Thinking of buying LHFHG too...Need Help

[Amy in Ohio]

Alright, I must say that I absolutely LOVE BLHFHG, but I am thinking about purchasing LHFHG and separating my 2 boys. I know, I know, I said separating, knowing full well how much easier it is to keep them in the same curriculum, but I am feeling that my youngest may get ALOT more out of Little. My oldest LOVES listening to me read aloud from the book selections in Beyond, but my youngest could take it or leave it; most of the time leaving it. Which, is fine with me; He is only a 'kindergartner'(even though he is almost done with Singapore 1B math and almost part way through McRuffy 1 Phonics and Reading). I think he would really like the selections of reading and the activities in Little. I want to capture him like I capture my oldest during read aloud time. I think the stories in Little would do this. Am I wrong? Am I crazy? Also, thinking I am going to breeze through Beyond with my oldest, and if my younger is right there with us...then that means he moves forward with us into Bigger next Fall as a 6 year old-unless I just repeat Beyond with him. Therefore, wise ladies of HOD, do you think that this seems like a smart move for me to make? I know it is more work, but in the grand scheme of things, it is seemingly making sense to me.
Any opinions would be SO appreciated! Thanks all!
Blessings,
Amy

[Carrie]

Amy,

So sorry it's taken me a bit to get back to you. I think we are all still getting into the swing of things after the weekend!

I know just what you mean when you talk about your reasons for wanting to separate your kiddos. I found the same to be true for my own kiddos. There are many moms who keep their kiddos separate for the very reasons you mentioned. We have actually found it easier to keep ours separate instead of combining them. So, if you feel your heart tugging you in that direction, I would definitely consider separating them.

Combining isn't for everyone. Some moms are able to do it much easier than others because of their family goals, children's personalities, gender of the kiddos, personality of the mom, teaching style of the mom and lifestyle in general.

At our house, I too needed to engage my second son rather than having him pulled along with his older brother. I needed to get my second-born to take ownership of his own learning and not be constantly waiting on big brother to answer.

"Little Hearts..." is a joy to teach (even though I am very biased ), and I think it sounds like it would suit your little one great.

Now that you've had a chance to try combining and a chance to get used to HOD, you shouldn't have much problem doing 2 programs.

So, there's my 2 cents. Hopefully other moms will chime in here too!

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Amy,

We've chosen to separate our children into 2 programs as well, for many of the reasons you mentioned. My firstborn is pretty strong-willed, and my second son, although strong-willed about some things, is quite content in homeschool things to let his older brother do all of the work and come up with the best answers.

We are doing separate programs and very happy with our day. In fact, I really like having time alone with each of them planned, because in every other facet of life, they are together and often inseparable. I really enjoy seeing my second son coming out of his shell when it comes to taking responsibility for his own learning, and it's good for my oldest to have time alone with me, especially when we're discussing Biblical things in the curriculum. The discussion goes much deeper than when I used to try to do it with his younger brother (who would often chime in with something quite off-topic, little honey loves to talk but just didn't get the topics).

I think that it would be tough for you to combine them by the time Bigger would come along anyway, so if your heart is leading you to do LHFHG with the younger one, I say follow it and do it! I think you know best, and at least in our situation, we've got plenty of time for doing both of the programs (and DITHR too). Hope that helps!