Skip to main content

New Curriculum Unboxing | Heart of Dakota Unboxing



Hey Mocha Family!

I am starting over!

First, let me say that I am very grateful for the support Abeka afforded when while working with multiple students at different levels. This post is not about what Abeka is doing wrong.

I've been feeling the urge to return to a more personal approach all year.  My ten year old is extremely extroverted and was really frustrated with watching a screen.  She wants to have a real person, interacting with her in real time for school.  Perhaps online classes will work for her in the future, but I noticed that she was becoming more and more frustrated with her videos and making excuses to avoid school altogether.  She came alive any time I had to stop and explain things to her.  I want to see more of that.

I've been around this block before, of making a radical changes to curriculum. It's hard!  I already know Abeka video and could probably jump back in anytime.  It's more comfortable for me to return to Abeka video, though it's not working well for us any more.  I don't want to be too ambitious.  I really want this new plan to work for us.  I don't want to crash and burn by October.  One thing I can trust is experience.

Here are three simple things I plan to do to help me succeed this time:

1. Make the curriculum your own.  In the past I have needed to use every resource and check every box, as if some invisible curriculum guard would crack a whip if I veered off even a little. Things work better for me when I consider everything directive to be a suggestion.

2. Schedule breaks.  There's nothing noble about working myself and the kids into the ground.  Rest will refuel us all.

3. Commit to schooling.  One of the best things about homeschooling is the flexibility it affords, but interruptions can become habit.  School doesn't happen unless we actually school.

I'm a little nervous, but amazed at the excitement I'm feeling.  I've made the right choice.  I'm not sure that Heart of Dakota will be our curriculum for years to come, but I'm happy that we stepped out and chose something!

I will definitely keep you posted.

Be blessed!




Comments

  1. jasnjojJuly 30, 2016 at 7:16 AM

    Hey Mocha Mom! We used (and loved!) Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven with my two oldest. I pray blessings on your coming school year!

    If you are looking for something along the same lines (to do the "core" subjects (history, Bible, science) with your kiddos, we have been using (and loving) My Father's World the past four years.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am a Mocha MomAugust 4, 2016 at 9:13 AM

    Thank you! I know someone who uses My Father's World and loves it too! I actually plan to use HOD for my core subjects. Why did you decide to make the switch?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Please leave that baby's hair alone!

I'll never forget the first time I saw Mocha Girl One (HmG) . She was an emergency c-section, and had to spend several days in NICU. She was born four days past her estimated due date and looked huge in her incubator. I imagined her to be especially delicate and feminine. I couldn't wait to frill her up, and more importantly to do her hair ! The only reason she wasn't sporting a barrette the day we took her home from the hospital, was because the one I brought to match her lacey outfit, slid right out. Mocha Girl One's baby hair was silky straight and fine. As the weeks rolled by, it became wavier until she had a lovely curly fro. I washed it all the time . I brushed it several times a day . I tried snap clips, and moved to velcro barrets when the clips slid out. I bought a different head band for every outfit. Meanwhile her curls continued to wind tighter and tighter. I kept everything in a pretty box, dubbed the hair bin . I was really frustrated at not b
59 comments
Read more

Trader Joe's Castille Soap Discontinued!

There's some controversy about the use of castille soap as a shampoo. For example, popular YouTuber Kim , of KimmayTube tested the ph of Bronner's Castille Soap and found it to be much higher than the recommended range for hair (between 4 and 5). You can watch her explain her findings. She also did an informative series fraught with good visuals on understanding the effects of ph on hair. That said, I've been using diluted castille soap successfully for YEARS, but I've never tried Bronner's Castille Soap. I had a bottle of Trader Joe's Castille Soap . Turns out Trader Joe's formula includes Aloe Vera --which has an acidic ph---probably bringing down the overall ph of the product--perhaps balancing it for hair. The manufacturer recommends it's use as a shampoo right on the bottle's label. I did not get a chance to personally test the ph of my bottle, because by the time I noticed Aloe as an ingredient of my castille soap, the bottle was empty
16 comments
Read more

Mocha Mom Speaks about Length Retention and Protective Styling

My hair on the day I put in my Braidlocks before the shrinkage set in. I considered making another video, but opted to return to my first love--writing. I've been reflecting on the many responses I've received on my Hot Topic: The Tangle Teezer is Breaking my Hair video. I've been wondering if there's a little more to my success story. There was a time my daughters' hair remained the same length year after year. I thought their hair wasn't growing or had reached terminal length--meaning their hair had grown as long as it could possibly grow. It never occurred to me that their hair was breaking off at the ends as quickly as it was growing in from the roots. Culturally, as people of African descent, we do many things to our hair that's death to our ends. I never set out to retain length. Something changed in me during a completely unrelated experience. I talk about it in detail in my post Her mother needs to do her
19 comments
Read more