I think I made the wrong choice!

[psreit]

I am pretty sure I know what I need to do, but I need advice. After reading the post about Beyond for a 7 year old, and hearing what others said about doing Little Hearts first, I seemed to know right then that I should have decided to do that with my dd who will be seven next month. I have been saying that when she finishes K in school, we are doing Beyond in the fall. I purchased the Little Hearts history and I have the science, so I was going to read those to her through the summer, as well as work through TRL. I had chosen Beyond because the placement chart seemed to put her there, as far as knowing her letters and numbers. I was just looking at Little Hearts closer, and I really think she would benefit from that. I don't want to burn her out, so my thoughts now are to just let her finish K at school, give her 2 months or so to just 'play' this summer and then begin LHFHG cpmplete. Maybe I would work a little on TRL, but nothing else.

I guess what really caught my attention was what some are saying about the transition from one guide to the next. I don't want to move too fast. My dd needs more focus on reading and handwriting, so having something lighter would probably be better. I was listening to her read a little this evening and I know she still has a good way to go to be considered an emerging reader. She also gets very frustrated when something is hard to understand. She does have some emotional issues that have kept her from maturing in some ways. Also, with some of her processing difficulties, I'm thinking she would benefit from Little Hearts. I have already bought the Beyond books, but that is not an issue. I will just hang onto them until next year I just need some reassurance that this would be a good move. I was thinking Little Hearts would have a lot in it that would be 'too easy', but my heart is telling me otherwise, as long as she is working on level in Math and Phonics.

I'm so thankful for this board as a resource. I wouldn't have realized this on my own. It's amazing! God gave me such peace about HOD. I had peace about what I had planned out. So quickly, God has given me peace about changing those plans if it would be better for my dd. Thanks for any advice you can give. I'm open

[Tabitha]

Yes, I feel that Little Hearts is the way to go.

I did LIttle Hearts with my 6/7yo last year, and this year while she is 7/8 yo we are doing Beyond.

My dd started off slower. She had some health issues interfering with her ability that we did not realize the severity of until the past 1-2 years. She does well. She catches on quick at what she is doing, works well at it, etc. But she's behind in some areas, which is fine. I have her in the recommended math, and she's prolly more 1st grade for reading/spelling. We use the list 1 words right now, and she does well with them. If I do the list 2, it gets frustrating for her. In Dec./Jan. we finished The Reading Lesson. It took us 1 to 1 1/2 yrs to go through that. She is now doing the Emerging Reader schedule, but we started that as if it were day one, if that makes sense. We'll read throughout the summer. She feels quite successful at her reading skills.

It's better to start slow and easy, at a nice level for them than at a level where they will get frustrated. If it's too easy, you can always beef it up. Let them enjoy learning. But if it's too hard and frustrating for them, loving to learn is started to be squashed and you don't want that.

[DHT1999]

Hi, Pam! I am using Little Hearts this year with a second grader. He placed into Beyond (even possibly Bigger Hearts) but I decided to do Little Hearts instead for several reasons. I have had to increase the language arts and math but the bulk of Little Hearts has been a perfect fit for him. He has done so well. I am proud of the progress he has made this year. He had a very frustrating first grade year. The curriculum we were using was not a good fit for him and by the middle of the year he was sick a good deal with stomach aches and head aches. I wanted him to have a gentler second grade experience and Little Hearts has been just right. He loves the books, especially the Thornton Burgess books, and the thinking games/dramatic play. I don't regret starting him out with a lighter program. He is enjoying it. One day, I was wondering what I was thinking, focusing so much on even more Bible stories for history! I mean, he's a second grader!! Then, a few days later, I was reading something to my oldest son and my little guy said, "You mean, the Tower of Babel was after Noah's Flood?" I had to laugh! I mean, we've been reading Bible stories since he was a baby! I couldn't believe he hadn't already figured that out!!

Anyways, there is plenty to learn in Little Hearts. I pray you enjoy it as much as we have. It is really a precious program. I"m so glad we didn't skip it.

[sharonb]

I told you this in a PM, but I'll reply here too for the benefit of others who might be struggling with the same decision. I recently started LHFHG with my 5yo. He doesn't like to do school alone, so his siblings join him for the left side of the plans plus storytime. My 6.5yo and 8yo are really enjoying it. My 8yo is a rising 3rd grader and DOES need more; she will start Bigger next month. My 6.5yo is a rising 2nd grader (he has an August birthday, so he's quite young for his grade). Although I'm planning on having him do Bigger with his big sister, I am also considering the possibility that it might be better to keep him with the 5yo in LHFHG. It will be easier to beef up programs for him down the road than to keep putting him in guides at the very youngest age of the range. I really haven't decided what I'm going to do for sure, and it doesn't matter at this point, since they are all doing LHFHG together right now anyway. Everyone has their own math and LA regardless, so that part isn't an issue. My other option is to do Bigger half-speed to give my 6.5yo some more time before we get to Preparing. But I don't want to go too slowly for my 8yo either. I know when I asked about this, I got a lot of positive comments about putting the 2nd grader in LHFHG and letting the 3rd grader "soar" on her own.

So, based on the advice I have gotten (and from my experience using LHFHG for a few weeks now), I don't think you can go wrong putting your daughter in LHFHG instead of Beyond.

[psreit]

Thanks to all who replied! I am going with Little Hearts My only concern is Math. Are there any suggestions for a child who seems to be between K and 1st grade Math. I purchased a 1st grade Math, but I am not sure if she will be quite ready for it. She still has two months of school, so I'm thinking I should wait until she is finished to see where she is at. I am going to our convention in a few weeks, so I could look at some Math there. I know she doesn't need most of the Earlybird Math, but I'm thinking the 1st grade may push a long too fast. Any advice? I just know it takes dd longer to process certain skills, so I want to make sure she has mastered something before she moves on. She is having a hard time just processing the days of the week, although they do a calendar in school everyday. To her, 2 days from now is tomorrow after tomorrow She also has no concept of the value of money and telling time(except for reading a digital clock, which means nothing to her)So far, in school, she has learned only addition facts of 1. I just want to keep it slow and easy for her, because TMI will cause meltdowns.

[sharonb]

Once again I'll repeat what I told you in a PM, in case someone else could benefit! My answer to this particular question is CLE Math! I was trying to run 2 math programs last year, one with lots of drill plus singapore. It was just too much for us. CLE seems to be the perfect blend of everything I was looking for. clp.org has lots of samples so you can see it for yourself.

ETA: Regardless of which program you choose, you could slow it down if she needs to, at least for a while. You could do half of a lesson each day, or alternate lesson days with math game days. Peggy Kaye has a book "Games for Math" that is good. I admit, I didn't use it much (so I sold my copy), but that's because I needed curriculum to tell me what to do since we are pretty busy here! If I were only teaching one child, I'd probably be more likely to add in more stuff like that.

[jenntracy]

I think your decision sounds good. It is always easy enough to move up to the next level of math and reading/phonics no matter what guide you are in.You can always make it harder. Not good if a child (or anyone for that matter)gets frustrated because they started too hard. My son is doing Beyond next year and will turn 7 in October BUT he is doing the emerging reader right now. So you can still do that with LHFHG when your dd gets to that level, very easily. I plan on doing just reading with both my kids during our summer break.
ALL of you enjoy the summer.

Jenn D.

[lmercon]

Yes, go with Little Hearts. I think children do much better and enjoy the programs more when it is not a ''stretch" for them to accomplish the tasks. You will not regret backing down a guide.
Laura

[Tree House Academy]

From a mom who has both "pulled kids out of school" and started Beyond too soon (thus having to drop back to Little Hearts), I can tell you that you are 100% making the right decision to work with her on reading (and maybe math) through the summer. Do it lightly, a day or two a week for 10-20 minutes a day...just to keep it fresh in her mind. Then, in the fall, start with Little Hearts full speed. Kids who are removed from ps need time to kind of "de-school" and ease into homeschooling anyway. It makes things go much more smoothly.

You won't regret choosing Little Hearts, I promise you won't. Little Hearts has been so enriching and such a blessing for us. It also gave my son (who is a first grader this year), time to ENJOY and PLAY still...and not just work work work.

