Figured out Abby's placement, looking at the boys...

[lisaha1]

Looking at the chart in the catalog that arrived yesterday (yea! ) I can see putting Abby into either Revival to Recolution or Mission to Modern Marvels, but looking at where we are in the timeline, I'd lean towards putting her into Revival to Revolution. (She just turned 13 and will be in 8th).
For Joshua (11 this summer) and James (9 this summer) they are similar in levels however James is not great at independent studies yet. Both can do notebooking but neither have done great amounts of it. I think they would both fit into Preparing, however I was wondering if it would be a stretch to put them in Bigger with their 7 year old brother-only using extensions for the oldest (who would devour the extension books). Would this be too easy for Joshua and hard for Toby? (7). Toby has not done notebooking yet. But he can do narration. It may be ready for him to try some light notebooking. That just leaves Levi who won't be 6 until mid Sept and is still working on the basics of forming letters-although he can add and subtract and listen to history stories!

[Gwenny]

What about the two olders in Preparing and then the two youngers in Little Hearts or Beyond? Has Toby done any of the guides? Where would he place if you just looked at him. It's good to see where they all place if they were individuals and then look at things from there. Let us know about those things.

[lisaha1]

Then again I could put Abby and Joshua together...it would be a challenge with Joshua's writing skills but he will be 6th grade and should be able to handle it... Maybe... Abby can do the RtR extensions for 8th...
Toby did LHFHG two years ago at age 4 with James. We never finished the whole thing as we did it during the summer about two days a week so I want to finish it this spring/summer so we finish up the history books and such. I really had a hard time placing Toby, he will be in second and seems to be spot on with everything except a little behind in reading for a end first grader/beginning second. He narrates well but struggles to write his own thoughts. Levi (5) struggles to narrate and struggles to do copy work.

[Tidbits of Learning]

I would just finish LHFHG with Toby/Levi then go into Beyond with their respective 3r's. I would probably not combine anyone that is 2+ grade levels/abilities together. It sounded more like your middle 2 might fit better together b/c as the guides go up so does the writing and independent work. I would look at Preparing with extensions for your 6th grader while combined with your 9 yr old. Honestly though for me personally I would probably have the older 3 in different guides simply b/c I have combined and it been a fiasco when the kids were at total different skill levels and had not went up through HOD. Although 4 guides may seem to be a bit much at first so I would combine the 2 sets of boys to start with 3 guides. I see 8th grade as a precursor to high school and I would aim for MTMM with the 8th grade 13 year old and not worry about where I was with the timeline. You are going to cover it again in high school. I would be more concerned about being ready for high school level studies than where we were on the timeline or history cycle. For me, having the high school guides written for credit is a lot easier than taking a lower guide and beefing up for high school credit. That is just me personally though.
So if it were me--
Toby/Levi--finish LHFHG from their previous ending point then transition into beyond with reading, writing, and arithmetic at their own levels.
Joshua/James--PHFHG with extensions for the oldest and working on writing skills with the intent to re-evaluate placement after the end of the year to see if they stay combined.
Abby-MTMM as written for 8th grade

[lisaha1]

That does make good sense as Joshua and James are way closer in level/ability them anyone else and Toby and Levi have a ways to go before either is ready for written narrations. Abby is way ahead of them all. I've done MFW and combined them all but I always need to find lots of extra work to keep Abby somewhat challenged and the little ones have just colored while I have read. One year I did The Prairie Primer with them all, but once again it was too easy for Abby and the long chapters too boring for James on down. Right now I'm throwing together my own stuff for the youngest 4 and Abby is doing her own Apologia Science with notebook and American Government from Abeka plus a progeny press study and Spanish 1 independently.

[MelInKansas]

I think Tidbits has given you good advice based on what you've told us about your kids. Definitely start Abby where she places best though. MtMM is tempting because it is right before the HS guides but if she's not ready for all the work then it will probably be a disaster. With you having combined them in the past (perhaps not challenging her enough) just make sure she is well placed so she is poised for success.

HOD has been such a blessing for us and I pray it will be for you also!

[my3sons]

Such awesome advice here already! I agree with Tidbits and MelInKansas. Those pairing make a lot of sense. You will be amazed at how freeing it is to let your oldest, Abby, soar! She is going to love RevtoRev, or MTMM. I'd take the timeline of history out of it, and place her according to where she places best according to the first page of the placement chart. For your next pairing, Joshua/James, PHFHG with extensions would be a good fit. For your last pairing, finishing out LHFHG will be a good fit. I know it seems hard to believe, but I think that doing these 3 guides at once is going to be easier than trying to combine dc who can't combine well. Your LHFHG duo will be done in 1 1/2 hours or less, your PHFHG will be done in 3 hours and your time will be quite minimal, your RevtoRev or MTMM dd will be done in 4 to 4 1/2 hours, and your meeting time with her will be around an hour or a bit more (unless you add a bunch to her HOD day, or substitute other math/LA, etc. that takes longer). This is all VERY manageable. I think you would find this to be an incredible breath of fresh air! I am finishing out our year with HOD's High School World Geography, Resurrection to Reformation half-speed (did CTC full-speed prior and finished early), and Beyond Little Hearts. We LOVE our days! They are very doable - even for this mama that works part-time and has a dh that travels - even with a lot of health concerns this year with my family. God is good! I think you would find these placements to be solid, but check out the placement chart to be sure...
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

In Christ,
Julie