advice about LHTH and LHFHG

[truthwalker]

I had purchased LHFHG for my 5yo Kindergartner. This son will be 6 in march but is very immature (emmotionally wise) and has some issues with listening. He is very visual and hands on. He has a hard time focusing by just listening. It's not so much a discipline issue, just the way he learns. He also has speech issues. He has very delayed fine motor skills also and finds it very hard to write. (but he's eager to do it, none the less)

So with LHFHG we are finding that the read alounds are just over his head. He pays me NO attention. He will listen some to the storybook. He LOVES the interactive parts though, like the rythmes and dramatic play. He also really liked the music cd's.

The right side of the manual moves to slow for him. He really wants to move on and do several pages a day, and I've been letting him.
(He loves the Do It Carefully book)

So I have decided to go down to LHTH for him and just finish the K workbooks that came with LHFHG at his pace. This also lets me add in my 3yo daughter with him. He knows his letters and sounds and is already beginning to sound out words, but my daughter doesn't know them yet.

I thought I could just do LHFHG next year for 1st and he would be ready for the History and Science and we could do the 1st grade workbooks that she suggests.

What do you think of this? Is their anything else I could do or any suggestions with this plan?

I am planning on also doing Bigger Hearts with my 8 and 10yo and Res to Ref with a 13 and 14yo starting in January.

Thanks!!

[MelInKansas]

I think you have a good idea. If he really can't keep up with the read aloud portions, then go back a step with those, and continue with the things he is doing well with - the fine motor skills, thinking skills, etc. You can always then move on to the 1st grade workbooks when you do it for 1st grade with him. I found it really fun to do LHTH with two little kiddos, my older DD already knew all the material in terms of letters, sounds, colors, numbers, but the activities were fun and developed some listening skills, very interactive and hands-on, and it was great. I also loved how much Bible we learned that year! My older daughter was really able to absorb everything from that, her younger sister didn't get it all but I still think it was very valuable.

Even though the read-alouds have been challenging, has he been gaining from the activities that go along for example with the Burgess animal stories? I did find that my DD when we did LHFHG didn't always retain or get everything, but doing those activities afterwards really helped. Regardless, I'm sure you are right to take a step back, but when you do go back into it, for a child who does not retain what they hear (my DD is that way too) the activities are what help them really get it.

[truthwalker]

Thanks for the reply.

We started Little Hands today and they both enjoyed it. My 3yo is very enthusiastic and has better listening ability then 5yo, but he will pay attention and listen if it is something enthusiastic (like the rythme or song cd). Today we used A Childs First Bible, but we also have Bible In Pictures so I think we will use both of those.
5yo did his workbook pages in Singapore Math, Do It Carefully, and Reading Readiness. He also did the Reading Eggs Online program that he loves.
I think it was a good pace for them both overall.

I think I will add in a read alound like maybe Little Bear or Frog and Toad.

He may be able to go into LHFHG in August, or we may wait untill we finish out Little Hands. Only time will tell.

[my3sons]

It sounds like you have found a great balance for your ds by using LHTH along with LHFHG's K materials, as well as adding in phonics. I think this is a sound decision. I would definitely use "The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes" with your ds. This books is higher level and will fit his age well. The 3 questions at the end of each reading helped our dc learn to listen more carefully to the readings and comprehend more fully the stories. The questions provided a good stepping stone for LHFHG's plans. You could certainly always add in LHFHG's EB Math as well at any point. There are additional read aloud suggestions in the back of LHFHG that are just fun to read that you could certainly use as a resource for extra read aloud material if you so desire. LHTH is a terrific program - I'm glad your ds will get to enjoy it!

In Christ,
Julie

[chillin'inandover]

I am doing the same thing with my 5 yo dd who is in K. She will be 6 in February and receives speech services. This has worked for her. She is in unit 21 LHTH (Christs Birth) and unit 7 LHFHG right half (fine motor, phonics choice, and math but not storytime). Most days she gets the 3 questions from Bible correct but other days I have to reread the section with the answer. Some days I see her looking ahead in the book to find out what is going to happen next but must wait for me to read it to her to truly know what the story is about. I use a phonics program that I have used with my 3 other children since 1997 and she read her first book and was so excited. She reads it 3 times a day most days and will read it to anyone who will listen! She is very visual and copies pictures from her brothers books- CTC. Talking is hard for her and I see the benefits of oral narration when she is ready. Part of her speech therapy is to tell me what is happening in a 3 step sequence picture so to expect her to understand what I read will be a big jump but I am confident that the steps HOD gently takes will get her there! Each child is so unique and they each excell in one area, but may need to step back in another area and that is the gem of homeschooling! Enjoy!