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I plan to pull my 2 children from public school in the fall - daughter 5 in kindergarten now and my son is 8 - 2nd grade. I am thinking of doing BLHFHG with the two of them - instead of doing two curriculums. I am new to this - and a bit nervous to say the least! My daughter is a bright and eager learner - completed K phonics and has started reading. My son has ADHD and struggles with Reading/writing/Math - has no interest in school at all right now

My question is has anyone used BLHFHG with this age span - 1st & 3rd grade?? I did look at the chart - and I think he could fit in either BLHFHG or BHFHG. I would say he might need the Language Arts to be added to the BLHFHG - he has done some copy work, capitlization and punctuation, however they haven't introduced parts of speech. From reading the posts It looks like BLHFHG is used for 2nd grade and not 3rd, so now I am wondering if using it for both would be a good idea.

Any thoughts??

Thanks-
Jodi

Hi Jodi, and welcome to the HOD Board! We have lots of ladies that combine and love HOD, and lots of ladies that don't and love HOD. If you were going to place your 5 yo alone, where would she place? Would it be LHFHG? Is she turning 6 soon? If you were going to just place your ds on his own, would he place in Bigger Hearts? Since there is 3+ years between your 2 dc, you're on the verge of whether combining will work well or not as well, to be honest. I can totally understand you wanting to teach 1 program, especially to begin with, so you can totally do that with Beyond with the 2 of them if you want. You just would know going into it that it may be tough for the 5 yo to do it, and possibly too easy for the 8 yo. Whether it's HOD or another program, this would be true with those ages, as what 5 yo can do and what an 8 yo can do can vary greatly. However, sometimes that's worth it to be happily using one program. Just because you start off combining, that doesn't mean you can't separate them later, and vice versa. So I think you have 2 options ahead of you from what you've shared...
Option 1:
Combine the 2 in Beyond for the left side of the plans and Storytime from the right. Then, you could and have your dd do the right side of Beyond for her LA and math. But for ds, you could have him do the right side of Bigger Hearts (minus the Storytime). This would give him dictation and hands-on math lessons too.

Option 2:
Your ds could do Bigger Hearts, and your dd could do LHFHG or Beyond, wherever she best placed.

I think I'd be inclined to do Option 1. You are leaning toward wanting to do 1 program and your dc are just coming out of ps, so this seems to make sense. Beyond is a wonderful program, and I bet you'd all enjoy it! Beyond would give your ds an introduction to the parts of speech for grammar, and let him grow in his LA/math skills. You can give him a math placement test at the Singapore website to see where it's best to start him. I'd start him wherever he places, as it's pretty accurate:
www.singaporemath.com

I'd say it depends how the 2 work together and how big brother will feel being paired with younger sis', too. You may want to read this thread where ladies share why they do or don't combine, as there's not really one right answer to that question, but more just personal preference:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5290

I know others will share their thoughts here too, and we'll all chat through this until you have a plan that fits your goals and needs the best. Whatever you end up deciding to do for HOD guides, they are all outstanding!

In Christ,
Julie

Julie - Thank you so much! What a great idea to separate out the right side a bit

I am actually thinking about using Math-U-See instead of Singapore as my ds struggles with Math and is really a visual spatial type learner - he needs to touch and feel - and the rods used in Math-U-See seem to really make sense to him. From what I have read on-line, a lot of struggling kids do well with MUS.

My ds will be six in the fall and is more than ready "academically" for 1st grade so I think she'll be fine. I was just more concerned that he wouldn't get enough. I really want it to be a fun year - as my ds really has had a rough couple of years and dislikes everything about "school".

I just love the look of HOD - I have thought about Weaver, Konos, MFW, and finally when I saw this I was like "WOW" - this looks doable!

Blessings!
Jodi

Jodi,
Hello!!! Next fall will be our first year with HOD. By the time fall gets here my dc will be 6 & 8, I have a boy and a girl as well. I am going with Beyond and upping the Grammar and Science for ds (8) and they'll both be doing separate Math and Spelling as well. I could have probably went with separate manuals, but it would literally be teaching two manuals to both children as they would always be, "I want to do that!!!"

I've just recently looked through the whole Beyond manual and my dc are going to love it (I am too for that matter ). I even read parts aloud to my dc and my ds (8) kept saying read us some more momma.

Plus using Beyond this year, will line us up well to use Bigger next year with extensions.

I think from what I've seen in Beyond it will really rekindle your ds' love for learning and personally that would be one of my foremost goals for your ds nest year as you mentioned that he has no interest in school right now. Praying the Lord shows you exactly what you need for your dear family.

ds struggles with Math and is really a visual spatial type learner - he needs to touch and feel -

I just wanted to reply to this part right now. With Singapore, you are going to get day by day plans that include the visual and hands-on right there in the plans! The way singapore math works goes from concrete (hands-on) to pictorial (visual) to abstract (doing it on paper). MUS also has longer lessons and more planning/prep work (from what I hear, I haven't used it personally but know moms that do). You may find SM to be just what you're looking for! There's also the added benefit of it being open and go, all planned out each day. The activities are great that are planned in the HOD guide. The plans for 1A and B with the activities are in Beyond. The plans for 2A and B with activities are in Bigger. You could start where ever you needed to, whether it's in 1A, 2A or even 1B...where ever your child places! Just find that spot in the guide and go for it.

But, if you're set with MUS and want to go that route, many moms do and it won't disrupt the flow of the program. I just know how important it is for me to have a daily plan to go by, and how I never know exactly how much to do and when if it's not right there for me. Especially in my earlier homeschooling days! I know you'll find your fit! Just keep asking questions and we'll keep answering them.

Hey! Welcome to the Homeschooling world Jodi! I will be doing Beyond next year with my 6 and 8 yr old. Life requires me to combine. I know my oldest would fit better in Bigger, but not if I don't have time to do it with him. I will be adding in R&S English 2 for Grammer. It is a very advanced Grammer book. Then we will be reading more of the storytime read alouds than required. I may have him read some of them independently and then some together. He will also be doing DITHOR on his level. With this it will be plenty extra for him. Our struggle with my oldest is writing. So, to require lots and lots of writing really discourages him. I hope sharing what we are doing will help. I find it's much easier to add to a program than take away. HOD is such a great program I hate to take away things from it.

Sounds like a great plan, Jodi! I love to read all of the ways other ladies are using Beyond with those ages as well. How helpful, and I think you all have a good year ahead of you with Beyond!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

I am looking forward to a great year with my dc!

Jodi

Just wanted to second the use of Singapore Math over MUS. I thought for sure my son would excel with MUS because of the hands on. He got bored with the length of the lessons, the way the lessons in Singapore are presented in the HOD guide makes it fun, hands on and they seem to be learning without realizing it. Gotta love that.