Great start to the school year!

[Snorris2]

Hi all!

We are officially in the swing of things this year. We are almost done with Unit 4 of Little Hearts. My 5 1/2 year old has adjusted well to the history readings. The Bible verse activities and the rhymes are a hit here as well. Our only hurdle right now seems to be the Burgess books. We are keeping with it. I just need to find that sweet spot that will help keep her engaged. She goes off in space somewhere during some of the chapters. Some days are much better than others.

We are also about to start unit 12 in Little Hands. No problems here at all.

[raindrops]

I am so glad you guys are enjoying it!

I remember reading some suggestions for holding their attention through the stories. One good tip was to hold the child ON your lap with your arms around them and the book in ya'ls lap. This is also good for squirmers. Hehe. Another idea was to put your finger on the sentences as you read. And another idea... just to have them beside you and every now and then touch their arm or something, pat their leg (gently,like affectionate, not like a HEY pay attention) to connect with them.

I believe Carrie said something along the lines of when beginning a guide we should NOT expect everything to come easy, and that makes sense. These are skills to grow into. By the END of the guide... by then she should be listening well and comprehending. Right? If everything was easy peasy then you might wonder if she was challenged enough. So this is good. Just think of it as an area to grow in! She might like some of the other books better too... I loved Chatter and Grandfather frog.

[Snorris2]

Thank you! This does make complete sense.

Also, I am planning to stretch this guide out a bit into our first grade year. I don't want her to reach preparing too soon. We do school 4 days a week because we attend a co-op on Tuesdays. Which unit should we stop at to leave enough for next fall?

[TrueGRIT]

Also, I am planning to stretch this guide out a bit into our first grade year. I don't want her to reach preparing too soon. We do school 4 days a week because we attend a co-op on Tuesdays. Which unit should we stop at to leave enough for next fall?

I don't think there is a perfect place to stop/start. We stopped at 18, did Unit 19 over the summer, then started our fall term with Unit 20, two weeks ago. This will put us finishing perfectly by Christmas break, to fit in with our schedule. We will only average 3 weeks each month, because of prior commitments.
You can think ahead, but the best planning will come as you get closer to year end.

Hope this helps some! Enjoy!!

PS - a 4 day week is the perfect way to stretch the guide out some. We did that earlier this year.

[Heather4Him]

Sounds great!!

[raindrops]

I wasn't *trying* to make Little Hands take more than a year, but we have 2 days left... and it took us 14 months. LOL!

We did co-op once a week, 4H once a month, field trips... and went half speed for a few weeks. So going half speed would also extend the time some for you. We did it when we got to the units where the history reading were about Jesus. We just read extra about Him and watched some animated movies on youtube that corresponded to the history readings. It was a really great time. I wanted to add that stuff but not overwhelm him so half speed was great. We did phonics each day though.

If you're doing a lot of activities with a homeschool group it can really eat up your days! We enjoy it though.