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I've gone over and over the placement chart. I've discussed it with my husband and we think we know which level we should order for our oldest son, BUT... I'm still nervous about the decision. So I'm hoping to get your opinion. (key stuff in BOLD)

Currently we are loosely following a curriculum that took me 2 months to prep about 9 weeks worth of lessons & requires twice weekly trips to the library (rookie mistake - wish I'd heard of HOD sooner!) and which I realized just 3 weeks into it was WAY too easy (although fun) for my son. It turns out he's VERY advanced. So everything I had planned to use next year we are using now in combo with what I can salvage from the curriculum and I'm sort of throwing supplemental library books into the mix too, just trying to catch up with his abilities and still cover all the basic stuff I haven't officially taught yet. It's kind of a mess, but he's learning!

In fact, he started reading two weeks ago and he is flying through his BOB books. In just 2 weeks he is already on book 10. He'd be MUCH farther, if I let him, but I'm making sure he really masters each book (reading each one at least 3 times) before moving too far ahead and since he's doing so well with that I'm putting more emphasis on other subjects. BTW he is reading the first 6 books independently now (for fun, outside "school time") and only needing help with the newest ones.

He has written up to 2 sentences (for greeting cards) with my dictating and him sounding out the spelling as he writes. We haven't tried any official spelling, but he is constantly asking how to spell things and so far he hasn't had any problems writing any word he has decided to write.

He has excellent reading comprehension. For bedtime, we've read Amelia Bedelia and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle collection books. I have the entire Mrs. Piggle Wiggle Set (4 books with several stories per book) and we've read every story except about 4 because I'm reluctant to finish it off. But the thing is, if we don't finish a story every night it's because I am tired of reading and never because he's done listening. I feel like I could read aloud for hours to this child and he would love it. Even with these longer stories, he remembers who did what in the story as well as what came first, second, and last.

He still makes minor grammar mistakes orally (i.e. "foots" instead of "feet"). I haven't addressed grammar at all as part of school.

He easily counts to 20 and sometimes higher. He has a basic understanding of measurements. He knows his opposites. He sorts, matches, and categorizes. Yesterday I introduced addition for the first time and he flew through his first 2 worksheets (about 15 problems). The only help he needed was to use crayons as a manipulative. He will probably be doing this independently by Thursday if I don't up the challenge. Once he's got a more thorough grasp of addition, I'll move on to introducing some subtraction as part of school time, although we've already addressed it casually in real-life situations and he seems to already grasp the concept.

We've been covering one bible story per week without problem. We try to do one memory verse a week, but I'm terrible at remembering to help him practice it. We're using Big Thoughts for Little People as our primary devotional and he enjoys that.

We've done some official "school time" science experiments, but he's done more on his own mostly with his toys and asking "What happens if...?" We've covered at least basics in body parts, weather, eggs, dinosaurs, gardening, plants, bugs, some marine animals, a couple birds, several wild land animals (this week it's cheetahs), life cycle of a butterfly, nutrition, etc. We've also covered some basic geography including the concept of cities, states, countries, where he lives, and where different countries can be found on our electronic globe.

He's done at least a half dozen dramatic reenactments. He loves that. He also narrates his own stories when coloring and or playing with his toys, complete with a beginning, middle and end....sometimes there is a conflict involved.

We practice one rhyme a week - all with hand motions. He LOVES that.

I know this is a lot, so thank you for reading this. I am really eager to hear what you think. BTW we are hoping to begin HOD sometime between October 2009 and January 2010 depending on how he progresses between now and then. Which level would YOU choose for him? (BTW I have a younger one that may start preschool late 2010.)

Kathleen

Hi!! It sounds like your little guy is doing very well- especially with his 3R's. How exciting!!
Would you mind sharing his age with us & what grade he would "technically" be in & maybe some of your thoughts of what you would like the next year or so to look like?
Thanks! I look forward to hearing even more!

