Love the new catalog/pondering next year and placement???

[lisaha1]

So last year I started LHFHG with my 1st grader and just added Land Animals of the 6th Day and SOTW1 for my 3 and 5 graders. I didn't finish LHFHG and ended up only using the other two books for science and social (with all of there lang art, spelling and math). I came up with a good research project a week for the older kids, but they seriously need more work. I LOVED LHFHG, but ended up quitting it simpley bc all of the kids loved to listen in and wanted more and more of the books so I would do 3 days lessons in one day and soon with 3 days of reading in LHFHG, and a few in SOTW and Land Animals, I was tired of all of the reading! So I cut back and for some reason I just didn't pick it back up again. I should have just agreed to do only one lesson a day and I wouldn't have been tired of reading! haha! Next year I have Abby 11 6th, Joshua will be 9 and 4th, James newly in Aug and 2nd and Toby 5 and K. My thought was to do LHFHG for James and Toby, then I have done MFW in the past so I am trying to decide if I want to do, Rome to Reformation in MFW (staying kind of in line from SOTW which ends with Christ's life) with Abby and Joshua, or do HOD Preparing with Abby and Joshua (extentions for Abby who is a ferocious reader)-Perpareing looks like fun! Or doing HOD Resurrection to reformation with Abby and Joshua-keeping in line with the time line we are on, plus it looks great too! haha! We use Horizons for math and Queens for lang arts and spelling. Technically James fits into Beyond, Toby LHFHG, Joshua Preparing or CTC, Abby-either RTR's! I really don't want to juggle more then 2 at a time though. I'm pretty big and combining when we can but Abby and I both like the fact that they become independant as they get into upper guides. What do you think would be a good fit. I have done MFW for 2 years, I like combing of the children, but I LOVE how you all give eachother Biblical advice and pray for eachother here. Good days, bad days, the posts I have read are honest and uphold Biblical principles, putting Christ first. I love your book choices and my children sure enjoy the projects. I like the character development focus and always Christ first! In MFW I like that it is a Christian homeschool cirriculum and the combining of ages, some of the books, and I own ECC. (The last one is silly, I know! haha, my Adventures in MFW was ruined when our basement flooded last night.
I need the guides to get more done, (we didn't get alot done this year) but I need to be flexible and not feel guilty if we miss a few things bc of PT or Drs apps (James has muscular dystrophy). I don't want to be rushed bc I don't handle stress well! haha!
For this moment we are doing LHFHG, its just trying to figure out what to go with it for the older children. What do you all think???
I'm praying on it myself!
Blessings,
Lisa
Abby, Joshua, James, Toby, Levi and Emma Grace

[pjdobro]

You do have a lot to ponder. I think there are many different ways that you could go that could work for your family. I know it's difficult to not consider the time period and overall content of a program, but really in the long run, it doesn't matter near as much as placing a child at the right skill level for them. I have been thinking about this since I was at the homeschool conference last weekend. There is loads of good materials out there and any one of them could easily fill my children's minds with lots of knowledge, but that isn't what I'm after in this journey. First and foremost I want their hearts to continually be turned turned toward God and learn to discern His Spirit in their lives. HOD fills this really well because everything in the curriculum (not just Bible study or a few items) focuses on Christ. We are continually being referred back to the Bible and what God has to say about a subject. Second of importance to me is that my dc learn how to learn. I know that might sound silly but I want them to learn how to find information for themselves, learn how to process it, and present it in an understandable way. Those can be tough skills to learn. How many dc come out of school not retaining any information from a book they read or not being able to present it orally or written in a way that is understandable to someone else? Again, HOD fulfills this goal of mine really well. It incrementally helps dc learn skills that help them process the information for themselves. As they progress along in the guides, they little by little take over a little more of the work themselves. They learn step by step how to present the information as well. I was skeptical when I first started HOD that there were really skills embedded in the guides. It seemed to easy to me at first, but step by step each year I have seen my children increase not only in knowledge but in spiritual discernment and skills like writing, notebooking, reading comprehension, independence, etc.

