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Greetings! Last spring I rediscovered HOD and looked at the program placement charts planning to restart this year. My boys placed in Preparing and Bigger and my daughter placed in LHFHG. I asked several questions on this site and received advice along the lines that running 3 guides was fine; however, it was not advised to run Preparing and Bigger at the same time. In my ignorance I didn't listen and attempted to run Preparing, Bigger, and LHFHG this year. It took 13 weeks of school to get through 7 units of Bigger, 8 units of Preparing and 9 units LHFHG and my older 2 children were not enjoying it. The reason they were not enjoying it is because I had become much of a task master just trying to get boxes checked off. We had burned out. My daughter was doing great in LHFHG, so I paused for a while and started back with her. With my boys I stopped checking boxes, continued our normal English and Math and went to reading Pages of History by Veritas Press and just reading and narrating as many books as we could from Preparing and Bigger along with some interest led Science. Finally, they are enjoying school again.

I feel so sad because I feel like I just sabotaged my boys experience with HOD. However, I do not want to give up on HOD for my boys. I want to get them back at it and enjoy HOD together. I just looked at the placement guide and scope and sequence of HOD. I realize by the end of this year my boys will place in Preparing and CtC. Since we will have read almost every book in Preparing it doesn't make since for my sons to start in that guide. Does it make since for me to take a year and have them study something else but work on the skills that would prepare them for CtC and plan for CtC the following year? Technically, they will be in 6th (age 12) and 5th (turns 11 midyear) grades the year we would do CtC. My older son would probably place in RtR by that school year; but he could do the Extensions for CtC and be ok, correct? I would also do his math and English at a higher level. So, that would mean 2018-2019 they would study American History while getting my younger son's narration skills and other skills ready for CtC and in 2019-2020 complete CtC. Completing 1 guide a year my older son would graduate having finished the first US History Guide and my younger son could complete the second US History guide. Do you think this would work?

This does mean that when my younger two start school I will be running 3 guides, but the older children will be 5th, 7th, and 8th grades. Therefore, I don't think I will have a problem with 3 guides at a time.

All of you ladies gave such great advice last year and I am so sorry I didn't listen to it. I don't want to do that again.

Thanks for reading and offering advice again!

Did you purchase and use the extensions for Preparing? One option might be too use those for history (modifying the left side of the guide as necessary) next year.

An update...I finished up the pieced together curriculum I was going to do this spring and did a unit on the Olympics. After reading the reply I got to this post I prayed and thought a lot. I realize my boys will place 1 in CtC and 1 on Preparing next year. After attempting Bigger and Preparing I do not want to do guides back to back at the same time. I went through the books for Preparing and realized we hadn't read as many as I thought. Therefore, I am going to have my boys complete Preparing next year with my older son also doing extensions. My 2nd grade daughter will be in Beyond so this will work very nicely. Since we finished this year's early I decided to start Preparing now with my boys very slowly doing even the independent boxes together. I am realizing how my boys do so much better with very clear expectations and if I do several units with them completely I will see better work. Hopefully we can get to full speed not to long after the year starts.

I think this sounds like a great plan!! I agree that clear expectations and training go a long way. You are doing the right thing in taking time to train your kiddos in how to do the independent boxes and working up toward independence. Way to go! I think you will have a great year with this plan.

Blessings,
Carrie