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my going into 3rd grader would miss one of the guides if we keep him in Beyond with his brother. I was made aware of this and I'm not sure if I am content with it. I wouldn't want my child to miss any of the guides, especially the ones for oder ages. Is there one that is o.k. to skip over before you get to the highschool grades, and what would that look like or should I reconsider our plan for right now and split up the two. What are others planning to do about this if you have children using the extended packages for each guide, since they would be missing a guide? Are you going to skip any?
On a side note we are in Unit 3 of Beyond and the boys LOVE it. And so do I. It is a breath of fresh air for the whole family.

This is a hot topic. This question came up recently at the bottom of a different thread, and since I'm only half awake, I'm just going to copy my thoughts from there. I apologize in advance if I don't make sense. It was late then and early now. My thoughts for our family:

Right quick cuz I'm headed to bed , but I face that issue with both my boys as well. I don't think it will matter, really, though because if you look at the sequence, they will still cover all the time periods. It will just be broken up differently.

For instance, my Caleb will use Rev to Rev and the not yet released Modern guide in 9th and 10th grade, both with extensions. Then he will do the Geography guide in 11th and the World history in 12th. He'll miss the last two high school guides, but that's OK because they will cover the same time periods as Rev to Rev and the new Modern guide. We might have to beef up a bit for high school, but since he falls within the extension range, I kind of doubt it.

Josh will wind up missing the very last guide. He'll do the Modern guide (the one to follow Rev to Rev) in 9th. Because this will cover the modern period, I'm not worried about missing the last guide, which also covers the Modern period.

Am I making any sense? I would be hesitant to skip a guide because the guides are soooooo much more than just the history period. The skills build on each other incrementally, so I would be afraid that if I skipped a guide, my kiddo would miss the skills that guide taught, and therefore be frustrated in the next guide.

HTH!

"On a side note we are in Unit 3 of Beyond and the boys LOVE it. And so do I. It is a breath of fresh air for the whole family."

I think your "sidenote" says it all. Stay where you are at. My daughter will only get to Revival to Revolution by 9th grade. That is OK. I can use the extension with her plus a couple of other things for high school and still keep her combined with her two younger brothers. She will do this guide, modern history and then geography and world history. I do not have a problem with that. The younger boys will go through all the guides. You know what? In the end they will both have a great education, and we will have had a great time doing it. The stress of two guides with 2 children who are easily combinable is not worth it in my opinion. I am graduating one next year and another the next. I am finding that a lot of what I fretted about was not warrented. In the end, we have done well on entrance exams, etc., and although he is a great boy, the only things I regret not spending even more time on are Bible, worldview, and character training, and HOD does a great job with those three things.

8arrows wrote: In the end, we have done well on entrance exams, etc., and although he is a great boy, the only things I regret not spending even more time on is are Bible, worldview, and character training, and HOD does a great job with those three things.

I love this! Graduated my oldest daughter this last year, and I agree with this statement completely!

My oldest son is on the same schedule to use the same guides as yours.

Great discussion - just to let you know - HOD is planning for this. I think it's pretty genius, actually, and I believe the Lord just laid it out in front of Mike and Carrie because it's just too perfect. HOD plans for dc to move through however many guides they are able to move through, in order, without skipping any, but because of the way the guides are written appropriate credits for high school will be able to be given no matter how far in the guides you get (provided dc at least make it through the CTC/RTR/RevtoRev/Modern Times cycle by the end of high school). Carrie explains it well here...

Three High School Paths within HOD…
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8208&p=59681

HTH, and it sounds like you all came to the same conclusion we did! Better to incrementally move dc along, enjoy the journey as we go, and get as far as we do, then fast forward/double up/skip and add unneeded stress to both our lives and our dc's lives. HOD is pretty meaty. I think however far dc get, it will be far more than we got in high school, and definitely more than dc are probably getting in ps too.

In Christ,
Julie

Julie, getting the necessary education and credits without getting all the way through the guides is one thing - and it's an awesome thing - but missing out on any one of Carrie's guides is quite another.

mater est laetus wrote:Julie, getting the necessary education and credits without getting all the way through the guides is one thing - and it's an awesome thing - but missing out on any one of Carrie's guides is quite another.

Yeah, I'm hoping my youngest gets to use all the guides, since it doesn't look like the boys will. If not, I may have to buy that last guide just for me!

mamas4bugs wrote:
Yeah, I'm hoping my youngest gets to use all the guides, since it doesn't look like the boys will. If not, I may have to buy that last guide just for me!

