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My older two children completed Beyond last year and are on schedule to complete Bigger in a couple of months. We are all loving it. As I was looking at the new high school scope and sequence (Yay!! I'm so excited) I decided to look at the placement chart again. My dd fits right in Bigger but my ds fits in between preparing and ctc (with the exception of handwriting....). I have been considering putting them in two different programs for awhile but I'm not sure how I would do that or if it is the best thing to do.

I had a couple of other concerns that were leading me to think of "un-combining". First---I started to seriously think about high school and I wonder if I want them graduating at the same time? Ds would be 18 1/2 and dd 17 if they stay on this course and assuming we go through all the HOD levels. Does that matter? Second-- my children have started to "bicker" during school; my ds has to wait for dd to complete her work as she is just slower. She, at times, thinks maybe something is wrong that she takes longer (really, he is just fast. He is no perfectionist but does good work, his goal is to get it done and move on and he would really love to be more independent). There is not a lot of work I can give him to do while we are waiting for his sister as I don't want him to get so involved in something that we then have to wait for him.

I continue to have this "picture" of homeschooling in my mind in which the whole family is sitting together and doing school together so it is hard for me to think of my kids doing two different things, and yet, I know this isn't about me but it is about doing the best thing for them. I suppose I'm just thinking out loud here a bit and wondering
1. should I place them in two different programs? and if yes,
2. how would I do that at this point?
Thanks, Kristen

If your ds fits between the two programs I would go with preparing because the guides build on each other in skill building. I would think it would be a huge jump to go from Beyond to CTC. Even to go from Beyond to Preparing is a big jump and I wonder if others will have an idea for you. I understand your picture of everyone sitting around the table, yet you can still do that - each child will just be doing different things. You may find the camaraderie actually improves as each child is working at his or her correct level. I'll be praying you find the right answer.

I see you are using Bigger half speed for the summer? Or was that an old siggie? Why don't you go ahead and start him with Preparing right now and go full speed and just go half speed from now with Bigger with your DD? Then when she gets to Preparing she could go half speed for a while. That would at least separate them by a bit. And since Preparing is a 4 day program you could do it 5 days for him to spread them apart more. You'd be doing back to back guides, and be overlapping for a while depending on how long you kept her half speed. But at least they'd be in different places so he could finish his quickly and she could take her time and it wouldn't cause an issue Plus doing this would put both of them graduating at about 18.

I was thinking along the lines of MomtoJGJE. If you don't want to have him skip the rest of Bigger, just have him do full speed and her half speed and then move him on to Preparing. From what I've read before, Preparing is a pretty important guide and would be difficult to skip. I don't blame you for wanting to split them up, especially if she is slower. It can be frustrating for both of them. I would probably split if I were you. However, I'm a newbie, let's see what the wise ladies have to say. I'm curious to see.

Nancy

I agree with the last poster. i have two kids close together and do back to back guides. way better for us. they fit perfect intheir guides and older perfectionist brother can't compare and criticize younger sister who takes things a little slower.

Jenn D.

Thank you Ladies for your input--
Bigger for the summer was laassst summer, and we weren't too successful at that (thats a whole other story ), I need to remember how to change my signature.

I was not considering skipping preparing, I was just noticing that my son's skills had improved so much that he actuallly fits in a program that is 2 levels above where he is now. There are days when I feel I am holding him back, like he is ready to jump ahead but he is constrained.

I guess my problem is that it took me years (when my oldest was a baby and we knew we were going to homeschool) to overcome the idea of having the kids in textbooks and separated by grade level. So now I am all gung-ho about them being together since they are so close in age and I'm realizing that that is probably not the best thing for my kiddos but its still difficult for me to jump over this hurdle in my mind. The kids enjoy storytime together and also enjoy doing the projects together so would miss that. My oldest does compare and criticize with his sister which really bothers her. We've been working on this, as I see it as a character issue, but some days it is as if he doesn't have a clue!

Thanks for listening as I ponder the best course. The ideas of going half speed with the youngest and full speed with the oldest are a good idea, I could see that that would work well b/c the youngest sometimes doesn't complete the whole right side of Bigger right now anyway . I know I have to seek God's best for my kids... it is helpful to know what some options are.

Just another idea to ponder since I do like to combine. You could keep them in the same program to gain that story time and project family spirit. Then your son could do some parts independently that she is slower on. This will up the skill level for him, give them a little more apart time, and you will not have to teach two separate guides for the rest of their schooling when they are so close together. Plus, take advantage of the extension packages. Obviously, it will all come down to what fits your family best, but if you do like some aspects of combining, this is the path we have taken.

Hi Kristen! I totally understand your desire to keep your dc together. I know that combining, although having great advantages in some areas, has its difficulties, too - which, unfortunately, you are now experiencing Separating your dc would give your ds the opportunity to soar. If he already has developed the skills to jump to Preparing, he would probably thrive with the level of independence he will be gaining in that guide. There are still things you all could do together. I am thinking that Storytime is one of the things that could be combined, even from different programs. Bible study, maybe.

