Help! Is it too much to do 3 programs?

[mommyto6]

Hello,

I am trying to decide where to place my 6 dc into the HOD curriculum. I have been pouring over the placement charts and reading previous posts, and I believe that they place into LHTH, LHFHG, and BLHFHG. I'd love to know if anyone has done 3 programs at once and if it is even doable. Following is a summary of my dc's abilities and my thoughts on their placement. I welcome any comments or suggestions.

DS Age 6: He most definitely places in Beyond. I do not wish to hold him back, and really feel that beyond is the best fit for him. He is ready to begin dictation, spelling, etc., and is reading well. He is also very good at math(can count to 1000, add, subtract, count money, tell time). He enjoys listening to stories with or without pictures, books on cd, etc.

DS Age 5: He is the one I am mostly on the fence about. In looking at his skillset he seems to place in beyond, but due to his age I am hesitant to start him in it. He is reading as well as my 6 yr old and is certainly ready for the Emerging Reader track in Beyond. He is writing very well, and is ready to begin simple dictation. I believe he is also ready to begin grammar and spelling. His math skills are not as far ahead as my 6 yr old, but he is on level with his age group. He also enjoys listening to stories with or without pictures, books on cd, etc. However, he greatly prefers the picture books and likes to look at the illustrations as we read. My thoughts are to start him in LHFHG & add the emerging reader track from beyond.

DS Age 4: He has already begun phonics instruction and is able to read single vowel syllable words, some sight words, and blends. He reads simple readers such as bob books and Nora Gaydos readers. He is almost done with Hooked on Phonics K Program and is sailing right along in it. He knows how to form all his letters, but could use some practice in fine tuning this skill. He is able to spell simple words and tries to spell more complex words, for example he would write the word projector as projktr. (sorry that's the only word I could think of off the top of my head that he's tried to spell on paper lately). He is ready for simple grammar study. In math he is able to count to 20 and understand basic math concepts. His fine motor/Cutting/Coloring skills are excellent. I believe he places well in LHFHG.

DS Age 3: He knows most of his letters and letter sounds, but doesn't quite get the reading concept yet. He is able to count up to 12 objects. He can cut fairly well for a 3 yr old, and loves to look at books and be read to. He places very well into LHTH. I Would not even start with him yet, but he is very ready to "Do School", and I don't want to miss LHTH with him. I think he is at the perfect age/skillset/maturity level to do LHTH. He loves songs & fingerplays and learning about God.

DS&DD Twins Age 2: They are learning their letter sounds thanks to Leap Frog Letter Factory. They are also learning to count up to 10. They enjoy coloring/scribbling. I'm not really ready to start anything with them yet, but I thought they would enjoy some of the activities/fingerplays in LHTH possibly going through it twice with them. Once with ds3 just tagging along where they're interested, and once on their own with the full program.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

[pollo_la]

Honestly, with the ages of your kids I would not do 3 programs. I don't think it would be too much to do those three programs, but can you imagine doing the SAME programs back to back every year? By the time you get to the third go around you will likely be burned out!! If I were you, this is what I would likely do...

BLHFHG with the 5 and 6 year old. You could always do the Right side of the LHFHG guide with the 5 year old if you feel that Beyond is a bit too much. Also, I would encourage you to start the guide at half speed and then gradually work into a "full pace" routine.

LHTH with the 2,3, and 4 year olds, BUT use the RIGHT side of the Little Hearts guide for the 4 year old. You may find that after a year of this the older two kids are ready to move on to the next guide, but not the youngers. At that point you could repeat LHTH with the youngest 2 (but do the older kid options that time), and move on to the next guide with the older two.

OR... you could do...

LHFHG with the 4, 5 and 6 year old this year, but do the RIGHT side of the Beyond guide for the 6 (and maybe 5) year old to add more on his level. If you do this, just make sure they are kept at the appropriate level for reading, math, and handwriting.

LHTH with the 2 year olds and 3 year old, BUT go through the guide twice, once with the younger child options, and then again with the older child options, so that you have a "break" (a year) between guides, and your children will all be at a level where they can really excel in the next guide.

I think that either of these are good options, but ultimately, it is about where you feel your children place best. I would really encourage you to not do "three guides in a row" though. I think you would get burned out that way.

