Where do I start?
Where do I start?
Hi, my name is Erin and I am brand new here. I have 3 beautiful children 2 DS's and 1 DD. My oldest son will be 6 in May, my 2nd son will be 4 in 1 week and my beautiful DD is 9 months old. I know that there are a ton of questions about placement and I have used the chart but I still feel overwhelmed. My oldest has been doing MFW K this year and is easily reading 3 letter words with short vowel sounds. My youngest hasn't really started any formal curriculum but he REALLY wants to do schoolwork. I'm wondering if it would be to start LHTH now with my 4 year old and do it over the summer and then start them both together on LHFHG in the fall? Or should I just start both of them in the fall on different stages? I'm also not sure if my almost 6 year old is ready for BLHFHG. He is getting bored with MFW because it isn't challenging him so I don't want that to happen this year. I know this is alot of questions but I just want to make the best decision I can for my boys. Thanks so much for any help you can give me.
Mom to 3 beautiful kids!
DS 6-LHFHG, 1st grade options, Handwriting without tears K, using The Reading Lesson over the summer.
DS 4-LHTH, Handwriting without tears, TRL
DD 9months- Getting into everything and dancing to the music!
DS 6-LHFHG, 1st grade options, Handwriting without tears K, using The Reading Lesson over the summer.
DS 4-LHTH, Handwriting without tears, TRL
DD 9months- Getting into everything and dancing to the music!
Re: Where do I start?
Welcome to HOD, from having been with them from the beginning with my kiddo's, I will say that placing your children in the right guide is key. So I am glad you asked!
I would consider placing you 4 year old in LHTH after the summer without having to rush through it, with the older bible and devotion. It is a fun pre-school/kindergarten program and rich in laying a foundation for math, phonics and for the requirements in the upcoming guides.
For your 6 year old, I would recommend doing LHFHG to have him grow into the skills required, if he places in both guides (LHFHG and Beyond), you may consider doing the first grade options with LHFHG. I am not familiar with MFW, but I do know that LHFHG will work wonderful for first grade.
Just remember when you do the guides, to do all the boxes as planned, even when you don't understand exactly why your kiddo's need to do it.
You will reap the benefits when they get to the older guides. With placing your ds6 in LHFHG it will give you some extra time to work on his phonics so he can start with the ER program when he gets to Beyond next year.
I pray the Lord will direct you in what is best for your kiddo's and I pray that HOD will bless your family as much as is blessing ours. Success
I would consider placing you 4 year old in LHTH after the summer without having to rush through it, with the older bible and devotion. It is a fun pre-school/kindergarten program and rich in laying a foundation for math, phonics and for the requirements in the upcoming guides.
For your 6 year old, I would recommend doing LHFHG to have him grow into the skills required, if he places in both guides (LHFHG and Beyond), you may consider doing the first grade options with LHFHG. I am not familiar with MFW, but I do know that LHFHG will work wonderful for first grade.
Just remember when you do the guides, to do all the boxes as planned, even when you don't understand exactly why your kiddo's need to do it.
You will reap the benefits when they get to the older guides. With placing your ds6 in LHFHG it will give you some extra time to work on his phonics so he can start with the ER program when he gets to Beyond next year. I pray the Lord will direct you in what is best for your kiddo's and I pray that HOD will bless your family as much as is blessing ours. Success
Raising Arrows; Psalms 127:4
ds17, Class of 2020, now at IHOPU
ds 15, WH
dd 13, MTMM
In year 1 of homeschooling it all started with LHTH for us.
ds17, Class of 2020, now at IHOPU
ds 15, WH
dd 13, MTMM
In year 1 of homeschooling it all started with LHTH for us.
Re: Where do I start?
Thank you for the reply. I think part of my problem is that I am so worried they will be behind everyone else. I keep trying to stop thinking that way but I really struggle with it everyday. I know that I chose to homeschool my children because I wanted them surrounded by God's Word all day everyday but sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough. DS6 is incredibly smart and loves reading and has an amazing vocabulary so I am always afraid I'm not challenging him enough. He gets very frustrated with MFW because he already knows most of it and he's bored. I think that switching to HOD will be great for him.
Mom to 3 beautiful kids!
DS 6-LHFHG, 1st grade options, Handwriting without tears K, using The Reading Lesson over the summer.
DS 4-LHTH, Handwriting without tears, TRL
DD 9months- Getting into everything and dancing to the music!
DS 6-LHFHG, 1st grade options, Handwriting without tears K, using The Reading Lesson over the summer.
DS 4-LHTH, Handwriting without tears, TRL
DD 9months- Getting into everything and dancing to the music!
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countrymom
- Posts: 770
- Joined: Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:16 pm
Re: Where do I start?
Welcome! Just a couple of other comments. If you place your son in LHFHG there is optional reading suggestions in the back for the history. Although I had a hard time finding most of the books in the library when reading through the Bible section, once we left that I could get most of the books and those extra books can really add to the program if you feel you need to. I agree to do all activities as written as well. As for getting behind, I teach at a community college and let me assure you your children will not be behind, as they will be gaining valuable skills that are needed but we simply cannot identify in 80% of our college entrants. It is possible it might seem they are behind at first, but they will NOT be behind. The structured deskwork school setting is just so deficient when it comes to developing skills and long term learning. I have a son that just finished LHTH and a son in Beyond (did Little Hearts last year), and I can already see the "fruits" of the program.
Countrymom
Wife to J
Big J - LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, R2R, Rev to Rev, Modern Missions, beginning parts of World Geography
Little J - LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, working in CTC
Wife to J
Big J - LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, CTC, R2R, Rev to Rev, Modern Missions, beginning parts of World Geography
Little J - LHTH, LHFHG, Beyond, Bigger, Preparing, working in CTC
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creativemommy
- Posts: 304
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 9:01 pm
- Location: USA
Re: Where do I start?
Welcome Erin!
I went back and forth about my ds who was 6 when we began homeschooling in the fall (2009) about beginning in Beyond or LHFHG - he could have done the listening/projects in Beyond, but definitely not the writing (he dislikes handwriting like most boys
). So I opted to go with LHFHG and choose all of the first grade options for him as they were at his level (science, thinking skills, math - buy the Beyond guide so you have Carrie's fun hands-on lessons if you go with Singapore math). It was a great fit!!!
I found if there were ever days he "begged" for more challenging things (which were rare) - he could research what we were learning about history/science on the computer or in books. We also checked out a lot of the extra history books suggested in the back of the LHFHG guide (we had a hard time finding the Bible story books for the first part of the year, too like a previous post mentioned).
I went back and forth about my ds who was 6 when we began homeschooling in the fall (2009) about beginning in Beyond or LHFHG - he could have done the listening/projects in Beyond, but definitely not the writing (he dislikes handwriting like most boys
). So I opted to go with LHFHG and choose all of the first grade options for him as they were at his level (science, thinking skills, math - buy the Beyond guide so you have Carrie's fun hands-on lessons if you go with Singapore math). It was a great fit!!! I found if there were ever days he "begged" for more challenging things (which were rare) - he could research what we were learning about history/science on the computer or in books. We also checked out a lot of the extra history books suggested in the back of the LHFHG guide (we had a hard time finding the Bible story books for the first part of the year, too like a previous post mentioned).
~Beth
Used & Loved LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, & Bigger
Used & Loved LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG, & Bigger
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solagratia824
- Posts: 79
- Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 5:30 pm
Re: Where do I start?
Welcome, Erin!
We are using LHFHG (ds) and LHTH (dd) this year. Every family is different, but I can share a little from my experience.
If you are having doubts about your older ds being ready for Beyond, then I would recommend going with LHFHG. LHFHG has been a great fit for us, even though my ds is advanced in reading and math. We did purchase the Beyond guide and are using it as a resource to go through the Emerging Readers, math activities for Math 1A/1B, and spelling lists at our own pace, but we use LHFHG for our overall daily lesson plan. I'm glad we didn't push on to doing Beyond as written for all subjects - it would have been an uphill climb instead of the enjoyable journey that we've had through LHFHG. I am looking forward to doing Beyond as written next year and I'm confident that ds is fully ready now, having built up his skills and general maturity through LHFHG.
I would hesitate to rush your younger ds through LHTH in the summer and start LHFHG in the fall. He will only be 4.5, right? I think that he will get so much more out of the program when he is a year older. I have heard of some families that add in the kindergarten options for phonics, handwriting/fine motor, and/or math from LHFHG to the LHTH program if their child needs/wants more academics. Perhaps that could be an option?
I just read this again and feel like I'm making it sound more complicated than it is... All this to say, I think that HOD is a wonderfully rich program and flexible, too! This board is a great resource for figuring out what will work for your family. I love reading the threads here and getting ideas.
We are using LHFHG (ds) and LHTH (dd) this year. Every family is different, but I can share a little from my experience.
If you are having doubts about your older ds being ready for Beyond, then I would recommend going with LHFHG. LHFHG has been a great fit for us, even though my ds is advanced in reading and math. We did purchase the Beyond guide and are using it as a resource to go through the Emerging Readers, math activities for Math 1A/1B, and spelling lists at our own pace, but we use LHFHG for our overall daily lesson plan. I'm glad we didn't push on to doing Beyond as written for all subjects - it would have been an uphill climb instead of the enjoyable journey that we've had through LHFHG. I am looking forward to doing Beyond as written next year and I'm confident that ds is fully ready now, having built up his skills and general maturity through LHFHG.
I would hesitate to rush your younger ds through LHTH in the summer and start LHFHG in the fall. He will only be 4.5, right? I think that he will get so much more out of the program when he is a year older. I have heard of some families that add in the kindergarten options for phonics, handwriting/fine motor, and/or math from LHFHG to the LHTH program if their child needs/wants more academics. Perhaps that could be an option?
I just read this again and feel like I'm making it sound more complicated than it is... All this to say, I think that HOD is a wonderfully rich program and flexible, too! This board is a great resource for figuring out what will work for your family. I love reading the threads here and getting ideas.
Camden
Homeschooling mama to...
ds 1st (Beyond)
dd preschool (LHTH)
Homeschooling mama to...
ds 1st (Beyond)
dd preschool (LHTH)
Re: Where do I start?
I also want to mention that I have a very advanced 6 year old on my hands. He is and has been an independent reader all year long. In fact, he has already read the emerging reader books suggested in the Beyond book. However, I still opted to do LHFHG. We are doing 1st grade using LHFHG and using all the 1st grade options. I do add some things for him to do to challenge him and I give him higher level books for him to read, but we are thoroughly enjoying going through that book. He absolutely loves the Thornton Burgess books that we do for read a-louds. While my son is advanced - he absolutely despises writing anything down. His handwriting is not very good, but we are working on writing carefully and beautifully. The skills that are introduced in LHFHG are essential, in my opinion.
I have also been doing the light grammar lessons that are in the Beyond book, so when we start Beyond, I will take him through Rod and Staff 2. Having said that, I took my older son through Beyond and did the light grammar with him, but took him straight into the Rod and Staff 3 book when we started Bigger - and he was right where he needed to be.
I plan on doing the English 2 with my 2nd son just to give him a little more. I plan to do most of it orally with him.
I am very happy with the choice to do LHFHG for 1st grade ... because I really love the Beyond curriculum for 2nd. Furthermore, I love using Bigger for 3rd grade. The amount of writing is a big factor in how I feel about this, since my boys just aren't fond of writing. So, using the guides as we do works perfectly.
I have also been doing the light grammar lessons that are in the Beyond book, so when we start Beyond, I will take him through Rod and Staff 2. Having said that, I took my older son through Beyond and did the light grammar with him, but took him straight into the Rod and Staff 3 book when we started Bigger - and he was right where he needed to be.
I plan on doing the English 2 with my 2nd son just to give him a little more. I plan to do most of it orally with him.
I am very happy with the choice to do LHFHG for 1st grade ... because I really love the Beyond curriculum for 2nd. Furthermore, I love using Bigger for 3rd grade. The amount of writing is a big factor in how I feel about this, since my boys just aren't fond of writing. So, using the guides as we do works perfectly.
Larissa
Wife to Rich (14 years)
Mommy to Martin(9)(Preparing), Aaron(7)(Beyond), Jonathan(5), and Rosalie(3)
Wife to Rich (14 years)
Mommy to Martin(9)(Preparing), Aaron(7)(Beyond), Jonathan(5), and Rosalie(3)
Re: Where do I start?
Thank you all so much. I really appreciate all the responses and the advice. I think that we will continue what we are doing this year and then start my 4 year old on LHTH and my 6 year old on LHFHG. I'm so excited to start that I just want to do everything right now!
Mom to 3 beautiful kids!
DS 6-LHFHG, 1st grade options, Handwriting without tears K, using The Reading Lesson over the summer.
DS 4-LHTH, Handwriting without tears, TRL
DD 9months- Getting into everything and dancing to the music!
DS 6-LHFHG, 1st grade options, Handwriting without tears K, using The Reading Lesson over the summer.
DS 4-LHTH, Handwriting without tears, TRL
DD 9months- Getting into everything and dancing to the music!
Re: Where do I start?
Erin,
It sounds like you have a great plan forming, so I'll just welcome you to the board. The ladies on the board have done a wonderful job of encouraging and helping you! We pray you will enjoy HOD!
Blessings,
Carrie
It sounds like you have a great plan forming, so I'll just welcome you to the board.
The ladies on the board have done a wonderful job of encouraging and helping you! We pray you will enjoy HOD! Blessings,
Carrie