Really, I am so sorry that my ds did not get to do all of that it is hard for me to think about anyone skipping anything Yet, if your ds is getting frustrated because he feels held back, then it might be good to move to the correct placement for him. I have heard the wisdom of the ladies over and over on this board: Placement is key to a wonderful homeschool experience!

I tend to lean toward 8arrows suggestion myself. We are in a similar boat as you are. My sons, 7 and just turned 10 are also in Beyond this year, with my oldest doing DITHOR, higher math and LA 3. Otherwise, they are pretty much doing it together. I have been thinking about this myself, and if it would be best to even skip Bigger next year for him and put him in Preparing, so that they would be separate. But, honestly, I just don't see that I could do that. It is all I can do now to do the Beyond with both of them, plus my daughter will be in LHFHG next year too. So, we will most likely be going with the Extensions for my oldest instead of two separate guides. My oldest isn't really very emotionally mature I don't think, so I think he would be pretty upset if he were doing something a lot more independent on his own. Actually, my youngest son is quite mature, so in maturity levels, they are much closer in age than 2 and a half years. They almost seem to be on the SAME level when it comes to emotions, if that makes sense.

And, I really enjoy the family time we all have together reading the books and discussing. My sons do their copywork independently, and all the art stuff and everything always works out just fine with us. But, I know what you mean about separating them. Sometimes I worry that I may be holding my oldest back, but in reality, I think I would be PUSHING him more than holding him back if I forced Preparing on him next year. But, I will force the extensions on him, like it or NOT!

Hi Tina,
You may have seen my post on the other thread about the Bigger for 10 yr old. My ds8 is in 2nd grade and in Beyond, next year he'll be in Bigger and will turn 9 in Jan. Your son is only one age year different from that, and I know my ds8 is in the perfect place skill wise in his HOD guide. Your son is most likely in the perfect place skill wise in his guide! I would not stress too much about that.....it sounds from reading your earlier posts, that his reading ability is there. Keep him where he's thriving. I had been so exhausted from not having a day off in seems like 2 weeks, that last night I took night off from hs and trying to get ds to bed..he's having mom-anxiety and I have barely been able to leave his bed without him waking back up, and I thought are there other moms whose sons still insist on hugs until they fall asleep??? The comparing thing is stressful and so easy to do, so be assured everyone of us has done that. It sounds like from what I've seen in Bigger that you will not want to skip Bigger to jump into Preparing. If after a few more years you feel like you can skip ahead, that may be an option because his skills will jump as he matures -- but don't worry about it right now.
Blessings,
Laura

Just wanted to update you all... I decided to start my son in Preparing and keep my daughter in Bigger and so far they are loving it, especially my son. He tells me every day how much he likes school now that he can do so much of it on his own. My daughter now gets more of my undivided attention and doesn't have to deal with feeling like she is slowing her brother down which has helped her stress level a lot. I get one on one time with my son too and that has been very good for both of us-- I didn't realize how much he has had to compete with his 2 sisters for my attention. We are still reading the Bible together and doing storytime together (although I do storytime separately with just my son too) and we still do grammar and dictation together. This is a bit more work for me right now and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to fit it all together.

Kristen,

Thanks for the update! It sounds like you are enjoying your switch. As you're thinking through your new schedule, you may want to ponder possibly doing one of the guides at half-speed. I'd likely lean toward doing Bigger Hearts half-speed for the rest of this school-year to allow your daughter to grow into the needed skills. You'll know best, but this would shorten your day and may make your daughter even less stressed and more able to enjoy her work. We're currently doing Bigger half-speed for my third little guy (and will move to full-speed next school year). We've seen incredible gains with him. He just needed some time to grow into the writing part of Bigger Hearts. Often a year at half-speed, followed by a year at full-speed in the same guide works well.

In the scenario above, your son would just keep going in full-speed Preparing Hearts.

Blessings,
Carrie

Thank you for that encouragement, Laura! You are so correct. P.S. My oldest still loves for me to tuck him in at night and talk to him "endlessly" if I would let him! So I understand about the bed time thing! He's a talker and a cuddler too. And he's getting so big, but I don't want to take this time for granted with him. I know it will be gone before I know it, and I will be wishing I could tuck him in all over again.

Kristen - I'm glad you are enjoying the switch, as are your dc! When I began teaching multiple guides, I realized I needed to put together more of a routine for our days. One thing that has helped me this year especially is to begin my day with my oldest. He has the most to do, so it makes sense to begin with him. Doing a block of teaching time with him first has helped jump start his day. While I begin my teaching time with my oldest ds, my younger 2 dc just play with one another. They have grown to love this! I just thought I'd share this tip in case it may be helpful.

In Christ,
Julie