Placement Options for a 4 1/2 Year-Old Who’s Ready for K Phonics, Writing, and Math

Placement Options for a 4 1/2 Year-Old Who’s Ready for K Phonics, Writing, and Math

I have been looking through Heart of Dakota’s (HOD’s) curricula. It seems to me that HOD’s Little Hearts for His Glory (LHFHG) will be a good fit for my daughter to start kindergarten. As of now, she is a 4 1/2 year-old. She is already beginning phonics and writing. We are also working on some basic math skills. As a 4 1/2 year-old, she will be on the younger end of the guide. However, Little Hands to Heaven is closer to what we are doing now. My question is, if I start her in Little Hearts for His Glory as a 4 1/2 year-old for kindergarten, would I repeat the guide using the 1st grade materials? Or, would I move her on to the next guide? Or, should we possibly just take LHFHG more slowly? All feedback is welcome. Thanks so much!

Julie’s Reply:

We don’t recommend repeating a guide, but we do have many other pacing options for a 4 1/2 year-old who is ready for kindergarten phonics, writing, and math.

1:  Do Little Hands to Heaven but add Little Hearts for His Glory’s kindergarten language arts and math. So, your daughter would use Little Hands to Heaven’s 4/5 Package along with Little Hearts for His Glory’s Do It Carefully and Finding the Answers, A Reason for Handwriting K or Italic A, Essentials Kindergarten Math A and B, and The Reading Lesson or Reading Made Easy.
2:  Do Little Hearts for His Glory half-speed with the kindergarten options, which means taking 2 years to move through (i.e. do the left side of the plans one day and the right side the next day). However, do phonics daily for better retention.
3:  Do Little Hearts for His Glory, Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory, and Bigger Hearts for His Glory all four days a week or half-speed/full-speed, spreading those 3 guides over 4 years.
4:  Do Little Hearts for His Glory with the kindergarten options this year. Do Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory next year if she is ready. If she is not ready, do Beyond Little Hearts half-speed until she is ready for full-speed.

Here are a few links to other blog posts that may also be helpful as you ponder what to do for your 4 1/2 year-old:

Flexible Pacing for Homeschooling Little Ones 4 or 5 Days a Week

Placement for Homeschooling Preschool and Kindergarten Children

Heart of Dakota is very flexible, so any of these options are great for your 4 1/2 year-old!

In Christ,

Julie