Megan was super excited. She just received her Little Hearts for His Glory a couple of weeks ago. I decided to go ahead and order Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory. That way, we can move right into the Beyond guide when we finish Little Hearts. Megan will probably move into the Beyond math activities before she gets to the rest of the guide. Having it here will alleviate the need to purchase it later. The only part of Beyond that I didn't purchase was the Emerging Readers set. At the moment, Megan will need to go through at least the first grade level of Hooked on Phonics, and possibly the second grade level, before I feel she will be ready for the emerging readers. I am anticipating that will take at least one year.
Laura will begin Resurrection to Reformation within the next two weeks. She is finishing up the few days of Creation to Christ. She was happy that we went back to Heart of Dakota after a semester of using other things. She has missed her reading. I have missed her enthusiasm. Only with Heart of Dakota do I hear the familiar, "Mom, Guess what!" Then she will proceed to tell me about some fascination thing she is learning. She has missed her projects, her weekly science experiments, and the artwork she gets to do. She is doing an amazing job with Creation to Christ. After using two solid Heart of Dakota programs with her, I am here to stay. She LOVES it, and is learning SO much!
Jasmine, my darling little high schooler, was a bit more work and definitely more expensive! Her materials won't begin until probably fall, unless she wants to begin over the summer. While her high school classes were mostly bought through Christianbook, Carrie Austin has posted on the Heart of Dakota message board numerous ways to beef up current Heart of Dakota programs meant for junior high to the high school level to make them credit worthy. After much prayer, and some advice from Carrie on the message board, I picked Revival to Revolution for Jasmine to use for her 10th grade year. With the extensions, the advanced level of physical science, and some other add-ins that I've picked up, Jasmine will cover the first half of American History and her High School Government class. Then, in her Junior year, using Missions to Modern Marvels with extensions and some extras, she will cover the second half of American History and Economics. I'll have to beef up her science too, but that is next year's focus. While the amount of reading intimidates her a little (she's always struggled a bit with the reading), she is excited to work without the dreary history textbooks. She is loving reading We Had Everything But Money for her literature study of a nonfiction book. She is looking forward to more of her learning being with real books and projects and notebooking. She got a taste of notebooking with our Christmas study and enjoyed it immensely!
These are the plans for the next few weeks through the next year. After Laura finishes Res to Ref she will move right into Rev to Rev. As a mom, I'm a little nervous to try three guides at once. However, I'm excited too. I see the fruit in the lives of my daughters in their spiritual growth and in academics.
I am usually quite frugal (cheapskate?). However, I have tried the spend a little, use the library, create my own lessons, etc. I'm not good at it. I have done with workbook route when financially I could only afford a bit at a time. After all of this, I have learned (AND RELEARNED) some vital lessons about myself. I don't mind using the library occasionally, but I have a difficult time using it a lot. Our local libraries aren't well-stocked, especially with Christian material, and using inter-library loan hasn't been overly successful. Throw in the fact that my plans always seem... boring. The kids don't have near the fun with them that they have with Heart of Dakota. Plus, I love not having to stress over school. With all the plans completely laid out for me, it's perfect! I may have to sacrifice from our tax refund to purchase the curriculum, but I have come to look at the purchase as an investment. Yes, it is an investment in my children, but it is also mostly re-usable. That means I can use the upper levels with my younger children when they get to that level. I've figured out the cost of consumable curriculum versus something like Heart of Dakota. For my three children, the non-consumable curriculum is a MUCH better investment! Plus, it has a resale value should I decide to sell it after my youngest has completed the level.
I praise God that He has placed me on this journey. Homeschooling is difficult, but very worth it!
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