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So, my husband and I have finally decided that HOD is definitely the way for our family to go next year. I'm really excited and can't wait to get started! I've read over the placement charts serveral times and just can't decide which program(s) would be best for our family. I'd love to stay as combined as possible as organization and staying on task is an "area of growth" for me
In the fall, my children will be: dd-5 in K, dd-7 in 2nd, dd-9 in 3rd and ds-2. I have great hopes that HOD is a program that I will want to stick with in the future, so how should I combine my children? My oldest dds read very well and use FLL and WWE currently so I think they would be fine using Bigger and I don't know if Beyond would be challenging enough for my oldest. However, there might be some advantages to going with Beyond that I haven't thought of or discovered. I absolutely can NOT do more than one guide this year and I'd really like to never use more than two. Is this possible and anyone with any words of wisdom or experience, please chime in. Thanks in advance for helping me
In him, Steph

I personally combined my 7 and 9 (now 10) year old in Beyond, and it has worked out very well for us. They have both learned a lot and enjoyed it. This is our first year doing a full Charlotte Mason type of approach, so I think Beyond is a great introduction. My oldest does higher level math and LA than Beyond requires and I add some science reading and notebooking to his agenda, as well as DITHOR. It has worked out just great! So, if you really want to combine, I would go with Beyond for the 7 and 9 year old. The 5 year old can certainly listen to the read-alouds. You could do phonics with the 5 year old as well. Next year, when your 5 year old is 6, she could then do Beyond herself. You would move up to Bigger for the other 2 then. So you would likely be in two guides next year. But at least for this year, it is very feasible in my opinion to just use Beyond. Just my thoughts. Blessings!

Hey,

My kids are 8, 7, 5, and 3. So I understand about having "close' kids

One thing I would tell you from the start is that doing 2 guides is EASY EASY EASY with HOD. I don't think anyone on this list will dispute that.

I have used Little Hands To Heaven
Little Hearts For His Glory
Bigger Hearts For His Glory
and Beyond Little Hearts

There is no way you can combine all 3 of your big kids into one guide. I'm sorry
***

Now I am a DIE HARD HOD believer. But I also have some DIE HARD opinions.

Here are my 2 Steadfast HOD Rules

1. A Child Under 6 Should Not Do LHFHG
(Before people throw tomatoes, I will explain my rationale. *IF* you *truly* want them to *get* the rich historical content of LHFHG, wait until they are 6. I did it will a 5 year old, and he doesn't remember a bit of it. I wish I'd waited another year. Now if you have the most mature 5 year old ever and she is REALLY close to turning 6, you might could convince me.)

2. Skipping ANY Guide robs both Mom and Child of tremendous joy, pleasure, and education.
(Each of these guides is worth their weight in gold from an educational standpoint. I look back at each one we have done and see all we would have missed if we had skipped any of those! Try to do EVERY ONE if at all possible.)

So, in your situation, I would do Bigger Hearts with your 7 & 9 year olds. They will get the same History and Science and Bible. If your 7 year old no longer needs phonics, start her on the emerging readers set or DITHOR level 2/3. Start your 9 year old on DITHOR level 4/5. (You only need 1 Teacher's Guide for all levels of DITHOR). Both the 7 & 9 year olds will have their own math. The only thing you might need to do is make up some copywork for your 9 year old in lieu of handwriting. I can help you with that.

For your 5 year old, I would continue your phonics program if you have not covered everything. If you have, start her in the emerging readers set. She will also have her own math. I would have her Homeschool Kindergarten day consist of Readers, Math, Handwriting, and listening you read to her a LOT, listen to books on cd a LOT (provided the content is wholesome). This is all a Kindergartner needs. Really.

***
Then, the next year, your 7 & 9 year olds move up to Beyond. They move up to their appropriate levels in DITHOR and Math. Beyond is a HUGE leap in difficulty from Bigger. It will be an adjustment. If you feel your 9 year old needs extensions, they are available, but I think she will do well with the regular program.

Your 5 year old will then be ready to move into LHFHG. She will do emerging readers or begin DITHOR. Of course, she will continue in math and handwriting where she left off the previous year.

Yes, when your toddler gets to be 5, you might want to start him in LHTH. But your 9 year old and 7 year old will be working very independently of you by then. They might even enjoy the task of taking on teaching LHTH for you!

***
If you are insistent in doing LHFHG with your 5 year old now, then combine her with your 7 year old. Again, choose either to finish phonics or start the emerging readers set.

Then have your 9 year old start either in Bigger or Beyond. Keep in mind that Beyond is MUCH MORE CHALLENGING than Bigger. It was a shock to me (and my kids). That is why we are spreading it over 2 years

Plus, remember my Rule Number 2! Never Skip A Guide If You Can Help It!!

Best of luck to you.

You will LOVE HOD. It really is as wonderful and easy as everyone says. And we are all here to help you succeed!

mrsrandolph wrote:WAIT!!! I almost peed on myself. Someone suggested putting a 6 year old in Beyond.

I just would not do that. That is way too young. Beyond is a huge challenge including added vocabulary activities, mapping skills, copywork and dictation.

There are many beautiful guides to choose from here. No need to rush these kids through them so fast.

Just and opinion.

No disrespect intended.

Beyond does not have those things... that is Bigger. Beyond comes after LHFHG and it is for 6-8 year olds.

To the OP.... Here's what I would do.

