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My son turned 5 in October, but we started LHFHG in September. He is doing awesome with it and loves it. He is a very strong reader and is on lesson 15 in TRL. We will finish it up well before we finish LHFHG. So what do I do after that?

As a totally random side-story...I took my son to the doctor for a yearly check-up and the doc asked him about school. When my son told him that he did school at home, the doc looked at me and told me that by 5 years old, children have learned everything they can at home and it is time for them to move on!!! I almost laughed in his face Do you ladies run up against much opposition to homeschooling?

But that is a tangent...I really just want to know about phonics

If your son is finishing TRL, then he would start the ER books. If he would have trouble with them, then you could get some easier books for practice first.

It sounds like your doctor knows nothing about homeschooling.

Our doctor always praises us for homeschooling. She says it keeps them healthier, generally stronger (they tend to get more exercise), and .... wait for it... their social skills are better!

As for the reading, after phonics comes the Emerging Readers, but if you aren't ready to order the Beyond guide you could always get easy readers from the library to fill the time.

So when I get the ER, do I need to buy the Beyond guide at the same time? And then what will I do when we actually get to Beyond if we are done with some of the ER?

The ERs have their own schedule in the back of the Beyond and Bigger guide (same schedule in both guides). You don't necessarily have to be lined up unit and day with the rest of the guide. After you finish the ERs you would start DITHOR. The ERs also have alternate books you can read for each book so you can make it take longer if you need to.

My daughter started the ER books last January and has two left to go Animal Adventures and Sarah Noble). Once we are done with them, we are going to read the books Carrie has listed in the guide after the ER books (there are a few common chapter books listed as "fill in" books) and then start reading the Level 2 DITHOR books. I don't think we will start full blown DITHOR though until later. Instead, we will probably follow the storytime box for what to do with DITHOR (doing the activities for both the storytime book and for her reading book).

OK, I'm sorry for sounding dumb here, but what exactly do you DO with the emerging readers? Is it just a book for my son to read out loud to me? And if it doesn't correspond with the units, then what does the schedule in the back of the guide tell you?

If I am understanding this correctly, the phonics "box" will turn into the ER "box" and then into the DITHOR "box." Is that right? But none of those things are dependent upon any other part of the day's lesson plan?

There is a daily schedule for the ER books in the back of the guide. They do not correspond with the rest of the guide, because those books can be started any time. The schedule is there because Carrie has questions to go with the daily reading. The ER books are meant to be read in the order you see them in the guide. Start them whenever you wish.

Get a doc who is supportive of homeschooling. Seriously. Our ped doesn't question us, respects us immensely. Its not worth it to deal with that garbage, especially as they get older.

The schedule in the back of the guides for the ERs tells you what pages of which book to read in what order along with questions for each reading. It has unit/day, but because you don't have to start it when you start everything else, you don't have to have it lined up.