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I am trying to pick a curriculum for my children next year and feel like I'm going to lose my mind before I come to a decision. I have two children in school right now. One is 8 years old and entering 3rd grade. She struggles as a student, but is right on for grade level work. I would never want to overwhelm her with too advanced material. The other is 10 years old and entering 5th grade. She is very advanced. Her reading and language arts standardized test scores average around the 7th or 8th grade level. I wouldn't want to hold her back.

So... if I were placing each girl independently, I would say my 3rd grader should do Preparing and my 5th grader should do Res to Ref.

But, we are a family and I'm trying to consolidate our day so it doesn't pull me in so many directions and end up with a bunch of down time for one daughter while I'm working on something with the other. Also, it certainly would be more affordable to be using one curriculum instead of two. IF we chose to do just one and, let's say, picked Preparing with the Extension pack, would that be too easy for the advanced 5th grader? OR if we chose a middle ground and got C2C with the extension, would that be too hard to the right-on-track 3rd grader? Or should I abandon the hope of doing just one curriculum and go with the two different programs? Thanks.

Have you looked at the placement chart? I don't have a link handy right now, but it's on the main HOD webpage. That would help us help you a little better

Also, you say your kids are in school. Are you homeschooling currently? If you are, what curriculum are you using right now? HOD is a Charlotte Mason based approach and is sometimes better to ease into.

Honestly, for the ages and what you've shared, I would put them in Bigger and CTC. That would not give a lot of down time for either.... you could do school with the 3rd grader while the 5th grader is doing her independent work, then you could do the other things you need to do with the 5th grader when she gets done. There isn't a lot left to do after the independent stuff in CTC. And you could combine Story Time with those two guides! Which would be together as well...

I agree with Lora Beth that it probably matters what sort of curriculum that you are coming from. A CM style curriculum is very different than a typical textbook or school room situation. You want to factor that into your decision. I certainly wouldn't go any higher than Preparing for your 3rd grader. It is plenty challenging or a 3rd grade curriculum, many use it for 4th grade. We found CTC a challenging year for my 5th graders who are many grades advanced in their LA/reading skills. The extensions in Preparing do get pretty challenging after the first couple of books so if you felt you needed to combine and felt that your 3rd grader could handle that level, I would probably start there. On the other hand like Lora Beth said, you could easily place each in her own program and work with one while the other is doing her independent work. My first thought for putting each one in their own guide was Bigger and CTC as well.

This last year was our first year homeschooling. I purchased all different curriculum for each subject and just don't feel like I can do that again. There was overlapping in some places and missing info in other places along with lots of down time for each as I worked with the other. I need better flow. The standardized test thing I was talking about was the California Achievement Test that you can take online through Christian Liberty. I had them do it at the beginning of the year and at the end just to make sure my first year wasn't a complete failure! LOL

Your suggestions have been soooo helpful. I was just floundering, but it sounds like doing Bigger for the 3rd grader and C2C for the 5th is probably the best way to go. I posed this same question in another online board and many people said the same thing! I guess since that wasn't even an option I had mentioned, but it's certainly the most popular opinion, I can really trust it.

I'll admit, there's still a small part of me that wants to get Preparing with the Extension pack so that it helps bring down the cost, but that's not the right reason to make the choice, so I'm just going to be praying, praying, PRAYING that God provides the means to do this option that is best. Thanks again!!

I don't want to discourage you not to combine. I just think if you do combine that anything above Preparing would be too much for the 3rd grader. My dc did Preparing in 4th grade, but I loved all the extension books so much that we started out the year adding in the extensions. After a few months when the books got more difficult in the extension package, the workload was just too much for them. The reading level was fine but the time it was taking was too much for them. I'm thinking that they would be fine though for your advanced 5th grader. It is a great guide with lots of great skill building included. I think if you want to combine, I would look at it more carefully to see if you feel that your 3rd grader is ready for it. I think your 5th grader will find plenty of challenge with the extensions and math/LA at her level. It could work so I wouldn't rule it out without more consideration and prayer. I should add too that I think Preparing is our favorite guide so far.

The only reason I would advise against Preparing for the 3rd grader is because you said she was on par for her reading skills. My 8yo going into 3rd grade girl is slightly ahead, her average test scores put her at mid to end 3rd grade. There is no way she would be able to do Preparing full speed. Bigger is PERFECT for her. She's learning, gets plenty of challenge, but it's not too much work for her.

Getting them placed accurately will end up saving you time, whether that means combining or not. I would be schooling much much more time during the day if I was trying to combine my 5th and 3rd grader in Preparing.

I know the age range on Preparing says 8-10... and by all means if you look at the placement chart and she fits there, then go for it!! But I think that for an 8 year old to be successful in Preparing then she would have had to go through Bigger full speed the year before. Each guide builds the child to the next level.

I agree that Preparing is challenging for 3rd grade so one would have to make sure that the dc is ready for it. A quick search of the books that the dc read in the independent history section came back with reading levels 4.8 to 5.9 so it would require a strong reader. The workload is quite a bit more than Bigger as well, especially in writing. Here is link that compares the writing in Bigger and Preparing: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3602 I think it would have been a bit much for my dc in 3rd grade even though they were above level readers. We also did Bigger in 3rd grade and Preparing in 4th and it was wonderful for my dc. Just like Lora Beth said, I have heard many others here on the board say that it is easier to place dc at their own level rather than combine, and that it is actually less time consuming to teach. So those are some things to ponder.

I honestly don't think I would recommend Preparing for a typical 3rd grader at all...especially because you mentioned not wanting to overwhelm him/her with school work. Honestly, we used Preparing this past year for 5th grade, and I felt it was plenty for my dd, and don't feel she's behind at all where she should be for heading into 6th grade. The placement chart will be your best guide, but keep in mind that there is quite a bit more work and time committment in Preparing.

With that said, I don't think you have to completely close out the option of combining your kids. There are other threads on here about beefing up Bigger for a 5th grader. I think you may be able to use Bigger for both kids, if you put your 5th grader on level for Math, Language Arts, Dithor, and used extensions. If you need more help on other things you may need or want to beef up, ask away! I haven't done it, so I'm not much help, but there are others on the board here who have .