Do any of you add..

[Marsha]

Five in a Row to this?

We did FIAR years ago and I was thinking of adding it.

[Mommamo]

I remember some people saying they do FIAR too. We did B4FIAR and some of FIAR before we started LHFHG. I think it would be possible to do a little FIAR, but it just got to be too much work for me personally. Also, HOD is so full that I didn't feel like I needed anything extra. HTH!

[lmercon]

No, I don't, but I do love how HOD covers so much but leaves time for the extras. I am adding in nature study, composer study, and soon, picture study and drawing lessons. I have my eye on guided sewing lessons as well. I love that I am able to add in the "things of beauty" without feeling overwhelmed.
Laura

[Lynnw]

I've never used FIAR, but I bought Veritas Press's First Favorites Comprehension Guide before I got HOD's BLHFHG. It uses similar books (Blueberries for Sal, Caps for Sale, etc.). I have a Mommy's Helper who comes one day a week to help me with my 5 yo and my 3yo (and the kitchen!) while I do school with the olders. I save First Favorites for her to use with them since it sometimes has painting or glueing and I save that stuff for her!

Personally if I wanted to add these kind of picture books into Little Hands, Little Hearts, or Beyond (or even Bigger) I would just read them for enjoyment - as part of a "life of reading" and not worry about a curricula or any particular activities. But that's just my .02. As another poster said, the nice thing about HOD is that you are more likely to have time to add other things in if you want. My own experience is that as the number of children in our family has increased I have wished for ways to cut our school time rather than add to it. I love that HOD is helping me to be more efficient and more effective!

Lynn

[my3sons]

I used FIAR for a year when I finished before HOD's next level came out. Lynn had a good idea to use FIAR books for pure enjoyment - they are good books, and we still enjoy having them in our "at-home library". Otherwise, you could maybe do HOD 4 days a week, and on the 5th day do FIAR? That may be a way to utilize your FIAR if you still wanted to. For us, doing the FIAR books for that many days in a row became redundant (my ds even began asking me if we "had to read that same book again"). Since the FIAR activities varied so much in ability level, length of time it took to do them, and often called for materials I didn't have on hand, we had trouble doing it that many days anyway. So, doing it just once a week and picking and choosing the activities you'd really enjoy doing for fun might be an enjoyable way to use it while still using HOD for all of your core schooling the rest of the week - just an idea!

In Christ
Julie