keyjoh62080 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Maybe I just need to stay off the boards? I am using HOD this year and plan on using it for the long haul (I really hope so). I really NEED for this to work. Sorry! Just thinking out loud and realizing that I need to quit visiting so many different boards.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Well we love it so far for the most part, and have no plans to change curriculum.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Read the 27 reasons not to purchase HOD and that should be a good start if you want to see the negatives people have mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Read the 27 reasons not to purchase HOD and that should be a good start if you want to see the negatives people have mentioned. ..or she should really just take her own advice and stay off the boards. That is probably the better idea. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotsofpumpkins Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Read the 27 reasons not to purchase HOD and that should be a good start if you want to see the negatives people have mentioned. :iagree: We really like HOD, but we won't be using it next year. For one, dh and I don't love the increasing price tag as you move up through the guides. There are less expensive options. Also, I'm finding that I do want to keep my dc combined for content subjects, and it's hard to do that with HOD since the age ranges are smaller. If I had a smaller family with more space between the dc, plus a larger budget, then I'd probably stick with HOD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 :iagree: For one, dh and I don't love the increasing price tag as you move up through the guides. This is probably the biggest downside that I have with it right now. As the guides go higher you are running close to $1000 for one guide by the time you get everything in your cart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaHappy Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 (edited) Maybe I just need to stay off the boards? I am using HOD this year and plan on using it for the long haul (I really hope so). I really NEED for this to work. Sorry! Just thinking out loud and realizing that I need to quit visiting so many different boards.:D I agree, you should read the 27 Reasons...thread. But are you sure you really want to go there? :) As with any curriculum, you will find people who love it and people who don't. :) I'm a HOD dropout btw. I used it for 3 years and was so sure we were in it for the long haul. I dropped it finally about a month ago and haven't looked back. :) Edited January 25, 2012 by MamaHappy Typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaHappy Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 This is probably the biggest downside that I have with it right now. As the guides go higher you are running close to $1000 for one guide by the time you get everything in your cart. Yeah, but if you are re-using the guides for your younger kids, the cost isn't too bad, IMO. One of the nice things about HOD is that there are very few consumables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwickimom Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 The not being able to combine!!!! Also, IMO too much independence if your kids are on the younger year in the guides. I really dont like independent Science grades 4 and up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Personally I think if you've found something that works for you and your family, stick with it. It doesn't matter if it doesn't work for others. Homeschooling is about doing what is right for you and yours, not the person around the corner. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Yeah, but if you are re-using the guides for your younger kids, the cost isn't too bad, IMO. One of the nice things about HOD is that there are very few consumables. That is my hope, but that thought isn't very helpful when I am coming up with the $1000+ each year b/c each year my dd's are in a new higher guide. Since we didn't start from the beginning, I am also buying a package for my middle son each year until he gets to CTC which really makes the next 3 years homeschool budget $1200+. That is steep compared to some of the other "combining" programs. I have 3 kids that are very close in age. They were born 2000, 2001, and 2002 yet I have only just been able to combine the oldest 2 this year in HOD. There will never be a time that I am not running 3 guides which means our homeschool budget will remain $1000+ each year. So I guess the other thing that I don't love is that even though my first 3 kids are only 27 months apart from oldest to youngest....we still have to separate them in guides. And since my youngest is 4 years behind the youngest of them there is no hope that he will ever combine with anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Maybe I just need to stay off the boards? I am using HOD this year and plan on using it for the long haul (I really hope so). I really NEED for this to work. Sorry! Just thinking out loud and realizing that I need to quit visiting so many different boards.:D If you are using it currently and you like it and it's working for you, DO NOT SWITCH. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. If the time comes that it stops working for you, there's plenty of stuff for you to choose from and plenty of ladies here who will help you find it. Your kids will not be harmed in any way if you decide to switch to Sonlight or MFW or whatever in a couple of years. Don't by into the myth that you have to start at the beginning of something so that you don't miss anything. Everybody misses something. Most of us miss a lot of things. Keep forging ahead, and enjoy the ride. