I am trying to decide which curriculum to buy for my girls. I have a 6 year old who finished public school kindergarten. She knows her alphabet and how to write all her letters upper and lower case. She is reading some. Would Beyond be to much for her. They really don't teach much science or history in school at her age, so that will all be new to her. My 10 year old finished 3rd grade in public school and I'm thinking about getting preparing hearts for her. Would she be behind? I looked at Creation to Christ and it looks like it may be to much for her. Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated.
Linda
New to Homeschooling and have some questions
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Tree House Academy
- Posts: 1078
- Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:40 pm
- Location: Tennessee
Re: New to Homeschooling and have some questions
FIRST...check out the placement chart as well and see where she fits best there. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php
My younger son was homeschooled for Kindergarten and actually reading well by the time he started 1st grade. I put him into Beyond and, within 8 weeks, dropped him back to Little Hearts. It is not that a young child can't do Beyond...they probably can. For us, it was knowing that he wasn't getting all he could from it, I was pushing him more than he was comfortable with being pushed, and our days were frustrating. I was also using Bigger Hearts (with my older son) at the time, and I KNEW that my ds would NOT have been ready for Bigger as a 2nd grader. It is a big step up for him even as a 3rd grader who used Little Hearts and Beyond.
All that to say that my advice is usually to use Little Hearts for 1st grade unless the child is just extremely bright and motivated to move at a fast pace and do lots of writing (hand writing...not necessarily creative writing). You may also consider using Beyond at "half-pace." You can find more info on this board about using them "half-pace" if you do a search. Also, if you are interested in that option, you can post and others can help link you to the previous threads that discuss it.
I have not used them that way, so I can't help there.
Best of luck with the decision making. I know that is the hardest part of homeschooling sometimes!
God Bless!
My younger son was homeschooled for Kindergarten and actually reading well by the time he started 1st grade. I put him into Beyond and, within 8 weeks, dropped him back to Little Hearts. It is not that a young child can't do Beyond...they probably can. For us, it was knowing that he wasn't getting all he could from it, I was pushing him more than he was comfortable with being pushed, and our days were frustrating. I was also using Bigger Hearts (with my older son) at the time, and I KNEW that my ds would NOT have been ready for Bigger as a 2nd grader. It is a big step up for him even as a 3rd grader who used Little Hearts and Beyond.
All that to say that my advice is usually to use Little Hearts for 1st grade unless the child is just extremely bright and motivated to move at a fast pace and do lots of writing (hand writing...not necessarily creative writing). You may also consider using Beyond at "half-pace." You can find more info on this board about using them "half-pace" if you do a search. Also, if you are interested in that option, you can post and others can help link you to the previous threads that discuss it.
I have not used them that way, so I can't help there.Best of luck with the decision making. I know that is the hardest part of homeschooling sometimes!
God Bless!
~Rebecca~
ds13(8th) - Rev to Rev w/ TT Pre-Algebra, R&S English 6, CLE Reading 8, Rosetta Stone French
ds9 (4th) - Preparing Hearts, TT Math 4, R&S English 3, CLE Reading 4, & Writeshop Jr.
We have completed LHFHG, BLHFHG, Bigger, CTC, & RTR.
ds13(8th) - Rev to Rev w/ TT Pre-Algebra, R&S English 6, CLE Reading 8, Rosetta Stone French
ds9 (4th) - Preparing Hearts, TT Math 4, R&S English 3, CLE Reading 4, & Writeshop Jr.
We have completed LHFHG, BLHFHG, Bigger, CTC, & RTR.
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MelInKansas
- Posts: 1700
- Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2010 7:32 pm
Re: New to Homeschooling and have some questions
The placement chart linked above is very well done and will probably give you the best idea where your children place, since you know them best. So I second the suggestion to use that as your guide.
Little Hearts is really a very full program, with lots of activity and learning. In Beyond things like spelling words, copywork, and a much higher expectation of them being able to remember and retain things they hear and "narrate" or discuss them afterwards become part of it. If you think your 6YO would be able to do those things, or grow into them, then Beyond is where she should be. Otherwise, Little Hearts is a wonderful program and would probably be a really good transition into homeschooling for you. I know it was for us! We loved it!
I don't know anything about the later guides so I'm no help there.
Little Hearts is really a very full program, with lots of activity and learning. In Beyond things like spelling words, copywork, and a much higher expectation of them being able to remember and retain things they hear and "narrate" or discuss them afterwards become part of it. If you think your 6YO would be able to do those things, or grow into them, then Beyond is where she should be. Otherwise, Little Hearts is a wonderful program and would probably be a really good transition into homeschooling for you. I know it was for us! We loved it!
I don't know anything about the later guides so I'm no help there.
Melissa
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end"
DD12 - Rev to Rev + DITHOR 6/7/8
DD10 - CTC + DITHOR 2/3
DD7 - Bigger + ERs
DS5 - LHFHG
DD2 - ABC123
2 babies in heaven
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end"
DD12 - Rev to Rev + DITHOR 6/7/8
DD10 - CTC + DITHOR 2/3
DD7 - Bigger + ERs
DS5 - LHFHG
DD2 - ABC123
2 babies in heaven
Re: New to Homeschooling and have some questions
Thanks so much for the replies!! It really helped!! God Bless!
Linda
Linda
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off2workigo
- Posts: 52
- Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2011 3:53 pm
Re: New to Homeschooling and have some questions
Linda,
I'll be using Preparing with my 6th grader this year. I have a lot of experience with teaching and it looks quite "beefy" once I add the extensions and DITHOR in (my daughter consistently scores "advanced" on required state testing, and I'm not worried about Preparing being too easy for her AT ALL).
By using Bigger with your third grader instead of preparing, you won't "run out" of guides before you run out of years of school. If you get Bigger and find it needs a higher level of learning, just add on the extension books (though that would be unusual for a third grader). It is always easier to add-on to than it is to try to make a program easier.
-Rebecca
I'll be using Preparing with my 6th grader this year. I have a lot of experience with teaching and it looks quite "beefy" once I add the extensions and DITHOR in (my daughter consistently scores "advanced" on required state testing, and I'm not worried about Preparing being too easy for her AT ALL).
By using Bigger with your third grader instead of preparing, you won't "run out" of guides before you run out of years of school. If you get Bigger and find it needs a higher level of learning, just add on the extension books (though that would be unusual for a third grader). It is always easier to add-on to than it is to try to make a program easier.
-Rebecca