New with questions

[frazzledjoy]

I am very excited to have found a curriculum that follows history with a consistent biblical focus, AND that intertwines all of the main academic subjects! I've been trying to compare HOD, MFW, Sonlight, and WP. We did Sonlight Pre-K and although the stories were high quality, they were unrelated and the work all felt random. WP seems like bible is an afterthought. MFW looks biblically centered, but I'm not sure of the scope and sequence of the academics. HOD seems to be what I'm looking for! I'm ready to order and get on with life, but I have some questions.

My question is this...
I have a very bright 4 year old dd who turns 5 in December. (She breezed through K Hooked On Phonics and is working more slowly on 1st grd HOP), but when I did the level placement chart for HOD, she ended up in the 6-8 year old group, BLHFHG. Can that be true? Looking at the components for grammar, spelling, and math 1A/1B, it does look level appropriate for her, but is it age appropriate? Do you think the pioneer study has enough activities and interesting stories to keep her enthusiastic about learning? I guess I'm wondering if the theme will be enjoyable for her at her younger age. She plays better with 5-7 year-olds than other 4 year-olds, so I hope she find it interesting. When looking at MFW, it seemed we would need the 1st grade programthere too, but the academics seemed kind of random. I was lookin at WP's Animals Around the World K-1, and History Hideaways, but the first looked too easy (plus a whole year on animals?), and the latter too advanced subject matter. Plus, I have a 6month old baby and need activities that are easier to complete with a baby in tow. Sonlight is'nt hands on enough for her. I really like the integrated subjects of HOD, it's biblical focus, and that it incorporates easily executed activities to bring ideas to life; I just want to make sure BLHFHG is the right one for her next fall. Also, would Singapore math or Horizons be better? She is a very visual and kinesthetic learner.

Also, I'm a former High School teacher who never thought I'd homeschool in a million years, but God has revealed it to me through some amazing families and put it on my and my husband's hearts.However, I'm battling old paradigms and unsupportive grandparents, and my confidence waxes and wanes. Maybe that's a topic for another discussion.

I'd love some advice so my obsessive search for curriculum into the wee hours of the morning can be over for now and I won't feel so frazzled, and I may even feel convinced I'm doing what's best for my dd. I am so thankful and joyful to be home with my dds, I don't want to mess it up or disappoint God.

In Christ,
Barb

[RebekahDW]

After two years of home schooling, I am ready to branch out from ABeka and am thrilled to have found your program (via Patti --thank you!). I am planning to get the material for my preschool (Little Hearts for His Glory) and 4th grade (Preparing Hearts for His Glory) children, but have been told my other two will not want to be left out (I was planning to keep them in ABeka. I will only have to order the child kit for 1st and 2nd grade. Although, I'm also planning to purchase the story time set and emerging reader's set for them.) Should I switch everyone? If so, what would I need to get? For the fall --4 yoa, preschool girl; 6 yoa, 1st grade girl; 8 yoa, 2nd grade boy; 9 yoa, 4th grade girl. They have all learned well but I am wanting a more relaxed schedule for Mom, a more advanced language program and a new teaching style (for them to be able to learn under different styles). I'm hoping for modern Biblical language,more time to actually listen to them and to adjust to a fourth student.

[Mom2Monkeys]

Hi Barb,

Welcome to the boards! I think you'll find HOD to be just right! There are many Sonlight, WP, and MFW converts here...I'm a former MFWer myself

With the most important part of the placement being age, I would suggest NOT jumping into Beyond...I just don't think her little amost-5yr-old-mind is ready for that. I would think Little Hearts would be just right! Not too easy, engaging and on her level, challenging where it needs to be and providing a solid foundation for the skills in the rest of the guides...you just can't beat that! I put my dd7/2nd grade who is reading on a 4th-5th grade level and considered "gifted" in Beyond and she loved it. She could have easily done the academics of Preparing, but the narration, dictation, copywork, etc. are all such important skills that need to be perfected and practiced that I decided to start in a lower level. She falls into the age range and it was great! We finished it up and have started Bigger...I'm SO SO glad I went with Beyond. I think you'd be much happier with Little Hearts. (Which I've also recently started with my ds5.5 and LOVE!)

