Which scenario works better?

[abrightmom]

My oldest will use RTR regardless of what the younger crew does. He places strongly there and has never combined well with his younger sibling. He is a rising 6th grader and he fits RTR's placement requirements. His biggest struggle will be time management.

***** Here is the part of the scenario in which counsel is welcome ****
My middlers are nearly 8 and 10. The 8yo is a 2nd grader. Up until now I have moved slowly with her but she is quickly accelerating across subject lines, voraciously and confidently reading and writing. The almost 10yo just started 4th grade and has needed more time to mature in many skill areas. He has blossomed this last year and I am seeing that he is ready to move up into more challenging work. He was held back in his younger years so it fits that suddenly he is needing MORE (if he'd not been held back he'd be a rising 5th grader rather than 4th).

Ideally, the 10yo would use Preparing for 4th. It's a solid fit for him and would give him the needed work in writing. He's MORE than ready to read, think and write more.

The 8yo places well in Bigger and she's suited to the listening and writing challenges.

Running RTR, Preparing, Bigger, and a 4yo is a lot. Too much. The ONLY combining scenario that makes sense is placing the 8 and 10yo in Bigger. But, I'll be honest when I say that I think Bigger is not enough for the oldest, even with extensions. Extensions add great books to read but he really does need to be studying at a higher level of challenge and even semi-independence in some subjects. Admittedly, I am worried about continuing a trend of under challenging him and thereby not encouraging steady growth. However, successfully running the homeschool and covering all of the bases well trumps perfect placement.

I am open to stagger starting. I could wait on Bigger until the fall for my 8yo (she'll be moving closer to 3rd grade work at that point) and get my RTR and PH boys going now. I think, based upon my own struggles and the areas my boys struggle with, that it will take me awhile to get a good groove with RTR and PH. I am not experienced enough with HOD to know how much of RTR can eventually be done independently with my oldest and how much oversight will be needed to keep him accountable. To teach well I feel the need to read the books also so will want a chance to read ahead.

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I have a 4.5 year old who is happily cruising in Little Hands to Heaven and he will forever and always be in his own HOD guide at his own pace.

[StephanieU]

What areas do you think Bigger wouldn't be enough? With HOD, you can customize the English (Rod and Staff) and math as well as dictation. So, if your son is ready for Rod and Staff 3 or 4, for example, there is no problem using that instead of Rod and Staff 2, which is planned in Bigger. If your son is ready for 4th grade math, then you can do that instead of what is in the guide. This won't affect the history, Bible, and science. For spelling and dictation, there are options there already. The extensions include things for science and history (science includes more of a textbook option that is challenging), so those should be fine. I would think the only area that might be a slight challenge to meet his needs would be Bible. Little Pillows might not be enough or click with him.
You could split them though too, but Bigger and Preparing are very teacher intensive, so it might be easier to combine...

[MelInKansas]

I understand your struggle. It is hard to think you may be holding someone back. I think you could make Bigger more challenging in the areas your 10YO needs, besides just extension books though those would be a great start. Having just gone from Bigger to Preparing, I see what you mean about Preparing challenging the child more, the thinking involved there is higher and it is so fun and interesting. But I think you could possibly enjoy some of those same things with Bigger Hearts too. Some of the things that are so precious to me are the discussions we are now having about the readings. I think if you read the extension books with your older son and discussed them, that would fill in for some of that. It just talks about making a personal connection with the reading, relating it to something you know or something that has happened to you. I love this so much.

Do you also want to keep him in higher placement because you are looking down the road for when he will hit high school?

I guess you need to weigh the immediate need of a program/system that will work with your family right now, and where you think you should/want to go. You could also start them off in separate guides and then combine if you see that seems to work out better after a few weeks. It seems like maybe if you toughed it out doing PHFHG and BHFHG this year, in following years as they both grow more independent and are well placed, you would reap benefit from having really worked hard to get through this year.

Just my thoughts. I hope it is helpful. If you have specific questions about BHFHG and PHFHG to help you decide, I would be happy to try and answer them. It looks like I may be in Bigger and Preparing together sometime this fall/winter (as my 7 YO will be finishing Beyond probably around August/September, but my overlap will only end up being about 3-4 months, and I think doing the end of one guide and beginning of the other will make it a lot easier).

[8arrows]

For me, there is a limit to how many guides I can do well and still care for my children, husband, and household. That is why I combine my children. I understand that separating works for many, but in case you need some encouragement for combining, let me assure you that I can always find ways to challenge the older one. Add Ignite Your Writing to Bigger. Ask the older child to write a narration. Add a Jeannie Fulbright science book. If you are concerned about adding, take something out of the guide for the older one that is already a skill they have mastered. My mind can only go so many places in a day, so splitting everyone up is just not an option at our house. Honestly assess your personality and your days. If more guides leads to more chaos, the fact that they are in the "perfect" guide will be of little consequence. A well-run, happy house leads to the sweetness of lips that increases learning.

[MomtoJGJE]

I think your idea of stagger starting is an excellent idea! By the time you would start your Bigger child, the others would be very well doing their independent work independently. And from my experience you could at least get through the left side of Bigger while the Preparing child is doing their independent work. And since he is older, then you could have him start reading his history (or part of his history) lesson each day.

So basically if you think they fit best in Preparing and Bigger it's really not super hard to do those together. I'll be doing them together in a few months

[my3sons]

Hi abrightmom! It sounds like you have your oldest ds figured out already - hooray! In answer to your question about how long your teaching time in RTR is, I'd say around an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how independent your ds is able to be, how well he follows directions, how much he has been exposed to CM style skills/formal LA skills, and if he is using all of HOD's recommendations (i.e. longer if he has a different longer math, longer if other things are added to his day, etc.). For example, with my oldest ds who is very independent and clips along with his work, 1 hour of teaching time in RTR was enough. For my middle ds, who is very creative and loves to discuss things and spend lengthy time on the artistic side of things, 1 hour 15 minutes or 1 hour 30 minutes in RTR is more realistic.

I agree, I wouldn't try to do full-speed RTR, PHFHG, BHFHG, and LHTH all at once. Full-speed BHFHG and PHFHG is especially a challenge. With dc as close in age as your dc are, I'd lean toward doing BHFHG with extensions. I think this would be a super plan long term, as the two could be combined all the way through, and counting credits would be easy. Extending for the oldest using the extensions would be lovely, and upping LA and math so easy to do. Adding "Igniting Your Writing I", as 8arrows wisely suggested, would be a super idea! I think this plan could be a good one for not just this year, but for all the years to come. But, what do you think?

In Christ,
Julie