heartofdakota.com

Hello,
Some of you regulars, might remember I posted way back in June about whether to purchase LHFHG or BLHFHG for my eldest son and all the other level options there-in. Well, first let me just repeat my sincere thanks for all the truly helpful replies. It really helped me to feel more comfortable in choosing the right level options for my oldest son. Ultimately, we decided to go ahead with the LHFHG guide & 1st grade options. I think it will be the right fit for him.

In addition, we have decided to purchase LHTHG for my younger son who will turn 2 in February. Though I'm not sure if I'll start it right away or wait a few months. He is not as academically advanced as my elder son partly because of my own neglect as his mother (I'm ashamed to admit he hasn't gotten nearly the amount of individual instruction my older one received at his age...but then I only had one then,right?) but mostly because his talents and interests lie in other areas...such as climbing EVERYTHING in sight and opening EVERY container you can think of...including some supposed child safety devices. Anyway, I'm just now starting to actively teach him his colors and shapes which got me wondering, what should I teach or at least introduce him to before starting LHTH? Right now he is LOVING getting mommy's full attention while big brother finishes his math worksheets and I want to take advantage of it while it lasts.

Thanks!
Kathleen

Hi there. I have been in a very very very similar situation having only had one and he learned everything quickly and knew so much more than our second did by this age. I feel the same guilt, only now he is about to turn 3 and I feel even worse sometimes when he asks questions that I remember the oldest knowing by now. But I would encourage you to just start at the beginning of LHTH and go. I found in doing LHTH even just now and then with out youngest that I wished I had had this for the first child because it brings in so much more that I would have taught him at that age that now I can see would have helped in the important areas. I hope I am getting this out in the right way. I am trying to hurry we are about to leave for a visit. I found it to be a wonderful program and even the 7yo still wants to join in and I find that we learn things that I didn;t teach then that he can now and it opens the door in a not so "threatening" way to him. God bless.

I agree with the pp, and would also add that at 2, your dc may not be interested in all the activities every day, so you can slow it down as much as you need to. For example, for unit 1 day 1 we did the rhyme and story as written, but maybe only one of the activities, and then did "another" day 1, with the same rhyme & bible story and a different activity. We did this until "day 1" was complete, and then moved on to day 2. As his interest and attention span changes, you can add more in throughout the day until you're doing the days as written. HTH

I agree with what's been said here already too. You don't need to prepare for LHTH, it will teach him his colors, etc. So, no need to prepare - you can just start it. You may want to spread it out over a few years, since he's on the young side. Oh, and don't let yourself feel guilty (I need this advice myself) . Your little one is in a learning environment every day just being home. LHTH should do a lot to alleviate any guilty feelings though - it's a lot of fun, and it makes a mom feel great spending special time like that with the littles.

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks for the great replies. It'll be interesting to discover what his true attention span/level of interest is once we start. Right now he gets very upset whenever his big brother needs to concentrate so he can't be immediately next to us (he goes to play in a little gated area during that time) and LOVES sitting in my lap while we read stories or go over our French vocabulary. When I do one-on-one color learning time with him (usually with crayons or blocks or a story) I have his 100% attention for as long as I've wanted....which so far hasn't been longer than 15min. So I guess we'll see. I'm glad to hear there isn't much prep needed for LHTH. I think I'll still keep with the plan to introduce colors and shapes, though, if only because he ADORES the individual attention!


A side note that I think you moms will appreciate: This morning the boys were watching Super Why (PBS) while I got breakfast ready and suddenly my 18mth old started shouting "A!" at the T.V. (big brother was silent because he happened to be using the potty at that point). So I glanced at the T.V. and my eyes about bulged out of my head when I saw that the letter A was actually on the T.V. and that they were asking the kids to identify it! Well, needless to say I kept watching to see what he did next, and another letter (I think it was R) came on and guess what? He shouted "A!" LOL and he kept shouting "A!" every time they asked the kids to identify any letter. ROTFL!

Very cute story. My little guy who is 3.5 is just starting LHTH. Even at this age, his attention span is very short. So just remember to take it slow and don't be too upset if you don't do all the activities or get stuck on one activity for a few days.

crlacey wrote:Very cute story. My little guy who is 3.5 is just starting LHTH. Even at this age, his attention span is very short. So just remember to take it slow and don't be too upset if you don't do all the activities or get stuck on one activity for a few days.

Good reminder - those little ones do have a short attention span! The last two times we did LHTH (with our 2 oldest when they were younger), we started off by spreading the boxes throughout the day. I was just remembering that as we get ready to go through it with our current toddler. It's funny how easily I always remember how our dc were doing at the END of the school year rather than at the beginning. Thanks for this reminder, Crystal!

And Kathleen - it sounds like your little pumpkin really knows and loves the letter "A"! That's a great start!

In Christ,
Julie

Just wanted to thank you ladies again for the helpful replies. I'm definitely planning to do LHTH at a VERY slow pace. In fact, one or two boxes a day may be all we do this year. I'm mostly doing it just to hold myself accountable to doing something one on one with my second child that at least starts him on the path toward school. It's difficult to remember to do that when Big Brother has a set list of things to do and little brother isn't even on the To-Do list. Hmmm maybe that's what I need to do. Put him on the list. Still, if I'm just "winging-it" I know I'll let it slide regularly. That's just how it is. So anyway. Looking forward to starting LHTH in January. Thanks again.