So does anybody NOT care for Heart of Dakota?

[LynnG in Arizona]

With the numerous raves I have heard about this program in the last few months, I am genuinely curious as to what the negatives/downsides of the program are, or why people might not have found it to be a good fit for their family.

 

I don't mean to sound negative; it's obvious that many people here on this board are thrilled with HoD. I guess I'm asking more along the lines of "27 Reasons NOT to Buy Sonlight", which for me did a great job of explaining why Sonlight (at least for some grades) was a great fit for our family.

 

I've got to be honest and admit that I keep looking at the HoD samples, and am not that impressed/excited by them. I think I'm missing something. And I just don't know anybody in person who uses the program.

 

So any input about HoD, especially the early grades,(including the constructively critical) would be greatly appreciated!

 

THanks in advance! :)

[Parrothead]

I won't use it because it isn't secular.

[LynnG in Arizona]

I won't use it because it isn't secular.

 

That makes sense. I am a Christian, but tend to prefer curricula that aren't overly pushy or heavy handed about advancing one particular denomination/doctrine.

[Elm in NJ]

I tried using it. I had Beyond and Bigger but even though I am a Christian, I prefer a secular based curriculum. I want to add in my beliefs in my own chosen Bible curriculum for my kids. It is a pretty good curriculum but it just wasn't for us.

[MIch elle]

I didn't care for the reading because it wasn't open & go and was light on the analysis, open ended discussion questions and of course NO answers. I read all the books my dc read but I wanted specific questions and answers which HOD reading can't do. I think it's best used in grades K-5. Grades 6 & up need more meat.

[Johanna]

I didn't care for the reading because it wasn't open & go and was light on the analysis, open ended discussion questions and of course NO answers. I read all the books my dc read but I wanted specific questions and answers which HOD reading can't do. I think it's best used in grades K-5. Grades 6 & up need more meat.

 

 

DITTO!! That really drove me nuts......I wanted answers too!!! However, I loved how they connected everything so it truly was like a unit study. Kids learn well with connections :-)

[Michelle My Bell]

I have NOT used this but from the samples, I won't either. It don't prefer the layout of the TM, and I am not really that fond of the resources used. I also wasn't impressed with the actual content of the lessons, shown in the samples.

 

I could be wrong though.... I guess. LOL:D

 

Michelle

[Johanna]

I will say that it definitely caters to a certain teaching style and homeschooling style, if you like a Curriculum in a box....you'll probably like it....but, if you are a tweaker it may drive you nuts!

[Mandy in TN]

I will say that it definitely caters to a certain teaching style and homeschooling style, if you like a Curriculum in a box....you'll probably like it....but, if you are a tweaker it may drive you nuts!

 

I am a tweaker and I am really looking forward to using Bigger next year. Of course, I have already gone through the manual altering it, changing it, and typing it into an Excel spreadsheet.

 

But hey, I did the same thing this year with WP AW and S&S. Prior to that I did the same thing with SL.

 

I just love my Excel!:tongue_smilie:

Mandy

[Johanna]

I am a tweaker and I am really looking forward to using Bigger next year. Of course, I have already gone through the manual altering it, changing it, and typing it into an Excel spreadsheet.

 

But hey, I did the same thing this year with WP AW and S&S. Prior to that I did the same thing with SL.

 

I just love my Excel!:tongue_smilie:

Mandy

 

 

LOL, thats awesome! and gives me encouragement as I am also a tweaker but I LOVE HOD....I really adore Carrie's focus....I can relate to her.

I tweaked Beyond.....to teach up to my dd4th. I am possibly doing Preparing next year with ds8 and dd9

[Mandy in TN]

I don't mean to sound negative; it's obvious that many people here on this board are thrilled with HoD. I guess I'm asking more along the lines of "27 Reasons NOT to Buy Sonlight", which for me did a great job of explaining why Sonlight (at least for some grades) was a great fit for our family.

 

1. Until Preparing HOD has no 4-day alternative, so if you have a co-op day you will have to figure out how to alter it on your own.

2. This program is clearly Christian. It would be difficult to make it secular. Other than the Bible study there are also Biblical references in other subject areas, so you can't purchase it and alter it easily to make it secular.

3. The science in Bigger and Preparing is living book science, but in the other years it is canned curriculum science that is scheduled out for you.

4. In the lower grades it does not follow a 4-year history cycle, so if you want to follow a 4-year history cycle then it is out.

5. It has a Charlotte Mason notebooky feel especially for history. If this doesn't appeal to you then neither will HOD.

6. It does schedule Singapore math with cool added activities, but if you are not using Singapore or if you are using Singapore at a different level than the one scheduled this subject box will not be used.

7. It schedules R&S LA, but if you are not using R&S LA or if you are using R&S LA at a different level than the one scheduled this subject box will not be used.

8. The schedule shows one day on each two page spread, so if you like being able to see a week at a glance this format may make you nuts.

9. You could pick and choose your read-alouds, so the questions for the read-alouds are genre specific rather than book specific. This may be annoying if you want specific questions with answers.

10. For readers there are specific questions and answers for the emergent reader set, but beyond that you must buy DITHOR or another program of your choosing. DITHOR once again has questions that are genre specific rather than book specific. This may be annoying if you want specific questions with answers.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[HollyinNNV]

Just a few comments. I use HOD and have encountered some of what you mention.

 

1. Until Preparing HOD has no 4-day alternative, so if you have a co-op day you will have to figure out how to alter it on your own.

