Musing over placement of 5 1/2 yo

[deltagal]

Hi,

I'm just trying to decide where to put my 5 1/2 yo daughter in HOD. On the chart she places mostly in Beyond. She writes really well, can copy sentences, is ready for hands-on math instruction, can listen and follow instructions, enjoys working and she's zipping along through The Reading Lesson. I anticipate she'll be in emmerging readers by September. I can't decide whether to put her in LHFHG with the 1st grade selections OR perhaps, begin Beyond half-speed. She'll be 6 the last of September. Any thoughts?

[sw1ssm1ss]

I love how you describe it as musing. I've done a lot of musing myself lately, though not about our next program.

Anyway, I'm almost certain that Beyond has the emerging reader schedule and LHFHG doesn't. Your dd sounds a lot like my dd, who is turning six this month. We just finished LHFHG. Of course, I have not used Beyond yet, so I don't know if it will be a stretch for my dd's age and abilities.

[countrymom]

We are finishing Little Hearts and will be placing our 5 1/2 yr old in Beyond at half speed soon. Based on what you say, I think it sounds like a good plan. Our son has handled Little Hearts very well and I have the Beyond manual and see no problems as we move forward. I made the decision to go 1/2 speed based on his age, although we will read and do math everyday.

[crlacey]

I agree, it sounds as though she may be ready for Beyond. Especially if you are looking to have the Emerging Readers scheduled for you.
How about her ability to listen to chapter books without pictures? That would be the only thing not mentioned that I can think of that may create a problem.

[jenntracy]

My son was in that boat. His b-day is in October. We basically did all of LHFHG , but we were higher in math and reading. We just continued at the level he was at. He is actually in the Christian Liberty Reader of the emerging readers now (started january i think)and about 1/2 way thru a 1st grade level math. We added some extra science. (we love science here) also had him due a little copywork. not every day. It was perfect for him. Here, he would've been considered "k" if in the public school system, though i think he would have been bored with some things.

[Shimmer]

Will this be her first time with HOD and you haven't done Little Hearts? My oldest will be 6 in November and could place well in Beyond, but since she hasn't done Little Hearts yet, I'm going to have her do the basics of Beyond (right side) with the history/science/bible (left side) of Little Hearts. I had read posts about another younger range child who had skipped Little Hearts and wasn't following the history/science as well in Beyond so they dropped back and that mix worked well for them. I think it'll work well for us too. I haven't done much science or history with her yet. Your child may be ready across the board for Beyond, but wanted to mention it as an option.

Another thing to consider is how fast you'll get to Bigger. From what I understand, there is a big jump there as there would be in public school. Going half-speed seems to work well for a lot of posters here. Good luck!

[mamayi]

We just finished Beyond with my ds7 and my dd who just turned six at the end of April. She handled the work in Beyond very well except she didn't do as much copywork and she started the year with The Reading Lesson and is now almost done with the Emerging Readers. While she did great in this guide I am not sure she is ready for Bigger (although her older brother is and I want to keep them combined as much as possible.) The situation that we are facing (and you may too if you do Beyond at the younger age) is when to start Bigger. Right now my plan is to spend a few months focusing on the "3 R's" for all of my dc by finishing up the ERs and introducing DITHOR, doing math (we use Rod and Staff), the second spelling list from Beyond, and a short Bible unit study (that *I* have always wanted to do with my dc ) Then I think that by January she'll be ready for Bigger and we'll take a year and a half to do the guide.
Hope this helps in your "musings"

[LeAnna]

I guess it would depend on whether you mind moving through the manuals at half speed, taking 1.5 to two years, or if you would like to go through a manual a year. My gut says, I would do LHFHG, and then move onto Beyond the following year. There is some growing into each manual. My younger will be just turned 7 when we get to Bigger, and while we started LHFHG when she was 4.5, there are some things in Bigger that she is just not ready for. So we will be taking it slower with her. That being said, it's totally up to you, and HOD is very flexible!

