Combining my 5 and 7 year olds

[3whizlets]

I am really waffling over what to do with dd 7 and ds 5 in Janurary. I would classify them as reluctant learners. They do not love school. My dd 7 does her work and does not give me a hard time but does not ask me to read to her very often and is really more content playing. She is still sounding out words and learning to blend. She is doing great in math. My ds 5 rarely participates in school. He would rather play always and usually does not sit still long enough for me to read to him and when I do read to him he often sighs throughout the entire book and keeps asking "Are we done yet?". He does not like to write although he loves to paint and do crafts. He is a new 5 so he is not in K yet but he does not know his letters or numbers AT ALL. I do believe that this is the way God made them and I cannot change that. The nice thing about hsing is that I can tailor a curriculum to their needs.

My dilemma is this. I do think that LHTH is the right program for my son. I think that he will enjoy it and it is short enough that he won't become bored or overwhelmed. My oldest (dd 9) is going to start Preparing in January. My issue is my dd 7. I don't think that I can handle doing PHFHG, LHTH and LHFHG with an infant in the mix. Also, my oldest will need some extra work in the beginning of PHFHG to learn to be more independent. If I get overwhelmed we won't get anything done. Do I go with LHFHG for dd 7 and just let my son tag along (which he might or might not do but I am leaning towards might not)? Do I do LHTH to get him engaged and allow dd 7 to participate (which she will most likely do) and then do LHFHG w/both of them after LHTH? I do plan to combine them as much as possible b/c they are almost exactly 2 years apart and have similar learning styles.

I would love some thoughts on this as I pray over it and try to make some decisions!!

[tiffanieh]

I also have a 5 and 7 and we combine using LHFHG. I would do the same if I were you since you can still pick the math and phonics based on their levels. The activities in LHFHG are definitely not too advanced for your 5 year old!! I don't think I'd want to do 3 program either!

Best wishes in your decision!!

[my3sons]

I think you have all of your dc placed accurately from what you've shared. Normally, I'd say combine the 5 and 7 yo, but I'm really hesitating with that here. I totally agree with you that LHTH sounds like the best fit for your ds because it is short (20 minutes or so) and it would really help him learn his letters and numbers (among many other things). I think it might be easier to take 20 minutes a day with him to do LHTH and then send him skipping off to play than it would be to try to have him tag along for 1 1/2 hours with LHFHG, and then on top of that set aside time to teach him his letters and numbers. Boys are often just natural born "players" - I know I have 3 of them, and they sure do LOVE to play. They enjoy school to though, and I think it's because they've been accurately placed. I am leaning toward you doing 3 programs because of these reasons. What do you think? I PROMISE, LHTH truly does only take about 20 minutes to do. And, it is hands-down the best thing I've ever done with my dc to teach them letters, sounds, and numbers (again among many other wonderful things). Just because you don't combine now, doesn't mean you can't in the future. Combining may just be a better fit a bit down the road, but I think you need to decide what will work best NOW. Down the road can change a lot for reasons we cannot possibly foresee. I'm a planner at heart, but I've learned this time and time again. You've got a busy life right now, and it sounds like your heart is telling you LHFHG is going to be too much for him already, so why not let the little "player" go play after a 20 minute FUN time with you? You can give him the option to sit in on anything he wishes to for LHFHG, but otherwise, if he's a happy independent player, that will allow you to do school more easily with the other 2 when he's done, and he'll still be getting just what he needs too. Keep posting your thoughts here, I know others will chime in!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Shelley,

Placement wise, I'm wondering if I could have you tell me where your kiddos fall on the placement chart for the areas of reading, writing, and math (with all combining scenarios put aside). Here's a link to the chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I also agree that the thought of doing 3 programs can be overwhelming, and normally we would recommend combining your 5 and 7 year old. But, with the details you've been kind enough to share, I feel that your kiddos are in 3 very distinct phases for this particular period of their life. So, with that in mind I think doing 3 programs would be of great benefit and would actually save you time reteaching and downsizing overall.

