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Hello all! I'm new to the board, I'm mainly researching for next year! This year I have a first grader that I'm teaching with all workbooks. Next year I will have a 7 year old 2nd grader and a 5 year old Kindergarten. I'm really wishing I could combine them for the subjects like Bible, Science, history and Social studies, only having their math and phonics separate. Was really wondering if that would be a possibility with HOD or not? And also where I would place them... Thanks for all input!

Since they are two grades apart, you might be able to combine them both in LHFHG. But first you would have to make sure your youngest would be ready for that guide. But, sometimes it is easier to place kids in different guides. Skill and personalities some times make it so modifying one guide to fit two students is more work than two guides.

You will definitely want to take a look at the placement chart and mark where both of your sons would fall. You may want to do this closer to the time you are planning to start, say in the Spring sometime, because in those years kids really grow a lot in a few months so you would want to be sure you are looking at it where they are.

http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

Then generally if your children place 2 guides apart the recommendation would be to keep them in separate guides as that seems to work best, allowing the older one to grow and be challenged without the younger being pushed into something too difficult too early. If one of them goes faster than the other, they can keep moving at their own pace. Using more than one guide is often easier than trying to combine in this scenario, again because the older one is really ready for more challenge and you would be adapting for the younger to be able to keep up. And if they are placed in the guide they fit in best, you will find HOD easy to use and your planning time and effort will be minimal.

If they place one guide apart then combining is generally recommended. You would use the guide the younger/lower level one places in and add on challenge for the older one. If you look and see where they place let us know and we would be happy to talk you through what those options can look like.

People do combine with more than 2 guides apart and there are many who make that work for them. But generally the concept of "combining for history and science at all levels" is not how HOD is designed to be used and therefore will make more work or could be inadequate for the kids' needs if you approach it this way.

Hi Marie! I am wondering if you ever got the chance to check out the placement chart? The ladies are right - the placement chart really helps fine tune things for a great year for each family's individual needs. If you get a chance to share your findings, we can all chime in with more specific advice. Considering the placement chart is the best 5-10 minutes you'll ever spend when it comes to a year ahead of happy homeschooling!

In Christ,
Julie