Going through LHTH 2x

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WigglesMom

Going through LHTH 2x

Post by WigglesMom » Mon Jun 29, 2009 11:02 pm

I keep thinking about this a lot lately. DS2.5 will finish going through LHTH the first time around December this year and he will just be turning 3. I am kind of leery of doing it again back to back years. If I did start it again after the holidays, he would be through with it the 2nd time when he is 3 1/2 to maybe 4. I wouldn't put him in LHFHG at 4. He loves doing school and already knows his letter sounds and names. He already knows his colors and numbers to 10. He actually knew most of this before we started LHTH this past March from informal play learning.
I'm debating 2 options in my head.
1. To continue and do back to back years with LHTH younger and older options
2. To take a break after LHTH younger options and do something for a year and then do LHTH older options when he is 4
Downsides of options
1. Leaves me with gap year from 4-5 yrs old
2. Figuring out what to do with gap year from 3-4 years old

I'm not really that concerned about right now. He is really picking up things pretty easy. He knows his letters, sounds, basic numbers, colors, and shapes already. I am more thinking about what to do after we finish this year of LHTH in December. He is the youngest and will be going through school at his own pace so I don't have to factor in siblings and combining with him at all.
Has anyone done back to back years of LHTH when their child was this young and if so what did you do when they were 4? Or has anyone taken a break in between the younger and older options of LHTH? If you did take a break in between, what did you do in the mean time? If you did them back to back did you have a gap year before starting LHFHG?
Val

zookeeperof3monkeys
Posts: 60
Joined: Fri May 08, 2009 12:45 am

Re: Going through LHTH 2x

Post by zookeeperof3monkeys » Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:41 am

Val,
I'm about to be in the same boat you are in! I'm planning to do Christian Liberty Press pre-k this winter with my (will be) 3 yr old.Then do the 2nd year of Little Hands.It's cheapest at Rainbow Resource. I don't want to do the same program..no mater how great it is...two years in a row.
Kim
Kim
Greensboro, NC
ds 10 Beyond
ds 2 LHTH

my3sons
Posts: 10702
Joined: Sun Aug 26, 2007 7:08 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Going through LHTH 2x

Post by my3sons » Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:52 am

Val,

Your ds sounds like a smart little cookie - way to go little guy! :D I am planning on going through LHTH twice with my little Emmett. He already knows his letters and numbers to 10, and he's only a little over 2 years old. He just has a knack for that, not sure why?!? He seems to be an auditory learner, and a lot of learning things get said around here as I'm doing two HOD programs in the day to day - maybe that's why. :wink:

My tentative plan is to start Emmett in LHTH about halfway into this coming school year, using the easier Bible and devotional. Then, I will go through LHTH again with him, using the harder Bible and devotional. He will probably start LHFHG half-speed a bit before age 5.

Riley, my middle ds, started LHFHG half-speed when he was about 4 1/2 and did great with it. I would guess your little honey would be about the same. :wink:

I did all sorts of other plans with my first son (mailbox letter a week, FIAR, parts of Sonlight K, etc.), and none of it measured up to just doing LHTH twice. So, this time around, I'm just doing LHTH twice with different options. I'm excited to see how my ds grows into it and changes from year to year, and I also am going to have my oldest ds do some of the teaching the second time around, which he'll love, and my toddler will do fine with because he'll know what's expected of him. :D That's just my plan, but you will know what you'd like best for your little one.

In Christ,
Julie
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie

Mommamo
Posts: 616
Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 1:31 pm
Location: TX

Re: Going through LHTH 2x

Post by Mommamo » Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:38 am

I'm planning to go through LHTH twice with both my littles (they will be combined, at least the 2nd time through). Then we will start LHFHG when the youngest is around 4 at half speed.I'm looking forward to it and I think doing LHTH back to back with the different options will be just fine. My oldest started LHFHG at 4.5 full speed and did great. I would think that doing LHTH would really help a child be ready to start LHFHG, at half speed for sure.
Momma to my 4 sweeties:
DD 14 - MTMM and DITHOR (completed LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, took a couple years off, and now she's back!)
DS 11 and DD 9 - Preparing(completed 2 rounds of LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, and Bigger)
DD 6 - LHFHG

WigglesMom

Re: Going through LHTH 2x

Post by WigglesMom » Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:10 pm

zookeeperof3monkeys wrote:Val,
I'm about to be in the same boat you are in! I'm planning to do Christian Liberty Press pre-k this winter with my (will be) 3 yr old.Then do the 2nd year of Little Hands.It's cheapest at Rainbow Resource. I don't want to do the same program..no mater how great it is...two years in a row.
Kim
Kim,
I think the two years in a row was really one of my concerns. I really like LHTH, but I could see myself getting burnt out doing back to back years same book with the same child. Since his schooling is at his own pace and we wouldn't be going through twice to keep him with other siblings, I can't really see doing it 2 years in a row. I didn't realize that CLP had a pre-k program. I will have to look into it. I have LFBC's k-3 from doing it with my ds6 when he was 3-4 years old. I had thought about doing it with ds2.5 starting in December, but it is very similar in concepts taught and sheets for colors, alphabet, and numbers.
Riley, my middle ds, started LHFHG half-speed when he was about 4 1/2 and did great with it. I would guess your little honey would be about the same.
Julie,
Well, that is actually my problem. He would be no where near 4 1/2. Probably no where near 4. We started LHTH at 26 months old. We have drawn out this year by only doing 3 days a week. In Dec. when we finish it the first time, he will be turning 3. If we do it back to back and draw it out again doing 3 days a week, we will still finish before his 4th birthday the next December. He will probably be 4-5 months shy of his 4th birthday. So he would still be really young to start even at half speed in LHFHG.

