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Hello Everyone,
I am so excited to start another year:) Last year we did LHTH and we are all excited to start LHFHG. ( I know I am crazy I like to start after Labor Day, teehee) I was wondering if any veteran LHFHG could give me any tips... things to have on hand, etc. I would love to be a little extra prepared. Please be praying for my dd and myself as we start the year...Last year my twins were napping in the morning while we did school. This year they will be AWAKE, I am a little worried about that. I am praying for you all too! Have a year full of blessings:)

How exciting!!! We are also starting on Tuesday... that is actually when the local schools start here as well. We did 3 units in LHFHG last spring and will be picking up with Unit 4 on Tuesday, so we will be pretty much going through this journey together. I have a 2.5 year old and a 1 year old, so I also know some of the "balancing" required to do school while little ones are present. Some things that I have found work well for my little ones is simply to include them as much as possible. We all love the Rhymes in motion, so that is an easy one. I read history lessons during breakfast and then after that we do the science/art/drama together, but of course the little ones don't do things quite "right" but they have fun with their own version. Also, I have found that not trying to do a big chunk of things all at once certainly works best. We do a little school and then the little ones get some attention too. Fortunately for me, my little ones still nap in the afternoon, so that is when we do reading instruction and handwriting, etc. Anyway, KUP on how things are working for you! Also, any tips that you have on how to manage the little ones may be useful for me (and others) as well.

Yay! I'm so glad you will be starting! You and Gracie will love it!

As for the boys, I think that they can come along for portions just as Pollo said. I know your boys like to be read too, so they could easily sit for the bible reading. They could mostly join in on the activity as well. And definately the rhyme in motion. You could sit them in their chairs at the table to do some finger painting (pudding for my Anderson-everything-goes-in-his-mouth-boy ) or playdoh, coloring, snack, etc. while you do some more instruction with Gracie (will you be in the kitchen?) and then when they've had enough of that, they can go for a little bit into the gated living room for some Letter Factory, Barney or Bob (see 1 point for your house layout!).

Little Hearts generall only takes 1-1.5 hours so it shouldn't be too hard to keep them occupied. It's ok to take little breaks with Gracie to move the boys onto "the next thing". Starting will be the hardest part, but once you start and they get used to the new schedule, they will adjust and it will be normal to them. They are not that much younger that Joshua was when I started LHFHG with Evelyn. He joined in on the readings/rhymes/activities most of the time. Sometimes he just wanted to go play with his cars/trucks (surprise surprise right? ), sometimes he would be listening to us without me even knowing it. I remember one time that he was copying what Evelyn was doing, but on the floor using his trucks!

It probably won't even take as long as you think for you all to get into your groove. Yesterday, we had a great day. Joshua is starting to get used to Evelyn's longer school day again, and while it wasn't perfect, it definately went better than the first two days!


I'll be praying for you! (And calling! )

We are doing Little Hearts now after trying 5 weeks of Beyond and realizing little guy needed to go back a bit for History, Science, Read alouds, and Rhymes. We are finishing Unit 1 tomorrow and have had a really great week with it.

My advice so far would be to make sure you have a big posterboard to draw your timeline on (History for Little Pilgrims tells you what to do at the end of the 1st chapter of the book). Also, I have found that having the Bible handy at all times helps because there are times when the history or Science will say, "read (insert verse # here)" or something and I like to have the Bible right there so I can! WE have also used a good bit of construction paper - making the cross scene in Unit 1, Day 3 and today we used blue and brown construction papers to represent land and sea while we named animals. Such fun. fun stuff!

I used LHFHG with my twin daughters last year for K and Beyond with my son for 2nd. I also have a 2 yr. old son who adds his own energy to the mix to make things more interesting! We loved LHFHG and got thru each day without too many problems b/c my youngest took a nap late in the am. THIS year he doesn't nap and we are learning to include him and go with the flow! It was hard in the beginning, but we have hit our stride now and are getting more accomplished in a shorter period of time. (We are using Beyond with the girls and Bigger with my son this year.) The girls and my oldest ds spend time with their young brother in between subjects doing different activities. He has also started playing more independently this past week and not relied so much on the others to help entertain him. It's been neat to watch him mature right in front of me.

My youngest absolutely loved the Rhymes in Motion and the Music. We also included him in the art and etc. He had a blast with it.

I would make sure that you have plenty of glue!!!! We used bunches of glue sticks in the Rod & Staff books. Also, the mention of construction paper is a good one. Get as many different colors as you can. Have fun this year!