To start out, I'm wanting to check whether Bigger or Preparing is the best overall fit for your 9 year old. Then, I would suggest just getting the program for your oldest going first for a couple of weeks to get used to that guide with your older child. I would agree that LHTH sounds like the right fit for your 5 year old so I would also get LHTH going while settling in with your older child's program (and just let your 7 year old be the "helper" with LHTH for those first couple of weeks). Then, once you have those 2 programs going smoothly (Bigger or Preparing and LHTH), I would add in your 7 year old's program at half-speed, doing the left side of the page one day and the right side of the page the next. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts based on the placement chart to see whether your 7 year old fits best in LHFHG or Beyond.

Even with 3 HOD programs, you'll still be at less time overall than with one of many other upper level programs. Once your 5 year old finishes LHTH, I think you could go into LHFHG at half-speed spreading it out over 2 years. By doing that LHFHG would only take 45 min. each day. If your 7 year old places in Beyond, you could also do that one at half-speed if needed spreading it out over 2 years too. Doing our younger programs at half-speed can help you hit their developmental level while still having plenty of time to work with your older child.

I'll be looking forward to hearing back from you when you get a chance to pop back in.

Blessings,
Carrie

[3whizlets]

Hi Carrie,

Thanks so much for your thoughts!

In reviewing the chart, my ds 5 placed in LHTH (no surprise there ). My dd 7 placed in LHFHG for writing and grammer and in Beyond for reading and math. My dd 9 placed in Preparing for all categories although she has not mastered cursive yet. We also just completed a study of American History in November and she is ready to move on to a new topic. I knew that my 7 yo was on the fence with programs so I just assumed it might be better to go with the younger program as she is "reluctant" with all things relating to school.

I like the idea of doing a program with my 7 yo at "half-speed" and it is something that would never have occured to me. That is a great idea and it gives her time to catch up! Which program do you think would be most appropriate for her?

Thanks so much for taking the time to chime in here. It is so helpful in deciding what to do!!

Blessings!!

[Carrie]

Shelley,

Thanks so much for getting back to me! That really helps! It does sound like your oldest places in Preparing. We are doing Preparing this year and REALLY enjoying it. In the beginning, it may take several weeks to a month to hit your stride, causing your day to be longer than or equal to 4 hours, but once you do hit your stride, your day will be shorter than 4 hours! We are getting done MUCH more quickly than that now, and I cannot believe how much my son has grown and changed. Just know there is a learning curve with any new program.

With your 5 year old, LHTH will fit well and is very short each day. I would start LHTH along with Preparing, in order to get your 5 year old's skills coming along. That way you'll have him ready for LHFHG and can take 2 years to complete LHFHG with him if needed.

As far as your 7 year old daughter goes, if you place her in LHFHG, you could start out at half-speed to hit your stride, but then should probably move up to full-speed to wrap up the program in a timely fashion (due to her being on the upper age end of that program).

If you place your 7 year old in Beyond, you could stay at half-speed if needed spreading it over 2 years, as it would fit her better age-wise and expectation-wise for her age.

Since your daughter is between LHFHG and Beyond, I'd weigh how well your daughter does listening to read-alouds with few to no pictures and a little bit lengthier text, such as short chapters. These would be books that you are reading out loud to her. If she does well with that then she could go into Beyond, if she doesn't, then I'd go with LHFHG to build those skills. For example, what has she been doing as far as history and science go up to this point? That would help me know better where she's at in those areas.

Also, what will she be doing for math? Are you planning to use Singapore or a different program? That will also help in placement too.

If you get a chance to pop back in and let me know what you're thinking as far as your 7 year old goes that would be great!

Blessings,
Carrie

[3whizlets]

Hi Carrie,

I am glad you confirmed that my dd 9 should be in Preparing b/c she was so excited when her books came in the mail last week that we had to start today!! She has promoted herself to 4th grade this week as well. I will start LHTH w/ ds 5 in January as he is on Christmas Break right now.

