heartofdakota.com

Hello Ladies!!
You are all so very encouraging & helpful- I guess that is why I am coming to you to ask for advice for the coming year...
I know it is a bit "early" to be planning for next year, but have been thinking about & praying about this for some time & I would LOVE your input... I'm wondering if when you hear of what I am pondering, you will maybe "see" things much more clearly than I am- (I know that when you are not "in" the situation, the answer can seem much more obvious. )

Let me tell you a little about our family...
I have 5 children 5 & under. We have a busy house as so many of you do! With my twin girls (5-year-olds) and my next daughter (3 1/2 year-old) we are going through LHTH & absolutely loving it (1 1/2 year-old boy is joining us now too, since he dropped his morning nap- it's a bit more loud & crazy- I might post about that later, but we're still enjoying it). My twins are in lesson 15 of The Reading Lesson (I'm thinking they will finish in May) & have gone through A Reason for Handwriting K, & are now working on a Handwriting Without Tears book and the Rod & Staff books. They will be officially starting K in the fall.

I know that my twin girls will be ready for LHFHG full-speed in the fall (in fact, I think they are ready right now, but I really like LHTH & want to finish that first). I'm thinking that for them, I will get the 1st grade handwriting & Thinking skills books and Beyond in order to go through the Emerging Readers set (if that makes sense ). However, my 3 1/2 year-old will not be ready... she turns 4 in May & is a bright little girl, but just won't be ready to go full-speed through LHFHG. So... Do I do LHFHG with my twins full-speed & work right at their level? & then start LHFHG with her the following year (probably full-speed)at her level, while her sisters do Beyond? This way I would go through LHTH again with her & little brother... or do I slow LHFHG down so my then 4-year old could join in?? This route, I would probably do the Learning through History side at half-speed for all 3 girls, & the right side at full-speed just for the twins. Am I making an sense???

So, right now I feel like I have 2 options...
*Go full speed with twins through LHFHG & Beyond (& then maybe do Bigger 1/2 speed) (& do the same for my other children, but not until the year they would be entering K). I like this idea because I would love to teach right to their level- not too fast, not too slow... I could speed up or slow down whenever I thought it best... it eventually gives me "school-time" with each of them- although twins will still be combined for quite a few things. ...I wouldn't have to teach something to more than 2 at a time (otherwise everyone wants to sit by mommy, etc.- I don't want for it to be like real school where everyone has to sit on the floor )
-OR-
*start LHFHG half-speed in the fall with all three older girls (w/ full-speed right side for twins)- eventually going through LHFHG, Beyond & Bigger in four years. I like this idea because it will save on time (as I will have a 1 & 2 year old running around next year as well- & it seems there is always something going on)... I like that I could spread out the days (husband has off on Mondays & having time for some extras could be nice)... I like that I woudn't continually be doing a program back-to-back (ex.- Beyond 2 years in a row... eventually 2 years- break for a year- & then two more years- or more if we have more children )...

What do you think?? If it's not too much to ask, I would love for you to pray over our situation & let me know what seems best... Or if I'm missing something I haven't even thought of...
Thank-you, thank-you!
Jessica

I don't have the same family dynamics as you, so take what I say with a grain of salt! I would look at it from a down-the-road perspective. I did Beyond with a 7yo and am now doing Bigger with him as an 8yo. He is very bright and picks up on topics readily. As I look back at the programs, I would definitely NOT want to do Bigger with him any younger than he is. It would have been way too much for him last year as a 7 yo. I would have had to cut things down or out. He wouldn't have gotten nearly as much from the history and science readings and activities. Beyond was the perfect program for him as a 7 yo. That being said, I would recommend that you draw out or supplement with other activities the younger programs (LHTH and LHFHG) so that you are starting your twins with Beyond when they are 7. Of course, I don't know their specific abilities. I can only tell you what I think based on my ds, but he is bright and a good learner. I am very glad he is in the middle/leaning towards the older age of the programs. They are such great programs, I would hate to see you have to tweak them or cut things out because the girls just aren't ready. It is easier to fill in and add other things when they are little than trim down the older programs. I'm not sure how that all fits into your scenario, but I would strongly suggest you hold off the older programs until they are in the mid-high age range.
hth,
Laura

I have kids that are spaced out similar to you in age. I had five 5 and under and six 6 and under, then we stopped. There are a lot of ways you can go depending on your individual children. I do think this is something you should pray about and ask God how He would have you teach your children in particular. It is something I have found He is very faithful to answer. He will answer you directly on that. I can only have a educated guess. But from that my guy would be this,

Mom4Him wrote: However, my 3 1/2 year-old will not be ready... she turns 4 in May & is a bright little girl, but just won't be ready to go full-speed through LHFHG. So... Do I do LHFHG with my twins full-speed & work right at their level? & then start LHFHG with her the following year (probably full-speed)at her level, while her sisters do Beyond? This way I would go through LHTH again with her & little brother...

This would be the way I would try to head because it gives you two groups and if possible two is easier than three however we have three different groups going and it is fine. Just two is easier. I also think if you stretch it too much with trying to combine too wide a gap that ends up making more work in the long run than just having two groups would.

Praying the Lord would show you the best solution for your family!

We're doing LHFHG this year with my 6yo, but there are lots of activities my just turned 4yo ds joins us for: bible reading, music, memory verse, art, science, Burgess books, etc. He doesn't understand it all as well as my 6yo of course, but he enjoys it and usually loves doing things with us! We just do separate "basics" (phonics, math, etc. for 6yo and my 4 yo does some Rod and Staff preschool books and Kumon books- love those!) I know you said you prefer not to teach more than 2 at a time, but lots of the activities are just active and fun- perfect for multiple kids. Your younger one will learn alot just by being with you as you teach LHFHG. I think doing LHFHG at full speed , even the history, with all three of them, would be just fine. The "left side" really does not take too much time, and the first half of the year at least is bible stories for history, which would probably be understandable for your little one as well. Just my two cents! HTH!

Hi Jessica . I am in a very similar place as you, but with 2 less kids! Right now my 3 yo daughter is doing LHTH, and 5 yo son is just working on K math, phonics, fine motor skills. (He is doing the right side of LHFHG except storytime). Next year my ds will also "officially" be in K. I would like to keep them together, so we plan to basically do your second option:

We will work half-speed in LHFHG together. Ds will use the first grade options since he is using the K options this year. He will continue with phonics DAILY, and move onto the Emerging Readers when he finishes TRL (he is only on unit 6 right now). We will also do Storytime DAILY, splitting the reading in half...that way we will have shorter reading selections daily which will be better for the younger listener . We will do the discussion questions with the second half of the reading...if that makes sense. I will probably just have him do math half-speed as well since he will already be in 1A/1B. Then he can do 2A/2B with Beyond.

My daughter is a little trickier, because I am not sure she will be ready for the phonics and math...at least at the beginning of the year. She won't turn 4 until the end of summer, so I will play it by ear. We will not begin phonics until I think she is ready. When she is, we will do it daily. Same with math. I think I will just wait and do K math with her the second year of LHFHG, and then do it daily so that she will be ready to move into 1A/1B in Beyond.

I hope I didn't make it sound too confusing! I will pray that you will find what works best for your family.

i think your option 1 looks better than your option 2. when you get to the higher guides , it might be a bit too much for your now 3 1/2 yr old. also it would be good alsao because you wouldn't have more than 2 in a group at a time, if that is what you like.

From personal experience, my 2 older kids,currently 6- October b-day and will- be- 5 in March , each did LHTH starting at age 3 1/2 and finished in about a year.
My son had just finished (feb 2008)when i had baby number 3 (who is now 2) and so he had a break til the Fall of 2008 and then we have been doing LHFHG half-speed for him. We have actually started the emerging readers schedule from the Beyond guide ( he loved the Owl at Home that he just finished reading). He was almost 5 when we started.My daughter does join in from time to time with some of the activities like Rhyme time and some of the science and other stuff in the rotating box. Even the 2 yr old gets into the Rhymetime part.

i will not start LHFHG with my daughter til Fall 2010. she will be 5 1/2 then. she does some other school work with math and letters, but she just isn't into LHFHG .i had hoped to combine the 2 older, but have decided best to keep them separate except for our own science ans Bible devotions.With her, i will go full-speed with all of LHFHG.

