Anybody used Heart of Dakota (BLHFHG) only for the emerging readers and read-alouds?

[LynnG in Arizona]

I've wanted to like HOD, looked at the samples extensively (and even bought LHTH), and found that it was really, really not my style. The layout of the pages (2 per day) drives me crazy. I'm not a huge fan of spending so many years in a row on early American history. Don't like the science. Etc.

 

I used Sonlight for many, many years and probably prefer the simple grid layout style. On the other hand, I'm not ready to return to the heavy, heavy emphasis on read alouds in Sonlight.

 

However . . . I am temped to use HOD's Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory primarily to get the schedule (and questions) for their Emerging Readers and classic read alouds. I think the book choices for both are excellent. And while I could certainly schedule all the books out myself, well, I'd love the convenience of following a schedule.

 

This is primarily for my daughter. She's currently in 1st grade but is young (turning 7 in late October). We've being doing McRuffy Phonics Grade 1 with her (almost finished, in fact), and I think she's an emerging reader or a little past that point. I just pulled out a Frog and Toad book, and I think she can comfortably read that level - but not much past that. She's definitely not reading full on chapter books yet.

 

I've enjoyed McRuffy, but I think we're ready to move on to "real" books, and I would like just a bit of hand holding as to how to progress with reading for the next year.

 

Next year I'll have a young Kindergarten student (boy turning 5 in July) and then a young 2nd grader (girl turning 7 in October, as I said). Do you all think the read alouds from HOD's Beyond (Charlotte's Web, Little House in the Big Woods, King of the Wind, etc.) would be a good fit?

 

Sorry to ramble . . .just need some input from others who might have done the same thing. :)

Edited March 9, 2012 by LynnG in Hawaii

[edeemarie]

We are using HOD emerging readers this year and doing HOD Bigger. Next year we will be moving to MFW, but I am planning on keeping the readers and using them for my younger children. I don't really use the questions for the readers because I can come up with my own, but I do use them in the order they use because I think they are done in such a way to be challenging, but not overwhelming.

[LynnG in Arizona]

We are using HOD emerging readers this year and doing HOD Bigger. Next year we will be moving to MFW, but I am planning on keeping the readers and using them for my younger children. I don't really use the questions for the readers because I can come up with my own, but I do use them in the order they use because I think they are done in such a way to be challenging, but not overwhelming.

 

Thank you very much!

 

Any other input out there . . . ? :)

[MamaHappy]

So you're wanting to get the Beyond guide just for the read-aloud shedule and the emerging reader schedule/questions?? Hmmm...I'm not sure it's worth it. Well, maybe if you can find a used guide for super cheap. You definitely don't need it for the schedule, it would be so easy to schedule the books yourself. You can figure out the order of the emerging readers from the catalog.

 

As far as the questions, I liked the questions for the emerging readers. There were about three questions per day and they were easy for my ds to answer. But I personally didn't care for the questions and activities for the read-alouds. They were too open-ended for me, I like things to be more concrete. Keep in mind that the discussion questions and activities for the read-alouds are not tied to specific books so they are very open-ended.

[LynnG in Arizona]

So you're wanting to get the Beyond guide just for the read-aloud shedule and the emerging reader schedule/questions?? Hmmm...I'm not sure it's worth it. Well, maybe if you can find a used guide for super cheap. You definitely don't need it for the schedule, it would be so easy to schedule the books yourself. You can figure out the order of the emerging readers from the catalog.

 

As far as the questions, I liked the questions for the emerging readers. There were about three questions per day and they were easy for my ds to answer. But I personally didn't care for the questions and activities for the read-alouds. They were too open-ended for me, I like things to be more concrete. Keep in mind that the discussion questions and activities for the read-alouds are not tied to specific books so they are very open-ended.

 

Sara, thanks for the input.

 

Yes, I know I could schedule them myself . . . but I'd prefer not to. ;)

 

And if the schedule is good/well thought out, and the questions are nicely done as well, then it actually would be worth it to me.

 

I guess I'm asking more about the quality of the emerging reader and read aloud schedules in Beyond, not the perceived "value" of buying the Beyond guide primarily to get these schedules. Does that make sense? :)

 

Ok, I didn't realize that there are no discussion questions specific to the read alouds. Again, something I could easily do myself, but sometimes it's just nice to have things already laid out for you.

 

Thanks again!

[MamaHappy]

Sara, thanks for the input.

 

Yes, I know I could schedule them myself . . . but I'd prefer not to. ;)

 

And if the schedule is good/well thought out, and the questions are nicely done as well, then it actually would be worth it to me.

