Heart of Dakota vs My Father's World
The main differences
Both plan a year of living books, narration and hands-on work from one teacher's guide, from preschool through high school. Heart of Dakota lays out each day on a two-page spread, says a 2nd or 3rd grader's day takes about 3 to 3 and a half hours, and sells a year as a core package plus science, math and grammar packages, which came to $677.06 on sale. My Father's World puts children from 4th to 8th grade into one shared family cycle; its 3rd grade package was $385.74 before math and language arts.
| Heart of Dakota | My Father's World | |
|---|---|---|
| Subjects | All subjects: math, language arts, science and history and geography | All subjects: math, reading and phonics, language arts, science and history and geography |
| Grades | Preschool to 12th grade | Preschool (from age 2) to 12th grade |
| Method | Charlotte Mason, Unit studies | Charlotte Mason, Classical, Unit studies, Literature-based |
| Format | Books and workbooks | Books and workbooks |
| Faith label | Faith-based | Faith-based |
| Cost a year | $677.06. Guide for grades 2 and 3, at sale prices: Economy Package (teacher's guide plus books for subjects including history, geography, spelling, poetry and art) $255.80, Science Package $342.28, and the lowest-priced Basic Package with grammar and Singapore Math $78.98, together $677.06 (list prices $294.02, $402.68 and $89.74). Reading sets, read-alouds, handwriting and consumables are extra. | $385.74. 3rd grade World Changers package (teacher's manual with daily lesson plans, plus the history, science, art and music books): $385.74 today, 20% off $482.17. Math and language arts are required and bought separately. |
| Placement | Guide placement charts ↗ | None on the publisher's site |
| Parent time | Not stated by the publisher | Not stated by the publisher |
| It fits | A parent who wants open-and-go daily plans built on living books, with a known length of school day and a choice of math program. | A family teaching several children that wants one plan for history, science and the arts, with books, notebooking and hands-on projects. |
| It doesn't fit | A family that wants one box with every subject at one price, or lessons taught mostly on a screen. | A family that wants every subject in one box, or a child who works alone on a screen. |
Heart of Dakota
Heart of Dakota is a Charlotte Mason-inspired curriculum taught in a unit-study way, built around one teacher's guide a year from preschool through high school. Each guide gives open-and-go daily plans on a two-page spread, with living books for history and science, narration, copywork, dictation and poetry. The guide for grades 2 and 3 runs 34 weeks, five days a week, about 3 to 3½ hours a day for the child, and you buy it in a core package and add packages for science, math and grammar, reading and more.
Does well: Each day is laid out on a two-page spread with every subject in its own box, so the parent can open the guide and teach.
Watch for: The core package does not include science, math or grammar, so a full year means buying several packages.
My Father's World
My Father's World is a curriculum for preschool to 12th grade that teaches history, science, art, music and much of language arts from one teacher's manual with daily lesson plans, read-aloud books, notebooking and hands-on projects. From 4th to 8th grade, children of several ages study the same package together in a five-year cycle. Math, and from 2nd grade the grade-level language arts books, are bought separately; the publisher recommends Dimensions Math.
Does well: One primary teacher's manual guides all subjects, with daily lesson plans in a weekly chart, so the parent does not have to plan.
Watch for: Math is not in the packages and is bought separately, and families new to the recommended Dimensions Math must take its placement test first.
Lists with both
How we label
Every fact on a card was read on the publisher's own website on the date shown, and the page it came from is linked. A fact we could not confirm there is left out. Costs are for one child and one year of the main package, as the publisher's page showed them that day; prices and sales change. Method and format are the publisher's own description where it gives one. The only thing we say about religion is one label, secular or faith-based, given by the rule above; where the publisher's pages don't settle it, the card has no label.
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