Transition from half-speed to full speed.

[kzacarkim]

Hi ladies,
I am doing Bigger and LHFHG at half speed with my sons 7 and 5 yo. I'm trying to do math and language arts full speed, since they are ready for it. My plan is to spread both plans over 2 years so they can mature a little bit and be on the middle range of the guides. My concern is, how do you transition from half-speed to full speed. What have you ladies done, and what has worked for you? I'm afraid of them getting used to the slower pace and then have problems with a full schedule. Also, if any of you can share how you do half-speed for Bigger and LHFHG I would really appreciate.
Thank you so much for your replies!

[TrueGRIT]

I have never done LHFHG half speed, but we started off Bigger Hearts half-speed.
I had history and rotating one day, and science, poetry and storytime another to start with. We had to tweak as we went along. Especially as he showed signs of being ready for more. We actually ended up doing a good bit of the guide "3/4" speed. That brings me to another point - as the children mature and grow accustomed to the guide, you will start to see signs in them that they are ready for more. For example, being done with their work a little sooner; begging for more; boredom, etc.
As you go along you will probably see that they don't actually need 2 full years in each guide. With the youngest it will be easy to get him in the middle by also beginning him in Beyond slow. One way you could stretch out the Bigger guide is to do school 4 days a week. For us, at half-speed that worked better.
I know with a little time you will find what works for your family.

[mom23]

I agree with the idea of gradually increasing the speed. For us what worked was to set the time that school should take at full speed when we're in full swing. So, for Bigger, about 3 hrs or so is what I've allowed. Then just work the boxes one at a time until 3 hrs is up. The next day, you start with anything that didn't get done the day before and begin the next days' boxes, again, working them one by one until 3 hrs is up, but not doubling up on any subject. So, if Science from Day 3 is left, we do that first, go on to Day 4 working the other boxes, but not Science because we already did that for today. This way, your kids work up to full speed when they are ready, but hardly notice the difference because things aren't taking any longer.

I also like the suggestion to think about full speed at 4 days a week. IMHO, if your kids are handling the guide okay on the younger end I'd let them go at full speed as long as they can. If a problem arises in Preparing or CTC then you have the freedom to slow down when they need to. That way, you won't have pulled them back too much when the work is easy for them and then feel pressure to move full speed ahead later because of their age and not wanting to "get behind" in your guide progression.