Advice please? :) Considering UN-combining dc ages 7 & 10

[Heart_Mom]

Hello, Ladies!

We've been using HOD since Fall of 2010, and are LOVING it! My 10 year old son (4th grade) and my 7 year old daughter (2nd grade) are now using Bigger (we're on unit 11 right now). My 10 year old son is reading the extensions and doing the recommended oral narrations, written narrations, and notebooking that are recommended in the guide.

My son was/is "behind" in some areas which have been greatly helped by vision therapy and the great emphasis on skills in the HOD guides. We did Beyond with both of them last year, and my son has made HUGE improvements! Bigger would have been totally above him last school year. I'm thinking of bumping him ahead to Preparing now for the following reasons:

1. He is able to do the work in Bigger fairly easily, and I think more of a challenge would be good for him.
2. I would like to be able to be working individually with them. My son is more extroverted and tends to answer many of the oral questions. And I feel like I'm not getting as much time with my daughter as I'd like. I think they could benefit from each having their own guide/projects/time with me.
3. My son would be in a guide that may be more appropriate for his age/grade level.

If I did this, I think I would do Bigger half-speed with my daughter, and would do Preparing full-speed with my son. I don't think I want my daughter to always be at the very youngest ages for each guide, and I also don't want my son to always be at the very oldest ages for each guide.

So ... my children are waking up and I've got to run, but here are my questions:

1. Does this sound like a good plan?
2. Do you have any other ideas?
3. If he doesn't finish Bigger, will he encounter the geography skills and other skills again in later guides? (I'm not worried about the history content, because he could easily read Bigger's history books on his own during his free time to at least have exposure to it.)

I really like the ease and time efficiency of teaching them together, but I think that in my situation, it may not be best for my children. I am a little concerned about fitting the extra time in the day to do it, but I want to do what is best for them, even if it means that I have to give up my 60 minutes planning/down time that I currently have in the afternoon.

Thanks for listening!

[sharonb]

Your reasons for wanting to un-combine sound like good ones. We just uncombined 2 weeks ago; I had my 1st, 3rd, and 4th graders all combined in Beyond, because dh wanted me to keep those 3 combined. After talking with dh about why I felt they needed to be placed in the proper programs, he gave his blessing for me to separate them, and it has been going so well. My 1st grader is still in Beyond, and he is doing very well; his older siblings are no longer answering the questions for him! My 3rd and 4th graders are in Preparing. I wondered how my 3rd grader would do, but he really is doing fine, even without the benefit of going through Bigger. The geography skills do come up again; the first unit of Preparing we reviewed the 7 continents. So, I wouldn't worry about that.

About the time- I found that although my dc take longer to do their schoolwork now, it really doesn't take up much more of my time, since Preparing has more independent work. The first week took longer because I was going over each box with them, making sure they understood what to do. The teacher-directed boxes do, of course, require me, but that extra time spent with those dc is worth it. They needed more than Beyond was giving them.

[Mom2Monkeys]

I'm currently un-combining my 7&10yo! We are doing Bigger and I'm taking DS7 down to half/less than half speed bigger and DD10 up to Preparimg with extension full speed. My reasons were similar to yours for the older. But my DS7 was also habif a hard time keeping up with the writing so he just isn't ready for Bigger full speed, and I couldn't slow down with 5th grade DD10 in the mix. I think things will run more smoothly this way honestly. Tweaking to keep the older on jetties and tweaking to par down for the younger was really cumbersome. We are thrilled with this new placement and I know it's the right thing to do! I think you have a good plan and good motivation for doing so.

[8arrows]

I would double check the placement chart for your son. If he is doing well, I see no reason to move him. Is your daughter doing well? If she isn't getting to answer enough questions, simply ask them the questions separately. Uncombining can be a good move, but combining can save time and effort. I love combining mine. I simply could not keep up with another guide.

[Heart_Mom]

Your reasons for wanting to un-combine sound like good ones. We just uncombined 2 weeks ago; I had my 1st, 3rd, and 4th graders all combined in Beyond, because dh wanted me to keep those 3 combined. After talking with dh about why I felt they needed to be placed in the proper programs, he gave his blessing for me to separate them, and it has been going so well. My 1st grader is still in Beyond, and he is doing very well; his older siblings are no longer answering the questions for him! My 3rd and 4th graders are in Preparing. I wondered how my 3rd grader would do, but he really is doing fine, even without the benefit of going through Bigger. The geography skills do come up again; the first unit of Preparing we reviewed the 7 continents. So, I wouldn't worry about that.

About the time- I found that although my dc take longer to do their schoolwork now, it really doesn't take up much more of my time, since Preparing has more independent work. The first week took longer because I was going over each box with them, making sure they understood what to do. The teacher-directed boxes do, of course, require me, but that extra time spent with those dc is worth it. They needed more than Beyond was giving them.

Thanks, Sharon! It's good to know that I'm not the only one "un-combining"! Your thoughts are very helpful!

