Plan for combining by Bigger Hearts

[Benelli]

I have 7 kids. The oldest 2 are doing Preparing this year (dd grade 5 w/extensions and ds grade 4). The next two are second graders, doing Beyond Little Hearts with Singapore 1B and Extra Practice 1, both are Emerging Readers. The next two are doing LHFHG (ds grade 1, ds K) and both are Emerging Readers, both doing Singapore 1A/1B. I also have a daughter, the baby, who will be 2 in October.

Thinking ahead a couple of years, when the baby is 4, I'd like to start LHTH with her. At a full guide per year, from that year forward I would be doing 4 guides, which I don't want to do. I'm doing very well managing 3 (Praise God!), but don't want to add that 4th! And, I think my 4 (Sophie 8, Anthony 7, Thomas 6, and Nicholas 5) are very close to being near the same academic level in many things and would combine very well even this year, but I don't want to two younger ones to miss out on LHFHG.

So, I've been pondering how gradually combine the current 2nd graders with my current 1st and Kindergartner by the time they get to Bigger for the 2011/12 school year. This is what I came up with.

2009/10 - both 2nd graders, BLHFHG Units 1 - 17, but full speed (daily) plans with Math, Spelling, and Emerging Readers, 1st & K kiddos - LHFHG at Full Speed
2010/11 - both 3rd graders, BLHFHG Units 18 - 34, but "at level" daily Math, Spelling, add DITHOR & Rod & Staff 2, 2nd & 1st grader BLHFHG at Full Speed
2011/12 - both 4th graders, 3rd grader, 2nd grader doing Bigger Hearts together at full speed as written with extensions for 4th graders,
OR maybe at half speed taking 2 years to complete. The 2nd year, there would be 2 5th graders, and 4th grader (all w/extensions) and a 3rd grader. The only
reason I'd consider that is to make sure the amount of writing/content was not too much for the 2nd grader that year and going forward. He is a VERY smart little guy,
so, it might be OK for him as a 2nd grade option at Full Speed, or it might not. I can wait and see.

Everyone is fitting perfectly in the levels they are currently in. As you can see above, the current 2nd graders are behind the "main" schedule in the guides in their Math and Reading for their grade level, whereas, the 1st grader fits perfectly into LHFHG with Emerging Readers from Beyond, as does the Kindergartner (who does all 1st grade options and fits into those perfectly except handwriting). One of my 2nd graders, Sophie, has Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), and needs to move slowly. My other 2nd grader, Anthony, has no specific learning disabilities, but seems to thrive on a slower pace and take longer to learn new concepts. He is just a "never in a rush" kind of kid.

Does this plan sound like a good one? Are there other things I should consider? I read on another post that someone (Joy, I think) used Beyond for a 3rd grader, which I would be doing for the 2010/11 year (well, the 2nd half of Beyond). So, maybe, as long as I keep Sophie and Anthony at their appropriate level in LA and Math, that would work well.

We're just getting ready to start these new guides, so before I started, I wanted to see if my plan sounded OK. It will put Sophie (and Anthony the 2nd year) outside the age range of Beyond, but, at least for Sophie, I need to ignore that age range, as it stresses me out. Honestly, she is still not even ready for the Emerging Readers, really... But, is reading the "First Steps" Pathway reader Pre-Primer (red book) right now pretty well, and will go into "Days Go By" and "More Days Go By" next. She will also be doing All About Spelling 1 this year, not really so much for spelling, but for the Orton-Gillingham approach to phonics it uses that is supposed to be great for APD kids. And, it won't feel like to her that she's doing yet another year of phonics. (She's already done 2!) After that, I plan to go on to the CM and HOD way of doing dictation with her.

Thanks ladies! I know you'll have wise words for me.

[Tree House Academy]

Wow! And I thought it was hard to plan with 2. ~whew~ LOL

Now that I have really gotten into the manuals with HOD, I personally would only combine in a manual where I could use extensions for the olders and do the manual as is for the ones who fall in line wiht the age range. I have an advanced (in the basics) almost 6 year old and he was not ready for the history and narration in Beyond. We dropped back a level to little hearts and the fit is perfect. The writing of the books is on his level, the Bible verses are easier to memorize, the rhymes are more fun for his age than the poems he was trying to do in Beyond.

I think your plan to slowly move them to the same manual is a good one...but make sure that you are always watching for that place where it just doesn't quite work for one child or another. Doing it slowly, you can adjust accordingly. Good plan.

[Kathleen]

Lisa,

I think that sounds like a very workable plan for your crew. If I were you, I'd go for it! (And you have plenty of time to ammend it as you go. ) One thing that I thought of is that you could do storytime with your current Beyond kids daily this year. Then next year you could do storytime from Beyond daily with all 4, just with diferent books. We love the storytime part of HOD plans!

Kathleen

[sharonb]

That is such a well thought-out plan! If I were in your shoes I'd be working towards combining them as well.

[Benelli]

Ooh, Kathleen, that's a great idea! I hadn't thought about that yet! I will definitely do that, Storytime daily and again daily the 2nd year with different books. I love it!

Everyone else, thanks for your thoughts! They encourage me, and I appreciate them!!

[Carrie]

Benelli,

I am impressed with the thought that you have put into finding the best HOD fit for your family! I agree with the close age-range of your kiddos that it makes sense to move them slowly toward a combination scenario.

I think that the ladies have given you terrific advice! I also agree that you can gently tweak the plan as needed if you hit any snags along the way. It is great to have a plan, and yours makes a lot of sense to me.

Blessings,
Carrie