Skip to content
  • Sign In
  • Cart (0)
(0)
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Educational Philosophy
    • Overview of Our Programs
    • A Look at Each Subject
    • Awards
  • Programs
    • Little Hands to Heaven
    • Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Bigger Hearts for His Glory
    • Preparing Hearts for His Glory
    • Creation to Christ
    • Resurrection to Reformation
    • Revival to Revolution
    • Missions to Modern Marvels
    • World Geography
    • World History
    • United States History I
    • United States History II
    • Drawn into the Heart of Reading
  • Grades
    • Preschool
    • Kindergarten
    • 1st Grade
    • 2nd Grade
    • 3rd Grade
    • 4th Grade
    • 5th Grade
    • 6th Grade
    • 7th Grade
    • 8th Grade
    • 9th Grade
    • 10th Grade
    • 11th Grade
    • 12th Grade
  • Community
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Email Newsletter
    • Message Board
    • Conventions
    • Gift Certificates
  • Help
    • Guide Placement Charts
    • Ordering & Shipping FAQ
    • Our Top Ten Questions
    • Updates
    • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Free Catalog
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Educational Philosophy
    • Overview of Our Programs
    • A Look at Each Subject
    • Awards
  • Programs
    • Little Hands to Heaven
    • Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Bigger Hearts for His Glory
    • Preparing Hearts for His Glory
    • Creation to Christ
    • Resurrection to Reformation
    • Revival to Revolution
    • Missions to Modern Marvels
    • World Geography
    • World History
    • United States History I
    • United States History II
    • Drawn into the Heart of Reading
  • Grades
    • Preschool
    • Kindergarten
    • 1st Grade
    • 2nd Grade
    • 3rd Grade
    • 4th Grade
    • 5th Grade
    • 6th Grade
    • 7th Grade
    • 8th Grade
    • 9th Grade
    • 10th Grade
    • 11th Grade
    • 12th Grade
  • Community
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Email Newsletter
    • Message Board
    • Conventions
    • Gift Certificates
  • Help
    • Guide Placement Charts
    • Ordering & Shipping FAQ
    • Our Top Ten Questions
    • Updates
    • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Free Catalog
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Educational Philosophy
    • Overview of Our Programs
    • A Look at Each Subject
    • Awards
  • Programs
    • Little Hands to Heaven
    • Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Bigger Hearts for His Glory
    • Preparing Hearts for His Glory
    • Creation to Christ
    • Resurrection to Reformation
    • Revival to Revolution
    • Missions to Modern Marvels
    • World Geography
    • World History
    • United States History I
    • United States History II
    • Drawn into the Heart of Reading
  • Grades
    • Preschool
    • Kindergarten
    • 1st Grade
    • 2nd Grade
    • 3rd Grade
    • 4th Grade
    • 5th Grade
    • 6th Grade
    • 7th Grade
    • 8th Grade
    • 9th Grade
    • 10th Grade
    • 11th Grade
    • 12th Grade
  • Community
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Email Newsletter
    • Message Board
    • Conventions
    • Gift Certificates
  • Help
    • Guide Placement Charts
    • Ordering & Shipping FAQ
    • Our Top Ten Questions
    • Updates
    • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Free Catalog
  • 0
  • Toggle website search

Heart of Dakota Blog

Start a 5-day a week guide now to school 4 days a week later!

  • Julie Grosz, M.Ed.
  • / From Our House to Yours
  • / May 22, 2020
Heart of Dakota - From Our House to Yours

From Our House to Yours

Start a 5-day a week guide now to homeschool just 4 days a week next school year!

Do you find yourself searching for things for your children to do at home right now? Due to COVID-19, many families have had to cancel spring and summer plans. Increased time at home can leave parents scrambling to find things for their children to do. While older children can often find ways to entertain themselves, younger children still need parents to oversee them. In Heart of Dakota (HOD), the guides Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH) through Bigger Hearts for His Glory (BHFHG) utilize 5-day a week plans. If you find yourself looking for things to do with your younger children, here’s the answer! Try starting LHTH through BHFHG now, and you can shave time off your next homeschool year!

Why do the younger HOD guides have 5-day a week plans?

The younger HOD guides have plans for 5 days a week for many reasons. Spreading work over 5 days means days are kept shorter. Shorter homeschool days fit little ones better. Shorter days match their shorter attention spans, and they prevent fatigue and frustration. This shorter lesson format for younger children matches Charlotte Mason’s thoughts on the matter. Not to mention, more days of teaching of foundational skills like beginning phonics, handwriting, and math skills gives more days to cement these important skills for a strong start to learning in general. So, HOD’s scheduling of 5-day weeks for little ones is intentional.

Why do the older HOD guides have 4-day a week plans?

The older HOD guides have plans 4 days a week for many reasons. Taking 5 days’ worth of work and condensing it into 4 days means students have a free 5th day each week. Longer homeschool days fit older students better. Longer days match their increased attention spans. Likewise, longer blocks of time help students have enough time to truly complete their more in-depth, independent work. Having one free day each week fits older students better. This format allows older students to have free time for extracurricular activities, outside interests, and work. So, HOD’s schedule of 4-day weeks for older students is intentional. (Of course, if you happen to have an older student with a shorter attention span, you can always spread the 4 days of work over 5 days to have shorter days.)

How many units/weeks of 5-day plans would you need to complete to homeschool 4 days a week next school year?

Homeschooling 4 days a week is appealing to many homeschool families. A 4-day week is especially appealing to families who happen to have older children using HOD’s guides Preparing Hearts for His Glory through U.S. II high school, as these guides utilize a 4-day week format. Little Hands to Heaven has 33 weeks of 5-day a week plans. Little Hearts for His Glory through BHFHG have 34 weeks of 5-day a week plans. This equals a total of 165-170 days of plans. The older guides, from PHFHG through U.S.II, have 35 weeks of 4-day a week plans. This equals a total of 140 days of plans.

So, if you start homeschooling your youngers only now, and you make it through about 6 units/weeks of plans, you can homeschool just 4 days a week next school year and finish your guides!  You can do this either by homeschooling 5 days a week for 6 weeks, or by homeschooling 4 days a week for about 8 weeks. I often did this with my younger sons, once my oldest son had moved into 4-day a week guides. This was the best of both worlds in my opinion! My youngers still had shorter days, had more days of school to cement skills, and had me all to themselves when I needed to be with them anyway – but, during the school year their days matched my older son’s schedule… and I loved a day off each week! Give it a try!

In Christ,

Julie

 

PrevPrevious
NextNext

Leave a Reply Cancel reply


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

SIGN ME UP!

Sign up today to get Carrie’s latest Teaching Tips along with the latest news from Heart of Dakota!

TOPICS BY CATEGORY

Categories
  • A Heart of Dakota Life
  • A Look Inside
  • An Encouraging Word
  • Announcements
  • Charlotte Mason Moment
  • Dear Carrie
  • From Our House to Yours
  • Heart of Dakota Tidbits
  • History with Heart of Dakota
  • Inside the Guide
  • Library Builder
  • More Than A Charlotte Mason Moment
  • Pondering Placement
  • Promotions
  • Teaching Tips
  • Uncategorized

RECENT POSTS

Recent Posts
  • Inside the Guide: LHFHG’s Storytime Box of Plans May 19, 2025
  • Thank you for voting for us in the 2025 Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards! May 15, 2025
  • Inside the Guide: LHFHG’s Language Arts Box of Plans May 12, 2025
  • Stay with your child for math! May 8, 2025
  • Inside the Guide: LHFHG’s Phonics Choices Box of Plans May 1, 2025
View all posts

Heart of Dakota Publishing
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved

  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Trigger Cart Button
Loader
✕
×
×

Cart

  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Educational Philosophy
    • Overview of Our Programs
    • A Look at Each Subject
    • Awards
  • Programs
    • Little Hands to Heaven
    • Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Bigger Hearts for His Glory
    • Preparing Hearts for His Glory
    • Creation to Christ
    • Resurrection to Reformation
    • Revival to Revolution
    • Missions to Modern Marvels
    • World Geography
    • World History
    • United States History I
    • United States History II
    • Drawn into the Heart of Reading
  • Grades
    • Preschool
    • Kindergarten
    • 1st Grade
    • 2nd Grade
    • 3rd Grade
    • 4th Grade
    • 5th Grade
    • 6th Grade
    • 7th Grade
    • 8th Grade
    • 9th Grade
    • 10th Grade
    • 11th Grade
    • 12th Grade
  • Community
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Email Newsletter
    • Message Board
    • Conventions
    • Gift Certificates
  • Help
    • Guide Placement Charts
    • Ordering & Shipping FAQ
    • Our Top Ten Questions
    • Updates
    • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Free Catalog
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Educational Philosophy
    • Overview of Our Programs
    • A Look at Each Subject
    • Awards
  • Programs
    • Little Hands to Heaven
    • Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
    • Bigger Hearts for His Glory
    • Preparing Hearts for His Glory
    • Creation to Christ
    • Resurrection to Reformation
    • Revival to Revolution
    • Missions to Modern Marvels
    • World Geography
    • World History
    • United States History I
    • United States History II
    • Drawn into the Heart of Reading
  • Grades
    • Preschool
    • Kindergarten
    • 1st Grade
    • 2nd Grade
    • 3rd Grade
    • 4th Grade
    • 5th Grade
    • 6th Grade
    • 7th Grade
    • 8th Grade
    • 9th Grade
    • 10th Grade
    • 11th Grade
    • 12th Grade
  • Community
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Email Newsletter
    • Message Board
    • Conventions
    • Gift Certificates
  • Help
    • Guide Placement Charts
    • Ordering & Shipping FAQ
    • Our Top Ten Questions
    • Updates
    • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Free Catalog

Sign In

Item Successfully Added to Cart

Create an Account or Log in

Forgot password?

New here? Create an account
Sign in
Sign In

Checkout as a guest >