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I am thinking about what to order next year and have a question regarding the new book choices for first grade. My son is doing the K books this year and they are not challenging him at all. This hasn't bothered me too much though because I desire a laid back, fun K year. I did try to order the Thinking Skill book a few months back, and it was out of print.

I just noticed that HOD has chosen the new first grade replacement books, and once again by looking at the scope and sequence, they seem to be too easy for him. I do not want these books to feel like "busy work" at all, as we just do not have time in our day for that. So..here come the questions.

Aren't these Rod and Staff books meant for preschoolers? I believe that is how they are advertised. Would they be appropriate for an advanced 1st grader?

If my son is doing the right side of Beyond (without copy work), is it even necessary?

Should I just have him do them, or should I look for another type of logic book? It really is the logic/critical thinking that I desire for this child so hope to either use them or find an alternative.

Thanks!

My K-5 daughter enjoys the books, but I can see where they would be a little beneath a 1st grade level. By 1st grade I don't think these are absolutely necessary. These books are for pre-1st graders. They do have 3 new books in development, but there doesn't seem to be a date for them to be finished.

amysue277,

One thing that is important to do whenever you start looking at any part of an HOD guide is to know the purpose for that box of plans (and for that book or assignment). Every box in each HOD guide has a separate purpose or goal, so if you skip a box... you skip a skill. Each of these skills build incrementally one upon the other, so if you skip a skill for an entire year it is possible that your child will not be prepared for the higher level of that skill in the next guide.

In looking at the "Fine Motor Skills" box of plans in LHFHG, you will find that improving fine motor skills is the goal of that box. This is done through both handwriting practice and the fine motor skills workbooks scheduled from Rod and Staff. Fine motor skills are about building and strengthening the muscles in a child's hand, wrist, and fingers in order to write better. These muscles are strengthened through cutting, gluing, coloring, maze-drawing, connecting dots with lines, completing pictures, tracing, drawing, etc. So, as you can see the goal is to improve a child's fine motor skills, which is a different goal than that accomplished through using a logic/reasoning book. While there are definitely some logic type exercises in the first grade books, the challenge is meant to be in the fine motor skills area (not in the thinking/reasoning area).

It is interesting to me that you mentioned this, because when I was looking for a replacement for the Thinking Skills book (which was also mainly based on fine motor skills), I ordered every logic book for this age group I could find. I was amazed that most of the books required very little writing and also would need a huge amount of help from the parent to guide the child "logically" through the exercises. In essence, these books were focusing on an entirely different set of skills than what we needed for the Fine Motor Skills box of our plans. It is also very important to remember that "logic" at this stage is really just teaching a child to think and reason, which can be done so much better through reading and discussion and math activities rather than through workbook pages.

So, with this in mind, I returned to the easier workbooks from Rod and Staff that are so solid in the fine motor skills area. These books will accomplish the goal of strengthening a child's writing ability and readiness to copy better. These are hugely important skills at this stage and in the guides to come too. Reading, writing, and math are the 3 core subjects that will affect all of your child's education both now and in the future. These areas will also affect your child's post-graduate life too! So, these must be huge areas of emphasis as we go throughout our guides, and it is so important to start strong right in LHFHG!

I share all this so that you don't overlook a very important skill that is meant to be a stepping stone as you head into the upped level of writing in Beyond. Keep in mind that even though the pages in the workbooks may appear easy, if you watch the writing, cutting, gluing, drawing, etc. taking place; you'll see your child's fine motor skills being honed right before your eyes!

Blessings,
Carrie

I love Carrie's explanation above! We are actually using the K FMS books this year for ds's 1st grade year, even though he is doing Beyond for spelling, math, and emerging readers. He loves the days we work on these books. They have been a great confidence booster for him even though they are easy. We will be fully in Beyond next year for second grade, but I've actually considered getting the 1st grade FMS books for 'fun' since my kids like them so much.

Thank you, Carrie, for your wonderful and detailed explanation!
The books were too easy for my son, but I had him start doing the second book (he had already done the work in the first one), and he absolutely loves it.
I have really seen a tremendous growth in him since we started LHFHG and the R&S books last December.
I am glad to know we are on the right track. He will be done with this workbook this week. I already had a thought of,( and now will do it), getting the 1st grade options to finish out the guide.

Just a side note to Carrie - my kids LOVE the R&S books and I was so excited when I saw the switch. We had the previous 1st grade book and no one really liked it here. When I ordered the R&S books, my son (8) was very upset that I didn't order them for him, as well. My kids love them!

Thank you Carrie for providing such a thorough explanation of your thoughts behind choosing Rod and Staff for these skills. Apparently, I had logic on my mind and I now see that logic is not the intention of this box. I'm not sure where I got that idea...other than my son exhibits signs of needing more logic, lol. I truly do love these books and even if they are not super challenging, I know they will fine hone my sons skills.

And most importantly, I appreciate you (Carrie) responding so graciously to my questions. I honestly have almost strayed a few times from HOD, but my heartstrings keep pulling me back and I feel in my heart that HOD is right for us. I'm excited to continue on this journey! Thank you!

I read this because my son still falls behind in fine motor - so much so that they are THE reason I'm looking at LH instead of BLH for my 7.5 year old.

Logic is a huge strength of his, too, though - and I have found that the card game SET is simultaneously fun and challenging for that area of his brain, while also strengthening his visual discrimination skills. The basic premise is that there are one to three ovals on a card that are one of three colors and one of three patterns, and before playing you describe what makes a set (i.e. three cards with the same number of ovals or three cards with the same color or same pattern of ovals, or two or three qualifications) and set out 9 or more cards and then each person takes turns making a set (can do in a set amount of time, or using a chess timer, or ASAP racing each other).

Math word problems are good for strengthening mental logic too, and basic basic BASIC logic puzzles and sudoku if you walk them through it and help with the writing. I used those teaching high school math and science.