New Here...2 Boys, 2 Years apart

[STXkjo]

I have 2 boys, almost 4 and almost 2 and I'm trying to figure out how to best use the curriculum. The almost 4 year old knows all of his letters and letter sounds, numbers, can count to 100, and knows how to write his name. I feel like he's been ready to learn to read for a while now and he tries to spell on his own. I went ahead and purchased Little Hands to Heaven because he has a short attention span and I don't feel like he is ready for the history in the next level. I also purchased Learn to Read in 100 easy lessons as a supplement. I'm thinking I'll space this out and use it for an entire year until he turns 5 (March 2013). I suspect he will be ready for Kindergarten work at age 5 and I'm not concerned if it falls in line with a regular "school year" starting in August or not. We'll just work at his pace.

I'm not really seeing how it is possible to use the same level for both of them past this year. Maybe we have a few years ahead of us with separate units but down the road I see the term "extending to"...is it possible down the road? Anyone using the same unit for kids 2 years apart? Do you repeat the programs? It seems weird to repeat them but I have no idea what HSing looks like past this age so maybe not.

I'm just kind of rambling here but I'm excited to see how everyone else makes it work for them

[KristinBeth]

Hi and welcome! I'm in just about the same boat as you, just one year later. My girls are 2 years apart. Last year we did LHTH with both of them, but the 4 year old knew her letters and numbers and was ready to begin phonics. We did LHTH together and really enjoyed it, but the girls were (and still are) on totally different levels. This year my now-5-year old is in LHFHG, finishing The Reading Lesson after using it for a year, and moving into the Emerging Readers set. My nearly-3-year old is still participating with her older sister but has not done a program of her own yet. Though it would be nice to combine them in the future, I think it will be more important to meet them where they are academically and in their maturity levels. It'll take some time to see whether the younger speeds up to meet the older, or whether they will stay in separate programs. Next year when my older is 6 and going into Beyond, my younger will start LHTH on her own (not sure if and when she'd have time to catch up).
The placement chart http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php will really help you make that decision when the time comes. Some moms go half speed on the left side of the page (bible and history subjects) and full speed on the right side (the 3 R's) to make a guide last double the time. I didn't choose to do that but it would buy you more time in one guide.

[STXkjo]

Thanks for sharing how it works for you guys! I think my boys will really enjoy going through this first level together as well! I want to learn more about the reading programs you suggested. I get a little overwhelmed by all the choices but its good to hear when something works. Am I understanding it that HOD uses Singapore Math? I have a friend that suggested Singapore Math and I really liked the looks of it.

Another glitch is that my oldest does preschool 2 days a week now and when he is in Kindergarten he will do "homeschool enrichment" 2 days a week at small church school. I'm thinking I'll break a unit up into 2 weeks rather than trying to cram it all into 3 days. We'll be at a slower pace but we do school year-round so I don't think it will matter too much.

Lots and Lots of decisions...

More questions: If not Singapore Math, what math program do you ladies suggest? What reading program do you suggest for a 4 year old? Thanks!!

[KristinBeth]

It's me again. Yes, HOD uses Singapore Math (though you could substitute something else if you wanted to). Singapore Earlybird Math has been going well for my 5 year old. Carrie provides great hands-on math exploration activities in the Little Hearts, Beyond, and Bigger guides (at least I think Bigger has them) to tie-in with the math workbook activities.

I used The Reading Lesson for phonics because my daughter was only 4 and I heard it was a good program for the younger set. It was! We took it super slow, two pages a day so she wouldn't get burned out. I loved it. She's reading very well and I haven't used any other phonics program with her. I don't have any experience with the other reading program, but I know others here have been happy with that, too. I'm completely happy with TRL and will use it again when my younger is ready.

The programs would work just fine with a three day a week schedule. You just pick up where you left off! Preparing Hearts and the later guides are on a 4-day per week schedule anyway, leaving time for enrichment or other activities.

I really have enjoyed HOD - being a newbie to homeschooling, I LOVE the way everything is planned out. I honestly don't do any planning, other than making sure I have crayons and glue and construction paper in the house. I open the guide and say, "Ok girls, let's see what we're doing today!" Carrie really seems to have thought of everything.

[STXkjo]

Thank you so much for your reply! I'm getting more and more excited by the day. We've been using a CM preschool curriculum but it's pretty boring for DS and he is high energy to say the least so its just not working for him anymore. Its good to hear that the planning is so minimal. That is one reason I was hesitant to try unit studies. Off to research The Reading Lesson...

Thanks!

[my3sons]

KristinBeth already answered you so well here! I'll just add that the no planning or prep part of HOD is a favorite benefit of mine (and my dh's ) as well! I love Charlotte Mason's concepts as well, but it has been HOD that has helped me be able to pull it all together and make it a success in our home. Since you mentioned researching "The Reading Lesson", I thought these links may give you a jump start on this...

