heartofdakota.com

Am I completely crazy? I keep seeing others doing 3 guides and I keep wondering if I should. I have my dd turning 5 doing LHFHG and I was going to combine my 7 and 8 yo in Bigger, though they are pretty far apart academically. I know my 7 yo would love Beyond, but is that even doable? I know they discourage using back to back guides, but I don't know if it will be feasible in the future for me anyway with dc so close in age and ability level.

Three guides is quite doable! BUT, do you really want to do each guide from Bigger and up three years in a row? Have you considered combining the 7 and 8 in Beyond and then move them to Bigger after that when they are 8 and 9? They are still in the age range for that and them you can still combine them, and if the older needed more at some point, there are extensions starting in Bigger. If you needed dictation for the older while in Beyond, you could use the Bigger guide for that (and perhaps the cursive, grammar, and math plans as well). If that's something you'd like to consider, we can all help you work out the details!

I was supposed to be doing three guides. There are several who do it and do it well. Sadly, I was unable to stay consistent with it and dropped the one for my youngest for a while. I am just now thinking of picking back up with him, but I'm not sure quite how I want to do it. Anyway, if you can create a plan and stick with it I am sure it is completely doable. If you have a tough time doing that (as I do ) then it may be best to avoid a third guide. I'm sure others will chime in and let you know their thoughts. In any case, you will absolutely love the learning in HOD....all of the books are amazing!

I am currently doing Beyond with my son for 1st grade (7 last October)
LHFHG for K with daughter (turned 6 last month) and just started LHTH with 3 yr old. and have 5 week old
Last week was our first week back after having had our 4th child. i was so excited to see that i could do it even with a newborn. thank the Lord.
I think it is completely doable. May depend on what else is going on in your life and definitely have to be a diligent mom to stay on task ( i speak from learning experience and NOT staying on task)
the older 2 are 16 months apart and academically i just couldn't see putting them together in the same program and b/c of their personalites. Beyond and LHFHG fit them both so well right where they are now. i don't mind doing back to back guides.

Jenn D.

I would definately keep a 7 and 8 year old together. You will save yourself a lot of work for years to come.

Thanks for the replies. I know it seems like it makes more sense to combine but it always someone is over challenged or underchalleged. We have been doing MFW for 2 years and it just isn't working meeting all the ages. However, there are alot of ages to cover. I don't know. In an ideal world, I'd do separate guides for all of them, but then there is reality. We will see. I am praying about it.

I understand what you are talking about with being close in age but academically too far apart for combining to be in their best interest. My oldest two are only 18 months apart. I combined them for the beginning years. I finally realized I was not challenging the oldest while over challenging the second. I split them up half way through Bigger. I had the oldest continue at full pace and the second stayed in Bigger but at half pace (one unit in two weeks). Now the oldest is 2 units from finishing Preparing and the second is doing Preparing half pace and is on Unit 6. School is soooo much better. Both of my boys are placed exactly right. I am doing back to back manuals. I could not get around it to meet my boys needs. I am enjoying it because the information is fresh in my memory. Also the discussion are unqiue to each of my children. I am very happy I uncombined by boys. I get more done in the same amount of time. I am actually doing 4 manuals now. It takes about 4-5 hrs. Not too bad if you ask me. If you have any other questions let me know. I apologize for the poor grammar I wanted to respond but am in a hurry to get lunch made....(its what I get for checking in with only a few minutes)

mskogen wrote:I understand what you are talking about with being close in age but academically too far apart for combining to be in their best interest. My oldest two are only 18 months apart. I combined them for the beginning years. I finally realized I was not challenging the oldest while over challenging the second. I split them up half way through Bigger. I had the oldest continue at full pace and the second stayed in Bigger but at half pace (one unit in two weeks). Now the oldest is 2 units from finishing Preparing and the second is doing Preparing half pace and is on Unit 6. School is soooo much better. Both of my boys are placed exactly right. I am doing back to back manuals. I could not get around it to meet my boys needs. I am enjoying it because the information is fresh in my memory. Also the discussion are unqiue to each of my children. I am very happy I uncombined by boys. I get more done in the same amount of time. I am actually doing 4 manuals now. It takes about 4-5 hrs. Not too bad if you ask me. If you have any other questions let me know. I apologize for the poor grammar I wanted to respond but am in a hurry to get lunch made....(its what I get for checking in with only a few minutes)

Oh wow, this is so encouraging. Thanks so much. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

I un-combined my middle two after Christmas last year.... luckily with their ages and guides it was easy to just start them at the beginning of each guide. I will be using Bigger, Beyond, and LHFHG together for a couple of months next fall before I will have one beginning Preparing in January, on in the middle of Beyond in January, and one near the beginning of LHFHG half speed in January The lessons are so short and so much fun (even if your child doesn't like one aspect of it, there's always SOMETHING they like) and it's really not a problem doing them back to back or overlapping. School takes so much less time now than it did while they were combined.

MomtoJGJE wrote:I un-combined my middle two after Christmas last year.... luckily with their ages and guides it was easy to just start them at the beginning of each guide. I will be using Bigger, Beyond, and LHFHG together for a couple of months next fall before I will have one beginning Preparing in January, on in the middle of Beyond in January, and one near the beginning of LHFHG half speed in January The lessons are so short and so much fun (even if your child doesn't like one aspect of it, there's always SOMETHING they like) and it's really not a problem doing them back to back or overlapping. School takes so much less time now than it did while they were combined.

Oh this is so encouraging. Thanks so much. I am about to take the plunge and buy the third guide. Just trying to find out about free shipping. Thanks again for letting me know that I am not crazy.

We are enjoying doing 3 guides, and we find it doable, but I only have 3 dc. I do think the size of a family is an important consideration (the sheer volume of time needed for teaching all the levels of LA and math for one thing), and I think if there is a baby/toddler in the mix, that is an important consideration as well. I am thinking that you have 7 dc, according to your signature, and that in addition to the HOD guides you'd be teaching, you have 3 older dc to teach as well? Please correct me if I've misunderstood something there. I think balance for all of us is important, as the big goal is for all of us to happily keep homeschooling in the day to day for the long haul. Could you please share the ages of your dc and what HOD guides they have done or where they each place best? Also, how much time do you need to work with your older 3 dc each day? Doing 3 guides is possible. Doing back to back guides is possible. But I'm not sure teaching 3 older dc something else, caring for a little 2 yo raising havoc (which I TOTALLY get BTW ), and teaching 3 guides is advisable. Please do tell more... pretty please... I want to be sure this is a wonderful year for you!

In Christ,
Julie