heartofdakota.com

We are homeschooling again this year after sending the kids to private christian school last year. Our first year homeschooling we used Abeka and the kids excelled, but we did not have any fun because by the time we got the basics in, it was too late to do the fun stuff. Anyway, this program looks great, although I'm a little concerned if I have to send them back to school that they'll be behind next year. I can't see how you can get the basics in and still have time to do all the fun things that this program shows. It looks like their is not as much emphasis on the basics, but I'm going to give it a try. My dd 6.5 entering 1st grade seems to fall between LHFHG and BLHFHG. She started phonics in K, but still has a ways to go. She can read a little. She's already worked on manuscript, but still needs a lot of practice. She enjoys worksheets and can copy short sentences. She did not have spelling words last year. My ds is just turning 9 entering 3rd grade. He is a good reader, but hates writing. He used Saxon Math & Phonics & Bob Jones for the rest of the subjects last year in private school. I think he went into 2nd grade ahead because of the Abeka we used in 1st grade and because he's very smart and catches on easily. He's never struggled with learning, he just doesn't like doing a lot of writing (some laziness too). He started cursive last year, but I think he only did lower case. I think he too fits between two programs, bigger and preparing. It would be great if I could use Bigger for both, as I'm not sure if I can handle 2 programs (I also have a 2.5 yr old and work part time.) We will have a 4 day school week because I have to work the 5th day. Also, we're going to co-op one day and I'm hoping we can do school before we go. My dh (and pretty much everybody else) thinks they should go back to the christian school, but told me I could home school if I wanted to. I felt like the Lord was leading me to home school but I just don't know how I'm going to do it all. Sorry for jumping around, but any help would be greatly appreciated!

It sounds like Little Hearts and Bigger Hearts would work well for your children. The left side of Little Hearts goes very quickly. The right side goes fairly quickly too when used as written. On your longest days you should be able to do it in 90 minutes or so. Bigger Hearts takes longer and is probably the most teacher intensive, BUT it is training them for independence. Doing the work now will pay off big time in the future. Do it as written- I consider it as written using whatever math, reading, etc you desire because that's how Carrie has it in the guide, use her suggestions (which are excellent) or your own. The left side still goes fairly quickly, tho he will be learning to do things like notebooking, writing vocabulary words and definitions, memorizing hymns, etc. Let the younger one join in for science experiments and any reading she wants to listen in on. We just finished week 3 of Bigger Hearts and we LOVE it. We also used Little Hearts and Beyond Little Hearts.

Using the guides as written your children will not be behind. They are still getting strong basics, but are also learning to appreciate history, science, poetry, music, art, and, most of all, the Lord.

You could focus your co-op day on the right side of the guide, then pick up the left side on the other 3 days. It will take a bit longer to get through the guides, but that's ok.

I was looking at LHFHG again and now I'm noticing that the guide and books look babyish, and more what she did in kindergarten. She's very smart and I'm concerned she'll be bored if she doesn't have more. Compared to what we did w/ my ds in 1st grade w/ Abeka, it looks too young. He was reading well of the year. Do you think BLHFHG would work? I think I'm going to use Singapore 1A, and maybe Abeka phonics and reading since I already have all that. (She already knows short and long vowels and some other special sounds and sight words.) Would I need the Abeka language and spelling also or is that already in the program?

Also I'm not sure which Math & Grammer levels to use for my ds (I'm going to try Singapore & R&S). He knows his add/sub. facts, and began mulitpliation w/ 1, 2, 5, 10, and 100 facts, but not for memory. If we had homeschooled w/ Abeka for 2nd grade I'm sure he would be further along. I'm not sure he made much progess last year, either because of his teacher or the curriculum. I may be misjudging things because of how advanced Abeka seems.

You can print out the first week of LHFHG and Beyond to compare them side-by-side.

http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/beyond ... t-week.pdf
http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/little ... t-week.pdf

Heart of Dakota has done a fantastic job of balancing the basics with the "fun stuff", and you will find that even the "fun stuff" is purposeful; and not just "filler". There is no busywork here; every activity serves a purpose, so you get more done in less time. There is so much more to each guide than meets the eye.

Little Hearts can be a great first grade with the first grade package option, and Beyond can also work well with a first grader; it is up to you to decide, based on the placement chart, which one will work best for your child.

For Singapore Math, there are placement test you can print out for free and administer to your older child to ensure he starts at the right level for him.
http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm

Skill-wise your children sound too far apart for combining, but many people run multiple guides very successfully, even with limited time available. One more thing to consider in placement is the fact that Bigger is very teacher-intensive as you are training your older child for independence, and you may appreciate having the "lighter" LHFHG guide for your younger child-again with the first grade options, it is appropriate for a first grader and will take you only 90 minutes a day. Beyond for your younger child would take some more time, and you would need to consider whether she would be ready to take on the writing load of Beyond. If you choose Beyond, it includes spelling and a gentle intro to grammar.

Lastly, though you are free to substitute in the areas of math, grammar, and phonics, keep in mind any substitutions you make in these subjects may add length to your days.

Thank you both so much for your help. I'm really struggling to decide but I think I will stick w/ the LHFHG and add the emerging readers and spelling when she's ready (Are there any level one readers?). I've read to use the Beyond guide appendix for the emerging readers. Do I have to purchase that?

Does anyone know how Abeka phonics compares to Reading Made Easy? I already have some Abeka, but I'm concerned about overlap from what is already in the program and the time difference.

I gave my ds the Singapore 2A placement test and he did poorly, but I think he's forgotten some things (and he's known for not reading directions carefully.)

[quote="sd"]Does anyone know how Abeka phonics compares to Reading Made Easy? I already have some Abeka, but I'm concerned about overlap from what is already in the program and the time difference.

Oh yeah, I also have used Explode the Code workbooks and Happy Phonics, but I switched to Abeka because I wanted a complete program because I was afraid I would miss something.

The easiest emerging reader is The Early Reader's Bible. It has questions at the end of each chapter, so the Beyond guide wouldn't be needed yet. It takes several weeks to get through it, so you could try it and see how it goes. If she isn't ready for it, I'd stick to phonics and reading for fun at her level. You can still ask her about what she read for comprehension, if the phonics program doesn't include it.

No help comparing the phonics programs, sorry.

Thanks!, I didn't realize that.