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Okay, I need advice on pacing!! So, those of you with a few years of experience homeschooling, especially those of you who have used HOD for at least a couple years, I need to hear your wisdom.

I just received LHFHG and it looks WONDERFUL!! Anyway, my dd is 4.5 right now and just from the "little" experience I have homeschooling, I know that I want to wait until she is 5 to begin. Although in all honesty she could probably start right now and "do fine." I know that if I wait 6 more months for her brain to develop and mature even more, she will surely get more out of it. Now here is my "real" question... Should I just plow along and full speed once we start (intending to do one guide a year) until I notice, perhaps, a reason to slow down? OR, since she is on the young end for starting LHFHG (she will have JUST turned 5) should I take it just a bit slower (maybe doing 3-4 "days") during the week instead of 5? If I did it the second way I would still continue to do Math and Phonics daily and on her level, but the rest would then be stretched out, so maybe we would end up doing Little Hearts and Beyond over the course of 3 years instead of 2. That would put her at 8 instead of 7 when we begin Bigger. I really believe she is a bright girl and is ready to jump head first into school. However, just because she is capable of doing something at a younger age and doing well, I just wonder if we went just a bit slower if she would understand and gain even more and excel that much further? Those of you who have children on the young end of the guides, how are they doing? Have you noticed that at some point it becomes to much for them or are they really excelling and doing well? Those of you with children on the older ends of the guides? Do your children seem to be "unchallenged" somewhat, or are they gaining an even bigger understanding of the material?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

I have dc on the young side of the guides. Mainly because I was trying to prove to my dh that homeschooling would work, and I needed to show him that prior to the age of my dc entering Kind. Anyway, I've found it has gone well for my dc. I did half-speed for awhile with LHTH and LHFHG with both of our dc at different times, and then after 4-5 months, I usually have changed to full-speed. That helped them be ready for Beyond. I also have gone to doing school 4 days a week. I think that if it seems hard and it's not flowing smoothly, then going half-speed for awhile fixes that. It always has for us thus far at least. A big part of me homeschooling to the young age is to constantly show my dh that they are doing enough - sometimes I still feel pressure about this, just because of the way my dh felt about homeschooling at first, and also his family. Taking all of that out of it though - my dc love school and are thriving, so God has been good to me. I think if your child is ready for LHFHG, you'd enjoy starting it with her - but you are wise to think this through - and I know many other wonderful ladies that use the guides for the upper ages and loving it too - so whatever you do will work fine!

In Christ,
Julie

I haven't been doing this for a long time, but I started my dd with LHFHG at 4.5 so I thought I'd share my experience. We did it full speed, 5 days a week with minimal breaks and she has done BEAUTIFULLY! I still wish we'd started with LHTH even though she was ready for LHFHG just because LHTH is fun, but she is doing it now with her brother and enjoying it and it is a fun time for the two of them so that has worked out well.

We finished LHFHG a couple of weeks ago and I think she really got a lot out of it. We even added some of the additional books that Carrie has listed in the appendix just because C LOVES learning as much as she can about things. LHFHG has been perfect for that. I don't think I'll start D with LHFHG at 4.5, but it has worked out super well for C. We are starting Beyon in a couple of weeks, maybe soon since C thrives on routine and said she is really missing school even though she's doing LHTH with D. She says his school just isn't "long enough." But anyway, when we start Beyond we're going to do it at half speed, doing the left side one day and the right the next, which means that she'll only do math every other day, but she's way ahead in math anyway (she's in singapore 1B). We're still going to do reading/phonics daily for now. We're going to do it at half speed through probably September when we'll switch to full spee, 4 days a week, and we'll do LHTH with D probably 2-3 days/week. I hope some of this helps!

I do think it's fine to wait though, if that's what you feel would be best for your daughter. You, of course, know her best. I just wanted to share what's worked for us.

Thanks for the advice so far girls! I'd love to hear some more thoughts on this from others as well. I think at this point I will still wait until she is 5 to start. Then, when we do start we will go full speed. I guess we will just continue on at full speed for as long as I feel like she is really thriving and learning well. At some point if I feel we do need to slow down then we are certainly free to do that too, right!

Laurie,

I think that much of how well kiddos do within any HOD guide depends on how ready they seem according to the placement chart to begin. If your little one is ready to go, then you could easily start her in LHFHG now at half-speed. Then, you could bump up to full speed when she is ready.

One guide builds the skills for the next guide, so you just keep on going from one to the next. One thing I have really enjoyed is being able to do a 4-day plan when I've started my kiddos on the young side of a guide, so if you get the option to do that in the long-term... it is wonderful.

Blessings,
Carrie

Oh, decisions, decisions!! Well, according to the placement chart she is definitely ready to go. Maybe starting off at half speed wouldn't be such a bad idea then. I know I don't want to do full speed through the summer (we need to make sure we have plenty of time to build sand castles and frolic in the water at the beach ), but I also know that she LOVES school time and thrives on structure, so we might as well dive in. Then, maybe this fall we can go full speed, but only 4 days a week. Oh, I am just so excited. I know that my dd is going to love this, so I guess there really isn't much of a reason to delay, if she's ready (and according to the placement chart she definitely is).

Okay, I will think and pray about this over the next week and then maybe we will start!

Laurie - I agree, jump in!!! Starting soon at half-speed is a great idea - the best of both worlds! I do think your dd would love it. I remember thinking with my middle ds that I could put something together myself because he was obviously so ready - or, I could just start half-speed. I opted to start half-speed, and I have been very happy with that decision. I think you will be too! I'm excited for you 2 to start.

In Christ,
Julie

I have been homeschooling for a few years, not so long, but I will tell you what I have learned!

A few years ago, a friend recommended the R&S preschool books, so I offered them to my child when she was 4. I noticed my dd really didn't enjoy it, and wanted to rush through the coloring pages. I decided to wait a few months and what an improvement! The difference was amazing. She begged to do more everyday. That was when I knew she was ready.

I have also noticed that sometimes my dc hit a "wall" so to speak. It's like their brain shuts off, and they need a break (take math for example). Sometimes the kids need more review before moving on. I guess that's the beauty of homeschooling. You can tailor the program to fit your child's needs. Don't worry, you'll get a feel from your daughter as to her readiness. If you get anxious and decide to try now, great! If she's not ready, then wait until she's five like you planned. You will see improvements in her abilities as the weeks go on. My dc didn't want to do the narration at first, so I demonstrated it for a long time -- actually until they were ready to volunteer for the job . They have improved dramatically over the last few months. Be patient. Remember this is kindergarten!

I think you're really going to like LHFHG. We are on Unit 22, and this is the best program I have ever used.

Edited to say: I use the program as written with my 5 and 6 year old. For Phonics they use Explode the code, Level 3 1/2, but we've been doing this for a while. For math, my 5 year old does the math in the book, and The Earlybird 2B workbook and loves it. Both my 6 and 7 year old do R&S math, 1st grade. My 7 year old also does R&S 2nd grade reading, phonics and Preparing to Build English. My 7 year old was tested reading at a 6th grade level, but still enjoys the storytime. I am thankful for the flexibility the program offers.

Good luck!

Joy
Using LHFHG with my 5, 6 and 7 year old and loving it!