Spend 1-2 Years in Little Hands to Heaven

From Our House to Yours

Spend 1 Year in Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH)

Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH) is Heart of Dakota’s preschool guide written for children ages 2-5. I have used this guide with all three of my sons at different ages and paces. My oldest son, Wyatt, used LHTH when he was 4 years old back in 2003. This was the first year LHTH was published! He used it 5 days a week, finished it in 1 year, and then he moved into Little Hearts for His Glory.

Spend 1 1/2 Years in Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH)

My middle son, Riley, used Heart of Dakota’s LHTH when he was 3 1/2 years old. He used it 3-4 days a week. This worked perfectly, as it gave me extra time to focus on my oldest son’s school and my newborn baby! Riley finished LHTH in about a year and a half, and then he moved into Little Hearts for His Glory.

Spend 2 Years in Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH)

My youngest son, Emmett, used LHTH when he was 2 1/2 years old. He saw me homeschooling his older brothers and just couldn’t wait to start! I decided to go half-speed using both Bibles. I read from the easier Bible first, did the Fingerplay, the letter activity, and the Bible activity the first day. Then the second day, I read from the harder Bible, repeated the Fingerplay, reviewed the letter flashcard, and then did the remaining boxes (music and the rotating box). This really filled a need I had back then! I had mommy time with my little guy, but it didn’t add much time to my already busy day. Using both Bibles kept it fresh each day, and doing the Fingerplay and the letter flashcards both days helped him really remember his letters and sounds. I think he was an early reader because of this!

One other way to spend 2 years in LHTH is to use the 2/3 LHTH Package the first year. Then, the second year, use the 4/5 LHTH Package. With this plan, you go through the guide twice, but you use different Bibles and different devotionals each time.

Combining a 2 1/2 and a 5 Year-Old in Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH)

One other way to spend your time in LHTH is to (for example) combine a 2 1/2 and 5 year-old in it. In this combining scenario, the 5 year-old must get the most out of it. So, I’d choose the 4/5 LHTH Package with the 5 year-old in mind, and whatever the 2 1/2 year-old got out of it would be a bonus!  Then, the following year, the then 6 year-old would move into Little Hearts, while the then 3 1/2 year-old would use LHTH with the 2/3 Package, spreading it out over 1  1/2 years. This works well if you have a 5 year-old that still needs to learn letters and sounds.

Combining a 3 1/2 and a 5 1/2 Year-Old in Little Hands to Heaven (LHTH)

Another way to spend your time in LHTH is to combine a 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 year-old. Either the 3/4 or the 4/5 LHTH Package could be used, based on which devotional you prefer. You’d spend about 1 1/2 years in LHTH, doing it 3-4 days each week. For the 5 1/2 year -old, you’d add any kindergarten language arts/math from Little Hearts, based on whatever you feel the 5 1/2 year-old needs. Kindergarten fine motor skills (Do It Carefully and Finding the Answers), handwriting (A Reason for Handwriting K or Italic A), phonics (The Reading Lesson or Reading Made Easy), and math (Essentials A and B) could all be added to beef up LHTH for a 5 1/2 year-old.

After 1 1/2 years in LHTH together, the children would be 5 and 7 1/2 years old when starting Little Hearts for His Glory. The 5 year-old would use the K options, and the 7 1/2 year-old would use the 1st grade options. Perfect!

Hope you enjoy these different ways you can spend your time with your little ones in LHTH!

In Christ,

Julie