As far as my 7 yo, she does not do well with read-alouds. We have been working on American History for the past year and she lasted through very few of the longer chapter books. Two books she particularly enjoyed were Felicity (from American Girl) and A Pioneer Sampler. I am assuming it is because both had pictures and not too much text on any given day. We were reading Little House on the Prairie as our most recent read-aloud and she was usually AWOL by the time we hit the end of the chapter. For science we have been using a few of the One Small Square books and she was good for maybe 2-3 pages before she started to complain.

For math, we are using Math-U-See. My 7 yo has completed Singapore 1A and she did great but MUS is a better fit b/c it does not require many reading skills and she likes being able to do math on her own. She is 3/4 of the way through Alpha. I am a big fan of Singapore Math so hopefully once she is more comfortable with her reading skills we can move her back to Singapore. My other 2 are using Singapore.

I am leaning towards LHFHG with her b/c I think she needs to work on her listening skills. She spent a good part of the last year being bored or frustrated so I want her to do something that is maybe a little easier for her so she can feel successful. We will start out 1/2 time with whatever we do but if I do LHFHG w/her, I plan to pick up the pace fairly quickly. I am OK with her being at the upper age of the program as there is no pressure here, only what is best for each child. I am continually thankful that God has placed all of them home with me - where they belong!!

Again Carrie, thanks for taking the time to work through this with me. What a blessing you have been to so many families!!

[my3sons]

Shelley - It sounds like you have a super plan for your dc! I did LHFHG half-speed for awhile and then when my ds was ready we began doing it full-speed. We really enjoyed doing it that way. I'm so glad you've come to a feeling of peace with your placement for your dc, and now let the fun begin, right!

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

Shelley,

How exciting that your older child is ready to get going with Preparing. My son is blossoming this year with it and finds the world history focus VERY exciting. Enjoy Grandpa's Box. It is truly a wonderful read (and a favorite here)!

As to your 7 year old, I hate to throw a wrench in your plan, but I'm thinking from what you've shared that Beyond would be a better fit for your sweetie. We actually use The Pioneer Sampler in Bigger Hearts for science, and if she can hang with that or the Felicity book, she's ready for Beyond. The readings in the history portion of the plans are kept quite short. If she enjoyed the pioneer type books, Beyond is full of that type of readings.

I also think she could benefit from the included spelling lists in the Appendix of Beyond and in the gentle introduction to grammar every 5th day.

Another benefit of using Beyond is that once she has finished her formal introduction to phonics, she can head right into the Emerging Reader Set, following the schedule which is included in the Appendix of Beyond.

We also use the One Small Square books in Bigger, at the pace of 2-3 pages a day, so if your daughter can handle that then she is easily ready for the science in Beyond (and the science in LHFHG would most likely be too easy).

If more classic books like Little House... seem to be too much to hang with right now, I'd choose the Girl Interest Set from Beyond instead to read-aloud. It does a good job of keeping the chapters short and the stories interesting. I think that the activities in Beyond will be things your daughter will truly enjoy too.

If you felt that copying one line of poetry each day is too much for her, you could easily add a handwriting workbook like A Reason for Writing 'A' in its place

Only you can know your daughter's needs best, but I would lean toward taking Beyond slowly and letting her grow into it, rather than starting LHFGH with it being right on and then having it become too easy as the year wears on.

Here's a link to the sample week of Beyond. Take a peek and see what you think: http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/beyond ... t-week.pdf

Also, here's an overview of the program written in the Introduction. In looking at those skills and weighing what you've shared about your daughter, I'm thinking she could do what is included in Beyond.: http://www.heartofdakota.com/pdf/beyond ... -intro.pdf

Blessings,
Carrie

[3whizlets]

Thank you Carrie for your sage advice! Since you are the expert here, I will go with your recommendations. I don't think we can go wrong with either program but you are right, it would be better to grow into the program rather than grow out of it. I am really looking forward to getting started with our new programs in January. Now I just need to figure out a way to convince the grandparents to buy ME Beyond books for Christmas!