heartofdakota.com

We have been using another curriculum for my kindergarten son this year, but right now I am really pondering and praying about starting LHFHG with him. A little background: he is a quick learner, completed AAR1 and staring AAR 2, doing well with math so long as I am his scribe, overwhelmed when we do handwriting but knows how to write all letters and numbers. His mind is more ready to learn than his body however, as he struggles with some attention/hyperactivity/sensory issues. I fight that the whole time we do school. He is constantly falling out of his chair, dropping his pencil, distracted by anything more interesting going on. I wonder if I need to back off a bit even if he is able to mentally handle the work, and take him at a slower pace. What we do right now is also not very hands on (besides math and reading but we would continue with what we are already doing anyway), and he loves to learn about how things work. Science fascinates him, he got a transparent human body complete with internal organs for Christmas that he spent a lot of time with, loved when we hatched butterflies last fall. However he really struggles to even play on his own. The biggest thing drawing me to HOD is that it would be much more hands on.

I looked tonight at the sample page for the first day of LHFHG and it does look very easy skill wise. Perhaps this is ok, though, if he is really engaging with what he is learning. I only need about 2 resources and the guide because we already have the rest. I am ready to take the plunge and spend as much time as we need to get through the guide before starting Beyond (which we do have but I don't want to start it too soon, plus we have none of the books.) Does it sound like I am thinking through this wisely? Would doing more than one day at a time be a possibility if he is enjoying it and we have the time? He really does like school and listens to me well. Reading aloud is one of his favorite parts.

He just turned 6 in November. His attention and sensory issues extend far beyond the school day and we are working hard on them. It does wear us out sometimes. Just looking for the best fit for him for school. I have two other children also at home (asked about placement for my DD in CTC about a week and a half ago.) My oldest is pretty independent with much of his work but I do work with my DD quite a bit in the afternoon once done with my youngest. My DH said to go for it if that is how God leads.

I just got done looking at the first week at a glance and wished I had seen it before posting my question. Easy or not, it looks like so much fun, and just enough for each day! It seems like the gross/fine motor activities of forming numbers would really be a help for handwriting issues. But still happy to hear any thoughts.

Welcome to HOD! My dd has some attention and sensory problems as well. She struggles in math and her reading is slow. She was 7 when we began LHFHG. If you begin it with your ds, I would say just do it as is and not double up. That is the nice thing about HOD and the Charlotte Mason philosophy-short lessons. They retain more if there is not so much information put in at once. Since there is an attention problem, the short lessons would be great for your ds. Enjoy!

(I did read your second post but left mine in the original form.)
In addition, HOD has also been such a great help in Bible and character training for my dd. LHFHG gives such a great foundation, and it WAS fun!

It is fun This is my second time through the guide and we're having even more fun with it this time around!

LHFHG is a great program and I would agree with pp that one day at a time is best. We have occasionally doubled up over the years and they don't retain as much. Slow and steady wins the race. If your son enjoys it you might occasionally use a rainy Saturday to get an extra day in. But you don't need to worry about it, we start Programs when we finish the last one, not according the start of the school year. And don't worry if you have a week where you only do 4 days, Day 1 of a unit doesn't have to fall on Monday, . Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ok, I'm getting excited to order. I think this will be a good pace for us. I'm comfortable with not having to finish the guide in a school year. It will give us more time before starting Beyond and the written work required there, yet I do have that guide if we need to bump up for things like math. It just seems like there will be plenty in Little Hearts that his mind/body still need to do to work together more.

I had a question about science but think I have it figured out now. Thanks so much for the help and encouragement!