Planning Ahead

[Mommamo]

This is almost a rediculous question, and I am almost embarassed to ask it, but here I go anyway because it is on my mind. I am WAY planning ahead here. My kiddos are all a little over 2 years apart, the oldest 2 with the largest gap. I don't ever plan on combining the older two. I had wanted someday to combine the younger 2 though. My little guy is really needing some special time with me, and I really think he'd enjoy LHTH. Also, we are going to a little church now that doesn't have as many opporuntities for the little ones, so I'd really like him to do the Bible activities in LHTH. I had been planning on waiting to start him with LHTH when he was 4 and E was 2, and then they'd do it for 2 years, and do LHFHG with D at 6 and E 4 over two years. I hope this is making sense. But I really think he'd like it NOW. I'd still do it slowly, but I don't know that he would really enjoy doing it for 3 or 4 years, you know? Two years, sure, but 3 or 4, I don't know....

So if I start him with it now, which I'd like to do, am I keeping us from combining? They're fairly close so I'd like to combine if I could, but I don't want to make D wait since he would enjoy it so much. I just honestly don't want to have to do 3 programs in the future since they are all so close in age. If I had the money I could do something like Sonlight's pre-k in between, after the first round of LHTH, and then do LHTH later, when D and E are both older, but I don't have the money and don't anticipate our financial situation changing any time soon, although we're close to being mostly debt-free, but I digress.....

Any ideas on this would be greatly appreciated. I'm really leaning towards starting D in January.....

[crlacey]

Instead of Sonlight pre-K, could you use your library and use material from homeschoolshare.com as a filler? We use it for summers and when we need something a little different.

[Carrie]

Ashley,

I'll link you to another thread that may help a little on this very topic: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2465

If your little guy is ready for LHTH, I would jump in and do it! I wouldn't worry about planning it all out to make sure your kiddos coordinate in the long run. Believe me, no matter how much we plan, it never goes quite like you thought it would. Kiddos grow and change, the time you have available changes, the dynamics between/among kiddos changes, areas of strengths and weaknesses change how you approach your overall plan.

With that being said, it's best to go with where your kiddos are now, and find the best fit for them with the information you have at the time. I once had a plan for Sonlight all laid out for ALL of my kiddos (even those who we hoped were yet to come) all the way through graduation! I had no idea the Lord would have us writing curriculum for our own kiddos at that point.

I am a planner at heart, and I can hear where you're coming from, but don't let your plans get in the way of your homeschooling! I still plan long-term, but those plans are flexible as we travel our HOD road. The Lord has always taken care of what my kiddos need when, and flexibility allows me to really "listen" to what the Lord lays on my husband's and my heart for each upcoming year.

Enjoy LHTH while you have the time and enthusiasm. You won't regret the wonderful memories you'll make!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Mommamo]

Okay, okay, Carrie, you've convinced me.

I just didn't want to be setting myself up for extra work at some point, you know? But I'll just not worry about it and just take things as the come.

And I had to laugh at what you said about Sonlight, because I too, at one point, had everything figured out for Sonlight factoring in yet to be born children, and I hadn't ever even used it!! I have to learn to stop planning constantly and just go with things. Unfortunately, I can already tell that my oldest is the same way.

[funkmomma71]

I love to plan also, and continue to do so, but with a mind that God is ultimately in control and my plans take a backseat to His. As Carrie said, planning is good, but don't let it get in the way of what is best when the time comes to implement those plans. Don't wait to start LHTH, do it now and worry about the rest when you get to it.

Nancy

[Jessi]

As your little guy is 2- perhaps you could just do the Bible time in LHTH and use Before Five in a Row for lots of great cuddle time story reading. Then when your little guy is 3 you could do LHTH again including the rest of the guide. That way you are hitting the Bible time which is a big concern for you right now but not pushing too hard. I personally haven't done BFIAR but I know there are some on here that have. Maybe that's an option.

Sounds like your little guy just needs some mommy time- not necessarily school time. Just a thought.

[Mommamo]

I agree that he needs Mommy time, but I just thought this would be something fun. And we're going to start it after he turns three, which is in a month. I think he gets a little jealous that his sister gets school and he doesn't. He tried to do it with us for a while, and used to insist that he be involved, but now he just disrupts if we do school while he's awake. We tried doing the Letter of the Week Prep curriculum for a couple of weeks before we did C's school and he just ate it up, but it was sadly too much planning for me with doing C's school and with E not gaining weight that we're constantly nursing or I'm pumping to give her pumped milk to get her to gain weight. I just wanted something open and go to give D and myself some special fun school time. I think I may go through it once with the younger set of books, and then again with the older, but I reserve my right to change my mind. I plan to start it after his birthday in January. I think he and I will really enjoy it. I really think that C will enjoy doing it with us too! She loved doing LOTW with us.

[Mommamo]

Also, the BEfore Five in a Row suggestion is great, and we did it with my oldest, and I have most of the books, and we read constantly, but I just don't think I'd ever actually do the activities with him. Sad, I know. I just need something open and go at this stage of our life. Maybe with the youngest I can do FIAR or B4FIAR again, but I don't know. HOD Is just so much easier for me, and that makes it more fun.

[Carrie]

I hear you on the open-and-go part of your post! From having planned, ordered, and put everything in place to do Five-in-A-Row, and then not being able to get it done due to the needed daily preparation, I know where you're coming from.

I also had used Letter of the Week and tried all sorts of other expensive (and time consuming) preschool curriculums with my older son trying to find the open-and-go Bible-based fit I was seeking for him. That is when we wrote Little Hands to Heaven.

With your 3 year old, you could easily take 2 years to do Little Hands either doing it 3 days a week (and then just reading good books on the other 2 days) or by stretching each day of Little Hands out over 2 days. To do that option, you'd read the same Bible story 2 days in a row, and do the fingerplay both days, but then do 1 or 2 of the other boxes one day and the other box the next day.

Anyway, I'll confess that Little Hands to Heaven is the only preschool program I have gotten through completely twice now and that I am still looking forward to doing with my last little guy. It is truly open-and-go, and I've never needed to plan ahead. Plus, you're hiding God's word in his little heart EVERY day while using LHTH.

Blessings,
Carrie