Or perhaps a 5th bug?

mater est laetus wrote:

mamas4bugs wrote:
Yeah, I'm hoping my youngest gets to use all the guides, since it doesn't look like the boys will. If not, I may have to buy that last guide just for me!

Or perhaps a 5th bug?

Giggle! I wish. But barring Divine Intervention, we're done. Oooh,for use with the grandchildren maybe.....

My older son falls in this same position. He did CTC as a 6th grader, will do RTR in 7th this year, then Rev to Rev in 8th and the Modern guide in 9th. Geog guide will be in 10th, then the next two guides in order and, of course, missing the last one. The thought had crossed my mind to skip the Geog guide and do the last 3 to finish the history cycle only because some of the other credits we need to satisfy our umbrella school are included already in the last 3 guides (or look like they will be included since the guides aren't yet written! LOL) For now, I am just going to enjoy 7th, 8th, and 9th grade and let prayer and time guide my decision from there on. So much can and will change by then that setting my mind in a "definite" right now for that far in the future is just setting myself up for failure. I have no doubt the Lord will hold my hand and guide us as we get closer.

mamas4bugs wrote:I would be hesitant to skip a guide because the guides are soooooo much more than just the history period. The skills build on each other incrementally, so I would be afraid that if I skipped a guide, my kiddo would miss the skills that guide taught, and therefore be frustrated in the next guide.

I think this is an important point, and I agree!

my3sons wrote:Better to incrementally move dc along, enjoy the journey as we go, and get as far as we do, then fast forward/double up/skip and add unneeded stress to both our lives and our dc's lives. HOD is pretty meaty. I think however far dc get, it will be far more than we got in high school, and definitely more than dc are probably getting in ps too.

In Christ,
Julie

Yes, I agree with this too. I am holding out hope that I will be able to do any guides that I miss with my grandchildren someday.

For now, I am just going to enjoy 7th, 8th, and 9th grade and let prayer and time guide my decision from there on. So much can and will change by then that setting my mind in a "definite" right now for that far in the future is just setting myself up for failure. I have no doubt the Lord will hold my hand and guide us as we get closer.

Thank you! That is just what I needed to hear. Although I have been putting together a schedule for Bigger, Beyond and half speed LHFHG, to see what it looks like. Is that crazy? This is my first year with HOD but 4th year for homeschooling. I know it might be intense at the beginning with two intense guides back to back but the older one already could do a lot on his own after I get him going. My husband and I wanted to see if it would work. What do you think? Putting them all in their own guides where they fit perfectly, from what I have read, things are so much easier. Beyond for my almost 9 year old (going into 3rd grade) is really easy for him even with added extensions. So would bigger be a better fit? Or should I just except that he is going to have a lighter load? At least until next year?

Thanks you Julie for your post also. We read through what Carrie wrote and my husband agreed that even though he might miss a guide if we keep him in Beyond right now, and as much as I would not want him to miss one, we could come up with things to fill in. I know that as we get closer to highschool the Lord will be guiding us and preparing us for those decisions.

"Putting them all in their own guides where they fit perfectly, from what I have read, things are so much easier."

YES!! When you get the perfect placement, the guides and years are so much fun!

If you think that Bigger would be a better fit for your ds, you could print off the first week from the website and use it to see. That's what we did when I was trying to place my youngest son this year. The history book is available online (I'll dig up the link if you're interested ), and you can Google the poem and print it out. Just a thought.

It looks like the children you are wanting to combine are only a year apart. Even if the guide was a little easy for one year, after Beyond there are extensions. You would be set up perfectly for the rest of their education. Plus, you will be doing the 3 Rs at their level. I had to take that into consideration this year. My 8th grade daughter could do Rev. to Rev. (places there), but her brothers could not. I needed them all in one guide for sanity. The three of them are doing RTR next year. One guide difference is not going to hurt her education, but as Julie pointed out to me, having a calm, peaceful mother will make more of a difference than trying to do too many guides.

mamas4bugs wrote:"Putting them all in their own guides where they fit perfectly, from what I have read, things are so much easier."

YES!! When you get the perfect placement, the guides and years are so much fun!

If you think that Bigger would be a better fit for your ds, you could print off the first week from the website and use it to see. That's what we did when I was trying to place my youngest son this year. The history book is available online (I'll dig up the link if you're interested ), and you can Google the poem and print it out. Just a thought.

Love this! Bugs, I'm giggling too...maybe your children will oblige you! Yes, I'd hate to hold onto the kids just to make sure they get all the guides, but maybe after graduation...this (last) one's for me! LOL!