Uncombining (How and When)

[HSMom03]

I hesitate to ask this question as it seems like one that has probably been asked a lot. However, I just searched the forum and read on the topic for a good hour and don't think that I found an answer. So here goes. In August of this year, I will start LHFHG with my 2 older boys (adding from Beyond for the older). They will turn 5 and 7 late fall (PreK & 1st). We'll have just enough guides for my oldest if we do one guide per year, grades 1-12. But what will my 2nd child do for 11th and 12th grade? That got me thinking that maybe we should uncombine BEFORE high school (makes a lot of sense!) but I don't know how we'd do that either. What do others plan to do? Any tips? Thanks!!

[Nealewill]

If I were you, I would not combine your two kids to start with. I would put your youngest in LHFHG and take it slower. I would try and keep both of you boys 2 guides are apart if you can.

[MelInKansas]

You can cross that bridge when you get there. If your younger one can really progress through all the guides at full speed successfully and therefore has finished H.S. requirements by the time he is a junior in H.S. there are options for taking college courses as a high school student, and I think it is cheaper than if you are officially graduated from H.S. Or he could graduate early. My guess is, being on the younger end of the guide, he will end up needing to slow down at some point or your older one will be ready to move ahead. Though if you make it through 2-3 guides and all are doing well, then you could probably adapt things more easily in one of the higher guides. However, be careful to not be pushing your younger one beyond what he is capable of just to keep them together.

My oldest hit a speed bump in Bigger. The writing requirements were too much for her. So we slowed it down and it got a lot better.

[StephanieU]

My yonger two will probably be combined like yours. My thought was around Preparing or CtC I would split them. The older one would continue on, and the younger one would do just do the 3Rs (grammar, math, DITHOR, dictation probably) and maybe read-alouds/extensions from the previous guide for a month or so and then go half speed for a while. My guess is that when they get to independent things, the age will make a difference. I don't know if that will work or not though...

[bethelmommy]

I really hope some moms with older combined kids have time to pop in and share their thoughts. In the meantime, I can share with you the three options we face. My first and preferred choice is that ds finishes all the guides and dd starts online college classes her junior year. A second option is if the guides get too advanced for dd to keep up, I drop her to half speed and let ds continue on full speed until they get separated into different guides. A third option is to slow down the guides for both as needed and if necessary add in extensions for ds. This means he would not complete all of the guides, but Julie (my3sons) responded to that concern once and assured me that even if ds doesn't get to the last guide, his education will be so much richer and more complete than many others and definitely better than what I received in high school. I wish I knew how to link threads because her reply was so encouraging. For now, I'm not worrying about it. Things are moving along great and we're enjoying each day as it comes. HTH.

[HSMom03]

Thanks! My thought was that we'd slow down in middle school, adding in extensions for the older. I could make sure we slow down to just the right pace in order to leave 2 guides for my middle child's 11th and 12th grade years. Or I could have my middle revisit whatever guide my 3rd child is in, adding the extensions in for him. Then the younger two would be combined instead of the older two. Of course I'd have to find a way to split them up too then, at some point . Someone once told me that middle children have it the best because they can bounce back and forth between the oldest and youngest. Hmm, I don't know. I am not opposed to running separate guides, I am just pretty sure my boys will refuse to be separated . So, maybe that will just mean each of them doing multiple guides as well! I do hope some more moms chime in. Thanks again!

[queenireneof3]

I have wrestled with that question too. I am in a similar situation. I chose to combine my 5yo daughter and 7yo son in LHFHG this year. My reasons for doing that were: 1) My son was borderline between Beyond and LHFHG, but I felt that the extra year of establishing the basics and letting school be fun, not always too hard, would really benefit him. 2)My kids have a sweet friendship and I thought combining them would continue to build that friendship as we would be doing school togehter. 3)Simplicity for me! I have heard others mothers comment that it can be hard to run two guides at once (not impossible!.) Since I have a two year old underfoot and have since gotten pregnant, I think the Lord leading me to the decision to combine was grace and wisdom! 4) HOD is designed so I can extend my older sons subjects to the higher level of reading, math, etc. I bought the Beyond guide so that my older son can do the 1a/1b math. He is on his own level of reading and writing, so in all the basics, he is doing more advanced work than my daughter. It works well to combine the rest of the subjects-bible, story, rhymes, science, etc. as it saves us time and connects us as a family.

I figure the Lord led us to this decision to combine after much prayer and advice seeking on this forum, and if the time comes to split them up into separate guides, He will make that clear at the time. I'm choosing not to worry about tomorrow yet!