Not going to finish guide by end of year...what to do?

[mtoback]

We are not going to be able to finish our guide by the end of the school year. We were involved in some co-op classes and so we were really only doing the guide 3-4 days a week. What do you suggest I do. Finish the beginning of next year? Maybe skip some things? I feel flustered cause I am so behind
Thanks for your help!

[Gwenny]

I think that depends. What guide/s are you doing? Where are you in those guides?

[mtoback]

My oldest is in Bigger Hearts and we are only on week 19
I'm planning though on powering through to at least June and hopefully getting a good chunk done.

[TrueGRIT]

In Bigger Hearts especially you want to finish the guide - or least up until the last 2-3 units.
There is so much prep work involved. My oldest finished the guide in Aug/Sept of this school year and if he had not I don't believe he would have been ready for Preparing Hearts.
We did not do the last unit because he had already learned much of it through vacations and audio books, but we went up to that point. We started Preparing in October & due to life's circumstances we will be finishing it up this fall.

I do have another child who works from a December - November schedule. So don't feel behind if you are not where you expected to be. What's important is that they are making forward progress. Especially if they are on the lower age range of the guide.?

[Gwenny]

I would definitely finish Bigger. You want them to really be able to do the Independent things in Preparing and do that guide well and Bigger does that well. Just keep going until June, take your break and come back and finish in the fall. I have several guides going here and everyone is in a different place. We finish a guide and then move on the next no matter where we are in the calendar year. It's quite freeing that way actually.

[mtoback]

Thanks ladies for the encouragement! I guess that is one of the freeing parts of homeschooling, I don't need to follow the traditional school calendar.

[hs.mama07]

We also don't worry about the calendar (just finished LHFHG in March . My sister does it the same way--Bigger lasted about a year and a half for her. Our kids love it this way b/c they get to celebrate changing grades (public school calendar) and also celebrate finished a guide and starting a new one. Double the fun! lol

[mtoback]

So would you say that your child went up one grade in September even if they are on the same guide? So even though my daughter will still be doing Bigger should I say that she moved up to 3rd grade?

[luv2homeschool]

Just keep going with it. We started Bigger 4 days a week in October, went half speed for maybe 7 units and we are now in unit 12. I will set it aside at the end of May and pick it back up again in August.

You absolutely can move her up a grade level.

[MelInKansas]

I echo what the others said, definitely finish Bigger Hearts, don't skip over a lot of the end of it.

These guides are not based on a grade level. There is kind of the goal of finishing MTMM by the end of 8th grade, which Bigger Hearts would be 3rd grade if you were going to do 1 guide a year and finish MTMM by 8th grade. So you have a little flex time if your child is going into 3rd grade and will finish Bigger in the fall. Does that make sense? Definitely consider them the next grade up in the fall.

You may have already considered this, but the one thing I do try to do is, if we are taking a longer break I make sure to finish a unit before the break. When I have done that, it has not been difficult to take about 7 weeks off and start back up in the same guide after the break.

My oldest is in unit 12 of Preparing (she started in January), my 2nd is in unit 21 of Beyond (she started last October), and my 3rd is in unit 26 of LHTH (which started back when she was 3). We don't really take the summer off though, we tend to take weeks off here and there as we need to, and have had to slow down at times as we have hit snags or challenges which is why we are all over the place guide-wise. I like not having to start new guides with all of my kids at one time.

[mtoback]

Thank you everyone for you advice and encouragement. I seriously feel a huge weight lifted!

[hs.mama07]

So would you say that your child went up one grade in September even if they are on the same guide? So even though my daughter will still be doing Bigger should I say that she moved up to 3rd grade?

When people ask, we just tell them the grade he'd be in public school, b/c that's what he's in for Sunday school and co-op, regardless of his guides. Like someone else said, the guides aren't graded so they can move up grades and still be in the same guide. Glad you are feeling some stress relief! The freedom of homeschool is wonderful!

[MomtoJGJE]

We also move up a grade level regardless of where in what guide they are.

We school year round and never take LONG breaks (our longest break this past school year has been 3 weeks, and we were on a cruise one of those, so it didn't feel like our break from school was that long).... we just have guides going and when they finish they finish. I have one who will finish Bigger next week, then another who will finish CTC about 6 weeks or so later than that because we will do a genre of DITHOR with those two after Bigger is finished. My Beyond child is in unit 26 I think, but I think she'll finish up around the same time as the CTC child the way its' working out. And LHTH child started when she was 3 and still has about 10 units to go I don't stress about it as long as their end of year testing grades show DH that they are learning SOMETHING

[gratefulmama]

I like the advise you are getting - do not worry. I have a couple of thoughts to add:
It's nice after break to be in familiar territory. Starting back up in the fall for those last weeks of the guide will allow for an easier transition back into the groove of school than if it were all new material. I think Carrie and Julie have frequently left the last several units of a guide to be finished in the fall.
You have something very exciting to look forward to in Preparing! A four day week! You can use that however it works best for you. Occasionally working 5 days a week? (or not) You will have more breathing room next year for co-op etc. It has helped us tremendously this year!
Definitely bump them up a grade for sports, sunday school, etc. in the spring.
HTH! Blessings!
Victoria