Heart of Dakota

Heart of Dakota's Little Hands to Heaven preschool program features simple daily plans that will give you a special learning time with your preschooler!

Thirty-three units are based on stories from the Bible and are filled with ideas to get kids moving, exploring, and playing in a meaningful way. Each unit has a theme centered on Bible characters (e.g. "Young Joseph," "Jonah Tries to Run") with the activities coordinating with the daily Bible stories. A complete program, this course covers letter recognition, formation, and sounds; early math skills; art; dramatic plays; finger plays; music; and more. The quick and easy activities require little or no preparation and use only common household materials and a Bible (a list of recommended additional resources is below). Units are broken down into days. Every day's lesson has easy-to-follow instruction boxes with a key idea for each topic. Patterns, reproducible activities, and other components are also integrated throughout.

Lesson plans are written so you can use the program with multiple ages at the same time.

The following books are NOT included, but are recommended for the following age groups:

Ages 2-3: A Child's First Bible, Big Thoughts for Little People, and the Singing Bible Ages 3-4: The New Bible in Pictures, Big Thoughts for Little People and the Singing Bible Ages 4-5: The New Bible in Pictures, My ABC Bible Verses, and the Singing Bible

Designed to engage your child's heart and mind, these thirty-four customizable units feature coordinated daily lesson plans with two sections per lesson. The first "Learning the Basics" section focuses on language arts and math, including handwriting, phonics, reading comprehension, narration, counting to 100, skip counting, measurement, basic addition & subtraction, and more. The second "Learning through History" section emphasizes God's plan from creation to the present day and links with other subjects in a coordinated unit study. Each unit contains five days of flexible instruction and easy activities that require little or no preparation--perfect for the busy homeschooling mom! Lesson plans are arranged in categorized boxes; reading lists, scheduling suggestions, and helpful appendices are also included. Each daily lesson takes approximately 90 minutes. 416 pages, softcover. Ages 5-7.

See Book List PDF for a list of recommended (NOT included) books.

The Heart of Dakota Drawn into the Heart of Reading program will encourage students to appreciate and enjoy literature , develop higher-order thinking skills, weigh philosophical issues from a Christian perspective, develop vocabulary strategies, make connections within texts, and more! This curriculum can be used for multiple age levels simultaneously, and can be used with any literature. Nine units are included, which center upon a genre (biography, adventure, historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, folk tale, nonfiction, humor, and realistic fiction). In addition, each unit also emphasizes a "story element" such as character, setting, mood, cause/effect, and point of view, and a major Godly character trait (such as faith, fear of the Lord, loyalty, virtue, and obedience).

Lessons are divided into three levels of instruction for each of the three levels (2/3, 4/5, and 6-8) of the student workbooks (which are not included and are sold-separately). They include simple-to-use, step-by-step instruction with the focus of the lesson clearly identified and questions included throughout. Creative projects and reproducible sheets are also provided.

Each of the nine units contains 20 days of instruction (for a total of 36 weeks). Level 2/3 takes approximately 20 minutes per day, Level 4/5 takes approximately 30 minutes on alternating days, and Level 6/7/8 takes approximately 20 minutes 2-3 times per week. This course can be used as a stand-alone reading program or as a supplement to an existing program. It does not cover spelling or writing.

This course requires the use of this teacher's guide and the student book (sold-separately) in the appropriate level for your child. This program is flexible, and may be used year after year as students move from one level to the next.

Scripture taken from the NIV version.

Placement Guidance:

Level 2/3 is for those students who have completed phonics and are still daily practicing reading aloud. At this level, they should have completed phonics instruction and be able to read books such as "Frog and Toad" or "Amelia Bedelia." At this level, only 1/3 of the days require written work.

Heart of Dakota's Drawn into the Heart of Reading Student Book for Levels 2-3 is designed to be used alongside the lessons in the Drawn into the Heart of Reading Teacher's Guide (which is required and sold-separately). This course features nine units that center upon a genre (biography, adventure, historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, folk tale, nonfiction, humor, and realistic fiction). In addition, each unit also emphasizes a "story element" such as character, setting, mood, cause/effect, and point of view, and a major Godly character trait (such as faith, fear of the Lord, loyalty, virtue, and obedience).This student book features a variety of worksheets that include graphic organizers, reading calendars, story report forms, and other exercises. Level 2/3 is perfect for students who are still daily practicing reading aloud. At this level, they should have completed phonics instruction and be able to read books such as "Frog and Toad" or "Amelia Bedelia." At this level, only 1/3 of the lesson days require written work. Softcover, consumable, and not reproducible. Grades 2-3. NIV Scripture used.

Heart of Dakota's Drawn into the Heart of Reading Student Book for Levels 4-5 is designed to be used alongside the lessons in the Drawn into the Heart of Reading Teacher's Guide (which is required and sold-separately). This course features nine units that center upon a genre (biography, adventure, historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, folk tale, nonfiction, humor, and realistic fiction). In addition, each unit also emphasizes a "story element" such as character, setting, mood, cause/effect, and point of view, and a major Godly character trait (such as faith, fear of the Lord, loyalty, virtue, and obedience).

This student book features a variety of worksheets that include graphic organizers, reading calendars, story report forms, project instructions, and other comprehension, analysis, and reflection exercises. Level 4/5 is ideal for students who can read silently and comprehend well. Students must also be able to work independently half of the time and do daily written work. Softcover, consumable, and not reproducible. Grades 4-5. NIV Scripture used.

Heart of Dakota's Drawn into the Heart of Reading Student Book for Levels 6,7,8 is designed to be used alongside the lessons in the Drawn into the Heart of Reading Teacher's Guide (which is required and sold-separately). This course features nine units that center upon a genre (biography, adventure, historical fiction, fantasy, mystery, folk tale, nonfiction, humor, and realistic fiction). In addition, each unit also emphasizes a "story element" such as character, setting, mood, cause/effect, and point of view, and a major Godly character trait (such as faith, fear of the Lord, loyalty, virtue, and obedience).

This student book features a variety of worksheets that ask students to think about character traits in the characters they're reading about, to reflect on their own character traits, to look for certain words or phrases that describe the setting, to find synonyms for vocabulary words, to write down unfamiliar words, to complete Venn diagrams, and to work on other comprehension, analysis, and reflection exercises. Level 6/7/8 is ideal for students who no longer need practice oral reading, can read silently, and comprehend well. Students at this level must be able to work independently and follow written directions for daily work. Softcover, consumable, and not reproducible. Grades 6-8. NIV Scripture used.