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. DO NOT SWITCH. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Personally I think if you've found something that works for you and your family, stick with it. It doesn't matter if it doesn't work for others. Homeschooling is about doing what is right for you and yours, not the person around the corner. ;) :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 If you are using it currently and you like it and it's working for you, DO NOT SWITCH. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. If the time comes that it stops working for you, there's plenty of stuff for you to choose from and plenty of ladies here who will help you find it. Your kids will not be harmed in any way if you decide to switch to Sonlight or MFW or whatever in a couple of years. Don't by into the myth that you have to start at the beginning of something so that you don't miss anything. Everybody misses something. Most of us miss a lot of things. Keep forging ahead, and enjoy the ride. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. DO NOT SWITCH. :D :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnointedHsMom Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 What she said! :lol: I completely agree! If you are using it currently and you like it and it's working for you, DO NOT SWITCH. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. If the time comes that it stops working for you, there's plenty of stuff for you to choose from and plenty of ladies here who will help you find it. Your kids will not be harmed in any way if you decide to switch to Sonlight or MFW or whatever in a couple of years. Don't by into the myth that you have to start at the beginning of something so that you don't miss anything. Everybody misses something. Most of us miss a lot of things. Keep forging ahead, and enjoy the ride. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. DO NOT SWITCH. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I used it for 3 years and was so sure we were in it for the long haul. I dropped it finally about a month ago and haven't looked back. :) 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaddon Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 The not being able to combine!!!! Also, IMO too much independence if your kids are on the younger year in the guides. I really dont like independent Science grades 4 and up. Yes this. If I only had one or two close in age would be great. I'm just not on top of it enough to run that many guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaHappy Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 That is my hope, but that thought isn't very helpful when I am coming up with the $1000+ each year b/c each year my dd's are in a new higher guide. Since we didn't start from the beginning, I am also buying a package for my middle son each year until he gets to CTC which really makes the next 3 years homeschool budget $1200+. That is steep compared to some of the other "combining" programs. I have 3 kids that are very close in age. They were born 2000, 2001, and 2002 yet I have only just been able to combine the oldest 2 this year in HOD. There will never be a time that I am not running 3 guides which means our homeschool budget will remain $1000+ each year. So I guess the other thing that I don't love is that even though my first 3 kids are only 27 months apart from oldest to youngest....we still have to separate them in guides. And since my youngest is 4 years behind the youngest of them there is no hope that he will ever combine with anyone. Yeah, you are right, it can get so expensive. I guess I was thinking about it with the situation of using the guides from the beginning so you'd only need to buy one package each year. But if you are having to buy more than one package at at time, then yeah, that is really expensive. I personally wouldn't want to spend that much either. :) Other programs, like MFW, seem much less expensive to me. Maybe that's because you are using the library more, whereas with HOD you are buying all of the books. And FWIW, I cannot imagine running 3 guides. I *really* admire those who are able to pull that off. :) I started out this year running two guides (Bigger and Little Hearts) and it nearly did me in, lol. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewel7123 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 This is probably the biggest downside that I have with it right now. As the guides go higher you are running close to $1000 for one guide by the time you get everything in your cart. Yep, which is why I will try my hardest to purchase used. It's even harder to swallow considering the dramatic hike they have taken in their prices since I used LHTH and LHFHG just 1-2 years ago. Yikes. I will DEFINITELY purchase used everything I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyjoh62080 Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 This is probably the biggest downside that I have with it right now. As the guides go higher you are running close to $1000 for one guide by the time you get everything in your cart. $1000????:001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molly Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 $1000????:001_huh: What price do you put on a good education? I am in the boat of having to buy three guides a year this year, and next year, and then two for a