PreK with a 4.5 Year Old

[Blessed Jess]

Hello!

Well, it's January, and I'm still trying to make a decision on preschool curriculum, combining my girls, homeschooling philosophy, etc. I always feel drawn back to HOD after perusing (and deciding on) it for the past two years! Here is what is in my cart right now for my 4.5 year old and my newly 3 year old:

LHTH
LHFHG
Reading Made Easy (are the workbooks necessary, or is the book usually sufficient?)
Singapore A (we zipped through a lot of this in the Fall, but without Carrie's awesome hands-on activities or an HOD guide. I'd want to redo it more slowly!)
Rod and Staff workbooks for K

My understanding is that both girls would do LHTH together, possibly only 4 days a week for my three-year-old's sake, and then dd1 would work on phonics, math, and Rod & Staff skills in LHFHG on her own. I certainly don't want dd2 to reach LHFHG too soon, so we'd keep the pace slower.

Then, when dd1 is 5 or 5.5, we would add in the science and history from LHFHG but move on to Singapore 1A/1B and just continue with phonics at her pace?

Clear as mud? I know these questions get asked every day but I'm really hoping to make a GOOD decision and commit to it for 2014!

Blessings,

Jessica

[MelInKansas]

That sounds like a workable plan, if your 4.5 YO is ready for that much work. You could certainly try it and see. LHTH is really fun to do with two preschoolers together, I did that when my oldest and 2nd were 4.5 and 2.5 (when we started). After trying to start learn-to-read with both my oldest and 2nd I highly recommend waiting until 5, unless your child is already picking it up on their own and likes to sit down and work on it. When they are a little older their brains just retain the sounds and blending of the sounds a lot better and it is much less frustrating.

I have not used Reading Made Easy so I do not know about the workbooks, but whatever they sell and recommend on the HOD site is probably sufficient and I don't remember seeing them selling workbooks.

If your goal is for them to be combined, then I don't think you would move into the core of LHFHG (history, science, etc) when the oldest is 5.5, because that would definitely leave younger sibling behind. Though I guess some people do go through LHFHG twice. Also if you do it 4 days a week and 36 weeks a year then LHTH will take you 1.25 years (one full school year plus 9 weeks of the next school year). That would be your history, math, and science, especially for the younger one. But it would be sufficient for an older child, for your oldest for example, until she is 6, especially with the higher level of phonics, handwriting, and math.

[my3sons]

Hi Jessica, and welcome to the HOD Board! I like this plan...

My understanding is that both girls would do LHTH together, possibly only 4 days a week for my three-year-old's sake, and then dd1 would work on phonics, math, and Rod & Staff skills in LHFHG on her own. I certainly don't want dd2 to reach LHFHG too soon, so we'd keep the pace slower.

I think doing this 4 days a week would be wise. I'd make it a goal not to get to LHFHG until your youngest is at least 4 1/2 years old, and then I'd take another 1 1/2 years to go through LHFHG, so that by the time your youngest dd reaches Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory, she is at least 6 yo. With HOD, you can keep moving along your oldest dd in LA and math, but keep them together for the rest. However, I'd not add in the Science and History from Little Hearts for His Glory while doing Little Hands, as the entire left side of plans of Little Hearts coordinates together. The age range for Little Hearts... is 5-7 yo anyway, so I'd save that for when the girls can enjoy it together. Many people just get the next guide up when the older of a pair combined is ready for the next level of math, grammar, reading instruction, and spelling/dictation. This is easy to do, and it allows the two to use the majority of the plans of the core guide they are doing together. HTH! I am so excited for you to begin HOD - it is such a blessing to be able to homeschool with HOD. We truly can look back on the last decade with HOD and smile at all the special shared memories and learning. I pray that is your story too!

In Christ,
Julie