sept. B-days, so they too are on the older side) in CtC but Carrie advised me to start them with Preparing. Same with my two younger ones.I was going to start them in Bigger but after looking at the placement chart and asking lots of questions at the HOD forum I am starting them in Beyond.

 

HOD placement is decided more where the child's academic level (reading and writing) is rather then what history cycle or age.

Lotsofpumpkins and Janette,

 

What do you plan to use for 8th grade? (How do you plan to fill the "gap"?) I have a dd who has an October bday, so she is on the older side of her grade. I'm trying to figure out whether she should start Preparing in 3rd or 4th. She will be 9 for most of her 3rd grade year.

 

Thanks,

Kathy

Edited December 9, 2011 by Homeschooling6

[mhaddon]

So I avoided hod because i felt it wasn't enough. Lol. We are in our second week and after finding a math that fits he is loving school again. HOD and mus have been hits. I wouldn't recommend it if looking for a non religious curriculumn, but for this reason I adore

It. I love that God is the focus. I think that is what we were missing from our day to make things run smooth.

[Willow Creek Academy]

I would love to use HOD as is but I would have to tweak it so much it wouldn't be worth the money.

 

I have a pre-k is far beyond LHTH and well above the LA in LHFHG. I have a young K who is well above the LA and the Math of LHFHG and I have a 1st is is right on for the LA and Math of LHFHG but is emotionally ready for BLHFHG.

 

I just can't see ANY way to combine them in one core and not have it completely ALL over the place.

[lotsofpumpkins]

Lotsofpumpkins and Janette,

 

What do you plan to use for 8th grade? (How do you plan to fill the "gap"?) I have a dd who has an October bday, so she is on the older side of her grade. I'm trying to figure out whether she should start Preparing in 3rd or 4th. She will be 9 for most of her 3rd grade year.

 

Thanks,

Kathy

 

 

I'm thinking we'll just keep moving through the HOD guides. Since I have both a 3rd grader and a 4th grader in Preparing, the plan is to keep them combined long-term. So, my 3rd grader would actually end up with a "gap" year his senior year of high school, if I'm figuring things correctly. If I end up separating them for high school, I will just have to do my own thing with the 3rd grader when he is in 8th grade. I guess it depends a lot on credits/transcripts/etc; it might be wise to separate them and not let ds do the high school level stuff in 8th grade. I'm not really worried about it at this point; dh and I are also toying with the idea of dual enrollment during high school. If our dc do that, they'd be taking classes at the community college during high school. I told dh I'd rather teach them myself during those years, using HOD! We'll see what happens!

[krismoose]

I'm taking a break from HOD's Beyond Little Hearts program, and I thought I'd share why, as I'd say it's a reason not to use it ;-). We're 1/3 of the way through, having had to move slowly for various reasons, and I am *very* tired of reading about Pilgrims. We sped up and left out activities so that we would reach the first Thanksgiving by Thanksgiving, and neither ds or I are interested in continuing. The slower pace was the one thing I was concerned about before starting, and it is getting to me. Also, dh and I are both realizing that we want him to hear about a wider variety of topics this year. It's really too bad, because the activities are just the right level for ds. So I'm looking at starting after the pilgrims with either MFW Adventures (which I have) or Beautiful Feet Early American History primary level, which should be here in a week or so. I still hope to use Bigger Hearts, but I guess we'll just have to see where ds is next fall. Oh, and I will continue with the story time suggestions and questions, we do love those :).

[tjlcc]

Thanks for sharing everyone.

 

I've been perusing this thread today as I've felt such discontentment with HOD lately. I'm not even sure why exactly. Mainly little things, such as certain parts of the devotionals or history that our family doesn't agree with.

 

Not sure where we are going from here, as HOD was going to be IT for the long haul ...

 

Anyway, thanks for all your thoughts.

 

Off to ponder ...

[jenni33]

I sort of jumped in on this thread last minute just looking for opinions on HOD. Would anyone mind sharing what types of things you don't agree with on history or devotionals for Preparing Hearts level? Or any level for that matter? I am seriously considering it, in fact have pretty much made up my mind that I'd like to go for it with my 8 year old daughter using Preparing. I'm a little concerned as I see some mention here they are discontent with some of the religious ideas.

I would love someone to kindly share as I would want to be aware of what I'm getting into.

Thanks! (private message me here if you'd like.)

[In the Rain]

I sort of jumped in on this thread last minute just looking for opinions on HOD. Would anyone mind sharing what types of things you don't agree with on history or devotionals for Preparing Hearts level? Or any level for that matter? I am seriously considering it, in fact have pretty much made up my mind that I'd like to go for it with my 8 year old daughter using Preparing. I'm a little concerned as I see some mention here they are discontent with some of the religious ideas.