 

I guess I'm asking more about the quality of the emerging reader and read aloud schedules in Beyond, not the perceived "value" of buying the Beyond guide primarily to get these schedules. Does that make sense? :)

 

Ok, I didn't realize that there are no discussion questions specific to the read alouds. Again, something I could easily do myself, but sometimes it's just nice to have things already laid out for you.

 

Thanks again!

 

Okay, I get it. :)

 

The schedule for the read-alouds is very loose because it is not tied to specific books. The guide will say "choose at least one biography to read over the next 20 days." HOD does sell book packs for read-alouds, but these are just suggestions. You can use whatever books you want. This is why the discussion questions and activities are not for specific books. There were many times when I felt the questions were very difficult to apply to the book we were reading.

 

Now the schedule for the emerging reader is more specific since it's tied to specific books. It will tell what pages in the book to have your child read each day and the questions are for that specific reading, which I really liked.

 

I hope that makes more sense! :)

[jer2911mom]

The Emerging Readers in HOD are very similar to the Sonlight Readers 2. It might be that it would be cheaper to buy the SL guide instead if you are looking for a schedule. I am using both the SL guide and the Beyond guide for the first Emerging Reader, The Beginner's Bible, to compare the two. Sonlight provides mostly comprehension questions with answers, mapwork, and timeline work. It sometimes gives background information and definitions. The Heart of Dakota ER questions are often higher-level questions and Carrie lists in parentheses where they fall in Bloom's Taxonomy. Since they are higher-level questions, however, they don't have any answers provided. It forces you as the teacher to pay closer attention to what the child is reading. It has been interesting to see that there isn't a lot of overlap between the ER and SL questions. I see a benefit to each, though.

 

Regarding the read-alouds, I don't know how helpful it would be to have the Beyond guide since you would have to schedule those yourself anyway. I like the flexibility of being able to read how much we want and then make the number of pages work out toward the end. But, it is kind of a pain to have to figure out pages. The questions are generic and like the pp said, sometimes they don't necessarily apply. You would get the character traits part, which is good, but since the Storytime section is so generic I'm not sure you'd get out of it what you are hoping for. Also, we have done Helen Keller, Benjamin West, A Lion to Guard Us, and are now doing King of the Wind. I'm not sure if your 5 year old will get a lot out of them or not. King of the Wind in particular has hard vocabulary and I find myself explaining a lot of things to my dd7 and having to keep the dictionary handy. These books are good, but I don't know if they would work for both of your children if that is what you are hoping for.

 

HTH,

Kathy

[LynnG in Arizona]

Okay, I get it. :)

 

The schedule for the read-alouds is very loose because it is not tied to specific books. The guide will say "choose at least one biography to read over the next 20 days." HOD does sell book packs for read-alouds, but these are just suggestions. You can use whatever books you want. This is why the discussion questions and activities are not for specific books. There were many times when I felt the questions were very difficult to apply to the book we were reading.

 

Now the schedule for the emerging reader is more specific since it's tied to specific books. It will tell what pages in the book to have your child read each day and the questions are for that specific reading, which I really liked.

 

I hope that makes more sense! :)

 

Very helpful, Sara - seriously! Thank you!! :)

[LynnG in Arizona]

The Emerging Readers in HOD are very similar to the Sonlight Readers 2. It might be that it would be cheaper to buy the SL guide instead if you are looking for a schedule. I am using both the SL guide and the Beyond guide for the first Emerging Reader, The Beginner's Bible, to compare the two. Sonlight provides mostly comprehension questions with answers, mapwork, and timeline work. It sometimes gives background information and definitions. The Heart of Dakota ER questions are often higher-level questions and Carrie lists in parentheses where they fall in Bloom's Taxonomy. Since they are higher-level questions, however, they don't have any answers provided. It forces you as the teacher to pay closer attention to what the child is reading. It has been interesting to see that there isn't a lot of overlap between the ER and SL questions. I see a benefit to each, though.

 

Regarding the read-alouds, I don't know how helpful it would be to have the Beyond guide since you would have to schedule those yourself anyway. I like the flexibility of being able to read how much we want and then make the number of pages work out toward the end. But, it is kind of a pain to have to figure out pages. The questions are generic and like the pp said, sometimes they don't necessarily apply. You would get the character traits part, which is good, but since the Storytime section is so generic I'm not sure you'd get out of it what you are hoping for. Also, we have done Helen Keller, Benjamin West, A Lion to Guard Us, and are now doing King of the Wind. I'm not sure if your 5 year old will get a lot out of them or not. King of the Wind in particular has hard vocabulary and I find myself explaining a lot of things to my dd7 and having to keep the dictionary handy. These books are good, but I don't know if they would work for both of your children if that is what you are hoping for.

 

HTH,

Kathy

 

Kathy, your input was also incredibly helpful. Thank you so much for taking the time to compare and contrast SL with HoD! :)