Question about Little Hearts for His Glory

[hobandrolly]

Forgive me if this question has been asked, but is it possible to use LHFHG as a Pre-K curriculum? I plan to use Little Hands to Heaven when my daughter is 3 1/2, but I'd prefer not to start her in Kindergarten until she's at least 5 (we use a different curriculum for Kindergarten). Is it feasible to use LHFHG for the history, science and Bible parts, and just add in some fun math and letter games more suited for a 4 year old? Thanks in advance...

[pollo_la]

I started LHFHG when my dd was 4.5, and honestly, although she could handle it "ok," after 3 units I chose to hold off and wait until she turned 5. I feel like she understands the history, science, etc much more now. She did do well at 4.5, but she was not grasping as much as I really felt she should be at that time. Now, I feel like it is a perfect fit! All this to say, yes, you could begin with a 4 year old and she will likely do fine with it, BUT I do feel that more fun and learning take place by waiting a bit.

[jenntracy]

i am doing just that with my daughter who was 4.5 yrs in September.i only do reading etc seperately if she wants to. she seems to be doing just fine. one reason we are doing this is because i am combining she and her brother who just turned 6 in October. so he is in"kindergarten" this year. We are doing math-usee with her(just started) she asked and so i got her the Primer book (like brother who is almost done with his).

She really like the History , which was the part i was worried about. she is always asking to do her lessons.
i did do LHTH with her already. i think she started that a little before turning 4 and she was ready to jump right into LHFHG right after we finished it.

Every child is different, but it may just work for you too.

JEnn D.

[hobandrolly]

Thank you Laurie and Jenn...I think that will be our plan thus far (it could always change between now and then!). She's a bit precocious in wanting to "do school" I think because she has three older sisters doing school (2 2nd graders and a kindergartner). I'd be fine with her just playing and running around the house, but she keeps asking me when her turn is for "kool." So cute...we're looking forward to jumping into LHTH after she turns 3. Thanks for the replies so far! ~Holly

[crlacey]

Could you use something like www.letteroftheweek.com or www.hubbardscupboard.com as a filler until she is ready to jump into LHFHG? Sonlight also has a nice pre-k program as well as WinterPromise. But really, I think that the free ones are just as fun and more flexible.

[hobandrolly]

Hello~

Thanks for suggesting those...I had thought of those, but when I factored the amount of time, (I'll be schooling 2 4th graders and a 2nd grader the year I'm thinking about using LHFHG) ink, and paper it would cost to prep. those curriculums, it seemed cheaper and less time intensive to just purchase Carrie's Manual and books for LHFHG. Since it's all done for me, I would simply open the manual and do the activities. I wouldn't start her in phonics unless she seemed to be wanting to learn to read (all three of my older daughters begged me to teach them to read at age 4...), and for math we would just play fun math games. HOD is so crafty and hands-on, that I thought it would be a good fit. Any more thoughts greatly appreciated...specifically, would a 4 year old enjoy the history read-alouds? I know she'd enjoy the Bible and devotion! Thank you all for your help...

[my2guys]

Just wanted to mention what we did in case it might be something you'd like to try. We actually stretched LHTH for 2 years - doing it a couple of times a week when ds was 3 and then three times a week when he was 4 (for his "pre-K" year). The 2nd year, I added in some of the Rod and Staff books and some math workbooks. I also started reading him some of Thornton Burgess books (ones that aren't scheduled in LHFHG) just to get him used to listening to the language (which helped a lot for this year).

[my3sons]

We began using LHFHG with my middle ds when he was 4.5 yo. We did it half-speed, doing the left side of the plans one day and the right the next, but doing phonics daily. Since my ds had done LHTH the year before, he did very well with LHFHG half-speed, and we loved it. We're also currently doing LHTH half-speed with my almost 3 yo and loving that - we'll be stretching that out over 2 years. Both of these options have worked well for our family, but I share them mainly just to give you an idea of how flexible HOD can be. One thing I've found however, in order for the flow of the left side of the plans (Learning through History) to work, it's important to keep that intact, and while the plans can be done half-speed or full-speed, or any number of days a week, it is best if things are not skipped since skills are built upon each year and levels of difficulty continue to rise. HTH, and I'm excited for you to begin your journey with HOD!

In Christ,
Julie

[krismoose]

I think it would depend on your 4-year old... It's essentialy bible stories for quite awhile, with some of them being read from the history book now and then. The kinder science book is read from a page at a time as the topics relate, and it's very simple and clear. I started with my 4.5 yo ds spreading one day over 2 or 3, but repeating the rhyme and bible verse every day, and he really enjoyed it. We went from alternating math & phonics every other day to doing both each day as well. He just turned 5 and now we do the plans as written, and we all like it. He's ready for the history stories that don't come from the bible now too, which he would not have been just a few months ago. HTH