Mom4Him -
Thanks for replying. Actually, it's always been my philosophy that kids should be educated based on their abilities and interests not their age. I purposely left out his age because I wanted opinions based on his skills and I know that it can sometimes be difficult to see past someone's age.

As for the next year... well I'm not set on a particular pacing schedule. I'm leaving that mostly up to him and how quickly or slowly he masters things. However in a very loose way, this is an overview of what I'm planning on teaching him over the next 4-6 months (before starting HOD):

• Introduction to French - "Professor Toto"
  Introduction to Sign Language - "ASL for the Early Childhood Classroom"
  Completion of his phonics education & increased reading abilities - various resources & readers
  Beginning Addition & Subtraction - various workbooks, manipulatives & activities/games
  More practice with various methods of measurement
  Improve his understanding of telling time
  Memorizing his home address & phone number
  Use scissors more accurately (can't cut straight line yet)
  swing by himself more efficiently (barely moves right now)
  using buttons (on clothes)
  tie his shoes
  better verse memorization
  Improved ability to reproduce a drawn model
  More consistent ability to tell left from right
  Counting 20-100 & 100 down to 1 & introduction to skip counting by 2s, 5s, & 10s
  writing numbers 1 -100
  creating rhymes for given words / continue studying word families
  writing his own stories/letters (the kind you mail)
  Starting sentences with capital letters & ending with periods, exclamation & question marks.
  improved spelling/writing abilities (tonight I tested his skills & he spelled "united" "unitd", but spelled "tent" 100% correctly, then spelled "crayon" "crauon")
  solids vs. liquids
  More basic science (i.e. seasons, more animals, rivers, oceans, lakes, etc. etc.)
  increased understanding of geography
  art appreciation
  music appreciation
  continued bible study

These are all the things I expect him to learn in the next 6mths max based on the pace at which he has learned things so far. After that I want to use the HOD guides, I'm just not sure which level. I'm leaning toward either LHFHG or BLHFHG....I hope this is the sort of info you were looking for.

Thanks!
Kathleen

Welcome! It sounds like you have been having a a lot of fun teaching your little guy already! I just recently started HOD and love it! My son fit skill-wise into LHFHG at age 4, but he wouldn't have been ready to do the types of activities expected, even doing the guide at half-speed (taking 2 days to do each "day" as written) if we had started then. He needed to mature a few months. Now he's over 4.5, and it's a good fit for him at half-speed. The ladies on this board bring a great breadth of experience to helping each family find the right fit for each child (and mom!). It would help to know his age to help you and the ladies confirm his maturity level and readiness for the expectations of the different levels of HOD. It sounds like your guy is really blossoming right now !

Hi Kathleen,

I read through your description of your ds. I have a question. Can you explain the last sentence in this quote from your post, please? It sounds like someone likes to keep things challenging in your house. Is this your feeling after observing his work and attitude toward learning or something he has expressed to you? I'm just curious to know what his attitude toward learning is.

Yesterday I introduced addition for the first time and he flew through his first 2 worksheets (about 15 problems). The only help he needed was to use crayons as a manipulative. He will probably be doing this independently by Thursday if I don't up the challenge.

Also, what is your child's attention span for independent work, hands-on activities, and read alouds?

Thank you,
Sarah

Kathleen, I am new here, and so I know very well the many hours that you can spend thinking through what would be best for your children - so I hope I can help at least a little. After reading your first post, I was leaning more towards either LHFHG or BLHFHG- & after reading your second post, that seems to be what you were thinking as well.
So, here are a few options...

*Do LHFHG at full pace come Oct-Jan- & depending on where your son is at with his 3 R's at that time, you could choose to do either K or 1st grade materials (or a mix of the two) as written in the guide. It does not matter which Science book you choose, although I think I've read on the message board a couple of times that others have preferred the K option a little bit more. You could choose the 1st grade options for handwriting and fine-motor skills, and probably go through Singapore K math, as I've heard it really prepares the kiddos for the next year & gets them thinking the "Singapore way" right from the start. You could just continue on whatever phonics you are working on at the time. Also, you could add in the supplemental materials in the appendix of LHFHG if you felt he needed the extra material.

