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Hi ladies. I used HOD in the past but we had to take a few years off due to difficult life circumstances. The kids are all using Abeka dvds right now and it has actually been a great year of solidifying the things we've worked on in k-3. I'm hoping to get back to HOD next year, Lord willing, which is where you come in.

First, perfect placement would be:
DD5th: CTC
DS3rd: Bigger
DD1st: Beyond

I know I can not handle all of these guides full speed plus DITHOR. (just being realistic with my own circumstances and limitations)

My 5th grader did Bigger Hearts in 2nd grade. She would absolutely thrive in CTC. I could move her down to Preparing but I don't think that would solve my issue.
DS 3rd did LHFHG in k. He's gifted and a great independent worker. I could combine him with dd in Beyond, but I don't think I would be meeting his needs. Since we've done Bigger before, I'm fairly certain that is where he needs to be. DD1st is actually old for her grade and has also done most of LHFHG before starting Abeka k. Shphonie has had cursive instruction, great narrations, but could use another year of emerging readers and phonics instruction. Beyond spelling/grammar lessons would be perfect for her.

I'm open any options regarding combining or just slowing down certain guides, but I would love your feedback on these options:

DD5th (age 10.5) CTC
DS3rd (age 8.5) and DD 1st (turning 7 early fall) in Bigger 4 day schedule

DD5th CTC
DS3rd and DD1st in Beyond (how would I beef this up for ds?)

DD5th and DS3d combined in Preparing (losing independence factor)
DD1st in Beyond

OR

Put everyone in their own guide and see how it goes. I'm past the tough stage now where they are all little and they are all eager, motivated students. I'm pretty sure ds3rd could do many of his Bigger work on his own. He works well independently but needs help staying on task. DD1st is a model student so she's pretty easy I'm just afraid because a few years ago Bigger and LHFHG almost did me in. But that could also just be the season of life we were in at the time.

What do you think?

I don't have any experience with running multiple guides, but based on what you said I think having them each in their own would work out best. Maybe you could try running the guides at half speed till you get into the swing of things and then step your oldest up to full speed, keeping the youngers moving more slowly. Once you get that routine going bump your middle child up to full speed. Then you could keep your youngest doing Beyond at half speed or bump them up later. That would keep you from doing so much each day - especially with your younger 2 who will need the most help. And it will keep the guides staggered so they won't all always be starting a new one at the same time.

If you want to combine your younger two, one suggestion I have is that you combine them in Bigger at 1/2 speed (not 4 days a week) and add extensions for your older if he needs them. This would allow you to spend more time with your daughter on phonics/reading instruction, yet allow your son some of the independence he seems ready for. If you have Beyond, you could do the grammar from there with your daughter first at a slightly accelerated pace before starting R & S.

Usually the recommendation is to combine down a guide with the youngest. However, based on what you have shared, it does seem feasible that your youngest could mature into Bigger if 1/2 speed is an option for you. I haven't done Bigger yet, so I can't speak from experience there, only from the experience of combining and that works well for us. I would definitely prefer to avoid teaching back to back guides .

Thank you!

I think I am pretty set on CTC with oldest.

My 1st/2nd grader places in Bigger on paper but my gut tells me to go with Beyond. I think the vocab and timeline would be a struggle for her instead of a joy. So now I just need to decide if I should have her third grade brother join her in Beyond or start Bigger.

I also have a four year old, but eventually I hope to combine him with his little brother. The 1st/3rd grader are my best bet of combining since they are the closest in age. (17 months)

I don't have time to search right now, but I once read a thread where Carrie lists suggestions on how to beef up Beyond for an older child. That may be helpful for you to read.

Thank you Alicia I will try to search for those threads.

You could put your 1st and 3rd in Beyond and have your 3rd grader do the left side of Bigger with Rod and Staff English, Cursive, math wherever he fits, and you could even do DITHOR at full or 1/2 speed. You can choose a spelling list or start dictation with your 3rd grader. When you get to Bigger next year you could add extensions for your ds if you feel he needs the extra challenge. I would hesitate to put your 1st in Bigger next year, keeping in mind that each guide gets meatier and you may find it a stretch down the road. I actually think I would lean towards that plan because Beyond and Bigger are teacher intensive.

I like this plan...

countrymom wrote:You could put your 1st and 3rd in Beyond and have your 3rd grader do the left side of Bigger with Rod and Staff English, Cursive, math wherever he fits, and you could even do DITHOR at full or 1/2 speed. You can choose a spelling list or start dictation with your 3rd grader. When you get to Bigger next year you could add extensions for your ds if you feel he needs the extra challenge. I would hesitate to put your 1st in Bigger next year, keeping in mind that each guide gets meatier and you may find it a stretch down the road. I actually think I would lean towards that plan because Beyond and Bigger are teacher intensive.

I think this would be very doable along with CTC!

One other plan would be to stagger half-speed with the 2 youngers. You could do half-speed Beyond with the younger and half-speed Bigger with the older for several months to get in a good routine. Then, as it becomes obvious which of the 2 can go full-speed, I'd move that one to full-speed and keep the other at half-speed until... you'll know. This is another option as they are younger for their guides. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie