Suggestions for "beefing up" LHFHG

[Ahrensbunch]

Does anyone have any suggestions on ways to "beef up" Little Hands For His Glory?

I'm am newbie & trying to figure this whole HOD thing out
God Bless ~

[StephanieU]

We used LHFHG for first, and we started by adding things from Beyond - spelling, grammar, and copywork. After a few weeks, I realized this was not necessary at all. We did LHFHG mostly as written. I would consider doing some sort of journal for the science and other activities if you want. But for a first grader, it is enough as written. The only adjustments I would make would be moving into the emerging readers when ready (we started half way through LHFHG) and moving to copywork is you finish handwriting and fund motor skills. And of course always pick the appropriate level of math.

For a second grader, I would probably use the language arts big from Beyond. Other than that, I would just have materials in hand to add fun science and at when desired - books, videos, craft supplies, and make journals.

[Nealewill]

Can you please share more about your child or children whom you are planning to use LHFHG for? My first inclination is that if it is only for one child, you should place the child according to the placement chart. Therefore, you wouldn't need to feel like something needed to be beefed up per se. But if you have more than one child doing LHFHG, then that is where you would probably want to make adjustments for the older child and beef up the material for them. If you could give us a little more back ground on your kid(s), then we would be happy to help with some ideas for beefing it up.

[hs.mama07]

Hi again!

She's 7 right?

Okay, I'm just looking at the Little Hearts page, subject by subject

History you should be fine. Christian Liberty markets History for Little Pilgrims for 1st and 2nd graders and History Stories for Children for 3rd grade. The readings are shorter than Beyond, but still great information.
Fine Motor skills. I would choose the 1st grade workbooks, they are fun.
Storytime should be fine...my 7 year old still loves those books and they are plenty challenging!
Science--Our Father's World is for 1st grade. It may be just fine as is, but if you feel she needs more, you could always borrow some library books about topics she's interested in, go for nature walks, look things up online, etc.
Math, just choose whatever level she is in. Singapore has a placement test on their website. If she is in 1A then you may consider getting Beyond so you can use Carrie's hands on activities...they are great. Or, you can use your own math program.
The devo book is plenty challenging...for kids up to 10 yrs old.
The Hide em' in your Heart CD is awesome!
Bible, I'd choose the 101 Bible Stories option. It is for kids up to age 9, so it should be fine.
Handwriting. Depends where she is. We used a Reason for handwriting. K teaches letter formation. Level A reviews letter formation and then they start doing words and sentences. Then we moved on to copy work which is what is done in Beyond.
Phonics--sounds like you have that covered.
Beyond does have Spelling, so if you think she is ready for that you may consider buying the Beyond guide and doing spelling list 1 (you can still get the cheaper package price when you order the rest of beyond later). And Beyond has grammar once a week so you may want to add that too. But you could always just wait and do grammar with Beyond...using R&S 2. She'd be the perfect age for it then.

Hmm, all that to say, you can probably just do LHFHG as written and put her where she belongs for math and language arts...maybe add some science stuff in too. I think that's exactly what Stephanie said in a lot fewer words, lol.

Have fun, we sure enjoyed LHFHG

[Ahrensbunch]

I can't thank you ladies enough for your input! It has been so SO helpful! I demurely feel more comfortable now using LHFHG.

Nealewill: I have looked at the charts many times! She falls right in the middle of LHFHG & Beyond. She's been in public school for pre-k, K, & 1st and will begin homeschooling for the first time in the fall. She is pretty far behind in reading and math & this is what is causing my hesitation in picking a series to begin her in. I don't want to overwhelm her but I also don't want to hold her back if it's notnot necessary.

From what I've gathered from these very patient ladies as well as on the corresponding fb pages, it'd be best to do LHFHG and adjust as necessary.

[Motherjoy]

For the first year of homeschooling, especially after the child has been to PS, it is best to keep things as simple as possible. I would suggest do LHFHG as written for the first 9-12 weeks. At that point, if its not enough or she's grown in her skills and needs more, you can add some then. Even if you just want to add in an afternoon reading lesson, making it 2 lessons per day, that's more reasonable than adding a bunch of other curriculum to HOD at this point. Also, you could add things that are not "school", such as library trips and piles of books, nature walks and nature notebooks once a week, field trips, museums, and all sorts of fun stuff. You really need to give you and your daughter time to figure out homeschooling before saddling either of you with extra work. Really, really, give yourself some grace and time to figure it out. If you try to go too hard too fast, you will both burnout and your homeschool journey will be short-lived. Thinking longterm, you want to homeschool successfully for more than just a year or two, and this requires patience and small touches of knowledge on a consistent basis. Its a marathon, not a sprint.

I hope this helps.