Options for Switching to Heart of Dakota Mid-Year

Options for Switching to Heart of Dakota Mid-Year

Have you been wishing you’d begun this homeschool year with Heart of Dakota (HOD)? You are not alone! Many families are making the switch to HOD mid-year. Our phone lines have been abuzz with just these kinds of questions, so I thought I’d share some switching options for others ready for a mid-year fresh start. Let’s say your sixth-grade student is about to turn 12 years-old. You’ve looked at the placement chart, and she places at a comfort level in Resurrection to Reformation and at a more “growing-into-the guide” level in Revival to Revolution. This is common mid-year! So, let’s take a look at four options for this student switching to HOD mid-year!

Mid-Year Switch Option #1: Start Resurrection to Reformation in January.

At the writing of this blog post, it is now the beginning of November (2022). If you started in January (2023) and homeschooled 5 days a week straight through, you’d be done mid-July. Resurrection to Reformation has 140 days of plans. So, by doing 5 days of plans each week, finishing by then would be one option! However, this doesn’t account for taking days off nor for wanting to take your summer off. (I admit I enjoy taking summer off as well).

Mid-Year Switch Option #2: Complete Resurrection to Reformation and Revival to Revolution by the end of seventh grade.

So, a second option would be to look to a broader goal of completing Resurrection to Reformation and Revival to Revolution by the end of seventh grade. Each guide includes 140 days of plans. You could do about 105 days of plans from January to May, leaving 35 days of Resurrection to Reformation to come back to and finish after your 2023 summer. It is fun and easy to come back to finish a guide! Then, you’d have 140 days of Revival to Revolution. I counted it out, and you’d be able to start in September (2023), still take a few weeks off somewhere (Christmas or spread out) and finish by the end of May (2024). But, this is homeschooling 5 days a week, and maybe you’d rather homeschool just 4 days a week. So with that being said, here is a third option!

Mid-Year Switch Option #3: Start Revival to Revolution half-speed in January.

A third option would be to start with Revival to Revolution in January (2022) but start it half-speed (taking two days to do one day of plans). Yes, this is the harder guide, but she will progress more in the next few months, and she will turn 12 years old. She likes to read and loves creative writing. She can take on independence well. By going half-speed, she could grow into the reading, writing, and independence well by taking her time to ease into it. She’d have January to May (2023), and then September (2023) to May (2024) to finish Revival to Revolution.

Mid-Year Switch Option #4: Start Resurrection to Reformation right now, which is at the beginning of November.

A fourth option, of course, would be to just stop what you are doing right now and start Resurrection to Reformation in November. She could finish 140 days of plans by the of May then, doing school 5 days a week and taking a few breaks along the way too.

All these options have her starting Missions to Modern Marvels for eighth grade.

With any of these options, she’d be set to do Missions to Modern Marvels for eighth grade! She’d probably do the same math, grammar, dictation/spelling, and Drawn into the Heart of Reading – no matter which option you choose.

In Closing

Okay, was this too many options to ponder? I hope not! My hope was to show how many mid-year fresh-start pacing options are possible with HOD! This is just one example of a mid-year switch.

If you have questions about options for a mid-year-switch for your particular situation, ask away! I’d be happy to help! I am certain we can find an option that fits just right. I am a fellow homeschool mom using HOD and also a placement specialist for HOD. Reach out via phone or email, and we can find a great option for your mid-year switch to HOD!

In Christ,
Julie