As far as math, I'd guess that you'd be surprised with the content of Singapore math and you'd need to use the Early Bird Kindergarten 2 to begin with. I think starting in 1A would be way too much for a young K'er. My young 2nd grader is ahead in math and is using Singapore 2B right now...Generally, 7yo dc start in 1A (that's how it is in Singapore). How you described her makes me think Singapore would be a perfect fit, plus you'll have activities to go with it right in the guide. My dd started off in Horizons and we are much more pleased with Singapore...it's deceptively simple...I'd say simple to teach, complete and learn, but amazingly rigorous when you realize how far you've come at the end of each level. No drill needed which I'm sure your dd will appreciate! Oh, after using Horizons 1 and 2, my dd placed into Singapore 2A- so that gives you an idea about Singapore.

Time wise and since you have a baby to handle too, I think Little Hearts would be better as well. You might enjoy one of Carrie's Phonics choices too to be sure she is ready for the emerging reader set in 1st or 2nd. I personally LOVE Reading Made Easy and there are new workbooks to go along with it. We've also done HOP and really enjoy the different approach of RME and find it to "stick" better. We went a couple weeks between lessons in HOP and my son forgot everything! We've been away from RME for over a month now and started it right back where we left off without missing a beat! I was so happy to see that retention!

Anyway, that's just my non-expert two cents. I just had to reply since I've personally used many of the things you are using or considering. I hope it was helpful!

[frazzledjoy]

Thank you so much for your help! I really do appreciate it!

Has anyone found LHFHG not challenging enough for their reading Kindergartener and wish they had done Beyond instead? Or, vice versa?

[Jen in Va]

My son was almost 6 the year I was making this decision. He was very strong in reading and math skills, however, his writing skills and ability to concentrate while listening to stories, as well as to pull information out of a story and tell it back to me were minimal. According to the placement chart, he should have been in Beyond, but I went with my gut and put him in LHFHG, and it was the perfect fit. Now, at almost 7, he is ready for Beyond, and is having no trouble with all the writing, and continues to improve daily with his listening comprehension.

Reading in HOD is not tied strongly to any one program. Carrie has several she recommends, but that decision is really up to you. I would continue with the phonics program you are using with your dd already, using the readers they provide or select easy readers from the library. I did this--I used Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. I've been told that when the child finishes the book, that he should be reading at a 4th grade level. Ds is almost finished the whole guide. He is reading Easy Readers fluently and with proper vocal inflection. As I worked through the reading guide, I had him read from an old set of programmed readers, eventually branching out into easy readers not used in the emerging reader set in the HOD guides. I didn't have any trouble adapting Little Hearts to my strong reader. He's now doing very well with the emerging reader set in Beyond. I am stretching out Beyond so that we will finish it early in the fall of the year he turns 8 (so that it takes 15 months or so), which imo, is where he needs to be emotionally/mentally when he gets to Bigger.

The issue with going with Beyond at this young age is what comes after that guide. The skill levels bump up quite a bit in Bigger and then again in Preparing. If you do Beyond this year with a 4-5 yo, you need to consider whether she will be ready for Bigger at 5-6 yo. That's a lot to expect of a child at that age. Even if a child could do it, the question is, should he/she?

[WigglesMom]

As a young kindergartener (5 yrs. old), I would think that LHFHG would be a better fit. As a previous poster pointed out, they may can do BLHFHG but then the next level would be pretty steep for a then just turned 6 year old.
We are afterschooling with LHFHG with my 6 yr. old son (dec. b-day so he was 5 in August) and it is more than enough. He is learning to sit and listen to books that don't have many pictures. I don't know how your child is but this was an issue with us. I would hate for you to miss the Thornton Burgess books also. My 7 yr. old dd who is in 2nd grade has sat in on the storytime with us and she loves it. She is in public school and we are now going to try homeschooling with her b/c she says she wants to learn what they don't teach in public school.
CLP's History for Little Pilgrims is fun and the way Carrie has it broken down makes it so much easier to do. Before finding LHFHG, we were afterschooling with CLP's 1st grade whole curriculum...and it just wasn't coming to life for us and we were dreading it. She has made it fun for us again and the short lessons are just the right amount of time and information to actually retain it. The science is fun too and interesting although if I hadn't been through the kindergarten science already...I think I would do it instead of the 1st grade one. Again, my 7 yr old loves to sit in on it with us. She sits in on history, science, and storytime with us every day and loves the rhymes in motion.
If you want to add in spelling and some grammer, I would buy the BLHFHG teacher's guide and do spelling list 1 and some of the Language Arts from it. You could also start the emerging readers from the right side of BLHFHG if you thought she was ready and then when she moves to BLHFHG the next year do DITHOR 2/3.
I would give her the Singapore 1A math placement test before trying it. If she passes the 1A test then great, but if not I would start with Earlybird Kindergarten 2A. There is something about the way that Singapore teaches that I would start at the beginning. It is a great math program. We are going through kindergarten 2a now and we are just doing more pages faster since he knows some of the math, but he wasn't ready for 1a yet. http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm
You could buy the 1st grade choices for LHFHG and I think that would be a wonderful start for your daughter. If there is one thing I have learned this year, it isn't all about academics. My son could do the work for CLP 1st grade but it really, really drained us. He wasn't happy. I wasn't happy. We spent most of our fun "school" time with timers set and me begging him to just finish the sheet please! I know he CAN do BLHFHG right now but is he ready for it? No, he isn't.
My oldest daughter was very gifted at a young age and taught herself to read at 3. I was so proud of her and thought I am wasting opportunity if I don't try and do more with her. So in kindergarten I had her reading 3rd grade level books. She was in public school and AR level for a 3rd grader and reading chapter books and testing on them. I was so proud when I told other parents this...well kindergarten went well and first grade went well with this progress and reading 4th grade level books but 2nd grade we bottomed out. She didn't bring home her AR books she didn't want to read them. She totally hated reading. What? My sweet little baby who taught herself so that she could know what was in her books didn't want to read anymore! I tried to get her to read and I tried rewards and I tried punishments to no avail. Finally, I gave up and little by little I saw her reading books...books that were way below her reading "level", but on her emotional level! She was reading her younger sister's books. She wanted to read books that the other girls were reading. She wanted to know about Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody. Granted she read the books in one sitting, but she loved it. I bought so many of those books and theTinkerbell fairy series all of them. What I am trying to say is even though my baby could do it should I have done it? No. It took a while to get her to love books again and I am to blame for that. It is great when we have a bright, gifted child but just b/c we can do somethings doesn't mean we should. My daughter is now reading books that I read sometimes and books that her friends really like sometimes.
Sorry for the side story, but I really pushed my daughter b/c she could do the work until she just burned out. Having done part of LHFHG with a 6 yr old ds and a 7 yr old dd sitting in on most of it...I would definitely think it would be more than enough for your child.
Val

[frazzledjoy]

Thank you sooo much! I am going to the Singapore Math link you provide right after this reply!

The Beyond looks like so much FUN! It's hard, but it may be better just to wait and do LHFHG. I do think she is gifted, but I also don't want to burn her out. I love that she stays up with the light on reading instead of going to sleep. She has been pretty good sitting and listening to the chapter books from SLPreK core, and although we talked about it, we haven't practiced much narration (it's not prompted and I didn't think of it). Also, we read the Beginner's Bible, but we didn't DO anything with it. It would probably be good to go back over the stories and EXPERIENCE them a little better with Carrie's activities. I made the mistake of showing her WP's AW, but a whole year of animals seems a bit much, plus I would want to find more bible content and maybe even supplement history with FIAR or something. I wish the answer was crystal clear, but your information has truly helped.

Thanks!