*Another option would be to do the left side of LHFHG and the right side of BLHFHG, as it would seem at that point he may very well be ready for the spelling, light grammar & possibly math. He might also be ready for the Emerging Readers set which is outlined in BLHFHG.

*Last option would be to do BLHFHG starting at half-pace & then switching to full pace when you feel he is ready. Then, I would chose the first grade options- you could finish the phonics you are working on & move on to the Emergent Readers set when he is ready. I'm a little more hesitant of this option, since I've heard such great things about LHFHG & each guide will really help prepare you & your child for the next.

I have been struggling about where to place my girls as well, & have thought through so many different combinations of placements, etc. After much thought & prayer, I've realized that I just want to slow down- enjoy being their mom, enjoy teaching them, enjoy watching them learn and discover, allow time for them to play & discover on their own & also take the time to be the mom to my other children & the wife to my husband that I need to be... so we have decided to start with LHTH with Phonics & handwriting form LHFHG, which they will breeze through, but thoroughly enjoy & they will get to spend fun time with me. I say this to hopefully encourage you along the way. It sounds like you have such a bright little boy & he is learning so fast. If he is really enjoying this (& you are too ), then you can most certainly continue at a faster pace- or up the level of work for your son. If he seems to be at the point where he just wants to play, or you have your hands full with your duties as a mom & wife, or if you have other things that are important for you to teach him (sign language, French, etc.), or if you want to be sure to get to each of the HOD guides at an ideal time for your son, or even if you want him to stay little a little while longer... it is OK to slow down, as you know, so much learning comes from "just playing". - I think if I were you, I would er to start on the "easier" side for my child. It seems easier to add in a few supplemental activities, than to start too hard & have a frustrated child (or mommy ). I don't know your life/family situation, so other things might come into play for your decision as well... how many children you have, if you want to continue schooling throughout summers, what other activities you may be involved in, if you want to combine children in the future, etc. I know so much goes into this decision!! And it is difficult! Let the board know about what your thoughts are, & ask lots of questions! This board is so great at helping you work out a good plan for your family!!

srp1997 - Those are great questions and thank you for reading all that. The thoughts about the math are a reflection of how quickly he picks up on things. Basically, what I meant is, he probably won't need my direct supervision or verbal guidance - he'll be capable of doing the problems entirely on his own unless I make the problems more difficult. Understand, I'm talking about problems that come with pictures of the objects being added and subtracted. One way I might "up the challenge" if he gets bored (which happens frequently) is by asking him to do problems without pictures (numbers only) or maybe by gently increasing the sums. I find that if he accomplishes a task very easily he quickly becomes bored and wants to do something else, if it's too hard he gets frustrated and wants to do something else, but if I keep it at a mildly to moderately challenging level, he remains interested and wants to do more.

He enjoys doing both teacher led and independent work. In fact, last night he was practicing his handwriting and he told me not to watch while he was writing (I peeked anyway to make sure he was doing it correctly) and then he wanted me to come look when he was done. Also, he will frequently complete worksheets, puzzles, and minimal mess art projects independently at the table while I prepare for the next part of our lesson. Sometimes he reads one of the BOB books he's already mastered while he waits. He will do independent work for anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour depending on what he's working on.

He definitely enjoys hands-on activities a bit more than pencil and paper stuff most days, but I think most kids are that way. He's equally good at completing both types of tasks.

As I mentioned before he will listen to read alouds as long as I am willing to read them most days. I think the longest straight reading session we've had was about 1 and a half hours (lil' bro was sleeping). The longest no picture story we've read was about 3 pages in length. I encourage him to close his eyes and use his imagination if there are no pictures, which he enjoys. Also, the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle stories only have 1-2 pictures per story, range from 6-19 pages long, and they are his favorite bedtime stories.

As for his general attitude toward learning, he LOVES it! We started school earlier than planned on because he was already learning school type stuff without my help. We took a long hiatus due to my health following the birth of his lil' brother and the entire time he was begging to do school on an almost daily basis. Every day that we do school I am the one to call a stop to the day while he asks to do more and more. I try to keep school between 1-3hrs most days, though, because I am afraid he'll burn out and I figure if he is still asking for more at the end of the school day then he'll be excited about doing more tomorrow. I have yet to have him say "I don't want to do school." or "I wanna be all done with school today." Now he has said, "I wanna do something else." or "I wanna be done with this." when he is tired of a particular activity, but if I reply that that was the last activity of the day, he'll express disappointment. Everywhere we go he reads the signs as we drive by (mostly symbols - not too many word signs yet) and if he doesn't know what a sign means/says he'll ask me. Similar thing with the vehicles and buildings he sees- always wants to know their names and functions. His latest thing is trees. DH & I have discussed checking out a tree identification book from the library because he constantly wants to know the names of the trees he sees. Jacarandas are his favorite. He wants to know about everything we do in the kitchen (always want to make his own food). He asks about bugs and animals and why they do the things they do, where they live, what they eat, etc. He initiated his own education about telling time by constantly asking questions about the clocks in the house and "What day is it?" and "What are we going to do after that?" Basically, he can't get enough information and he's constantly wanting to learn more.

He follows verbal instructions well most days (at least stuff related to school). He carries out at least three simple tasks or directions after being told once. He easily follows pictured instructions (like recipes or crafts) - he's done ones with as many as 12 steps so far without problem. He takes care of most of his own personal care (toilet, dressing, hair, teeth) except where I insist on more control (wiping, styling gel). He works & plays well with the kids in his Sunday School class and I'm often told he was the best behaved kid in the room. He's outgoing in that he makes friends easily and I constantly have to remind him not to talk to strangers and not to hug people without asking.

I am not sure what else I could tell you about his maturity level that would be relevant. If you have any other questions about his maturity, please feel free to ask.

BTW: As I've typed this, I've just been looking at the intro pages for LHFHG & BLHFHG. The only thing that has really stood out to me as a possible problem with doing BLHFHG is the Math levels. Regarding LHFHG: My son has already mastered math unit numbers 1-9. I'm not sure exactly what is meant by #10 but I think he's mastered that too if it's what I think it is. #11-13 he has started but not yet mastered. Everything past that is mostly a mix of "already touched on but not yet really studied" and/or "will be studied in the next 6 mths". Regarding BLHFHG: I'm uncertain whether he'll be up to things like missing addends, cummutative properties, or multiplication... but he's surpassed my expectations in the past and the rest of the list looks reasonably doable for him if everything goes roughly as expected over the next 6mths.

Regarding Age:
I dislike judging children based on their age. I have nearly 20yrs of child care experience behind me that says kids don't mature or learn based solely on their age. While there are rules of thumb for most age groups, I strongly believe every child should be treated, judged, and educated based on who they are and what they can do (emotionally and mentally) as an individual. Though I am not a certified teacher, I have taught many different ages in many different forums and have found that students do their best when treated individually instead of lumped together by age. This is, in fact, one of the primary reasons we chose to homeschool. We want to give our children an education at their level, pace, and interest - not the level, pace, and interest of other kids their age/grade. I honestly didn't think not giving his age would turn out to be such an issue here.

krismoose - I would be interested to know what you mean by "needed to mature a few months". What specifically needed to change for your son to be mature enough for LHFHG? Perhaps that would give me a better idea of what you all are concerned about regarding maturity level.