year before I only have to buy one a year. Not worried at all, and have to pay more as we live in NZ. I figure since it such a good fit for us, we will pay what we have to, we will sacrifice other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyjoh62080 Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 WOW!! Thanks ladies. Your posts have made me feel a lot better. :lol: Seeing how expensive it could be in the upper grades has me a little nervous. I have 3 children and I am combining my 6 & 8 year olds and plan on it for as long as I can. This means that I will only have to buy 1 guide each year since my little can reuse the others. He's only 3 so I have plenty of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaHappy Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 If you are using it currently and you like it and it's working for you, DO NOT SWITCH. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. If the time comes that it stops working for you, there's plenty of stuff for you to choose from and plenty of ladies here who will help you find it. Your kids will not be harmed in any way if you decide to switch to Sonlight or MFW or whatever in a couple of years. Don't by into the myth that you have to start at the beginning of something so that you don't miss anything. Everybody misses something. Most of us miss a lot of things. Keep forging ahead, and enjoy the ride. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. DO NOT SWITCH. :D I completely agree! :iagree::iagree::iagree: 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? LOL! Well, I didn't switch to another boxed curriculum. For my older son who was doing Bigger, I kept the Singapore Math, dictation, and the R&S English. We still read the storytime books as read-alouds. I added R&S Science for him and Abeka Art. I also am reading the Bigger history books to him aloud so he can still have some history this year. For my younger ds(6) who was doing Little Hearts, the problem was that I started doing R&S Grade 1 Reading/Phonics and CLE Grade 1 Math with him and those are pretty teacher-intensive and full by themselves. It just feels like too much overlap to add other stuff from Little Hearts. I think I'm gonna stay away from all-in-one curriculums at least for awhile. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnointedHsMom Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 $1000????:001_huh: Yeah the $ is higher than what I might spend on something else but I LOOOOVVVVVEEEEE it so much and it's exactly the kind of education I want for my boys so truthfully I'll scrap and eat PB&J for a while to afford it. Right now my cart is $726 and that includes both boys stuff but I'm at $1200 total for the year with the other stuff I've buying in addition to HOD. I spent $1500 last year on BJU DL for both boys so it evens out for me. If I'd continued with BJU DL for both boys this year it would have been a $2000 price tag so $726 is looking sweet to me right ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Don't fix what ain't broke. :D Something I just have to tell myself almost every year. I suffer (chronically) from the "grass is greener" syndrome, abbreviated GGS. :D I wonder every year if there is that highly sought after but extremely elusive "perfect curriculum"...somewhere out there. But I know deep down such a curriculum doesn't exist. So I settle for what works...what gets done...and keep moving forward knowing that there will always be something my dc will "miss" (blasted holes!). If HOD works, don't switch. Why do I use HOD? I could use MFW or something similar and COMBINE like many have suggested. But I remind myself that I tried that. It didn't work quite as well as many think it will. I either "lose" the youngers or bore the olders to tears. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong...but I could never figure out how to successfully combine. It is difficult and exhausting sometimes running 3 guides, keeping an eye on my high schooler and spending enough quality time with my PreKer. But as I said in a previous thread...I don't think that any curriculum will ever change that. Homeschooling 7 kids is exhuasting...period. Somebody mentioned cost. Yep. HOD guides get more expensive as you progress. There's a lot more to a program like RtR than say LHFHG. But as somebody else said, if you have littles following your olders, you will be re-using the guides. I have every guide I will need for my youngers (except CtC) and only have to buy for my olders. I try to buy used. I know it takes away from HOD sales but I have to do what I have to do. I'm also buying high school curriculum. THAT is expensive. :D Anyway, I don't LOVE everything about HOD (in fact I do not care for LHFHG at all), but it gets done! And that's important. My boys don't LOVE every activity or completing the notebooks...but it is what it is. They would find something to hate about just about any program out there. They are teenagers. :D I've found that I have to do what works for ME first. If that sounds selfish and like I'm not "sacrificing" enough..so be it. If it doesn't work for ME, school won't get done. And then everybody loses. Make sense? I can't tell you whether or not to stick with HOD, but I will tell you to stick with what works. Don't make the mistake of coveting the elusive "perfect curriculum" (i.e. the one that you don't have but somebody else does!). B/c once you finally own it...it ceases to be perfect. