Doing a program at half-pace question

[sted]

I'm trying to wrap my brain around everything and one of the suggestions was to do a second program (with younger child) at half pace. Can someone tell me how that works for them?

I'm thinking of doing Bigger with my 8 and 10 year old(adding extensions) and then maybe Beyond with my 6 year old at half-pace, perhaps spreading it out over two years? (At least the left side). Otherwise, I'd be into back to back programs (Bigger twice) It's been suggested that I try doing Little Hearts with my 6 yr. old and then I could add in my 4 year old possibly? I could then save Beyond for the following year. However, the problem with that scenario is I can't see my youngest who would then be five next year, going on with the 6 yr. old and doing Beyond. It would seem too advanced for him, I'm guessing. The problem with this too is my 6 yr. old is reading really well already and loves writing so far, so if I did Little Hearts, I'd probably need to do the right side of Beyond this year. That would be 3 manuals to buy which seems like a lot.

Any advice?
Shannon

[Jen in Va]

Good morning! I'm working through Beyond at a modified pace now, myself. I'm trying to stretch Beyond so that we will finish it up around Aug/Sept 2010, when he would be almost 8, and start Bigger then. We school year round with him, so it should work out pretty well, but I won't be upset if he gets to it a little later.

To do a program half pace you would want to do either 3 or 4 days of a unit per week. If you want your child to do school every day you could do a regular day of Beyond on MWF, then on TTH you could do some supplemental math (we do this with the Singapore Intensive Practice, and will use the Word Problem book once we get through addition and subtraction) and maybe reading from different books than the emerging reader set. Or you could use those two days for extras: music lessons, art, nature study, field trips, errands, dr appts, sports (we have bowling league on Tuesday), etc. Some families don't want to add extras, so they just do fewer boxes per day, therefore taking more than one day to finish a 'day' of the guide.

Hope that helps!

[Carrie]

Shannon,

I was searching for old posts by your name to refresh my memory about your kiddos, and I just couldn't find anywhere that we discussed where each of your kiddos fell on the first page only of the placement chart (all combining scenarios aside).

So, if you get a chance to pop back and share a bit about especially the language arts (including where your kiddos are at as far as reading, writing, dictation/spelling, listening to chapter books, copying, writing, grammar ect.) and math for each of your kiddos that would help so much. It would also be terrific to know where each child places individually on the first page of the chart, so then we we could fine-tune your kiddos "best" placement.

Here's a link to the chart: http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I look forward to hearing back from you when you get a moment.

Blessings,
Carrie

[sted]

Hi Carrie,

Thanks for your help! I'll be glad once I've ordered everything and can just get started! Earlier on you recommended (or someone did) that I put my two oldest 10 and 8 yr. old in Bigger (because we want to do AM. History next year). The Bigger program looks "perfect" for my 8 yr. old. My 10 yr. old (6th grade next year) is fairly mature but she hasn't done any AM. History yet (we're Canadian) and I would like to keep them on the same topic. So I'll add in the extension books and as well I've purchased some Historical Fiction novels on the topic to help supplement and perhaps use with DITHOR. My only concern is the spine, which I feel could be a bit easy for her. I was considering (in another thread) of having her listen to the Eggleston book with us and then add in a book like Joy Hakim's The Story of US. I looked at the Marshall spine you recommend in another thread for 6th graders and while it looks great, I noticed it was written in a narrative style, similar to Eggleston so I thought I should supplement it with a little more of a non-fiction type book. I don't know if Hakim's books fits that description or not but it looks like it might.

My two younger children are 6 and 4. You recommended doing Little Hearts with both of them but I just don't think my 4 yr. old is ready to work on the same level as my 6 yr. old whose fairly advanced in reading and writing already! She is an emerging reader and is probably ready for simple chapter books soon. While I don't want to push her, LA wise, I think she could handle the material in Beyond but I was thinking about doing it at half-pace for two years. I've also bought a bunch of I Can Read type books on Am. History topics for her to read along with us (similar to the Emerging Readers).

Do you think this might work for us? That way we are all on Am. History next year. Then the older girls can go onto Preparing and the year after the 3rd child can do Bigger possibly? I know I need to take things year by year because it's hard to predict their skill levels down the road but I also don't want to "misplan" the years to run into trouble later with combining or not combining. My four year old will possibly be on a different plan but can maybe join up with the 4 yr. old in Bigger down the road after having learned to read by doing our own thing, or doing the Little Hearts program or Beyond first? I guess I'm destined to do three programs if I stick with HOD. (I've also got a 1yr. old baby but I'm not thinking that far ahead yet:)


Thanks for you help again,
Shannon

[Carrie]

Shannon,

Thanks so much for refreshing my memory! That really helps!

I agree that your 8 and 10 year old sound like they would fit well within Bigger Hearts for the American history focus this upcoming year. If you'd prefer a different spine from Marshall, then I would look at the George Washington's World, The Story of the Great Republic, and Short Lessons in U.S. History combination (read in that order) that I mentioned on the extending Bigger Hearts thread this morning.