The Reading Lesson comments:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5541

The Reading Lesson CD:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9276

Carrie compares The Reading Lesson and Reading Made Easy
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2503

TRL Comments:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9993&p=72922#p72922

HTH, and I look forward to getting to know you here! This board if full of helpful and encouraging ladies like KristinBeth, so you'll be in good company here! It's one of my favorite places to visit.

In Christ,
Julie

[STXkjo]

Thanks so much! I'll check those links out I got the book 100 Easy Lessons in the mail (I had purchased it sight unseen b/c it was fairly cheap) and it is not at all what I thought it was. A friend had suggested it but our kids are VERY different and my little guy would be totally discouraged by that. I've also looked into Progressive Phonics b/c its free and I like free! Last night I handed him a Bob book just to occupy his time and he read the whole thing with only a tiny bit of help. I was totally shocked an excited!! I thought he was ready to read a long time ago but held off b/c I thought he was too young. It was good confirmation that he's ready now. Thanks again for the links! I'm beyond excited to hear that it is possible to do unit studies without tons of effort on my part. I'm just not a big planner and I don't like searching all over to gather materials. HOD seems to be much more hands on than the CM curriculum we were using. My oldest is what we like to call "joyful" and some would probably call ADHD so I think it will work really well for him. Thanks again for all the kind and encouraging replies!

I keep eyeing the mailbox in anticipation!

[MelInKansas]

Hi there, I'm jumping in now just to answer one part of your question.

I have two girls 2 years apart. My 2nd born has been a more avid learner from a younger age than my oldest, so I figured I'd have them combined in a curriculum as soon as I could! That hasn't happened, because my oldest really took off with reading and she's been moving right along in the HOD guides. We did LHTH together when they were 4 and 2. Similarly to yours, my oldest already knew her letters and sounds, numbers, colors, etc. But LHTH was great for Bible learning and an introduction to homeschooling. Plus with all it sounds like he will be doing (attending K? HSing 3 days a week? I was confused by that) you will want to keep it light and fun. I have a friend with 2 boys and she's done LHTH and of all the homeschool stuff they tried her son liked it the best (very active and very bright little boy).

I think we will end up combining maybe in a couple of years when the guides are more spread out as to the level they can take. In order for my 2nd to not miss out on any of it I'm going to keep going full speed through LHFHG and Beyond with her (as long as she can handle that) and slow it down just a little with my first born because she has also been going to a co-op once a week. But we will see how it all turns out. I am starting to see that doing separate programs with them wouldn't be as hard as I had thought, and in fact they can go by quickly and smoothly when each child is at the right level.

As far as phonics curricula - I have used 100 easy lessons and it's not easy, also even though it is similar to The Reading Lesson in that it helps younger kids get started quickly, from what I have read it is not as thorough in phonics instruction. So I may be looking into The Reading Lesson too. My 4.5 YO is doing 100 easy lessons right now but it has been a struggle, because it ramps up to a lot of reading very quickly and she has found it frustrating. We are somewhere in the middle of it now. I'm really considering getting The Reading Lesson and trying to see where she would fit into that and then we can take it more slowly - just a few pages a day as one of the other posters suggested. She is obviously ready and able to read, but pushing her too hard is counterproductive at this point.

I hope this helps!

[STXkjo]

Thanks for your reply! It's good to hear that 2 different curriculum packages isn't as hard as it sounds. We started on Progressive Phonics on Monday but that is all we are doing over the Christmas break...mostly just to keep his focus. If we take 2 weeks off it is hard getting it back. He LOVES it. He laughs the whole time and it only takes 10-15 minutes to go through. It introduces VERY slowly, he probably could go faster but he is enjoying it so I think I'll keep it slow. We are doing one Alphabetti book a week for 5 days and all the corresponding worksheets. I figure it will take about a year to get through the whole program at that pace. If you found your daughter wanted to go faster you could do more than one book a week. I think it's worth a try at least since it is free You do have to register with the site though. We don't have The Reading Lesson but that may be something I do after Progressive Phonics since he will just be turning 5 when we finish.

As for the 2 day, a week school thing... it is different, I've never heard others mention having similar schools available.. We have several homeschool enrichment programs or schools in our area where kids can go to school and be dropped of one or two days a week- It isn't really a co-op. They learn history, science, Spanish, art, music, and PE. They don't teach Math or Language Arts and there is an option for band as they get older. The one we are most interested in is only $95/month and it is run out of a Baptist church. My oldest especially is really social and he really likes the classroom environment with other friends. Plus it will gives me some time in the day for grocery shopping and errand running

Since he will be going 1 or more likely 2 days a week to this school we will probably slow down the HOD curriculum and stretch one unit into two weeks during the school year and go full speed over the summer.

Our curriculum arrive a couple of days ago and I'm super excited to get started on it! I know the boys will love it!