[8arrows]

I also would strongly encourage you to go with LHFHG and take the Singapore placement test. There are so many years ahead. My 6 and 8 year old did Beyond this year. The six year old is a quick study, but I would not wanted him to have been younger in Beyond. There is so much in there.

[my3sons]

frazzledjoy - I had an early reader as well, and we'd used Hooked on Phonics with him as well. We did LHFHG when he was 4 1/2, and halfway through it, we got the Beyond Little Hearts guide and began the Emerging Reader's Set. This was a perfect fit for him. He began Beyond a bit early then (about at 5 1/2 years old), but we only did it 4 days a week. I wanted him to be in the target age ranges for HOD's guides beginning with Bigger Hearts, because at that level, I think it really is quite necessary to not be younger than the suggested age ranges.

If I were you, I'd get the Beyond Little Hearts guide and do the Emerging Reader's Set with your dd. Then, I'd use LHFHG for the rest. This will meet her needs for being an early reader, and the Emerging Reader's Set will build her comprehension skills up so that she can be prepared for beginning oral narrations in the rest of Beyond. Also, her writing will catch up with her reading then. (Not sure where she's at with her writing?) If she is already writing, you could add in more of the LA skills in Beyond - like spelling list 1 and the LA activities that go along with that. You could also do both the Storytime from LHFHG and the Storytime from Beyond Little Hearts. When you get to doing Beyond as your core the following year, you can use Spelling List 2 (which is also in Beyond), and a different set of Storytime books (there are 3 sets to choose from). The Storytime in Beyond is genre focused (i.e. historical fiction, biography, adventure, etc.), so she'd be learning about each of the genres as well as beginning study of story elements (setting, character, problem/solution, etc.). So, that would be a great way to incorporate more wonderful books and also teach her more LA skills.

If she tests in the 1A/1B range for Singapore math, you could use the hands-on math plans in Beyond for her along with the workbooks as well. Singapore is somewhat advanced though, so if she scores in the Earlybird Kindergarten range, be sure to use that instead, along with the hands-on math plans in LHFHG. LHFHG will be right on track for her learning about history, science, Bible, music, rhymes, etc. It is a wonderful program, and she is sure to enjoy it.

I never planned to homeschool either - I taught for 7 years, got my masters, and quit to homeschool. It was the best decision I ever made - I have never looked back and regretted it. That is my prayer for you - that you love homeschooling your precious dd, and enjoy it to the hilt - you and she both deserve that!

In Christ,
Julie

[my3sons]

After two years of home schooling, I am ready to branch out from ABeka and am thrilled to have found your program (via Patti --thank you!). I am planning to get the material for my preschool (Little Hearts for His Glory) and 4th grade (Preparing Hearts for His Glory) children, but have been told my other two will not want to be left out (I was planning to keep them in ABeka. I will only have to order the child kit for 1st and 2nd grade. Although, I'm also planning to purchase the story time set and emerging reader's set for them.) Should I switch everyone? If so, what would I need to get? For the fall --4 yoa, preschool girl; 6 yoa, 1st grade girl; 8 yoa, 2nd grade boy; 9 yoa, 4th grade girl. They have all learned well but I am wanting a more relaxed schedule for Mom, a more advanced language program and a new teaching style (for them to be able to learn under different styles). I'm hoping for modern Biblical language,more time to actually listen to them and to adjust to a fourth student.

Rebekah,

I'm so glad you've found HOD, and I know you are going to thoroughly enjoy branching out with it! It's neat to hear your dc are excited to begin HOD, and even neater to hear your other dc want to join in the HOD fun now too. For preschool, I am wondering if you meant Little Hands to Heaven? That is the preschool/preK program, and Little Hearts for His Glory is usually used for either Kindergarten or First Grade. I am sure we can find a good fit for you and your dc, but before I get ahead of myself - could you please check out the placement chart and share about each of your dc's reading, writing, and math? The placement chart is very accurate and not hard to use. You'll want to pay the most attention to the first page of the placement chart. Also, if you could please share how your dc listen to read-alouds without many pictures? I will feel so much better about advising you then.
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

You may want to repost the placement information for your dc as a new post on the board so it doesn't get lost within this other post. I'll be watching for it and will be glad to help!