I would love someone to kindly share as I would want to be aware of what I'm getting into.

Thanks! (private message me here if you'd like.)

 

This is such an old thread, you might not get much response to your specific question. Have you tried using the tag system at the bottom of this thread? It will take you to lots of threads on HOD. Have fun reading!

[tjlcc]

Jenni33,

 

I guess I'm not in agreement with some of Kenneth Taylor's thoughts in his devotionals. Examples: We must not lie as God will be displeased with us and punish us if we lie.

 

The history seems to portray famous people such as Columbus in a much too positive way for me.

 

I have Preparing on hand for next year, but have not perused it yet.

 

Yes, these are small issues and can easily be "tweaked", but it's still bothering me.

[gratitude]

We only used HOD for 3 weeks this fall so I did decide to delete my post due to the short length of time I used it. It is a lovely program, but not exactly what I want for this current season of home schooling. I think her upper guides would be better than her lower, but I don't know that for sure; it is an assumption based on short usage.

 

We are very happy this fall trying other things.

Edited January 3, 2012 by gratitude

[abrightmom]

We simply found ourselves not fitting into the boxes, not able to combine, struggling with the science, etc. Every thing was too highly structured and scheduled for me in this season of life. My son needs more content, more explicit writing instruction, etc. but he needed to be in a "lower" guide for other reasons. I realized very quickly that my kid doesn't fit so neatly into "boxes". If he DID fit then perhaps we would have loved it. Oh, how I wanted to love HOD! I do love it on paper but the 3 or 4 times I've "tried again" we stopped it after a couple of weeks. Sigh.....

 

I want to enjoy the reading and allow discussion to happen naturally. Every activity has a skill based follow up. The skill integration was appealing to me but quickly became a noose. There was more structure than I want right now. We are reconsidering HOD for the fall after ironing out other wrinkles. I just needed to walk away from it for this season due to so many struggles.

 

HOD is lovely, Carrie is amazing, and we may try HOD in the future but it isn't working now. I finally, after months of struggle, set it down.

Edited January 5, 2012 by abrightmom
previous poster wanted to delete her post so I modified mine :)

[jenni33]

Thanks for your reply. I am still pretty sure I am going to go with it. We need something that is more highly structured as I am not very good at planning. I also really love the whole "boxes" idea so I think that may work for us. I already know that if the questions appear to be too much for my dd, I will simply initiate discussion instead of trying to complete a certain list of questions.

I am very excited about trying it, mostly because it encourages more CM methods, and because it's completely planned out for me.

[Chelli]

Thanks for your reply. I am still pretty sure I am going to go with it. We need something that is more highly structured as I am not very good at planning. I also really love the whole "boxes" idea so I think that may work for us. I already know that if the questions appear to be too much for my dd, I will simply initiate discussion instead of trying to complete a certain list of questions.

I am very excited about trying it, mostly because it encourages more CM methods, and because it's completely planned out for me.

 

:iagree:That is why I went with HOD to start with and so far I haven't been disappointed. The poetry study itself is something I would never get to on my own!

 

This is what I do with HOD. The night before I look over the questions in the Bible portion so I know what they are trying to get across. The next day when dd and I are doing that part, I just ask things in my own way. I've actually been really amazed at the insight dd has gotten from the Bible study.

 

Anytime it asks for you to have your child narrate from their history or science reading, I just have dd tell me something she remembers. Sometimes it's a lot, sometimes not so much.

 

I don't do any of the questions or stuff in the Storytime box. When we change genres of books we talk about what a biography/adventure/fantasy, etc. are, but that's it. Then when dd is reading a book on her own we talk about which category it would fall into and why.

[abrightmom]

Thanks for your reply. I am still pretty sure I am going to go with it. We need something that is more highly structured as I am not very good at planning. I also really love the whole "boxes" idea so I think that may work for us. I already know that if the questions appear to be too much for my dd, I will simply initiate discussion instead of trying to complete a certain list of questions.

I am very excited about trying it, mostly because it encourages more CM methods, and because it's completely planned out for me.

 

:001_smile::001_smile: Oh, I think you should definitely go for it! If HOD clicks for you it's going to be awesome!!

[krismoose]

:001_smile::001_smile: Oh, I think you should definitely go for it! If HOD clicks for you it's going to be awesome!!

 

:iagree: Have fun! We loved Little Hearts for ds, as well as Little Hands for my dd. This year Beyond is not working, but I'm still hoping that Bigger Hearts (history & Bible, at least) will work next year. :D

[jenni33]

thanks for your replies here. I have been able to do a lot of research about HOD and am pretty sure I am going with it. There are lot of posts on here and some other forums as well that have been helpful.

Thanks!