For your 6 year old, you could definitely do Beyond at half-speed this upcoming year as well, and then the following year finish Beyond at either half-speed or at full-speed 4 days a week. Then, the following year you could have your then 8 year old head into Bigger Hearts (either at half-speed or a 4-day a week plan). By this point your older pair would be through Bigger and Preparing and be moving into CTC, and your then 5 year old would be heading into LHFHG (which you could also do at half-speed if needed).

One other option that would work too would be to place your 4 and 6 year old in LHFHG this year instead and just add the right side only of Beyond to beef up the language arts and math for your 6 year old. Then, your 4 and 6 year old would be a pair as they go through the years.

We do run 3 programs at our house and enjoy our school day, however I know that some moms prefer combining and that it works better for them. So, in getting the best fit for your family it's truly important to look at how much you have on your plate as far as outside activities, any health or learning issues, etc. and also how much of a scheduled/routine type personality you might be (as it does take some scheduling and a pretty steady day-to-day routine to do multiple programs). I happen to be an organizer at heart and am a very no-nonsense "do what the plans say and move on" type personality. So, school moves along quickly at our house. If you are a lingerer, or a "do every assignment up big", or bunny trail follower type teacher (which is not a bad thing), then multiple programs could make your day longer than you'd like. Just something to really weigh.

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you get a chance!

Blessings,
Carrie

[sted]

Hi Carrie,

Thanks for your help again. One thing that I maybe missing with your answer is how by doing Little Hearts next year would keep the two younger ones together? I assume you mean at full pace or do you mean half. If it was full pace, that would mean the next year I'd be doing Beyond and my now 4 yr. old would probably be in over his head (he'd only be in Kindergarten).

Thanks,
Shannon

[sted]

Oops, it's me again. I think I need to re-read your post above to answer my last question. I'll let you know if I need clarification so ignore my above post.

Thanks,
Shannon

[Carrie]

Shannon,

Sorry for the confusion. I was thinking that your 4 year old was close to 5 soon, so I was leaning toward a 4 day plan or a half-speed plan to give him a bit of time to grow up in LHFHG before moving onto Beyond.

What are you thinking about the importance of combining in your home? Is it more important to you for your kiddos to be in their correct levels, requiring little to no tweaking of the guide (but then running more than one program), or is it more important to combine in order to have a shorter schedule that gets done more easily in the day-to day (but requires some tweaking)?

Blessings,
Carrie

[sted]

From reading some of your posts on this board, it seems that you prefer to have students at individual levels. While I have that philosophy for the Basics, I have been trying to combine for History and Science however, that being said, it has been a struggle. I just have to be more organized to run different programs! Having them on the "same topic" would be beneficial so doing Beyond for two years with the 6yr. old and Bigger for 1 yr. with the 8 and 10 yr. old might work fine for us. My only concern is that my oldest is probably at more a Preparing or even CTC level so I want to challenge her a bit. I did look at This Country of Ours and my husband and I really liked what we saw!

Now, would I do that instead of First American History which I'm doing with the 8yr. old or in addition too ?

I think the Marshall book, extension books, literature study (which is new this year) and lots of historical fiction on Am. History it would be good for her.

Thanks so much,
Shannon

[sted]

Carrie,

Okay, I'm now looking at ordering Beyond for my 6yr. old (she's on the high end academically), Bigger for my 8, soon 9 yr. old. ( a bit behind academically) and Bigger with Extensions for my 10 turning 11 yr. old (academically on the high end). I was planning on following your suggestion of the Marshall book This Country of Ours for her spine. In many ways my 6 and 8yr. olds are closer academically but I've kind of talked myself into doing Am. History (I'm looking forward to learning it - I'm Canadian) so to put them in Beyond and my eldest in CTC (looks like the right level for her) would be disappointing for me. (Now you know who the homeschooling is really for

Anyhow I've been looking at this scenario Beyond with the youngest two girls and CTC with the oldest however she'd only in Grade 6 and let's say I go on, is the next program going to be ready the following year? (no pressure:) Also, when you write the other programs after CTC, are you planning to include much American History so my daughter could get some at that point or do you know yet?

So back to scenario one, when I go to order, I'm getting really confused with how the Storytime for both Beyond and Bigger would work, along with Extension books and getting books for my oldest's DITHOR. Is there some easy way I could coordinate these? Instead of buying a plethora of books, I'm thinking that several books could be used in different ways eg) storytime readalouds for youngest and DITHOR readers for older. My head is spinning. Would I need to make a master plan? Any advice?

Thanks for your help, I hope this hasn't totally confused you,
Shannon

[jenntracy]

i am doing LHFHG half-paced with my son. we usually alternate the pages to do this. one day is Learning thru History and one day is Learning the basics. we go all year long so we sometimes don't do anything on a day.