[Heart_Mom]

I'm currently un-combining my 7&10yo! We are doing Bigger and I'm taking DS7 down to half/less than half speed bigger and DD10 up to Preparimg with extension full speed. My reasons were similar to yours for the older. But my DS7 was also habif a hard time keeping up with the writing so he just isn't ready for Bigger full speed, and I couldn't slow down with 5th grade DD10 in the mix. I think things will run more smoothly this way honestly. Tweaking to keep the older on jetties and tweaking to par down for the younger was really cumbersome. We are thrilled with this new placement and I know it's the right thing to do! I think you have a good plan and good motivation for doing so.

Wow! Another "un-combiner"! My 7 year old really is doing okay, but I wonder if she will be ready for the content each year if I keep her at full speed. Thanks for your help!

[Heart_Mom]

I would double check the placement chart for your son. If he is doing well, I see no reason to move him. Is your daughter doing well? If she isn't getting to answer enough questions, simply ask them the questions separately. Uncombining can be a good move, but combining can save time and effort. I love combining mine. I simply could not keep up with another guide.

Thanks, Melissa, for your perspective! I'm just not sure what to do. Things are going well now, but I wonder if my 10 year old is getting "enough". I think he could do Preparing, but I know that it will be more time. How do I decide???

[Mom2Monkeys]

My DD10 just zoomed through the whole day of Preparing today in the length of time it took DS7 just to do the right side of Bigger. He's been doing this for weeks and it was her first day back to Preparing (she'd previously done 4 units). He's only in 2nd grade and the skills in Bigger are so essential and the teacher intensity is higher than all other guides, so my day was shorter today!! Well, we spaced it out over most of the day but all in all, it really works well. There's no stress to keeping pace in Bigger with DS7 just bc DD10 is in it with him and can't slow down. She enjoyed the independent work so much and did a really good job (way better than she did several months ago doing the first 4 units before I decided to combine...so much so I think she's actually ready for CTC but we will stick where we are!) DS7 enjoyed taking things more at his pace, habif time to think through what he is doing/hearing without big sis and her two cents. Lol. And being able to call it a day when he's reached his limit and not having mom get stressed or frustrated about it. Implant to give us two years to finish up for him. He's in unit 10 I think and hasn't done so much of the assignments and all bc he's not kept up as well with writing and such. Now we can pick up here and do things slowly, at his pace. He will get more out of it and I can now focus on him mastering these skills...narration especially and writing stamina. His cursive is beautiful but his print is um....all boy. I've decided we will half speed everything except math and emerging readers.
Just sharing our story, our changes, our success with un combining...maybe it'll help you. Maybe it'll just bore you. Lol. It's proven to be a wise choice here. I second that of both are doing well, you could stay put. But if you feel younger needs more to be prepared for Preparing, I'd move him
up of he's ready and slow her down. If she needs slower and he's not ready for Preparing, you could half pace her and full speed him through Bigger.

[Heart_Mom]

My DD10 just zoomed through the whole day of Preparing today in the length of time it took DS7 just to do the right side of Bigger. He's been doing this for weeks and it was her first day back to Preparing (she'd previously done 4 units). He's only in 2nd grade and the skills in Bigger are so essential and the teacher intensity is higher than all other guides, so my day was shorter today!! Well, we spaced it out over most of the day but all in all, it really works well. There's no stress to keeping pace in Bigger with DS7 just bc DD10 is in it with him and can't slow down. She enjoyed the independent work so much and did a really good job (way better than she did several months ago doing the first 4 units before I decided to combine...so much so I think she's actually ready for CTC but we will stick where we are!) DS7 enjoyed taking things more at his pace, habif time to think through what he is doing/hearing without big sis and her two cents. Lol. And being able to call it a day when he's reached his limit and not having mom get stressed or frustrated about it. Implant to give us two years to finish up for him. He's in unit 10 I think and hasn't done so much of the assignments and all bc he's not kept up as well with writing and such. Now we can pick up here and do things slowly, at his pace. He will get more out of it and I can now focus on him mastering these skills...narration especially and writing stamina. His cursive is beautiful but his print is um....all boy. I've decided we will half speed everything except math and emerging readers.
Just sharing our story, our changes, our success with un combining...maybe it'll help you. Maybe it'll just bore you. Lol. It's proven to be a wise choice here. I second that of both are doing well, you could stay put. But if you feel younger needs more to be prepared for Preparing, I'd move him
up of he's ready and slow her down. If she needs slower and he's not ready for Preparing, you could half pace her and full speed him through Bigger.

Well, Tamara, you are certainly NOT boring me with your story! LOL! I really appreciate that you've taken the time to share how things are going for you. I could certainly try Preparing for a few weeks and see how it goes. I think it would be really good for both of them to have their own program, and their own time with me. It's certainly possible to do have my son do Bigger full speed, and my daughter do Bigger at half speed. Hmmm... so many great options. I already bought the Preparing guide, and the History and Science books that go along with it. I'll look over the guide carefully and prayerfully... I'll probably go ahead and order the rest of the Preparing materials soon, just so I can have everything to look over.

