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I have 3 yr twins home with me, a 4 yr old who will be in 1/2 day (p.m.) preschool Mon., Wed., Fri & my 6 yr old home, doing 1st grade. I have ordered Beyond for my daughter & LHTH for my twins. I am just wondering if anyone has gone this route before me who could offer any guidance as to what (if anything) I could combine or do with all four of them together in the a.m., before little ones nap & son goes off to preschool. Thanks for any input!

I'm using both of those programs right now. We do LHTH first thing after breakfast. Even my oldest two children enjoy the fingerplays and listening to the Bible story, so everyone participates. I save the LHTH projects (like cutting/pasting activities) for last, so that just the 2 and 4 year olds can work on those while the oldest two move on to their phonics.

2plus2,

We'll be doing both LHTH and Beyond at our house this year too. Since LHTH is so short and sweet, I'd most likely do all of LHTH with the 3's and 4 year old in the morning before your 4 year old goes to preschool. You may just want your oldest kiddo to do something else during that time so that the little ones really feel that they have momma to themselves. My little guys love feeling like that is their school-time with momma. Othewise, you could have your older one be the helper.

If desired, you could play the music from Beyond at lunch for all to sing along. You could also read-aloud the storytime from Beyond at lunch, depending on how well the little ones do with that. We've found that when mouths are full, it's a quieter time to read aloud. Poetry can work well at lunch too, depending on how wiggly the little ones are.

Blessings,
Carrie

We did Beyond and LHTH at the same time a few years back and enjoyed it so much. I did LHTH first, and then my little one often enjoyed continuing to play whatever we'd done in LHTH on his own. Then, I did my Beyond with my older. I think we did the singing together for each, and the poetry at lunch. The tinies (LHTH) just seem to like to have their mommy time and then be off to play. But, you can play around with your schedule and see what works well for you!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you thank you for all the great ideas! Can't wait to see how it all works out! I seriously want to cancel my vacation and start school -- how great is that??

2plus2 wrote:Thank you thank you for all the great ideas! Can't wait to see how it all works out! I seriously want to cancel my vacation and start school -- how great is that??

That's pretty great! I would be willing to go on your vacation for you - just to help you out! Seriously though, I'm getting pretty excited to start school again too. I can't wait to get my new things for CTC, and I'm looking forward to finishing the second half of Beyond with my middle ds. I won't have to wait long - summer is slipping away. Can't wait to hear how your enjoying HOD in your home!

In Christ,
Julie

We are doing LHTH and Beyond together this year. Though I haven't figured out a good routine yet.