" i am going to combine my 4 yr old and 5 1/2 yr od in fall 2010 (or somewhere around there) who will then be 5 1/2 and almost 7. the ages are a little different than yours, but i think my daughter will be ready for BLHFHG in Learning thru history side , while doing LHFHG learning the basics. i am going to do a bible study series with my daughter while my son finishes LHFHG.

hope this helps a little.

[Carrie]

Shannon,

I'm struggling with how best to advise you to proceed, as typically we place kiddos not based on the history cycle but rather by the 3 R's so there's less tweaking for the mama. Now combining will work well too, however to advise you on the best possible combination I honestly need to know where each of your kiddos places individually on the first page of the placement chart (all combining scenarios aside for now).

So, if you can share where each kiddo places on the first page of the chart, then I will have a much better understanding of what your kiddos can do and where they're at skill-wise. Without that common ground, I can't give you solid advice, as I'm not sure where your kiddos are at. So far, I've just been advising based on your kiddos ages and your desire to do American history. However, your sharing of the placement chart information would be a huge help to me in advising you. Here's the link to the chart:
http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php

I'm excited to give you more solid advice once you get back to me with this info!

Blessings,
Carrie

[sted]

I appreciate your patience with me. I am amazed at how you get time to respond to so many e-mails on here. Definately impressive! Okay, my 10 yr. old would place in CTC, my 8 yr. old would place in Bigger and my 6 yr. old in Beyond. Okay so currently this is the way I'm leaning. I would do Bigger with my 8yr. old and 6 yr. old. This program seems right on for my 8 yr. old. For my 6yr. old, I feel she could follow along somewhat with the history, geography and science, of course I wouldn't expect as much from her. Then I would likely either buy the Beyond Teacher's guide for LA. Also for my 8yr. old I would turn "storytime" into her reading practice time eg) reading books from the various genres but at her level.

Then for my 10 yr. old, I would do Sonlight 3+4. She is quite independent and a strong reader. Now perhaps I would only do the readers for her. She would likely join us on History Spine (First Am. History) or else I would use the Marshall book you suggested however the one thing I wanted to try and have next year was a pre-written schedule so using Sonlight 3+4 as written would be a possibility to do that. Then I was going to do the read-alouds from Sonlight for all the kids or with a mix from the ones you offer (I have a few of them already). We already were planning on doing Growing with Grammar for her but I'm not sure about writing, maybe Ignite Your Writing?

The following year, I would look at doing Preparing or CTC with her. Not sure where the other kids would fall in. I definately am still considering the Bigger extensions with my oldest however I felt she needed a harder spine and maybe more books to supplement. My theory is that if she loves to read, I might as well give her historical fiction to help her learn the history at the same time.

Not sure if this would work but that's what I'm thinking at this point. Any advice you have would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Shannon

[Carrie]

Shannon,

Thank you so much for taking the time to do that. It really helps me to "see" where each child is at skill-wise which makes my advice more solid. First off, I'm thinking that all history cycle focusing aside the best fit for your kiddos HOD-wise would be to combine your 6 and 8 year olds within Beyond, and add the right side only of Bigger Hearts for the 3 R's (and possibly the science) for your 8 year old. This would fit both kiddos well and would put them on track to head into Bigger Hearts with extensions as a team the following year.

Then, I'd place your 10 year old in CTC which she could use quite independently (especially if you think she's be able to do Sonlight 3 + 4), then she could easily do CTC mostly on her own as scheduled too. This would give her the additional writing that she needs through Write with the Best and suit her interest and ability level overall. It may be time to consider allowing her to branch off into her own guide, which is completely up to you. I know for me it was a relief to let go of the history cycle as the driving force behind my curriculum decisions and to just have things be on the right level without all of the sometimes frantic tweaking it took to make the history cycle fit everyone.

So, with that being my primary recommendation, if you deeply desire to have all of your kiddos on the same history cycle, then Bigger Hearts will fit your 8 year old well, and you'll be adjusting up for your 10 year old and down for your 6 year old. In this scenario, I worry about your 6 year old being pulled along with the older kiddos so that is definitely something to weigh. This will be what happens whenever you group kiddos together, whether you use HOD or something else. So, we're no different than the other programs out there in that respect. While you could definitely put your 6 year old in Beyond at half-speed instead, at that point you'd actually be running two programs (Beyond and Bigger), so then I'd definitely lean toward my original advice for 2 programs with Beyond and CTC instead.

Anyway, if I've completely confused you let me know. I'll be glad to clarify. Now, it's up to you, as you know your family best. I'll pray for peace in your decision. If you get a chance to share your thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Blessings,
Carrie

[sted]

Hi Carrie,

So if I'm understanding HOD correct, is the idea that CTC is roughly for grade 6 (in a perfect world) and then continuing the cycle till grade 9, correct?

That gives me a time frame to shoot for in terms of getting into CTC.

I'm anxious to hear your thoughts on high school. I know you don't have time to share them yet (as a previous post mentioned) but please let us know when you can tell us your thoughts for your oldest. IT's such uncharted territory!

Thanks,
Shannon