heartofdakota.com

In the fall I will have a 9 year old 4th grader and an 8 year old 2nd grader. I have tried to combine them in the past, but because of differing abilities, that didn't work well for us and we left HOD. According to the placement chart they would fall into CTC and Bigger, but after reading advice on the boards, I think that preparing might be a better fit for the 4th grader. I have also read that HOD discourages using back to back guides, so Bigger and Preparing shouldn't be used together in the same year. Does anyone know why this is? Perhaps to prevent one child from hearing too much one year and then not wanting to hear it again the following year? Any suggestions would be helpful, thank you!!

The use of back to back guides is just more about teacher burnout It is not a problem that can't be overcome. One thing though is to make sure your kids will be successful in all areas of the guide, doing all the activities as scheduled. You've probably already thought about that though You may think about Beyond for 2nd grade, adding DITHOR if all is going well. That would put this dc on track for hs guide in hs. If they push through too quickly, they may reach a point where they are academically able, but not mature enough for the guide and the amount of work required.

Thank you for your insight. The 8 year old will be repeating 2nd grade next year because she has been a struggling reader and this year has been a combo of 1st and 2nd grade material, 3R's only and huge focus on reading. She places pretty squarely into Bigger, especially 6 months from now. I will also have a 6 year old 1st grader and a 4 year old PK who I will probably try and combine in LHFHG together.

My upcoming 4th grader is more drawn to CTC, but I hear such great things about Preparing that I'm not sure she should miss it. She will be ready to start her new school year in April, so we will have a few extra months to complete the guide if needed for her to be on track for 5th grade in fall 2016.

Doing multiple guides is not tough if dc are placed properly. In fact, I find it easier, as the olders can successfully work independently and be responsible for their own reading more. I'd love to hear about each of your dc in light of the placement chart, especially the first page. Could you please share about the 4 yo's, 6 yo's, the 8 yo's, and the 9 yo's reading, writing, grammar, and math? I'm also wondering if you could share if the 9 yo has been responsible for reading her own history and/or science, or a portion of them, or if these have been read to her instead? One last question, how long is their school day now? Once you share some more about each of them, I think we can find a super placement not only for this year, but for the years to come!
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

In Christ,
Julie

Hi! Sorry for the late reply, we decided to take a long spring break trip to the states while my husband is deployed.

My oldest girls currently attend the local elementary school for specials (art, Japanese, pe, ect), science and social studies. The science and social studies are practically non existent, but it gives me the daily break I need while my husband is deployed. So, they are not use to doing their own reading for either of those subject. They come home from school at 10:30 each day and we school from 11:30-1:30ish. Right now we are only focusing on the 3Rs at home.

My oldest will be 9 in April and starting 4th grade in the fall. Most subject come pretty easily to her and she is on level for reading and writing. She does struggle with spelling. She knows cursive and can copy long passages. We have done some grammar, but haven't started diagramming yet. She will be finishing Horizons math 3 this spring.

My 2nd DD will turn 8 in August and is currently in 2nd grade. We are planning a combo of 2nd/3rd grade curriculum for next year since she has really struggled with learning to read and currently reads on a high 1st grade level. This year has been a focus on the 3Rs for her, trying to get her reading up to grade level. She will be finishing up horizons math 1 this spring. She has begun cursive and knows the basics of grammar. She can do 1/2 page or more of copy work and likes to write her own stories.

My 3rd DD will turn 6 in May and currently attends kindergarten full time at an international school. She is learning to read and we are working on phonics instruction at home. She would fit well in LHFHG with the 1st grade options in the fall.

DS won't turn 5 until December and also attends the international school for Junior Kindergarten. He is working on writing letters and they will start on sight words soon. He wants to learn to read and has been doing some phonics instruction with his sister.

I tried to combine the oldest girls for K and 1st using LHFHG in the past, and it didn't work well for us since there was such a difference in abilities, I felt pulled in too many directions. I should have just continued it with the 1st grader, but we were new homeschoolers and I tried something else instead (it didn't work either). I still feel like my girls are on 3 very different ability levels, so I'm not sure if combining will work for us this coming year. It seems like I will be using back to back guides unless I place the oldest in CTC to give one year in between girl. I'd love to hear suggestions.

What do you think about Preparing for oldest dd, Beyond for second dd, and LHFHG for the next two, using first grade options for the older and as written for the younger? Your middle dd may really enjoy the girl options for Beyond, and your older dd may like to start DITHOR after she gets into the routine of her new guide If ds really takes off, you could be ready for him with the next level of thinking skills(Going on Eagerly/Just Thinking and Choosing)

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2093&p=74537&hilit= ... ach#p74537 Thought this might help

Thanks for sharing about your dc! There are several options here. As you are a busy mama with multiple dc and a dh that is deployed, I think 2 guides could work well, and blessedly I believe the Lord has lined up their skills to fit well in 2 guides anyway! Your older 2 dc could do Bigger Hearts, and your younger 2 could do LHFHG. The 9 yo could do R & S English 3, the next level of math, Level 2 Dictation, and DITHOR. Your 8 yo would do the Emerging Reader's Set, R & S English 2, Spelling List 2, and 2A/2B Singapore Math. For the duo in LHFHG, the younger would do the K options, and the older the 1st grade options. They could do the K Science together though. What do you think?

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you for all of the helpful suggestions!! I really appreciate everyone's input!