Newbie with placement questions

[momtofour]

Hi, I am new to the board and will be starting homeschooling in the fall with our five year old dd. I am seriously considering going with HOD LHFHG but have a few questions on placement. My dd has attended preschool for two years at our church and already has learned quite alot of the stuff that is offered in LHFHG in the Kindergarten level but not all of it. She is not reading yet on her own but does memorize books. My question is this. Maybe I am making this way too confusing. Do I just order the straight Kindergarten curriculum in LHFHG or do I go with the first grade workbooks that go with it? I don't want to put her in a place with the curriculum that she shouldn't be but don't want her overly bored with things she has already learned. Is it possible to order the first grade books that come with LHFHG as extras along with the Kindergarten ones. My dh was wanting to me order K and 1st grade anyway at the same time as we did not know where to place her. I will use anything I order several years if we like it as I have a ds who will be four in June and is also in preschool and then later use it with my other dd as well. I appreciate any info I can get on this. I have been praying and researching for a couple months on this and have found that this curriculum fits our needs more than the others I have found. Thanks all.

Married to wonderful husband for 17 years
dd 5 years
ds 4 in June
dd 2 1/2
ds 4 1/2 months

[tjswaine]

Momtofour, you could definitely order the K and the 1st grade materials. Our family owns both of the Bibles, the K and 1st grade Science, and the Rod and Staff K books and Thinking Skills Gr. 1 book. All of them are excellent products, though if I had to pick my favorites, I would choose the Family Time Bible and the K Science. If you are unsure about Math placement you could check out the Singapore Math website for samples and placement tests.
Welcome to HOD!

[momtofour]

Thanks, I can use all the info I can get. I think I am going to drive my dh crazy with all the research I am doing on this. He thinks it should be easier but from what I understand everyone does lots of research before starting this endeavor.

married to dh 17 years
dd 5 years
ds almost 4
dd 2 1/2
ds 4 1/2 months

[momofgreatones]

I am using Little Hearts with my 7 and 5 year olds, so we own all of the K and 1st options as well, except we do just use the one Bible, the Family Time Bible, which I definitely recommend for your 5 yo, even if you go with the 1st grade options. It is beautiful, and the text is just right, with thoughtful questions at the end of each story which usually stimulate a good little discussion.

I would just go ahead and order both the K and 1st options with the Science and and R & S book and Thinking Skills book, that way you can see what you think. They are inexpensive anyway, so I think that is a good option. You will love the Thornton Burgess books. My 5 yo struggled a bit at first with those since they don't have many pictures, but she adjusted quickly and now she loves them. It was such a good skill for her to learn. So don't be alarmed if your little one has an adjustment there at first.

Are you thinking you would need the Singapore 1A as instead of the Earlybird K Singapore? If so, the activities (which I highly recommend doing) for the 1A are in the Beyond manual, so you would need that to implement the activities. This is what my 7 yo is doing, they are fantastic. The Earlybird K Singapore books are surprisingly advanced, so be sure to use the placement guidelines at the Singapore website (I believe that's where they are rather than the HOD website - could be wrong about this though).

Yes, researching curriculum is a time-consuming hobby that most of us hsing moms have at some point . But it is SO nice to finally be done with that part and moving forward with actually USING and enjoying the curriculum. I researched for a very long time, and for this age (and all other ages too actually) there isn't anything like HOD. Other curriculums were either too workbooky, too activity-oriented, too much prep for me, or too secular. Little Hearts is the perfect balance. You are in for a treat.

[momtofour]

Monique, thanks for your suggestions. You are right, the books are inexpensive which is great so I probably will buy the extra 1st grade books to go with the k curriculum. I thought the Bible you mentioned sounded nice as well and am glad you was able to verify that. As for the math she is starting to add and subtract but not too much else so if the Singapore k book is advanced I should not have to buy the first grade book for that. Our son will be going to preschool again next year at our church so I will not need to worry about teaching him and her at the same time for another year but I am wondering how easy it will be to keep my almost three year old and our baby who will be about 8 months by the time we start occupied while I teach her. I will probably go into a little more indepth teaching of the abc's to our three year old as she should be ready to learn them by then. She isn't catching on as quick as the first two but I believe she will catch up. Thanks again.