My son will be almost 7 when he starts the rest of Beyond (2010). My daughter will be 6.5 when she starts the following year (2011). I say that , only because someone mentioned the age 7 for Beyond. I think it is important to keep them at a level suited to them and also to look at the individual child's needs. Age isn't always the best way to determine that , but it is a great guide. Each child has their own abilities and i am trying to look at what is best for my children without making it too rough on me. Hope that made sense.

Paying the Lord will lead you to a peaceful decision.


JEnn D.

Thanks for telling us about your precious family! The ladies are doing such a good job of talking through this, and I think you have 2 good options to choose from here. Your 3 1/2 yo could very well be placed either with your twins or with your ds.

I have the same thoughts running through mind my that are running through yours. Your twins sound like they will be ready for the first grade options with LHFHG and also possibly ready for the Emerging Reader's Set in Beyond. I am just wondering if you are going to feel like they are really ready for full-speed, especially since they have already done most of the K options and are possibly even ready for full-speed LHFHG now. Because of this, I wonder if half-speed LHFHG may not work as well for them? This line of thinking is making me lean toward your twins doing LHFHG full-speed together next year.

I think we can get some of the pluses with the other plan to mesh with this plan though. So you aren't doing back to back guides, could you do LHTH with 1.5 yo and 3.5 half-speed over 2 years, and the second year have your 3.5 yo (then 4.5 yo) do the full-speed Basics side of LHFHG (just the math, phonics, handwriting). You could also have her listen in on the Storytime with the twins at that point (and just do different read-alouds when little brother and she get to Beyond). Also all of them could take a day off each week to be with your dh. A 4 -day a week plan - with Mondays off - would be just fine! I am hoping I'm making some sense here. This is the general gist of what I'm attempting to say with this plan:lol: :
PLAN 1:
This year: finish what you're doing

Next year: twins full-speed LHFHG with first grade options and possibly Beyond's Emerging Reader Set
about 2 and about 4 yo half-speed LHTH half-speed

The Following Year: twins full-speed Beyond
3 and 5 yo other half of LHTH and 5 yo right side of LHFHG Basics

The Year after that: twins full-speed Bigger (or half-speed if you feel that pacing is better)
4 and 6 yo half-speed LHFHG, etc.


As I'm thinking this through though, maybe this plan would feel very slow over the years for your now 3.5 yo.

So, thinking about the other plan you mentioned...
PLAN 2:
This year: finish what you are doing

Next year: half-speed LHFHG with 4 yo and twins, doing the right side of LHFHG full-speed with twins
2 yo hanging out?

The Following Year: second half of LHFHG with then 5 yo and twins, 5 yo doing the right side of LHFHG, twins doing right side of Beyond full-speed
3 yo hanging out?

The Year after that: full-speed Beyond with then 6 yo and twins, 6 yo doing right side of Beyond and twins doing right side of Bigger Hearts
4 yo and baby sister doing LHTH half-speed?

Sorry - but I actually needed to type all of this out to really think clearly about it. Of course within these options are many other options, i.e. separating out ds from baby sis and starting him earlier in LHTH, doing half-speed on the right sides for the twins while doing full-speed with dd to get them all on the same right sides of guides, etc. if that is a goal

I think this boils down to your 3 1/2 yo. Do you think she seems like she will be able to hang with older twins without feeling pressured or behind (Plan 1)? Would you be willing to slow things down for the twins in order to be able to combine 3.5 yo with them (Plan 1)? Or, do you think 3.5 yo would be better combined with ds and would do well with slowing things down for ds to catch up to her (Plan 2)? Boys can often take longer to develop fine motor skills than girls as well, so that may be something to consider too.

Maybe make the best decision you can for now, and know that because your dc are so close in age, there are going to be as many options later as there are now. So, if you get started with one plan and think the pacing is off, you can easily always move 3.5 yo up or down as needed. I will say that my dc have always been on the young side of HOD's guides and have done very well, but I have been willing to go half-speed for a time or even for several years when necessary. I am praying for you as you ponder this! HOD is going to continue to work well in your home, of that I am sure, it's just the fine tuning of it to work out and be willing to shift gears if need be. I hope something here has helped and that this has not pushed you over the edge!

