New to Home Schooling and Need Advice :)

[Voice of Truth]

Hello!

This is going to be long! I am so sorry! Please bear with me.

We are new to Home Schooling and cannot wait to get started! I am the proud mother of 6 children ages 2-6 (bio and adopted). I have spent countless hours researching and researching home school curriculum. We had finally settled on My Father's World with a few reservations. It really fit best with what I was looking for most in a HS curriculum overall. However I was finding myself really drawn to the Apologia Exploring Creation Series by Jeannie K. Fulbright for science for K-6. We are a Science loving family and I know friends that have used this curriculum and just Absolutely LOVE it! So I then tried to build my own curriculum out of my favorite choices for Phonics, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, Math, Spelling, etc.....but then it came back to history that would be Appropriate, Engaging, and Exciting for my young learners. I couldn't find anything I was happy with. We are a History loving family as well and really love the idea of learning biblical history along with World History from Creation to Modern Times. However, it needs to be Appropriate for young learners. So, it was back to square one. After MUCH searching I came back to MFW. The Charlotte Mason approach is a very good fit for our family and there were so many things about MFW that we really loved. I decided that we could go ahead and order the Apologia Exploring Creation Series for K-6 and supplement where I saw fit. The MFW world curriculum seemed to suggest a lot of supplementation with books from the library for science (which sounds exhausting with so many kiddos close in age and one due on August 20th). I was really wanting to find something that I could just order and it is ALL there without me having to search daily or weekly for supplements. So I found supplements on my own to order to try and make my life easier.

But, then I kept coming back to some of the concerns I had with MFW. I was still having issues with feeling like there wasn't enough for my pre-schoolers, being concerned with some of the subject matter being too heavy for young learners, wanting to start with American History first for all of my kiddos and not just throwing my younger ones in with my older ones wherever they were at later for several reasons...Just so many reservations. So I had decided to try and teach my K and 1st grader together as much as I could with my Kindergartener doing his K work and the 1st grade work he was ready for. He just seemed to fall between the K & 1st grade level of MFW. My first grader seemed to fit rather nicely in the 1st grade curriculum based on her skill levels. Then I have a Kindergarten age daughter (5 will be 6 in September) that came home from Ukraine on March 4th. She fit just fine in the MFW Kindergarten curriculum. I have an incredibly intelligent 4 year old that would fit well there too. And then what to do with my (just turned) 4 year old son from Ukraine. Also home March 4th. He would definitely benefit from the K curriculum, but I would repeat it for him the following year. So I thought maybe I could group my two oldest (5 & 6/bio) together, the two middle (5/adopted & 4/bio) together, then include my just turned 4/ newly adopted son in the K program as much as he would tolerate....then what to do with my 2 year old? The thinking beind this was that I could start the oldest two at the beginning of the MFW cycle, then the next year I could start the next two at the beginning of the cycle, and so on. I was having trouble with the idea of throwing the younger ones into a curriculum designed for 2nd-8th graders. Afraid that they wouldn't be getting what they need and, again, my concern over age appropriate material.

THEN.....DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!!!!!!! I FOUND HOD!!!

After reading through Carrie's Philosophies and her Answers to FAQ, I was on cloud nine! It seemed like she was in my head. Somehow she just Gets Me! How in the world does she know?!

Know I am nervous and questioning. I have so many questions. And I've already typed way too much...probably have lost most of you by now. I had my plan. I was going to place orders tomorrow. Now I am trying to muddle through all of this new information and new curriculum choices and supplements. Agh! I can't even absorb it right now. I have figured out that Lilly (my 2 year old) obviously would start with LHTH (love that we can include her), Lance (just turned 4 and newly adopted/struggles with FAS) would also start with LHTH. Then there is Logan (4) and Isabella (5 and newly adopted)...Logan knows all of his letters and most of his sounds...Isabella is still learning letters and not really grasping letter sounds quiet yet....So Isabella would start with LHTH as well....Logan seems to fall between LHTH & LHFHG. Sam seems to fall between LHFHG & BLHFHG (bio/ due to start Kindergarten). He was in a very good pre-k program for 2 yrs. Savannah's skill levels fall firmly in BLHFHG. So do I order all three? Do I order three different bibles? Different ones are suggested for different age levels. Any suggestions and advice for teaching all three levels together would be much appreciated And does everyone seem to be happy with the science curriculum? Having a hard time letting go of Apologia I know I have more questions about all the different options for each level, but I will spare everyone for now. I am so sorry this is so long. I hope that it is appropriate to post this here. I am just really weighing my options and questioning what is best for my kiddos and the best fit for our family. I am completely new to all of this and all of the options are overwhelming.

