Question re: combining

[laurapella]

I have a quick question regarding combining my two girls. I have a just turned 4 yo and an almost 6 yo. I started LHFHG with my 5 yo in September and stopped after a couple of months doing 3 days/week. She was having a hard time concentrating on the readings. We continued math, handwriting, and phonics. I was thinking of trying again but including my 4yo in the readings. They both want to "do school" together, and I think she would do fine. My question is this...has anyone ever used the left side of one guide and the right side of a YOUNGER guide. I am wondering if it would be weird to use LHFHG this year but wait to do the right side until next year which could technically be her K year. I would then finish up with Little Hearts but start at the beginning with math, FMS, and phonics. Does this make sense? Could it actually work so they could be combined? I have 2 older boys who are doing wonderfully in their respective guides, and I would really like to be able to combine the younger 2. Suggestions?

[laurapella]

I forgot to mention we would only be doing 3 -4 days per week, not full speed. I want to take about 4 years to go thru first 3 guides. Thanks!!!

[laurapella]

bump

[my3sons]

If I understand this right, you are saying you would do LHFHG 3-4 days a week as your core program with your 4 and 6 yo. Your 4 yo would not do the LA/math of LHFHG until you do Beyond Little Hearts as your core program later. Am I getting that right? Sorry - I probably have not had enough caffeine yet today - thought I better check if I'm on the same wavelength here. If this is what you are saying, I am not sure that would work. You'd mentioned your older child when 5 yo had difficulty understanding the material in LHFHG. I worry the same thing may happen with the 4 yo now. Also, many LA skills are tied into the "Reading about History" side of the plans, such as oral narrations, written narrations, research, history notebooking, etc. If a child is younger than the suggested target age range for a guide, he/she misses so much.

However, your two daughters ARE close in age, and you did mention slowing things down to complete 3 guides in 4 years. Your tag also says she likes school to involve paper and pencil - does that mean she is ready to begin writing her letters? This all makes a difference in placement too. Maturity in writing skills is a big part of whether or not dc can do a guide, especially the older guides. So, I have a few questions for you - please bear with me...
*How soon is your 4 yo going to be 5 yo?
*When would you begin LHFHG?
*Have your dc done "Little Hands to Heaven"?
*Can you share about your 4 yo and your 6 yo in light of the placement chart, especially the reading, writing, math columns?
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I'd be glad to help with better ideas more customized to fit your little gals' needs then! I DO think combining is possible, but the specifics are where careful thought needs to be put, especially so that the combining works well not only now, but down the road. Thanks!

In Christ,
Julie

[laurapella]

Thank you, Julie for your response! You did understand what I was thinking. Here is some more information on my girls...Lexie (will be 6 in Feb.) is the one who started LHFHG in Sept. I would not exactly call her flighty, but she is definitely free-spirited! I don't think she was necessarily having trouble understanding the info, but her attention span was definitely lacking! We have continued full speed with phonics, math, and fine motor skills. She loves learning to read & is about half-way through Lesson 11 in The Reading Lesson. She is in Week 15 of the SM, and just finished Doing it Carefully today. She absolutely LOVES the stuff we have been doing!

Rebecca just turned 4 in December, so according to WI, she would not start K until Sept. 2014. However, I am planning on making next year her K year. Both my sister and I had late birthdays and could not imagine being held back another year. I think she will definitely be ready this fall as she has a much quieter and more studious disposition than Lexie. She knows all her letters (but not necessarily the sounds), can count to around 18 without any "mix-ups," and can write her 1st name. She does not know how to write all of her letters, but we have been slowly working through a preschool book that we already have. We are on letter I and number 6. She does a fairly good job tracing the letters, number and shapes in this workbook, and I am amazed at how well she can use a pair of scissors now! There have been days when she does not want to finish what she is doing because of the amount of writing or coloring, but she is also a sponge when it comes to learning. If I don't have time to work with her one day, she asks why she didn't get to "do school" that day! Had I thought of it in September, I probably would have combined them in LHTH with Lexie doing the K math, phonics and FMS. Unfortunately, as this is our first year with HOD, I didn't. This brings me to MY issues...

I am a person who can't stand not to finish things, and I worry about Lexie would be able to finish every guide if we start combining now. (Although, I would really prefer not to run 4 guides, also.) I also do not like to even start a unit on a day other than Monday, although I have almost worked myself out of that one. Looking later down the road, I wonder which guide Lexie would have to skip or not get to. I know this is worrying about something not relevant right now, but that's just me.

Hopefully, this will give you a little more insight into our situation. Thanks for taking the time to help out!! BTW, I have to say how much we are loving HOD!!! Last year was our first year homeschooling, and we used a workbook & textbook approach. We are SOOO much happier this year! I can't thank you and Carrie enough for all the hard work you have put in to HOD!!!!

[laurapella]

bump again

[my3sons]

Thank you so much for sharing about your dc here! That really does help! Once again, I am hoping I am understanding this right- but please correct me if I am wrong on any of this. As your 6 yo dd will have completed the fine motor skills, the K math, and the phonics this year, but not the rest of LHFHG... and since she is a free spirit (often a refreshing quality BTW )... and since your 4 yo dd will be about 4 1/2 as you'd probably start combining them in Aug./Sept. 2013... and since your 4 yo knows many letters and numbers and can already write her name... I think it would work to start LHFHG as the core program for both your girls in Aug./Sept. Your older dd can do the first grade options of Thinking Skills Grade 1, Singapore Math 1A/1B, and ARFH A (or its equivalent if you prefer a different handwriting program). Your younger dd can do the K options for fine motor skills and math. You can do LHFHG 4 days a week and have all your dc on a 4 day a week schedule. After finishing LHFHG, you can move the girls on to Beyond 4 days a week, and then Bigger Hearts 4 days a week. These 3 guides will then take about 4 years to complete. If your older dd finishes TRL and is ready for the Emerging Readers, they are in the Appendix of Bigger Hearts, and your current 7.5 is doing that now, so you must already have that guide. What are your thoughts about this though?

In Christ,
Julie

[laurapella]

Thank you so much for responding, Julie!! I know you are all busy with your own schooling and working on the new guide. That is exactly what I decided to do! I ordered LHTH and will go through that with my two girls just for a little fun and to solidify letter sounds with my younger daughter. They both keep asking me when they get to "do school" together. Now I actually have an answer. I plan on doing that through the summer and starting LHFHG when we are finished. Can't wait for it to get here!!! Thank you again for your thoughts!

[my3sons]

Oh, I am so glad you got LHTH to do first! I just love that guide. It lays such a super foundation for dc to love history - and of course, the Bible! It also shows school can be FUN! I think you will also enjoy doing LHFHG with your gals come Sept. God bless!
Julie