LHFHG or BLHFHG

[blessedwith2]

Hi everyone! I have a placement question and just wanted some opinions on what you would do...

I used LHTH two years ago and had planned on using LHFHG. but, with two moves and having nausea/being tired from pregnancy, it got put on the backburner (I know, shame on me...). Well, mydd5 (She'll be six in two weeks) can read independently (probably at 1st-2nd grade level) and her handwriting is pretty good. Her weak areas are math and listening to books without pictures being read to her, although she reads them well to herself and comprehends them.

I want to challenge but not overwhelm her (or myself, with baby #3 due mid-Fall) this year. My question is, should I re-try LHFHG or skip it and use BLHFHG this year? I really think she'll get a lot out of either one, but I think her read-aloud listening skills could use some improvement. If I use LHFHG, I may need to add some copywork in and some books for her to read independently. But if I do that, would it make more sense to just use BLHFHG or would the readers for that be too overwhelming? (She really enjoys reading to herself and out loud to me.)Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[WigglesMom]

This is just me, but with her age and the need to mature into read-aloud chapter books, I would place her in LHFHG with 1st grade options. I might would start with the Singapore Earlybird Kindergarten 2a math since it is a weak area also. We are using some 1st grade options and some K options (for weaker areas) with my ds6. He needs work on math and handwriting so we chose K for those. He sped through the first 1/2 of the 2a math book, but about halfway through we have slowed down and he is really catching on to math now. You could always have her write the Bible verse for the week as copywork.
Since you mention reading, I am assuming you are done with phonics instruction. I am just picking and choosing emerging reader books from the library for my son. He needs more practice sounding out words. You could do something similar (with books on your child's level). If she already has a series of books that she likes, then I would buy more of them for her. Phonics practice is scheduled every day and you could have her read so many pages of a book everyday or set a timer for 20 minutes reading during school everyday.
It's what I would do if I were about to have another and really wanted to improve my dc's weak areas while giving them a very enriching academic year. All without adding stress to my day.
Hope this helps.
Val

[blessedwith2]

Thank you SO much Val! I really love all your suggestions and it helps to hear from a mom that's already mixing levels within LHFHG and how it works day to day!

[pollo_la]

I completely agree with Val's suggestions!!

[funkmomma71]

It would be easy to up the work for LHFHG, rather than trying to make Beyond easier. Adding copywork is super easy, you could simply have her copy the bible verse each week, you may want to get the Beyond manual so that you could add in the spelling/grammer and the Emerging readers. You would then have the Beyond manual to use again next year, only you would use the second spelling list and move onto DITHOR. By doing it this way you can be sure that you have all the bases covered. I have the Beyond manual and I can tell you that there is a BIG leap in listening skills, with LHFHG the read aloud is only a few pages long, expanding to about 6 pages by the end, with Beyond you will be reading as few as 4 pages and as many as 12 pages a day. If your dc needs inprovement in this area you may want to make sure that she gets the opportunity to get it w/out a ton of stress for both of you. Blessings!

[blessedwith2]

Thank you all for your very helpful advice! I really appreciate it! God bless!

[Jen in Va]

I would definitely go with LHFHG, too. When we did it last year, my son was not quite reading as well as your dd, but close. I just supplemented his phonics lessons with easy readers from the library. He was ahead in math, so I started with EB 2B instead of 2A, following the lessons about 15 weeks ahead of the rest of our lessons. He also loved to write, so I did a line of copywork each day from whatever book he was reading. I did the copywork first with him, then he would tell me when he read the sentence in the book. I went with Little Hearts because he wasn't yet ready for sitting and listening for too long. It was the perfect fit for us--we're in Beyond now and loving it.

[Benelli]

I have to agree with the other posters in suggesting you go with Little Hearts with the 1st grade options.

[my3sons]

I think I'd do LHFHG with the first grade options, and do just the Emerging Reader's Set in Beyond. You can also do Spelling list 1 in Beyond, as well as the gentle grammar lesson on Day 5 of Beyond's plans. This will meet her LA needs well, while still giving her time to grow in math skills and listening to books skills. She'd love the Emerging Reader's Set - that was so fun for both of our dc!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

blessedwith2,

The ladies have already given you such great advice! So, I'll just agree fully and welcome you to the board!

We're glad to have you here!

Blessings,
Carrie