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Hello I have been homeschooling my girls from the start, I used HOD- LHFHG for my girls when they were in Pre-K and K, but have since used other curriculum. I am feeling led back to HOD this year and My girls are now in 1st and 3rd grade level.

My question is which HOD would be best for both of them my 3rd grader(8) is above average, reading fluently and my 1st grader will be turning 7 in September, but she isn't reading quite yet. I've always taught them together, but just not sure which one would be the best fit. Thanks in advance.

Based on what you said, I would use Beyond. I think Bigger might work, but the following year, Preparing would be way too much for your then 8yo unless she grew by leaps and bounds. For your older one, to "beef up" Beyond, I would do Rod and Staff English 2 (1 lesson a day) as well as DITHOR. And of course use the appropriate level for math. You might also want to add cursive if you think she would enjoy it.

Thanks Stephanie! Which level of DITHOR should I use and can I use that with both? I've never used it before, I just checked it out briefly, but a little confused. Thanks.

With your 7yo, you will want to do either phonics or the emerging readers based on what you said about his reading ability. For the 8yo, I would look at the books on the list,and see if your library has any of them to "test out." You want your child to be able to read them fluently. The focus is on literary analysis, so you don't want to have your child focusing on the actual reading of the words. You would get the 2/3 student book and the teachers guide. In later years, both of your kids can be doing DITHOR "together." They will each have a different book they are reading, but you can do the genres together. But, since the younger one isn't reading well yet, it might be a couple of years. But, DITHOR only takes 20-30 minutes a day, which is just slightly longer than phonics instruction or Emerging Readers.

Oh, and don't get stuck on the level numbers. They do not correspond to grade levels. If you look at the books in the Level 2 pack, you will see the reading level is actually higher. Reading levels are technically related to grade level, but they aren't an exact science by any means. So, definitely look at a few books before deciding on a level. Or, buy the student book and teacher book together and get the free book list. Then you can just use the library to get books on the list.

Make sure you check the placement chart. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php If you do think you need to combine them, you want to go with the guide the younger one places in and then add on for the older one. You don't want the younger one "left behind" and being dragged along in things they aren't ready for yet, instead you want to add on challenge for the older one.

Reading, handwriting, math, and grammar are easily customizable to each child's level and you would want them both at their own level, doing their own work in those 3 areas for sure.

Let me also encourage you that doing more than one guide is easy if the children are well-placed and in the right guide(s). If your older one needs a chance to soar and move ahead at her own pace, without having to stay with the younger, then perhaps separate guides are the way to go. Typically if the children place two guides apart, separate guides are recommended, if they place in back-to-back guides then combining is recommended. I wanted to combine, but now am glad each one of my kids is in their own guide and able to grow at their own pace (and again I don't find it too stressful to run multiple guides because each one is very smooth and easy to run, as long as the children are doing their part).

I would also suggest checking out the placement chart. It may be that your younger would place more readily in LHFHG instead of Beyond. And that guide is really quick and easy and fun to do. My gut says your year would be a lot more fun having them in LHFHG and Bigger than trying to fit both of them in Beyond. But definitely look at the placement chart for each one individually. If you get between guides for certain areas go to the lower guide. After that you can come back and tell us more specifically where they place and we can help you better.

forestrose wrote:Hello I have been homeschooling my girls from the start, I used HOD- LHFHG for my girls when they were in Pre-K and K, but have since used other curriculum. I am feeling led back to HOD this year and My girls are now in 1st and 3rd grade level.

My question is which HOD would be best for both of them my 3rd grader(8) is above average, reading fluently and my 1st grader will be turning 7 in September, but she isn't reading quite yet. I've always taught them together, but just not sure which one would be the best fit. Thanks in advance.

I am going to also ask where do they fall on the placement chart? Just from the brief description you wrote in this post, I would lean towards LHFHG for the 1st grader and Bigger for the 3rd grader especially since you say you have an above average 3rd grader while your 1st is still working on reading skills. For our family, personally, if there is 2+ grade years in between the kids then it is not worth it to combine. Especially if you have one advanced kiddo while the other is still trying to get the 3 r's down well.