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I know that these are set up for age levels and to match learning level but I am curious.

Is LHFHG designed to be the K yr, w/ Beyond for 1rst, etc? Or, is LHTH the K yr?

I know there is an age range and even a couple of yrs for the pkgs but I was just wondering what specific grades they were "designed" for. I guess I'm wondering if there will be just 4 more yrs of manuals or if there will be 5. Does this make any sense?

K

Little Hearts can be used for K, 1st or 2nd. It depends on the level of your student. I am using it for K then will move through the rest of the programs. I believe there will be 8 programs with a year of wiggle room to get you through 8th grade. I would not hesitate it use Little for 1st or 2nd if one of my boys were not ready at K. The program is great, we are currently starting week 24.

Here is my guess and a bump for you!

I am treating Little Hands as a preschool curriculum because my close to 3 yo is using it.
Most of what I see in Little Hearts tends to be what my kids learned in K except for the history.
When my older kids were in 1st grade they were doing long dictation and had to be able to spell the months of the year before being passed to 2nd grade. I don't remember the math.

So my guess is that the age range is there because children have a tendency to advance at different speeds. But at the rate that I will advance Hannah Grace *if* I continue at the same speed HOD will end at 7th grade.

I don't think I really answered your question! Maybe Carrie is the only one who can since you want what it was designed for. Well, count this as a bump!

I treat "Beyond" as 2nd, "Bigger" as 3rd, "Preparing" as 4th....and according to what I've read it should "all come out right in the end". Right meaning, it lines up with everything Carrie mentioned for her plans.

And of course you know that it's for whatever age, because of the age levels.

But then again I want it to all come out right in the end....

Kerby,

I know, I know, I know you want me to tell you a grade level for each guide! But, I can honestly say, after 11 years of teaching public school, that students within the same grade are all over the board in their abilities, so the grade level markings become all but useless!

This is why there's a range of ages listed for each program. Placement matters (and varies) for same-age kiddos depending on their personality, their previous learning experiences and subject coverage, the style of the teacher (and whether you like to teach the plans "as is" or whether you are a "tweaker" and an "adder"), and also varies depending on whether you are using our language arts and math recommendations or not.

For example, in my own family I used "Little Hands to Heaven" with my second son when he was 4 turning 5. He knew most of it, sailed through it, and went right on to "Little Hearts...". He is on the upper age range of each of our guides. Now, my third son started "Little Hands..." when he just turned 3, and we took 2 years to go through it. He is doing "Little Hearts..." slowly right now, as he had just turned 5 when we started it. He is on the youngest end of our programs. Yet, our guides are working well for both of them!

There will be 4 more guides after "Preparing..." to cover the 4 year history cycle. That does give you one year of wiggle room if you're on the young end of our programs, and the better chance of finishing the history cycle (or at least going further through it) if you're on the upper end of our programs.

I know that isn't the clarity you're looking for, but it is the truth!

Blessings,
Carrie

annaz wrote:I treat "Beyond" as 2nd, "Bigger" as 3rd, "Preparing" as 4th....and according to what I've read it should "all come out right in the end". Right meaning, it lines up with everything Carrie mentioned for her plans.

And of course you know that it's for whatever age, because of the age levels.

But then again I want it to all come out right in the end....

That's the way I'm treating it too~!

Hi Carrie,

I was just curious as to how you went with Little Hands for 2 years? I would like to use LHTH with my will be just turned 3, when school starts. However, I figured that once I finished a year with him, then what would I do? That sounds like a great way to do it!
Is it easy to do with doing LHFHG with other children?

Thanks so much!
Homeschooling mommy to 2 girls (5 & 4) and 1 boy (2 1/2)

LeAnna,

You caught me on the boards, so you'll get your question answered right away!

With my just turned 3 year old I had a goal to do "Little Hands..." 3 times a week. I had a 30 minute block of time set aside to work with my 3 year old early to mid-morning. Sometimes that time was eaten up with a fussy baby or the older boys needing me, but on the days I was available, we did "Little Hands...".

Now, I am a finisher, so I liked doing a whole day of plans in one sitting several times a week, but I know other moms who stretch LHTH over 2 years by doing 2-3 boxes of plans one day, and then re-reading the Bible story the next day and doing the remaining boxes. That seems to work for them too!

I found that knowing I had 2 years to cover Little Hands... was very pressure-free and left me time to work with my other kiddos (and rock the baby) as needed. At that time, in addition to my 3 year old, I had a 4th grader, 1st grader (doing "Beyond..), and a newborn, yet we still got the schooling done for my older kiddos and had time for "Little Hands...".

Blessings,
Carrie

LeAnna,
I did LHTH several days a week over 2 years too, and that worked very well for us! It's very flexible that way! We did start to do the Fingerplays and Rhymes every day, because it was so much fun and a powerful teaching tool for my ds's to learn their letters and sounds!
Julie

annaz wrote:I treat "Beyond" as 2nd, "Bigger" as 3rd, "Preparing" as 4th....and according to what I've read it should "all come out right in the end". Right meaning, it lines up with everything Carrie mentioned for her plans.

And of course you know that it's for whatever age, because of the age levels.

But then again I want it to all come out right in the end....

Ditto....for my twins. Beyond will be 2nd and so forth... For my youngest, Beyond will be 1st and so forth. It's really more about ability level than grade level.

And...yes...the Olive in me wants it to all come out just right in the end!

Thank you, Carrie, for your response. I appreciate the time you give to all of us.

I know that all these precious ones are unique and can't be put into a "box". I also know that we, as hsing moms, are basically functioning w/in the confines of what we know and/are more familiar. Also, I think part of my questioning is because I have to report to my state who will either approve/disapprove my minimum course of study based on what I will cover - in comparison w/ what they should be learning.

So, I am trying to function in the world of "grades" but trying to learn how to do it all in a newer way - one which I feel is so much better for our children.

Did this make any sense?

K

Kerby, I think it makes perfect sense. I am trying to figure out how I will progress the boys through the curriculum, etc, and I think that I have a hard time because I'm still thinking in "grades" mode instead of in abilities mode. It seems to me, as I am getting more and more into the homeschooling world, that things are just different and that can be a little confusing to a mom who only really knows the ps world

Kerby and Sasha,

You are both making total sense! I had the same feeling when I came from the public school teaching sphere into homeschool teaching. You are right that we do have to function within the state requirements, so I see what you are getting at! Once you start with HOD, you should be able to progress through the curriculums at about one guide per year, as each guide prepares you for the one to follow. That is why we spend so much time trying to get the right "fit" in the beginning.

I think the ladies did a great job of answering your questions and sharing their perspectives. That's what the board is all about. I'm so glad you can get some truly valuable opinions from other moms beside me!

Blessings,
Carrie