Carrie has a VERY well thought out, precise, purposeful plan to take a child from the beginning of learning all the way through the end of high school. She builds so gradually, yet so purposefully in each plan, that you don't even realize all that your children are learning and the ways they are maturing until you look back and see how far they have come. I know I've touched on this in some of the other posts, but it deserves a post all its own! There are times when I've wondered why we are using a certain book or feeling that the kids just aren't getting it. And maybe they aren't at the time - but it is still there on purpose - and it still causing maturity and development even if it doesn't seem like it right then. For example, I remember when my kids were doing the Bigger Hearts history books and it just didn't seem like they were getting it sometimes. I continued on regardless. And now I'm so glad that I did. I see the fruit of using those books that wasn't so evident at the time. In fact, my son still brings up some of the stories from those books 5 years later! I know it was causing them to think a little harder, to learn from a book that wasn't baby-talking to them, to make connections on a deeper level.
Of course, the independent learning plan is carried out so beautifully from year to year (already talked about that in the Self-Propelled Advantage).
There is just something about having the same person write the plan from beginning to end so that nothing is missed. (Already talked about that in the Author Post).
I found HOD when my twins were in the 3rd grade and my oldest was in the 5th grade and we started with Bigger Hearts. So, we missed the beginning years which always made me sad. Then we adopted and I got to start over and use them all!
But, no matter where you start with HOD, you can be successful with it, I am sure of that. Not many, if any, other curriculum publishers have such a purposeful plan FOR THE ENTIRE 12+ YEARS of our child's education. I know I keep using that word - purposeful - but that is just the right word to use with HOD. None of it is wasted. None of it just busy work. It is all there for a reason. Can I get an "Amen"?
The HOD "Purposeful Plan" = Priceless