A little feedback on combining kids?

[homefire]

So.... this is yet another "which guide do I use?" thread. Last fall after MUCH deliberation I chose a lit. based curriculum for my oldest dd (almost 7 now) and tweaked the same core for my ds (just turned 5). We will be finishing up the core this semester and I'm unsure where to go from here. When I chose the other curriculum I was trying to decided between it and and HOD. The long story short is that while I was happy with my choice I can't help but wonder if there is something that will fit us even better. I was thinking about using a HOD guide for the rest of this year and into the summer and then continue with it in the fall if we like it. My problem is which guide to go with for my ds. Beyond seems spot on for my dd but my ds is not ready for the reading, writing, and grammar but would be just fine with the history, math, art, and science. In the lang. arts area LHFHG seems more appropriate but the other subjects seem too young. I also have a 3yr. old who I was thinking about getting LHTH for but the thought of possibley having 3 guides going at the same time seems a little crazy to me. What are the approximate times necessary for these guides each day? I guess I'm just not sure. I'm afraid my ds is going to end up getting shuffled between his sisters but I don't want to split them up unnecessarily if I can help it. Thank you all for any advice you can offer.

[sharonb]

When my oldest was 7, I tried to use Beyond with my 3 oldest, and my 7yo was the only one paying any attention. My ds was 5.5 when we started, and my next ds was 4. I ended up dropping the guide and tried to do my own thing for a couple of years, but I didn't do anywhere near as good a job as I would have if I had just stuck with HOD! Looking back, I should have kept my oldest in Beyond by herself and started the boys in Little Hearts the following year.

You might be able to combine by using the left side of Little Hearts for both, and then use the right side of Beyond for your oldest.

Or you might find it easier to just put each child in their own guide, where they are perfectly placed.

I can totally relate to feeling like one child is "lost in the shuffle". I have felt that way many times. Good luck finding the perfect fit for your dc!

BTW, LHTH does not take much time at all, so it's not a big deal to add it on. It takes 30 minutes at the most. Some days it's much shorter. It just depends if my dc want to spend more time on projects/activities.

[MelInKansas]

The general advice given is if you want to combine two children, use the guide that fits the younger one (or the one whose skills are "behind") for your primary stuff - history, Bible, rotating (which includes science, art, etc) and then make sure each child has their own level for reading/phonics, math, writing. What sharonb suggested about using the L side (plus storytime) of LHFHG for both and then R side of LHFHG for the younger one, R side of Beyond (Emerging Readers which is in Beyond or DITHR for reading) for the older one would work and is probably the easiest for you in terms of planning. There is a big leap between those two guides in terms of the reading comprehension level of the history, Bible, and storytime selections. My middle who is almost 5 can't really follow along with it all that well, though she does still join us and of course she loves the crafts, she doesn't get the science concepts, etc.

Ditto what she said about LHTH. I will probably do it with my 2YO next year when she is 3, so I will be running 3 guides. But LHTH takes less than 30 minutes to do, LHFHG about 45 minutes to an hour, and hopefully my oldest will have enough independent work to do to get through most of that time, or she may join in on some of the fun with the younger ones before we get to her stuff. I am still trying to figure all that out.

[my3sons]

Welcome to the HOD Board, homefire! It sounds like you have checked out the placement chart. It is important that dc be able to handle the reading, writing, grammar of a guide in order to be able to move up each year to the subsequent guides. Skills build upon each other from guide to guide in a wonderful way, and that flow is lost if dc begin in a guide too difficult for them in these areas. HOD makes it easy to beef up for the older while keeping the core of a guide doable for a combination of ages. So, from what you've shared so far, I'd suggest you do LHFHG with your 5 and 7 yo as their core program, and for your 7 yo, I'd use the LA/math from the right side of the Beyond guide. There is also a great list of history books that extend the learning in the back of LHFHG that you can choose to use if you wish for your oldest. If when looking at the placement chart, you feel your 5 yo is closer to doing LHTH than LHFHG, than you could combine the 3 and 5 yo together, knowing you'd go more slowly to let the 3 yo catch up, and adding the next level up of LA/math for your 5 yo as needed. I'm sure your 5 yo can be happily combined in one of these scenarios, but what do you think is best? We have 3 sons all 3 or more years apart, and we do 3 HOD guides and simply love our homeschooling days, so if you do end up going that route, you may find you really enjoy that as well. If you get the chance to pop back in after pondering this a bit more and maybe taking one more peek at the placement chart, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

In Christ,
Julie

[homefire]

Thank you everyone for your feedback and ideas. Being such a tactile person myself I've been waiting for the catalog to arrive (a computer screen just doesn't do it for me) and it just arrived so hopefully I'll have a better idea after I look it over.

[homefire]

Again, thank you all for your suggestions and ideas. After much prayer and a few questions to my kiddos I've made a decision! I'm getting LHTH for my 3yo. and LHFHG for my 5yo and 6yo with different levels of phonics and handwriting. I asked my 5yo what his favorite part about school was and he said it was doing things all together so with that in mind I decided not to split them up into separate guides. My 6yo's favorite part was art and doing science experiments so I'm sure she'll have fun with LHFHG too. Thanks again for the welcome and the advice. I look forward to getting to know you all better in the coming semester!

[sharonb]

It sounds like you have a great plan.