In Christ,
Julie

Jessica,

I haven't read all the responses here yet, but just wanted to pop in and let you know what's worked for our family. We have Grant, then a 4 year gap, then Allison and Garret (almost 2 years apart), and then another 4 year gap before our next little one is due to arrive. So for us, Allison and Garret are the only combining option right now. I really wasn't even "planning" on that, but Garret ended up joining in for LHTH last year and did so well that I decided (with Carrie and Julie's help) to give it a go keeping them together this year.

We finished the end of LHTH this fall and then went into our half-speed LHFHG. We're doing it 4 days a week. Alllison does phonics, math, and fine motor skills every day (4 days a week). We also do the rhyme and music every day and alternate the other days with the remaining boxes (Reading About History with Rotating Box and Bible Study with Storytime). This plan does not take us any longer that doing LHTH with the basics added in. Next year I'm planning on doing all of LHFHG daily 4 days a week to finish out the guide and the year.

I just wanted you to know that Garret was only 3 and a half when we started this, and he's doing wonderfully. Allison was 5 and a half and raring to go and is also doing wonderfully and is satisfied with our pace. We're all very happy with it!! So I would think that it could work wonderfully for your family to do LHFHG with the oldest 3 and then maybe try to group the next 2 in line when you get there. Since you'll be using Beyond for the emerging readers, you could always add an extra storytime for the twins if you thought something else was necessary for them (and there are so many great options to choose from!).

HOD is so flexible...you can always so easily change your plan as you go. Praying for your decision! I think you're wise to think about what's best for your kids as they move along...but also what's doable and realistic for you. I think if your older girls are at their level with the basics, the rest would be fun and easy to combine.

Kathleen

Thank-you everyone for your thoughtful replies. You have been enouraging & are praying, and that is so wonderful!! Julie, I loved that you wrote it all out for me- that really helped- & what you said (& what everyone else said) really made sense!
After reading through everyone's replies... it seems you are also a bit torn/split in what you think would be best.

Here are some extra things I've been thinking...
- twins will be 6 in Oct. & yes, are very ready to be doing LHFHG full-speed even now (with 1st grade options- K math- & the Emerging readers for sure in the Fall)
- 3 1/2 year-old girl will be 4 in May- I know she could handle LHFHG half-speed in the Fall, but full-speed would be a bit of a stretch (she loves to listen to stories- although I'm not sure how much she comprehends , she knows a lot of her letters & likes to write...)
- little boy will be 2 next month & while he is a lot of fun- I cannot see combining him with big sister...however, at this point it would seem he would be great to combine with little sister who is not even 18 months younger than him
- I like the idea of going full-speed (for the twins) now... so that when we get to the upper-level programs (Bigger...), we could slow down a bit more at that point if I felt we needed to- and they are sooo ready.
- I, too, feel like a lot comes down to my 3 1/2 year old... I don't want to push her. One of the things I've really liked about this year is that the twins are really thriving & doing so well & have had time to play, learn, explore, etc.- I don't want her to miss out on that because I am pushing her too much. I also fear she could get lost in the shuffle... never quite living up to big sisters, never quite having all the right answers. She really is a bright little girl & is doing so well this year with LHTH, but I can see how much more the twins are getting out of it, just because they are older (although I KNOW she is getting a lot out of LHTH as well- just different things because she is younger ). I wonder if putting her in her own program would be best for her??

If I placed everyone where I think they would place best INDIVIDUALLY it would look like this...
*this year- finish what we are doing

*next year- twins- LHFHG full speed (with K math, 1st grade handwriting/Thinking Skills, Emerging Readers from Beyond)
4-year old- LHTH (older) maybe start phonics- (Could play with little ones while school with twins)
2-year old- parts of LHTH (hanging out)

*following year- twins-Beyond full speed (1st grade options)
5-year old- LHFHG full speed (K options)
2 & 3yo- LHTH half-speed?

*year after- twins- Bigger (half or full speed)
6 yo Beyond
3 & 4yo- LHTH (2nd half?)