[Mom2Monkeys]

Welcome to HOD!

I agree with Laurie. Although it is simple enough to do 3 guides (I am now), it's not recommended to do more side-by-side guides (LHTH, LHFHG, BLHFHG). You might love HOD but suffer from extreme burnout from doing each guide 3 years in a row! Your kids sound academically advanced for their ages like mine, but I've found that even my brightest "gifted" child did well and learned and grew so much being on the older end of the age range for the guide. I would trust the age range on the placement chart.

I'm sure Carrie and Julie will chime in, as well as other HODies. So you'll have plenty of info to soak up and consider!

[8arrows]

I like this idea. Remember, you have a lot of years of school left to cover.

LHFHG with the 4, 5 and 6 year old this year, but do the RIGHT side of the Beyond guide for the 6 (and maybe 5) year old to add more on his level. If you do this, just make sure they are kept at the appropriate level for reading, math, and handwriting.

LHTH with the 2 year olds and 3 year old, BUT go through the guide twice, once with the younger child options, and then again with the older child options, so that you have a "break" (a year) between guides, and your children will all be at a level where they can really excel in the next guide.

[netpea]

I would agree that doing LHFHG with your older 3 and LHTH with the youngers sounds like a great plan. And I would definitely plan on doing LHTH twice with the youngers.

[my3sons]

What great advice you've gotten! Ladies - I am so impressed. We have the best placement helpers on this board. Laurie did an awesome job of laying out 2 great options. Really, either one would work. When looking at the 2 options, you may want to consider whether your 4 yo fits more with the 5 and 6 yo or not, and if you'd like to move those 3 along together through the guides. If so, then the second option of doing LHFHG as your core with them (and the right side of Beyond for your 6 yo) will make for a better long-term plan, since your 4 yo would be able to hang with that in the long run better. If you choose the that option, you will be teaching 2 guides back to back though. With the second option - your 5 and 6 yo in Beyond (5 yo doing right side of LHFHG), and the rest in Little Hands - you will have a year between reteaching guides - which we've personally enjoyed at our house. What are your thoughts about this?

In Christ,
Julie

[mommyto6]

Wow, Thanks for the GREAT Advice!!! I had not even thought about splitting my ds 6 between LHFHG & BLHFHG. I'm really liking that idea for a couple of reasons. 1) I was not thrilled about him missing out on LHFHG. He loves to do things with his brothers & I believe he will really love Little Hearts. I was just concerned about the LA & Math not being enough for him, but if I add the right side of Beyond I think that will be perfect. 2) I also love the idea of keeping the older 3 together, and the younger 3 together. All while keeping them on their level for math, handwriting, and reading of course. I think that will make it much easier on me as one of the major pluses of HOD is the ease of use.

I think I was trying to make it more difficult on myself than it has to be:). Thanks to you great ladies who helped put it in perspective. So, Here is the plan(I Think): I will do LHFHG with my 4,5, & 6 yr old with emerging readers from Beyond for the 5 & 6 yr old and the right side of beyond with my 6 yr old. I'll do the younger version of LHTH with my 2's & 3 yr old.

Now I have another question. Which science text should I use for LHFHG? K or 1st?

Thanks Again!!

[my3sons]

Oh, that's great to hear, Holly! I love a good plan coming together. I think I'd use the K text since it fits right in the middle of the bunch, and it is in the daily boxes of plans. We actually bought them both (couldn't decide ), and they are very similar, so you'd be just fine with the K.

In Christ,
Julie

[Carrie]

mommyto6,

I just wanted to welcome you to the board and to HOD! The ladies have done an amazing job of helping you sort through the best option for your family and for helping you think down the road a bit as to what would work best in the longer haul. You have a terrific plan in mind.

On a sidenote, I just had to share that I've been in prayer that the Lord would raise up wonderful ladies on this board to encourage and help with placement questions while I am in this busy writing season (and am often not available to answer questions on the board in a timely fashion). I am so blessed by the faithfulness of the ladies on this board to help one another and to guide new moms in their journey to find the right HOD fit for their family. I just wanted the ladies on this thread to know that you are an answer to my prayers.

Blessings,
Carrie