 

I do exactly what I did for SL. I just keep doing "the next day."

 

2. This program is clearly Christian. It would be difficult to make it secular. Other than the Bible study there are also Biblical references in other subject areas, so you can't purchase it and alter it easily to make it secular.

 

 

Well, I've used TOG, SL, and WP secularly. HOD is not a challenge to use secularly. (I wouldn't say the same for TOG!)

 

3. The science in Bigger and Preparing is living book science, but in the other years it is canned curriculum science that is scheduled out for you.

 

Canned curriculum science??????????

 

The science in Bigger includes notebooking, activities, science experiments and a living book schedule. I won't speak for the other years, however I don't remember anything that looked canned.

 

6. It does schedule Singapore math with cool added activities, but if you are not using Singapore or if you are using Singapore at a different level than the one scheduled this subject box will not be used.

 

We use Singapore & Math U See. However, we are behind schedule. Thankfully, the added activities work well for us anyways. We have not found that the activities do not work for us.

 

HTH-

Mandy

 

In general, I agree with the rest of the post.

 

There was an earlier post that mentioned that HOD wouldn't work for someone who prefers to tweak programs. Huh? Any program can be tweaked!

Holly

[Mandy in TN]

Just a few comments. I use HOD and have encountered some of what you mention.

 

Yes, as I said Bigger and Preparing use living book science.

 

Little Hearts gives you the choice of The World God Made, Our Father’s World, or God's Wonderful Works.

 

Beyond uses God's Wonderful Works .

 

Hearts for Him uses Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day as a spine, but also used Birds of the Air, Plant Life in Field and Garden, Exploring The History of Medicine, Galen and the Gateway to Medicine, and An Illustrated Adventure in Human Anatomy for a more living book feel.

 

I believe Carrie plans to use Apologia as a spine throughout the middle grades. The science schedule may include extras, but (except for Bigger and Preparing) it will have a Christian textbook base.

 

Also, not so much with Bigger, but with all the other programs the science is very young-Earth Christian.

 

Bigger is probably the guide that is the easiest to adapt for secular use. Due to book selections the history in the other guides would be difficult to adapt.

 

Mandy

[Julieofsardis]

I will say that it definitely caters to a certain teaching style and homeschooling style, if you like a Curriculum in a box....you'll probably like it....but, if you are a tweaker it may drive you nuts!

 

I really liked it. We used Bigger. Now, here's the deal -- I did tweak. But, it was worth the money for me because of all the great ideas she includes. We did not do the science and switched out some of the other items, but overall I used the same elements, so it made checking off things easy.

[chaik76]

I own one of the programs, and I just don't like it. It doesn't fit with our religion, first of all (which I could tweak usually), and their history is very providential.

 

It was just too easy for us, too. I love the idea, and it's given me some great ideas to work with...but it just doesn't work very well for us.

[chaik76]

Sorry...double posted!

[dhudson]

I haven't used it but I've checked it out and the reasons why I don't are these -

 

1. I didn't like the TM layout

2. It does not have chronological history

3. Seemed light in the older years and when I last looked didn't have middle or high school. I want something that I can continue through out high school for continuity.

4. Agreeing with Christina - too CM for my taste. Even though I use MFW I am more classical than CM.

 

I know that everyone has curriculums that they love and some they don't so this isn't a judgement on HOD just my opinion.

[LynnG in Arizona]

Thank you, everybody, for your replies thus far. I appreciate your input!

 

I certainly agree that no curriculum is right for everybody, and that my family might love resources that aren't a good fit for yours (and vice versa).

 

Just to clarify, I don't need a secular program. I'm actually a committed Christian. ;) However, in my homeschool materials I tend to prefer "big tent" Christianity. So I tend to shy away from super specific doctrine such as a huge focus on providential history, age of the earth, that kind of thing.

 

Thanks again. I'm honestly still trying to figure out why the samples I've seen so far don't appeal to me. I actually want to like HoD. We are already big fans of Singapore Math and Rod & Staff for grammar, having used them in years past with my now teens, so it's a definite plus that HoD uses these programs as well.

 

It's time to start thinking about what I want to do for preschool/K/1st etc. with my little ones.

[SnowWhite]

My reasons for choosing WinterPromise over HOD:

 

1) I can keep my boys on the same page for history and read-alouds with WP. We can also combine science some years. They are 3.5 years apart, so that would be tremendously difficult with HOD.

 

2) WP has visually appealing books. The wordy, texty feel of many of the history resources in HOD did not fit my desires for my homeschool.

 

3) WP uses DVDs and websites to round out their themes. Love that!

 

4) HOD requires the *student* to produce the timeline and notebook pages. WP's preprinted pages and figures give a bit of sparkle to our days.

 

5) I don't like the CLP texts chosen for Little and Beyond for science.

 

6) I like a more rigorous science program than that provided in the younger levels of HOD. (the newest one, the Creation to Christ one, looks plenty rigorous, but I am not sold on Apologia).

 

7) I like the activity books WP uses. HOD users seem particularly attached to the simple activities the author includes, but WP's choices are just more "our style".

 

8) I am ALWAYS out of sync with the schedule.... ahead in some books and behind in others. If I had a daily rather than weekly schedule page, I'd be going nutso flipping pages to find where we were in a given resource.

[HollyinNNV]

I've noticed people talking about a providential slant to history. That must be something that is more obvious in some of the cores than others. I haven't found that aspect in Bigger.