Reintroduction - coming back to HOD

[Samuel'sMommy]

Hi everyone! For those who don't know me or don't remember be, my name is Stephanie. I have one son, Samuel, who is 4. We did LHTH last year and while we both loved it, we stopped in the middle for a variety of reasons and switched to Sonlight instead. Samuel hasn't really complained about Sonlight, but I miss the fun we had with HOD and the Christ-centered focus. So, we are finishing out this year with Sonlight and in the fall we will be coming back to HOD for Kindergarten.

I'm not sure if we will do Little Hearts or Beyond, it will depend on where he is at by the end of the year. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be glad to hear them. I have looked at the placement chart and he looks like he might fall somewhere between the two programs. We have been using hooked on phonics and explode the code for the past year and he loves both of them and is doing a great job reading. Right now, he's probably not ready for the emerging readers, but he probably will be by the end of the year. Also, we are working through A Reason for Handwriting K and he has just started doing some copywork with Sonlight. As far as math, we have just been doing some Kumon workbooks, but I looked at the Singapore Earlybird samples and they looked like they might be too easy for him. I will probably just have to wait a few more months and then see where he will fit.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to being back here. I've missed the friendliness of everyone on the boards!

[Kathleen]

Hi Stephanie!!

It's great to see you again!

I've started LHFHG with my 2. We're on unit 4 (I think...we haven't actually done school since last Wed ). I finished up LHTH with them this fall when we started, and now we're going half speed through LHFHG 4 days a week. Garret did great joining in on LHTH with Allison, so after chatting with Carrie and Julie, I just decided to keep them together for most of the guide as we go. Slowly! Alli does phonics, math, and the fine motor skills every day. (Garret does none of those things - except the math activities. ) And then we split the rest into 2 days. We do the history box and it's corresponding one one day, the Bible study and storytime the next, and we do the rhyme and music every day.

I know you didn't really ask for all of that ...but my point is, that even though Allison was ready to go through LHFHG full speed, this plan is working beautifully for us! There is really a lot to LHFHG. Next year, she'll be doing the emerging readers, moving into the next fine motor skills books, and doing the math from Beyond, too while we finish LHFHG. So, if I were you, I'd do LHFHG and just do the reading and math that fits him when you get there. (If he's ahead in math you'd need the Beyond guide for activities to go with Singapore, and then when you do Beyond you'd need Bigger for the activities, but after that you'll have the schedule you need right in your guide.)

Kathleen

[my3sons]

Hi Stephanie! My first instinct is that your little guy would love LHFHG and benefit from it so much. I think it is excellent preparation for Beyond. You could do it with the Grade 1 options if you wanted. However, I think you'll be in a much better position to choose as the time for starting it draws nearer. At that point, you can revisit the placement chart and take a fresh look at it. I have dc on the young end of the guides, and it's worked just fine. But, I have had to go half-speed at times or do school 4 days a week at times. I wouldn't want to get to the upper guides and have a child quite a bit younger than the target age ranges as maturity of content may become inappropriate. There is quite a bit of flexibility with HOD though (i.e. going half-speed, schooling 3-5 days a week, going full-speed, extension packages, doing the left side of one guide and the right of another, etc.) All of these options make customizing HOD for your personal needs very attainable, so I will pray that you know what will be the best placement for your sweetie! Glad to see you here again!

In Christ,
Julie

[Samuel'sMommy]

Well, after looking at the Little Hearts samples again and looking at what we are currently doing, I'm actually thinking about going ahead and ordering Little Hearts and starting it after Christmas break in January. I think we could continue with hooked on phonics and a reason for handwriting. Also, the Kumon workbooks we've been doing would work fine alongside Earlybird and the math activities in the guide. Plus, Samuel loves to read so I could just keep our Sonlight books for storytime before his nap or in the evenings with Daddy and I wouldn't feel like I had wasted money by not using things I already have. I'll have to talk to DH and see what he thinks, but I'm super excited to get back into HOD!

[countrymom]

As one who just started my 4 1/2 yr old son in LHFHG a month ago, I think your plan to start Little Hearts in January is good. I also ended another currculum early to start HOD because I could see it was a much better fit. Although Beyond seemed a good fit by looking at the placement chart, I knew that was too far ahead and just went ahead with Little Hearts. It is working out fine. I think it is good to lay a solid foundation. I think Singapore math 1A is covered in the appendix, although the earlybird kindergarten takes off after awhile. Our son was working in the textbook, and we pulled him back to the beginning of earlybird 2A to follow the program so he could be solid. Welcome back!

[pollo_la]

You and your LO sound a lot like me and my oldest dd! We did LHTH for a bit when she was 3 and then switched to Sonlight. We then came back to HOD when she was 4.5 and started LHFHG. We did the first 3 units SLOWLY and then took a break for summer. Although she has a great attention span, I found that maturity wise she definitely does better with the guide now that she is 5. We also have no problem going full speed now. My dd is advanced with reading and handwriting, so I do those with her at her level, which is so easy to do with HOD. Anyway, my advice would be to start with LHFHG. It's a fantastic guide. One that you will not want to miss!

