heartofdakota.com

Hi Ladies,

I just want to thank Carrie for writing such a wonderfully flexible program, and to thank all of you ladies in the forums for your wonderful ideas. I've been reading so many of your posts, and I feel like I've finally come up with a plan that I feel at peace with. God is so good in guiding us when we ask, isn't he?

A little background:
I have 3 kiddos. Rachel just turned 4, Abby will be 2 in June, and Baby3 is due in August. They're all 26 months apart (must be something about that month! ).

Rachel has already been through LHTH. We loved it and she has retained so much about the Bible stories! My original plan was to start LHFHG this Fall. Even though I think she can do it, I don't want to ruin my chances of combining Rachel and Abby in the future by starting Rachel out so young. Also, I'll have a newborn and I know I won't be able to pour all my energy into it like I want to. Through prayer, I could sense the Lord telling me to wait.

By reading the forums (thank you!!), I realized that there is so much flexibility when combining and I came up with this plan:
September of 2011 (Rachel = 5.5, Abby = 3 yrs 3 months, Baby = 1 yr)
Go through the left side of LHTH with both girls. Rachel will do the right side of LHFHG and Abby will do LHTH as written.

September of 2012 (Rachel = 6.5, Abby = 4 yrs 3 months, Baby = 2)
Go through LHFHG with both girls. Rachel will do the 1st grade options and Abby will do it as written at her pace.

I really feel at peace with this plan, but I'm open to feedback if there's anything I'm missing or just for general input. I am SO happy to have found HOD and can't wait to start!!!

~Catherine

Catherine,

First of all, congratulations on the coming of your new little one in August. I have three summer babies myself. One in June and the other two 4 days apart in July/August.

The only thing I thought of was that four might be a little young to start LHFHG for Abby. I don't know what kind of learner she will be ( and you probably don't know yet either with her still being not quite 2 ), but I thought you might want to think about that. You could check past posts on the board. I think this topic has been discussed here in the past.

Also, don't work too hard to combine. I did that the first half of this year, and it was okay for awhile, but by January I could see where I needed to break my 2 oldest away from my 3rd child. It just works better that way with how my children's personalities and learning styles are. I am not saying that you shouldn't try to combine, but just that you keep your heart and mind open.

I feel for you as you have already gone through LHTH with Rachel. I am wanting to start my 2 yo dd on LHTH, but I am making myself wait until fall, and planning on going through it twice and she will still be a little young after that to start LHFHG. But, I am just going to start when I think she is ready knowing that the Lord will lead one day at a time.

Hope this helps.

Hi RuthAnn,

Thanks so much for your input. I agree that Abby will be really young to start LHFHG. I wish I knew more about what kind of learner she will be, but she's still so young right now. I do know that she's the complete opposite of her sister personality wise. Yet somehow they compliment each other so well. I'm praying that continues!

Perhaps I am working too hard to combine them. I guess I'm just nervous about having to run 3 programs down the road (or more if we end up having more children). I feel like if I start Rachel early, I'll never have the option of combining because she'll be too far ahead of Abby.

I definitely want to do what's best for each child and their ability levels, but in the back of my mind I wonder if I will burn myself out by running 3 programs. Perhaps they're just too far apart to combine well...?

Catherine

Just wanted to encourage you a little about doing multiple guides... I was nervous about this myself this year, doing two, but it has been just fine! In fact, I'll be doing three in the fall! Carrie has written the guides in a way that makes it very managable to do more than one guide. As they get older, they are given more responsibilty to complete more work independently. That way, you can do the other guide with the younger child (or children) while the older works on their "Independent" work. Also, some moms choose to combine their kids in one Storytime, which saves time. Anyways, just want to encourage you not to worry too much about combining them. I have found that if a child is at the right level for them, it makes my job that much easier!

I'm sure you'll make the right decision for your family as you follow the Lord's leading!

Catherine,

I want to echo 4froggies sentiment that you should not worry about doing 2 -3 guides at once. As you can see from my signature, I am doing 3 guides. I tried doing all three of my oldest in Bigger, but my 8 yo ds (who really places in Bigger) was getting lost in the mix. His older brother and sister were overshadowing him, and he just wasn't getting out of it what he needed to.
Since I have put the oldest 2 in their program and kept my 8 yo ds in Bigger, things have been much better. It's not necessarily easy, but then again, who said homeschooling's easy. Besides, since everything is laid out so nicely, and the older ones are doing so much more on their own, it's doable. The real key is that everyone is where they should be, working on their level, developing the skills they need to move on to the next guide.
I know that things will become clearer for you as time goes on. I also know it's nice to have a plan laid out, but you know what they say, "The best laid plans of mice and men . . . "
Keep thinking, planning, and praying. God wants you to know His will even more than you do, so if you want to do His best for your kids, God will definitely show you what you should do. At least you've already found HOD. That's a huge step in the right direction, in my humble opinion.
Blessings on you and yours.

Thanks ladies! You've given me a lot to think about! It's encouraging to hear that you're running multiple guides and finding it manageable... well as manageable as homeschooling can be, right?! I really appreciate all of the advice. I'm just going to continue praying and waiting since I have time on my side right now. I've changed my plan many times. I may change it again. LOL!

Catherine,

I just wanted to pop-in and encourage you too that you're choosing between two great options. Right now since your second little one is so young, it's hard to know for sure what the best combination will be for the long haul. Don't worry that you need to know for sure whether to combine or not. Moms do switch from separating to combining or vice versa, so you don't have to have your whole plan laid out now (even though we'd love to)! Just keep on praying, and if your oldest seems ready to begin in the fall, you could get underway with her with LHFHG. However, if you are sensing the Lord telling you to wait, you can easily add just the 3R's and Do It Carefully/Finding the Answers from LHFHG instead and have your oldest join in with the youngers for the rest of LHTH. Both options will work!

Blessings,
Carrie