heartofdakota.com

We've used it exclusively for 3 full years. I truly believe the Lord led us to this curriculum, and like a previous poster said, we are "home"! We plan to use it for the long haul for all 3 kids. We LOVE it!

We have used LHFHG, BLHFHG, and half of BHFHG when dc were sent to public school. Praying that we will be able to pick HOD back up this fall!

Yes, we've used LHTH, LHFHG, and are mid-way through BLHFHG. I can't wait to order the next guide!

We are finishing up our 3rd full year with HOD. We hopped around a lot when my oldest was in K-4th. We started HOD when she was going into 5th grade with Preparing, and the next two were in Beyond, and the youngers in a combination of Little Hearts and Little Hands. Over the last three years, we've used from Little Hands up to RtR. My oldest does do a different math, but that is only because she was "too far in" when we found HOD and couldn't make the Singapore switch. The other five are all in Singapore and thriving. And now that the oldest is moving into Algebra, we will do HOD recommendations for that as well. My ds is dyslexic and so he has a specialized reading program, but he does the rest of the guide as is. The only thing we have ever added besides his reading program is a typing program for my oldest two.
Like many of the other posters, once we found HOD, we were "home". I know the Lord led us here, as evidenced by the peace (though sometimes still chaotic! ) that now is in our home, where before HOD, it was just sort of "home school survival mode", just trying to get by. I have every expectation that all of my kids will graduate highschool using HOD.
Angie

I started my son out in Sonlight's preschool curriculum, but since then we've done LHFHG, BLHFHG, and Bigger, and my daughter is in LHTH. I look at other curricula whenever we finish a guide, and then I say, "What am I doing????" HOD is a great fit for our family. I'm a huge fan!

Ah! What a good question. We actually have families who have been with us from the beginning, doing LHTH all the way through Rev2Rev with us this past year and now heading into MTMM. This is the path we have taken with our second son, doing only HOD with him for 8 straight years (preschool through grade 7 so far) and now heading into his 9th year of HOD. My poor oldest son is our test child, doing a mish-mash of things, piloting much of what we write in some form. He is a junior this upcoming year. My other two littles have only done HOD. They are in grades K and 3 and are heading into grades 1 and 4 this upcoming year.

Blessings,
Carrie

Ya'll are getting me SO EXCITED! I am such an "all-or-thing" kinda gal, but at the same time, always want to roll my own way (control-nut much?). We have tried this and that, floundered here, and crashed there. I cried out to God to show me what I need, and the first thing I got a clear read on was that I need to DO THIS THING. Stop planning, listing, Pinterest-browsing, blog-hopping, dreaming, scheming, searching -- and decide what is most important.

Raising my children to desire God. In the books we read, the folks we hang with, the subjects we learn about, the way we do life, it all ALL ALL of it has to point back to the joy, the challenge, the glory of God and our own relationship with Him. And as much as I clung to my Ambleside Online lists (and list and lists and notes and books and schedules and ideas,....) AO isn't about God. (not that it is bad, but richness of language and such will be placed higher than things like evolution vs. Young Earth Theory and the like).
And then He put people in my life who used this HOD thing I had heard to my fill of MFW and Sonlight, Waldorf and Classical. Tried this, tried that but none of it gelled, and gave me the peace i needed.

We are going to start using LIttle Hearts for His Glory with my 5 yo son (will be 6 in September) very slowly, Beyond LIttle Hearts for my 3rd grade daughter, and Preparing with extensions with my oldest daughter, 11.5yo. The almost-3yo girl will go along with Brother and I am going to try to use Slow and Steady Get Me Ready...maybe? She's not ready fro LHTH. Next year, maybe! We are expecting another babe at the end of October, so I want to get going and have plenty under our belt for November and December, which are lower-key months anyway for birthdays and holidays.

Now, to find that money tree to buy all these guides and books!! (the buying is the only thing where I have no peace, vs other curriculums I struggled with content and never got to the money challenge!)

I've been blessed enough to use all of HOD's guides from LHTH to RevtoRev, and we have enjoyed our homeschooling journey so much! I am Carrie's sister, so I have known about HOD from the very start. However, I am super picky about what I teach my kiddos, especially since I was a teacher and got my masters in education prior to homeschooling. As much as I love my sis, I wouldn't be using HOD if I didn't believe it was the best choice for my dc. I am looking forward to MTMM and high school with HOD. I feel a burden of stress lifted off my shoulders knowing I can use HOD for high school. And when we get to the next step after HOD high school, we'll all help each other out with that transition too, right?!? I'm counting on it. God bless!
Julie

This will be our first year with HOD.....Each year I start in March thinking, looking, researching, and praying about curriculum for the upcoming year, and usually by May I know what I will use....Well, this year was no different....except, that when I started looking at HOD, the Lord just told me, "This is it!" and I knew, I had peace that I had found what I was looking for and so much more....so I know without a doubt that this school year will be great!

We have been using HOD for 4 years. My oldest two started with Beyond and my younger two are blessed to only have done HOD. I have taught the following guides: LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing and CTC. Next year I get to add RTR, as well as a second journey through LHFHG, Bigger and CTC. I am grateful the Lord led us to HOD. I know we will be here until all are graduated. Thanks Carrie!

We found HOD when Carrie was in process of writing the Bigger Hearts guide. We are just completing our 5th year of HOD. My dd has done from Bigger Hearts to RevTRev this year and will move into the MTMM guide in the fall. My younger son started with LHFHG. He finished up Preparing Hearts this year and will be heading into CTC in the fall for his 6th grade year.

We are not the HOD poster family. We started with HOD when my oldest was 4 and did LHTH, then did LHFHG at 5. We loved them both. That was before HOD was single source and we bought them at a local homeschool store. Beyond was due out in the fall and I was afraid to buy it without seeing it first . At the time I also thought maybe more science would be good, so we jumped ship for a year and then came back to HOD for Beyond, which was wonderful! We moved on to Bigger and LHFHG for the next kid. Then my husband lost his job and we used a combination of 2 things I owned since I couldn't buy any curriculum that year, Beyond and MFW Adventures. We thought we wanted to do geography so we continued with MFW for a year and then returned to HOD. This year my son started CTC but ended up going to public school, my daughter completed Bigger and just started Preparing.

I wish I could say we had stuck with HOD from the Beginning. My son would be further along than he is if we had. I won't be changing curriculums anymore, I have grown to trust in Carrie's programs even without "seeing" them first, but that was difficult for me. I needed to touch and feel and see the books before I could buy them. Carrie's programs are set up in such a wonderfully delightful way. The books are a joy and the assignments teach with a purpose without being overwhelming. I've made a lot of mistakes along the way on our homeschooling journey but God is gracious and is able to use all things for His own purposes. May He bless my children and help them to become more than I ever imagined.