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I'm new to the board and would love some thoughts on my plan.

My boys are five--with February birthdays so mid-five really.

I selected LHFHG for them which I believe is appropriate developmentally. But both need some really basic (capital letters) handwriting work, I was very attracted to the bible lessons and related to bible activities in LHTH, and I worried a bit about attention spans in one child for readings in LHFHG at the time though I now think he'd handle it ok.

So I decided to do a fast LHTH to start our K year. My plan is to do about two units each week. I'll sub out some of the phonics (except the finger play/rhyme to start the day) and letter recognition work which they don't need and use handwriting of the capital letter of the unit and some right side LHFHG K material instead. Still I think lessons each day will be well under an hour though I admit I've not tried it yet. I really think/hope they will enjoy it.

But I pulled out the LHFHG manual and I began to worry that switching to LHFHG from LHTH in December might be a huge adjustment? They are very different programs after all which is developmentally appropriate. I'm just worried about mid-year switch from a really hands on and low reading curriculum to one that has more text/reading each day. I know there is plenty of hands on through the week but I'll be going from an accelerated LHTH which is probably going to seem a lot more hands on in comparison.

Did that make sense? Do you think my plan will work now and in terms of adjusting to the LHFHG later? I really want to do LHTH with them. I think it would be great for one child particularly. But I won't if it might mess things up.

Rachelle

Are you only worried about the handwriting in LHFHG or were there other reasons you decided not to start it? If it;s just the handwriting, the K options cover learning to write the letters. We used the K option for "A Reason For Handwriting" and it started with lower case letters then went into the uppercase letters. So lots of letter writing practice. Also, LHFHG does have lots of hands on Bible activities since the first half of the program deals with the Bible as their history.

It was a lot the letters. I liked the ABC bible verse book that I could use with each letter. I liked that the lesson went with the letter though I know that's not necessary. I think I felt like we needed at least the capitals and then I could do lowercase and then numbers in LHFHG.

But I also felt really attracted to the bible stuff in LHTH. I really wish I had found this last year and they had that basis. I don't know-it looked like the bible covered was different. Is it? I really liked the singing bible and the idea of them acting out the bible story most days. Is the bible portion as complete/engaging in LHFHG?
Gah...I feel like I'm confused.

I suppose I could use the singing bible cd's with the LHFHG.
I could use the ABC devotional along with whatever letter we're writing that day or week.
I would love thoughts on what I should do. I planned to start Wed. but I can postpone that.
I've got all the materials for both programs.

I did think the reading might be too much in LHFHG. But I found some other Burgess titles and I'm reading them and they both really enjoy it. And I read some selections from the other LHFHG materials and they like those too. So now I think they are ready for the reading selections.

Hi Rachelle! It's so hard to decide isn't it!? As I was trying to decide what to do with our children, I thought of different scenarios just like you are! My twins were in somewhat of a similar situation- as I felt like they could really benefit from LHTH (& the wonderful Bible portion) & it is such a sweet program, but they are really ready for LHFHG...I've decided that I want them to combine with my 3-year old, so that made my decision much easier- to put them in LHTH this year with some of the Right side (K material) from LHFHG added in.
I think it would be great to go through LHTH with your boys- the program is excellent- you could go as fast or as slow as you need to, and then move into LHFHG when you are done & ready... maybe you could take a break for the holiday season & then start up LHFHG in January- so it would be like starting fresh. Another option would be to start them right away on the right side of LHFHG (with phonics, math, handwriting, & maybe even storytime) while you are going through LHTH- this way the time you take to school them would not be that much different between the two programs.
Praying for you as you make your decisions!
Jessica

Another option for you. Do LHTH as written this year and do LHFHG next year. LHTH I think is enough for Kindergarten and I know LHFHG is enough for first grade. If you want have them work on Do It Carefully and Finding the Answers, K handwriting this year and next year chose the 1st grade options. From reading your posts it really sounds like you want to go through LHTH and feel your boys would benifit from it. Do it. You can also start adding in phonics instruction as they are ready. Remember you are the one who knows your boys the best. They are still in the age range for LHTH and will still be right on target for the other books as they grow.

Hi Rachelle! Having two great HOD programs to choose from is wonderful, but also makes for a tough choice. I can see your dilemma. Since you have both programs, I think I'd start with your original plan of teaching 2 LHTH lessons each day, adding in written letter practice. I think that makes good sense, and you might as well try it out and see how it goes. You will be doing school about an hour each day, so that will be good training for LHFHG. LHTH taught my dc a lot about the Bible, gave them time to wiggle and respond actively to what they'd learned, and taught them excellent kindergarten readiness skills. It gives such a good start to school; I can see why you wouldn't want to miss out on it!

When you finish LHTH (in about 4 months), you can start LHFHG half-speed if you are still concerned about dc being able to listen attentively to the readings. This would only amount to 45 minutes to an hour of school a day. (You'd probably still want to do phonics each day though.) Then, you can either continue half-speed all year or up it to full-speed whenever dc are ready. We've done this and enjoyed that flexibility. This kind of thinking always gives me a plan in my back pocket - if dc are ready to speed up and do more by going full-speed, we do. I can always tell when they are, and you will be able to as well. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

That does sound like a tough decision. LHTH has been great for both of my kids. they both started at a younger age and it really did lay a great foundation for LHFHG.

with that said... my daughter turned 4 in March and we started LHTH then. we should be finished early October. while she was doing that i had started my son in LHFHG. lots of times she was chiming in with the RhymeTime and the Bible verse. so i would say the Bible-stuff was engaging enough for her age.

i did slow my son down (who will be 6this October) we ended up doing LHFHG half-paced (we did basics side). i stopped doing History side of LHFHG because it seemed alot for him and i decided i wanted to combine my son and daughter for History side when my daughter was finished with LHTH. i have just added other Bible, science and art for him as he seemed to need more as he got older, yet i want to keep his sis and he together like i said, for History side.

i hope that helps as far as the age goes for each curriculum. it really depends on their abilities and what they have already had experience with..

i haven't even done any handwriting with my son. we will do it this year. he was always practicing some other way and i didn't want to make him sit down with a book if we were going to fight over it and it was boring and if he was already doing other creative handwriting things on own, with asking me how to spell words. (and now he knows how to spell so many on his own!) That comes with phonics and reading.

Oh! and welcome to the HOD gang! i am fairly new to message board and i love it! i am up too late now as it is!

Jenn D.

Rachelle,

I just wanted to welcome you too! The ladies have done a great job of discussing possible options with you. I think your plan to begin with LHTH is a good one. You can always bump up to LHFHG if needed, however at our house I like to give my kiddos every chance to succeed by making sure I've covered their "readiness type skills" prior to jumping into LHFHG. LHTH will help you do that!

Blessings,
Carrie