Looking for curriculum for my girls

[kewkew34]

Hi, I am new to these boards and just looking into homeschool curriculum for my 3 little ones. We have been working on a letter of the week (usually taking at least 2 weeks per letter) for the last 2 1/2 years or so. My girls are 4 (since Jan), 3 (in a few weeks) and 13 months. With focusing on our letter of the week and using such things as starfall.com, Leap Frog DVD's, and some Montessori materials my 4 year old is reading simple Level 1 Beginning Readers and 1st grade ABeka readers that I picked up at the thrift shop when we decided we were homeschooling. She is also able to sound out words to write them and is writing simple stories or having me write them while she dictates. I hadn't planned on using curriculum until she was old enough that we had to report (we live in Pa so that would still be 4 years from now). But with all that she has been doing I was thinking maybe I should start looking into something more. I had thought about using the Weaver Curriculum because of having the 3 girls to teach. Then I read some unfavorable reviews and sort of changed my mind. I actually had the Interlock (which is the preschool/kindergarten level) given to me, along with a Vol 1. I am waiting to see the Day by Day to see if I think I will be able to use it. But since then I started looking into Ambleside Online and then Sonlight and was really liking the Sonlight, except for the price. Then I started reading some people's concerns about the maturity level of children and having to wait before moving on to their Core A. It was then that I really started looking at Heart of Dakota.

It seems to me that LHTH would be too easy for my 4 year old. So I had been looking at LHFHG, but wasn't sure how I would then also work with my 3 year old. How complete of a curriculum is HOD? Will I be supplementing a bunch?

I guess I should mention we can't buy curriculum until next February when we get our taxes back, in which case we would be starting in March with a new curriculum. The Interlock, along with finishing up our letter of the week and letting the girls work in Brain Quest workbooks when they feel like it, will keep us busy until then. At that point my girls will be 5, almost 4 and 2. How exactly would I use both the LHTH and the LHFHG at the same time? Is it possible? Oh, and how much of a CM influence is there with HOD?

Thank you

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board! HOD is such a great way to homeschool our dc, I'm so glad you and your dc will get to enjoy it too. As far as choosing which guide(s) to use, the placement chart is extremely helpful. We have used it to place our 3 sons, and it has been easy to use and accurate. If you take a minute to look over the placement chart, especially the first page of it, where do each of your dc place individually? This will help us give placement advice tailored to your family's needs, and that just makes for a super year overall. I do think you'll be able to combine them, but knowing where each dd places individually helps us figure out the details of it better. Here is a link to the placement chart, if you share a little about each of your dd's with the first page of the placement chart in mind especially, then we'll all chime in and help chat this through...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

This board is full of encouraging, Christian moms - this is one of my favorite places to be. I'm glad you are going to be a part of it too, and I look forward to getting to know you here as we enjoy our journey through HOD!
In Christ,
Julie

[kewkew34]

Thanks for your response Julie. I was beginning to wonder if I was asking the wrong questions, not making sense, whatever.
I have looked at the placement charts. I know one of the hard things is that I am not going to be buying any curriculum for quite a few months so the girls are going to be more mature, more advanced, etc.
Right now my 4 year old has been sounding out words for several months. A couple of months ago she started reading The Cat in the Hat to me. She is now reading level 1 readers and rarely needs help with words, at least ones she can easily sound out. She is sounding out 5 and 6 letter words. So I am not sure if that is considered "ready for phonics instruction" or "finishing phonics" I was sort of confused on where to place her there. She has been using a Brain Quest workbook to work on writing her letters. She is constantly writing words and simple sentences, but her handwriting needs help. So I figured the Handwriting falls under LHFHG. Wasn't sure how you tell where a child places for the grammar. With math we have done a lot of what I tend to call "unschooly" types of things to help with math. As it IS all around us. She can count past 20, recognize numbers to 100 (I believe. She can definitely look at a digital clock and tell the minutes, as she told me it was 7:46 the one day), she can add on one and two when asked, knows that two halves equal a whole, she's even counted to 100 by 10's, and she recognizes different coins. So could someone please tell me where that would place her for math?

I know my almost 3 year old recognizes letters and knows their sounds. She is not quite ready to be blending words though. She can write some letters that have straight lines, but still struggles with curved lines. She is just able to cut on a straight line with out help (Monday as a matter of fact). She knows shapes and colors. She can count to 10 I believe, but not much further and she recognizes some numbers.

I don't think Amelia (my 3 yr old) would be ready for LHFHG, but I am sure Tabitha (4 year old) is. Especially by the time we get to the end of the year and are able to order. Was wondering how I would work with them both together because I really want to know if this is doable, especially with the little one who is only 13 months right now.
Thank you

[my3sons]

Thanks for sharing about your dc! Many ladies are either finishing up their end of the year standardized testing now or on summer break, so there was nothing wrong with your post at all. Tabitha sounds like my Wyatt at 4 1/2 yo - she is just taking off, isn't she? That is very exciting! I do think Tabitha is ready for LHFHG. I think this would be a great fit for her. LHFHG is a terrific way to travel through a 1 year sweep of history. We had so much FUN with LHFHG! It also gave a great academic balance to our days - history and science read alouds, science experiments, history activities, art activities, Scripture memorization, music, heart to heart devotion time, Storytime read alouds with good comprehension questions, get up and move history rhymes, hands-on math that was fun too, handwriting and fine motor skills practice - just such good stuff!

It sounds like your 4 yo is just really blossoming and quite far ahead for her age, as well as farther ahead than her younger sibling. This is pretty common actually. Here is a thread where Carrie addresses this...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6155

I think I'd start Tabitha in LHFHG 4 days a week, taking the fifth day off to let her have just a bit longer to grow into it, as she is below the target age range. I think I'd try to combine your 13 month old and your 3 yo down the road. You could start half-speed with the younger resources of LHTH with your 3 yo. Then you could see what happens from there. I think you'd enjoy LHFHG so much! We surely did and cannot wait to do it again with our third ds. Just for fun, here is a link to the LHFHG photobook, so you can see what neat things your dd will be doing...
http://heartofdakotasphotobooks.shutterfly.com/25

In Christ,
Julie

[kewkew34]

Thanks for your responses to my questions Julie. I didn't realize it has been nearly 2 weeks since I posted. I have really been trying to come to some decision. I actually had started looking at Sonlight first, liked the look of things, but not sure if we could really afford it. I didn't like the look of some of the comments I was reading on the boards regarding having to go slow with children in the P4/5 because they would not be ready for K yet. Then I found HOD and thought it looked doable. I have been reading the boards a bit and perusing the catalog and I am liking this curriculum even more.
I know this sounds crazy, but I am actually not looking to by purchasing anything til next Spring. We will have to use our tax money to get curriculum or we can't afford it. My plan right now is to continue the letter of the week that I have been doing and work through the Weaver Interlock that I had given to me. Looking at the Vol 1 is overwhelming me though, which is why I am looking for something else. I am figuring we will be ready for a new curriculum come next Spring, which is my preferred plan as I do plan on schooling through the summer. Is HOD set up for 5 days a week? I was thinking of only doing 3 or 4 year round? How do you think that would work?
I plan to start LHFHG with Tabitha when she is 5.
Amelia, 3 1/2 and Hannah 2 will be together in LHTH. Or I will just do letter of the week again. I am waiting to see how Amelia has progressed. She actually started sounding out the words on her sister's "at" and "ad" word cards a couple of days ago. Out of the blue, I wasn't asking her too because I didn't think she was ready, she is only just turning 3 next week. So she is getting there. So hard to plan for over half a year in advance. But I want to make sure I am making the right decisions.
Thanks for your time

[krismoose]

Is HOD set up for 5 days a week? I was thinking of only doing 3 or 4 year round? How do you think that would work?

HOD has 5 days in each unit (until Preparing, I believe), but many moms school 4 days a week. We do that and I just pick up the next week with whatever day we left off on - it works great for us. I like that 5th day (usually midweek sometime) to schedule playdates and errands, and I like to do extra art then sometimes too. My ds does math and handwriting everyday, though, as he does better with fewer breaks. It's too hot to play outside right now in Southern Arizona, so we're better off doing school now anyhow

[my3sons]

Thanks for your responses to my questions Julie. I didn't realize it has been nearly 2 weeks since I posted. I have really been trying to come to some decision. I actually had started looking at Sonlight first, liked the look of things, but not sure if we could really afford it. I didn't like the look of some of the comments I was reading on the boards regarding having to go slow with children in the P4/5 because they would not be ready for K yet. Then I found HOD and thought it looked doable. I have been reading the boards a bit and perusing the catalog and I am liking this curriculum even more.
I know this sounds crazy, but I am actually not looking to by purchasing anything til next Spring. We will have to use our tax money to get curriculum or we can't afford it. My plan right now is to continue the letter of the week that I have been doing and work through the Weaver Interlock that I had given to me. Looking at the Vol 1 is overwhelming me though, which is why I am looking for something else. I am figuring we will be ready for a new curriculum come next Spring, which is my preferred plan as I do plan on schooling through the summer. Is HOD set up for 5 days a week? I was thinking of only doing 3 or 4 year round? How do you think that would work?
I plan to start LHFHG with Tabitha when she is 5.
Amelia, 3 1/2 and Hannah 2 will be together in LHTH. Or I will just do letter of the week again. I am waiting to see how Amelia has progressed. She actually started sounding out the words on her sister's "at" and "ad" word cards a couple of days ago. Out of the blue, I wasn't asking her too because I didn't think she was ready, she is only just turning 3 next week. So she is getting there. So hard to plan for over half a year in advance. But I want to make sure I am making the right decisions.
Thanks for your time

I like to look ahead and plan too, so let's do that for your sweeties! I think it sounds like Tabitha would do great with LHFHG when she is 5 yo. We loved LHFHG for many reasons, but the one year sweep, the focus on the 3 R's, the Christ-centered talks we had, and the great balance of hands-on/books/seatwork in the short lesson format were some of our very favorites. When Amelia and Hannah are 3 1/2 and 2 yo they could start LHTH slowly, maybe half-speed with the 4/5 options. We do this with our sons, doing half-speed about 3 boxes a day, completing a page of plans over 2 days instead of one, and have loved this. I would shoot for your little Hannah to be very near 5 yo when you start LHFHG. You can - at any time while doing LHTH - start the K LA and math options of LHFHG with Amelia whenever she is ready (which would be the fine motor skills box including "Finding the Answers/ Do It Carefully", "K" handwriting, phonics, and Earlybird Math). I'd probably do that when Amelia turns 5 yo or so. Then, when you do LHFHG with Amelia and Hannah as their core program, Amelia can just do the first grade options of LA/math, and Hannah can do the K options.

As far as the 5 days a week plan, we just do 4 days a week and it takes 9 weeks longer to complete a guide then. Actually, if you did 4 days a week for LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, and BHFHG, instead of 5 days a week, you'd complete 4 guides in 5 years, which would be great, as little Hannah would have time to grow into the guides, and Amelia could then have the option to do the extensions in BHFHG on up. This would help each of the dc to be able to be combined well, and keep Tabitha moving along in her guides, too. By placing your dc this way, you've taken into account the individual needs of each of your dc, which is a great family choice for everyone - hooray! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[kewkew34]

Thank you Kristen and Julie. Your advice has been very helpful. I would definitely be having "lessons" 4 times a week at most at this age. I don't have to worry about being official in our state til the children turn 8. We have play group on Tues and Story time on Fridays so I like to have no lesson time or a shortened lesson time at the most.
I think we will be going with HOD in the spring, hubby seems to be okay with it. If so I will do LHFHG with Tabitha 3-4 days a week. I definitely think I will be getting the Reason for Handwriting A level. I questioned about this in a separate thread, but I think Tabitha will be all letter-practiced out by age 5 and ready for something more as she is currently working on writing her letters in her Pre-k and K Brain quest books. I had started her on the K when I realized she hadn't finished the pre-k. She can write just a tad bit bigger in the prek so I decided to put the k on hold til she had a little more control.
For Amelia and Hannah I am going to hold off on LHTH for another year. The Letter of the Week that I have been doing with Tabitha and Amelia seems to have worked, so I decided I would do the same things with Amelia and Hannah, that I used to do with Tabitha and Amelia. This includes a letter puppet, making a book for each letter, word cards, chalkboard time, and other things. We actually take at least 2 weeks to go through a letter. And I was figuring Tabitha could help out with Hannah possibly. Still trying to figure out the scheduling. These boards have really been informative.
I figure I will start LHTH 1/2 speed the next year with both younger girls. Of course they will be going through the alphabet again, but in a different way.
If I see that Amelia is needing more I will have to see about using 3 guides I guess.