Is there anyone that has experience with both MFW and HOD that can compare the two for me...let me know why you switched and if you are happy with the switch? If that is not appropriate to post on this forum, please feel free to email me @ jeffandcandice0726@yahoo.com

Thank You All SO MUCH for Your Time and God Bless
Candice Eichhorn

[John'smom]

Candice,
First of all welcome to the HOD boards! You'll love it here as everyone is so kind and encouraging.

I can't help with all your questions, but will answer what I can. Here's a post comparing MFW and HOD. I really enjoyed reading it.

As far as Jeannie F.'s curriculum, Carrie eventually uses some of her science things. The other thing, have you ever read through them? IMHO, it's a little much for your dc's age. If you wait a little longer, they'll definitely get more out of them.

Again, welcome.

[raceNzanesmom]

I have zero experience teaching multi age/level kids. However, I'll tell ya what I "know" from reading a ton here and my experience with HOD. LHTH is so fun and takes 30'ish minutes a day. Not a big time commitment, but kids get a lot out of it. LHFHG makes a nice K program for some kids, nice 1st grade for the others. It's not heavy on science, but the science is hands on fun. My ds loved it! I really don't think I'd put any K student in BLHFHG. We'll be using it for 2nd grade. Will also work for some 1st graders. One word of caution, the upper guides include more writing and independent work. You have to consider when your kiddos will get to them, as well as where they fit now. So, if a child falls in between I would be inclined to go down vs up a guide. Perhaps that will help you with placement.

Since I only have one in HOD I don't have a schedule, but I know lots of moms here do. Julie has a nice detailed one somewhere, others do too.

HOD does include some of the Apologia books, jsyk. And they're great for just reading too. We read them along with other science books of interest.

[netpea]

Hi, you've come to the right place, the ladies here love to help. I will give your post more thought but my first impression is that your littles are still so little that I would probably start with LHTH for most of them and LHFHG for the rest. You will want to group them somehow so that you are not doing the guides back to back year after year. I'm sure others will have more advice for you.

[mskogen]

Hi Candice,

Welcome to HOD and homeschooling! My first thought is to start with LHTH and LHFHG. There are 1st grade options for science and fine motor skills you could use with Savannah. Plus each kid would be placed for phonics and math at their level. I would think running 2 programs would be a better place to start with all the kids and expecting another. If you find LHFHG is too easy for Savannah you could order it later and move her up.

I agree with the pp about Apologia. Your children would get sooooo much more out of it if you waited a few years. I am speaking from experience and we are a science (and history) family too. The science does feel light in LHFHG but the kids really get it and have fun with it. It is very age appropiate. My sons usually don't want to it to end. He continues when "school" is over. The science is a great foundation for the later guides. My oldest is in CTC this year and I see the rewards of the science we have done in HOD. This is one of the wonderful parts of HOD, how Carrie builds the skills in each guide. Some of the "simple" activities are laying foundations for much more involved thought processes in later guides. You will be very happy and blessed using HOD! I know we have.

Again welcome.

[christina101902]

I agree with netpea, I believe LHTH and LHFHG will be a good fit. I had been on a curriculum hunt for a couple of years, none that I found had the Science and History that I wanted. Also I wanted something where the Bible was woven throughout the entire Curriculum. In my search I stumbled across HOD on a homeschool board. I have been in love with HOD ever since, it is everything I hoped for my daughter to gain from homeschooling. I hope your family is just as blessed.

[Voice of Truth]

Thank You So Much for the replies! The post that compares HOD with MFW is Exactly what I needed HOD is definitely a Much better fit for our family. I feel so blessed to have found it. I feel like I Finally have peace about this school year.

