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Ok so next year I will have a K and 2nd grader. My 2nd grader will not be very independent with his work. With trying to do the few things I am with Judah now and still do school with Collin it is stressing me a little. So I would appreciate any insight, advice, suggestions, experience or anything that you have to help me figure this out in my brain.

I know I did this before with my 17 and 16yo but I just don't remember how it worked out. :-/ And with my 17yos learning issues they were the same really academically.

I just got LHTH and working it in is a bit stressful for me. Then next year I will have two guides going. So please please give me suggestions. Thanks.

I know it's next year but I am a planner and I need to have it figured out. KWIM

Stagger-start your guides so you have a couple of weeks to get a feel for one guide before starting the next one on top of it. I think that once you get into LHTH and get a feel for it you'll find it flows pretty quickly and easily . This guide/this age group does not really make it feasible to have your student working on something while you're doing school with the other child, though. They need you for every step of it. For us, that means my dd9 (doing Bigger) is working on independent work while I do all of LHTH with my ds5, and then do all of LHFHG with my ds7. Fortunately, my 9 yo is able to handle almost all of Bigger on her own, so I'm usually finding we're finishing with the boys about the time that she's needing me to finish up her school day with anything she has questions on, or that we normally do together. There were some pretty long and exhausting days at the beginning of the year (for Mom!), but now that we're comfortably into things we can often wrap up all 3 guides in about 2 hours, or just over. Sorry, I didn't look at your signature to notice if you listed the guide you're using with your older child, so I'm not sure if you needed all that information . Anyway, it is possible to run 2 or more guides and not lose your sanity completely ! It's much more intimidating to look at and think about than it is to actually do it, once you get your stride down!

This year I have a Kindergartner and 2nd grader. We're doing LHFHG & Bigger. We just returned to HOD before Christmas, so we've only been with it for a few weeks. The first few days took a bit of adjusting but now after a month into it, I feel we have a good routine for us and it's fun having the one-on-one time with each of them every day.

Things I've learned...School is our priority right now, housework is always there, it'll get done eventually. I try not to do any "ME" projects in the morning unless it's before 8:30 a.m. (ex: exercise, computer, crafts, e-mail, texts, reading, etc). I try really hard to keep weekday mornings for school only. I try not to answer the phone unless it's my husband. I have really tried hard to plan our our meals, use freezer recipes, crockpot recipes, etc. so I'm not stressing about dinner. This sounds so trivial, but it's a HUGE stress-reliever to have it planned - especially on a day where ballet & basketball fall in the same afternoon. I do the same thing with planning for HOD - I look through the guides as we close them on Friday to see what items the next 5 days requires. I add any items I don't have to my shopping list for the weekend. It really helps school run smoothly when I take 2-3 minutes to prepare for the next week. I have no excuses not to do a project!

Here's what our school days look like...

I usually start LHFHG with my daughter in the morning around 9/9:30 a.m. and we're usually done within an hour. Sometimes we're finished faster, sometimes over an hour - it all depends on the activities scheduled for that day. She tends to spend more time on her art projects so I try to save these until the end so it frees me to do something else (start Bigger with my son) while she has all the time she needs to finish.

My son usually begins Bigger around 10 a.m. and he's done by 12 or 12:30 p.m. There are some activities we save for after lunch so he can spend a lot of time on them without feeling rushed (art, science) and have my undivided attention (my 2yo usually naps right after lunch).

I will be the same boat, and with a new baby on board too! So I don't know if I can offer any experienced wisdom, but after having done LHTH, LHFHG, and now half of Beyond, I am starting to get comfortable with the routine of the guides and feel like it will work out well to do both LHFHG and finish Beyond/start Bigger next school year.

I already have a routine where one of the older 2 play with the youngest while I do school with the other of the older 2. My 2nd is doing reading and handwriting this year on her own, and my oldest is independent in just a little bit of work, at least I can get her started on copywork or math and she can usually do it on her own, of course I have to touch base with her right when she says she is done and make sure, especially in math, that she did it right.

Try to create a routine before you start, think through what things are harder for your child(ren) and what are easier, what things will get done quickly and what might take longer. I tend to put the harder things toward the beginning of the day, and make sure I am as available to help as possible, and the things (like art) that they like to dawdle on at the end. We all take turns, my 7YO reads "to her sisters" (the 2YO doesn't really pay attention, but oh well, she is sitting and feels a part of it anyway). Anyway, look at the schedule thread at the top, that may also give you some ideas of how to work different programs together and make the best use of your time. I totally agree with another poster that I really need to not start anything in the morning before school, otherwise our school day just drags and seems to take forever.

I hope this is helpful!

I have two K'ers and a 2nd grader right now. We are doing LHFHG and Beyond. I agree with what everyone else said. I usually start at breakfast. I read the LHFHG history portion while we are eating. Then, my 2nd grader goes and makes his bed and does his chores, brushes his teeth etc. My other two work on the left side of the guide. That goes pretty quickly. Then I work with my 2nd grader on the left side of Beyond while my other two make their beds, do their chores, brush their teeth, etc. When I've finished the left side of the guide with my 2nd grader, I work on phonics, math and handwriting with one of my K'ers and then when we are finished I work with the other on the same exact thing. While I'm working with one, the other two always play together so that helps. You could always have one of yours play something educational on the computer. I make the one playing on the computer wear headphones. Once the twins are finished with the right side of the guide, I do the right side of Beyond with my 2nd grader. After that, I start lunch and do LHFHG storytime at while we're eating. After lunch, I do the Beyond storytime. I start at 9:30 and finish at about 2:00, but I have one extra, so it won't take you that long. We also have a snack somewhere in there.

One thing that really helped me is a schedule posted on my refrigerator. I use it more as a guide. If they time starts to get away from me, I can look and see where we need to be. On days that I don't get any phone calls, everyone is cooperating. We are usually ahead of schedule. But there are always those days that we get a late start and things just don't run as smooth. The schedule helps me see where we should be at any certain point in the day.


HTH,
Tracy

I am wondering if my 6yo can just join in or listen while I am doing LHTH with the 4yo. The activities are fun and he may like them. I could also maybe start him on his ETC while I am working with the 4yo. He probably won't get much done for listening but that's ok. Then next year I will do phonics with my then 5yo so I will have to add that in.

I am a bit stressed about doing 2 guides but I have tried the do school with all of them at the same time just working at different levels thing with my olders and it never worked for me. I love HOD and want to make this work and I know as they get older it will be easier but it will be hard for now and honestly it stresses me.

Then I may just have my daughter do the LHTH now with my 4yo. I think I could work high school credit in for her for doing it.

The ladies gave some wonderful tips already here! I am in full agreement with all that's been shared here already. I think you will be surprised at how easy it is to teach several HOD programs at once, once you get into a good routine with it. We have happily been doing multiple guides for many years. I am wondering, will your older ds be doing Beyond next year? I'm not sure if I understood that correctly. LHTH takes only about 20-30 minutes, so if you have anything (school-related or not) your older ds can do independently, you can have him work on that while you do LHTH with your little one. If he is doing Beyond, he can do his copywork of his poetry and practice his Bible memory verse. I really enjoy having my 4 yo do little learning stations while I homeschool my other 2 dc, and he enjoys it too. Here is a post I did on it...
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10565&p=76777

Beyond takes only about 2 to 2 1/2 hours to do, so that will be easy to do along with LHTH. You'll know if you want to have your ds doing Beyond do LHTH too, but I'd lean in the direction of not having him join in with LHTH. True, LHTH is a really fun program to do. But, your ds's attention span will probably be good for about the amount of time Beyond expects him to pay attention. Adding time to his day may make him be less productive with Beyond - however, you will know best about that. We truly loved both those guides - great fun! I think by following the tips the ladies shared here, and making sure your 4 yo is happily occupied for a bit, you'll be on your way to a super year. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie