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Hi there,

I'm considering purchasing Little Hearts for His Glory, and I just wanted to get some feedback as to how the curriculum accommodates the use of another phonics and/or math program. I've been successfully using another phonics program and I'm thinking of sticking with it. Although we haven't been using a math program, I'm interested in using the math program that goes with the phonics. LHFHG makes great suggestions, but I don't want to make things confusing for either of us and ruin the flow of learning, so I'm kind of torn, and the math is really interests me. So what I'm curious about is how it works with using other phonics and math programs. Is it hard to accommodate and what can I expect? I'd really appreciate any feedback you can offer, good or bad, to help aid in my decision. Thank you!

It is simple to use what you have! You can pencil in your plans in th 'phonics' or 'math' box and then just check it off ea day as you go along. We have been using a different math, but I love the hands on lessons, so we are going to give singapore math a go. I have heard a lot of good things about singapore math. I would really recomend trying it now, if you are thinking of it, because it is much harder to switch later on.

Hope that helps.
btw, you will love aLHFHG!! We have had a great time using it!!
Mercy

Thank you, Mercy! I really appreciate it. I heard good things about Singapore, as well. BTW, which phonics did you choose, The Reading Lesson, Reading Made Easy, or your own? If you're using one of the first two, how do you like it? BTW, my son will be six end of July. Thanks, again!

Lori

Lori,

You can definitely use your own math and phonics without bothering the flow of the day. The phonics box just says to use one of their phonics choices or your own to teach your child to read. So, do a "day's worth" of phonics. We keep it nice and short here. The math box in the 1st 3 guides will have a hands-on lesson written there and tell you which pages in the Singapore workbook to do, but I know at least in the older guides, it says to do the Singapore lesson or complete a lesson in your own chosen curriculum. Just another reminder to do it!

I know that our family has found HOD's choices in these areas to do a very good job teaching the subject area while keeping a great balance in our school day as a whole. I used Saxon phonics and math with my oldest, and while they did a good job, I didn't want to repeat them with the next child in line. We found them to be quite time-consuming in our day and more thorough than necessary for my kids to understand and learn. I have friends who love them, but it isn't the best fit for us. With Allison, I used The Reading Lesson and she is reading just as well as Grant at 7 and it was a much more enjoyable journey! We're all using Singapore math, too. I LOVE that the lessons are time conscious, but involove a high level of thinking.

So, if you're sold on your own phonics and math use them, and it won't be a problem at all! Know that there is a good chance that you will add time to your day as compared with HOD's reccommendations, but they will definitely work.

Kathleen

It is very easy to make substitutions...there are no specific phonics lessons, just a nice reminder to complete a lesson. We use our own phonics since I already had a program when we switched to HOD.

Kathleen,

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experience with me. I'm really starting to feel less stressed about what to decide now. My mind has been put at ease, and I thank you and Mercy for your thoughts and encouragement. It's so nice to be able to get some good advice from those who have already walked ahead of me.

Lori

You can substitute with whichever program you would like to use. We will be using LHFHG and I have already started the phonics program and K math program. We decided [after 2 other programs] to go with The Reading Lessons. So far she enjoys it and we have made more progress this last week then we had with the other 2 programs. We also started using Horizons K Math. My eldest daughter is using Horizons 4 so I just picked K for her too. I actually may have to change it b/c it is to repetitive for my "wiggly". So I may use Singapore.....I'm just not comfortable teaching conceptual/mental math. Given it's MY preference that is hindering the process I may give math over to my husband to do in the evening with her.

So you definitely can change your phonics and math to suit your childs needs.

Lori,

I am so thankful for this board where there are other ladies who have walked before us and have such godly advice and wisdom! We are finishing up The Reading Lesson. There was a recent post on the differences between them both. The reading lesson won out this time. Lol! I am sure they are both great. For me I appreciate the "open and go" quality of The Reading Lesson, but I know of plenty of families who appreciate an easy activity to cement learning. My daughter just zoomed through the book, so it worked out good for us.

Enjoy your LHFHG journey!
Mercy

Hello, Karen, Holly, and Mercy, and a big THANK YOU for responding to my questions. I really appreciate it. Mercy, I did check out that comparison on The Reading Lesson and how it won, so thank you for pointing that out to me! All this advice is so great, but now I have to decide, but at least I'll have more confidence with whatever I choose. Thank you, All, again for being such a big help!

Lori