I say this all to encourage you to really think about placing your dc as close to their level as possible so that they can continue to increase not only in knowledge but also in skills. I know you have a lot to try to juggle though so combining is necessary. If you are going to combine I think perhaps doing LHFHG with the younger two and upping the LA and math for you older might be a good choice. For your older two Preparing could be a good choice. It really sets the stage for the independent work to come and so many good skills like written narrations and research are introduced in this guide. Those two guides would probably work well together as well. Since your dd is interested in becoming more independent, you could allow her to be more independent with Preparing or you could consider getting a guide just for her, probably Resurrection to Reformation. You could take a couple of weeks just to get her started on her guide and then she would be very independent with her work only requiring a small amount of your time to work with her the rest of the year. After getting her started then you could start your other dc in their guides. Those are just a couple of thoughts I had after reading your post. I pray they are helpful.

[8arrows]

I like the idea of combining the older two in Preparing with extensions for your daughter. This lines her up for CTC in 7th, RTR in 8th, and then REV2REV and MTMM can easily be ramped up for her for high school. In fact this is exactly where I am at for my daughter. We are beefing up REV2REV for her 9th grade year. LHFHG sounds good for the littles. Enjoy!

[lisaha1]

"Isaiah 40:11 ...He gently leads those that have young" I LOVE this verse! I so need His leading on a daily bases.
Thank you for the advice! I keep praying and waiting to be led, I just want a strong conservative Christian cirriculum that shows and teaches the children in all aspects of thier lives. We do this as we talk throughout the day, but how wonderful to have books and resources in science, social ex... that backs up everything we are trying to teach them! Of course I also don't want to be burnt out either in our daily work. The two things that keeps bringing me back to HOD when I look at cirriculum is the strong Christian teachings in aspect of the school day, you can't take Christ out of this cirriculum! and the wonderful women who love the Lord on this board. I'm a bit nervous about doing more then one guide but no matter what I use I would need more then one guide this year with the age gap of K-6th! haha! LHFHG doesn't take much time though and the older children are much more independant then they used to be.
Blessings,
Lisa

[my3sons]

We did LHFHG and PHFHG and LOVED it! If you did the extensions for your 5th grader, and chose appropriate levels of math/LA, I think you'd be set! I can vouch for HOD being the best blend of academics and Christ-centered learning. It has been an incredible blessing to see my sons grow not only in their academics, but also in their faith and walk with the Lord. Best of all, I have been able to do this alongside them, as it is a planned part of our day with HOD. I cannot thank HOD enough for this. For all the moments we've had heartfelt discussions, spiritual breakthroughs, and deep learning - they are priceless. I wouldn't trade them for the world. I'd love this for your family too! Oh, and we're doing 3 guides. Not a problem with HOD as long as dc can do the things asked of them in a guide. The best way to check for that is to look at the first page of the placement chart. If I were you I'd double-check the PHFHG column on the first page of the placement chart and see if your kiddos fit there (especially the third grader, as the fifth grader will more than likely be fine). HTH - looking forward to getting to know ya here!

In Christ,
Julie

[lisaha1]

Julie, thank you! This sounds wonderful, I want my children's journey with the Lord to come first! Academics are important, but the soul is eternally important. I also enjoy learning with my children, as I was taught in a public school-evalution, seperate church and school ex... and to read science showing how creation has scientific proof and evalution is lacking, see and read so much that supports the Bible is just amazing to me, I'm relearning right along with them! Yes, I am a daugher and follower of Jesus and it is just awesome to see and read how much the Lord is part of everything! I want my children to know this as thier faith grows and I so want to grow in the Lord too!
Blessings,
Lisa

[my3sons]

Glad to help! I loved your wise words here...

...I want my children's journey with the Lord to come first! Academics are important, but the soul is eternally important...

This is so true! The academics can be taught in a variety of ways (though of course I am quite partial to HOD ), but truly knowing the Lord and having a relationship with Him - that is key! There truly is no wisdom without Him. We want our dc not only to start strong - we want them to finish strong. That means one big happy reunion for us all in heaven someday! An eternal family, together forever, nothing could be better than that. Can't wait for you to get started on your HOD journey - be sure to share it with us - we like to be a part of each other's journey!

In Christ,
Julie