Use your summer to improve next year's school season!
  Greetings!
Summer is a great time for chore training!

Summer is a wonderful time to train your children to do various chores around the house. We use the summer to train each of our kiddos to do a set of chores appropriate to his age. Then, during the school year the child is easily able to do these chores well, with less checking and monitoring! 

How many chores can you expect a child to perform well?

Each child has 1-3 chores we train him to do very well. These chores are the child's responsibility until he grows another year older. Each year the chores shift, allowing each child more responsibility as he matures. 

What types of chores can you train children to do?

Chores can range from dust busting after meals, to clearing table, to loading and unloading the dishwasher. Taking out the garbage, wiping the counters, and sorting and folding laundry are other chores that can be taught. Older children can tackle lawn care, snow removal, house cleaning, putting away groceries, and making quick meals. The chores we assign go beyond typical "picking up."  

Routine "picking up" is also a daily responsibility.

All of our kiddos are expected to put away their school books, make their beds, and keep their bedrooms tidy. Our older kiddos also take turns doing a "clean sweep" of the house in the evening before bedtime. This sweep involves systematically tidying each room and putting away out of place items. These routine tasks are in addition to our boys' other assigned chores. 

Why is summer a great time for chore training?

Chore training takes time and diligence! This is why summer is a great time to tackle this task with consistency. Try chore training with your children. When the school year rolls around again, you will be glad that you did!
Blessings,
Carrie
Heart of Dakota Graduate Spotlight
Hello Austin Family,
 
We used Heart of Dakota for both of our boys, Tanner and Taylor, from grades 3-12. It has been a great blessing to our family! We appreciate all the thought that went into creating such an amazing Christ centered program that truly inspired a love of learning. Having used Heart of Dakota for 10 years, it’s hard to list everything we loved about the program. Taylor really enjoyed the living books used in History and the Constitutional Law elective, and I think they influenced the major he chose. Tanner consistently enjoyed the literature choices along with the logic and economics electives.  Tanner and Taylor are both attending Harding University and have been very well prepared. Tanner has chosen to major in Business, and Taylor has decided to major in American Studies/pre-law. We couldn’t be happier with our choice to use Heart of Dakota for our children’s education! 

Allison C.
Brand New!
Bigger Hearts for His Glory Notebooking Pages!
A brand new edition of Bigger Hearts for His Glory now includes notebook pages!
We are excited to be able to offer beautiful full-colored notebook pages for Bigger Hearts for His Glory!
New Blog Series - "A Heart of Dakota Life"!
We are excited to continue our new series called "A Heart of Dakota Life." Every 4th Wednesday of the month we will share a post on what we envision homeschooling with Heart of Dakota to be like in the day to day.

We hope that you enjoy it!
Check out the latest posts from our Heart of Dakota Blog!
From Our House to Yours
Habit Training That Helps the Homeschool Year Go Better
Dear Carrie
Comparing Standardized Testing - CAT or Iowa Basic Skills test?
A Heart of Dakota Life
Portfolio Assessment in Homeschooling Made Easy
We are excited to share our new Heart of Dakota Blog with you!
Top Ten Heart of Dakota Questions
From the Heart of Dakota E-Mailbag:


“I LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOUR CURRICULUM!!!” is the only appropriate way to begin this letter.  My sincere gratitude to Carrie Austin for creating such a thing. This is our 4th year using your curriculum for our family and what a blessing it has been!! My favorite part of each year, being the rich Biblical spine that holds the entire curriculum together."

-- Erin B.



"Hi Julie, I just wanted to say thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me last week about placement for my son. He decided that it would be best for him to start RtR (Resurrection to Reformation) this semester, so I ordered it… and because HOD’s shipping is so quick, we started yesterday. We are only 2 days in, but both days have been great! My son is getting all his work done in between his morning and afternoon gymastics practices and he is loving the resources so far! I am so pleased!"

Blessings,
 -- Katie F



". . . I want to say THANK YOU it has been an incredible journey to go through this curriculum with my daughter...I do believe Got brought this curriculum to me and the timing of the lessons has been unbelievable. Why...last year we were studying pioneers and right as lesson ended we had Prairie School reenactment of actually pioneers and actors retelling stories of the trails. Today we had just finished lesson of the Dead Sea Scrolls...well I just found out our nature & science museum in Denver will actually have these scrolls on exhibit in 2 weeks. Like I said, this curriculum is unbelievably a gift from God because timing of everything can't be set up like this at all. Thank You so much for making this curriculum!"

-- Kimberly A

Eight-time PHS Winner!
Thank you for voting for Heart of Dakota in the Practical Homeschooling Reader Awards this year!

We are pleased that we received awards in eight different categories! That is the most ever for us! To see the complete list of our PHS awards just visit our awards page !

Thanks again!

Heart of Dakota is now on Instagram!

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Post a review on Facebook! Just click here to post a review. It really helps!

Thank you!
Look what people are saying on Facebook about Heart of Dakota!

We just ordered our HOD curriculum for this year. Let me tell you, I spent half an hour on the phone with them asking questions and getting advice about where to start and on which program since our situation is slightly complicated. The gentleman I spoke with answered all of my questions, and never once sounded like I was annoying him. Best Customer Service EVER!

Amber T.
5 Star Review on Facebook - June 2018

We love Heart of Dakota. There is a lot of variety in the source materials, which keeps things fresh and interesting. I love that everything is planned out, it gives me more time for teaching and getting everyday life tasks completed.

Rachel M.
Recommendation on Facebook - June 2018

. . . this year we used HOD. They loved it . All of the art, projects for science, history. They are thrilled. 
Lou A -
5 Star Review on Facebook - May 2018

This is our 6th year using Heart of Dakota with a now 11th grader and 3rd grader.  We all love the suggested living books and through these very manageable reading plans have grown children with a love for the Bible, history and great literature - what more could you want from a curriculum?  All this and we're finished with time to spare in the afternoons to pursue personal interests, be involved in missions and ministry opportunities, and grow our family relationships.  I take any chance to share our love of Heart of Dakota with other homeschooling families we know (also - I've had the pleasure of meeting the Austins and Julie in person at our state conventions over the years; they truly care about each family and offer suggestions that fit your family in whatever season you are in).  
Stephanie C -
5 Star Review on Facebook - May 2018

HOD is one of the best! Nothing compares! A blessing to our family!
Sandra H -
5 Star Review on Facebook - May 2018
Check out Heart of Dakota's Complete Line of Award-winning Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool through High School!
Preschool (Ages 2-5)
Little Hands to Heaven
(Ages 2-5)
* Easy to Use!
* Simple daily plans!
* Quick and easy activities!
* Flexible!
* Bible-based!
Elementary Programs
Little Hearts for His Glory
(Ages 5-7)
Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
(Ages 6-8)
Bigger Hearts for His Glory
(Ages 7-9 with extensions for ages 10-11)
Preparing Hearts for His Glory
(Ages 8-10 with extensions for ages 11-12)
Middle School Programs
Hearts for Him Through Time:
Creation to Christ
(Ages 9-11 with extensions for ages 12-13)
Hearts for Him Through Time:
Resurrection to Reformation
(Ages 10-12 with extensions for ages 13-14)
Hearts for Him Through Time:
Revival to Revolution
(Ages 11-13 with extensions for ages 14-15)
Hearts for Him Through Time:
Missions to Modern Marvels
(Ages 12-14 with extensions for ages 15-16)
High School Programs
Hearts for Him Through High School:
World Geography
(Ages 13-15 extending to grades 10-12)
Hearts for Him Through High School:
World History
(Ages 14-16 extending to grades 11-12)
Hearts for Him Through High School:
U.S. History I
(Ages 15-17 extending to grade 12)
Hearts for Him Through High School:
U.S. History II
(Ages 16-18)
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