In Christ,
Julie

[frazzledjoy]

Thanks Julie!

Looks like I'm buying two curriculums! Ha ha! Thank goodness they are more affordable than the others! I really think your advice about using some of the more advanced reading and spelling from Beyond (she can spell phonetically spelled words), and maybe even the readers, along with the LHFHF guide is right on and I'm so appreciative of it; you seem extremely experienced in HOD so your advice is reassuring. I've already printed up the Singapore test and we'll see how she does.

Thanks again for the suggestions! This forum is so great! I'd be really lost without it!

Barb

[my3sons]

Thanks Julie!

Looks like I'm buying two curriculums! Ha ha! Thank goodness they are more affordable than the others! I really think your advice about using some of the more advanced reading and spelling from Beyond (she can spell phonetically spelled words), and maybe even the readers, along with the LHFHF guide is right on and I'm so appreciative of it; you seem extremely experienced in HOD so your advice is reassuring. I've already printed up the Singapore test and we'll see how she does.

Thanks again for the suggestions! This forum is so great! I'd be really lost without it!

Barb

I'm so glad to hear your thoughts about this, and will pray for you to come to a happy decision!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Barb,

I just wanted to pop-in and welcome you to the board! The ladies have already done a terrific job of helping you think through your options and of guiding you to look down the road a bit as you make your curriculum decisions.

I agree that LHFHG with the first grade options (with part of the right side of Beyond for the spelling, emerging reader's schedule, and possibly the math activities for 1A/1B - depending on how your daughter turns out on her placement test) would be a good fit for your little honey overall. It will give you daughter what she needs in the 3 R's (in the areas where she is advanced) and also give her time to grow up and mature a bit before heading into a more intensive program like Bigger Hearts at too early of an age.

We're glad to have you here!

Blessings,
Carrie

[frazzledjoy]

Thanks everyone for your help. Right now I am leaning toward LHFHG with the 1st grade components. After visiting the Singapore website and taking the placement test, she seems to be ready for 1A Math. If I use the right side of Beyond with the left side of LHFHG, what do I do for the right side the following year with Beyond? Will I always be buying two curricula?

I'm getting closer, but need to pray some more about it.

Thanks everyone!

[my3sons]

Thanks everyone for your help. Right now I am leaning toward LHFHG with the 1st grade components. After visiting the Singapore website and taking the placement test, she seems to be ready for 1A Math. If I use the right side of Beyond with the left side of LHFHG, what do I do for the right side the following year with Beyond? Will I always be buying two curricula?

I'm getting closer, but need to pray some more about it.

Thanks everyone!

All of the HOD guides have several choices for LA/math in them, so they can be used 2 times if you'd like. Here are the choices for Beyond if you did it this way:

Spelling:
Year 1: Spelling List 1
Year 2: Spelling List 2

Storytime:
Year 1: Girl Interest Set
Year 2: Classic Set (classic takes a more mature listener, so this order would make sense)

Reading:
Year 1: Emerging Reader's Set
Year 2: Drawn into the Heart Reader, Level 2/3

Math:
Year 1: 1A/1B with hands-on plans in Beyond for teacher part
Year 2: 2A/2B schedule in Appendix using textbooks for teacher part

Copywork:
Year 1: If you want to do copywork, you could just have her copy her Bible verse from LHFHG each week.
Year 2: You would not do the copywork of the poetry until you did the left side of the Beyond guide.

Grammar on Day 5 of the Beyond plans:
Year 1: Skip
Year 2: do it

So, you would not need to buy any guide the next year. However, some people do enjoy buying Bigger Hearts early for the 2A/2B hands-on math activities. If you did decide you'd like the HOD math plans, you'd just buy Bigger Hearts guide - in which case, you'd still only be buying 1 guide each year from here on out, but then you'd be working out of 2 guides, using Bigger just for the math part.

HTH! If not, just ask more questions!
In Christ,
Julie