[momofone]

Hello!
Just wanted to pop in and re-welcome you also. I recently reintroduced myself!
However, I'm just stopping midstream and plugging in almost all of the Beyond guide now.
I couldn't bear finishing our year out with the "other"material. I guess I'm impatient.

Look forward to chatting with ya!

Tina

[water2wine]

Hi Stephanie! Welcome back!

[lovetobehome]

Just wanted to say, I remember you! My son is Samuel,too...
Welcome back...we have recently come back to HOD as well. Seems to be quite a few of us who thought the grass might be greener elsewhere but came back to the gem of HOD!
Glad you are back...glad I am back,too!

[Busymomma1]

Welcome back! Funny... we did LHFHG and then I did "my own thing" for a year. Well, we came back to HOD, too, this year! Once I got away from it, and saw how "my" program was just OK I really felt led by the Lord to come back for 2 reasons. One, the programs so wonderfully keep the focus on Christ. And two, my wiggly 6 y/o boy needed the "fun" stuff that Carrie puts into the guides. I tried to make my own thing fun, and it worked at times, but I think the content of what I was doing was boring the kids a bit. I was using Mystery of History and some other guides for history to go chrono through Ancient times... and while it's a great guide, it was really too old for my kiddos to get into. They REALLY get into history in the way Carrie has it planned.

You know... for what it's worth, I'm realizing that even though some of our kids may be "early readers" (my dd was), that doesn't mean they are ready for a program that's more advanced on ALL levels. I did LHFHG with my dd when she was in Kindergarten... and she was a "just turned 6 and beginning to read chapter books" kid. And we really enjoyed her K year. I guess what I'm learning is that just because they can read well, etc.... it doesn't always mean they are ready for the content of a more advanced program. My dd is 8 now, and at the upper age range of Beyond, but she loves it, and we just advance the stuff as appropriate for her (ie: she does DITHOR, more advanced grammar, etc.) The history is so fun for her and for my 6 y/o son. I'm learning to "keep it fun" and not to push. I felt the urge to push my dd ahead, but at the cost of her not liking school. With HOD, I feel my kids enjoy school more. Sure, they'd often rather just play, but it's so much better with HOD. Anyway, I see your son is on the younger side, and I understand the desire to keep moving forward... but there is also much to be said for keeping the "fun" and the content of the topics covered age appropriate.

Oh, I recently had the desire to push my dd ahead next year and skip a guide, but like one mom suggested to me, the Bible studies get more advanced in each guide, and even those topics might get to be too advanced if I moved her ahead too much. That was enough for me to stay put! I want my kiddos to be able to "get" those spiritual topics! Anyway, just my 2 cents on some other considerations when you choose a guide!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy coming back! We have!

[Carrie]

Stephanie,

It's good to see you again! We pray you'll have a blessed year with HOD!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Mommamo]

I started LHFHG with my daughter when she was 4.5. She is a super bright girl, and we had a lot of fun. Beyond is fun... and technically she was at the level of Beyond at 4.5, but she wasn't ready for it. In fact, it is a stronger work load. Even though she is incredibly, incredibly bright, we had to back off to doing it half speed - and she's 6 now! We supplement with some "fun" activities to add to our day, and we are doing piano (I'm a piano teacher) and Spanish as well, and art, but the sheer amount of thinking involved with Beyond just wore her plumb out. So, even if he places in Beyond, I would strongly encourage you to give LHFHG a chance. It is a really fun guide, and it's perfect for that level. It's just sweet and gentle while still being enough of a challenge. We added the books in the appendix and it was really a perfect fit. Keep in mind that my little girl was used to being read to for about 2 hours a day, and she really still couldn't have gone with Beyond. So anyway, I just wanted to throw that out there.

Welcome back by the way! I'm so glad that you've found your way back to HOD.

[DHT1999]

Hi, Stephanie! I'm Donna! We are new to HOD this year. My youngest son is using Little Hearts. He is a 2nd grader. I am adapting Little Hearts a bit, since he's older, but he loves it. I wish we had had it for K or 1st grade. I plan to stick with HOD for the long-haul. I have used several SL cores in the past and really enjoyed them but HOD is a better fit for us. Well, just wanted to say hello!

[Shimmer]

for what it's worth, I'm realizing that even though some of our kids may be "early readers" (my dd was), that doesn't mean they are ready for a program that's more advanced on ALL levels.

I thought this was good advice. I think that proceeding with higher math or LA is great if that is what the child is ready for, but that doesn't always mean they are ready for the same level for history/science/bible/etc. One of the beauties of homeschooling is being able to target the correct level for your child for each subject.

I recently had the desire to push my dd ahead next year and skip a guide, but like one mom suggested to me, the Bible studies get more advanced in each guide, and even those topics might get to be too advanced if I moved her ahead too much. That was enough for me to stay put! I want my kiddos to be able to "get" those spiritual topics!

I am seeing this with my oldest. She is newly 5 and doing LHTH with her little sister with additional K work added in. I chose LHTH really for her sister to learn her letters. What has surprised me was how much my 5 year old is getting out of the bible stories. I am seeing so much growth out of her.

Whatever level you pick with HOD, I'm sure you'll have a great time. We absolutely love it!