Mom4Him - I am THRILLED by your suggestions! You make a good point about taking into consideration the extra subjects of Sign Language and French. (BTW - We're really approaching those in a very casual, just get him used to it, kind of way at this point.) Your ideas of combining the guides are exactly what I was sort of toying with in my mind but haven't talked to DH about yet because I had no idea how to go about it. I think combing them in some way just might be the best solution since I am worried he'll be bored with large sections of LHFHG and possibly frustrated with other sections of BLHFHG. Also, since we've got his little brother coming up later buying the LHFHG is something we would probably do eventually anyway even if we jumped right into BLHFHG with big brother, so if we by both now and wind up just using BLHFHG for the time being then we won't be too disappointed since LHFHG will get used later down the line anyway. And on the flip side, if BLHFHG turns out to be more difficult for him than I expect, we can set it aside and use it when we get there. I just have to figure out how to squeeze more blood from that rock, if you know what I mean. Seriously, your suggestions and advice are EXACTLY the kind of response I was hoping for. Thank You so much!

Kathleen

P.S. Sorry about the length. I'm a novelist, can you tell???

This is just me, but after reading your posts and thinking about your reasoning, I would do LHFHG with 1st grade options. It has the Singapore 1a/1b math schedule in the appendix as well as literature supplements. LHFHG has an excellent amount of hands on activities as well as plenty of workbook pages to complete.
The history texts are 1st and 2nd grade texts from Christian Liberty Press. The science has a lot of hands on experiments as well as text to read from. You could choose to do A Reason for Handwriting A and the Thinking Skills 1. If you wanted extra copywork, you could have him write the Bible verse for the week as well.
Have you given him the Singapore placement test. It might would help you to see where he is with the Singapore math. http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Test_s/86.htm The emerging readers are much more than you would think and span from simple to 3rd-4th grade level books. I would see if he could read the Frog and Toad books on his own and the Amelia Bedelia ones as well. They are normally scheduled to be read in a week (around 15 pages a day roughly depending on the book's length).
With the other subjects that you want to add in-French and Sign Language, LHFHG would probably be a really good fit doing 1st grade options. If he passes the Math 1a and 1b tests and seems ready for 2a as well as being able to read the emerging readers that I mentioned, then I would say go with BLHFHG. If he seems to need more phonics instruction and would place in Math 1a/1b, then I would do LHFHG with 1st grade options.
I do believe that age and grades are relative. Some kids mature faster and are ready faster. Some mature later and catch up to their peers in time.
Val

Val,
Thank you so much for your detailed response! I was unaware there was a placement test for Singapore. Right now I am certain he would not be able to read the Amelia Bedelia books himself (he hasn't learned all the word families, silent e's, weird spellings, etc.), however, I would not be at all surprised if he is doing just that around the time we begin HOD (next Oct-Jan). Fifteen pages a day seems like a lot to read on his own, though. Is that what he'd be expected to read on his own in the Bigger level? I kinda got the impression that how much he read independently would be dependent on the reading/phonics program we chose since it has options for those still learning phonics as well as for stronger readers. I really appreciate these specific references for gauging what he should be able to do. It can be a little difficult with with generalizations in the placement chart. I am definitely going to check out the Singapore test and look more closely at what the "1st grade options" are for LHFHG.
Thanks again!
Kathleen

Regarding the changes in my ds that paved the way for us to start LHFHG, one area was listening to stories without pictures. The LHFHG storytime stories sound perfect for your guy to start with, as they start with 3-4 page chapters with maybe one picture among them. They're very engaging stories about animals that teach character lessons throughout. We've started reading the storytime story, science, and history readings at lunch, because his 2 yo ds wants to listen, but she's 2 , so on the couch, she's all wiggles. At the table, she listens and asks questions The other area he grew in was in complying with being told what kind of "school" we would be doing, as opposed to following his lead exclusively and doing school-type activities only when he was interested. For example, setting up a routine where we did phonics for 15 minutes, then a break, then something more active, then math, etc. Oh, and you mentioned his interest in identifying trees etc...We've been checking out those guides from the library and we finally broke down and bought an Audubon guide to our region that has all the plants, animals, insects etc... We all love it, and now ds comes back from a walk and asks for help looking up a bird etc. I agree with following his interest in that area! BTW, I did not mean to be offensive in asking about age or maturity level; I am well aware that age does not mean much on it's own - it's just one part of a individual. I wanted to find out more about your ds. I appreciate your detailed descriptions of his interests and abilities! HTH

Hi! I just wanted to pop in and give you a hearty HOD welcome, too.

