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...to continue to combine my 1st & 3rd grader in LHFHG!

We are in unit 6 and my kids are loving it!! Even my third grader. I do have her on grade level for math and english and she does do independent reading on level as well. My brain will not let me believe that its ok to keep them combined. On a whim I ordered bigger and all the books and ran both guides for all of last week and I was stressed and overwhelmed. I have a potty training 3 yrd old and I also work full time from home AND my husband lost his job 3 weeks ago and my schedule has been CRAZY! I thought that it would be a blessing to have him at home to help out but I am ashamed to say that it is otherwise. My kiddos think that we don't have to stick to our normal routine. I have been staying up late and sleeping in WAY later until about 8am and things have been crazy.

Please tell me its ok to keep them combined (permanently). It will be so much easier, especially since I will be running 2 guides next year when adding LHTH with my then 4 yr old and then doing Beyond with my then 2nd & 4th grader. Is that ok?

Totally stressing myself out here.
Thanks

Yes, I just typed a long message and lost it.

Thanks Heidi!


I see so many woman on here that are running multiple guides and I am trying to figure out how and why if they could be combined. I always wanted my children to be combined for science, history, art, music and such but the ages '5-7' on the manual is driving me crazy when my daughter is 8 and will be 9 in July even before we are done with LHFHG.

I guess I just need to make a decision and stick with it because I know that I wont be able to run 3 guides next year

I think it's totally fine as long as your older is on level with the 3R's, which it sounds like she is. So no worries! Really!!

Hi there,
I just wanted to say that i am going to combine my 12yo and 7yo in bigger for similar reasons. I dont know what the future will look like, but right now...it just works best cor our home to only have 1 and a 1/2 guides. (My 3yo does LHTH too). Maybe once I work out some of the kinks (ie training to be more independent) I am hoping that it will be a smooth transition for him to go to his own guide. We are just **REALLY, REALLY** busy with church activities and between that, keeping the house up and misc. projects, etc....not to mention character habits we are all working through....we just dont move as fast as the guides go. We need to go at about a third pace...struggling w full and half wouldnt b enough. If your 3rd grader is learning and enjoying her school and you have her at the appropriate levels in the basics, personally I think - you gotta do, what you gotta do and it will be fine. It is sometimes a struggle to find peace when you add too much to the home plate. If you have tried to swing it and its not working, you might have to just stick w what works. Just my humble .02

Lol! I totally didnt mean to use baseball references...it just turned out that way!

HappyMama wrote:I think it's totally fine as long as your older is on level with the 3R's, which it sounds like she is. So no worries! Really!!

This is essentially what I wanted to tell you, as well as "I'll be praying for all the situational stuff which is causing grief right now!" HUGS! It's ok - do what you have to to be sane and at peace!

Once your dc reach Bigger Hearts for His Glory, there will be extensions for your older child. For now, it sounds like situation-wise, it would be best to keep them combined. I have prayed for your dh to find a job, and I can empathize with it being hard to homeschool with "fun" daddy around - we have that occasionally here as well.

In Christ,
Julie

I totally agree that as long as your child is doing the 3R's at her level, it is totally fine to combine them! I have my 8 and 10 year old sons combined in Bigger, with extensions for the 10 year old to read. It is working out very well. They were both in Beyond together last year. Don't stress about this, truly. It's not worth it in the long run, in the big picture!

Blessings and peace to you.

That's what I plan on doing, so I hope it's okay! But seriously, it sounds like the best situation for you guys right now. My 3 and 5 year old are combined, and I plan on keeping them that way. Sure, I could add "as long as it's working out for everyone," but quite honestly I plan to make it work. Keep your kiddos on level in the 3 Rs, add the extensions if and when you need them. Right now in LHFHG you could always add some of the books from the appendix for your older one, and she could probably read a lot on her own. Then in Beyond you might check the library for extra books that go along with the subjects being studied, but you certainly don't have to. If it would create extra stress for you, then certainly don't worry about it. I just wanted to throw that idea out there.

Thanks for all the replies ladies. I am so much more at peace with my decision now