heartofdakota.com

Hello again,
I just ordered Bigger with Ext for my dds for next year. Curriculum peace had come after 2 weeks of pondering, asking, and receiving helpful info on this board.
I was sure I would do MFW 1 with my youngest. I own the program and it was perfect for my younger dd (though she also did much of MFW Adventures with her sister that year, too).
So (deep sigh) I happened to pull out the manual last night and I'm seeing some potential concerns with using MFW 1st with my son. Interestingly a friend e-mailed last week and offered to buy my MFW 1st manual and supplies, so I now do have the option of considering a HOD program for my son if I sell to her.
So, here's a picture of my little guy He recently turned 6 and is fun and wiggly and curious. He is excited to be reading CVC words and short stories (no long vowels yet). He HATES writing letters and the blend ladder. He LOVES being read to and can comprehend read-aloud material way above grade level. He has a super-long attention span for read-alouds. It's amazing what he has picked up while playing legos during his sisters' school time He really likes science and history. Does not love crafts. Can cut well but doesn't enjoy it. Slower fine motor skills but excellent hand-eye coordination. Overall he is bright and interested in learning, but does not enjoy the "basic skills" parts of school. Oh, and he does not like to draw or color. He has done pretty well with MFW K on the weeks that I add extra books, but he does struggle with dawdling through the writing parts.
So when i looked at the MFW 1st materials I could not imagine him doing the Bible notebook without extreme angst. (Dd LOVED drawing and writing her bible stories and her Bible notebook is a true treasure.) There is also no way he could copy an entire proverb in a day. I think he'd do OK with the basic phonics portion of the program. The bible activities...I'm not sure. I also think he will crave more read-alouds, but that is always easy to add.
So this is a 2 part question...1) Would he place best in LHFHG as far as HOD goes? 2) How would you compare LHFHG to MFW 1st?
Oh, one more issue...due to some other commitments I will only be doing school with him at home 3-4 days a week. 1-2 days a week he will be in other enrichment/homeschool group type activities. If we start LHFHG could we stop after 3/4 of the program and then move onto Beyond? I'd hate for him to continually fall behind in the early programs because we do not school 5 days a week. I really think he would be perfect in Beyond next year for second grade.
Blessings,

threegreatkids wrote:Hello again,
I just ordered Bigger with Ext for my dds for next year. Curriculum peace had come after 2 weeks of pondering, asking, and receiving helpful info on this board.
I was sure I would do MFW 1 with my youngest. I own the program and it was perfect for my younger dd (though she also did much of MFW Adventures with her sister that year, too).
So (deep sigh) I happened to pull out the manual last night and I'm seeing some potential concerns with using MFW 1st with my son. Interestingly a friend e-mailed last week and offered to buy my MFW 1st manual and supplies, so I now do have the option of considering a HOD program for my son if I sell to her.
So, here's a picture of my little guy He recently turned 6 and is fun and wiggly and curious. He is excited to be reading CVC words and short stories (no long vowels yet). He HATES writing letters and the blend ladder. He LOVES being read to and can comprehend read-aloud material way above grade level. He has a super-long attention span for read-alouds. It's amazing what he has picked up while playing legos during his sisters' school time He really likes science and history. Does not love crafts. Can cut well but doesn't enjoy it. Slower fine motor skills but excellent hand-eye coordination. Overall he is bright and interested in learning, but does not enjoy the "basic skills" parts of school. Oh, and he does not like to draw or color. He has done pretty well with MFW K on the weeks that I add extra books, but he does struggle with dawdling through the writing parts.
So when i looked at the MFW 1st materials I could not imagine him doing the Bible notebook without extreme angst. (Dd LOVED drawing and writing her bible stories and her Bible notebook is a true treasure.) There is also no way he could copy an entire proverb in a day. I think he'd do OK with the basic phonics portion of the program. The bible activities...I'm not sure. I also think he will crave more read-alouds, but that is always easy to add.
So this is a 2 part question...1) Would he place best in LHFHG as far as HOD goes? 2) How would you compare LHFHG to MFW 1st?
Oh, one more issue...due to some other commitments I will only be doing school with him at home 3-4 days a week. 1-2 days a week he will be in other enrichment/homeschool group type activities. If we start LHFHG could we stop after 3/4 of the program and then move onto Beyond? I'd hate for him to continually fall behind in the early programs because we do not school 5 days a week. I really think he would be perfect in Beyond next year for second grade.
Blessings,