LeAnna

[my3sons]

Hmmmmm. She really could do either, deltagal! You have 2 good options here. The first option being to do LHFHG with the first grade options and add Beyond's ERS (and even Spelling List 1 and even math) if she's ready to begin those. The second option being to do Beyond, maybe half-speed and/or 4 days a week, since your other kiddos may be on a 4 day a week schedule? Since you just finished Beyond and are doing Bigger with one of your dc, would you like to do LHFHG instead with her maybe just to have a fresh guide to teach? I think overall in the long run, it would be an easier placement for her to do option 1 of LHFHG and Beyond only ERS/spelling/math, but then again half-speed Beyond is pretty easy too. Sorry I can't be more decisive here . I think I'd look at your family's day over all and give her the placement that fits best within that. I hope something here can help as you ponder this.

In Christ,
Julie

[dlrickett]

This is the exact question that I have been 'musing' over as well! At first, I determined to put my daughter (will be 6 in July) in Beyond because her skill level does fit there. However, I have since heard of a couple of moms who put their 6 year olds in Beyond and at the end of the year wished they had done Little Hearts instead, either because their children weren't ready for Bigger or they wished they had the history background from Little Hearts. I really think my daughter would probably be fine with Beyond, but as I stepped back to think about it more I wasn't sure if I was ready for the longer time commitment, read-alouds, etc. We have a lot going on right now as we may be moving 7 hours away from family in the next month, my husband going to school and beginning a new ministry, and I do have two other little ones as well. So, although I haven't made a FOR SURE decision, I am leaning towards Little Hearts, if for nothing else than to preserve my sanity and more likely ensure a happy homeschool year. Sometimes I wonder if I will be holding my daughter back, but we do so many other things (Spanish, keyboarding, classical music study, etc.) that I also try to remind myself to be realistic. It IS a hard decision!

I do wonder if there is anyone who has started a 6 or 7 year old in Little Hearts and wished they had started in Beyond instead? I am new to HOD so I don't have experience with any of the programs yet.

Anyway, just wanted to chime in because I have been trying to think about this very thing. In fact, I was going to post a very similar question, but now that I read this thread, I don't think I need to.

Hope you can make a decision and find peace about it, deltagal!

[pjdobro]

I do wonder if there is anyone who has started a 6 or 7 year old in Little Hearts and wished they had started in Beyond instead? I am new to HOD so I don't have experience with any of the programs yet.

I started my twins in LHFHG when they were 6 years and 3 months old, for their first grade year. I was hesitant to do this at first since skill wise they did place in Beyond. We ended up doing the basics of Beyond (LA and math) with the core of LHFHG and I'm really happy that we did. We all had a great year and a wonderful introduction to HOD. Then this past year for second grade we did the core of Beyond with the basics of Bigger and had another wonderful year. Now we're ready for Bigger for 3rd grade using the higher LA and math schedules. It's worked out wonderfully for us. LHFHG and Beyond are both wonderful programs and you can't go wrong with either, but I was really happy in the end that we chose to do LHFHG. It's a wonderful introduction to world history and a sweet, fun program.

[Larica]

Patty, I was wondering if you could share whether you did the 5th day grammar part of Beyond when you were using LHFHG for 1st grade. I was thinking that I would save the grammar for the following year, but I'm curious to hear your take on it since you've done it. Thanks!!

Erica

[deltagal]

Hi all,

I posted and went out of town and now that I'm back I'm grateful for all the responses. Thank you.

I've decided to go with LHFHG with first grade options and using the emmerging readers schedule, and spelling box from Beyond. This should provide just enough challenge and give her a separate storytime with picture books! She already enjoys a non-picture book experience with her older brothers. I already have the Beyond guide and found the LHFHG guide this weekend for 1/2 price at our homeschool conference! I need to study the math options a little closer to decide where to place my dd - either 1/2 way into LHFHG or at the beginnning of Beyond.

Thank you all again for your input!

[Carrie]

Florence,

I loved reading through all of the great advice in this thread! You ladies are amazing at helping one another!

I think your decision sounds like a good one, Florence, purely because as I'm getting older I am finding that I am wanting to savor those early years of schooling with my little ones more (knowing it gets harder and more challenging all too quickly). I sometimes find myself longing for those younger years and simpler times.

Blessings,
Carrie