aprilsblessings Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I am breaking up my questions from my previous post Overview of World History + Geography... I like Heart of Dakota's Preparing Hearts but the ages of my kids aren't in their "range". It will be for a 2nd grader 7/8 year old, 1st grader 6/7 year old, and then 4K. Has anyone used PHFHG specifically for the history/bible? Would it be worth it with the ages or would it be too much? Has anyone had experience using the guide they want for the history readings not using the age/skills range? I don't expect to use the whole guide but wonder if it would be nice to use for the pages listed to read for history and science. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sew happily ever after Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 If you are not intending to use future guides from HOD or If you aren't so concerned about your Children developing the narration skills required in preparing then I think you could use it just as a reading list and bible study. Instead of doing anything independent you would just read it to them and perhaps do things orally or adjust the assignment so the younger ones can do it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morningcoffee Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I guess you could, but the beauty of HOD is that it integrates history and science so well with the language arts. I credit our year with Preparing with helping us make the transition from oral narrations to written narrations. So I think it would be a waste to buy the manual and just use it as a reading schedule. But I guess you could look at the books they are using and just buy those to read through. But my suggestion is to wait until your dc are just a little older and use Preparing more in its entirety. But then I am biased because I love Preparing! Have you looked at Sonlight? Maybe Core A? All the best with whatever you decide :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalmiBorn Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I would look at Little Hearts. I think that is the one that uses Little Pilgrims. Its a world history overview from Creation to Early America in a very simplified way. You could just use it as a guide to create a year of study but would be easier to do with little ones. CHOW which is scheduled in Preparing would be a tough for the two younger ones to enjoy. Little Pilgrims is very religious and may not appeal to you, its not my favorite but I usually can do my own edits on the fly :). We are enjoying Beyond this year in addition to SOTW2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aprilsblessings Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 We did Little Hearts with my oldest two last year and have enjoyed some of the rhymes and continue to read the bible story book with my younger ones this year. (We have been doing Elemental History this year after BLHFHG didn't end up working, mainly for me. For some reason the boxes overwhelm me when I already feel like a ping pong ball bouncing between kids. :001_smile: ) I love the idea and look of HOD but I have a really hard time implementing it with the size of my family and not being perfectly placed. I really want to try to include everyone in the content subjects and then meet everyone on their own level for skills subjects. So I wasn't planning on using HOD with my group but now really wanting to do an overview (much more in depth than LHFHG) I like their main history and read-alouds that they use. For you ladies who have used Preparing how difficult are the topics in the read-alouds? I don't expect even my oldest to remember everything that we have read but I want to introduce them to different times in history, pyramids, knights & castles, etc. My kids love reading and have been enjoying chapter books with even the 3 year old giving a brief narration, which shocks me what he is picking up. Mainly I just want to give them lots of new information in story form using great literature and a few hands-on things when we can fit them in. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morningcoffee Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 We did Little Hearts with my oldest two last year and have enjoyed some of the rhymes and continue to read the bible story book with my younger ones this year. (We have been doing Elemental History this year after BLHFHG didn't end up working, mainly for me. For some reason the boxes overwhelm me when I already feel like a ping pong ball bouncing between kids. :001_smile: ) I love the idea and look of HOD but I have a really hard time implementing it with the size of my family and not being perfectly placed. I really want to try to include everyone in the content subjects and then meet everyone on their own level for skills subjects. So I wasn't planning on using HOD with my group but now really wanting to do an overview (much more in depth than LHFHG) I like their main history and read-alouds that they use. For you ladies who have used Preparing how difficult are the topics in the read-alouds? I don't expect even my oldest to remember everything that we have read but I want to introduce them to different times in history, pyramids, knights & castles, etc. My kids love reading and have been enjoying chapter books with even the 3 year old giving a brief narration, which shocks me what he is picking up. Mainly I just want to give them lots of new information in story form using great literature and a few hands-on things when we can fit them in. :) Although I think some larger families run several HOD guides at once or combine children beyond the recommended age ranges, I absolutely agree that it would be very hard to use HOD as written with five kids. I think your older two would be ok with the books as read alouds. You may find Grandpa's Box a bit of a stretch as far as your dc truly grasping its overall theme (ie. God's plan of redemption) but it a wonderful book and worth purchasing even if you put it aside for later. Hope others can add their thoughts too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 We are following Preparing's history schedule this year. My 8 and 9 yr olds are actively involved with the oral and written narrations that go along with the history readings. My 4 yr old is usually listening in too, but isn't terribly interested. :laugh: I also read the independent history section out loud to them as I know my 8 yr old wouldn't take it in on his own. My 9 yr old reads the storytime selections on his own. We have yet to do any of the history activities as it's not our thing. We are doing the timeline/notebooking though. We have done and will do a few of the science selections, such as the dinosaur book, but I much prefer Ken Ham's Dinosaur book. I also have other reading selections on hand that fit in with each time period. For example, when reading about ancient Egypt my 8 yr old read Tut's Mummy: Lost & Found, while my 9 yr old read David Macaulay's Pyramid. I've used HoD for the past 3-4 years, but just don't have the desire to use each guide "as is" anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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