It isn't that I don't think that LHTH will prepare him for LHFHG. It is that even drawing it out he will be really young and he has a December birthday. His kindergarten year will technically be when he is 5 turning 6 in December. Maturity wise he wouldn't be ready for LHFHG even half-speed at just turning 4.

I really also wanted to know if anyone had went through the program 2x with a child that they weren't trying to keep with other siblings. I am kind of just wanting to hear from anyone that has went through LHTH 2x with their child and how it went for them and the kids doing it twice. Did you add to it? Has anyone started LHTH when their child was just turned 2 and how did they follow through the guides?
As always, thanks for the advise and help
Val

crlacey
Posts: 630
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:13 pm
Location: NC

Re: Going through LHTH 2x

Post by crlacey » Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:45 pm

Could you try using letteroftheweek.com? Or maybe Sonlight's P 4/5 program? I plan to do LHTH this year with my guy and then Sonlight P4/5 since I already have it for a filler, then he'd move into LHFHG for his K year.
Crystal
DD 20 married college graduate
DS 17 college student
DD 11 CTC

Finished: LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, BHFHG, PHFHG, CTC, Res to Ref, Rev to Rev, MTMM, parts of WG and WH

WigglesMom

Re: Going through LHTH 2x

Post by WigglesMom » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:57 pm

I have the sonlight catalog and have looked at it. I want something that will fit well in the in between year. Whether I do back to back LHTH or do something in betweeen doing LHTH for the 2nd time, we will still need to do something before going to LHFHG.
I'm really hoping that someone who has a dc that is going through the guides by themselves (not combined or planning to combine with other dc) has been through this before. I mean is there someone out there that chose to go through LHTH 2x without doing it the 2nd time to slow down for a younger child. Is there anyone that has used this scenario for one child?
I know there are older options for the devotional and Bible, but I am just not sure about going back through the program without doing more for language arts/phonics and the math. With him being just turned 3 when we finish LHTH the first time, I don't want to jump into too much too soon for him either.
He will be ready for pre-writing, some pre-phonics, and some more structured conceptual math after the 1st time through LHTH at just turned 3. I have the Earlybird Kindergarten 1a/1b already to use at some point in all of this. I bought it now b/c it is going out of print. I am leaning toward doing the preschool option for handwriting without tears as well.
I think it is hard for me to think about doing the guide 2x especially in a row because of his age. I had planned to do exactly that (LHTH 2x back to back) until I realized that ds2.5 wouldn't even be much over 3 1/2 when finishing the 2nd time through. I was saying and I keep hearing about everyone planning to do it 2x, but most are people who plan to combine later with a younger child. Has anyone already done it 2x with a child this young and finished it 2x before they were even 4 and not planned to combine that child with another child? If anyone has done this, how did you go through after finishing 2x before even turning 4 years old?
In my eyes, he is doing 2 yr old pre-k right now. We still have 3 and 4 yr old pre-k years to go through before ever thinking about kindergarten. Has anyone done LHTH starting at 26 months old without combining and how did you continue through the guides after that?
Val

Carrie
Site Admin
Posts: 8128
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:39 pm

Re: Going through LHTH 2x

Post by Carrie » Wed Jul 01, 2009 9:59 am

Val,

Typically moms who begin their child on the youngest age range of LHTH stretch it out by doing it 2-3 days a week. Then, they take a summer break or take breaks throughout the school year, so it works it out to take 2 years. We've done it this way ourselves and found it worked well. Most kiddos who've done LHTH over 2 years head into LHFHG at half-speed next, even if they are on the young side, as academically they are ready. :D

Other moms choose to go through the LHTH guide twice, using the higher level Bible and devotional the second trip through. We've talked to many moms at convention who have done this and enjoyed themselves immensely. They say it works well since there are so many activities in LHTH, and a different Bible and devotional option, plus their child is a year older (making the activities able to be done on a whole different level). :D You may not have many moms chime in on this topic right now, as many moms are on their summer break. :wink:

If neither of the options above appeal to you, you could always use the Kindergarten math, handwriting, phonics, and Rod and Staff workbooks from LHFHG for a year after LHTH, saving the rest of LHFHG for the following year. Then, the following year, your son could head into all of LHFHG doing the first-grade options with it. :D

In all honesty, the three options above are all very workable for using HOD with your son. If you do choose to use a different curriculum instead, which only you can decide, then you'd need to discuss it on that curriculum provider's board. Since this is the HOD Board, we work hard to help you use HOD in your own home. :D

Blessings,
Carrie

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