You mentioned that your daughter is doing extensions. I think my son would enjoy reading those extra books also. Are you requiring your daughter to do any written work for the extensions? I'm thinking that with the bump up in writing requirements in Preparing (written narrations & independent History), my son wouldn't need to do any extra written work along with the extensions.

Does anyone else have thoughts for me? Maybe Carrie or Julie would be willing to chime in?

[tnahid]

Mother usually knows best when it comes these things! You know your children best. If your oldest is really advancing quickly and you feel it is too easy for him, then go for it with Preparing. But I personally would not do that right now with my 10 year old. He would have a fit! He is doing very well with Bigger and extensions. I could not personally imagine adding another manual to the mix, or having him move up at this time. He is at his MAX as it is currently. So just be prayerful about it and don't push him to his max. He might get frustrated, but you know him best and what he needs.

[Heart_Mom]

Mother usually knows best when it comes these things! You know your children best. If your oldest is really advancing quickly and you feel it is too easy for him, then go for it with Preparing. But I personally would not do that right now with my 10 year old. He would have a fit! He is doing very well with Bigger and extensions. I could not personally imagine adding another manual to the mix, or having him move up at this time. He is at his MAX as it is currently. So just be prayerful about it and don't push him to his max. He might get frustrated, but you know him best and what he needs.

Hi, Tina!!!

I don't think that Bigger is necessarily too easy for him, and I don't think he's at his max. He loves to read, but doesn't like to write. I just think that he might be well served with a little more of a challenge in the writing area. On the other hand, I don't want to push him too hard. I remember reading in a homeschooling book somewhere that it can be challenging to find the right balance: we don't want our children to be working at a level that's either too easy, nor too difficult. I'm also thinking that at age ten, it could be good for him to take over some of his content reading (i.e. independent History & Science). I asked my son how he might feel about working a little more independently, and he was excited about the idea of doing his own program, and being able to do more assignments on his own.

I'm thinking that I might do a trial run with separating them by doing Bigger full speed with my son, and half speed with my daughter for a week or two. I'll try out having my son do Science on his own, too. I know that separating them will really change the rhythm here, since I currently do everything except Language Arts & Math with both of them while my younger two are napping in the afternoon.

If that goes very well and I'm pretty certain I can handle adding in the extra guide, then I'll try Preparing with him. But, if I separate them and it's just too much for me to handle, then I'll know I need to stick with Bigger for both of them. It's not worth sacrificing my peace and sanity to bump him to Preparing...

[Mom2Monkeys]

I don't think I'll do quite as much as suggested for the extensions in Preparing for DD since she's actually within the age range of the guide but a grade above (she's 10 but actually in 5th grade by our state public school compulsory age). So, I'm thinking she can mostly orally narrate and maybe weekly do a comic style illustration with labels or captions. She enjoys drawing so this sort of narration/follow up would work nicely. She is really enjoying the extensions and actually enjoys tw content and assignments of preparing more than bigger. She is really enjoying the research! Oh, I did require more of her with the Bigger extensions since she was beyond the age range. You could certainly allow your son to read the preparig ext without requiring written follow ups from him. He could illustrate or orally narrate a time or two a week or not at all since he's within the age range and actually the grade range too.

[Heart_Mom]

I don't think I'll do quite as much as suggested for the extensions in Preparing for DD since she's actually within the age range of the guide but a grade above (she's 10 but actually in 5th grade by our state public school compulsory age). So, I'm thinking she can mostly orally narrate and maybe weekly do a comic style illustration with labels or captions. She enjoys drawing so this sort of narration/follow up would work nicely. She is really enjoying the extensions and actually enjoys tw content and assignments of preparing more than bigger. She is really enjoying the research! Oh, I did require more of her with the Bigger extensions since she was beyond the age range. You could certainly allow your son to read the preparig ext without requiring written follow ups from him. He could illustrate or orally narrate a time or two a week or not at all since he's within the age range and actually the grade range too.

Thanks, Tamara, for explaining how you are working Preparing now! If we move to Preparing, I will most likely have my son read the extensions, but not do any written work (maybe just orally narrate to me). He does love drawing, so that's certainly an option! Thanks!

[Heart_Mom]

I'm so excited!!! Today went SO WELL!!

I decided to do a bit of a trial one to see what it might be like to bump my son up to Preparing and slow my daughter down to half speed in Bigger. Today I taught them separately: full speed Bigger for my son & half-speed Bigger for my daughter. I was totally amazed at how different (in a good way!) it was to teach them one at a time. I already meet with both of them individually each day to go over their language arts and math assignments, so I just added in the Bigger material to that time. Somehow, it did not add any time to the day! I think it was more efficient this way. I also let my son do some of the Bigger boxes independently (science, memory verse copying, and art project), and he really liked doing those things on his own.

My plan at this point is to continue this trial run of keeping them separate for a couple of weeks. I'll order the rest of Preparing that I don't have yet in the next day or two, and if all goes well, I'll plan on moving my son to Preparing by the first of the year.

Thanks, sweet ladies, for all your help! It was very helpful to talk through this with all of you.

[pjdobro]

I am so happy for you that it went well. Yeah! Your intuition was right on target. I pray it continues to go well with you.