should LHFHG just take an hour a day?

[jjdmathnut]

Hi - My boys (6 and 5) are doing LHFHG this year and really enjoying it. It only takes us 60-90 minutes to complete all the activities. Is that what the rest of you have found? I guess that since this is my first year of homeschooling and my oldest son would be in kindergarten all day otherwise, I may just be feeling a little insecure, esp. when friends and extended family may question what we're doing. Both boys understand everything and do the work correctly, so I don't see what would take more time... The rest of the day is spent doing puzzle books, listening to audio books, playing with Legos, etc. I guess I'm just looking for reassurance that we're on the right track. Thank you!.....Jennifer

[pollo_la]

Yep, we have found the same to be true for us as well. I understand that each "box" is suppose to take about 10 minutes, and some days, depending on the activity they can take less, or slightly more. Just keep in mind that is public school the teacher has to teach an entire classroom of children, so reading and math lessons could easily take a half hour or more just to hand out papers, teach, help children, etc. Also, they have playtime, and snack time, etc. added into their day as well. Don't forget that the teacher has behavioral issues that come up throughout the day as well that have to be dealt with. Not that we DON'T have behavior issues, BUT, I have 3 fairly well trained children as apposed to a room full of children from various backgrounds. Oh, and honestly, kids don't really NEED school at this age anyway, so any learning that does take place (yes they are ALWAYS learning) should be kept short and sweet, just as HOD has done so perfectly for us.

[funkmomma71]

Yes, LHFHG should take only 60-90 minutes, and yes you're not alone in thinking that it can't enough. But let me assure you, it is quite enough! We did LHFHG last year and some days it took less then an hour, those days had me worried! But dd was very well prepared to do Beyond this year, and I assure you Beyond will take longer, but there are days we fly through it and I think I must have missed something. Yes, you are on the right track, your boys are flying through their school day and then enjoying the rest of the day with creative activities, not bad.

[jjdmathnut]

Ahhh, thank you both for your encouragement. Sometimes I question myself and feel alone, so this was the right place to come! Nancy, I see that your 5 yo is in BHFHG - how is that going? It's not too much for a 5 yo? The only reason I ask is that next year my boys will still be 5 and 6 when we start BHFHG, and I didn't know if the 5 yo would be ready for it (I've already thought about going at half-speed.) Thanks for your input!.......Jennifer

[funkmomma71]

I should update dd's age, she is now 6. We started Beyond when she was 5 (3 months shy of turning 6), it was a little difficult, but I think it was more the amount of work and not the level of work. I had originally planned to go half speed, but scrapped that when dd was able to keep pace with the curriculum as written. She is doing great, though I recently bought the HIG for Singapore Math, using that has removed the last bit of frustration we were experiencing. If your boys have gone through LHFHG then they should be prepared for Beyond. HTH

[Carrie]

Jennifer,

LHFGH is designed to take 60-90 minutes each day, including phonics and math time. So, you're right on track! Enjoy the days when school is short, as the days get longer soon enough!

We pray you will have a wonderful year with LHFHG. We enjoyed it so much last year when we did it with our third little guy.

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Yes - LHFHG took us 60-90 minutes to do as well. And yes, that's enough! You know that it wasn't until about a 10-15 years ago that kindergartens (at least in the midwest) became full day, 5 day a week programs? Before that, it was always half-day kindergarten, from either 8 to 11:30 AM, or from 12:00 to 3:30 PM, with milk and a snack provided halfway through, and recess, art, music, creative playtime, look at books time, play with centers/toys time, etc. too. And - the class sizes were usually between 15-30 dc, which obviously would take more time to teach than our 1 or a few more little dc. From that pacing, kindergarten next became a full day program, but only 2 days a week (either Mondays and Wednesdays, or Tuesdays and Thursdays). A long afternoon nap scheduled. After that, they changed it to 2 dasy a week plus every other Friday. From that, it became 3 days a week, and shortly after that full days 5 days a week. All of this was pretty much due to parents wanting their dc to be on the same school schedule as their work schedule. Anyway, just food for thought!

In Christ,
Julie