*year after- twins- finish Bigger, or Preparing
7 yo- Bigger (half speed?)
4& 5 yo- LHFHG half speed?

I don't know - is that looking crazy ?? We already have a busy house- but I know that with a good routine & especially with God all things are truly possible...
I'm wondering if what would work best for everyone as a whole would be to slow down & go back to my option (2) of combining the three oldest girls. I would like to keep the twins seperate from their sister for their 3Rs (the right side of the guides) for the most part... but, again, am wondering if that would get to be too much for little sister or too slow for big sisters?
Oh dear, I think I am confusing myself more & more . I'm going to keep praying- I covet your continued prayers as well! Please "pop in" with any more advice/encouragement/etc.
Jessica

Jessica - I'm continuing to pray for you in this decision. After reading through your last post, I am going to hop off the fence and say I think it would fit best for you to do this:
*next year- twins- LHFHG full speed (with K math, 1st grade handwriting/Thinking Skills, Emerging Readers from Beyond)
4-year old- LHTH (older) maybe start phonics- (Could play with little ones while school with twins)
2-year old- parts of LHTH (hanging out)

I think you should start with this plan. It really does seem the twins are quite far ahead of the 4 yo - even though she is a very bright little gal too, I'd be worried about pushing her too hard (right now at least). If you did the above plan, you can give yourself 2-4 weeks to get in a rhythm with it. If - after that time - you begin to think it would be better to slow the twins down and have 4 yo work with them instead, I would just add her to the mix and slow it to half-speed then. I really do think it will be obvious what would be best to do then.

For the following year that you suggested though...
*following year- twins-Beyond full speed (1st grade options)
5-year old- LHFHG full speed (K options)
2 & 3yo- LHTH half-speed?
For this year I think you could easily have your 5 yo do LHFHG half-speed, which would help with your teaching time and if you did LHFHG half-speed this year and then also the next year, you would put a guide between your twins and your next dd. I also think you could wait to start your 2 and 3 yo in LHTH as well, and start them half-speed the next year.

By doing this, you would then eventually not be teaching programs back to back. Of course, you can always go any speed you want and will more than likely be much more able to make that decision at that point, since it is so hard to say how each child will grow and develop, and what the rest of life may look like at that point too. I think the best decision you could make right now is to start the twins full-speed in LHFHG (with the first grade things/Emerging reader's set you mentioned), and do LHTH (possibly with phonics) with 4 yo - with the thought that you can always slow the twins down and add 4 yo to the mix if you want to a few weeks in when you can better see how it's going to work. One other thing to mention - if you want to have a child doing HOD on the very young side of the target age ranges, the very best thing you can do is get them reading/writing well quite young. So, that's something to consider in case you'd like to put 4 yo dd with older twins at some point down the road as that will probably be the single biggest determining factor of how that would go at that point.

Now, maybe you'll read this and still want to do something different - by all means do that then - but maybe just talking through this will further help you with your decision.

In Christ,
Julie

i 2nd Julie's last post. sounds like a good way to go.

JEnn D

I know it's hard to know what it will be like down the road, but things will be dramatically different when you have independent readers. To me, that has been the biggest "milestone" (so far, at least! ha ha). Then your school totally changes dynamics. It's been important for me to keep my independent reader in a separate program than my learning-readers, and then I think when they are a bit older, I may consider combining more in places.

Anyway, I don't have the same age spread as you do--mine are mostly 2 years apart. But I just want to encourage you (from someone who is a *little* further down the road) that while doing multiple programs might seem mind-boggling right now, the amount of "hands-on" teaching WILL change. The days will be longer (more subject material as they get older), but you won't have to be there at every second like you do now.

Blessings to you! You're doing great starting them on such a strong foundation!

Oooohhh! I really like that idea, Julie! Thank-you so much for working that all out with me- & I know our prayers have done wonders!
What you said makes so much sense, & at least for now, seems like the perfect balance of what I was hoping to do!! It seems much more doable the way you explained it.
Thank-you, again!
Mariaw- thank-you for your encouragement also! It blessed me today!
And everyone else too! I appreciate all of you for your kindness, encouragement & prayers!
Jessica