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Question:

This is my first year of homeschooling my 5yo daughter and 3yo son, and in the beginning I wanted to use more of a Montessori approach because my daughter was enrolled in a Montessori preschool the last 2 years and enjoyed it very much. But, we wanted to integrate Catholic materials because that's the main reason we decided to homeschool. So we purchased Little Stories for Little Folks and my daughter has enjoyed and progressed well with it. We've taught math using Montessori materials and she's learned simple addition and subtraction. We read bible stories every day as "religious study." Things were going well in September and October. Then, we found out that the Good Lord has blessed us with another child. We weren't sure if we could handle pregnancy/new baby just as we began our homeschooling endeavor but decided to remain open to His will. And things have been very difficult. I have very low energy level and constantly feel nauseous. It's an effort just to put food on the table without throwing up! I tried to keep up with reading one LSLF booklet a week, but have not been able to do much of anything else otherwise. I have no time and energy to learn and prepare materials for her (and I knew this was one of the main "drawbacks" of using Montessori method). Recently, I decided that I should just drop this method for a while and go with a more guided and structure program so I purchased all the Gr. 1 CHC materials.

My question is: since it is now half way through the school year, where should I start? With Language Arts, I guess I have to go on with LSLF until she's finished level 2 and then start My First Catholic Speller. But I'm not sure what to do for the rest. Should I start at Week 1 or Week 15? If I start at Week 1, would I continue with whatever is leftover next year? Another thing I fear is that I won't be "in sync" with the liturgical year e.g. during Lent I might be teaching them about Moses instead of Last Supper and Passion. Last but not least, I just want to thank you and thank God for CHC. It is a beautiful program. And I'm actually learning more about our faith along with my children!

Answer:

Dear Parent,

Thank you for your question!

Congratulations on your new little one to be. You are a busy mom!

It sounds as though your daughter is progressing very well through the curriculum. While she is progressing well, it is important to remember that she is also still at a very young age. My suggestion is that you get through the kindergarten lesson plans, first. These use Little Stories for Little Folks, but also Little Folks' Letter Practice and Little Folk's Number Practice. Because she is doing well, I'm sure that she will have no problem completing the activities and she will most likely complete the lessons in no time at all. You can also use this time for review and practice with her. It's so important to make sure that she is ready for 1st grade in every way. The nice thing about using CHC's lesson plans, is that if you are having a difficult day, you can always just complete the core curriculum, and not worry about the other subjects. The curriculum is designed to create as little stress on the parent as is possible.

So, I would spend the rest of the school year using the kindergarten lesson plans, and then next year, start her with the 1st grade lesson plans.

God bless you and your family!

Laura Nicholson

   
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