Helen


dh married to for 17 years
dd 5
ds almost 4
dd 2 1/2
ds 4 1/2 months

[3sweeties]

Hi Helen!

Welcome to homeschooling and HOD!!! I think it does sound like a good idea to get both the K and 1st options for your DD if that is what you think would work best for her and your family! My DS, who is now 6, was 5.5 when we started K last fall and was in preschool for the two years before that. He was in a special advanced group at preschool and had learned most of his letter sounds, etc. by the end of his 4K year. I share that because I have still taken LHFHG slowly with him this year and it has been a WONDERFUL year for him! I am sad to say that I pushed my oldest DS way too hard his K year and have regretted that, so I decided that my second DS's K year would be much more gentle and mostly FUN, which is what K should be, IMO!!! Despite doing things slowly, he is reading REALLY well right now (we have used The Reading Lesson-LOVE it!) and is probably at the end of a 1st grade reading level -- I couldn't be more pleased!!! Earlybird Math has been mostly easy for him, but I felt like it would be good for him to still go through to reinforce basic math concepts since Singapore starts moving pretty fast once you get to 1B.

Something to think about also is that you may find that you need to slow your DD down when you get to Beyond for 1st or Bigger for 2nd. There is a huge jump b/t Beyond and Bigger as far as writing, narration, etc. We did LHFHG half-speed until January and I only sped it up to full-speed b/c my DS was begging for more! We are ending his K year with about half of it finished and are going to do the rest of LHFHG with the 1st grade options next year for 1st, which will cause him to do Beyond for 2nd and Bigger for 3rd (this is what I want, having taught Bigger for 2nd with my first DS)! All that to say, there are so many ways to make HOD work for your family and I know you will find what is best for yours!!! HTH a little!!!

[momtofour]

Jessica,

I really appreciate all the advice I am getting on placement from this message board. I will probably start my dd out at the Kindergarten level and see how that goes. She really likes learning alot but when being taught she is afraid of giving the wrong answers so backs off on some subjects. I am afraid she is going to be difficult to teach to read, even though she memorizes books and can sound out some words she gets impatient when she doesn't know the answer right away. Another question I had was does anyone incorporate any extras into their teaching such as art and music. My dd is very into drawing. Thanks for everyone's help.

Helen



Married to dh 17 years
dd 5
ds almost 4
dd 2 1/2
ds 4 1/2 months

[8arrows]

I think the K materials sound like the best fit. My 5 and 6 year olds will be using LHFHG in the fall. I will enjoy sharing notes next year with you. I am using the Family TIme Bible and K science even with my then 1st grader and she is a beginning reader.

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board, Helen! You've received such good advice already here, that I am just nodding my head. We're getting ready to teach LHFHG a third time to our 3rd ds, and I am still getting all excited to do it again! It is a delightful way to teach dc, and so many skills are learned within that guide - yet in a fun way. I'm glad your dd is going to get to do it. I agree the K options sound just right for your dd! There is art planned each week, so your dd can go all out on that. There is also dramatic play, hands-on science experiments, and daily corresponding music that will cater to your dd's creative/fine arts side beautifully. Do you have a phonics program chosen? HOD offers 2 excellent options for that. I am excited for you to start! Keep asking questions until you're set. This board is so helpful, and HOD is such a blessing in our home!

In Christ,
Julie

[momtofour]

Hi again, I really am getting some great suggestions for homeschooling. I thank everyone for their info. It is good to know that they do have art incorporated in to LHFHG once a week. The fact that it is a hands on curriculum with so much to do is one of the reasons I have decided to go with HOD. So many people local I have talked to have been doing other curriculums that are pace based etc. I am not putting that down and I know that is probably what works for their families. I know that would not work for my dd or actually any of my children thus far as they like to be involved with hands on learning. I can't wait to get started with it but I don't want spring and summer to disappear that quickly. Thanks all,

Helen
dh 17 years
dd 5
ds almost 4
dd 2 1/2
ds 4 1/2 months