Guest rolltide Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I am having a hard time deciding whether to use Heart of Dakota or Tapestry of Grace. If I use HOD, I would use Revival to Revolution, and if I use TOG, I think I would start at year 2 unit 3. My two boys finished the Story of the World volume 2 about the Middle Ages, so we wanted to move to the next time period. They will be doing Science and IEW at a tutorial. Which curriculum do you prefer? Has anyone used the Revival to Revolution in HOD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemy9kids Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahv Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 *I* think the beauty of HOD lies in the fact that it is all laid out for you. If you are using it only for history, then TOG wins in my book. The great thing about TOG is that there is always MORE than enough info/options/resources provided. We like to dig deeper and deeper in topics that interest us. I didn't feel like we could do that with HOD. I have only used part of Beyond, but I do not get the feeling that it gets any better in the older guides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rolltide Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Thank you for your input! Another thing I noticed between the two is that it looks like most of the books needed for HOD cannot be found at the library whereas a lot of the books needed for TOG can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I agree with pp - if you have other subjects covered elsewhere, there's less of HOD to use. I would also consider... how much do you like having set plans (HOD) vs. choices (TOG)? Do you like history to be more "spine-driven" or more "topic-driven" ? Do you like to do a lot of tweaking? or would you rather have an IG you can "open and go." Are you a box-checker? or Can you handle having more options than you can possibly complete and say no to some of them? These are some of the things I would ask myself as I weigh the two choices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I agree with pp - if you have other subjects covered elsewhere, there's less of HOD to use. I would also consider... how much do you like having set plans (HOD) vs. choices (TOG)? Do you like history to be more "spine-driven" or more "topic-driven" ? Do you like to do a lot of tweaking? or would you rather have an IG you can "open and go." Are you a box-checker? or Can you handle having more options than you can possibly complete and say no to some of them? These are some of the things I would ask myself as I weigh the two choices. These are things to truly consider. I did my own planning, pulling together, history/lit program for years with my oldest. When my youngest entered 1st grade I found I wanted, desired, needed something laid out for me that I could just open and do. I didn't want to scour for bargains. I didn't want to try to plan interlibrary loans. I didn't want to tweak and twist and make it work. I was weary and needed someone else to do the work. I switched to HOD. It was truly a breath of fresh air. I loved having all the books waiting on the shelf. I loved knowing what to do from day to day. We've now finished Little Hearts and Beyond Little Hearts and will start Bigger next month. I love that it's all there for me. I can still add more if I want, I can still use my prefered math and spelling, I still get all I need from it. I pray I can always afford to use it and that it continues to work as well as it has been. Knowing what you want from the program (HOD, TOG or other) will determine what is best for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) One other thing, you don't mention your children's ages. HOD is 100% skill based. You wouldn't use R2R unless they place there. With HOD, it's not about the time period. ETA: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php Edited July 19, 2012 by raceNzanesmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rolltide Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 My boys are 9 and 11. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LivingHope Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I haven't used HOD guides, but we read many of the books from the HOD modern times list this year. I vote HOD because the books are excellent. From what I have seen in the samples, HOD loosely assigns the skill level books (math and grammar) by puttting "complete a lesson from your math/grammar text"...so you could use the math and grammar boxes with post it notes and write in your boys' personalized lessons while keeping them together in the HOD guide. I like to add books from Beautiful Feet, Ambleside, Sonlight, and Simply Charlotte Mason...HOD seems to blend my favorite books nicely into one package. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Revival to Revolution is for 11-13 year olds. I can't imagine it being a good fit to combine a 9 and 11 year old. We have used HOD for two years now and we love it, but you really do need to place your dc based on skills and not history cycles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 We use both around here. TOG and HOD. Ironically, I use HOD for everything BUT history right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Revival to Revolution is for 11-13 year olds. I can't imagine it being a good fit to combine a 9 and 11 year old. We have used HOD for two years now and we love it, but you really do need to place your dc based on skills and not history cycles. I agree. I think it would be a stretch for an average 11 y/o. No way would I move a 9 y/o into it. My ds won't have even finished Bigger when he turns 9. If you just want the history as a book list for reading together and studying, then it might be fine. The amount of scheduled work, however, I can't see a 9 y/o doing. hth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rolltide Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I will be using Rod & Staff 4, Teaching Textbook Math 5, and All About Spelling with my 9 year old. My 11 year old will be using Rod & Staff 6 and Teaching Textbook Math 7. I like the book list and the student notebook pages in Heart of Dakota. With my 9year old, if the independent reading books are too hard, I will substitute those for books that are for his level or read some of them aloud to my 9 year old. I like the book list, and I especially like the student notebook pages in Heart of Dakota, but on the other hand, I really like the notes in the Tapestry of Grace teacher's guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 (edited) I'm sorry, but HOD just hurts my eyeballs. I'd have to go with TOG. ETA: It hurts my eyes because it is stilted and unnatural in its tone. It's way too scripted. There aren't enough choices for activities (well, NO choices, as far as I can tell. I like options). It looks like a public school classroom that is "writing across the curriculum." Edited July 28, 2012 by Ellie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 I'm sorry, but HOD just hurts my eyeballs. I'd have to go with TOG. ETA: It hurts my eyes because it is stilted and unnatural in its tone. It's way too scripted. There aren't enough choices for activities (well, NO choices, as far as I can tell. I like options). It looks like a public school classroom that is "writing across the curriculum." ouch :tongue_smilie: HOD has bee a blessing to our homeschool. Love it here. i think CTC would be to much for a 9 & 11 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjneary99 Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 I did TOG year one. I felt it was too demanding on my planning(and I taught professionally for years). I did not find the books easily and they were very costly. I did not care for the writing. There were some good projects, but again, too much pulling together to suit us. The lapbooks were good, but there are only so many of those we want to do in a year. It didn't feel cohesive to me...just too much here and there. I found the notes fine, but I prefer not to use them and didn't love the worksheets. I love that living books were used and overall, the material is good; however, I wanted more of a heart emphasis as well. We switched to HOD and I much prefer it. You can go deeper as much as you like--read more books do more research, take an extra week to cover something in more detail. I love the Christ centered approach--it isn't an add on, it is woven throughout. We have great discussions and conversations about the books we read for every subject--we have grown as a family and enjoy the time together. TOG tired us all out and felt too impersonal to us. HOD has lots of fun activities, engaging books, and my kids love it. I am also grateful that my time outside of school isn't spent thinking about lesson plans, pulling things together etc...instead my brain can relax and we can enjoy one another. TOG just did not fit any of us very well. BUt it is a great fit for a lot of people and does have a lot of pros. Sometimes it is just dependent on personality. Hope you find the perfect fir for your family whatever it may be. My experience works for us, but it may not for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbeygurl4 Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 (edited) I'm sorry, but HOD just hurts my eyeballs. I'd have to go with TOG. ETA: It hurts my eyes because it is stilted and unnatural in its tone. It's way too scripted. There aren't enough choices for activities (well, NO choices, as far as I can tell. I like options). It looks like a public school classroom that is "writing across the curriculum." :iagree: I think that you are either an HOD kinda person or you aren't. I tried 3 times until I realized that in no way, shape or form are we HOD people. Edited October 6, 2012 by Abbeygurl4 forgot a comma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordFamily Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 We just finished a year of HOD Rev. to Rev. It was excellent! My fourteen year old LOVED it. I love the idea of TOG and I have used it in the past...I love the books and I love that it is laid out for you. The reason I didn't use it this year was price. (I do not want to use the library) The books are a little more gentle than tog as you get older. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions PM me:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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