Beginning homeschool

[donk3842]

We are beginning homeschool this year. We have 4 girls. Our oldest will be 5 at the end of April and has not done preschool, but she is very bright and ready to learn. She is 18 months older than the second child. The spacing between the second and third and third and fourth is about14 months.
We don't know exactly which program to start with our how to potentially combine some later on. Please give what advice or help you can. Thanks!

[StephanieU]

How about starting the older two on LHTH. Then when the second is about 5yo and ready for LHFHG, those to can move on to that. The younger two can continue in LHTH until the youngest is about 5yo and ready for LHFHG. Hopefully at that point, the older two will be starting Bigger (or finishing Beyond).
If the oldest is ready for more math, phonics, or handwriting before the next is ready for LHFHG, you can always start those boxed of LHFHG with the oldest (K level). Or you could add in the earlier Rod and Staff books (not available from HOD but available elsewhere online). HOD uses 4 of the ABC/GHI series in LHFHG (2 for the K option and 2 for the 1st grade option), but there 10 of them plus a Bible coloring book (B book).

[MelInKansas]

As we always recommend let the placement chart be your guide. With children that close in age, it seems likely you would have some of them combined in the same guide, but you also need to look at skill levels and personalities. Which will be very hard to tell with your little ones until they are older. Look here http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php and see if you think your oldest would place into Little Hands to Heaven (Preschool) or Little Hearts for His Glory (K-1st) in the fall (or whenever you plan to start). Along with knowing letters, letter sounds, counting, and being ready to start handwriting (which would place her in the K program rather than preschool) think of whether she is ready to sit down and listen to read-alouds for longer, can she listen to stories without pictures and follow it, or is her attention span not quite ready for that yet. LHTH is a lot of fun and a great way to start if you want something easy, Bible centered, and fun. You could do LHTH with 2 of your kids and have the oldest do some handwriting, phonics, and math if you feel she is ready for that challenge also. If you started the 5YO in LHFHG and she fits well there then that probably means she will be on her own and you would want to start the next two in LHTH whenever they seem ready for some school/instruction time. In particular if you have one who seems "ahead" or very interested in learning you might combine that one with the next one older than them.

I hope this all makes sense. Please ask if there are any other questions you have.

Placing them where they fit is most important. It is not necessarily good though to have them in back-to-back guides if you can avoid it. The teaching dynamic works better if there is one guide between two kids. But do what is best for them. I hope you have wisdom from the Lord and will enjoy your time with HOD!

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board, and you've already received some good advice! After you get a chance to check out the placement chart, especially its first page focusing on reading/writing/math/grammar, please share your findings with us, and we will chime in with more specific advice! If your oldest dd places in "Little Hearts for His Glory" for some things, it is easy to use "Little Hands to Heaven" with the 2 of your dc and use just portions of "Little Hearts for His Glory" for your older to beef up certain areas (such as LA/math). So, be sure to share your thoughts on each area, and we'll all come up with a great plan together tailor-fit to your family!

In Christ,
Julie

[donk3842]

Thank you all for your advice and encouragement! We will consider these things and get back to you soon! We are excited about our new adventure!