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 Post subject: HOD/MFW
PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 5:04 am 
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Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2016 4:58 am
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Okay, so this is my first year homeschooling. My daughter is in kindergarten. My son is 3. I can't decide between Heart of Dakota or My Father's World. Both seem like such excellent, well put together curricula. I find myself wanting to follow (to an extent) the Charlotte Mason style. My daughter thrives on structure. My son will continue with ABC Jesus Loves Me as we've done that for several years now with my daughter.

Just curious if anyone has any experience with HOD or MFW that could give me any insight. I really need to make a decision, but I'm torn!


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 Post subject: Re: HOD/MFW
PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 10:50 am 
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Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:22 pm
Posts: 8837
Flip a coin? I haven't used either one - I'm not even familiar with HOD. Choosing the materials you use is one of the hardest things about homeschooling - there are TOO MANY GREAT CHOICES! LOL It's easy to start and then think you made a mis-step and should have used something else.

I would go with the cheaper one, or the one with the least work for my first year. You don't really even need a curriculum for a 5yo but as a junkie, i can't blame anyone for getting a couple!

Welcome to the boards! :) And to homeschooling!


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 Post subject: Re: HOD/MFW
PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 11:59 am 
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Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 3:28 pm
Posts: 436
I have used both and prefer MFW. My son went to public kindergarten. I did HOD for 1st and 2nd grade then switched to MFW. I kick myself regularly for missing the first years of MFW because it looks like it would have been so good! They use many of the same textbooks but the style or format or something about MFW fits us much better. The teacher manual for MFW seems much more logical to me and I can pencil in notes more easily. It is arranged in a grid for the week so we can easily see what we are doing for the week. My brain had trouble following all the boxes for lessons in HOD. You can see sample pages online. Seems I remember that HOD had a lot of goofy game activities as part of lessons and we didn't care for that. My son has enjoyed MFW and the textbooks. Things I think he won't like and we'll have to skip, he will love. It is easy to sub different textbooks for a subject if you wanted to do that and you don't have to buy the package, you can just buy the books you need. I did like the Rod & Staff language arts from HOD and kept using that a while after we switched. We use mostly Life of Fred for math. I have used several different spelling books trying to find the best fit. I only have the one child home but MFW is designed to include the younger ones in some of the lessons you will be doing with the older starting in about 3rd grade I think.


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 Post subject: Re: HOD/MFW
PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2016 10:04 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2016 5:58 am
Posts: 3
Both of these curricula look very nice. However, as a veteran homeschool mom, I'd choose the HOD curriculum. I like how it places the "skills" addressed in the lessons into parentheses! (I only quickly perused the eighth grade week-at-a-glance, to be honest.)
When writing subject summaries for our evaluator each spring, this would have come in really handy. :)
Another thought I had was that of "trying out" a used workbook from each curricula...if a friend is using either of these, perhaps you could borrow one of their books and hold a "sample" school day before you make your decision.
I used to write my own weekly sheets when the kiddos were younger. I wrote basic subjects and made photocopies for my three students, and then I'd handwrite the specifics for their respective text or workbooks. Believe it or not, this was my favorite method, since I would buy used curriculum and receive free hand-me-downs...thus creating an eclectic mix.
I hope this helps.


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 Post subject: Re: HOD/MFW
PostPosted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 1:19 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:16 am
Posts: 633
Location: The Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, VA
I don't think you could go wrong with either one. I'm curious as to which one you chose and how it is working for you?

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“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
― Mother Teresa


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