Hello! I am brand-new to homeschooling and have three boys, ages 5, 3, and almost 1. My son would be entering K in the fall, but we feel that the Lord is leading us to homeschool. I am very excited to have come across HOD and feel like I've found exactly what I've been looking for and am encouraged to jump in and start on this journey! After *much* deliberation, we are planning to start with Little Hearts for His Glory. I feel like he could do Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory, he's sort-of in between in a lot of the fields on the placement chart, but I definitely don't want to jump ahead and then feel like I've missed something essential. Anyway, I'd like to tell you about my oldest DS and get advice on what I could/should get to supplement LHFHG. He turned 5 in January but has always been brilliant (
); he talked early, has always had a huge vocabulary, is very mature for his age, and is currently reading the Narnia series on his own. We incorporate learning into everyday; it's never been something I've "tried" to do, we just discuss things as they come up. For example, he understands a lot of math because we divide an orange in half, then into quarters, and then into eighths. He understands that 2/8 = 1/4, etc. He recently has shown interest in multiplication and seems to understand the concept behind it, not simply memorizing the tables. He understands money and knows what coin is which value. He can tell digital time and does pretty good with the other kind (what it's called is escaping me right now! 
). He can write all uppercase and lowercase letters, although he does get mixed up sometimes with writing them backwards (ie, mirror image). He's left-handed, if that matters. He loves science and is always doing little experiments on his own, and he loves to read and watch videos on the National Geographic site. He has a memory that astounds me! I think it's safe to say that in a normal school setting, he'd be classified as "gifted" (and his preschool teacher even mentioned that on his evaluation this year). He is also interested in geography and loves Bible stories - we have read through the Egermeier's Bible Story book probably three times now over the last several years. He loves memorizing Scripture and does quite well with it, and his Sunday school teachers assure me that he fits right in with his much older classmates (the next youngest in there is 8, I believe, going all the way up to age 12) and feels comfortable doing Bible drills and answering questions. I guess my concern is getting exactly what I'll need to make sure that I'm giving him a good, solid foundation but also challenging him and teaching him new things. I'd like my 3-year-old to be able to participate some with us in the beginning of this homeschooling journey, and I think that I'd feel better going through all of the K-level stuff with DS1 to make sure that everything's been covered. I realize that we might breeze through it, which is why I'd like to order anything else that I need to supplement it or enrich his experience so that even if it is a review, he'll still enjoy it. Do I even need phonics since he's reading at such an advanced level, though? And should I start with the K version of math, given that he seems to be familiar with the concepts mentioned in the overview of it, or would it be wise to move on to the 1st grade level? I am of the mindset right now that if I buy something and discover that he needs something more advanced, I can always save it for the other little guys when they are ready...on the other hand, money is tight, and I'd rather be able to put it towards what we need and any extras to supplement rather than something that might be too basic.
I'd appreciate any advice, thoughts, or experience! I'd love to order in the next week or two but don't feel confident that I know exactly what I should get. Thanks in advance!
(Although my ears do get a little tired some days...