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LHFHG for 1st grade?

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 5:56 pm
by tnsunshine3
I have a six year old boy, who is very very active, and has the attention span of a gnat :) He loves to do "science experiments" and build things. We just completed the K program with MFW. I loved that he really grasped strong biblical truths using the words to remember, and is really growing in his walk. He is sort of reading, he can sound out cvc words and short vowel words, but still have a bit of difficulty reading the short stories that was included in the program. While I think he is okay at math, he is lacking in where I "think" he should be for first grade. Handwriting is excellent for capital letters, but he is not placing them correctly on lined paper, nor is is writing lower case letters (although he does know how to write most of them, just prefers capital letters for some reason).
I had heard about HOD when we were at preschool level, and went with MFW because a friend gave me the curriculum, and I am glad we used it. My problem, is that from what I understand, MFW 1st is much much more advanced, and requires a lot of writing, which is a struggle for my wiggly worm. I have looked at the placement chart and it seems that Little Hearts For His Glory would be a good fit for his current abilities, but I would love to hear some feedback. I am afraid that LHFHG is going to be too simple/easy for him and he will get easily frustrated/bored, which happened with some of the activities in MFW k, so we eliminated them from our schedule. Over the past month, he has shown interest in knowing what we are doing for the day, so the layout of HOD seems like would work well. (Also, note that I am 6 months pregnant, and really need a curriculum that wont require too much planning)
Will LHFHG be a good fit for us for first grade or should I be looking at the next level up with HOD?
Also, what would be a good phonics choice? I dont really like the two suggestions that are listed on the website.
Thank you for your input and advise! We are looking forward to starting first in a few weeks!!!

Re: LHFHG for 1st grade?

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 6:23 pm
by mom23
We used LHFHG in 1st grade here and loved it! Wasn't too boring or easy for my wiggly worm :). We used it with The Reading Lesson. It worked, although I'm hoping to get my hands on the CD-Rom to use with it for the next two boys...

Re: LHFHG for 1st grade?

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:10 pm
by mamayi
From how you described your son it sounds like LHFHG would be the right place to start with him. It might appear to be "light" or "easy" but there are so many skills and habits that are taught in this level that when you do the guide as written you will soon realize just how much is being accomplished. And it is very doable when you are pregnant (my first time using LHFHG I combined my oldest two children in the guide, had a toddler and was pregnant with my fourth - and we managed to get school done almost every day.) It truly is an "open and go" teachers guide. I think you and your son will enjoy the short lessons and great hands on activities.
As for the reading choices, I have only used The Reading Lesson for my oldest three children with great success.
I pray you will find the right fit for your family.

Re: LHFHG for 1st grade?

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:30 pm
by Mommamo
We are about to start LHFHG for a little boy for 1st grade... and we just finished up MFW K. :lol: We had done LHTH, but I didn't feel like he was quite ready for LHFHG yet, which is why we did a year of MFWK. This is going to be my 2nd time in LHFHG, and I don't think it will be too young at all! I think that LHFHG appeals to such a wide range of children, but it's so very age appropriate. He will love it, I'll bet. And this introduces so many skills in such a gentle way.

Re: LHFHG for 1st grade?

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 12:41 am
by raceNzanesmom
We also used Little Hearts for 1st grade. We loved it! Plenty of moving, just enough seat work, great storytime stories and more. We'll be starting Bigger for 3rd grade in just a few weeks. :D

Re: LHFHG for 1st grade?

Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2012 11:02 am
by Catherine
I also vote for LHFHG. Before I used it, I remember wondering if it was going to be too light, but once I began using it, I quickly realized it was just right, if not challenging in some areas. And my DD1 is not wiggly at all. I'm planning to use LHFHG for my wiggly DD2's first grade year because I don't think she'll be able to sit through the Burgess books next year.