Making the program work for us.

[rni'smommy]

I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old. We are doing LHTH right now. My 4yr old is doing all the activities and learning really well so I feel like at the end of the year he will be ready for LHFHG but understandably my 2yr old only participates half way. I don't really want to do two programs next year and obiviously my 2 yr old will not be doing LHFHG at 3. So I was thinking of repeating LHTH next year and buying the workbooks and LHFHG program for my 4yr but only using the learning the basics part. What I am wondering is if my using the LHFHG program with a 4 yr old is possible because I would think that it would be boring for my dd to do LHTH 3 times.

[water2wine]

Hi there. I know you will get more answers. My idea would be to go ahead and go to LHFHG if you think your older child is ready for it next year but to do it at half speed and read some of the books in teh appendix if your older one wants more. We started LHFHG when my kids were 3 and 5 and did it this way just doing the left side one day and the right side the next. We did phonics everyday though because I just wanted to and it worked for us. I know you are going to get some ideas I do not know if you could stretch out LHTH or not I have not used it so I can't offer anything there but I want to encourage you that LHFHG is so flexible I am pretty sure you can make something work there by using it over two years or maybe a year and a half. There is so much there and my kids just love it. I hope this helps a bit as you wait for more replies.

[Kathleen]

Hi!

My younger 2 are 4 years old and 2 years old right now, too, so I'll share what we're doing. LHTH is perfect for my 4 yo daughter this year and we're moving right along with it. My 2 yo is tagging along, but like yours doesn't join in on everything. He loves the finger plays and the letter activities with tape! My little ones will have birthdays in May and be 5 & 3. I'm planning to start LHFHG with Allison next fall. I figure that Garret (then 3) will probably tag along a little in whatever is active and interesting for him. (There will be a lot more that he isn't allowed to tag along for - phonics, math...) Then, my plan is the following year to do LHTH "for real" with him and his sister will be ready for Beyond or finishing LHFHG depending on how fast we go through it. This is all in "subject-to-change" form for us right now, but this is how I forsee doing it.

I've heard lots of moms here say that it's actually easier to do 2 programs that "fit" your kids than to try to tweak and change one so it can work for both. I made my "plan" the way I did so that my 2 yo won't be doing LHTH 2 years in a row either. I figure getting in on a little of Alli's school will satisfy him. I know I read on a thread some time ago that someone suggested slowing down the pace of the older one so that your 2 could be "combinable" again in the future. (Like doing 1 page per day for LHFHG for a while so that it took a year and a half, and then doing that again for Beyond...) Just an idea. I'm keeping that in the back of my mind just in case I want to try that as I move ahead in our school.

Hope that helps some! I always like to hear what others are doing to get ideas that might work for my family.
Kathleen

[Samuel'sMommy]

I don't have any advice for you, but I'm sure you will get some great ideas from the wonderful ladies on this board. If you still have questions, you could call Carrie and I'm sure she would talk you through it and help you figure something out.

[rni'smommy]

Thanks for the ideas I and input.

Kathleen, my two both have birthdays in May also.

[MamaMary]

I would do what Kathleen suggested, if it were me as well. In two years you will be more familiar with homeschooling and HOD. I really believe that you will find two HOD programs easy to handle. The only thing I would add is that when and if you go to two HOD programs in two years I would combine them for the older bible instead of trying to do it separately. But you will need to see how the Holy Spirit leads you Mama. (warm smile )

[Carrie]

The ladies have given you wonderful advice to ponder. I understand what you're saying about wishing to do one program, and I used to feel that way too! It really took some pondering and trying for me to realize that it is often easier to do more than one program (that is actually at the right level for each kiddo), then to tweak and change one program to meet such varying needs. The preschool stage versus the kindergarten ready-to-read stage are two very different stages. What a preschooler can do and what a school-age child can do creates a big divide between kiddos abilities. It's actually easier sometimes to combine as kiddos get older and have developed reading, writing, listening, and thinking skills.

So, with the ages of your kiddos, I would usually recommend staring LHFHG with your older child and doing it at the pace that suits him best (whether that be full-speed or half-speed). We did it at full-speed with one of my kiddos and at half-speed with my next one.

If you truly have your heart set on combining your little sweeties in LHTH, I would definitely add the 101 Favorite Bible stories and the older level devotional to LHTH and do the right side of LHFHG for your older child. Then, the following year, you'd begin LHFHG with your 4 year old, and your 6 year old would do the left side of LHFHG with the storytime box and the right side of the plans from Beyond for everything else.

Either plan will work. If your daughter seems like she'll be an early reader and writer and seems like a more "mature" listener as a student, then combining would be a viable option. If, however, your little one seems immature, on the young side, or a later bloomer, you'd be better off letting your son go ahead of her.

Take heart that even if you choose one path, and it seems like the other path would have been better, it is easily changed. Sometimes only time shows the best path. You will know much better as you come to the end of LHTH what to do!

Blessings,
Carrie