Dear Carrie
Just a “Thank You” for Carrie from a Mom with Six Kids Happily Using Heart of Dakota!
I am a homeschool mom currently using Heart of Dakota with six of my eight beautiful children. (My oldest two children are now in college.) I have been homeschooling for 11 years and have enjoyed (almost) every minute of it. Last year I discovered Charlotte Mason’s philosophies after asking the Lord what plans He had for our family in the realm of homeschooling. This is what led our family to using Heart of Dakota! I am happy to say, with Heart of Dakota, we have had our best school year to date. All of my children are really enjoying the learning process, instead of just crossing things off their lists. Thank you, Carrie!
Here are my Heart of Dakota levels:
- 12 year-old son doing Revival to Revolution
- 10 year-old daughter doing Creation to Christ
- 7 and 8 year-old kiddos doing Bigger Hearts for His Glory
- 5 year-old doing Little Hearts for His Glory, half-speed Learning Through History side with full-speed Learning the Basics side
- 1 year-old ‘helping’
A Little About My Background Prior to Finding Heart of Dakota
Last school year, I felt the Lord stirring me to revisit what I was doing with our children because I was spending LOTS of time trying to pull things together for each of them. At this point the Lord drew my attention to Heart of Dakota. I had heard of it over the years, but it wasn’t until more recently that I discovered it was based on Charlotte Mason’s philosophies.
After much prayer and many discussions with my husband we have switched our kiddos over to Heart of Dakota, and we are enthusiastically using four guides with great joy. I can’t express the deep satisfaction that I feel at really knowing that all the details are covered and in such a way that my children are growing in their love for the Lord! Their writing skills are being stretched, and they are learning to work independently and appreciate a job well done. I know that Heart of Dakota is an answer to prayer for our family. I have happily taught school over the past 11 years, but each day now holds a depth of delight for me that I cannot describe.
So, I guess this isn’t really a “Dear Carrie” question, but more of a thank you! Thank you, Carrie, for obediently doing what the Lord has called you to do, so that I can walk out well what is mine to carry!
Sincerely,
“Ms. Just a Thank You for Carrie from a Mom with Six Kiddos Happily Using Heart of Dakota”
Dear “Ms. Just a Thank You for Carrie from a Mom with Six Kiddos Happily Using Heart of Dakota,”
Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your joy with us! I was so blessed by your post, and I know it will bless many other readers. For much of our homeschool journey, we ran four guides here too with our four kiddos (as mine are too far apart age-wise to combine well). We too have discovered that it is actually easier to have our kiddos each place where they fit best (even if that means running multiple guides). With my schedule of writing, planning, and keeping up with the day-to-day business of Heart of Dakota; it’s important that my time teaching my own kiddos be well-planned and fruitful. We find the peace of knowing everything is covered in using the Heart of Dakota guides with our own four sons as well.
Each family is different in what works well! It is wonderful that the option to combine or separate your kiddos as needed is available through Heart of Dakota. Thank you for sharing your joy with us here!
Blessings,
Carrie
