heartofdakota.com

Hi. I will be using Beyond this year for my 7 year old DS and I am thinking about using LHTH for my 4 year old DD. I'm wondering if it will be to easy for her. She knows all of her letters and sounds and is starting to read. Last year she kept asking to do "her work" so we started Reading Made Easy. I actually have the manual because I found it a couple of years ago at a used curriculum sale. The arts and crafts look like it would be fun for her and that is my weak area. Just wondering what your experiences were.

Thanks,
Camille

My daughter loved LHTH at 4. I do homeschool from Jan- Dec, so 4 months before her 5th birthday in Jan we began LHFHG, because she was ready for more and we did it at half speed. This Jan we will begin LHFHG at full speed with 1st grade workbooks. I just thought our plan might be able to help point you in the direction of timing. Also her handwriting skills are important for LHFHG.

My personal opinion is that if she is starting to read and knows all letters and sounds, she would probably be fine doing LHFHG half-speed. That means you would do the left side one day and the right side the next. If she wants more and is excelling, you could go up to full speed later in the year.

Those are just my thoughts based on what you said about your daughter. Have you looked at the placement chart? That would be helpful for you in deciding. LHTH was good for my 4 year old this past year, but she didn't know her sounds or how to read at all. It was perfect for her, but doesn't sound like enough for yours.

Blessings.

My daughter knew all her letters and sounds as well, and we still did LHTH at age 4. I didn't want to get into the later guides too quickly, so I added in The Reading Lesson, some fine motor and thinking skills workbooks, plus nature study and a science experiment kit. We really enjoyed LHTH. It was a nice introduction to homeschool, short and sweet, and the crafts were fun (I posted some of them on my blog and in the week in review sections here on this site if you want to see some of the activities). Whatever you choose, you'll still have fun.

I too think you could go either way. I did LHTH with my oldest when she was 4.5-5.5. She already knew letter sounds, was weak on numbers (which LHTH does also cover) and I also wasn't very good at crafty projects. LHTH has more crafts than LHFHG, there's something every day. A lot of cutting and pasting, which was not too difficult for my DD but was very good practice for her. You could always add in reading/phonics practice or anything else you want her to do. But LHFHG half-speed would be good too, if you want to tackle that. I just think it's good to do something fun, still challenging, but not too difficult for starting out. LHFHG was plenty of challenge for her (she wasn't yet reading) at 5.5 and still a lot of fun.

Thank you for your responses!

Camille

KristinBeth wrote:My daughter knew all her letters and sounds as well, and we still did LHTH at age 4. I didn't want to get into the later guides too quickly, so I added in The Reading Lesson, some fine motor and thinking skills workbooks, plus nature study and a science experiment kit. We really enjoyed LHTH. It was a nice introduction to homeschool, short and sweet, and the crafts were fun (I posted some of them on my blog and in the week in review sections here on this site if you want to see some of the activities). Whatever you choose, you'll still have fun.

This is exactly what we have chosen to do. Though DD5 can read, we are still doing LHTH at double-speed, and adding parts from LHFHG to tailor-make a K program. We'll do LHFHG as soon as we are done with LHTH.

There is so much to be gained from doing LHTH other than just learning letters and sounds. My 2 older dc knew all of their letters and sounds prior to starting LHTH, but it was the routine of doing something in each subject area that they needed most. I think it really helped them to be able to do each box in LHFHG later, as they had gotten used to a mini-LHFHG type day by doing LHTH. The year of Biblical history just set school off on the right foot too, as it was familiar, but not as familiar as one would think. The questions in "The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes" really helped teach our dc to listen more carefully to the stories, and ultimately improved their comprehension. The devotional also helped them improve in these areas. I liked that we could do phonics alongside LHTH, and really have time to do phonics well. LHTH was also just plain fun. It started homeschooling off on such a happy note. With a recently turned 4 yo, I'd be apt to do LHTH with phonics, and even with handwriting if she's ready for that, before starting LHFHG. You can always do 2 lessons a day at the close of LHTH, but really, I wouldn't want to rush to get to LHFHG before a child is 5 yo. It'll be ready and waiting for her when she's more prepared. But, that is just my thought about it, you will know best, and I like that this board shows many different opinions because somewhere within these responses is the right one for you and your dd. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie