Doing Little Hearts for 2 years?

[EvangeMommy]

Hi everyone! I am new here and I am SOOOOO excited about starting with HOD very soon. I have a 4 year old little girl and a 2 year old girl. I have been doing "Pre-K" activities with her since the age of 2. (Confessions of a Homeschooler, 1+1+1=1, BFIAR, etc) She knows her ABC's, sounds, is beginning to blend words, has a very strong vocabulary/understanding or words/concepts, and very basic math skills) I have been planning to do LHTH with her but feel like it will be very similar to a lot of what we have been doing. She LOVES doing "school". I have been toying around with using LHFHG instead but doing it at half pace so that it will cover her Pre-K and Kindergarten year. Any thoughts on this? Anyone else done this? Anyone see any problems I might face. I truly believe she is ready and could probably do it at full pace but I don't want to do Beyond for her Kindergarten year so I would definitely do it 1/2 pace. Thanks in advance for your input! I am LOVING these boards!!

[krismoose]

Hi and welcome!
Have you checked out the placement chart? http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php If you're comfortable with how your dd fits into the LHFHG skills, then it will probably be fine to take it slowly. The first half covers the Bible, so the stories would be familiar. How does she do listening to stories with few to no pictures? The storytime selections are specifically chosen to help dc grow in this area, but it can take some getting used to. Also, when I did LHFHG with my ds, he was 4.5 to start with, and the devotional was over his head most of the time, so I found I needed to paraphrase it. He definitely understood more in the latter half of the program, as he matured. I didn't know to do it slower, and ended up finishing "too early", and he just wasn't ready for the next guide yet, so taking it slowly will definitely help!

[netpea]

You might also consider doing LHTH this year. It is a very fun program. We did it with my son at 4 even though he was beginning to sight read and it was perfect for us.

[my3sons]

Would you like to keep your 2 and 4 yo combined? They are only 2 years apart, so it would be very possible with HOD to combine them, provided you don't get too advanced too quickly for the 2 yo. Or, would you like to separate them? Sometimes even though dc are only 2 years apart, they are worlds apart in skills, and separating is better. HOD is so flexible that both options are good ones. It just depends which you'd prefer, and what you feel would best fit each of your dc and your family's goals.

Combining Option...
If you would like to combine your 2 and 4 yo, then you'll definitely want to do LHTH with them. You'll need to slow things down to be able to combine for years to come. You could do LHTH half-speed and then add LHFHG's K fine motor skills, math, and phonics the second year of LHTH for your then 5 yo. However, your 2 yo would still only be 4 when you finished, and you'd want to at that point take LHFHG half-speed, so by the time you finished it, your younger child would be 6, and your older child would be 8, which would help them go into Beyond together well. There are additional history readings suggested in the LHFHG Appendix, so that may be helpful.

Separating Option...
If your 4 yo is advanced, I think I'd do LHTH with her with the 4/5 yo options, and do LHFHG K options for phonics, fine motor skills, and math. I wouldn't worry about 2 yo yet, but rather just focus on dd while you do LHTH this year. Then, next year, you could do LHFHG with the first grade options (but use the K science). You could start your then 3 yo half-speed in LHTH. Then, the following year, you could do Beyond with your oldest, and finish out half-speed LHTH with your younger. Then, the next year, your oldest would be doing Bigger Hearts, and your younger would be doing LHFHG. This makes for a nice pacing for everyone, and for you as a teacher too!

So, what are your thoughts? HTH!
In Christ,
Julie

[EvangeMommy]

Thanks so much for your replies... my3sons- You have wonderful questions that had me rethinking what I want to do....again. I originally wanted to combine them-basically because I thought that was the thing to do when homeschooling. I then read a post by Carrie where she explains why doing separate guides was so good for the children. So that has been my plan for a while now. After reading your post, I went back and re-read several threads that discuss the pros (and cons) of doing separate guides. I know it would be easier for me to combine but I really think it is best for the kids for me to keep them separate. So that is what I will do....Now to decide on next year... If I did LHTH with the Kindergarten options, would that not mess them up in the later grades? Would she always be a "grade" ahead? I need to go look at the future guides really hard. Thanks again for your reply!

[avbprincess]

If I did LHTH with the Kindergarten options, would that not mess them up in the later grades? Would she always be a "grade" ahead? I need to go look at the future guides really hard. Thanks again for your reply!

This is what I think would happen: This year you'll be using LHTH with the K level handwriting book and fine motor skills workbook options and math plans from LHFHG, and the phonics book of your choice. For K you'd use LHFHG (with the 1st grade level handwriting and fine motor skills workbook options) with the math plans and the Emerging Reader schedule (if your DD's ready) from Beyond. For 1st grade you'd use Beyond with the math plans from Bigger, and either continue with the Emerging Readers (you can extend the ER's by adding in the supplementary titles from the Beyond Appendix) or maybe start DITHOR slowly. From the Bigger guide and up everything you'd need for each year, besides DITHOR, is in the respective guides, as multiple levels of math are schedule in the appencies. So you'd only be ahead of your core guide for reading in K, and math in K and 1st grade. Does that make sense? (Other HOD moms: correct me if I've missed something!).

*I've edited this post for further clarity*

[Heidi in AK]

Thanks so much for your replies... my3sons- You have wonderful questions that had me rethinking what I want to do....again. I originally wanted to combine them-basically because I thought that was the thing to do when homeschooling. I then read a post by Carrie where she explains why doing separate guides was so good for the children. So that has been my plan for a while now. After reading your post, I went back and re-read several threads that discuss the pros (and cons) of doing separate guides. I know it would be easier for me to combine but I really think it is best for the kids for me to keep them separate. So that is what I will do....Now to decide on next year... If I did LHTH with the Kindergarten options, would that not mess them up in the later grades? Would she always be a "grade" ahead? I need to go look at the future guides really hard. Thanks again for your reply!

EvangeMommy, first of all, welcome! You're in great company! I know we are in the same boat...we have a 2yo and a 4yo. We are combining them for LHTH this year, our K year. If you did what Julie (aka "my3sons") suggested, then you could do all of LHTH and just add in what we call "the right side" of LHFHG, thus making LHTH a K program. The right side includes your storytime, science, math, and phonics, all your academic subjects. Then, you'd use LHTH for Bible, history, and letter and number (as well as colors and shapes), which is beneficial and engaging for your 2yo.

If you did it this way, you'd do LHTH + right side of LHFHG for K, then do all of LHFHG as written with 1st grade options for 1st grade. All the recommendations I've seen is that you want to end your child/children on the upper side of the age limit for the guides so they progress more age-appropriately on the skills gleaned from the guides!

Then, what I'm going to do with my 2 yo, is LHTH again with the 3/4 yo options when he's a year older, while my older child is doing LHFHG for 1st. I might even do LHTH over two years for him so that he can have a preschool experience and learn the LHTH skills then. Our time through LHTH is really for my older, and my younger one ("Boy-o") is really just along for the ride!

HTH, a little bit!

[EvangeMommy]

Hi and welcome!
Have you checked out the placement chart? http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php If you're comfortable with how your dd fits into the LHFHG skills, then it will probably be fine to take it slowly. The first half covers the Bible, so the stories would be familiar. How does she do listening to stories with few to no pictures? The storytime selections are specifically chosen to help dc grow in this area, but it can take some getting used to. Also, when I did LHFHG with my ds, he was 4.5 to start with, and the devotional was over his head most of the time, so I found I needed to paraphrase it. He definitely understood more in the latter half of the program, as he matured. I didn't know to do it slower, and ended up finishing "too early", and he just wasn't ready for the next guide yet, so taking it slowly will definitely help!

Thanks for your advice. I am still considering doing LHFHG at half pace. I am just waffling back and forth between all the possibilities!

[EvangeMommy]

Thanks so much for your replies... my3sons- You have wonderful questions that had me rethinking what I want to do....again. I originally wanted to combine them-basically because I thought that was the thing to do when homeschooling. I then read a post by Carrie where she explains why doing separate guides was so good for the children. So that has been my plan for a while now. After reading your post, I went back and re-read several threads that discuss the pros (and cons) of doing separate guides. I know it would be easier for me to combine but I really think it is best for the kids for me to keep them separate. So that is what I will do....Now to decide on next year... If I did LHTH with the Kindergarten options, would that not mess them up in the later grades? Would she always be a "grade" ahead? I need to go look at the future guides really hard. Thanks again for your reply!

EvangeMommy, first of all, welcome! You're in great company! I know we are in the same boat...we have a 2yo and a 4yo. We are combining them for LHTH this year, our K year. If you did what Julie (aka "my3sons") suggested, then you could do all of LHTH and just add in what we call "the right side" of LHFHG, thus making LHTH a K program. The right side includes your storytime, science, math, and phonics, all your academic subjects. Then, you'd use LHTH for Bible, history, and letter and number (as well as colors and shapes), which is beneficial and engaging for your 2yo.

If you did it this way, you'd do LHTH + right side of LHFHG for K, then do all of LHFHG as written with 1st grade options for 1st grade. All the recommendations I've seen is that you want to end your child/children on the upper side of the age limit for the guides so they progress more age-appropriately on the skills gleaned from the guides!

Then, what I'm going to do with my 2 yo, is LHTH again with the 3/4 yo options when he's a year older, while my older child is doing LHFHG for 1st. I might even do LHTH over two years for him so that he can have a preschool experience and learn the LHTH skills then. Our time through LHTH is really for my older, and my younger one ("Boy-o") is really just along for the ride!

HTH, a little bit!

Thank you so much for this advice! I am almost sick trying to make this decision... that is ridiculous, I know! I just don't want to make the wrong decision. What you are doing with your kids makes a lot of sense! So, this will be considered your K year? Is that how you are doing it? Just starting K early? My only worry is that dd won't be ready to go at full speed with the math but I guess I can always slow down if that happens. I think that is what I am going to do. I really should order before I change my mind again!!

[Mommamo]

How old of a 4 year old do you have? If she's a young 4, you very well might want to stick with LHTH and just add appropriate phonics/math/handwriting for her. I do think LHFHG could work, though, as long as you are not wanting to combine, and especially if she's an older 4.

Here's my experience:
We started LHFHG with my oldest when she was 4.5. At the time I also had a 2.5 year old and a baby. It was a perfect fit for my oldest. Even though she and my next one are only 2 years apart, even then it didn't make sense to plan to combine them. I let the 2.5 year old join in whenever he wanted to, but he wasn't doing it for school. So my oldest started Beyond when she was 5.5, and Bigger at not quite 7. It's all worked out perfectly for her.

Now I'm doing LHTH with my 5 year old and 3 year old. My plan is to combine them. We have used it for a year as preK going half speed and will do it this year as K for the 5 year old, preK for the 3 year old. We will add the appropriate language arts, math, etc for the 5 yo. Then next year we will do LHFHG for 1st/preK, doing half speed if necessary, doing the appropriate math, handwriting, language arts for each.

All of this is a long way to say that HOD is extremely flexible. The main thing is to make sure you've got a good placement. That's really the most important thing with HOD. You can then kind of play with it to find what works the best for you, but it is pretty easy to get a good fit.

[my3sons]

How old of a 4 year old do you have? If she's a young 4, you very well might want to stick with LHTH and just add appropriate phonics/math/handwriting for her. I do think LHFHG could work, though, as long as you are not wanting to combine, and especially if she's an older 4.

She has a great question here - I am wondering how old of a 4 yo you have too? I'm also wondering if your 2 yo has just turned 2? Honestly, if they are very apart in skills, and your 2 yo just turned 2, and you have an advanced 4 1/2 yo ready for half-speed LHFHG, then I'd do half-speed LHFHG with and hold off on anything for the 2 yo. If your 4 yo just turned 4, and your 2 yo is more like 2 1/2 or so, then combining in LHTH makes sense. Doing the right side of LHFHG along with LHTH is easy, so that would not be a big deal to do. It is also very easy to do for the next guides in line, so I wouldn't let that factor a whole lot into your decision. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie

[krismoose]

So, this will be considered your K year? Is that how you are doing it? Just starting K early?

FWIW, I started K materials with my ds when he was 4.5, but we didn't call it "kindergarten" until he was the age needed for public school kindergarten. His birthday is in October, so he was almost 6 when we said he was "in kindergarten." We have a lot of teachers in the family, and this just seems to help everyone understand roughly what he's doing. Now by that point, he was doing some grade 1 level work, but I didn't tell anyone that unless they asked - too much information for some We know what level he's working on, and the "grade level" is just for the benefit of those outside our immediate family.

[Heidi in AK]

Thanks so much for your replies... my3sons- You have wonderful questions that had me rethinking what I want to do....again. I originally wanted to combine them-basically because I thought that was the thing to do when homeschooling. I then read a post by Carrie where she explains why doing separate guides was so good for the children. So that has been my plan for a while now. After reading your post, I went back and re-read several threads that discuss the pros (and cons) of doing separate guides. I know it would be easier for me to combine but I really think it is best for the kids for me to keep them separate. So that is what I will do....Now to decide on next year... If I did LHTH with the Kindergarten options, would that not mess them up in the later grades? Would she always be a "grade" ahead? I need to go look at the future guides really hard. Thanks again for your reply!

EvangeMommy, first of all, welcome! You're in great company! I know we are in the same boat...we have a 2yo and a 4yo. We are combining them for LHTH this year, our K year. If you did what Julie (aka "my3sons") suggested, then you could do all of LHTH and just add in what we call "the right side" of LHFHG, thus making LHTH a K program. The right side includes your storytime, science, math, and phonics, all your academic subjects. Then, you'd use LHTH for Bible, history, and letter and number (as well as colors and shapes), which is beneficial and engaging for your 2yo.

If you did it this way, you'd do LHTH + right side of LHFHG for K, then do all of LHFHG as written with 1st grade options for 1st grade. All the recommendations I've seen is that you want to end your child/children on the upper side of the age limit for the guides so they progress more age-appropriately on the skills gleaned from the guides!

Then, what I'm going to do with my 2 yo, is LHTH again with the 3/4 yo options when he's a year older, while my older child is doing LHFHG for 1st. I might even do LHTH over two years for him so that he can have a preschool experience and learn the LHTH skills then. Our time through LHTH is really for my older, and my younger one ("Boy-o") is really just along for the ride!

HTH, a little bit!

Thank you so much for this advice! I am almost sick trying to make this decision... that is ridiculous, I know! I just don't want to make the wrong decision. What you are doing with your kids makes a lot of sense! So, this will be considered your K year? Is that how you are doing it? Just starting K early? My only worry is that dd won't be ready to go at full speed with the math but I guess I can always slow down if that happens. I think that is what I am going to do. I really should order before I change my mind again!!

First, Julie and Kristen have a great question, so that will dictate further what makes sense for your family. Yes, we are considering LHTH w/ K options our K year. If things get hard with math, just slow down and plug away till you finish. You can always just do the 3R's till you are done w/ Earlybird math. I have been finding the grade level designations to be somewhat irrelevant these days! HTH!

[EvangeMommy]

Thanks so much for all your input! To answer your questions, my dd is a young four year old (but I truly think she is academically way ahead of most 4 year olds her age) I am sure lots of mom's think that but I base that on previous teaching experience in a Pre-K classroom. My 2 year old is actually not a 2 year old yet. I just rounded up. She won't be 2 for another month. I am really not concerned about doing school for her this year. Since I am only concerned with my older dd, I really think I am going to do LHFHG at 1/2 pace and basically just have her K year be 2 years long... that way we can go completely at her pace. If I see she isn't ready then we will just order LHTH. But based on the placement chart and my own gut feeling (and DH's wishes as well) I think we are going to try LHFHG. I am so thankful for your input. I finally have a peace about what we are doing. yay!

[my3sons]

I think that makes good sense to start LHFHG half-speed and drop back if needed. You are not alone in thinking your oldest seems to be quite far ahead in skills and taking off - it seems to be quite common with those oldest little sweeties. Here's a thread in case you'd enjoy reading it and knowing your placement for your dc is pretty normal when considering those oldest dc...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6155

I'm so glad you have a peace with this, and now let the fun begin! I think you'll love LHFHG. We sure did.
In Christ,
Julie