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Hi, this will be my first official year of homeschooling. My husband and I have three children, our oldest will be 5 this summer and I plan on starting kindergarten with her this fall. We have been doing LHTH for the last couple of months. I was planning on just working through the book until we were finished and then starting her with LHFHG when we were done but that wouldn't be until about November. I would be fine with that but I'm now thinking I should start the other book around Aug/Sept whenever we officially start kindergarten because she really wants to go to kindergarten at school so I wanted something to make her feel like we were doing something different. She would be ready for it now so thats not really an issue I just didn't see a reason to rush it. We also have a 4yr old and almost 3yr old. I'm going to be doing LHTH with the 4yr old. I'm not planning on putting them together because it is actually easier and quicker for me to keep them separate. Maybe when they get older it would be easier to combine them but now it's about impossible to keep them focused at the same time.

Hi April! Glad to "meet" you! It didn't take me long using LHTH to realize that I love the way HOD's programs are focused and put together. We're going to be continuing LHTH with a 4 yo girl and starting Bigger and DITHOR with an 8 yo boy.

Enjoy your kiddos and the memories along the way as you "do school"!
Kathleen

Hi April!

Just wanted to say welcome!!

Hi April,

Welcome.

I wouldn't rush into Little Hearts. Maybe you could start a phonics program or add a special story time for your oldest when you would like to have her "officailly" start K. I really wish I had gotten and used Little Hands with my oldest when I first found it. I am very excited to start it in late summer with my middle.

Welcome to the boards.

April,

We're glad to have you here! The ladies are giving you good advice. If you think your daughter needs the challenge of LHFHG, then you can certainly move her up a program. But, if the two of you are enjoying LHTH, I'd finish it out. Either way, you'll be fine!

Adding a phonics program is a good idea to beef up LHTH if you do decide to finish it out!

Blessings,
Carrie

Welcome April. I have no real advice but I just wanted to say that my dd who is 6 cried and cried when she found out that she would not be getting on a school bus. It was a huge deal for her. What I did for her was make school more official for her. I got her a back pack and a binder, that kind of stuff and we had a little while where we had "big kid" school and just made her school time very official.

Well her school bus days are gone. They are actually building a school near us and she says there is the school I will never ever go to every time we pass it. She is happy about that. She does now follow me every weekend to do school and would do school 24/7 if I let her. So I guess for her she just needed a rite of passage or something.

Anyway just wanted to say hi.

Hi April!! Glad to meet you and have you here!!

My dd was the same way when we started kinder, especially since she had just finished the pre-k program at our church and all the kids were moving onto "regular" school.

I also buy the kids a new backpack, lunchbox and school supplies each year. They love going up to the stores in the crowds, but get extra tickled cause they don't have to shop by the dreaded school lists like everyone else. They get to pick whatever they want.

Also, when its the first day of school here for public school, we do no school work and just have a fun day. Tried the movies last year, but they had already adjusted their schedules. But we will go to mcdonalds, or picnic in the park/playground, go putt putt, etc. Just make that day fun just because we can. I try to do that every once in a while thru out the school year, just to make homeschooling that much more special and fun, especially when they are feeling an itch towards public school.