Every fourth Wednesday of the month, Heart of Dakota does a blog post series entitled, “A Heart of Dakota Life.” I look forward to every blog post because it is so wonderful to get tips and ideas. The “A Heart of Dakota Life” series is a favorite of mine because it deals with homeschool issues as well as things that impact family and faith.
We have used Heart of Dakota mostly since 2009. We wandered here and there. I didn’t always use the suggestion. But when I look back on our homeschool, only one student didn’t use Heart of Dakota, and that was because she used a program a licensed teacher implemented.
The memories with Heart of Dakota have always been my favorites. I feel like the curriculum makes me the “fun mom.” I’m not a “crafty” person. I don’t think about coming up with hands-on materials. I’m a bookworm and could schedule great literature all day. But Heart of Dakota strikes a balance so that my children that don’t learn just like me get to explore learning in ways that work best for them.
We’ve painted and done experiments and made projects. We’ve laughed and cried over read-aloud. We’ve researched and written and rewritten. We’ve listened to music and memorized Scripture and had endless conversations
We’ve pretended and played to learn. We’ve acted out stories. We’ve spent time with Jesus.
Our box days are always exciting, like Christmas morning.
And we’ve shared and passed on the materials to other families when we were done so that others can have similar learning experiences and make similar memories.
Every time I’ve wandered, I always regretted it. Why? Because nothing else had worked quite as well for us. My daughters have grown up exposed to great literature, rich history, engaging science, and a solid foundation for life.
I didn’t get to use all the guides... yet. My older girls missed the high school guides. I beefed up the middle school guides at the time because the high school guides were not written or just being written at the time. I thought for awhile I would do the same with my youngest since I have the materials. However, I don’t want to mix in other things to stretch the guides out. I don’t want to miss the incredible learning that the upper guides hold.
As we go through the materials and work, I find myself so excited to see what comes next, even though I’ve gone through the guides with my older girls. It’s like an adventure.
My secret wish is to use them with grandkids, or to pass the materials along to them and watch their adventures. However, that is a choice their parents must make.
All in all, I have loved our homeschooling adventures with Heart of Dakota. I am excitedly looking forward to the next five years with my last daughter.
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