I've decided! New question about 4yr old

[Triadpeas]

Ok, I have decided to with PHFHG with my 8.5 yr old dd and 10 yr old dd after the wonderful counsel and wisdom of Carrie, Julie, and others!
Thank you so much!

Now I have a question about my 4.5yr old little girl. She knows her letters and most sounds and knows how to count objects to about 12 or so. She can write her name (not perfectly, of course!) I have LHTH and was planning to start that, would this be the right program? It's so sweet, but would she be better served with LHFHG at a much slower pace? I also saw a sample of The Reading Lesson and really liked it!

What would you all do? Her attention span is not very long, typical for a 4.5 yr old, but I know she is "ready" for K material. I just don't want to rush things at all with her.

Thanks in advance, after the decision-making is done, I can freely join in to offer what I can to this wonderful board, rather that bother with all these questions!

Sandra

[sharonb]

Your 4 year old sounds just like mine. He won't be 5 till December. He knows the letters and sounds and does great with the Explode the Code primer workbooks. I am also having him do the R&S ABC series of workbooks (except for D and F since I know those are used in Little Hearts). Although he listens pretty well when we read aloud, I want to give him a little more time before starting his own HOD program. I'll probably start him in Little Hearts sometime in the fall, and plan on taking our time if need be.

My first son is finishing up Kindergarten, and he started K when he was 4 1/2, and did great. I did have to slow down phonics, because his brain just wasn't ready for it yet. But just this week he is making some progress again! (His strength has been in math).

Anyway, I'd say go ahead and try the Little Hearts and just take it slow!

[Triadpeas]

Thanks for taking the time to answer my post!
I also have her working through the R&S books, and she does pretty well with them.

I will pray about this and hopefully come to a clear decision.

Sandra

[Mom2Monkeys]

My son wasn't 5 until Dec. either, so I just started him on the K phonics and a Early Bird math 1A and B in prep for LHFHG. Once he was doing well with those, I added in the rest. We just started last month but have only done one week of it...He's a few months older and the growth is obvious! He's doing excellent with Reading Made Easy and with SM Early Bird 2A. We're taking it slower since he's not officially K until Aug., but he was certainly ready! Once I got rid of the idea of having to start at the beginning of a guide when public schools start their new school year, I jumped right in! He loves LHFHG and it's right on his level NOW. It's okay to start any of the guides mid-year or at anytime during the year (or summer for that matter). Start when your child is ready and enjoy! If that means doing it now, so be it...if that means in January or April, then that's okay too!

[Jessi]

I too would look into LHFHG. I started with LHTH in the fall when my daughter was 4.5 but she also knew her letter sounds and had done Pre-K handwriting and could do K math workbooks no problem. LHTH (while a great guide) was not optimal for her learning level. We started LHFHG in January (even though she won't be in K until fall) and we started at half pace and it was perfect. We are now going full pace at her request but if it gets to be too much we can always slow down. Once I challenged her more she started LOVING homeschooling. We are having great success.

[my3sons]

Ok, I have decided to with PHFHG with my 8.5 yr old dd and 10 yr old dd after the wonderful counsel and wisdom of Carrie, Julie, and others!
Thank you so much!

Now I have a question about my 4.5yr old little girl. She knows her letters and most sounds and knows how to count objects to about 12 or so. She can write her name (not perfectly, of course!) I have LHTH and was planning to start that, would this be the right program? It's so sweet, but would she be better served with LHFHG at a much slower pace? I also saw a sample of The Reading Lesson and really liked it!

What would you all do? Her attention span is not very long, typical for a 4.5 yr old, but I know she is "ready" for K material. I just don't want to rush things at all with her.

Thanks in advance, after the decision-making is done, I can freely join in to offer what I can to this wonderful board, rather that bother with all these questions!

Sandra

Congrats on deciding on PHFHG, and I can't wait for you to get your things! You will enjoy PHFHG so much; we are getting a little sad around here as we are reaching the end of it. I'll have to enjoy PHFHG again next year vicariously, through you using it! As far as your little girl, I agree she does sound ready for K material. However, since you already own the LHTH guide, she is young, and you are not wanting to rush things with her, you may just want to try the LHTH guide with her. You could see how it went and then decide. You are right, it is such a sweet program, and you are going to be doing PHFHG for the first time too. I agree with the ladies that you have a smart little cookie that could probably do LHFHG. I'm just thinking down the road and wondering if you might appreciate having her in a younger guide like this, considering her age and the teaching time needed? LHTH takes 20-30 minutes a day, and LHFHG takes 1 1/2 hours a day. Either LHTH or LHFHG would work for her, so it just depends on what you'd enjoy this year and down the road.

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Sandra,

The ladies are giving you wonderful advice. With what you've shared about your 4.5 year old daughter, I see two options that would work well for her.

Option 1: You could do LHTH as written and add in part of the right side only of LHFHG (Doing the kindergarten options for handwriting, math, Rod and Staff workbooks, and beginning phonics). In this option, the following year you would move into all of LHFHG, doing the first grade options with your daughter instead.

Option 2: You could do LHFHG at half-speed, doing the left side of the page one day and the right the next.

Both options will work well, so it's honestly more of a decision of how ready your daughter is to listen to the longer, higher level readings in LHFHG.

Either way, we pray you'll have a wonderful year with HOD!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Kathleen]

I did LHTH this year starting with my 4.5 yo girl (and her little brother). We have had a wonderful year!!!! My little gal already knew letters and sounds and could count and write her name, too. She still had a great experience in LHTH. My favorite part of LHTH is the important Biblical truths that she is learning. She trusted Christ as her Savior after her wheels had been started turning in one of our discussions during LHTH. (Now the important Biblical truths are an integral part of EVERY HOD program, so you'll get them whatever you choose, but they've been perfect for us in LHTH. )

You'd honestly be fine either option you choose, but if I were you, I'd opt for LHTH. You could add in phonics and some early math. (I started The Reading Lesson in November with Allison, and it's been easy to add on to LHTH. We haven't done any extra math yet.) I'm thinking that especially since she isn't your oldest and you have other kids you're working with, too, this will be the best use of your time all-around. From observation here, it seems to me that it's typically moms working with their oldest child at 4.5 who don't think LHTH is "enough". Maybe it's because the moms are ready to do more with the child...I'm not sure.

Kathleen