The smell of new books, new pencils, and new notebooks. It’s time to start a new school year!
We started 3 weeks ago with our 2013/2014 school year and we’re loving it so far. I’m homeschooling two boys now {for some this might not be a big deal because you homeschool 8 more kids than I do, but for us, it’s a big thing}. “K” is only in PreK but we’re getting him in to routine, a normal school schedule, and ready for Kindergarten next year. “J” is in second grade and moving right along already this year. He asked me why there were more books this year than last year. My answer? “Because you’re growing up. Each year you’ll have more work than the year before.” The look on his face was great.
Our Curriculum:
We chose Heart of Dakota again this year for our second grader. We’ve used this curriculum since Kindergarten and have loved it! Why?
- It makes schooling at home so easy!
- Planning for the teacher? Already done for you. Open the book, and dive in to teaching!
- You can buy all the books for each subject as a package or individual if you care to mix and match.
- Gain so much insight from other parents who homeschool their children and use HOD by taking advantage of the Heart of Dakota message boards.
- The author of HOD is amazing. We met her at a homeschool conference in Memphis, TN a few years ago and fell in love with her and her passion for writing this curriculum. Carrie Austin is one amazing author, mom, teacher, and woman of God.
- The educational stance is amazing. Quality material with a God centered focus.
- It’s not overly expensive. We spent $240 for our second grader for his entire curriculum. That includes my teachers manuals too.
- It’s just the right amount of time to do school. Long enough to really focus on what the child needs to learn that day/week, but not a normal school day. It keeps their attention, but knows when it’s time for them to go outside and play as well.
- The teachers guide is organized and easy to navigate.
- Provides activities for items and supplies we already have on hand.
- Heart of Dakota uses resources that when I researched were “best of the best”
- It focuses on the children’s hearts, but also provides a fun, education.
- It takes us about 1 hour or 1.5 hours to do our daily 2nd grade school day. For earlier grades, it takes less time.
We use what Heart of Dakota recommends and provides in their package for Math, Reading, Bible, History, Geography, Art, & English. Then, we added on Flip Flop Learning for Spanish, A Reason for Handwriting, and A Reason for Spelling.
I’m using PreK Scholars for “K”. He LOVES it! We used it with “J” for PreK as well and fell in love. What do we love about PreK Scholars? Click here.
What curriculum do you use? What do you like about it? I love hearing about what everyone uses and why it works for them. I hope your school year is off to a great start!
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