My thought in reading your description of your son is that LHFHG would probably fit best.

I will tell you that the Singapore placement test may not be of much use for you as it doesn't have a test for the Earlybird books. The tests start with Primary 1A (and that test tells you if your child is done with that level...not ready to begin it). I'd just do as you already did and look at the scope and sequence in the intro of LHFHG and decide if reviewing those topics would be useful or if you want to jump into the math that's scheduled in Beyond (Singapore 1A and 1B). If you do go with 1A and 1B, I'd highly reccommend using the Beyond guide with hands-on activities that Carrie has planned to go with them. They're great! (And if your little guy is ready for the Emerging Readers during your time with LHFHG, you'll need the Beyond book for that anyway. )

I'm sure you know that the moms here weren't trying to offend you by asking your little guy's age. I personally love the way HOD has age ranges on the guides rather than grade levels. It is so true that God has created us all as unique individuals that develop at different rates and have different strengths. Carrie has written all of the HOD guides wonderfully so that every learning style is used in a balanced way daily. Your child will be taking in information visually, auditorially (ok, I think I made up that word ...through listening), kinesthetically (through moving/hands on). I love that! But, overall, I'd say that the way the information is presented to your child in the guides will be more appropriate if you're not to far "ahead" or "behind". If you have a 5 yo that is an eager learner and doing great with reading and math, he could thrive in LHFHG because there is plenty of meat in the curriculum and the activities and experiments are perfect for him developmentally due in part to his age. Likewise a mom could have a 9 year old that is really struggling with learning to read and also has a hard time with math. This 9 yo may not even be at the level of the made-up 5 yo I mentioned. As long as this mom met their child at their level with reading and math, this 9 yo could place in Beyond or even Bigger as a core program (and probably enjoy the activities and experiments and upped listening level due in part to their developmental level and age). Does that make sense?
Since HOD follows a Charlotte Mason philosophy, it gives kids quality literature at all levels. The living books that you'll be using in the different guides are inspiring, and will fan the flame for ideas in your child I'm sure.

I'm praying right now that you and your husband will have wisdom and clarity as you decide. I think the hardest part is deciding where to start. Teaching HOD is easy from there!

another Kathleen
(I don't meet very many, do you? )

I'm going to be honest we chose the Earlybird Kindergarten 2a/2b so that ds who had a bad ps kindergarten experience would enjoy school. We are way ahead in math than anywhere else in LHFHG. From the descriptions of what you are going to cover before starting HOD, I don't see why you couldn't start at 1a/1b. The only thing I didn't see you mention was money and ordinal numbers. I'm sure it is revisited in Primary 1a/1b. If I had to do it again, I would have started with Primary 1a/1b.Here are some links that will help with Singapore. http://www.singaporemath.com/Homeschool_s/60.htm
http://www.singaporemath.com/Placement_Guide_s/85.htm
http://www.singaporemath.com/v/vspfiles ... 1atest.pdf
There is the option to continue phonics instruction in BLHFHG. It also has the option for emerging readers and DITHOR 2/3. Phonics is a personal choice so it is left up to you. It is scheduled in the guide daily. When you get to the emerging reader books, the child begins the first 8 units reading their children's Bible (there are 2 choices). They read 6 or so pages at first and by the 8th unit are reading 10-12 pages aloud. Then the rest of the units are emerging reader books that they read 10-15 pages daily aloud. The reading level starts out at 1.8 and ends at 3.8 with the last book. Just to give you an idea of the progression.
I wouldn't be concerned as much about whether ds could do BLHFHG in October, but look ahead to Bigger Hearts for His Glory and think could he do this in another year. I would really think about that a lot because after Bigger is a big jump to Preparing and so on. The first week of each is listed and keep in mind that the history and such up in maturity level each guide.
LHFHG is a very thorough program. Personally, I love the storytime books by Thornton Burgess. As I mentioned before,the history is a 1st and 2nd grade text by CLP. You can choose which science to use (personally I like the K one). As bright as your ds seems just by reading about him through your eyes, I would probably pick LHFHG with the 1st grade options. You mentioned the cutting and fine motor skills in what you hoped to accomplish in the next 6 months. I personally chose some 1st grade options and some kindergarten options b/c my ds needed help with fine motor. The R&S books have a lot of cutting, gluing, drawing from a model in them. I also chose the A reason for handwriting K instead of A b/c as I said we need to work on our fine motor skills. Just from looking at your list in regard to fine motor skills and gross motor skills (cutting, swinging, buttons...), that would make me lean more towards LHFHG. You have the rhymes in motions for gross motor skills. You have the R&S books for fine motor skills or the thinking skills 1 (I can't give an opinion on it b/c I haven't used it). You could choose the appropriate level math.
I think you are doing a great job with your ds who sounds like a gem to teach. I would seriously weigh the fine motor and gross motor along with the more academic areas when choosing between LHFHG and BLHFHG. I would also download the 1st week of BHFHG and take into consideration a year from October in the decision. You seem to have a good read on your ds and his abilities.
Val

