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Hi all,

To make a L-O-N-G story - short. My children all began their new HOD programs in February. We covered 3 weeks. I had a baby come 4 + weeks early. We downshifted to the basics and only worked on writing, reading, math, grammar and dictation for the rest of the academic year. We moved a few weeks ago and I'm unpacking...slowly. My oldest 2 are a bit behind in math, IF we hope to do Algebra in 9th grade. Oh,.... and I'm exhausted

I had planned to pick up where we left off and continue with my:
oldest 13 yo in CTC
ds 11 yo in Bigger left side w/ extensions, Preparing right
ds 9 yo in Bigger
dd 5 yo in LHFHG with emerging readers, spelling and math from Beyond

But now, as I revisit the placement chart I'm so aware that my:
oldest is a great fit for RTR
ds 11 yo wants to do "more" work and is ready to a degree for Preparing or even CTC, but still needs lots of hand-holding
ds 9 yo is still a good fit for Bigger - should probably add extensions for him
dd 5 yo still a good fit for LHFHG, etc.

Your thoughts?!

Ha! Your winter and spring sound a LOT like ours, except instead of having a newborn we found out we're expecting again (due in Oct)...quite a surprise (but a joyful one!) and then of course the fatigue and ill feelings, both of which got us off track for a while. We did continue with the basics, but after a move in the fall we were already 'behind' in math too, so I understand the feeling. Besides the baby's imminent arrival, we have another move (and home to find) in the fall as well...so we expect more interruptions in our schedule/schooling/life in general. Right now we are continuing with the basics (we tend to year-round school, which helps us to stay 'caught up' some) and will start our new school year in August. We are doing a short unit study beginning Monday (not HOD). We will take several weeks break after September for the baby's birth, our move, and the holidays, although the kids will continue in math, english, and other basics.

Anyway, these are my thoughts concerning your situation...I would continue with where you left off. All of the programs you have are great programs! Your oldest...will he/she still fit into RTR once you complete CTC, esp. if you add extensions? The 11 yo dc in Bigger... I would say is not ready for Preparing... if "lots of hand-holding" is needed, as Preparing... has even more independent work than Bigger...and with 4 children to school plus a newborn I don't think you have a lot of time for that! If this dc wants 'more work' you could always order the extensions for Bigger...and have him/her go through those as additional work, and if you do that you could also have dc 9 do them if desired or necessary. Another consideration is that if you put dc 11 into Preparing... then you'll be doing 4 separate programs instead of just the 3 you're doing now....I don't think I could do it. Your 5 yo you said you would not change, so that's great. I'm just thinking that you're already doing 3 programs and trying to acclimate to a new baby. I wouldn't worry with trying to order new things or add another program to the mix....just begin where you left off and enjoy the rest of the time in those programs. I think you will love them, and learn so much! But, you know best if your dc need more...just my humble opinion. HTH I'm sure others will be along with their suggestions as well.

I just wanted to agree with InHisTiming to say that I would just continue where you left off. They are such terrific programs that I wouldn't want my kids to miss out on them, especially if they can still "fit" as is OR with adding extensions. Praying for wisdom for you in making your decision.

Florence,

Praying for renewed strength for you! And, SLEEP which will probably help with that!

I think if I were you, I'd proabably move my oldest to RTR (unless you're already a good ways through CTC). Whether to up the 11 yo would be a little harder for me to decide, as that's the move that will add to your day. How far into Bigger are you? If you're quite a ways into it, I'd be inclined to finish it with both. But, if you're closer to the beginning, that's a tricky one! I think that Preparing does a great job of leading you to "hand-hold" your child in training them for more independent work. We had a GREAT year with it! I would look carefully to see whether this child could do the 2 independent boxes independently. Will he be able to pick up doing the Independent History (which is sometimes following directions to draw & write, sometimes read a fairly easy book, narrate to you on said reading, sometimes copy something from reading into common place book) and Science (again reading a farily easy book and responding with notebooking, narrating, answering 5 written questions, simple experiment and lab sheet) farily quickly?? If not, I would wait for Preparing. But the rest of Preparing has you guiding and then letting them finish "semi-independently". You're teaching Reasearch, Writing Narrations, Creative Writing...all guiding along the way. Grant was able to do the vocabulary, timeline, and history project without much guidance from me either. (But I know that's because he really learned to do those while in Bigger with me helping him along the way.

Here are a couple ideas that just came to my mind. If you think the 9 yo is ready for extensions in Bigger...would you want to move them both to Preparing? Or, if you decide to keep them in Bigger, you could have the 11 yo take over doing the science box on his own and doing the extensions with the follow-up assignments. (These 2 things would be MUCH like the 2 independent boxes in Preparing.)

Kathleen

Well, I have close to the same ages...
I have a 14, 10, 9, 7, 4, 2, and 10 month old.
Here is what I have decided to do.
My 14 and 10 year old(11 next month will be doing CTC, adding in their own LA and Math.
My 9 and 7 year old will be doing Beyond, adding in their own LA and Math.
My 4 year old(five in Sept.), I have decided to do Sonlight P3/4, then 4/5 and Mcruffy math and Phonics.
I want to hold off and do Little Hearts for 1st. I think they get more out of it.
Also, that way I can have more going independent as I move them up instead of doing 4 guides.

Hi all,

Many good thoughts. And thanks for reading and responding. I'm hoping to unpack ALL the school books this week Although, I've been hoping that for a couple of weeks now. But I've been revisiting and revisiting the placement chart. And although I really wouldn't want my oldest to miss out on all the good books for CTC I feel a very strong nudging to go into RTR. He is a VERY MATURE 13 yo, works incredibly well on his own and is beyond ready for the puberty study. I also am feeling a very strong nudging to move my 11 year old into CTC. He has gone from being a child to a young man in the last several months and is voicing needs and desires that are much further along than he was 6 months ago. I "think" he would respond well to the challenges CTC would offer him and for the first time in his life I think he is ready for a challenge. My youngest boy at age 9 - I think would benefit from the full year of Bigger, although he is on the cusp of placing in the Preparing box. We may even just focus only on the basics (right side) For my youngest - 5 yo our main focus will be the basics - right side of Beyond.

I'm continuing to pray and mull this over. Thank you for your feedback.

deltagal wrote:Hi all,

Many good thoughts. And thanks for reading and responding. I'm hoping to unpack ALL the school books this week Although, I've been hoping that for a couple of weeks now. But I've been revisiting and revisiting the placement chart. And although I really wouldn't want my oldest to miss out on all the good books for CTC I feel a very strong nudging to go into RTR. He is a VERY MATURE 13 yo, works incredibly well on his own and is beyond ready for the puberty study. I also am feeling a very strong nudging to move my 11 year old into CTC. He has gone from being a child to a young man in the last several months and is voicing needs and desires that are much further along than he was 6 months ago. I "think" he would respond well to the challenges CTC would offer him and for the first time in his life I think he is ready for a challenge. My youngest boy at age 9 - I think would benefit from the full year of Bigger, although he is on the cusp of placing in the Preparing box. We may even just focus only on the basics (right side) For my youngest - 5 yo our main focus will be the basics - right side of Beyond.

I'm continuing to pray and mull this over. Thank you for your feedback.

Hi Florence! I've been wanting to answer this, but have been thinking it over first first for awhile (plus we had my sis from TX here with her sweet dc and dh for awhile). I agree your oldest sounds ready for RTR and though CTC will be missed, I think RTR is probably the right placement. For your 5 yo doing LHFHG core and right side Beyond sounds like a good fit. For your 9 yo and 11 yo, I'd love to get them together in something, especially after the whirlwind year you've just had - I think 3 HOD programs max would be a good goal to shoot for. Do you think your 9 yo could grow into PHFHG? I'd be inclined to put the 9 and 11 yo together into PHFHG, doing extensions for the 11 yo. I think that would set you up for a wonderful rotation of guides, as well as streamline your time by doing 3 instead of 4 guides. This would give you that little extra time needed to be sure your 5 yo had you enough. I just finished CTC and loved it, but I am glad I have some time before teaching it again, as I know that will get me excited to teach my Genesis study and Geography study again then, as well as reading the Storytime books another time. I think I'd be less into the discussions and readings if I was doing it again the next year. Something about coming back to good books brings the excitement back, whereas finishing them and turning around to do them again right away makes is tougher for me to truly be passionate about them. I want to be just as invested personally my second time through for my next ds, as I was the first time through with my oldest, and for me, having at least a year off between guides seems to do that. However, I know this really just may be a quirky thing about me. So, if you're thinking that doesn't fit you, disregard that part of this post. Anyway, I just would love for you to have a year that doesn't spread you too thin, and either by doing Bigger Hearts with extensions for this middle duo of dc, or doing PHFHG (with extensions for older), would help that goal to be more attainable. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie