Placement help pls!!

[mailuv]

Hello all,
This will be my first year homeschooling my 4 1/2 year old daughter. After researching all of the curriculum options I've decided HoD is the best fit. Now, she knows her letter and sounds, numbers 0-20, shapes and colors. I know the placement for her age is LHTH, but Im concerned that it may be too easy for her, as we already started prek work last year. Has anyone used LHFHG for a 4 year old? How did it go? Which curriculum should I go with?

[rumkimom]

If you project up, and plan to do HOD all the way though high school, you should start with LHTH this year or you might have problems as she gets older and will be younger than the recommended age as she gets to the older guides.

[StephanieU]

I would not use LHFHG for a child less than 5. The reason is that maturity is a factor more than skills. My daughter was 5.5 when we did LHFHG, and she was reading. The reading and math are not tied into the guides until Preparing. So I just adjusted those to where she was. My son will start LHFHG within the next year. She is reading Bob books now, but I am still holding off on LHFHG because I know what is coming up, and I want him to have time to mature and enjoy school. I keep going back and forth about doing LHTH with him and my youngest this year, continuing his math and phonics. When we tried LHTH 2 years ago, my then 5.5yo enjoyed it even though she was doing LHFHG and 1st grade math and phonics. You can always add in K phonics to LHTH if you want. It is not just a letter of the week curriculum!

[hs.mama07]

Hi! I agree with the others. LHFHG is best for 5+ because of what comes in the future. My very bright son could have done LHFHG when he was 4.5 but I waited (per the advice of the ladies on this board and I'm glad I did. Even though he was within the age range, we still slowed him down in Beyond. He is so smart and could handle it intellectually, but I wanted to give him some more time to mature before upping the work-load in Bigger. We continued going full speed in LA and math, but slowed down the other parts.

LHTH is such a fun guide--he loved it even though it was easy for him (he also knew his letters/sounds, numbers, colors, etc). And you can always add phonics, K math, and K fine motor skills to LHTH if you want to beef it up a bit.

We are currently using LHTH with my 5 year old for kindergarden--adding K language arts and math. We will use LHFHG for 1st grade when the time comes. It is working very well!

[bethelmommy]

Honestly, she may do fine with LHFHG if she has the ability to begin writing and to sit and listen to stories without a lot of pictures. My dd started LHFHG just after she turned 4 (she was combined with her older brother) and did great for LHFHG and Beyond. However, when we hit the Bigger guide we had to slow way down as she did not have the ability to handle the increased writing and longer school day. She has basically spent this last year doing Bigger at 1/2 speed and will just this fall be doing the guide as scheduled.

So, you need to decide what will work best for you and your daughter. Do you start LHFHG now with the foreknowledge that you will likely need to slow down at some point and let her mature in some skill areas? Or, do you do LHTH this year and just add things she is ready for? For example, you could start The Reading Lesson and add the K fine motor skills books if you feel she is ready for those. You could also add some read alouds to your day that prepare her for listening to more complicated stories with few pictures.

My next ds will be 5 in October and has been doing LHTH. He does other workbook type things for fun because he enjoys them and likes to be like his older brother and sister. He will also start learning to read this fall, but he will not start LHFHG until the following year when he is 5 turning 6. Having experienced the guides both ways, I find it easier for me to have the kids completely fit a guide and not have to modify things because they are not quite mature enough. My oldest son is on the older end of the age range of the guides and has progressed quite smoothly and become wonderfully independent with his school work. After slowing down this past year, I see how my daughter will be able to achieve a similar level of independence this next year as well. This has been our experience. I hope it helps.