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We got our box today!! We were all SO excited. My kids were dead set of getting A Beka DVD again for next year......until we opened our BOX!! They are more excited than I thought they would be and keep begging me to start right away.

My question is this....Would it be okay to do A Beka DVD (which we already purchased for this year and are almost done) for three days per week and then jump into the guides two days per week? Be honest and tell me this is a crazy idea if you think it is, but I have been looking through everything and I think it would be doable. Unless you all think they won't retain the flow of the Unit if we split it like this. In a few weeks we would just start doing HOD 3-4 days a week through the summer (once DVDs were done).

We chose Bigger for my son who is 7 and would have gone into A Beka third grade. I was thinking of just keeping with the guide with dictation (instead of spelling) as well as R&S English (which I looked through and I think he can do the first few lessons fairly well). I would not do the math part on the days we do HOD because he will just continue on with A Beka math 3 anyway.

We chose LHFHG 1st grade for my daughter who is 5. She is finishing A Beka K this year. We would be continuing A Beka phonics and everything else would be according to the guide including Singapore Math 1A.

Thoughts on this idea??

Thanks so much!

I am in a similar boat, got our box and everyone is excited to just start right away. Well, they will just have to wait. When we are done with this year's work, there will be a short break (mostly for my sanity) and then we will get started with our new stuff. I think trying to start something new while we're finishing up the old stuff may cause confusion and stress. So as you can see, I would say finish your current work before moving on to the new stuff.

If you really want to try to make it work, maybe you would consider making HOD the main thing, meaning doing it 3-4 days a week while you finish up your DVDs 1-2 days a week. How much time do your DVDs take? Are they short and sweet or all day affairs? AND, how important is it to you to finish the DVDs in the first place? Answering these questions may help you figure out what you should do next.

Best wishes!

Thank you for replying!
We would want to finish the DVDs. They do take a large portion of the day. I have to return them by end of June, so that is the only deadline I would have.
The main reason I wanted to start HOD was to see if it is a fit for our family. Mostly for me. I *want* to be a super great teacher, but question my ability to do the program. It does look great, but I won't know until I try it out.

It is so exciting to begin HOD, especially once you get your hands on all of those wonderful books and easy to use teacher's guide! I so understand what you are saying. I think if you began just a few days a week though, you would not really be able to have a real "trying it out" phase. It takes at least 2-4 weeks to really get into a good rhythm with all of a new guide, and it is at this point that everything clicks and just becomes easier and easier as it all falls into place. I think you would never get to that point doing BHFHG just a few days a week at a time and then switching back to ABeka in between. It sounds like you truly want to finish your DVD's, so I think I'd just throw myself into doing that - there is a great feeling of finishing and of knowing what the focus is going to be. Then, I'd start Bigger Hearts, and really put your whole focus on teaching that well. I think you are really going to love it, and tying up some loose ends before you begin will make the start of it that much sweeter. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie