heartofdakota.com

I have not used HOD before although I've spent a lot of time researching this website and love what I've seen. I'm considering using LHFHG for my ds6 (in August) and ds4.5 in the fall this year. I would like to combine them, but I know that next year ds4 would not be ready for BLHFHG. My ds6 is reading simple 3 letter words and some sight words and also a few long vowel words. My ds4 knows all of his letters and sounds but is not reading. Would it be better for me to wait until next year to begin LHFHG when they are 7 and 5 and then they can move on to BLHFHG together the following year? I hate not to do it this year b/c I love the layout of the program and that it is Christ-centered, but I don't think I would want to repeat LHFHG next year and I don't think ds4 would be ready to move on to the next program. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

I have not started our HOD guide yet so I do not want to give any advice in that regard. I did want to welcome you and I know the women here will be able to give sound advice.

Karen

I can't offer advice either since I am new to HOD and doing LHTH with my 2 and 4.5 year old, but I wanted to say "welcome" too. I was just pondering this, fast-forwarding a couple of years! We will be in the same position!

I am just curious, but where do they place on the placement chart?

I am thinking there are a couple of things that you could do. You could use LHTH as your core program with both of them but add the kindergarten options on the right side of LHFHG for your older ds. It would be a nice year working through Bible stories and helping your younger son become better in his letter sounds, etc. We never had the opportunity to do LHTH as we came to HOD too late, but it sure looks like a wonderful program. Another option would be to go ahead and start LHFHG but take it slowlys say 1/2 speed. Maybe doing the left side of the plans 2 or 3 days a week but go ahead and do the right side, kindergarten options everyday with your older ds. Then the following year while you are completing the second 1/2 of the left side of LHFHG you would do the first grade options of the right side of guide with your older son and the kindergarten options of the right side with your younger ds. Does that make sense? One other thought I had is that if you don't want to slow down that much, you could just do LHFHG 4 days a week stretching it out an additional 9 weeks then when you are done, you could start Beyond and do it 4 days a week as well stretching it out an extra 9 weeks. Using that sort of schedule it would be 2 1/2 years instead of 2 when you would reach Bigger and by then your sons will be 7 and 81/2 which should be ok for Bigger. Those are just a few options that came to mind. I hope there is something there to help.

have you looked at the placement chart? Look at each child separately and see where they would place if you JUST had that one to get a curriculum for.

Another thing to ponder is how well they sit and listen. LHTH is about 15 minutes of reading any given day with just the core program, LHFHG takes a little longer, maybe 30 minutes or so, and Beyond really ramps up the listening skills needed.

My middle two will be 6.5 and almost 5 in the fall. The younger of the two will place perfectly in LHFHG, and the older one would be bored out of her mind, BUT we've gone through (almost anyway) LHFHG with the older one... My oldest did Beyond as a 6yo and did great.

SO, after you look at the placement chart, if you are dead set on combining, I would do either the suggestion of doing LHTH with the added right side of LHFHG for your older one, OR do LHFHG left side (history, etc and story time) every other day and right side (basics) every day.

BUT you might find after looking at the placement chart that it would be better to go ahead and place your oldest in Beyond and your 4.5yo in LHTH.

Proper placement makes ALL the difference!

These are some good ideas. I am leaning toward the 4 day week and stretching it out b/c I work one day/week anyway. We did Sonlight p4/5 this past year for Kindergarten and it went well, but I had to add a little bit more to each day since I work a day (we don't do any school that day). They are certainly not ready for the next core in Sonlight and I'm not quite sure that we would go that route anyway even if they were ready. They learned a lot, but I like the idea of having fewer books and going into more depth rather than having many books to read a little bit from every day. My younger ds did not sit well for a lot of those stories, but he still seemed to retain more than I would have thought.
As far as placement, they both seem to fall in line for LHFHG. My younger son is a little ahead of LHTH, I think. He is writing a few letters and doing some basic math, etc.
I'm thinking that we may start LHFHG and work at a slower pace since that may be better with my existing schedule anyway and spend more time with math and phonics daily.
Thanks for the suggestions!!

Welcome to the HOD board! Aren't these ladies so helpful? I really do feel so encouraged and supported by the ladies on this board. I agree it sounds like your dc can be combined in LHFHG, provided you take it slow and ease the little one into it. We homeschool 4 days a week, even on the 5 day a week guides - this just adds 9 weeks to the guides. You can actually do LHFHG, Beyond, and Bigger Hearts 4 days a week, which would add up to 27 weeks, and then you could finish that out by doing PHFHG half-speed for 6 weeks or so and be on track to be doing a guide a year after that. So, really you'd finish those 3 guides (plus a little half-speed PHFHG) in 4 years. We are doing this, and it works well if you have a little one that is not quite within the target age ranges of the guide, as that little one will be in the middle of the target age range by the time you get to PHFHG. Still another idea would be just to start LHFHG half-speed, for around 6 weeks, instead of doing the half-speed PHFHG later, and then you'd still complete 3 guides in 4 years. I hope I have not been confusing here, but I think any of the options shared within this thread would be good choices for each of your dc, and therefore good choices for the whole family! HTH, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you here - HOD has blessed our homeschooling in too many ways to count. I pray it does for you too!

In Christ,
Julie