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Compare BFIAR vs Sonlight 3/4 vs HOD LHTH?


mommyto4QT
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I haven't seen either of these in person. I'm trying to find a curriculum that is not too time-intensive for a 2.5 - 3 year old (starting this fall/winter). I really would like something more scheduled. It appears that HOD Little Hands to Heaven seems to be the most scheduled out of the three. However, I do enjoy reading to my kids and we enjoy lots of good books. I've not used HOD, Sonlight, or FIAR before so all are new.

Looking for Pros/Cons of each and which is most recommended for a 2.5/3 year old?

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I've used all three. I didn't like BFIAR. That was a long time ago, and I don't remember it really well, but I got rid of it pretty quickly. I have always looked longingly at the other FIAR books, but everytime I held them in my hands, I knew they weren't right for me. Lots of ideas, but for some reason, I could never piece that one together.

 

I have a like/dislike with HOD LHTH. I had a real problem with some of the dramatic play activities. I tried it with my son and sold it. I bought it again with my daughter. I was better at modifying and not feeling like I had to do everything with her, so it worked much better for her.

 

My favorite of your three was Sonlight! I used both 3/4 and 4/5.

 

If it were me, I would do Sonlight 3/4 - I would only read to a child that was that age. Next year, at 3.5/4, I would do LHTH and read the choices from Sonlight 4/5. (In fact, that's what I did with my daughter. :) )

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For that age, I would just use the BFIAR and Sonlight reading lists and go to the library. If you wanted something directed for you and planned out for a letter of the week type of program that also includes Bible, I would recommend HOD and just add in the reading from BFIAR and HOD. SL P3/4 is pretty much just reading the books anyway and BFIAR does require more work on mom's part (or that is how I felt when we did it). We are using HOD Little Hearts for his Glory with my almost 4 year old (we just started this week) and I just love the simplicity of the guide and how little work I have to do (to prepare). We still add in lots of extra library books.

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I have been doing BFIAR with my 3 year old son for about three months and we love it. I just pick and choose what works for us from the book. I also spend about 1hr on Satudays looking at some blogs and printing things out to go along with that weeks book. I read the books to him as he is finishing eating his breakfast (he eats very, very slowly) then we do games, art projects and other stuff we are working on.

 

 

I have found the book choices to be awesome. I find a lot of them at the library, but because we end up loving them so much I end up buying them to add to our home library. My son will ask me to read the books at lunch and dinner too!

 

 

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I love the books for BFIAR and we read them often but I like SL P 3/4 better I couldn't really get into BFIAR but it seems so great for others I felt it required a lot of planning. I will say the books seem better suited for 2-4 year olds. Sl P 3/4 seem better for 4/5 year olds but that depends on the child and I see that you have older children so I'm sure she is used to sitting in on those readings. I have a 3 just turned 4 year old that loves books from SL and BFIAR. I have not used HOD!

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We use homeschool share units because they are free if you can find the books at your library. I agree with using sonlight read alouds...that is what I am doing with my 3 yo.

 

I wouldn't buy a curriculum for such a young child. There are so many free activities on the web for that age. If my 3yo wants to do school ...he joins in with the olders or I hand him a preschool work sheet or I read him a book. They are so random at that age about what they want to do. My worry is that if I spent money on a curriculum I would push it on the child even if they didn't want to do it to keep up with schedule or to not feel like I am wasting money.

 

I bought a scrapbook and my DS pastes his completed sheets in there and loves to look back over his "schoolwork".

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We read through the Sonlight P3/4 list when my twins were 3. So many wonderful books. It's not much of a curriculum, though. It's pretty much just a book list. At about 3.5, we added AAR pre-level and they LOVED that. It was perfect for them as they were learning their basic letter sounds, how to write the upper and lower case letters, etc. We used HWT's PK materials (the manipulatives, not much actual writing) along with AAR pre-level. When we finished that (at ~4.25) they were ready for phonics and learning to read, along with a kindergarten handwriting book. After we finished the SL list, we went on to FIAR (shortly after they turned 4), which we are still using. So far, we've been thrilled with all of those choices!

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This is what we are doing. Many of the BFIAR and FIAR books are free on youtube being read by someone. :) I plan on using printables online to go with them and getting SL books from library.

 

I use HOD as a guide and skip whatever we don't like.

 

I've used all three. I didn't like BFIAR. That was a long time ago, and I don't remember it really well, but I got rid of it pretty quickly. I have always looked longingly at the other FIAR books, but everytime I held them in my hands, I knew they weren't right for me. Lots of ideas, but for some reason, I could never piece that one together.

 

I have a like/dislike with HOD LHTH. I had a real problem with some of the dramatic play activities. I tried it with my son and sold it. I bought it again with my daughter. I was better at modifying and not feeling like I had to do everything with her, so it worked much better for her.

 

My favorite of your three was Sonlight! I used both 3/4 and 4/5.

 

If it were me, I would do Sonlight 3/4 - I would only read to a child that was that age. Next year, at 3.5/4, I would do LHTH and read the choices from Sonlight 4/5. (In fact, that's what I did with my daughter. :) )

 

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I have LHTH and BFIAR. BFIAR is nice and gentle...you read a book and discuss a topic. The back of the book is full of ideas for playtime. Many of them you are probably already doing. What I don't like about this is that there is nothing scheduled out. It's meant to be done a couple times a week, but there isn't any actual scheduling. You can add lapbooks, but that takes lots of extra work (and cutting things out)!

 

LHTH is more scheduled, which helps me get it done. There are only two books and a CD to gather, so no trips to the library for extra picture books...although we do read a few throughout the week. The supplies are also pretty basic...some paint, construction paper, masking tape, and a few copies from the book are generally all that are needed. BFIAR requires quite a few more picture books, that your library may or may not have. I collected most of them while using the program with my oldest, but it took quite a bit of time to collect.

 

Like the PP, I also don't care for the dramatic play in LHTH...many of the dramatic activities feel forced to me. There were a few ones that are less "structured" like setting up a tent or having a snack on the floor. Those ones are very fun. I'm doing this the 2nd time around with DD and have given myself "permission" to skip any activities I don't care for...there are usually only a couple each week that we skip. There are still lots of ideas for each day! Another issue I had with my older child is that she didn't care for the fingerplays...my youngest one loves them. It's made all the difference in the program. My oldest also "outgrew" the program after several units. She suddenly found many of the activities "baby-ish" so we moved on. My younger DD is a bit younger (3.5) and it's been a great fit.

 

I think we spend 15-30 minutes a day and it can be broken up throughout the day (or carried over to the next day). I can usually fit it in while my older two are working on their math...my 6yo usually joins in with LHTH. :lol: BFIAR can take 15 minutes or less (including reading time) so it would be shorter, but once again it isn't as scheduled out for you and that can take time. It's also mostly discussion...my DC love more hands-on activities than what BFIAR includes.

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