I would put your 7 and 9yos in Bigger (the age range is 7-9, for 2nd or 3rd grade as written!) with the basics (math, reading, etc) at their level. I would require the 9yo to do more written work if necessary.... like, more vocab words than your 7yo and more copywork maybe. DITHOR or Emerging Readers as needed. Spelling list or dictation at whatever level they are on. All of that is in the guide for Bigger I believe Bigger also includes extensions if you find your 9yo is not challenged enough.

For your 5yo, since you've not used HOD before and don't know the flow yet.... I would do LHTH with the 'olders' suggestions (just different activities for older ones and younger ones written in the guide) and add in phonics and the fine motor skills books for the kindergarten level of LHFHG (Do it Carefully, Finding the Answers, A Reason for Handwriting K) Then next year I would do LHFHG with the 1st grade options and Earlybird math (no reason to rush in Singapore, it's pretty advanced)

Doing it this way would have your olders combined and not be doing guides back to back. LHTH btw takes about 30 minutes total even if you add in the fine motor skills books.

The first thing I would do is look at the placement chart and see where your oldest two place individually and share that information so the ladies can help you more. I have seen many times on the board that correct placement is key!!

I will share what I have done. I have a ds-8 "2nd grade" and dd-7 (March) "1st grade" and I have always combined them. We are currently using Beyond. We did Little Hearts prior to Beyond. Next "year" they will be ds-9 (Oct.) "3rd grade" and dd-7 "2nd grade" and we will be using Bigger Hearts.

My ds is on Unit 27 with the Emerging Readers and my dd is on Unit 14. Both will begin DITHOR 2/3 when they finish.

HTH!!

Robbin

Thank you all for your wise words already. Robbin- I have studied the placement chart which is part of my issue. Both my girls (6&8 now, but 7&9 in the fall) seem like they have the skills to do Bigger. We use Abeka phonics and language, FLL ane WWE. However, I sort of want to start with Beyond so that they don't miss anything! My biggest concern is that it will be too easy for the 9yo. I will definitely have my 5 yo using the "bigger" part of LHTH as a friend loaned me that book. . We already use Singapore, so there won't be a transition there. We are a half year behind (ex, my 2nd grader is finishing up 2A this sememster and will begin in 2B in fall). I'm really excited about the built in spelling. Thanks again for all of your thoughts and advice. I'm certainly taking it into consideration (Prob 15:22) while knowing my children's strengths and abilities.
Blessings!
Steph

I have children close in age like you. Mine are 13, 13, 12, 11, 9 and 7. The two 13 year olds are far apart in ability because one has special needs. The 11 and 12 year old are fairly close and the 9 and the 7 year old were close enough to combine. The now 7 and 9 year old were combined in Beyond at ages 6 and 8 and are now doing Bigger together. It has worked very well. Really it has so much to do with ability whether a younger child can do a higher program. My now 7 year old (and she just barely turned 7) is a good reader and has learned well how to narrate very well just from being brought up in and around HOD. She gets the content and can relate the biblical concepts to other areas of life. The key is the placement chart. http://www.heartofdakota.com/placing-your-child.php Age is one factor. It's important because sometimes maturity correlates well with it and often skills do as well. I have found in placing my children age was the first thing i looked at but ultimately I ended up deciding on abilities. I would take a look on the placement chart and look to see where they could best fit. If your then 7 and 9 year old fall with some overlap I would seriously think about combining. Take a look now but keep an open mind for the future. This age range kids pick up skills sometimes in jumps so I would re-evaluate when you get closer. If you need them to be in separate guides no problem it will work. But combining if they fit on the placement chart is usually the easiest way to go. Usually two years difference combines well.

Praying God brings you a decision that gives you peace.

Steph,
One idea is that if you are leaning toward Beyond, then start there. I truly think if you add higher LA, Math and DITHOR appropriate for her level, either 2/3 or 4/5 girl's interest books, you will really have a great year. Unless your daughter is exceptionally advanced for her age, I really feel she will get a meaty education. Science is one area that you may want to add a bit too by having her do a science notebook and read extra science books from the library. That is what I have started having my son to do, and he loves being able to check out science books that interest him. He just reads a portion of the book and writes a paragraph in his notebook about it, narrates to me what he has read, and draws a picture of it. He is doing this twice a week currently.

Next year, you can move both of them to Bigger and do extensions for your oldest. The extensions are for children between 10-11. That is what I plan on doing with my oldest next year.

Thanks, Tina. I'm new using these message forums and I just noticed the "location" of all of you. I had to smile because I'm from GA, my roommate in college was from Cartersville and I currently live in KY I studied the week 1 pdf file for both beyond and bigger and going by the placement charts and those samples, I'm thinking that Bigger would definitely be the best fit for us as the girls will be in 2nd and 3rd grade and seem to fit right into the Bigger placement on the chart. I just hate to miss out on what was in Beyond. I was thinking of getting the history books from Beyond to use for me to read to the girls over the summer. They love that kind of thing. Does that sound like a good plan? I love how supportive this board is!

I think that sounds like a wonderful idea getting the books from Beyond to read over the summer. I bet your dds will really love having those read to them over the summer. Bigger is an awesome program too. We're in our final weeks of Bigger here, and it's been a wonderful year. Welcome and enjoy your summer reading and your year with Bigger!

I'm thinking one of the previous posters was confused, and meant Preparing not Beyond. Preparing comes after Bigger, and is the one that is a step up. Beyond is for 6-8 year olds, and is quite gentle. My ds is about to finish Beyond, and it has been a great year. I think you could combine your two oldest in Bigger as long as the 7 year old is ready for it. Your younger two I do not think your going to be able to combine unless you delay your 5 year old a lot. I'm doing LHFHG with a 5 year old and we are having a blast.