Hitting guides too soon?

[Jenny]

My 6yr. old 1st grader is in Beyond this year and is doing great. He is on track to begin Bigger next year for 2nd grade at 7 yrs. old. My concern is that he will be hitting the later guides too early...as he will be at the lower recommended age range. Other moms on various boards and sites have mentioned that those guides shouldn't be done too soon. Now I don't know what to do...I can't exactly slow him down. I wouldn't want to switch from HOD only to return later. Should I just continue forward? Any advice? Thanks for any help.
Jenny

[countrymom]

As long as he is doing fine I would just keep going. Every child is different and some children can run the guides at the younger age range just fine. If you get to a guide where you feel you need to adjust you can always go 1/2 speed for awhile. My oldest is finishing Bigger at age 7. He will be 8 when we hit Preparing in April and I have been pouring through the Preparing guide and feel he is able and ready to do it.

[alydar]

My dd6 is in the same situation. I also had concerns about her moving into Bigger too soon. But I was told to just keep letting her go until it becomes obvious she needs adjustment.

[MomtoJGJE]

I've been through over half of Preparing now, and so far the issue for us would be more of a mechanics issue... the amount of reading and writing and general work would be too hard. The way the material is presented I do not think is too much for younger ones. I wouldn't want my 6yo going through Preparing right now, but not because the material is too intense, but just that she won't get as much out of it as she will in two years.

But on that same note, I think when they go through guides it teaches them how to get all the information out of the next guide. So if your child is on the lower end of the age range and you are just starting HOD, then that might not be the easiest/best fit.... but if you have been going through HOD, then I think they'll just continue to build the same way they would if they were a year or two older.

Plus, sometimes things happen to make guides take longer to get through, so they might not always be on the lower end. It will take us almost three years to get through Bigger and Preparing with my oldest and we school year round. It seems like every time we hit our stride with it, something happens to set us back. Just since our new "year" started in July we have had three setbacks! Beach trip in August, new baby in October, and we got the flu last week. So we haven't managed 10 units since July.

[alydar]

I've been through over half of Preparing now, and so far the issue for us would be more of a mechanics issue... the amount of reading and writing and general work would be too hard. The way the material is presented I do not think is too much for younger ones. I wouldn't want my 6yo going through Preparing right now, but not because the material is too intense, but just that she won't get as much out of it as she will in two years.

But on that same note, I think when they go through guides it teaches them how to get all the information out of the next guide. So if your child is on the lower end of the age range and you are just starting HOD, then that might not be the easiest/best fit.... but if you have been going through HOD, then I think they'll just continue to build the same way they would if they were a year or two older.

Plus, sometimes things happen to make guides take longer to get through, so they might not always be on the lower end. It will take us almost three years to get through Bigger and Preparing with my oldest and we school year round. It seems like every time we hit our stride with it, something happens to set us back. Just since our new "year" started in July we have had three setbacks! Beach trip in August, new baby in October, and we got the flu last week. So we haven't managed 10 units since July.

We've experienced the set-backs, too. We're only on Unit 9 in Bigger and Unit 7 in Beyond. We started in July, too. But I think it will only gain them benefit. Each day they are a bit older and have grown a little bit more. I can see clear, positive changes in both of mine just since July. I think spreading these guides out will work well for us at this time, too.

[my3sons]

The great thing about HOD is you can easily go half-speed at any time. We have done this with our middle and youngest ds, as they are on the younger age range of the guides. This has been great for our dc! I slowed things down to half-speed for the first half or so of BHFHG. Then we went to full-speed because he was ready. For convenience sake, I started Riley half-speed in PHFHG for about a month or so I believe, then full-speed. For CTC, we did about 3 weeks half-speed or so at the start, then full-speed. Now, in Unit 8 of CTC, full-speed is a perfect fit for him. For my youngest, we are doing a similar pacing, adjusting as best fits him. He is currently around halfway through LHFHG full-speed. We may start Beyond half-speed or full-speed - we'll see. For my oldest, he has always been on the very youngest end of the guides, and he has always done great with that placement. He will more than likely just graduate a year early from high school.

I share all of this to say - if full-speed is a good fit (meaning the student can do all that is asked of him/her in the guide), then keep going full-speed. If at the start of a new guide, you can see it is too much, slow to half-speed until... you'll know. Basically, when the child is finishing early, and you are considering add more to their day, it's time for full-speed. I've never spent 2 full years in one guide. Typically, it just becomes obvious the child is ready for full-speed. HTH, but I wouldn't worry one bit about hitting guides too soon! If things are progressing well, and your child is in the target age range of the guide, you are just fine.

In Christ,
Julie

[deltagal]

HTH, but I wouldn't worry one bit about hitting guides too soon! If things are progressing well, and your child is in the target age range of the guide, you are just fine.

In Christ,
Julie

I agree completely. I actually think it would be ideal to finish the guides by 11th grade, because I'm finding that the final year - 12th grade - is simply needed to focus on the future interests of the child and give them some freedom to pursue some of their own interests in more depth.

[basesloaded]

Has anyone used this final year as such yet? I am wondering about how to fill out their transcript if I chose to go this route for 12th grade. I know they would have what they needed but just wondering if anyone has done it yet and how they went about that part.

[my3sons]

Has anyone used this final year as such yet? I am wondering about how to fill out their transcript if I chose to go this route for 12th grade. I know they would have what they needed but just wondering if anyone has done it yet and how they went about that part.

I am thinking this response Carrie gave may help, and you probably may have not seen it yet as she just posted it very recently! Hope it helps!
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