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I am currently trying to decide whether I'm going to use HOD next year. My biggest question is this: I will be doing my 4th and 5th graders on Creation to Christ, and either MFW 1st grade or Beyond Little Hearts for my 1st grader. My question is this: If I decide to go with HOD, will I forever have to teach 2 separate levels at once? As far as I can see, that's how it works. I'm not sure I see a point where I could ever combine the two. I have other questions about HOD, but this is the most foundational and most likely will determine my next step. Thanks so much for any help.

My oldest two are 5th grade and 1st grade. We did CTC and LHFHG this year. And, yes, you will have to do two levels. I used MFW previously and could not wait until my 2nd dd was in 2nd grade to finally be able to combine. However, after a year of HOD and looking at a friends MFW manual, I realized that I would be missing so much just for the sake of combining. This includes:

-precious time with my younger dd with books and bible, etc. on her own level, not tagging along after older sister and catching what she can.
-character training scheduled in for each child- which looks very different for an 11 year old versus a 7 year old!
-I realized that I actually love being in two history periods at the same time! Recently, we were learning about George Washington with my younger dd and the Romans with my older dd. My older sometimes listens in on her younger sister's history reading and it is a good refresher for her American History! And younger dd recently got to come to big sister's "Roman feast" and dress in a toga!

For me, having each child at their own level is easier than trying to squeeze everyone into one. HTH!

MFW is the other curriculum I'm considering. I did it for a few years previously, then took a year's break and did SL Core 1 & 2, and now want to do either HOD, MFW, or TOG. It is very hard for me to think of doing more than one curriculum at a time! Actually, as I look at the placement chart, my son (4th grade) would probably fit better in Preparing Hearts, my 5th grade daughter in Creation to Christ, and my youngest somewhere below. that is really overwhelming for me, to think of doing 3 sciences, histories, etc. But I see that others on this board do it. I would also hesitate to put my son in Preparing, after we just did a year of world history survey. I would appreciate any thoughts anyone else has. Thanks.

I'm one of those folks that actually like doing several guides at once. The kids and I all treasure the one on one time. This year, we used Preparing, Beyond, and Little Hearts, which worked great. My oldest can do most of her work independently, so that is very helpful. Next year, we'll be using Creation to Christ, Bigger, Beyond, and Little Hearts. (I may also require my oldest to do Little Hands to Heaven with my 3yo.)

I think it would be manageable to put your two oldest in separate HOD programs, according to where they fit on the placement chart. You may want to take the first few weeks slowly as you train them to work independently (if they aren't already used to that).


I can't sing the praises of HOD highly enough. I do not enjoy planning AT ALL (would much rather use my time to do other things) and am so thankful for a curriculum that I can just open and go with each day... makes our lives all run so much more smoothly...

Welcome to the HOD Board! I think you will find this a very encouraging, helpful place to be. I can see what you are saying here, but let me tell you firsthand that teaching several HOD guides is NOT the same as teaching several guides from other curriculums. I have taught a year of Sonlight, and there is no way I could do 2 cores year after year. HOD's guides take into account what skills each child should be learning within target age ranges, and believe me, that makes all the difference in the world. In the younger guides, the 3 R's are more of the focus and the guides are very time conscious - in other words, you get school done rather quickly with the littles while still nailing down their foundational skills. The older guides teach independence gradually with skills, so that dc really can take over a good portion of their learning each year and thrive, since they have been incrementally taught the skills, and therefore have the ability to truly do things well independently. These skills are correlated with the history, science, storytime, etc. as well, so they are interesting to learn and just a natural part of their overall day (as opposed to add-on workbooks to accomplish teaching "skills").

I have found that many times guides that suggest they can be used across very wide age levels do not include much skill-based learning, especially if they give one blanket assignment for everyone to do. Instead, they often teach to the older while the younger ones just "tag along", and often times the younger dc are really just listening to the readings rather than learning skills appropriate for their age because they really can't do the skills yet. This usually results in an advanced older child with younger siblings who listen very well to read-alouds but have not learned many skills. I believe this is not because the younger dc aren't as bright as the older dc, but instead is because the younger dc keep missing the skills. Because the guide they are in is always addressing the older child and the skills the older child needs, the younger child is not doing the skills as he moves through the guides, but is probably just doing something else we thought of to try to sub in for the things over their head - i.e. coloring pages that match the history (not that coloring pages are bad in themselves, just that they are often replacing skills that need to be taught). Or worse, the skills just aren't included at all in the guides since the age level is just too wide to be able to do so.

So instead of tweaking down for the youngers, we're beefing up for the olders with HOD. This keeps the skills in place for everyone due to the core fitting the target age ranges/and older dc, and for the olders adding extensions and their higher level assignments, using appropriate reading instruction for older dc within DITHOR, choosing harder grammar and higher level math, etc. It keeps the core reading appropriate for everyone listening rather than getting too overly mature topics too soon for little ears.

So, can you combine all of your dc in one HOD guide? Sure! Absolutely! 100%! Just like you can with anything else. Will it be what's best for your dc? That is something you would need to weigh. For me my 3 dc are all 3+ years apart, and worlds apart in what they need skillwise. It is a very scary thought for me to think of my preschooler, my second grader, and my fifth grader all doing the same thing and essentially being in the same "class" for school. When dc are very far apart in skill level, I do not think combining is easier than teaching separate programs (if the separate programs are HOD and if they appropriately fit the dc using them) . For me, the easiest happiest answer has been to teach 3 HOD guides. We love our days homeschooling, and I'm not stressed in the least. My almost 3 1/2 yo did LHTH with me for 20 minutes a day, my 7 1/2 yo did Bigger Hearts with me, and my oldest CTC. We were done every day by lunch. I love this, but I know everyone doesn't have the same goals I do, and I only have 3 dc whereas others have larger family dynamics to consider.

So, if I checked out the placement chart, and my youngest placed in Beyond, and my older 2 in PHFHG or CTC, I'd probably either combine them all in Bigger Hearts (with extensions for the olders, and using appropriate LA/math right sides of guides), or separate them with your 2 oldest in PHFHG or CTC, and your youngest in Beyond. No matter what I did, I'd definitely combine the 4th and 5th grade children in the guide that fits their skills appropriately, as they are close in age and ability anyway. I'd lean toward doing the 2 programs, but that's just me and may not be the right answer for you. Only you will know what fits your goals the best, but you can definitely combine with HOD, and if you only want to do one level you can. We just try to fine tune placement, give options, and then let you make the call here. It's not that you have to do 2 programs if you do HOD, it's that you have the opportunity to do 2 programs if you wish. If you just want to do one program, like you would with other curriculums that don't have the opportunity to fine tune placements for dc, then that is just as doable with HOD, and you will know if that's the route you like best. HTH! If you have more questions, you'll find the ladies on this board to be very willing to help - this is always one of my favorite places to be.

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you so much for your responses - but I still need more help! Interestingly (in response to the last poster), I don't think my problem has been teaching to the oldest child, but to the middle child, and not giving my oldest enough challenge. And that concerns me. As I look at HOD, I could conceivably do 2, or even 3, curricula. My mind really rebels at the thought of 3, but I pretty much have been doing 2, so I'm not looking to combine them into one! CTC looks like it would be the best fit for my oldest. And, in terms of the history, science, Bible, I think my middle child could handle it. I was thinking of combining them into R&S 4 (we haven't done that - we've been doing Easy Grammar), and I have a different writing program I use that I really like. It's mainly the dictation that I'm not sure my middle child could handle - so maybe he is ready for CTC.

I am very comfortable with MFW, and still am not sure at all that I'm going to go with HOD, but I'm interested enough to pursue these questions. I really hope someone reads this and replies, because I still need help with this issue!!! Thanks so much!

Also, I'm open to being convinced about using 3 curricula at once. I took a survey of my kids tonight, and they all said they like all doing the same thing at once. So... it would be a huge change for us to do 3 different curricula.

tbarr12 wrote: CTC looks like it would be the best fit for my oldest. And, in terms of the history, science, Bible, I think my middle child could handle it. I was thinking of combining them into R&S 4 (we haven't done that - we've been doing Easy Grammar), and I have a different writing program I use that I really like. It's mainly the dictation that I'm not sure my middle child could handle - so maybe he is ready for CTC.

Oh, o.k. then. I guess I was thinking of the title of your post mainly. Thanks for sharing this! I do think your older 2 could do CTC and be combined in R & S 4. It would definitely be challenging enough for your oldest, and if you were wanting it to be even more challenging, you could have your oldest do the extensions, which are intended for 12-13 yo's. We just finished CTC with our fourth grader who has been doing HOD from the start, and it was plenty challenging, but he loved it. As far as dictation, here are some links that give samples of it:
Dictation Samples:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1221
CTC Level 5 Dictation Sample:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5068&p=37153#p37153

Hope that helps!
In Christ,
Julie

tbarr12 wrote:Also, I'm open to being convinced about using 3 curricula at once.

Since I have been reading these boards I have seen many examples of ladies happy to have taken the plunge and stop trying to combine their kids. They say that it is easier to use separate guides than trying to adjust one curriculum to each kid's level.

You can always combine a little for Storytime by getting half of the books from one level and half from another. Your kids could also all listen in on one spine book (from the history or science), or the older kids could do some of the younger's projects.

Also remember that HOD covers each and every skill your child needs. It is not just a history or science curriculum. So that makes using more than one level seem a lot different, to me.