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I'm full of questions! I tried to find something on this topic but came up short with the Search.

Are there any drawbacks to running guides back to back? It seems like I should be able to combine two of my children and that is my current plan. However, I'm still considering putting each child into the guide that is "perfect" for them. Doing this means that I will always have DD trailing middle DS by only one guide. That means I'll be teaching every guide two years in a row.

Thoughts?

I think that really depends on you. A positive of doing the guides two years in a row is that you would remember what you did before, what is coming next, and be able to anticipate things much better. In some ways I feel like this could be a real advantage. For instance you could easily remember which things were covered and if there is an extra reading book you want to include, you would know when to make it work seamlessly. Of course this is something you could do if the guides were spaced more years apart, but my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be so I would be likely to forget. It would be interesting too to experience the same guide with different children so close together as well. I think that would give you an interesting perspective on your dc. You can always do different storytime options each time and with each child, I'm sure it would feel differently. For some people, it might be too repetitive to do the guide two years in a row. I am always so sad to finish a guide that I think I would actually look forward to being able to do it again the next year. Again, I think it more depends on how you feel about it.

I have one kid in Beyond and one kid in LHFHG this year. the one in Beyond did LHFHG last year. I am having no problem with it. It really fits them better.I would either be tweaking something up or trying to tweak it done and that is just too much work. It is amazing to me how it still seems so fresh and i am not bored. And the kids say "oh yeah, i remember brother doing that last year". good memories

JEnn D.

I am also doing that for the upper guides. I like it actually. I think my kids are doing it really on different levels so it does not feel like exactly the same. Plus I liked them the first time around so the second just seems like more fun. On the other hand if you really have a feeling this would not be good for you then I would go with that and combine somehow.

Ladies,

Your feedback is so helpful!

My biggest challenge is thinking about running 3 guides my first year with HOD! That really seems like a lot as they're all pretty teacher intensive. I have a little time before the decision is final. . .

In my opinion, it is much BETTER and (believe it or not) EASIER to have kids in 2 different guides than to try to "cram" them into one guide when the fit isn't right.

I have a daughter and son that are only a year apart, but we did different guides at one time. Do what works for your kids. It will pay off. You will be doing the right side of the guide separately for each one anyway. The left side for each will not add that much to your day.

mrsrandolph wrote:In my opinion, it is much BETTER and (believe it or not) EASIER to have kids in 2 different guides than to try to "cram" them into one guide when the fit isn't right.

I have a daughter and son that are only a year apart, but we did different guides at one time. Do what works for your kids. It will pay off. You will be doing the right side of the guide separately for each one anyway. The left side for each will not add that much to your day.

THIS is what I'm grappling with and why I asked this question! Thank-you for sharing about your daughter and son. I am beginning to think it will really be FINE to run Bigger, Little Hearts and Little Hands simultaneously. Then everyone will be placed EXACTLY where they NEED to be!! At first it seemed insane but not now . . .

You can go so many ways here, as HOD is very flexible. Beginning with 3 HOD guides may be a challenge, but then again, LHTH is very easy to teach (only taking 20-30 minutes tops), and so is LHFHG (taking only around 1 to 1 1/2 hours). Bigger Hearts will be the bulk of your teaching time and is an important guide to teach to its fullest. We are loving it right now! We are doing BHFHG, LHTH, and RTR and finding our year to be very manageable, first because HOD writes guides to be easy to teach, but second because my dc are accurately placed. They can do 100% of what the plans ask them to do, which makes everything flow smoothly.

You may want to start with just Bigger Hearts and LHFHG, and then add LHTH when ready. This would be an easy way to begin for a few weeks to a month, and LHTH can be added in then after a routine is established. Teaching guides back to back is more of a personal thing, and I have to say especially as the guides get higher up, I don''t think it would be a very big deal, as teaching time becomes more minimal. I'm on my third time through LHTH, and though my trips weren't back to back through it, I am still thoroughly enjoying it. Each child has been different to teach with it, and that's been fun to see develop. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie