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Hello! I have a question concerning guide placement for next year. This year was our first year using HOD - we loved it and used Bigger Hearts for my sons ages 7 and 10. My 4 yr old will be using LHTH next year, which I am very excited about. My question is whether to combine my sons who are currently in Bigger Hearts next year in Preparing. I think that my 10 yr old will be well-placed in Preparing - he is reading well and ready for more independence in his learning - already he is taking ownership of our Bigger Hearts guide. Writing and spelling are big challenges for him, so I know that I will have to have him orally narrate to me for history, write it on a whiteboard, and have him copy it down. I do not want to put him back in Beyond Little Hearts because he is reading independently and I want to encourage that.
My 7 year old will be turning 8 this summer and will be in the suggested age range for Preparing. He and his brother work well together and enjoy sharing history, science, and read-alouds. He is finishing phonics and gaining more independence in reading and writing. I am undecided whether to have him go on to Preparing with his brother or put him in Beyond Little Hearts. We still have 12 units left in Bigger Hearts - we got behind due to our co-op, etc. I am wondering whether completing the 12 weeks of Bigger Hearts first in the fall, before going on to Preparing, would give him the time he needs to catch up. I hate to miss out on the last 12 weeks of Bigger Hearts because the content looks wonderful. If we do finish Bigger Hearts next year and then move both boys into Preparing, I plan to have the 8 yr old skip the independent history assignments and maybe have his 10 yr old brother read the science to him, since he will not be able to read the science independently.
Any suggestions from those who have been in a similar situation? I don't like the idea of moving my 8 yr old backwards to Beyond Little Hearts, but I also don't want to frustrate him by putting him in a guide that is too difficult. Probably what I should have done is use Beyond Little Hearts this year so we could be moving into Bigger Hearts next year, but that is not our situation. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

If you think long term, combining them is best, why not spread out the rest of Bigger and the first half of Preparing? Have the older do Dithor as written if you aren't already. Work through the ER books with the younger. Plan on about 3 days of the actual guides each week until the younger is ready to do the reading in Preparing.
The other two days (or one of you have co-op one day each week) you could add in a state study, geography, or other unit study. Keep doing math and language arts daily.

That sounds like a very good idea - thank you for your advice! I have not used DITHOR yet and am planning to have my 10 yr old use it next year. In your experience, is it best to start with level 2/3 since he hasn't used it before?

Yes, start with Level 2/3. Most use that for 3rd-5th grade actually (then 4/5 for 5th-7th and 6/7/8 for 7th and 8th).