Thank you for the comments on Science as well. We love hands on science activities and have done a lot of them over the summer just for fun. The only Apologia book I have actually seen is Botany. A friend of mine used it with her K, 1st, and 3rd graders last year. Savannah spent a few days at her house and fell in love with it. She will be 7 in November and is my little nature and animal lover. Looking at the txt I did feel like it was more for older children. That left me to wonder about the others as well. It's good to know that they would get more out of it later and that HOD has lots of hand on activities for my little ones to enjoy

Thanks for all those that read my Loooong post and took time to reply. I am going to look through the info for each guide some more on the website (haven't received the catalog yet). Savannah is already reading and is definitely at a much higher level than the others in all areas. She was in a very good K program last year. I am blown away by how much she can do. Would it really be okay to start her in LHFHG and just custom tailor it a bit more to fit her skill levels? It certainly sounds nice to do two guides verses three I just want to make sure she is getting what she needs as well.

Thanks again ladies! Can't wait to get started!
God Bless!
Candice

[momtofive]

Welcome to the HOD family!

I can completely relate to so much of your post! I had used MFW in the past, and have had all of the same concerns that you have about it. HOD really was such a blessing to our family! I wish I would have known about it when we started my son in kindergarten six years ago. Oh well, God brings each of us down different paths, for reasons known only to Him. I am so thankful for what HOD is doing in our home. Our children are being taught in a way that suits their learning styles (which are many! ), and enjoying it so much. They are learning with Christ at the center, as it should be!

I have to agree with the other posters about doing LHTH for the littles, and then using LHFHG for the older set. You can very easily use the 3 r's at each one's level and group them together for all the other activities. We'll be doing LHFHG this coming year, and it looks like a LOT of fun!

With HOD you'll have an open and go format, FULL of great learning and fun! If you really feel strongly about adding in a science text, I'd add it in at the end of the day, as there's time. This way you can still explore other science topics, at your leisure. With a busy household of little ones, even if the exta science doesn't get done, you know that you've provided them with a wholesome education with HOD!

Blessings!

[holdinon]

Welcome to HOD! You are going to love it here . I agree with the others on going with Little Hands and Little Hearts. I just wanted to speak to this particular concern, as it is one that I also had.

Savannah is already reading and is definitely at a much higher level than the others in all areas. She was in a very good K program last year. I am blown away by how much she can do. Would it really be okay to start her in LHFHG and just custom tailor it a bit more to fit her skill levels?

When we found HOD, it took me a while to get my kids placed. I have some of my kids separate and some combined. My oldest was far ahead of my others when we started so she was easy. My next two are similar in age (11 months apart) and abilities. So they were easy.

My younger 3 were a little more difficult to decide. My youngest two were closest in age (13 months), but no where near the same level in ability. Lydia needed Little Hearts and Josiah was barely ready for Little Hands. Nora Beth was reading, and had completed the Earlybird Maths. However, she wasn't at a place where I felt like I could combine her with her next older brother and sister. So I ended up putting her and Lydia both in Little Hearts. Lydia did the K options and Nora Beth did the 1st grade options in the Motor Skills Box. For the Reading, Nora did the Emerging Readers (from Beyond) and Lydia did The Reading Lesson. For Math, Nora Beth moved on to Singapore 1A (which is scheduled in the appendix of Little Hearts) and Lydia did the Earlybird scheduled in the plans. All the other boxes were done together "as is". It has been a perfect fit. They have enjoyed working together and have both learned a lot.

This was a (very) long way of answering your question, "Yes, if you do math and reading at the level Savannah needs, she will be just fine in Little Hearts".

(By the way....my oldest is named Savannah also )

Angie

[raceNzanesmom]

Would it really be okay to start her in LHFHG and just custom tailor it a bit more to fit her skill levels?

Yes, I think so. Place her in math and reading/phonics at her level (they're on the right side) and do the rest as written. If she places higher than what is listed in Little Hearts for math (if using Singapore), reading or spelling you might want to get the Beyond guide just to use the plans for those. However, I would probably wait and see how she does with Little Hearts as written. Then if you find she truly needs more you can get the Beyond guide. Hope that makes sense.