Better to do Beyond or Bigger half speed???

[abrightmom]

Ladies,

Combining my middlers is not working....at all.....DD5 is simply NOT ready for LHFHG at this point. It's just a tad too much structure for her right now. My DS7 is raring to go but not ready to combine with DS8 who is thriving with Bigger. Here's my thinking....I have to try splitting the children up into their own guides paced to suit their needs. This does seem insane but I won't know until I give it a whirl. I feel pretty strongly that I don't want my kids hitting Bigger until "about" 3rd grade (a bit sooner is okay) so I'd like to pace DS7 a little slower with Beyond & Bigger. He is a rising first grader but he is "repeating" first grade and his first grade work is well under way. I am thinking about starting Beyond with him and since I'd like to take up to 3 years to work through Beyond & Bigger I can slow the pace somewhat and I'm curious if there is a wise way to go about this. I could just start him in LHFHG and go at full speed BUT he really places so strongly in Beyond that I'd rather place him well since I have to separate him from his younger sister anyway.

Another consideration is that my DD5 will begin LHFHG sometime during this next year and I just don't know when . I think when the time is right and she is ready I'll just know. We have no desire to push her at this point....she is loving TRL and the EB math but that's it! Working through LHFHG with her right now has been a waste for her....I'd like for her to be more heart ready to receive it as it's precious!! Anyway, I'll have 3 guides going. If I can run 1 or 2 at half speed for awhile I just might be able to settle in to using multiple guides.

Thoughts??? I realize this board is busy busy busy these days with so many placement questions!!!! Thanks so much for your help and your ideas!!

P.S. Oh, some of my ideas include teaching DS7 full speed only 4 days a week or teaching each guide (Beyond and then Bigger with DS7) half speed for a time and then full speed for a time (in preparation for the next guide). I need an "outside the box" idea for my middle guy!!

[psreit]

I don't have experience using multiple guides, but as far as your middle guy, if he places in Beyond strongly, you could begin half speed. If it seems that he can and wants to do more, then you could bump up to full speed. Just play it by ear. I am planning to do that with my dd8. She will be 2nd grade. I am going to do Beyond at FULL speed to start, but if I feel she is overwhelmed, I may slow down some. I think she can handle full speed, but I want to make sure she is really ready for Bigger when the time comes, knowing there is a significant transition from Beyond to Bigger. She's not very strong in her reading and writing skills, as well as some processing, so I need see how she progresses. HTH

[Robbi]

One thing I'm going to do to slow down Beyond & Bigger for my dd7 is only do it 4 days a week instead of 5. I've read it adds 9 weeks for each. So that would slow down 1/2 a school year before Preparing. I haven't started yet though so we'll see how it goes!!

[abrightmom]

One thing I'm going to do to slow down Beyond & Bigger for my dd7 is only do it 4 days a week instead of 5. I've read it adds 9 weeks for each. So that would slow down 1/2 a school year before Preparing. I haven't started yet though so we'll see how it goes!!

This is a very good idea and I'm pondering it....

[naturalhomestead]

Hi my sweet friend. I'm not much help since we just started HOD a few weeks ago, but we are doing Beyond full speed but only 4 days a week. We love that schedule and it will work out better for Ev's age when he gets to Bigger. Ethan will just do extensions by then. So far they both are doing great. We just get four days in during the week and then we pick up where we left off on Monday. So far it hasn't affected anything. At first I thought I wouldn't like it because I like to be on task but I have come to forget about looking at the Units and days and just open the book and go wherever we are at.
I'm praying for your decisions. It was hard and unsettling to me until we figured out that the best thing for our family was to keep the boys together. So far that decision has been blessed with much joy and excitement with school.

[my3sons]

It's great to hear your oldest is thriving with Bigger Hearts - hooray! It sounds like your 7 yo places squarely in Beyond. I think I'd start Beyond with him full-speed, 4 days a week, and see how that goes. He sounds ready - hooray! Your oldest is taking off and thriving in Bigger, and I bet you can see him taking on more independence there each day. Your 5 yo is doing LA/math from LHFHG, and could possibly start LHTH too, just to give her gentle training in Biblical history, science/health/art/devotions, etc. topics in a fun easy to do way that takes only a bit of time. But, whether you did LHTH (along with the LA/math with her you are doing now) or not, this is an easier time to do a guide full-speed with your 7 yo. After your ds completes Beyond, I'd start Bigger Hearts half-speed. About that point, your oldest will be more independent doing PHFHG, your little one will be starting LHFHG, and it would be a good time to go half-speed with Bigger Hearts. I personally thoroughly enjoyed doing Bigger Hearts half-speed for awhile - we fully enjoyed every bit of it that way - and my ds was able to grow into the skills he needed so well!

This is going to be an exact placement for each of your dc, so keep in mind, you can always go back to combining within HOD knowing that it is not an exact fit but a good fit, as it would be with any combining situation with any curriculum. I really love exact placement for each of my dc, but I fully realize that this may not be what everyone loves. I hope something here has helped, and I have been praying for you each day as well.

In Christ,
Julie

[abrightmom]

It's great to hear your oldest is thriving with Bigger Hearts - hooray! It sounds like your 7 yo places squarely in Beyond. I think I'd start Beyond with him full-speed, 4 days a week, and see how that goes. He sounds ready - hooray! Your oldest is taking off and thriving in Bigger, and I bet you can see him taking on more independence there each day. Your 5 yo is doing LA/math from LHFHG, and could possibly start LHTH too, just to give her gentle training in Biblical history, science/health/art/devotions, etc. topics in a fun easy to do way that takes only a bit of time. But, whether you did LHTH (along with the LA/math with her you are doing now) or not, this is an easier time to do a guide full-speed with your 7 yo. After your ds completes Beyond, I'd start Bigger Hearts half-speed. About that point, your oldest will be more independent doing PHFHG, your little one will be starting LHFHG, and it would be a good time to go half-speed with Bigger Hearts. I personally thoroughly enjoyed doing Bigger Hearts half-speed for awhile - we fully enjoyed every bit of it that way - and my ds was able to grow into the skills he needed so well!

This is going to be an exact placement for each of your dc, so keep in mind, you can always go back to combining within HOD knowing that it is not an exact fit but a good fit, as it would be with any combining situation with any curriculum. I really love exact placement for each of my dc, but I fully realize that this may not be what everyone loves. I hope something here has helped, and I have been praying for you each day as well.

In Christ,
Julie

Julie,

Thank-you for this idea. It's actually the "ideal" situation placement wise which I would prefer. It is also why I "chose" to try HOD in the first place.... My middle son would do fine full speed 4 days a week and I prefer that to slowing Beyond down. I am trying a variety of different schedules right now to get a feel for how the days will "flesh out". I just don't know if it will be manageable but I'm going to be prayerfully persistent ....

Yes, I am VERY pleased with placement for Jackson (my oldest). He LOVES what is he is doing so far and in the 3 Units we have completed (we're on a more relaxed schedule due to some very lovely weather and LOTS of outside time) I have already seen growth. He can handle boxes independently and we're just starting. We are NOT doing DITHOR at this point....I'm still pondering this. He does read the books to me but we're not doing the DITHOR activities yet.

I am going to work with a schedule grid, tutoring blocks, etc. and see if we can find a workable routine for all of us. I REALLY want HOD to work here....

Thank-you for praying. That means the world to me.