A Heart of Dakota Life
Homebound? Here are four ways to jump start your next homeschool year!
Do you find yourself homebound during this pandemic? Maybe you are finishing your Heart of Dakota guides, but find yourself looking for things to do! Well, do take a bit of a break to celebrate! But after that, if you are looking for things to do, why not jump start your next homeschool year in one of these four ways?!?
Jump Start #1: Get your next HOD guides and start organizing!
If you are stuck at home, you can jump start your next homeschool year by getting next year’s things. This is the perfect time to begin visualizing your children’s next year. By ordering your guides and resources from Heart of Dakota now, you can use extra time at home to prepare for next year. I like to read through each guide’s Introduction. This helps me visualize my year and understand the skills I’ll be teaching. I also like to jot down in the Introduction’s margin any special supplies I’d like. Next, I put tabs in my guide’s daily plans, as well as in important places I’ll use in the Appendix (i.e. poetry, dictation, math, narration skills list, etc.). Finally, I label all of my HOD books, so they are easy to find when we need them and easy to put away when we are done with them.
Jump Start #2: Do a genre or two of DITHOR!
Stuck indoors? Why not jump start your next year by doing a genre or two of Drawn into the Heart of Reading (DITHOR)?!? I’ve done this during our summer break several times. We had so much fun! I really did it up ‘big!’ As it was the only school subject we were doing, we picked a more involved genre kickoff. For example, one time we buried ‘treasure’ in the garden. When the boys dug up the ‘treasure’ chest (a.k.a. plastic tub with lid), they found pirate hats and patches in it! Oh, the fun they had playing with those! I also remember doing a big Mystery Dinner. The boys had such fun designing the menu and serving us our mystery meal! This jump start was great because it kept the boys reading all summer, and it got us ahead a genre or two for the school year.
Jump Start #3: Get ahead in a subject that isn’t connected to other areas!
Do you find yourself trying to find ways to keep your kiddos writing, reading, or doing a little math during their break? Instead of buying filler things that may not be the right fit anyway, why not choose an HOD subject or two not connected to other areas to do in a low key way? For example, you could do dictation, math, and/or grammar two to three times a week. If you have high school students, maybe they could get a jump start on a half-credit elective. Whatever you choose, just be sure it’s not connected to other subject areas. That way, intended connections aren’t lost. This jump start gives wiggle room in your year. If you have an especially busy day and need to shorten it, you can just not do a lesson of whatever you got ahead on during your break – and still not be behind!
In Christ,