Kathleen- I am so glad that I could help- at least just a little. The other ladies are doing such a great job of helping you think through your possibilities!
One thing you could possibly do- is actually purchase both LHFHG & BLHFHG (although I know finances are often an issue ). This way you could maybe see a little bit more clearly where your son is at (come Oct.-Jan.). And if you did not use LHFHG, your younger one could hopefully use it down the road- if you did not use BLHFHG, you could save it for the next year.
We will be praying for you as you make the necessary decisions!!!

I definately think Beyond might be too hard. My two boys were both reading, spelling, narrating, and one of them was doing double digit addition and subtraction when we started Beyond this year. Do you think your child would enjoy the activities in LHTH or LHFHG better? Learning to listen to books without pictures is an important skill for the second. Have you had a chance to look at the spines for the programs. That is always helpful to me in placement. I have forgotten what you posted about that. Have fun deciding. Once you decide, your hard work is already done! My boys had a great year in Beyond this year and I have already ordered Bigger for next year. I am also including my two youngers in LHTH and I ordered CTC for my eldest girls.

I'd opt for LHFHG but this is also based soley on the info given here. We can in no way truly know what your son is capable of in January, although you have a GREAT list of things to teach him by then. So I can only go by what he is doing by now and guesstimate what he'll be like by January.

You might want to do LHFHG full pace. We started my daughter in LHFHG earlier than the guide suggested and she did just fine with it. I would choose the first grade options if you really think he is ready for that. It is always easier to add more to what you are doing than to take things away. So I would just beef it up with more readings if he loves being read to that much. Also, if you want to do more science related learning as it is usally only once a week in LHFHG I have extensive lists of science books for young learners and you could add that in (just let me know if you want it). Also if you are continuing french and ASL, then I think it might be better to start out with LHFHG and if you find he is progressing too fast through LHFHG then you can get Beyond and move him up.

And about maturity. We are just making sure that your child is mature enough to handle the content that each guide "throws" at them. To think long term here...if your son is a bit younger and you put him in Beyond...is he going to be ready for truly independent work for a good portion of the guide in CTC just 3 years later? And the storytime readings in Beyond alone will be much more substantial than 2-3 pages of reading with no pictures. Is he ready for that? You know questions like that. But a good thing is that if you hit a wall you can always slow the guides down and do half pace until your son is ready to move forward.

Remember when you ask for guidance from us, we are giving you our "This is what we would do if it was us" response. Only you truly know what is best for you. The ladies on here asking about his age are not intending that in a rude way. It is natural to inquire about a child's age. I agree that children should work based soley upon what they are capable of not because their age dictates it.

Best of "luck" to you and I hope you figure out what is best for your family soon.