Well, this is very exciting - I think God has clearly provided a means for you to order an HOD program for your ds - how nice! I think you are right on target placing your ds in LHFHG. He will love the wiggly, boyish parts of it, and he will be able to grow in his LA skills to prepare for Beyond. When we began LHFHG with my older ds, he was very much like you describe your ds. He didn't like to color (black scribbles over everything ), he wasn't sure about art projects, and his cutting was just o.k. His writing - for some reason - was good, but that wasn't enough for me to think he was ready for Beyond. LHFHG was perfect for him! By the end of LHFHG, he was coloring quite nicely, enjoying his art projects, reading well, writing better, and able to concentrate more without so many wiggles. Beyond was then perfect for him.

LHFHG is great fun to teach. It does a great coverage of a sweep through history, has hands-on activities that foster the growth of fine motor skills and yet are fun, and gives needed time to develop the 3 R's solidly. We especially loved moving to the rhymes together, singing the Bible verses together, doing the history/science activities, and cuddling up on the couch to find out what those adorable Thorton Burgess characters were up to each day for Storytime. I think you'd love doing LHFHG with your ds.

As far as the timetable for it, I think I'd just start, do it as often as you can, and then either double up at the end to finish (we had done this with a guide at one point, doing 1 day's plans in the mornings and another day's plans in the afternoons), or stop and finish LHFHG at the beginning of the next year, or stop and start Beyond instead if that's what you feel is best. I truly think you'll know what is best to do at that point when you're there.

In Christ,
Julie

Is it possible to get some summer work in, maybe start a litle early and finish a little late?

threegreatkids,

I agree, from what you've shared, that your son would fit well within LHFHG. My own little 6 year old did LHFHG last year and enjoyed it immensely. We're heading into Beyond this year now, as he'll be 7 in August.

The ladies have shared some wonderful thoughts for you to ponder. I'll pray for the Lord's peace in your decision-making process.

Blessings,
Carrie

Thanks so much Julie, Mumkins and Carrie,
What a blessing this board is!!! I also sat down with dh last night and we looked at the sample week of LHFHG and agreed that our son would love this approach! Lots of great books and fun activities...and all the 3 R's woven in beautifully. I think he will thrive, so we will place our next HOD order in a few weeks.
I am a tiny bit concerned about combining Bigger and Little, but is sounds like many have done this before. I'd like to be done by 12:30 lunch

threegreatkids wrote:Thanks so much Julie, Mumkins and Carrie,
What a blessing this board is!!! I also sat down with dh last night and we looked at the sample week of LHFHG and agreed that our son would love this approach! Lots of great books and fun activities...and all the 3 R's woven in beautifully. I think he will thrive, so we will place our next HOD order in a few weeks.
I am a tiny bit concerned about combining Bigger and Little, but is sounds like many have done this before. I'd like to be done by 12:30 lunch

Here's a link to a great thread about schedules! Page 2 has Carrie's schedule for teaching Bigger Hearts and Little Hearts at the same time, and page 1 has mine for combining PHFHG and LHFHG:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&p=16049

Here's the schedule I used for doing Bigger Hearts and LHFHG (I did LHFHG slowly over a year and a half):
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11

Maybe something here will help!
In Christ,
Julie

Just for your peace of mind, I'm doing Little and Bigger plus some of my own extras and we're always done by lunch! And we have a late start most mornings as well, not to mention my wild 2.5 year old ALL BOY and morning sickness with number 4 on the way. It is SO SO doable!

YOu can start and finish any of the guides any time of year...we finished LHTH and Beyond a couple months ago so started up Little and Bigger for a couple weeks, now we're unpacking from our move and I'm too sick to pick it back up (morning sickness) so we'll do some more this summer on really hot days, pick back up in Aug full time, then break for the baby coming home, then ??? It's flexible You have the option if you wanted to finish Little before going to Beyond and had to stop and start again in the fall.

Oh, good! Sounds like we'll be just fine with the combination of Little and Bigger. Love those sample schedules!

i would also say do LHFHG. my son turns 6 in October. we are going to continue LHFHG. (we are taking 2 yrs to do it) he has one of those late b-days. He loves it! then next year we will do Beyond. you could work thru the summer ,like someone else suggested. i thik he would really enjoye it based on what you have said.