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling6 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 The way I see it, is it's less then private school, plus we get to keep all the books:D. If I switch Annette next year it will be $564.78+. Compared to Bob Jones (still not sure which route to go with her) that is cheap. Also my next set of boys will use it and all I'd need to purchase are the consumables. For Caleb and Brent who will use CtC the cost will be around $447.00+. My last two boys will be in Bigger but I have found almost all of it used. My oldest will use BJ for 9th grade with dvds :001_huh:. I'm thinking of purchasing HOD gift certificates every month so it won't seem like a big chunk at one time. Another option would start finding the books used now and only purchase the HOD exclusives. Buy a little from Amazon throughout the year. So, yes, it's expensive but worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 If you are using it currently and you like it and it's working for you, DO NOT SWITCH. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. If the time comes that it stops working for you, there's plenty of stuff for you to choose from and plenty of ladies here who will help you find it. Your kids will not be harmed in any way if you decide to switch to Sonlight or MFW or whatever in a couple of years. Don't by into the myth that you have to start at the beginning of something so that you don't miss anything. Everybody misses something. Most of us miss a lot of things. Keep forging ahead, and enjoy the ride. I repeat. DO NOT SWITCH. DO NOT SWITCH. :D Okay....We are burning out. So we'll tweak. Not switch. Thanks for the smack upside the head.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 That is actually a good idea...buying ahead or in "pieces" through Amazon. AND, if you use Swagbucks as your search engine, you can earn Amazon gift cards. ($5 gc for every 450 swagbucks earned). I also have my local homeschool bookstore owner keep an eye out for books I may need. AND, this will sound horrible, but I take advantage of the "grass is greener" symdromed people and purchase their HOD used! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 That is actually a good idea...buying ahead or in "pieces" through Amazon. AND, if you use Swagbucks as your search engine, you can earn Amazon gift cards. ($5 gc for every 450 swagbucks earned). I also have my local homeschool bookstore owner keep an eye out for books I may need. AND, this will sound horrible, but I take advantage of the "grass is greener" symdromed people and purchase their HOD used! :tongue_smilie: This is what I do. I also use Paperbackswap.com and scour used book stores, library sales, forums, etc. I have given thought to switching because I worry about eventually running 3 guides later on, but for now we're going to stick with what works. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Okay....We are burning out. So we'll tweak. Not switch. Thanks for the smack upside the head.:tongue_smilie: I didn't mean to give a virtual smack. I promise. We burned out too. Big time. I'm not going to put all the blame on HOD. I added a few things to it. I was running 3 guides (plus the pre-school guide) My oldest started highschool (homeschool) and that was throwing me for a loop. Plus random personal junk going on in my life all adds up to Burn Out. :D I decided to do less but do it better. We do the 3 R's, and a low-key history and science. I purchased nothing, but used what I already had or what I could get at the library. We are all happier now. I do not regret trying HOD. I was so infatuated I was not going to be settled on the idea until I had given it a try. I really had talked myself into HOD being the end all. I bought almost everything used and sold everything except the notebook pages. So in the end, it was not a very costly experiment. For those trying to put together a used HOD, I had very great success with half.com. They will discount your shipping if you buy from the same buyer. I could easily find 3 or 4 books from one of the larger sellers and 3 or 4 more from another. That sure beats amazon's 3.99 flat rate. Check addall.com too. I ended up with a beautiful science book for Bigger (one of the pricier ones) one for about $3. Some company was having free shipping that week and I just stumbled on it at the right time. It was not a bookseller I typically used so I never would have looked there if it weren't for addall My 4yo is still using Little Hands. She so adores the finger plays that teach the sounds of the alphabet. Her enthusiasm for it makes Little Hands one of my all time best homeschool purchases. Of course, if I'd tried it with my oldest son, he probably would have thought it was dorky and I would not have such a high opinion of it. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Personally I think if you've found something that works for you and your family, stick with it. It doesn't matter if it doesn't work for others. Homeschooling is about doing what is right for you and yours, not the person around the corner. ;) :iagree: Don't look for what is wrong with a curriculum that works for your family!!!!! If it stops working for your family, then change. Otherwise, breathe a sigh of relief that you don't have to search for curricula every.single.year! The grass always looks greener, but if you love what you are using, just keep using it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyjoh62080 Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 AND, this will sound horrible, but I take advantage of the "grass is greener" symdromed people and purchase their HOD used! :tongue_smilie: This made me chuckle. Great idea though! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.