[Tree House Academy]

Thanks to all who replied! I am going with Little Hearts My only concern is Math. Are there any suggestions for a child who seems to be between K and 1st grade Math. I purchased a 1st grade Math, but I am not sure if she will be quite ready for it. She still has two months of school, so I'm thinking I should wait until she is finished to see where she is at. I am going to our convention in a few weeks, so I could look at some Math there. I know she doesn't need most of the Earlybird Math, but I'm thinking the 1st grade may push a long too fast. Any advice? I just know it takes dd longer to process certain skills, so I want to make sure she has mastered something before she moves on. She is having a hard time just processing the days of the week, although they do a calendar in school everyday. To her, 2 days from now is tomorrow after tomorrow She also has no concept of the value of money and telling time(except for reading a digital clock, which means nothing to her)So far, in school, she has learned only addition facts of 1. I just want to keep it slow and easy for her, because TMI will cause meltdowns.

I second the CLE Math. You can go by the S&S to place her in CLE and you can start "halfway" through first grade if you need to. You can choose any light unit to start with. They are inexpensive, too, which is great. I like Singapore math, but when we tried it here, it was not a hit. I wish we had started with Carrie's guide, but we didnt' know about HOD then. Now, my kids are doing so well with CLE, I have no desire to switch back.

[Mom2Monkeys]

With the trouble she's having in math, I'd do LHFHG's K math. It will help her gain a solid foundation, would already be in the plans, and give her time to mature and process those things she's having trouble with. The hands on activities, plus doing it one-on-one with you should have a very positve effect on her skills and understanding. The activities in the guide are great, but perhaps since you may need more for her, you could get the HIG from 1A and up in order to do HOD's lesson the first day, then use a couple other approaches from the guide the next day or two, having her do just a bit of the assignment in the workbook each day.

[psreit]

Thanks again to all for the encouragement and reassurance that I am making the right decision. I need to get LHFHG ordered. I was so excited about getting Beyond. Now I can't wait to get Little Hearts I feel like a burden was lifted, because this past week, when I tried to do some TRL with dd, I knew that I was going to have to make some changes. I wanted to get some things done before we started Beyond and it was too much. The last 6 weeks of school will be every day, so there is no way I could add more to her work load. Choosing to do LHFHG allows me to just let dd finish school and then begin some light work during the summer before we start it. I won't feel like we are missing something

Also, I am planning to check out CLE Math. They should be at our convention in early May. Thanks for the help with this. Homeschooling will be an adjustment for dd. It took her a little while to get used to the format of TRL. She just automatically thinks that she should be doing it the way she does it at school. I don't want her to get a negative attitude about homeschooling before she starts, so I'm not going to try to mix the two. Sorry for rambling. I am just relieved to get on a track that allows dd and I to enjoy the short time we have together while she is in school. I was loosing sight of that when I became so wrapped up in starting something now. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!

[my3sons]

Well, I'm coming in on the tail end of this, and I am very excited about the plan you have made for your dd! I think you have pondered this carefully, and you have come up with a great plan for her that takes into account so many things that only a mom can possibly know. That is why you are going to be such a wonderful teacher for your dd!!! No one knows and loves her like you do. I think the two of you will love Little Hearts. One thought I'd had about the math - since you will already have the LHFHG guide in hand this summer, and the Earlybird Math is super cheap, why not just do the hands-on math plans in LHFHG and the Earlybird Workbooks leisurely this summer? The plans are so fun, almost like playing games, and a lot of them include snacks as hands-on materials (i.e cereal pieces, marshmallows, chocolate chips, etc.), which are always a hit. It would probably be the best 10-15 minutes a session ever, as it would let her get a peek at how fun school is going to be, and it would give you a peek into Singapore math and how that works with her. No need to get it all done in the summer. You can just get as far as you do, and then at the start of the school year, assess if you'd enjoy continuing with it. If not, you can always do a different math at that time. If you choose to stay with it, you could just keep moving forward, and whenever you finished Earlybird 2B, just start the 1A math with the hands-on plans in Beyond (since you already own that guide anyway). Just a thought - but you will certainly know best!

In Christ,
Julie