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Hi All,

My DD will turn 5 yrs at the end of August. I haven't done an official curriculum with her for preschool, but she knows all the letters and sounds except vowels, can count to 30 without help and can write all of her letters and number up to 20. Any suggestions? I've read that Beyond is best fit for 2nd grade, so I'm concerned if I use LHFHG for kindergarten what I will use for 1st?

Thanks,

Erin

I'm wanting to use LHFHG for kindergarten because I'd like DS to perhaps go all the way through without missing a guide. Not that it should be THE deciding factor. [eta: after looking at the progression chart I realized that this isn't the case which is a relief because I thought my daughter would end up missing a guide!]

If you want to do Beyond in second, perhaps you could do LHFHG twice - once with K options and the second with first grade options. Or do LHFHG at half pace. I don't know ... just throwing ideas out there.

OR you could start Beyond in first and do IT at half pace ... or do both LHFHG and beyond and 1.5 pace so the two cover 3 years (K-2) ...

You could do it half speed, so that it takes two years to complete it. Many have done that. Or you could do LHTH with her level of language and math, and then do LHFHG in 1st. Since she is just turning 5, if it were me, I would choose the 2nd option.

So if I had her do LHTH and did appropriate phonics and math would I need to buy both LHTH and LHFHF guides? Also, what phonics would I use for her in LHFHF?

Yes, you would need the LHFHG guide if you are doing the math activities, Finding the Answers, and the K Handwriting book that is scheduled. Just do whatever phonics you want to use. When you do LHFHG in 1st, you would either continue a phonics program or begin the emerging reader books if she is ready. I don't think I missed anything. HTH

I am going to use it for both. We are currently at the halfway point with our K year( Our school yr starts in Jan). I have no problem repeating because we continued to use our LHTH Bible and devotions, for the bible reading. I also omitted the History and Storytime selection, I felt it was beyond my 4 year old at the time. We did Social Studies in the place of history, and substituted other book selections for storytime. Now that she has turned 5 I have no doubt when we finish in October she will be more than ready for all of the suggested readings for LHFHG with the addition of the first grade workbooks. I will use BLHFHG for second grade, with all of the workbooks selections. This is the wonderful thing about HOD you can change it to make it work for your child, whether it is taking it slow and omitting parts til they are ready or trudging right along at a steady pace.

I used LHFHG for K with my oldest, Beyond for 1st, Bigger for 2nd, we'll finish up Bigger at the beginning of 3rd and go onto Preparing... You get the idea. It has worked perfectly for her.

For my little boy, we've done half of LHTH for pre-k (along with his little sister) and will do the other half for Kinder, along with some extras for his age level (phonics, math, etc). His sister is just doing it along with him, so he'll be doing LHFHG for 1st and she'll be doing it for PreK/Kinder.

I think the main thing is to take a look at the placement chart. You really can't go wrong with it. And really, each guide builds on the previous one. So if your kiddo finishes up LHFHG and has done well with it, he or she will be more than ready for Beyond. HTH!

Mammamo, that was encouraging to read. I've been getting nervous but I'm going to take some deep breaths and remind myself to just go by the placement guide.


I want to hear all about how Preparing is going for you once you get started with it!

We did LHFHG for K and did Beyond for 1st. We are doing Bigger for 2nd. It has worked fabulously for my little guy. You could start it, and then slow down to half speed if it appears to be getting difficult.

I plan on doing LHFHG, Beyond and Bigger at 4 days. That way we will hit Prepare in 4th grade. I did not want to do Prepare in 3rd which would have happened if we went at 5 days. DD wil be 6 in Nov.

Thanks everyone! I think I will use it for kindergarten and just see how it goes, knowing I can always slow it down if I need to.

The short answer to your question is... it depends on the child. If your child fits well in LHFHG according to the placement chart, then she should do LHFHG for K. My oldest has followed that path and thrived. My middle ds needed to go more slowly, and so we have. That is the beauty of HOD - so very flexible - not one size fits all. Your dd sounds ready for LHFHG - enjoy it - it is a wonderful guide to teach and dc learn so much, especially a firm foundation of God's hand in all of history, and in all of our lives! Being on the young side of the guides, a perk is going just 4 days a week in LHFHG, Beyond, and Bigger, and thus finishing 3 guides in about 4 years, but that's just an idea. If you'd enjoy 5 days a week and completing a guide in a traditional school year, then LHFHG can be done 5 days a week too. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

We used LHFHG in 1st grade for my youngest son. He was reading really well on his own already, but he was not ready for the work involved in Beyond. I had started with Beyond and had to drop back to Little Hearts after 8 weeks. The idea is one I will never regret. By the time we finished Little Hearts, he loved school, loved HOD, and was more than ready for Beyond. And, this year, I know he is more than ready to start Bigger because of all the work he did in Beyond. Placement is key and these guides truly do build on each other immensely.